Dialogue = "Long live Bone Daddy!" Ice said.
Thoughts = 'Shalltear is as flat as a washboard,' DrunkJester thought.
Tier Spells = [Fireball,] Ainz cast.
[Message] spell = [Long live Ainz Ooal Gown!] Ainz said.
Hello Ladies and Gentlemen! I happy to see all the interest for this story pop up, all the reviews really fill my drive to continue. This one took a little longer than usual sadly because I was incredibly sick so I spent a few days in bed writing a page before falling asleep. I don't really have a set time I want chapters to be out it seems like too much pressure for me and my beta reader. Also I have decided to make Ainz more like his Vampire of the lost country self since it would fit more in this setting, anyways with that in mind enjoy!
WARNING! IF YOU HAVEN'T ALREADY PLEASE REREAD LAST CHAPTER! IT WAS REVISED AND RETCONNED SO THERE ARE SOME CHANGED THAT WILL CONFUSE IN THIS CHAPTER IF YOU HAVEN'T!
'Damn, I guess that depleting mana to such a degree really burns one out,' Momonga thought while looking up at the tree above him. He had cast around 500 of his 718 spells during this small period of experimentation. He had of course excluded most of his destructive spells, as casting them would've brought a significant amount of unwanted attention.
'Hmmm… I wonder how [Iä Shub-Niggurath] works. Does it still need sacrifices to summon the Black Goats? Oh, I wonder how much each one takes! Do animal corpses count, or are Humans, Demihumans, and Heteromorphs the only species that count?'
Momonga was beginning to sink into the abyss of curiosity when he felt a slight tug on one of the strings that resided in his mind, "Lord Momonga the girl has awoken," the cold and collected voice of the Shadow Demon said in an echo.
"I am on my way, good work," And with that, the mental communication was severed.
"[Teleportation]!" Momonga cast.
The Overlord's view changed from the lush grasslands he was in, to the ocean view where he had found the fairy on. He had managed to catch the sprite by surprise as he had teleported behind her. She only caught wind of his presence thanks to the shadow that his imposing figure cast, "Stay calm I bring you no harm," He said to the increasingly distressed fairy.
The girl flinched before attempting an escape. She had to get as far away from this monster as she could, who knows what he may do to her after all…. She only managed to move a couple of centimeters before being stopped by what she assumed to be an invisible barrier.
In all actuality, what stopped her was none other than the Shadow Demon attached to her shade. He had lept out of the girl's shadow and grasped at her alluring cape. Although Shadow Demons were stealth-based monsters, they retained an impressive amount of force.
"W-What do you want from Paimon!?" the girl managed to stutter.
"It's quite simple really… I need information."
"Huh?" Paimonl cocked her head in confusion.
"I was teleported here by unknown means, I have no idea where I am. I don't know the name of this place, who lives here, hell… I don't even know what planet I'm on," Momonga whispered that last part to himself.
The fairy let out a big sigh of relief as she realized she wasn't going to get eaten or killed, "Well if that is what you want Paimon here can help!" She raised one of her small little fists into the air, "A-Anyways… Are you really a spooky skeleton under that mask?" The girl pointed at the Mask of Envy, "Is it not an illusion?"
"...No," Momonga took off the unsettling mask for a couple of seconds before placing it back on his calcium-rich skull.
The undersized girl let out a tiny 'eep'.
"That actually brings me to my first question: Are undead not common here? Are they a rare occurrence or are they simply non-existent?"
"Oh, stuff like zombies?" Momonga nodded before Paimon continued, "Zombies are actually pretty common," She shrugged, "But I've never seen one like you, it's like someone peeled off their remaining skin," The girl squirmed.
"-Wait, where were you before you were teleported? If you tell me, I might know a way back," The fairy began to think of a dark, gloomy place… After all, where else could a living skeleton call his home?
"Hmmm…" Momonga thought for a second before answering, "I come from a land called Yggdrasil, the Swamps of Helheim to be specific -actually… Can you tell me where we currently are? I might recognize the name."
"Uh, sure… We're in the continent of Teyvat," The little girl lectured the Overlord about a couple of facts before moving on.
Gurgle gurgle A loud rumble was released from the inside of Paimon, "Oh oh, Paimon is starting to get dizzy, Paimon might be dying! After all… Paimon hasn't eaten in over an hour!" The little girl began to panic.
Momonga raised one of his invisible eyebrows, "How long is an hour in this world? How much did you eat last time?" Places in Yggdrasil such as the Mists of Deception had varying effects, some of these places could periodically cast death magic, or time-altering spells, which is why Momonga had asked this question.
Paimon raised an eyebrow, "Uh, an hour here is 60 minutes, but I only managed to eat enough to feed a whole family! It wasn't nearly enough!" Paimon began to tear up, "-Oh wait, I forgot to ask your name!" Paimon switched topics faster than Peroroncino could fly.
"Oh… My name…" Momonga began to think, "Hmmm, I guess that you can call me Satoru, yes, call me Satoru."
"Great, nice to meet you, Satoru! Anyways… What's with that getup?" Paimon pointed at his clothes and mask.
"I thought it better to hide my true appearance after your little tantrum. After all, I assume other people will react as you did."
"Ohhhhh, that's pretty smart!" Paimon put a hand up, "That was a good idea, but you still resemble a Mitachurl with how big you are," The girl spread her arms to the sides in an exaggerated manner.
"What's that?" Satoru asked with curiosity.
"A Mitachurl is a talllllll monster that usually carries a shield! They're pretty tough if you can't break it," Paimon tried to imitate the grandeur of the monster to a pathetic degree.
'That's sort of similar to a Death Knight, they're pretty weak though. Hmmm, but she did say they were tough to fight. Maybe she was talking from her perspective? Tsk. Doesn't matter, I better stay on guard,' Satoru thought to himself.
"I assume that people will be frightened, no?"
"Maybe, but that should all change when you show at least some intelligence. After that, you'll be good to go!" Paimon said with nervous giggles, "Anyways, let's head out! We have much to explore!"
The pair thus started their journey… although they didn't go very far as the tiny fairy stopped Satoru merely 10 feet later, "Oh oh! Look, this over here is a Teleport Waypoint, as its name suggests, you're able to teleport to its location, though you have to unlock it first."
Satoru grinned, 'Interesting… a way to teleport without using mana, how useful… Though I guess that [Teleportation] and [Gate] are still better, as it sounds like these 'Teleport Waypoints' have predetermined locations.' Paimon had continued her explanation of the artifact, but Satoru was still stuck inside of his mind, 'Hmmm, would Paimon come with me if I used one? How about opponents? That brings me to yet another question, am I able to use one in combat?'
"-Anyways, all you need to do is touch it. After that, you'll be able to come and go in a heartbeat! Though I doubt that you'll need it, you can already teleport all on your own!" Paimon pouted.
Satoru did what he was asked to do, but not before preparing a couple of defensive spells, after all, what would happen if this Teleport Waypoint were to respond to his undead nature?
The Overlord placed his gloved hand on the artifact's red crystal, which after a moment turned blue, 'I see this becoming a recurring theme…'
"There we go!"
"What now?" Satoru asked the small fairy.
"Well, we go west of course! That's where Mondstadt is after all…"
'I assume 'Mondstadt' is some sort of city,' Satoru thought whilst following Paimon.
"Oh, oh, look over there!" Paimon said while pointing forward, "That's a statue of the seven! This one belongs to the god of Anemo! Come, quickly! If there's anyone who can answer your questions it's the gods!" Paimon began to scurry off in the direction of the statue before Satoru had the time to reply.
'So much for telling me about the world, who are the seven anyways? Why is there a statue of them in the middle of nowhere!' Satoru was brought out of his stupor when he took notice of the surroundings, 'Man, this place is wonderful, it reminds me of Alfheim… Oh, I just want to go out and explore!'
Satoru was thrilled, there were unexplored mountains (at least for him), forests, and cities all around him! He just had to- 'no… I don't know how dangerous this world is, for all I know the inhabitants of this world could crush me, though Paimon is pretty weak… No, it'd be stupid to base power scaling around her,' Satoru was suddenly composed, it was almost as if someone had thrown a bucket of icy hot water over a roaring fire.
'Crap, I better follow her,' He thought when seeing the little fairy fly off in the statue's direction.
With that, he activated [Fly] and began to hover over to Paimon, "Awww! You can do it too? You're making it look easy, flying takes actual work, you know!" She said while pouting.
"Are you sure? I'm doing this with my eyes closed, if you can't tell," he decided to humor the girl a bit.
"Hmph- alright alright, just touch the stupid thing! Perhaps it'll give you the answers you're looking for," Paimon looked away in a grumpy twirl.
Satoru began to do what was being asked of him, but flinched a second before touching the statue, '...Will the gods heed my call? How will they react to an undead such as me? Will they strike me down? Hmmm... If the gods here are like the ones in Yggdrasil then they'll certainly be troublesome, but perhaps I'll be able to stand my ground if I have some summons as distractions,' Satoru was beginning to turn into a nervous wreck when the same soothing feeling as before washed over him, 'Man that's useful!'
Satoru let his hand fall to his side, "Hmmm… Contacting the gods might not be a good idea… Perhaps we can come back to this later, I'd prefer it if I could get a hold of this world's mechanics before doing anything as rash as this."
Paimon looked at Satoru a little saddened, "Well if you say so… Paimon will not force you."
Satoru lowered his head.
"Oh oh, Paimon knows something that will cheer you up!" The floating fairy pointed further east, "That hugeeee castle-like structure is Mondstadt, the city of freedom! I'm sure someone there has at least heard of this 'Yggdrasil'!"
Satoru's skull formed into a meek smile, "Thanks," He whispered, though Paimon almost thought of it as satire, as the wicked grin on his mask looked at her mockingly, "Anyways, why exactly is it called the city of freedom?"
"That's because everyone in this region is free! Their god -Barbatos, usually leaves the people alone, so they can make their own decisions!" She idly bounced mid-air, "Oh oh! Paimon is getting even hungrier! I hear that Mondstadt has some really good restaurants, so it'd be a waste to not visit them!"
The duo's conversation was cut short thanks to the appearance of 3 large, ember-colored blobs, "Ahh! Get them, Satoru!" Paimon shouted whilst taking cover in her new friend's exquisite robes.
"Ohh what's this?" She said whilst coming into contact with some sort of sphere.
"Do not touch that!" The undead Overlord reflexively responded.
"Oh- Ok…" Paimon quickly shifted inside the skeleton's gown. She then peered out of the garments whilst holding onto a surprisingly large rib.
'Hmmm… These slimes should pose a bit of a challenge, Paimon seems to be afraid of them after all. Should I cast some buffs on myself? Or should I retreat? No, let's test the waters first, let's see how much damage they can take. Slimes are famous for their damage absorption abilities -well, at least in Yggdrasil,' Satoru thought back to a couple of his guildmates.
Satoru stood still, waiting for his newly appeared opponents to make a move. The 3 slimes began to approach after a second or two, earning a small flinch from the magic caster.
"Let's see! This might be a starting area so lets start with something more mid tier. [Dragon Lightning!]" The dragon shoots out and connects with the one in the center, instantly the slime explodes causing the two next to them to bounce. Upon hitting the floor they explode as well leaving Satoru's jaw dropped to the floor. 'Dragon Lightning Doesn't do that!'
He then stared down at his hands, "Have my spells changed after coming to this new world?"
Paimon poked her head out from under his gown, "Your bones are surprisingly cozy, also… what's this about your spells changing, and what was that bzztt noise I just heard? Do you have a vision?"
Satoru grabbed Paimon's head and flung her out of his insides, "Hey, that's not very nice!"
"Sorry, can you give me a bit of time to process things? There is a lot that doesn't make sense, I'll try to answer your questions once we are inside the city, alright?" That seemed to be fine with Paimon, who simply nodded her head.
The duo continued their walk, 'it would be best to appear as a local rather than an outsider, I don't want to attract any unnecessary attention. For all I know Heteromoprhs could still be hunted and killed on the regular,' Just as Satoru was thinking this, a big gust of wind came about as a dragon flew overhead.
'Shit shit shit shit shit shit shit! Why is there a dragon here?! I thought that this was some sort of starting area!' Dragons were the strongest race of monsters in Yggdrasil, so it was natural for Satoru to react like this.
"[Perfect Unknowable]!" Satoru instinctively casts.
"Ahhh, where did you go!" Paimon looked around.
"[Silent Magic: Silence], [Silent Magic: Perfect Unknowable], [Silent Magic: Message]," Satoru shut the fairy up before turning her invisible and contacting her via [Message].
[Huh? Satoru is that you? Where did you go?] Paimon asked before looking down and noticing her translucent self.
[Shhh, used a spell to turn us invisible. Is it normal for dragons to make a sudden appearance here in Mondstadt?] Satoru panickingly asked.
[No!] Paimon mentally screamed at Satoru, who watched the dragon with both amazement and fear, [I have never seen or heard of one in Monstadt before, we should go check it out,] The fairy said whilst floating forward.
[ARE YOU CRAZY?! ] Satoru hollered at Paimon via [Message], [Wait! Where are you going!? God, if you're gonna do something at least let me prepare! [Paralysis]!] Satoru then watched as Paimon slumped to the ground before picking her up.
[Hey what are you doing!?] Paimon asked.
Satoru ignored the fairy's questions and instead contacted one of his summons, an Eyeball Corpse to be exact, 'Circle around the huge-ass dragon for a minute or two. Retreat if it turns out to be hostile, but don't lead it back to us,' He referred to himself and Paimon.
[Paimon, listen closely: I'm having a monster check out the situation for us, it's best to stay here as we don't know if the dragon's dangerous or not.]
[Awww, ok.] Paimon's shoulders deflated.
'[Undeath Slave Sight],' Satoru cast. The Overlord's view changed into some sort of aerial view, 'Good, it looks as if I can at least control my summons,' He then proceeded to hover over to where the dragon had landed, which was surprisingly close.
Satoru witnessed a strange sight once the Eyeball Corpse got closer: A small child in bizarre clothing was… speaking with the dragon? Satoru's summon weaved between the trees, hoping to get an idea of what the boy was saying.
"It's alright, I'm here," the lad whispered into the beast's ear.
'Hmm… Is that wind magic? It can be, but that's not a spell that I know of,' Satoru thought whilst looking at one of the boy's arms, which seemed to be producing some sort of air current.
The gargantuan monster that Satoru's Eyeball Corpse was spying on began to tense up, seemingly sensing his summon, "Roarrrr!" It bellowed. The boy quickly turned around, but barely missed the floating eye, as Satoru was smart enough to take cover behind a tree.
Once Satoru thought it safe enough he poked out his summon's head. He then began to panic as both the boy and dragon were no longer visible. The only thing that remained as a visage of their presence was some sort of carmine diamond.
'Find out where the dragon went and follow it,' Satoru ordered after canceling the scrying spell, 'Damn, it seems like both the Eyeball Corpses and Death Knights will despawn soon… I guess that some things still work like in Yggdrasil after all,' Satoru then turned towards the crystal up ahead.
"[Teleportation]," The masked skeleton teleported close enough to the shard that he could touch it, 'I wonder what this is, meh, I'll just stick it into my inventory,' Satoru opened up the rift in space just below the crystal, making it fall into the deep and endless abyss.
He then teleported back to the fairy's side, "There you are!" Paimon pathetically punched Satoru in the shoulder, "How dare you leave me alone! I started to get scared once you stopped responding, I thought you left me!"
Something inside Satoru shattered, "I-I'm sorry, I guess that my collector's instincts took over me for a second."
Paimon waved her hand around dismissively, "Anyways, what was that all about?! You suddenly became as paranoid as a schizo!"
Satoru turned to look at Paimon as if the girl was dumb, "...That was a dragon, one of the most dangerous creatures -at least in Yggdrasil! I had to hide us because well... You aren't exactly the stealthiest person, at least from what I can tell."
"How rude, I'll have you know Paimon is very stealthy and can easily avoid detection!"
"Right…" Satoru said as he walked past the stomping, floating girl, "Let us continue going towards Monstadt, and do warn me if you spot that thing again."
The duo spent the following minutes in complete silence. Satoru was about to reignite the conversation but was stopped before he was able to.
'Lord Momonga, there is a girl heading in your direction. Should I take care of her?' One of his Death Knights asked via mental communication.
'How high do you estimate her level to be?' Satoru asked.
'Forgive me, for I am unable to give you a clear answer-' The Death Knight apologized, -but I know she isn't above level 35,'
'Then do not interfere, she poses no threat to me. And if she's somewhat reasonable then I'll be able to glean some information from her. Ah, that reminds me, we'll soon enter a human city, don't follow me there, as I assume undead aren't welcome. Relay this to your fellow knights.'
'Very well, lord Momonga,'
With nothing else to discuss, Satoru broke the communication.
It was then no surprise when a feminine scream echoed around his surroundings, "Hey you! Stop right there!" A second after it was heard, a young girl lept off a nearby mound and landed in front of both him and Paimon.
"May the Ameno god protect you, stranger." She struck a pose that reminded Satoru of a salute, "I am Amber, Outrider of the Knights of Favonius," the girl squinted her eyes, "You don't look like citizens of Monstadt. Explain yourselves!"
"Greetings Amber, we are but travelers who wish to visit the City of Freedom. We've heard a myriad of stories about it and desire to see it with our very own eyes," Satoru serenely replied.
"I mean no offense esteemed traveler but could you perhaps take off your mask?" She asked, suspicion coating her every word, "I assume that won't be a problem, right?"
Satoru listened to the Knights of Favonius' Outrider before Paimon could protest.
"Are you perhaps from Inazuma? You look a lot like the locals there," Amber relaxed her shoulders, her suspicions finally erased.
"No," Satoru said as he situated the mask back onto his face, "I am from a land far, far away."
-Paimon was oblivious to the current conversation, as she was still focused on how Satoru could conjure such a realistic-looking face, 'Thank god he's on my side… right?' She thought-
"I must ask: Will I be asked to remove my mask every time someone stops me? I find it rather exhausting if that's the case," Satoru sighed.
"Please do not worry, I shall tell the other knights of your situation once I'm back at Headquarters. Speaking of the city, we should probably make our way back. A dragon was just spotted and I wouldn't want you to get hurt, so please, let me escort you."
"Thank you, Amber," Satoru responded.
"Are you sure? We wouldn't want to bother you if you're busy, I hear that the knights always have something to do," Paimon piped up.
"You're right, I've been tasked with exterminating nearby Hilichurl camps, but I can't let you guys wander around like this. Besides, you two aren't in the clear just yet, it's not every day that one sees a large man in fancy clothing and a floating child…"
"Hey, Paimon isn't a child!"
"You are a very forward one aren't you?" Satoru responded, the jewels on his mask seemed to analyze her, it made Amber very uncomfortable.
The knight's outrider chuckled, "Haha, you're right, I shouldn't talk like that to someone -especially as a knight… Um, please forgive me, strange yet… respectable wanderers."
"So fake," Paimon couldn't help but think out loud.
"Do you have something against the type of language usage prescribed by the Knights of Favonius' handbook?!"
A metal glove was then placed upon Paimon's head, "Don't mind her, she often says what's on her mind without thinking."
"Oh it's fine, don't worry," With that, they began their descent to Monstadt's gates.
"So, what exactly are you two going to do once you're inside the city?" Amber curiously asked.
"I think I'll visit a library. I want to read up on this place's histo-" Satoru stopped before finishing his sentence.
"[Thunderlance]!" Satoru aimed at the rattling grass to his side.
The charred grass cleaved a clear path that revealed some sort of masked figure.
Amber raised her bow but lowered it when she realized that the monster was already dead, "Wow, you have good reflexes -anyways, how did you do that? Do you have a vision as well?" Amber poked the monster's dead body with a finger, she then reeled back as its corpse crumbled into tiny little pieces.
"No, I don't know what those are. My powers are what some would call magic, have you heard of it?"
"Uh yeah… But magic can only be catalyzed by visions… How odd," Amber held her hand up to her chin.
"Can you show me what a vision looks like? That may help," Satoru wanted to see what the girl was talking about.
"Sure, here. I can't give it to you, but you can look at it from here," Amber unlatched something from her belt and held it up with her hand, "This little thing is a vision. I was given the Pyro element, so I am able to use fire," She let the artifact bathe in the sun for a moment before placing it back on her belt.
'Interesting… It seems to be some sort of catalyst. Yggdrasil did have something similar, but they were nigh useless…'
"Yeah, I was correct. I don't have a vision on me right now, yet I am still able to cast magic. Perhaps it's because I come from a different place."
'That still doesn't make any sense though. People in places like Inazuma or Liyue still have visions, so where exactly do you come from, mysterious stranger?' Amber thought to herself, "What an interesting figure, you should talk to our librarian, Lisa, I'm sure that she'd love to meet you."
"I'll keep that in mind," Satoru responded.
Amber nodded, "Now, I'd like to request something of you, stranger."
Satoru raised an invisible eyebrow, "Oh?"
"You seem capable of combat, as the little fairy and I just witnessed, so how about you help me exterminate the Hilichurl camp that I was just talking about? Encountering Hilichurls this close to the city is always a bad sign, and seeing as we just saw one, it might be closer than I expected."
Satoru held a hand up to his chin, "Sure, but please rest assured, I don't work for free…"
Amber smiled, "I expect nothing less, be assured that you'll be properly compensated for helping one of the knights…"
Satoru wasn't listening, as he was stuck inside his own thoughts, 'This'll be a great chance to see how my other spells work against actual enemies, oh I'm so excited. I also guess that it'll serve to boost my popularity once I'm inside the city. '
"Fine. Now, let's go. I don't want them getting away," Satoru grinned an impish smile.
Thank You To IceAndShadow - u/15095175/IceAndShadow