Chapter 2 Potions and a Basilisk

Harry teleported to his room, arriving at the part he used as an office, he gave a slight nod to the surprised and worried maid before entering his bedroom, feeling very tired.

He still had the Potter luck though, so he entered only to find a distressed Sebas, who somehow managed to reprimand him while still being perfectly respectful. The way he got mad was terribly similar to Touch-me, the guild founder.

"I'd prefer you refrain from heading out alone in the future…" Sebas face was quite stern, laced with worry. Still, as tired as Harry currently was, he could only nod in acceptance, promising not to do so in the future and apologizing for not notifying anyone he was going out.

Sebas didn't seem satisfied, but seeing the current condition of his master he refrained from saying anything more, and instead opened his inventory and offered a few healing items and MP refilling items.

He wanted to know what had happened that left his Master in such state, but seeing the tired look he was giving him and the hopeful looks he kept stealing at his bed, the butler understood now was not the time to pry.

Harry looked at the offered items oddly, and used the panel control to see his own status.

No wonder he was feeling so bloody tired. He hadn't noticed the Health invested was that much, he didn't feel any pain at the time, probably because he was giving it up freely and was not hurt by a third party, but it certainly seemed a bit excessive.

Why had the wards taken so much? They were designed by him, he knew they only took what they needed in order to fulfill their purpose, and he had been thinking about all the attacks, both physical and magical, that could harm Nazarik—

Ah, so that was the reason. He had probably thought one too many possibilities, and had ended up with an overprotective set of wards. Well, at least he didn't have to worry about a third party harming them now.

"It's alright Sebas, it will heal on his own. Besides, the day has already ended so I have plenty of time to get back to normal" Harry said softly, refusing to use the items when he didn't know if they could be created again in this new world. With so many unknowns, he couldn't be careless.

The butler seemed about to protest, so he added "It's my final decision" in a tone that left no room for arguments. Sebas bowed, asking if he needed anything else, and wished a goodnight once Harry instructed to be waken the next day at 7.

He let out a sigh of relief once the door clicked softly. The first day had been uncomfortable, his servants seemed to want to do everything for him, so Harry had to tell them that no, I don't need any help dressing and undressing, and no, I don't need you to tuck me in I'm not a child, among other things.

He somewhat understood that Sebas and the maids had been created with the thinking of the 18th century tradition, so they did a few things old fashioned, but he really didn't want nor need to be pampered.

Glad he didn't need to argue with an overprotective Sebas, he changed into more comfortable clothes and went to sleep.

He woke up at 6am, knowing he had an hour before Sebas came, he put on privacy wards around his room before sitting down at the edge of the bed and calling for his old friend.

"Death"

"Hello Master, I'm surprised you have called so soon" smiling at the skeletal form that had appeared in front of him, he silently wondered if it had taken that form to mock the undead beings in this world. He tried no to relate him with Momonga's appearance.

"Hello old friend— Wait! Don't tell me anything about this world, I want to discover it myself!" he hurried to say when he recognized the mischievous glint in Death's vacant eyes. There were no expressions in the skeletal form in front of him, but he just knew he had been about to receive a life-changing spoiler.

Ignoring the disappointed sigh of the immortal and sometimes childish entity, he asked it to retrieve the bag he had left in the tiny room he had used in the polluted world. Once Death summoned it and delivered it to him, they chatted amiably for a few minutes before his sensorial alarm told him someone was about to enter his office.

"Until next time old friend" he said grinning before lying down, and made rubbing motions at his eyes when he heard the knock and Sebas voice outside his bedroom.

Saying he was awake, he asked him to call his three previously distressed guardians to his office while he changed. Once ready, he went and explained more to them about the wards, and the fact that they had needed both, a large amount of MP and HP for their intended purpose. Afterwards, it began a long and tedious conversation where he had to reassure them multiple times that he was fine and no, my guardians, you didn't do anything wrong.

He let out a soft sigh, and said for the tenth time "Of course I'm satisfied with your work. You're doing your best, as a proper servant of Nazarik should. I'm happy with your loyalty and hard work, I can't think of anything that would make me happier."

Had he known they had spent the previous night overworking to compensate for their supposed incompetence, he wouldn't have said the last sentence, but he had been asleep at the time.

Once his guardians finally leaved, he asked one of the maids to bring the Mirror of Remote Viewing. Sitting down, he began to toy with the magical item, doing his best to ignore the watchful eyes he could feel in the back of his head.

He had told Sebas to stay in the little reunion where he had given the explanation to the other guardians, so he could understand that it had been a once-in-a-time event that would not be repeated, unless the enemy somehow managed to bring all the wards down. Even if you were from Harry's original world and a ward's specialist, it would be close to impossible to dissipate them, so he was very confident on them.

Not to mention that they had taken a lot from him, so they better be worth it, dammit.

Doing his best to ignore Sebas' sharp gaze, he let out a happily surprised sound when he could finally manipulate the object as he wished.

"Congratulations, Hadrian-sama"

"Thank you, Sebas. If you're tired you may leave to rest" doing nothing but watch his experiments probably was both, boring and tiring.

"Thank you for your kindness, but it would be unthinkable for a butler to rest while his master worked. With the aid of magic items, I am not affected by fatigue. Please allow me to stay by your side until the end, Hadrian-sama." was Sebas immediate response. It sounded different than usual though, with more determination. He was probably still affected by yesterday's events.

Agreeing with him, he started to search in the areas near Nazarik. As a Djinn, he needed to sleep once per week, but didn't need food even if he could still eat. His magical ring made it so he didn't need either, so yesterday had been the first time he slept since arriving in this world.

"Oh, it seems there's a little village near us" Around 10km south of Nazarik, the area seemed like a farming village and the little moving spots he supposed were humans seemed to be agitated. Zooming in an area at random, he saw the people from the village being killed by fully armored knights. It was a full massacre, the villagers couldn't hope to compare to the equipment and training of the knights. Should he help them? He didn't know anything about this new world yet.

…Then again, the unknown situation they were in wouldn't change until they ventured outside. Having taken a decision, he moved the mirror to the side and stood up.

"Sebas, put Nazarick on maximum alert. I will go first, tell Albedo to follow me after fully equipping herself but without her world item. After that, prepare support units in case something happens that results in our inability to retreat. The support units sent to the village should be adept at stealth or have the ability to go invisible." Harry said while he opened a [Gate] with his left hand, before halting.

He shouldn't show his face, anonymity may be important if that village was supposed to be destroyed by some legal nonsense. Thinking about that, he opened the inventory with his right hand and accioed a mask, instantly feeling several items hitting harmlessly against the palm. Should have been more specific. Taking one randomly, he placed it on his face without looking at it.

"I understand, but I wish to request the task of defending your body to be given to me." Sebas was by Harry's side in an instant, his gaze pleading silently.

"I need you to relay my orders. Besides, the knights in that village are close to Nazarik and may decide to attack us. Therefore, you must stay." seeing Sebas' worried look he added "If I determine that the situation is too dangerous and my life might be at risk I'll retreat immediately, you have my word"

Sebas seemed better now, so Harry crossed the [Gate] before he could change his mind. The scene that greeted him was the one of two females (sisters?) on the ground, the older trying miserably to protect the youngest, offering to take the blow the knight had been aiming at them.

Summoning the elder wand, he threw a couple of silent stunning spells at them, their bodies falling with a metallic thud. No resistance to magic then? The spells hadn't even been particularly overpowered either.

Using Djinn magic to check the status of the humans in front of him, he was surprised to see that the knights were a 16 and 18 level, while the females were a 8 and 4 level respectively.

How… weak. Then again, he should be careful and assume these knights were the weakest of their group. Deciding he should summon something to safely test the strength of the knights in the village, he activated the Djinn spell and thought [I wish for a Basilisk].

The Djinn could summon any creature so long it was living, the exact opposite of Momonga's undead creatures. The restrictions changed with the level of the summoned creature of course. It was tiresome that all summoning spells had to start with the words "I wish for" since it took precious seconds, but it was a condition of his race so he couldn't do anything about it. He had yet to check if it was limited to the creatures that existed in Yggsdrasil or if it would work with creatures he had knowledge of from other worlds. He made a mental note to test it later.

The Basilisk from Yggsdrasil was different from the one in his original world; for starters this one had extremities, 8 legs actually, so it looked more like a giant lizard than a giant snake. The eyes were similar to those of a chameleon and had a single horn on top of his nose.

The Basilisk had a petrifying gaze and venomous fangs, its skin wasn't very hard to get through since it was something like mithril and magic above 7 tier could kill it, but it was more agile than its size suggested. Somewhat weak at the level of 40, he figured it would be enough to test them and send it off with an order to kill the Knights attacking the village, pointing at the two resting on the floor for reference. He also instructed to close his inner eyelids, so the petrification effect wouldn't be used but the Basilisk could still see. He didn't want to deal with accidently petrified villagers.

Harry didn't expect his basilisk to hiss angrily and crush the two knocked-out knights with its claws, killing them both instantly before running to the village. It had probably misunderstood when he had pointed at them. Damn, he had wanted to interrogate them.

Hearing a step behind him, he turned to see a full armored Albedo stepping through the still activated [Gate] before it finally closed.

"The preparations took some time. I apologize for my late arrival" Albedo's melodic voice spoke from beneath the horned helmet. She possessed the greatest defensive ability in Nazarik, so he could relax slightly.

"No, it's fine. You came just in time."

"Thank you. Then… how shall we dispose of these inferior lifeforms? If you do not wish to stain your hands with their blood, I will gladly eliminate them on your behalf, Hadrian-sama." she said looking at the, literally petrified, girls that were stuck in a hugging position, the injury in the back of the older one still bleeding.

Shit, of course they had looked at the Basilisk before it closed its eyelids; it was just his luck. He should have summoned something else.

"...What exactly did Sebas tell you?" when Albedo didn't respond he sighed and said "my intention is to save this village. Our enemies are the knights in armor, like those corpses over there"

Seeing Albedo nod in understanding, he turned his eyes to the petrified girls. It was bothersome, but it had happened because he summoned a creature carelessly, so he had no one to blame but himself.

Taking the invisible little bag that was hanging on his neck, he hissed Ravenclaw in parseltongue to open it and accioed a potion that was used to cure petrification.

He could use an Yggdrasil potion that cured all negative status, in this case paralysis, but he wanted to know if his old potions could be used in this new world. Kneeling down at their level, he used his wand to send the potion directly into the oldest, considering he couldn't make her open her mouth in her current state, before waving the wand at her back to heal the bleeding slash.

"M-my sister! She can't move! Please, I beg you…!" She started screaming in panic the moment she realized she could move. Grimacing slightly at the loud voice that was yelling very close to his sensitive ears, he quickly repeated the process with the young one before standing.

The man above them seemed to be a very powerful magic caster. Dressed in a white tunic with golden borders that ended at his calves, a glimpse of a blue t-shirt and black trousers underneath, the material of his clothes seemed of very high quality. He must have been some noble, even if she couldn't help but think that the expressionless white mask that only had holes for the eyes was weird.

She had felt relief when the knights had fallen, and didn't care if they were dead or unconscious. But before she could say anything, the man had summoned a basilisk of all things, a basilisk! And her eyes had moved on their own accord to meet the ones of the creature.

I can't move! I can't move…! Nemu, please run! She had thought desperately but her sister was as frozen as her. What would happen to them now? Would they have to wait for Nfirea to visit? But even then, she wasn't sure a cure for a basilisk's gaze existed. Panicking, she saw in the corner of her eye the strange man kneeling, a brownish potion in hand. Mercy, please…!

And then her body tingled and she could move again. "M-my sister! She can't move! Please, I beg you…!" she began screaming before halting, watching as another brown potion came out of nowhere and he pointed a stick she hadn't noticed before at her little Nemu.

Sensing her sister move, she cried in happiness, hugging her with even more force than before. She was about to begin thanking him when the woman at his side said "Worthless scum. How dare you raise your voice when addressing my master? After all the help you have received from my generous loved one? You inferior lifeforms deserve ten thousand deaths for that."

Freezing at the cold, sickening sweet voice that came from the armored woman that was raising her weapon at them, she couldn't help but wet herself.

"Calm down, Albedo. Given the circumstances, I'll forgive it." said the young male voice of the magic caster looking at his companion before turning his gaze to them. Even with the mask, she saw calm emerald eyes stare at her before he said "I have healed the slash on your back. Where you or your sister hurt anywhere else?"

Ashamed at her current position, she could feel her cheeks burn as she shook her head in negative. That had been her only injury.

"Do you know of magic?"

"Yes, yes I do. The alchemist who comes by our village… my friend, knows how to use magic." she answered the strange question. Was there really anyone out there that didn't knew magic existed?

"...Is that so. Well, that makes things easy to explain. I am a magic caster." he said before doing a circular motion with his stick around them. She couldn't see any difference, but the air around her seemed warmer and she felt protected.

Letting out a breath she didn't knew she had been holding, she heard him say a few spells out loud this time.

"[Anti-Life Cocoon]."

"[Wall of Protection From Arrows]."

A dome of light, roughly three meters in radius, surrounded the sisters.

"I have cast a defensive spell that keeps living creatures from coming near you, as well as a spell that weakens the effectiveness of shooting attacks and low-level harming magic. As long as you stay here, you should be safe."

After calmly explaining the effects of the magic to them, the caster turned to leave, the armored woman (his lover? servant?) following behind him.

"Ah… th-thank you for saving us!" she said, the soft cry of "Thank you!" from her sister resounding right after.

He stopped briefly to look at her and Nemu, so she decided to hastily add "And, and this may be asking for too much, but- but you are the only one we can count on. Please! Please save our parents!" she begged, bowing on the ground until her forehead touched the dirt.

"Alright. If they're still alive, I will rescue them."

She looked up at him, eyes open wide with surprise, before lowering her head again in thanks.

"Th-thank you! Thank you very much! And, and, may we know…your name?" she said rising her head again to see him.

…His name? Should he use his own or an alias? Thinking about this, Harry recalled an idea he had had last night.

Ainz Ooal Gown, the Guild he and his friends had created with so much effort in the last few years. Even if the usage of this name may bring the invasion of other players that held a grudge against them, he felt it was ideal to pay honor to their memory.

Decision made, he answered "My name is Ainz Ooal Gown" with a grin no one could see under his mask. What was life without risk anyways?