The warm sunlight coming through the room's window eventually reached the face of the sleeping individual, signaling to him that it was time to wake up.
For the first time since he arrived in this world - which wasn't that long, to begin with - he could awaken from slumber without a pounding headache nor a stomach aching for food, it almost made him want to continue sleeping.
- Should I wake up? Is there a hurry?
After all, there were 65 days left of his stay in this inn, there was no need to feel rushed to do anything.
- Well, I guess I could explore the district a bit, and find places where I could buy stuff.
But still, did he need to do that today? The city wasn't going anywhere.
- Eh...mmm...whatever. I'll get up.
His eyelids felt just as heavy as the last time he woke up, but both his body and mind felt a bit more refreshed than the last time, though. The room's hearth that Rhemurus lit last night was already extinguished, leaving a faint smell of burnt wood.
"Yawn...okay, I'm up."
The mattress of the common accommodation room wasn't elevated on a proper bed frame - unlike the mattresses of the good accommodation rooms - but it wasn't any worse than what Tanaka left behind in his former apartment.
- If everything goes as I plan, maybe I could get myself a house in the future, or something.
But for the time being, he didn't mind experiencing the life of a refugee.
After lazily getting up he rubbed his eyes and took a peek at the wooden chest where he placed his things. Or rather, it would be more accurate to say that he simply opened the chest, placed his bag inside, and closed the chest afterward.
He re-opened the chest, then the bag, and took out a small leather pouch before closing the chest again.
It turns out that the night before was far more eventful than Rhemurus could've anticipated because the merchant district is one of the busiest places in the human city, their inns are almost always harboring multiple guests. And during supper time in the inn's dining area was when he came across fellow patrons, two of them, in particular, were traveling merchants from relatively far settlements of the council state, and one of those merchants sold Rhemurus the pouch he needed to store his coins in.
- Four bronze coins for a pouch with a string long enough to tie up around my waist. Was it a steal or a scam, I wonder? In the end, I still know nothing about this world's economy.
But that's a headache he can leave for another day, today he had other plans.
Thanks to the conversations he had with Aula and some of her coworkers, Rhemurus learned that the human city was divided into nine districts, eight of those being somewhat specialized in a particular field.
Currently, he was in the merchant district located in the northeastern section of the city. In the northern section of the city is the craft district which was called so because that's where most generalist craftsmen who didn't make weapons nor armor lived and worked, while in the eastern section was the place where those who worked the land and engaged in all forms of agriculture lived in, as well as those who worked in animal husbandry, thus that specific district was simply called the farm district.
Southwest from the merchant district was the central district where the chieftain and the rest of the city's higher-ups lived and managed Breizen's affairs.
The two former districts were purposely built around the merchant district to make a good lasting impression on the traveling merchants that made business in the human city, since being close to the craftsmen and farmers allowed said merchants to see how hard-working and honest the humans were. Also, being that close to the ones that produce works of art and food made it easier for those wealthy individuals to buy even more stuff, as well.
- I guess I'll visit the craft district today, and see where I can buy new clothes and other things I may need.
Other districts caught Rhemurus' attention, but those could wait for another day.
He exited his room and walked towards the dining area, and when he arrived at it he was welcomed by the familiar sight of one of the two merchants he acquainted himself with the night before.
"Good morning, Rhemurus."
"Hello, Crase. Good morning."
Sitting in one of the chairs of a dining table was a bipedal medium-sized bat with reddish-brown fur, long and narrow limbs, and stubby, curving digits that ended in retractable claws. Rhemurus was pretty certain that he was a desmodu, a demi-human race that was the favorite race of choice for players that wanted to play a 'living vampire', if that made any sense.
The desmodu merchant, Crase, was wearing colorful clothes made out of some wool that was quite expensive, clothes that were apparently just casual everyday clothes according to Crase himself, which meant that the actual business clothes that he used for work were far fancier than what he was currently wearing.
"Can I take a seat here?"
"You ask me that again? Just like I told you yesterday, I don't own the inn, and you paid for staying here, so you can seat wherever you want. And I don't mind, either."
Rhemurus already knew that Crase was going to tell him that, but because he had been mentally conditioned all his life to be unnecessarily respectful to his 'superiors[senpai]' be they older or wealthier than him, he couldn't help but make this invisible psychological wall between himself and the rich merchant that was staying in a good accommodation room with his own non-borrowed money.
After taking a seat, Rhemurus took a peek around him to look for a specific individual among the fellow patrons of the inn, but he couldn't find the one he was looking for.
"So, I imagine Keros already left?"
"Yeah, yesterday was his last day in Breizen."
Keros was the other merchant that Rhemurus interacted with the night before, and was also the one that sold him the coin pouch he now owned as well.
"So what are you going to do from now on, Rhemurus? Your long-term plan is to join the watch, right?"
"I need to familiarize myself with this city first. If I'm going to be policing it, I need to know where I am at all times."
"Your drive is impressive, to say the least. Watchman can be quite the dangerous profession, even in mostly peaceful places."
"To tell you the truth, I'm kinda counting on a bit of danger..."
After all, from the looks of it, it appears as if he would still need to grind for EXP the old-fashioned way, which is finding things to kill.
"You're actively looking for danger, right after surviving a near-death experience? You're impossible, you knew that?"
Rhemurus didn't have anything to say to that remark, so he just allowed a sad little smirk to appear on his face.
- I would definitely prefer to find monsters to grind, rather than other humans, if I can help it.
On the surface, Rhemurus rationalized it as him not wanting to bring harm to other members of his species, but deep inside, Rhemurus - Tanaka Ito - knew that humans simply didn't give as much EXP as monsters of a similar level, and monsters are usually less intelligent than humans as well, which would make them easier to kill for a much greater EXP gain.
Is not like Tanaka was a heartless individual that couldn't care less about other people, rather, he was simply jaded as a result of the environment he - and pretty much all players - grew up in. If he could help to not hurt sapient races, he would avoid that, but he likewise wouldn't hesitate to do so if he saw no other logical choice.
"Sorry for the wait, breakfast is ready!"
Several waitresses arrived at the dining area with copper trays that had several dishes on them. One of them approached the table Rhemurus and Crase were sitting at and placed two plates with different meals on them. The disparity in the amount of money that they had was quite easy to see in the quality of the respective meals that were laid in front of them, if the sorry state of Rhemurus' clothes in comparison with Crase's own wasn't plain enough, that is.
Both gave thanks for the food in their respective ways and began to dig in. Breakfast was pretty uneventful in comparison to the supper of last night, so after they both finished their respective meals and chatted for a bit, Rhemurus exited the inn to explore the merchant district.
His goal today was indeed to find a place that sold clothes, and even though the merchant district did have several places that sold clothing, the things that were sold in the said district were pretty much made for non-human beings, something that made a lot of sense when you remembered that this section of the city was the place where demi-human and heteromorph visitors frequented the most.
So after asking for some directions from the locals, Rhemurus found his way to the craft district where he could finally find everything he needed to get for himself.
[At that very moment, on the other side of the new world]
The new world was a planet that had a single supercontinent that composed the vast majority of terrestrial land above sea level, but that didn't mean that all terrestrial land was part of the said continent.
In a similar manner to how the native world of the players, planet Earth, had a geographical region known as Oceania which was mainly composed of nearly countless islands of various sizes and the occasional large landmass, the new world likewise has scattered pockets of land in the middle of their single world ocean which faces the opposite side of the planet where the supercontinent is in.
Said part of the new world was still disconnected from the supercontinent, but that wasn't because neither side of the world was advanced enough to make ships capable of sailing long voyages nor because they lacked the navigational technology to do so. Rather, the civilization of the islands continent was actively trying to hide from the larger supercontinent by using both supernatural and magical barriers that always misdirected any visitors from the outside, regardless if said visitors were flying through the air, sailing with a water vessel, or swimming below the currents.
So good this civilization was at hiding, that almost no soul in the supercontinent even imagined that such a place existed, let alone be aware of it.
Not even the ephemeral rulers of the supercontinent, the Eight Gods of Conquest, ever learned of the existence of the islands continent, which was a good thing, because the islands continent was the place where those escaping the insatiable bloodlust of the conqueror players fled to 600 years ago.
The previous rulers of the new world obviously did know of the islands continent, using wild magic to enhance their flying speed was quite trivial to the dragon lords of old, which made worldwide travel a relatively easy endeavor, and the islands cultures of back then weren't actively trying to hide. So it came as no surprise that when the second wave of players began their genocide of powerful races, the ones that chose to flee instead of fight decided to fly, swim, and teleport to the islands continent where no player would ever find them.
And the dragons weren't the only ones being culled by the Eight Gods of Conquest, virtually any race that challenged their power was targeted, regardless if said race was part of the draconic empire or not. So among the ones fleeing alongside the dragons who didn't want to fight were individual members of several races, like some phaethons, who were gargantuan-sized beings of primordial fire that buried themselves so deep into the earth that they literally dug themselves through the core and up into the other side of the planet, forming small volcanoes in the wake of their arrival.
Others like the phanes, large-sized chronomancers who had bodies made out of shadows, were also creatures that had power on par with players, so rather than risk their extinction like the idiotic dragon lords who couldn't swallow their pride, they decided to flee into the islands continent with the rest of the competent ones.
Same story with others like hagunemnons, chichimecs, ha-nagas, sirrushes, tayellahs, slaadi, titans, and pretty much any other race that simply committed the unforgivable sin of being powerful enough to threaten max-level players; some decided to fight against the Eight Gods of Conquest, but luckily for their species as a whole, most ran away and hid instead. And while some managed to hide in secluded and isolated places of the supercontinent where no player has ever found them, the majority played it safe and made the trip to the other side of the planet.
During the 600 years that went by, the native societies of the islands continent and the immigrants from the supercontinent managed to find a balance, mostly thanks to the leadership of the one they decided should be their new monarch now that the draconic empire was no more. Because if anything, all that was left were the remnants of said empire who survived the players' onslaught, hence why their civilization was simply known as 'Remains of the Draconic Empire' which was eventually shortened to just 'Remain'.
And the one they chose to be their leader through majority vote was none other than the son of their previous leader, the Platinum Dragon Lord Tsaindorcus=Vaision who still wasn't given the proper title of 'emperor' for there were plenty of individuals who remained loyal to the Dragon Emperor despite his demise and refused to recognize Tsaindorcus as an emperor even if everyone knew he was a capable leader, so a compromise was reached which instead gave Tsaindorcus the title of 'grand prince'.
That's how the Platinum Dragon Lord became the Grand Prince of Remain, the very first nation that was under his control and by far the absolute most powerful one.
With that said, the Remain Principality wasn't the most efficient base of operations that Tsaindorcus had available to him - that honor instead went to the Shaikamin Empire, one of the six great demi-human superpowers in the center of the supercontinent where the platinum dragon was recognized as a true emperor - mainly because of how powerful each individual member of this first nation is, which lead to many of them developing arrogant natures. On top of that, the aforementioned races that could rival players agreed to declare Tsaindorcus as grand prince merely because of convenience, for none of them wanted the thankless burden of ruling over fellow beings of incredible power.
And if that wasn't enough, nobody else in Remain really felt like supporting Tsaindorcus' desire to watch over the world and undermine future waves of players, quite the opposite in fact.
The only scenario where the citizens of the principality would all rally together would be the day when a group of players somehow finds their home and tries to invade them with a bloodlust reminiscent of the alien beings who drove them there in the first place.
- Even if such an impossible event does occur and we manage to unite against the players, nothing guarantees that the feeling of camaraderie would last long enough for future waves. What a waste...
Tsaindorcus was silently lamenting the state of affairs of the principality while brooding on his custom-made throne in the palace of Remain's capital, a city located in the largest landmass of the islands continent.
"Is something the matter, grand prince?"
A nearby servant noticed the melancholic expression of the platinum dragon and asked a question out of genuine concern.
Said servant was a little shorter than a human, though was still medium-sized. Its rounded body was covered with fine scales, giving it the appearance of being pudgy or bloated. The arms and legs were slender, almost willowy, ending in broad hands and distended feet that looked much like flippers. Its fishlike, bullet-shaped head had bulging, silver-back eyes and a wide mouth full of sharp teeth.
The name of the servant's race was kuo-toa, amphibian demi-humans which were the original dominant species of the islands continent and are by far the most populous individuals of the Remain Principality.
"It's nothing. Thank you Balbo, for your concern for me."
After hearing that, the kuo-toa servant, Balbo, made a slightly suspecting expression on its fishy face. That was because Balbo has been a servant of the grand prince virtually all its life, and thus could tell when the platinum dragon was hiding his real sorrow behind reassuring words.
Because that's pretty much the only emotion that Tsaindorcus ever felt when he arrived to these lands, to the remnants of what his father built before he was even born.
If it wasn't because of his strong sense of responsibility - him being painfully aware of the fact that if he doesn't takes matters into his own talons when it comes to looking after so many creatures that are strong enough to defeat players, then nobody will - he would had already forsaken the islands continent a long time ago.
So why was he here today?
For starters, the grand prince must still occasionally present himself to deal with issues of great importance, but the actual reason for arriving today in particular was now asking permission to enter the throne room.
"Grand prince, the one you called for just arrived!" Informed him another kuo-toa servant.
"Let him in."
A few seconds after telling his guest that he could enter the throne room, the ground in the said room began to slightly shake with each passing step of said guest.
The floor wasn't only made with the hardest materials available on the islands, but was also enchanted for extra durability as well. Still, no material in the world would truly be able to fully resist the presence of an elder titan.
"Tsaindorcus, it's been a while."
"Amman, is always an honor."
Standing 75 feet tall - 22.86 meters tall - and weighing 400,000 pounds - roughly 178.5 imperial tons - the elder titan Amman was quite the sight to behold.
Of all the species in the new world that physically resemble humans, the heteromorphic titans are by far the absolute most powerful. The strength disparity between themselves and the true giants is much bigger than the disparity between said giants and common humans, and elder titans are to regular titans what dragon lords are to regular dragons, which meant that Amman was a paragon of the titan race.
"Let me skip the formalities if you don't mind, Tsaindorcus. I knew that you will call me, I was even waiting for this call, in fact."
"It's only natural you would know. After all, your incredible foresight is precisely the reason why I need your help, Amman."
Yet another thing that elder titans shared in common with the dragon lords that predate the arrival of players was the ability to use a unique form of magic that nobody else could use besides the titans themselves.
In fact, pretty much all the races that fled to the islands continent could use extremely rare forms of magic; phaethons had [Pyroclastic Magic], phanes had [Time Step], hagunemnons had [Shapeless Form], chichimecs had [Cracks], ha-nagas had [Psionics], sirrushes had [Green Magic], tayellahs had [Plane Walk], slaadi had [Chaos Magic], and what the titans could use was called [Oracle Sight].
"Of all the times that the hundred-year aftershocks had plagued our world, you only look at me for aid this time. These eyes of mine can't see your reasoning, so can I can ask the grand prince why is that?"
In a similar vein to how the dragon lords' wild magic wasn't omnipotent and had several limits depending on the dragon's own ability, the titans' oracle sight wasn't omniscient and could only reveal so much.
"Not a single wave had brought with it players that could hold their dominion over the supercontinent long enough to last until the next wave. That is, until 100 years ago, with the arrival of those two."
"Mmm...yes. I remember it, the skeletal overlord, the avian sovereign, the impact they left in my eyes still burns as painfully as it did back then."
"And do your eyes burn with new fire these days? I'm sure you can see the image of the lonely newcomer I'm interested in as clearly as if he were standing in front of you."
"Why yes, I do see him..."
Amman's eyes began to flare with whitish flames, a sign that his oracle sight was activating.
"...the stranded little player, believes himself a human, not even he knows what he will do, the individuals that he will stumble upon, he can't even begin to imagine."
He remained silent for a few seconds, seemingly gone in the imagery his magic was granting him.
"Oh, what's this...? Is he really that desperate to...well, there are the consequences. You should have really thought it all the way through, little Rhemurus...who else can you blame besides yourself?"
From an outsider's perspective, it would seem as if Amman was talking with nobody, but the simple truth was that his oracle sight - as the name implies - gave him the ability to see brief flashes of future events that had yet to come, and particularly powerful titans could focus their foresight on specific individuals that could be as far away as the other side of the planet. Amman was simply commenting on what his oracle sight was showing him when he focused his eyes on the newly arrived player called Rhemurus.
"And there is the long-waited meeting, too bad they can't rejoice because of the circumstances..."
Eventually, Amman grew tired and closed his eyes. Oracle sight was an incredibly powerful magic that took a considerable toll on the titans, even someone like Amman had to wait at least a few days before being able to use oracle sight again after focusing on someone who was so far away.
"Now that was quite the incredible string of events. Or, it would be more accurate to say that it will be quite the incredible string of events."
"Can I ask if it will be alright to share what you saw with me?"
"Of course, Tsaindorcus. Anything for an old friend."
The meeting between the dragon lord and the elder titan went on for many hours, with Tsaindorcus learning things both amazing and terrifying, events that will be as hopeful as they will be despairing. With the things he learned from the first and last audience he will have with the elder titan Amman, the Platinum Dragon Lord had both his deepest fears and greatest hopes confirmed at the same time.
In the end, Tsaindorcus ended up wishing that he had never requested such an audience in the first place. He really should've listened to his father back when he told him that the price of knowledge was way too high.
[?-?-?]
The sorcerer emperor Ainz Ooal Gown was currently in a place that wasn't very spacious. Originally, the room he was in served as a place to store tools needed to conduct sewer repairs, so there used to be a pile of pickaxes and other tools in the corner.
Also, there used to be a somewhat dirty piece of cloth facing it - dirty not from stains, but from age - which used to be laid on the ground.
The rest of the furniture that used to be in the said room was likewise quite old and withered, it wasn't suitable for living at all. One could say it used to be a room that lacked any form of entertainment or household items.
However, seeing how this particular room was a place that the emperor began to frequent many times over the decades, he went through the effort of slowly remodeling said room to make it more pleasing to the eye and more comfortable to be in.
The tables and chairs made of rotten wood were replaced by luxurious furniture fitting of a monarch, the cloth on the ground was replaced by exquisite tapestry, and the repair tools were disposed of in favor of more useful household items like a western-style lamp imbued with [Continual Light].
The only things that were part of the room's original décor and were still kept around were a pile of books and scrolls that belonged to the actual owner of said room, for Ainz was just a visitor.
And speaking of the actual owner of that room-
"Hey, Ainzy, you've been stuck in that weird thinking position for several hours now. Why are you so stressed?"
The one who just spoke to the emperor in such a familiar way was the one formerly known as Evileye, the centuries-old vampire Keno Fasris Invern.
She entered the room holding a porcelain mug of tea in her hands, for while it's true that undead don't need to eat nor drink, the ones that have fleshy organs like vampires can still somewhat enjoy flavors - even though they're a bit diluted - when they put food or liquid in their mouths.
After taking a sip of her tea, Keno took a seat in a chair that was right next to the one Ainz was seating in. In front of them, there was a table with a large map laid out on it, a map depicting an aerial view of the new world's supercontinent.
"Does this new player guy really worry you that much? If he's anything like Riku, then I don't think you need to be afraid of him."
"I'm not afraid of him, Keno." Replied Ainz, speaking for the first time since he arrived at this place. "I'm afraid for him. The world that we live in right now is nothing like how it was back when you and your comrades were adventuring together."
"Of course not, you and that bird guy have made our world a place where no Evil Deities can appear, and even if they ever do, you can just send your forces to wipe them out. This, Rhemurus, right? This Rhemurus can enjoy a long idyllic life, unlike poor Riku."
"Mmm, can he?"
Ainz turned his gaze to meet Keno's, indirectly encouraging her to think things a bit more deeply.
"You and I are exceptional beings in comparison to the vast majority of people in this world, Keno, so we can't speak for those who sit at the bottom of the food chain."
"Even so, is there really a need for this Rhemurus to get stronger? From what you've told me, he's currently living in one of the countries that Tsa rules over, so would his life really be in danger all the time?"
Again, Keno was failing to see the bigger picture because most of her existence before becoming as powerful as she is, she had only been living in two completely opposite extremes of peaceful life back when she was weak and in constant danger back when she was becoming stronger with the rest of the heroes.
"Nation-ending monsters aren't the only monsters in this world. But even if you ignore such a thing, the question remains about what could a low-level player even do in this world."
"What do you mean? Surely he could learn a profession, some craft, and make a peaceful living, no?"
"That's quite the optimistic view, Keno, but...no. I'm afraid that's not how we players function."
"Mmm, I never really understood what makes you guys thick. Both you and Riku, talking about 'grinding' and 'leveling', I can barely make heads or tails about all that."
"Heh, I can imagine how hard to grasp our alien concepts are for you native folk. But suffice to say, even if a low-level player does want to learn a craft, in a time of peace where there are no powerful beasts rampaging through the lands, such a thing is literally impossible."
Ainz took the opportunity to tell Keno about how players become more proficient in whatever it is that they decide to focus in. Regardless if a player wants to be a strong combatant or a craftsman that makes food or items, the method of becoming better at it was always the same; players needed to obtain EXP, for without it they would never ever be able to become good at anything, and the only way for a player to obtain EXP was to slay another creature, a mechanic that remained true even for production builds that couldn't use weapons nor spells.
"Back in the world that we came from, Yggdrasil, such a thing wasn't an issue. Those players who had no intention of being good in battle and only wanted to help their guild by making weapons or armor could simply join a party, and the members of the party would help that player grind EXP. Such was the way to become max-level without ever attacking anything even once."
"So...if this Rhemurus wants to become a craftsman, he would need to find himself a party to grind for him?"
"I'm afraid that wouldn't work even if he tried it, for in this world there are no party mechanics of any sort."
He has had 100 years to make all sorts of experiments, so he was more than certain about it, the party system was gone forever.
Keno took another sip of her tea, then after a while of thinking it through she finally reached the conclusion that Ainz immediately realized when he learned of the new player.
"This means...that it doesn't matter what Rhemurus wants to become in this world, whether a warrior or a merchant, he can only become competent in his field by finding other living beings to slay?"
Technically speaking, slaying undead creatures that weren't actually alive would also help a player grind for EXP, but Keno was still on point.
"Now you see why I'm worried for my fellow player, don't you?"
"I guess I do."
It now fully sunk in Keno's mind, for if a low-level player can't grind for EXP, then he will always be doomed to remain as a mediocre individual that can't excel in anything, be it combat or in the production of goods that could be sold for a living.
"The only way Rhemurus would be able to live a long life if he decided to live in peace would be by being sustained by someone else. Be an economic burden that can't do anything, regardless of how hard he tries."
"But, but you're an emperor, Ainzy, you could offer him a specialized job, or something."
"Would he want anything I offer him? Now that I think about it, I never spoke to you about the reputation my guild had back in Yggdrasil."
"Regardless of how things were back in the world you players came from, this world is different. Surely, Rhemurus should understand that his options are much more limited here, and would he reject a helping hand?"
"A helping hand that could very well be a trap...Keno, I know that you went through very difficult times when you and your comrades were confronting the Evil Deities, but you can't imagine how much more dangerous can things get."
Yggdrasil was quite the hyper-competitive environment, all hardcore players eventually developed the type of mindset that was the product of living in a world where almost everyone is your enemy and almost nobody is your ally. Combine that with the fact that Ainz Ooal Gown was one of the most infamous guilds, and the emperor was no longer sure if coming face-to-face with Rhemurus - especially when the latter was in a position of such weakness - would be a good idea.
"So if you don't know if he would even accept aid from you, why are you trying to find him?" Said Keno as she kept drinking her tea.
"At the very least, I would like to know where he is and perhaps keep an eye on him. I believe it would be a shame if he were to perish before his time."
Rhemurus arrived in the new world in the body of a human, a race that eventually withers and dies regardless of how strong they get. If there was any type of help that Ainz believes Rhemurus could appreciate regardless of who was offering said help, would be to increase the chance of dying of age, rather than dying of violence or mishap.
So with no more questions from Keno, Ainz returned his attention to the map he was looking at. He already knew that Rhemurus was in the Argland Council State, but without actually knowing where exactly he was given asylum, there wasn't much he could do besides commanding the arcane satellites to pay extra attention in the lands of the council state and hope that Tsaindorcus - with his proficiency in wild magic - doesn't stumble into them.
He did have a few ideas he wanted to try himself to find where Rhemurus is, but those could wait.
Instead, what he was currently doing was planning ahead, about what to do after he found where Rhemurus was.
- There has to be a sweet spot somewhere in this gigantic continent, a place good enough.
The sweet spot Ainz was looking for was one of the untamed portions of the continent that still weren't under player control.
His long-term plan was to find a way to help Rhemurus level-up, and while he seriously considered for a little while his original idea of sneakily sending undead Rhemurus could destroy against him, he obviously decided against it for such a method would rouse way too much suspicion against the Sorcerer Empire, the superpower that's mostly associated with undead. International relations are already precarious as they are.
Instead, he could use his position as sorcerer emperor to move matters and pull strings behind the scenes.
- You're obviously looking for ways to get stronger, aren't you Rhemurus? No way you would conform to relying on the charity of those around you.
All the plans he was brewing right now were banking on the idea that Rhemurus was actively looking for ways to grind as well, so if everything goes as plan, he should be able to find a place away from civilization that was infested with dangerous monsters, powerful lawless individuals, or anything that Rhemurus could kill and nobody in the new world would miss. Because if there was one thing that all players who arrived in this world had in common was the desire to explore the world and see as much as they could.
- To this day I still wonder, what breathtaking sights would I have found by now had I arrived in this world alone, without Nazarick?
With those thoughts in his heart, Ainz was low-key feeling a bit of envy towards Rhemurus, a player who wasn't bound by any sense of responsibility to a place left behind by beloved guildmates.
"By the way, Ainzy-" His internal monologue was interrupted by Keno. "-have you told the bird guy about Rhemurus?"
"No, I haven't." Immediately answered Ainz. "This player that arrived near my domain, I decided he was my responsibility. I'm sure that the feathery bastard would feel the same were he in my place."
"Mmm, you really hate the bird guy that much, huh?"
Ainz always said 'feathery bastard' with so much poison in his voice.
"Is not like I hate him...he was simply doing what the remnants of his own comrades were encouraging him to do, not that different from myself when I stopped and gave it serious thought."
Even so, regardless if he could understand the actions of the King of Kings, he still couldn't bring himself to overlook what that feathery bastard did, what his servants did to Ainz's own, even if gold could be used to bring them back, there will always be a small grudgeful fire burning inside the emperor.
[Back in Breizen, the human city]
After finishing his daily round throughout the merchant district, one of the lieutenants under marshal Gellius, lieutenant Pavo, was entering the stables of the watch headquarters to leave his ibex mount in its usual place.
Rather than horses or a similar equine animal, the standard mounts of the human city were an ibex variant of the plains environment where the city was built. The council state's humans did know what horses were, but mostly from folk stories and tales from travelers rather than from actually seeing how horses looked like.
Pavo then proceeded to enter the office he shared with the other lieutenants - the one that was right next to the marshal's office - and was greeted by a surprising sight.
Standing in the middle of the room was his fellow lieutenant Lurconarr, arms crossed and a sour expression on his face. Pavo immediately deduced that the reason his comrade was in such a mood was the other individual that was standing right in front of him.
This other individual was a man dressed in plain but still colorful clothes, but the physical features of said man were like nothing Pavo had seen in another human before; sickly pale skin, hair white as snow, his eyes a reddish yellow tint, and unnatural black markings were surrounding said eyes.
"Hey, Pavo-" Said Lurconarr as he noticed his comrade enter the room. "-did the marshal tell you about some refugee guy called Rhemurus?"
It took Pavo a fraction of a second to recall.
"Huh, yes. Earlier today, when he was putting me up to date with the district's movements, he told me that a refugee under that name may approach us one of these days with the intention of joining the watch."
"Mmmm, so this guy was telling the truth." Replied Lurconarr.
"Wait...that ghost-looking person is the refugee?" Stated Pavo while pointing his finger towards Rhemurus.
"I, I'm standing right here, you know."
"Huh...right, sorry. You just have quite a strange appearance."
"I do get that a lot."
After that quick and short exchange of words, the three remained silent for a few seconds before Rhemurus decided to speak up again.
"So, I'm interested in applying for a job in the-"
"Yeah, I heard you the first time." Interrupted the lieutenant.
"Would, would that be possible?"
Instead of giving a straight answer, lieutenant Lurconarr simply placed his hand on his forehead with a frustrated expression on his face.
The refugee, for his part, was showing a confused expression on his own face, so lieutenant Pavo decided to explain what his comrade was not.
"Rhemurus, right? Look, I admire your enthusiasm, but is not that simple. For starters, you're an outsider, we know virtually nothing about you. Even if the chieftain advocates for you, that doesn't change the fact that we can't just give law enforcing authority to a stranger."
"That, does make a lot of sense." The refugee's confused expression was replaced by one of apparent sorrow.
"At the very least, you should allow us to get to know you better. How long have you been staying with us, anyway?"
"Um, I arrived just yesterday, actually."
After hearing that, Lurconarr turned his gaze to meet Pavo's own, as if saying "can you believe this guy" with his eyes. And to that, Pavo had no choice but to agree with his fellow lieutenant.
"I hope you forgive us for not fully trusting you yet, Rhemurus. Don't take it personally, it's simply our job to be suspicious of individuals we don't know."
"Right, of course, you're right. Now that you mention it, I guess I was way too impatient after all..."
"But, don't get discouraged! I bet you're a decent individual, judging by the way Lord Erodel spoke about you to marshal Gellius. It's the rest of the watchmen, and the rest of the citizens themselves, that also need to get to know you."
Hearing those words made the refugee show some flare in his strange eyes, as if hope was returning to him in full force.
"Also, it will boil down if you even are city watch material in the first place."
Lieutenant Lurconarr stepped into the conversation to bring a much-needed reality check.
"What skills do you have, refugee Rhemurus?"
"I'm a druid apprentice, I can cast three 1st-tier spells."
Rhemurus was purposely hiding the fact that he was a multi-class because of something of great interest that he learned the night before, among the talks he had with his fellow inn patrons and the ones who work in that inn, and that was the fact that the only humans in the council state that could use arcane spells were the chieftain, the chieftain's wife, the chieftain's heir, and said heir's fiancee.
It was basically some type of mark of royalty in Breizen, the use of the arcane branch of tier magic. And it wasn't like the royal family was actively gatekeeping the arcane arts, rather, it was simply the fact that arcane magic was very hard to learn for Argland's humans who revel in nature and religion more than in technological progress. Anyone who could break the mold and show promise in what was basically the new world's version of Earth's science was considered fit to rule the human city, hence why the spellcasters outside the chieftain and his family were all druids and clerics.
He didn't want any more unnecessary suspicion thrown his way, so he decided to make sure nobody else in the city learns that this refugee from who knows where can use the same type of magic that Lord Erodel and his relatives could use, so Rhemurus ultimately decided to pretend he was a mono-class druid. However, the reactions he got from the lieutenants immediately afterward made him doubt if it really was such a wise decision.
"What!? Only three 1st-tier spells? That's it?"
"So, you're one of those fighter druids that split his focus between armed combat and magic, hence your limited spellcasting ability?"
"Huh, um, I, no...I have no armed combat ability to speak of."
The cold stares that the lieutenants were giving Rhemurus became even colder, the player could swear that someone cast a freezing spell on his back.
"Look, Rhemurus, we don't want our recruits to risk their lives for no reason. If you have no combat ability or specialized weapon training, at the very least a spellcaster should know 20 or more spells in order to even be considered for enlistment."
- More than 20 spells, that's a bare minimum of 7 levels in a spellcasting class.
"We have these filters for a reason, surely where you come from there are standards for those who want to join any form of armed forces, no?"
"Yes, there were, now that I remember."
"So we all agree, you are far too eager to run to your own death."
Rhemurus couldn't even respond to that, he only allowed a sad smile to show on his face. It appeared there was nothing else to be said, so Rhemurus decided to stop being a bother to the good watchmen.
"Thank you very much, for going through the trouble of snapping me back to the real world. I promise to put in the effort and become more competent so that I won't become a burden to anyone."
He bowed to the lieutenants, since from the time he spent traveling in the districts of Breizen, Rhemurus learned that the humans that live here do bow to show their respect, so this time he could bow without fear of miscommunication.
Then he turned around and left the city watch headquarters, his destination now was the district that stood right at the opposite end of the merchant one, in the southwest section of Breizen known as the combat district.
It was still noon, around lunchtime, so Rhemurus was certain that he had time before the day ended, but because he didn't know exactly how far away the combat district actually was, he began to walk as fast as he could without jogging.
A normal person may have been thinking what was the hurry, Rhemurus' actions seemed borderline desperate to somehow find a way to get stronger as fast as possible, but that was the sad truth about post-traumatic stress disorder from a near-death experience combined with a feeling of alienation and solitude born from the fact that you don't belong in the place you are currently at, Tanaka's mind was in quite the dark place as of that moment.
He, obviously, did recognize the fact that his mind was in chaotic shambles, and it wasn't like he didn't care, it was simply the fact that back on Earth, Tanaka - and basically everyone else, to be honest - was conditioned pretty much since birth to actively ignore his mental health and never burden others with emotional baggage.
- The sooner I get stronger, the sooner my mind will be at ease. Is what he kept saying to himself, and while he wasn't technically wrong, that didn't change the fact that getting stronger wouldn't actually solve all his problems, just one of them.
But in any case, Rhemurus walked through the merchant district, past the central district where he caught a glimpse of the chieftain but didn't want to waste any time talking to him, and finally reached the combat district, a place in the city of Breizen so unstable that it was the only district where there were two city watch headquarters instead of just one.
He chose this specific district because last night, among the gossip of the inn's supper time, he heard whispers about some gang that was apparently increasing its dominance and was even giving the city watch a hard time keeping order. Said gang was apparently centralized somewhere in the combat district, and where there's trouble, there's violence, and where there's violence, there were high chances of some or several individuals tragically perishing from gang violence.
- Nobody would bat an eye if a thug or two dies, right? I can't let this opportunity pass by.
So unhealthily obsessed Tanaka was with finding a way to level-up, that his mind wasn't even processing the fact that he was actively and purposely trying to find someone he could murder and get away with it.