A Vulpine Spanner in the Works
Chapter 13: …and the Sudden Bang!
"Fox13itch?" The large, armored figure asked with shock. My heart thumped in my chest like a hammer as I quickly jogged over to him. Each step I took filled with me with greater joy as I had finally met someone who I could truly relate to, I had finally found another person from my world! While I was jogging over to the large man, I tried to recall if I'd ever encountered someone of his description before.
Unfortunately, nothing came to mind as his armor didn't spark any form of recognition for me, and I'm certain that I'd remember hearing a baritone voice like his before in YGGDRASIL. Looking to his partner, I couldn't recall ever meeting a player like her before, and I was fairly good at recognizing faces. Either way, it didn't take long for me to arrive before the pair.
With a wide grin, I broke the silence between us, "You don't know how glad I am to finally find someone else from YGGDRASIL." The armored figure nodded in agreement.
"The feeling is quite mutual, Fox13itch." Hearing this guy say my YGGDRASIL name made me feel a bit embarrassed. It was one thing for such a name to be used in just a videogame where there weren't supposed to be any consequences that'd transfer to real life, but in a sense, this new world was my real life.
"By the way, I actually go by the name of Kashia Blanc since I've arrived here. But, since we're trading names, mind telling me who you are? You and your companion don't appear recognizable to me." From the corner of my eye, I noticed how the purple-haired woman was about to interject until the armored man held his hand in front of her.
"Excuse my manners…Kashia. I'm just surprised that I finally encountered another player since arriving here, much less you in particular. My name is Momonga, though I'm going by Momon while wearing this armor." As soon as Momonga said this, I was drawn back to what I knew about the guy.
He is, or rather was, a guild leader of Ainz Ooal Gown; the guild most known for being one of the strongest guilds in the game, having the most World Items out of any other guild, and only allowing members into their guild that were a heteromorphic race. In addition, Momonga was an undead lich who used utility spells. If I had to guess, he was currently using the spell [Perfect Warrior] to wear and equip that armor and pair of swords.
While the pair of us had never engaged in face to face PvP, I had certainly done some PKing of his guildmates due to some of the jobs that I undertook. At the very least, he didn't appear to hold a grudge. A lot of emphasis had to be put on appear. Though, it wasn't like I could tell what he was thinking with that helmet on his head. Or without it considering that his race was just a skeleton.
Now that I think about it, I'm certainly glad that I chose a body which could touch, taste, and experience life, even if that wasn't my original plan when making my character. Momonga must be having one hell of a time adjusting, considering that he couldn't eat, drink, or rest anymore. Poor bastard.
Following Momonga's introduction, his partner finally spoke. "My name is Narberal Gamma, one of the members of the Pleiades and servant to Nazarick. Though, while in this disguise with my Lord, I am known as Nabe." As Narberal said this, I quickly put the pieces together on who she was.
"Narberal isn't a Player, is she?" I asked since the way she spoke and acted, it was very similar to how Meepo acted around me.
"No. She's one of the NPCs of my guild that came with me when I arrived in this world." That answer made me a bit wary. From the way he said it, she wasn't the only thing that came with him from YGGDRASIL.
"What about the other NPCs?" I asked, careful to make my question innocent enough.
"The others are currently collecting intel on this new world and adjusting Nazarick to our new location." Oh, shit. While I was happy, and quite jealous, that Momonga didn't arrive alone in this world like I did, there were certain issues that I couldn't exactly overlook due to what I've seen from the mental changes within myself, and the way that Meepo followed his backstory to the letter.
What I know for a fact is that Ainz Ooal Gown was a guild in YGGDRASIL that was heavy into the roleplay side of things. They only allowed heteromorph races and acted as stereotypical villains from every fantasy setting.
Putting things into perspective, I had Meepo Breepo designed as a helpful being who was devoted to me for his background. What would happen if a bunch of NPCs with villainous or monstrous backgrounds were set loose upon this world? Adding to the issue is that the people of this world were absurdly weak in comparison to just my NPC Meepo who was built more for utility than combat.
Having an unknown amount of morally ambiguous NPCs at best, complete monsters at worst, running loose around the world would spell the likely deaths of a lot of innocent people.
"Momonga, when you said that your NPCs were gathering intel, how many were sent out by themselves to explore the world? Additionally, how many of them have backstories that make them evil or have murderous tendencies?"
"Why are you so curious about that?" Momonga asked with a neutral tone.
"Because you may have just sent a bunch of monsters out into the world without any supervision. For instance; Narbarel?" I turned my attention to the attentive woman next to Momonga what grew slightly surprised at my attention before answering.
"Yes, Lady Fox13- I mean, Lady Kashia? Narberal replied.
"If you had to choose between killing a person to quickly accomplish a task Momonga gave you or letting them live but having to extend the completion of this task by a few hours, what would be your first choice?"
I was not at all shocked by how quickly Narberal answered, "I would kill this person immediately if it meant that Lord Momonga's wishes were granted as quickly as possible."
I gave the armored Player a knowing look at my point being proven. "Do you get what I'm trying to show you? Innocent people might have just been put in danger and their deaths or maiming could attract the wrong sort of attention." I gave him both an appeal to doing what was morally right and a rational issue that could occur. In addition, while I kept a calm appearance, I was internally freaking out about the havoc that could occur.
"I see. I'll inform my subordinates to harming the inhabitants of this world unless they have no other choice. Hopefully this will allay your worries?" I nodded in relief at the offer. Potentially, I just saved a few people from getting killed by hungry monsters.
"Thanks for that; crisis averted." I said with appreciation, "NPCs aside, have you noticed anything strange about your body? Thoughts or feelings that weren't there before?" Momonga was silent for a moment as he processed my question, then he answered.
"I can't feel emotion. Whenever I'm on the cusp of something like fear, happiness or anything else my body completely suppresses it. I guess the reason is due to being an undead lich of the highest level, though I have noticed that certain types of undead NPCs seem to experience emotion. Then again, that may just be them acting it out rather than truly feeling." That's gotta be tough to deal with, knowing that you should, and previously had been able to, experience emotions, yet aren't. It must be maddening. "What about you?"
"There have been a few tendencies and urges that I've felt. One of them is the urge to pull pranks. In addition, my views on people and topics have shifted some, not enough to hinder but it is noticeable." As I said this, the sun's rays began hitting my eyes as the sun rose more. This made me conscious about the fact that I had a mission which needed to be completed. "While it is a great pleasure to meet the pair of you, I have a job that I need to get to."
"I see. If you don't mind me asking, your job wouldn't have to involve the Adventurer's Guild by chance?"
"It does. How do you know about the Adventurer's Guild?"
"Before coming to this city, I had reconnaissance performed to prepare for the journey. Narberal and I plan to sign up as Adventurers to build a reputation and potentially use it to find other players." Momonga responded.
I nodded in agreement with his answer, "Good plan. I should give you some warning, they have a test to see if you're literate or not. Unless you can read the language in this world, I'd recommend for you to have a spell or item that can translate. In addition, if you plan on shacking up in town for your cover, try the Hero's Respite. Prices are manageable, and I'm also rooming there."
"Thanks for the assistance. Would you be willing to meet sometime later to discuss our situation more and trade information?" The tall figure asked with interest.
"It'll have to be much later since my job will be taking me out of the city for a few days to finish. I can probably sneak away later after midnight tonight when the rest of my traveling companions are asleep and meet you at the Hero's Respite." I answered with a smile.
"That works. In addition to discussing what we've discovered about this new world, we could try working together in planning our next steps." I held my hand out and watched as Momonga shook it with his gauntleted hand. "I'll look forward to working with you. See you later tonight, Kashia."
"Same." I said with a nod, "Nice to see you again, Momonga. And it was a pleasure to meet you, Narberal." Said woman looked at me with surprise when I included her.
"Oh…thank you, Lady Fox13- I mean, Lady Kashia. It was an experience to meet you." With a nod and a smirk, I broke my handshake with Momonga and began walking away. This was an unexpected turn of events, but it wasn't unwanted. I might need to change some of my plans to accommodate for Momonga, but that should not be that much of a hindrance. In fact, Momonga could potentially help me with a few ideas that I couldn't accomplish by myself without a lot of work.
Yet, as I was leaving the pair to their own devices, my ears picked up Narberal's whispering to Momonga. "Are you certain that it is a good idea to trust Fox13itch? She is a known wild card and has hindered other Supreme Beings in the past."
"That was certainly true in YGGDRASIL, but things are different now, especially because our goals align with one another's this time. We are all stuck in this new world together, previous grudges need to be forgotten as continued fighting will get us nothing but wasted time and resources. We need allies in this world and Kashia is one of the only people here that is in the same situation as us." I was happy to hear that Momonga was taking this entire situation sensibly.
Putting aside my thoughts about this surprise encounter with another Player from YGGDRASIL, I hurried my pace to make up for lost time to the Magician's Guild. Tonight, would certainly be an interesting one to say the least. Quickly casting [Message] I gave my copy a quick rundown of what had just transpired.
"So, what are you planning to do about this? And I'm not talking about getting away from the Magician's Guild's group since you'll probably have me take your place during the night in order to cover for you. I'm talking about this Player, Momonga." My copy asked in a serious tone.
"As it is, we're both in the same situation. Both of us were humans transported to this world as our characters. We both came from the same shithole that we left. Even if Momonga won't admit it, we're the only ones in this world who could fully relate to one another. It's in the best interests for both of us if we were to ally with one another."
"Have you at least considered a backup plan in case everything goes to hell? From all that he's admitted, Momonga has multiple NPCs of probably significant power at his beck and call. What happens if he were to turn on you? Just because the two of you are allies at the moment due to your shared experiences doesn't mean that he won't turn on you later down the line if you were to go against his ideas."
I momentarily scowled at how correct my copy was. I'd like to believe that Momonga and I could remain permanent allies, but I'd seen enough allies turn on each other, both on Earth and in YGGDRASIL, if the benefits to doing so were good enough. In addition, Momonga told me that his ability to feel emotions was suppressed. I don't know how deeply that suppression went, but it could be enough to affect his ability to empathize with others.
While I doubted that he'd go off the deep end like a typical fantasy lich by sucking out the souls of the living to empower himself, there could be a gradual change over time. Perhaps by killing a defenseless enemy since it would be easier to deal with than keeping them a prisoner. Maybe the next time, he'd decide to experiment on the next enemy since he already planned on killing them, it's just that he'd get something from them this time.
It just took a simple choice to jump onto an extremely slippery path since a person could always reason to themselves that, 'I just did a little bad thing last time, what I'm doing now isn't as worse.' If I was going to ally with Momonga, I think the largest priority is to monitor his mental health and, if needed, act as a moral compass for the lich.
"You're right." I admitted.
"Of course, I am. I'm you, after all." She boasted, "What should we do in preparation?"
"Set up a few [Anit-Information Magic Walls] at important key locations in Haven-Lake. Following this, set up multiple detection spells around the village to see who is coming and going in case we start getting spies. Do the same at the my room at the inn and add in any subtle protections to it if at all possible." I answered quickly as more plans began to formulate in my mind.
"And if we catch any spies?"
"Capture and interrogate. If Momonga were to complain that we captured one of his spies, we'll deny that we knew it was his spy. If we are required to release any spies, wipe their memories and send them on their way." I replied before adding, "While not needed immediately, I'd like to create a hidden fallout bunker that could fit the town's population. Tell no one else about this."
"I'll scout out locations for it later. Anything else that you'd like added?"
"Nothing else at the moment. I'll contact you later for the switch, so try and avoid having any important events needing our direct attention scheduled around midnight."
"Got it. See you later, boss." With that, the [Message] was ended and I quickly changed my train of thought over to the mission today. Looking ahead, I spotted a flight of stairs that went up to a large, gothic building made of white stone. Multiple decorative domes with spike pointing to the sky dotted the top of the building while four square pillars surrounded the door.
Yesterday, I remembered asking Ninya what she knew about the place, and she wasn't kidding when she mentioned how it looked more like a noble's manor than it did a guild. Either they were using a lot of guild funding to create buildings like this or they had mages create the buildings through pure magic.
I was more convinced of the latter theory due to how I couldn't spot any seams in the stone that made up the walls. It just looked like a whole mountain of stone had been carved into walls and windows. It was certainly an elegantly designed building.
When I finally arrived at the front door, I was pleasantly surprised to find it opening by itself and letting me walk inside the well-lit entrance hall which was covered in red carpeting. These mages certainly invested a lot into home décor. To my left was an alcove with a desk that a pale boy sat behind. He seemed to be furiously writing in a book, so I walked past him and focused on the gathering further in the hall.
While it might have seemed like an ordinary gathering of mages, what stood out were the multiple people among them that were dressed in clothing more fit for warriors. My eyes also landed on Cassius among that group, and he gave me a nod to acknowledge my presence. It was after his action that more of the group noticed my approach.
One of them, a thin, pale man approached me with an even smile and eyes that scanned my body, not with any form of lust, but as if looking for something in particular. "Good morning, Miss Blanc. My name is Theo Rakheshir, and I would like to say that it is a great pleasure to meet you." He pleasantly greeted while holding out his hand to me.
I shook it in turn and noticed the well-hidden shiver that came from his body at my touch before replying, "Same could be said about you, after all, you're the guild master of the Magician's Guild. In comparison, I only just arrived in this city over a week ago which makes me greatly curious about your interest in me, enough so that you'd personally request me for this job." I said the rest of this in a more hushed tone for any potential listeners.
"It's true that you've only recently arrived to E-Rantel, but you've been making a bit of a name for yourself since then. Especially from the tales I hear of your prowess in magic. Any guild master of a Magician's Guild worth their salt would be interested in one that can cast 3rd Tier spells." After saying this in an equally hushed tone, he ended the handshake and met my eyes with barely contained excitement.
"I'd be highly interested in further private discussion later on the road. It seems that I need to brief everyone on the details of our mission now that you've finally arrived." I gave Theo an understanding nod and joined the rest of the team while Theo led us all out of the open lobby and into a single room. He then turned to the gathered group and spoke.
"Good morning, everyone. Since we finally have our group assembled, I believe it is time for me to explain why you've all been brought here. As some of you might have guessed, this is not a normal trek into the Great Forest of Tob. It has recently come to the Magician's Guild's attention that a massive tower-like structure has been magically conjured on the lake. Our goal is to travel to this structure and uncover its origins or bring anything back that might be useful to the guild." Theo gestured to a nearby mage who set six small pouches onto the table which jingled with coins.
Well, fuck… I may be in a bit of trouble. They will likely encounter the Green Claw tribe at the lake and since all of them know what I look like, that is going to cause a clusterfuck. I can't just suddenly change my appearance or cancel the quest because that would seem suspicious and hurt my reputation. Though, that doesn't mean that I can't convince the tribe to either stay away from the tree for a day or to remain quiet about my identity.
I'll have to try and meet with Shasuryu soon to arrange something.
"Be aware, once you accept these coins, you're bound to this task. If any of you were to try and cheat our guild, then you'll be disbarred from the Adventurer's Guild and declared an enemy of the kingdom." Theo stated darkly. This warning didn't deter the six of us as we each picked up a sack and pocketed them away.
"Fun warning." A man with long, dark, unkempt hair spoke up. He wore a simple green robe that was strategically cut to allow for a full amount of movement. The only possessions that this man seemed to own was a necklace of large wooden beads, a gourd that reeked of strong alcohol, and a small sack on his hip that smelled of dried meats. This was probably the drunken monk that Cassius had told me of earlier. "Doubt that any adventurer here would be that foolish to piss off a guild for a few coins."
"While your observation is noted, Mr. Carnan, I still find it prudent to warn all of you beforehand." Theo answered with a wry smile. Carnan nodded before removing the gourd from his hip and taking a swig from it.
This was when a rough female voice came from a blonde woman that was completely covered in chainmail with a rapier at her side, "If we were to find anything of value at this tower, are we allowed to keep it?"
"Yes, Miss Andra. If you were to find anything valuable, you would be allowed to keep it. But be aware that we of the Magician's Guild would pay quite handsomely for any object of magical interest." The woman named Andra seemed quite pleased with the answer before silently communication with the blond man next to her dressed in the same fashion as her, except that he wielded a broadsword.
Those were probably the twins.
"If there are no other questions, then we should get moving. We've much ground to cover and I'd like for us to utilize these daylight hours effectively." Theo said with an oddly chipper tone that seemed jarring to the seriousness of the guild master's previous words. Then again, considering that most mages in this world need to go through years of studying and training in order to cast spells, it would be a bit appropriate to assume that many mages are a bit underdeveloped in social skills.
Though, I definitely wouldn't qualify myself with that group considering all the people that I've swayed to my side of thinking due to my sheer force of personality. Ninya though, I might need to work on coaxing her out of some of her timidness.
Either way, that was a task for another day. Right now, it was time to go on this quest and hopefully not have my powerful, non-human identity outed to the guilds.
Riding in a horse-drawn wagon was certainly an experience. It was bumpy, the horse stank, and there were quite a few people sitting with me on the wagon. Sitting opposite of me was Theo while two of his mages sat further down from us. Following those two were multiple crates of supplies. That was just one wagon as three more trailed behind us while a mage dressed in animal furs lead the way.
Honestly, being a magic user with a proclivity to wear animal furs should have you labeled as a druid. I've played more than enough RPGs to have seen that trope played out. I think this mage was just in denial about being a druid, but I kept these thoughts to myself. It's best to not upset the guide through the forest, even if I had personally made the forest a safer place a few days ago.
"Now that we have a moment alone together, I was interested in learning a bit more about you." Theo spoke up, grabbing my attention.
"Oh, and what exactly would you like to learn?" I asked with amusement.
"I know that you're able to perform 3rd Tier spells, but how many spells do you know? How long did it take for you to learn such spells? More importantly, where did you learn these spells?" Theo asked with great interest.
"Starting with your first question; I know enough. As for learning these spells; I would say within a few weeks to learn multiple spells." The way that Theo's eyes were popping open made me giggle before I decided to answer the final question.
"As for where I learned these spells… The land and kingdom I come from is ruled by my mother, Inari. She's one of, if not the, strongest sorceresses in the land and she acted as a teacher for me. If you were going to ask how she taught me, well… I would certainly admit to it being brutal." And considering all the bullshit I had to go through to level up my racial classes in YGGDRASIL, brutal would be a massive understatement.
Theo seemed to retreat into deep thought where I heard him mutter under his breath, "Inari? I'll need to research this person later…" I smirked to myself and leaned back into my seat on the wagon.
"With your inherent magical power and talent, and pedigree of nobility, why would you lower yourself to the level of a common adventurer?" Theo asked with some disbelief.
"I don't consider this to be lowering myself. In fact, I consider my current career to be both enlightening and honorable." At Theo's confused stare, I decided to continue, "Would you be able to count on one hand the amount of nobles in this entire kingdom that have ever willingly spent long periods of time among the commoners without any ulterior motives?"
"Unfortunately, the only noble that would immediately come to mind is Princess Renner." Theo answered.
"And has Princess Renner ever performed a hard-day's labor or did she have someone else to do it for her?
"A few times, she actually has. But most of the time it's her servants that will perform manual labor." I couldn't help but smirk at the answer. At least one noble could get off of their high horse.
"But after these days of hard work, the Princess gets to go home to a warm bed with a belly full of food and drink, and is protected from any threats to her life. She could never truly know or possibly understand what it's like to survive a winter without shelter, the gnawing hunger and desperation that comes from not eating for days, the paranoia that someone might try to rob or rape her because she doesn't have someone or something with which to protect herself."
"Yet I still can't understand why you wouldn't just aid the people while also ruling them? It wouldn't require having to do all of this dangerous work." Theo asked while curiously watching for what I'd say next.
"There's a famous saying from my home,'to understand someone, you must walk a mile in their shoes'. If I were to tell you all of the effects that would occur if you didn't eat for a week, would you be able to truly understand the desperation of a beggar asking you for food? Now, what if you had been forcibly starved for a week, what do you think might change?"
"Quite a bit."
"Then apply that same mental exercise to my current occupation. Adventurers both receive and see many of the problems plaguing the world. From seeing these problems with my own eyes, I've gained a large amount of insight into the issues plaguing this kingdom and it's people. For instance, the farmers are having issues harvesting crops because most of their help is being conscripted for war. While that might not seem like much, less farmers farming means less food is being produced. Less food can cause the price of available food to skyrocket, increasing growth of crime, leading to more destabilization that can compound on itself until the system breaks or something is done to fix the issue." I summarized while crossing my arms and thinking about the problem itself.
Since this world's society seemed to be based around the medieval ages, it would go without saying that farmers here probably haven't figured out modern agricultural methods that aided in more consistent crop production. Perhaps I should go ask a farmer or two when I get back to E-Rantel on their farming method.
"And you've come to that full conclusion with just meeting a farmer?" Theo asked a little unconvinced. I would guess that investing so much time in studying only magic would make him less knowledgable on basic economics.
"Yes. I've quite a bit of experience in seeing similar events play out many times. And the funny thing about history is that it likes to repeat itself." As I said this, I could help but recall the food crisis that happened in just my city a few years ago. The Corps had felt that population in the city was getting too large to sustain. Rather than just line up a bunch of poor and homeless citizens and put a bullet into their heads, causing complete anarchy to break out, they decided to go subtle. Fucking genius, really.
Raise the price of food and water by a high enough amount to create an artificial scarcity. Then, watch as poorer citizens either starve or kill each other for basic necessities of survival. This, in turn, freed up housing space that could immediately be rented for a higher price, massively increased profits for the Corps from selling food at a marked-up price, and got rid of a lot of undesirables.
I was lucky to get through that without that many issues. Some friends of mine weren't.
"I'll have to think on what you've told me. While there are possible methods to mitigate these issues that you're predicting, there are multiple potential hiccups that would prevent, say, the Magician's Guild from trying to enact such solutions." Theo said with an analytical gleam in his eyes.
"And what would these potential hiccups be?" I asked with interest.
"For many years, making meaningful change in this kingdom has been extremely difficult. Many nobles become upset if positive changes might make them appear incompetent as rulers or could cut in on their bottom line. Those few people that try to make said changes end up disappearing if they aren't powerful enough." Theo stated with a far-off look.
"It seems that the more I hear about this kingdom's nobility, the greater their feats of incompetence manage to grow." I stated with annoyance.
"Welcome to the wonderful world of politics. Unless you have a position of power then you're relegated to watching the kingdom burn from afar." Theo mocked with a tired grin. "That doesn't mean that change is impossible. If one were to have a high enough rank within the Magician's Guild, you'd have close interactions with Re-Estize's nobility."
And there's the baited offer that I had been waiting for. "Wouldn't the same be said about attaining a high enough rank in the Adventurer's Guild?"
"In some ways; yes. But that only occurs when an adventurer has attained a rank above platinum, and even then, said meetings are quite rare and typically initiated by the nobles instead of the adventurers. In comparison, since the Magician's Guild is a part of the Re-Estize, it gives high-ranking members the ability to easily initiate contact with nobility as we are considered a governmental body."
"But from the sounds of it, I'd also be considered a military asset if I was part of the guild." I summarize, much to the surprise and acknowledgement of Theo.
"You are correct that the Magician's Guild falls under a military classification. The only offset that I can give is that we are rarely, if ever, used within that capacity." I gave Theo an appreciative smile at the honesty.
Crossing my leg and sitting up straight to give myself a regal bearing, I said, "Unfortunately, I cannot willingly tie myself down to such an offer. I'm not willing to become a weapon of mass destruction for the many corrupt rulers of this country. That said, while I won't join you, that doesn't mean that I can't work with you as an allied entity."
Theo gave off a relieved sigh before smiling, "To be quite honest, Kashia, I doubted that I'd be able to recruit you to my guild. From what I've learned about you, you're both extremely powerful and quite independent. I'd consider it a miracle if you joined my guild, but I consider it a victory that you'd be willing to collaborate with my guild for potential future endeavors."
It appears that Theo's well informed. It made me wonder if he had or was going to have a few of his people keeping tabs on me. Probably very likely…
"Then I'm happy to have formed this alliance with you, Theo." I stated with a large grin.
The Copy
After the Boss had informed me of the situation through [Message], I decided to start keeping an eye on what was going on by utilizing a scrying spell. This would let me act preemptively without needing the Boss to fill me in on the details.
It was also the reason that I was currently walking through the village of the Green Claw tribe. After hearing about how the Magician's guild was coming to the stone tree that had been made a few days prior, and that they'd be investigating around the area, I wanted to let the tribe know and also prep them so that they wouldn't end up blowing the Boss' cover.
Aside from that, I needed to create some contingencies considering that Momonga and an unknown number of villains NPCs had been brought to this world. That was a massive clusterfuck just waiting to happen all things considered.
First step was to follow the Boss' orders and some extra defenses on the village and her room at the inn. Following that, I needed to learn where it was that Momonga's guild landed in the New World. While I suspect that it's in the same country as where the Boss landed, it could turn out that they instead landed in another country and are just scouting the surrounding areas.
Either way, I couldn't take any chances, even if Momonga was from the Boss' original home. There were too many unknown variables with the guy, especially since, for all she knew about the guy, he could just be a completely power-hungry asshole who was only acting nice until he could betray the Boss at the most opportune moment.
But one of my immediate concerns was how to deal with the Great Lake situation. I did have an idea on that, I only hoped that the Boss wouldn't be too upset about it. Eh, who am I kidding, she'd be both pissed and laughing.
And all of this had led to where I was now, sitting in the hut of Shasuryu.
"While it is nice to see you once again, Kashia, I didn't expect you to arrive at my village for another few days. Is there any reason for this?" Shasuryu asked.
"As a matter of fact, there is. I just discovered that your territory might be getting some unexpected visitors within the coming days." The moment I said this, the lizardman's body became tense.
"What kind of visitors do you speak of?" He asked with a calm tone, even if his body said that he was anything but.
"It seems that my parlor trick with the stone tree did not go unnoticed, and some mages from the Magician's Guild of the Re-Estize kingdom have taken interest in it. Interest enough to send an expedition to see it." I said calmly.
"The problem with humans and their interests is that they tend to get rid of anything in the way of their interests. What exactly does that mean for my village?" Some might call Shasuryu a pessimist with this kind of attitude, but in a world like this, that was realism speaking. Back in the Boss' world, her own home country's birth was founded on those with interests in the land pushing out those who already lived there.
Now, what would a mage group devoted to studying, acquiring, and weaponizing everything magic do with a local populace that they deemed to be interfering with their work? Especially a local populace that said mage group would view more as savages than as a civilized society?
"What it means, Shasuryu, is that they will not step one foot into this village. Before the end of the day, if it's agreeable with you, I'll have put up some protective wards all around your village. Additionally, I'll have a few friends that will keep watch over the surroundings just in case. There's only one thing that I'll need from you to make sure that everything goes smoothly."
"What might that be?" Shasuryu asked with interest.
"I'll need you to keep your people within the village when these people arrive. My reasoning for this is twofold. One, it'll make conflict between your people and them less likely, and the other is that I'm currently traveling with this expedition under a human guise. They don't suspect that I'm anything other than human, but having your people recognize me, even if unknowingly, could throw my whole plan in jeopardy."
"Wait, you're traveling with them?!" Shasuryu asked in shock, "How did that even happen and how are you speaking with me when they'd likely notice your disappearance?"
"To answer your questions; I've been disguised as a human for the past couple of days in an effort to establish myself and learn more about the area. Due to this, I may have possibly gone overboard as an adventurer and revealed a bit too much of my power. Because of that, the Magician's Guild requested me for the job of escorting them to the tree. And finally, the reason I can speak to you now is due to using a magical duplicate to do so. Currently, the real Kashia is still traveling with the mages while I'm here with you."
The lizardman chief closed his eyes and rubbed his brow before sighing. "Does everything about you always have to be either headache-inducing or world shattering, Kashia?" He slowly opened his eyes and met my gaze, "I can keep my people within the village and away from the tree for a couple of days. But we will need things like food and supplies in return for this since our hunters and gatherers will be stuck here."
"That's easy enough and quite agreeable, Shasuryu. Leave everything to me and it'll be like nothing is happening…"
Standing in the forest outside of the village, I decided that it was time to perform an experiment for the Boss since we hadn't tried a mook-maker spell before. Certainly, [Replicant] created a being with intelligence and independence, but that could be waived off due to me being a copy of her, while [Loki's Call] had proven that the Boss would be summoning the actual gods that it described. But how would a regular NPCs summoned by the Boss' only mook-maker spell act?
Well, I guess it was time to find out.
From the memories I shared of the Boss' prior experience in YGGDRASIL, she had gotten the spell [Kitsune Servants] as a reward for reaching level 30 as a kitsune. The concept behind it being that the user could summon kitsune fox allies that were two tails or more under the summoner. While the spell seemed powerful on paper since there wasn't a limit to the amount of fox allies one could summon along with these allies having high-leveled kitsune abilities based off your level, that was it.
They cost a lot of mana once you hit past a two-tailed ally, a time limit of 20 minutes, and a skillset that the dog-shit AI would utilize terribly which would get the summon killed. It was a noob trap that the Boss only kept around since it was free bodies that one could summon to take the hit of spells or abilities that couldn't be stopped unless they hit a body, and their mana cost was much cheaper that casting [Replicant].
Right now though, I had a feeling that this spell would have a bit of a different effect in this New World with the way that similar spells and skills had performed, my fabulous self being one such example.
Holding out my hand, I cast [Kitsune Servants] and watch a golden runic circle of magic appear on the ground before me as a silver fox with two tails pulled itself from the circle and gave itself a shake as it stood to reach my hips before looking at me.
"I answer to the summons of the Nine-Tailed Princess, Daughter to the Divine Go- wait, you aren't the Princess. You're just a copy! Seriously? I was hoping to be the first of Lady Inari's retinue to greet her progeny, and instead, I get summoned by the equivalent of a secretary…" The silver fox said with intense disappointment while holding its snout with its paw.
I did my best to contain myself at hearing myself be referred to as a secretary. "Well, that was certainly a bit rude of you to say that, wouldn't you agree?" I said with my arms crossed.
The silver fox took a breath before slicking its ears back with a paw and looking at me, "Okay, okay, I'm good." The fox said in reassurance, though I wasn't sure if it was to me or itself, "Sorry about the attitude. I just wasn't expecting this and got disappointed. My name is Ken, Grand Attendant of her Lady Inari."
"Grand Attendant? Any explanation on that?" I asked.
"As her Lady's Grand Attendant, I ensure that Lady Inari is informed of current events, give announcements of her Lady's decisions, and instruct the royal family in the duties of their station." Ken answered which caused me to raise an eyebrow.
"So, to summarize, you are basically Inari's secretary." The moment I said this, Ken's whiskers began to twitch while his eyelids glared at me.
"If you were to put it in that way, I suppose so." Ken closed his eyes and took another breath before opening them and looking at me, "Now, would you be so kind as to inform me of why I was summoned, and not by the Princess herself?"
"To summarize, O'Great Secretary; Kashia is currently disguised as a human and traveling in the company of mages who was to investigate the giant stone tree she conjured a few days ago," I said while pointing to said tree behind me.
"At the same time, the lizard village over there knows of her true nature and I need them to stay there so as to not blow Kashia's cover. So, we've made a deal where I protect and feed them for the next few days in exchange for them staying within their village. That brings me to you, along with the question of how long you are able to stay within this realm?" I finished summarizing.
Ken nodded his head in understanding before answering, "As long as the Princess Kashia requires our aid, we will remain in this realm until asked otherwise." I smirked at this as I held out my hand to do some more summoning.
"Then let's get cracking."
[Kashia]
It was nightfall when we stopped at the edge of the Great Forest of Tob. From the chattering I was hearing from both the adventurers and mages, they were quite worried about encountering any one of the Three Monsters of the forest. While it was said that they could be bargained with for safe passage, they were equally as likely to just kill you for the hell of it.
At least, two of them might be. I had already killed Guu a few days prior with ease, and the route we were traveling was through the territory of said former Monster, which really meant that it was going through my territory.
Wonder how much the people here would panic if they ever learned that little fact?
Still, all of this led to why I was currently patrolling the edge of the camp to the forest. While my patrolling may have been under the orders of Theo, it also gave me the chance to get a layout of the defenses of the camp. This would be especially useful when trying to slip away and trade places with my copy.
Currently, I was able to witness as the mages cast 1st Tier proximity wards that any decent mage or anti-mage character could get past. If one could cast any type of weak [Blink] spell then they could easily get around the ward, and any caster could pick up a [Blink] spell the moment they could cast 2nd Tier spells.
It was for that reason that a player would typically have more than one type of [Ward] spell that could cover other avenues of access. And yet, all these mages using the exact same type of basic ward told me that they either only were trained to know that single ward or their knowledge of wards was quite limited.
It could be that any greater wards the Magician's Guild knew were too difficult for their weaker members to learn.
Either way, it just meant that I had less work to do when performing the switch.
And, judging from what I could guess on the time based on the position of the moon in the sky, it was getting real close to midnight. Giving a glance around the area along with a sniff of the air, I didn't notice anyone around me as I stepped into the woods and sent out a [Message] to my copy.
"Ready to tag-in for me?" I asked.
"Definitely, Boss. Took care of everything that needed to be done on my end." She answered before adding, "We'll also need to have a chat about a few things when you've got the time after your chat with the Bone Boy."
I couldn't help but raise a brow at the nickname that my copy gave Momonga. "Bone Boy, really?"
"What? I could have went with the other names I came up with. Calcium Caster, Skinless Head, Mr. Every-Bone-But-The-One-That-Matters, Necro-" I decided to interrupt her tangent while trying to hold in my laughter.
"Okay, I get it. I'll talk with you after I meet with Momonga. I'm summoning you now." As I said this, I cast [Replicant] and watched my copy arrive before me.
"See ya in a while, Boss. Also, don't forget to go under a disguise, else people will start asking questions." My copy recommended which I nodded in appreciation to. Then, I cast [Disguise] on myself and changed my appearance to a more mundane one with black hair, blue eyes, and a cloaked appearance in traveling leathers.
"Be seeing you." I stated before using my [Teleportation] spell to arrive at an alley near the Hero's Respite. Looking around, I found the exit of the alley and strode out while sniffing the air.
Ignoring all the wretched scents of the city, I picked up the stench of death that was approaching my position. Turning around, I spotted the black armored figure of Momonga and the cloaked figure of Narberal, both now wearing a bronze place of the Adventurer's Guild.
Calmly walking up to the pair, I gave them a slight wave. As I did this, Narberal tried to step in front of Momonga in an effort to protect him. I found it to be a little funny since Narberal was almost a foot and half shorter than the heavily armored man. "Easy there, Narberal. It's just me." Narberal froze for a moment before looking at Momonga for instruction.
"Kash-" I out a finger to my lips as Momonga tried to say my name.
"Just call me Kate for now." I quickly answered.
"Of course. Just remember what I said earlier, while here, I'm going by the name Momon and she," Momonga put his hand on Narberal's shoulder, much to her-could I call it shock or was that pleasure, "goes by Nabe."
"Of course. Though, I feel like you could have come up with some more creative names. I mean, you're literally only missing one syllable, Momon." I remarked.
"Yes, well, I believe it is best for us to begin our discussion inside." Momonga answered before walking to the door of the Hero's Respite and opening it. Narberal and I walked inside while Momonga followed after us.
Before we entered, multiple loud conversations had been echoing throughout the dining hall of the inn, yet the moment that we stepped in, the conversations became hushed and multiple discussions were made about us in quite tones. The three of us ignored it and went to the bar where Morgan was busy filling up a tankard which he passed to a patron.
"Greetings, sir." Momonga greeted, grabbing Morgan's attention, "My companions and I would like to rent out a room for the night. How much would it be?"
"5 copper a night. Food is served 3 times a day here, costs 1 copper for a dish. I've got three rules here; Don't destroy my rooms, pay my bills, and don't fuck with me. Have a pleasant evening." Morgan answered.
Momonga reached into a pouch on his belt and fished out some copper coins that he handed to Morgan. Morgan took the money and then gave Momonga a key. "Your room is 7. Follow up the stairs and your room should be on the left."
Hearing this, Momonga gave and nod and walked off to the room while Narberal and I followed. It was when all three of us entered the room and locked the door behind us did I finally let my disguise drop to reveal my kitsune form.
Giving a large stretch, I used one of my tails to grab a chair and pull it up to the table in the room before sitting down. "So, you ready to talk?" I asked.
Momonga and Narberal joined me at the table with chars of their own. "To start with, how long ago was it that you arrived in the New World? For myself, it's been nine days." I asked.
"Nine days for the NPCs of my guild and I. When we arrived, the timer for when YGGDRASIL shut down had hit zero. I was in my throne room when it happened." Momonga answered.
"I was just finishing up a boss fight when I exited the boss zone and found myself walking on the road to E-Rantel. Guess that means that there wasn't anything specific to what we were doing besides just waiting out the timer." I remarked to myself.
"And yet, somehow, when I was brought here, whatever magic did so had somehow brought my entire guild's base when it did so." As Momonga confirmed my worries on if his guild base had followed him or not, I couldn't help but think on how weirdly metaphysical our transport to this New World was.
"Now I can't help but wonder if a plot of land that I theoretically owned and stood on would have been transported with me or not?" I asked aloud.
"I couldn't answer that, Kashia. But what I do wonder is if anyone else arrived along with us to the New World? We couldn't have been the only ones waiting until the last second for YGGDRASIL to end. I have been hoping that one of my guildmates could have been brought here as well, but that would also mean that they ended up in a random location like the two of us were."
"I guess we can table the idea of other Players having been brought with us for later. That's a lot of guesswork that won't get anywhere without a lot of effort, and that's if these Players want to be found." Momonga gave a hum of thought before he nodded.
"You do have a point, but I still plan to send out some scouts to continue looking just in case."
"All the freedom to you. I'm not trying to stop you, I just want to caution you on wasting more effort for what could be a wild goose chase. What I'm more interested in is the state of this New World. What do you know of the surrounding countries' politics?"
"Not much besides the fact that the Slane Theocracy to the south of this kingdom tried to capture Carne Village a few days ago." When Momonga said this, my eyes slightly widened in worry since that's where my team was going for their mission, "They failed due to my interference, but it just means that they've become bold enough to start land annexation without fear of the Re-Estize's military." I felt myself calm down at hearing that Momonga repelled the invaders.
"Well, that's just the tip of the iceburg. To the east, the Baharuth Empire wages a continual, grinding war that results in massive amounts of casualties of innocent people on the battlefield, while off the field, many more people will die of starvation due to many of the farmers being drafted into a slaughter."
"While a waste, why does that matter to us?" Momonga asked with a little confusion.
I couldn't help but raise an eyebrow at the uncaring attitude being displayed, at least until I remembered how the former human, now lich, told me earlier that he was losing touch with his emotions. Guess lacking the emotions for empathy were really hitting this guy hard. Perhaps trying to relate the situation more clearly to Momonga might explain my thoughts better.
"Momonga, before we were summoned to this New World, what were your opinions about Earth?"
He was quiet for a moment in thought before finally voicing his thoughts, "Earth was broken. Uncaring corporations tore apart the Earth, enough so to make it almost uninhabitable, for the sake of increasing profits. The average person unlucky enough to be born into a poor family would either die young or live as another drone without hope of improving their lot in life. Humanity was just one step from ending, either from wars between the arcology cities or between another country."
"Exactly. We were born into a world ruined by the greedy bastards at the top. Before coming here, we didn't have any power or ability to change things, but now? We are a pair of mages that know Super Tier spells in a world where reaching 3rd Tier is considered the one of the strongest levels of magic that is reachable. We have the power to make things better for people here, enough so that this world doesn't turn into the shithole that we left. Altruism may not seem that exciting, but we are probably some of the only people that know what it's like to struggle to survive, but have the power to change that for others. What do you think?"
Momonga removed his helmet and revealed his undead visage of a white skull with a pair of glowing red dots that counted for eyes within those empty sockets. "I'd have to think about it, Kashia, but I am hesitant about the idea." He then turned his glowing dots to Narberal before ordering in a commanding tone, "Narberal, whatever has been said today is to never leave this room under pain of death. Do you understand?"
Said NPCs expression changed into one with something that was almost a mixture of seriousness combined with utter fanaticism before she answered, "As you wish, Lord Momonga. Nothing of what is said here will ever leave this servant's lips unless at your request, my Lord."
I couldn't tell what Momonga was thinking, what with the lack of a face and all, but it seemed that he was satisfied with the response as he then commanded, "Wait outside this room until I call you back in, and do not get involved in any conflicts." Narberal stood from her seat, bowed to Momonga, and then left the room. He then turned his focus back on me.
"As you have mentioned during our first discussion, none of the NPCs under my command are what you'd call 'morally good'. But despite their personalities, all of them were the creations of my dear friends and guildmates which makes me cherish them beyond measure. Unfortunately, it makes me paranoid that if I were to slip up and be found lacking in their expectations, then they will kill me." When Momonga said this, it made me understand his situation.
While the guy was the guild leader of Ainz Ooal Gown, that didn't exactly mean that all the NPCs which were not made by him, and programmed to be loyal to the guild itself, would listen to someone they saw as weak and not working towards the greater good of the guild, whatever their idea on what a greater good could possibly entail.
"Then why not try to find out the loyalty of your NPCs for yourself? There's no doubt that you've got at least one good spell in your arsenal that could compulsively force any of your NPCs to tell you the truth. And that's if you're truly worried. Honestly, it shouldn't be that difficult of a task to perform. You could even frame it as 'confirming the loyalty of your subordinates' or something similar." I finished with added air quotes of my fingers and tails.
"Perhaps. I'll think about it." He said with some thought, and what I felt might be hesitation.
"Momo, there's a fine line between being properly paranoid, and being too paranoid to act. Just some advice for the future between you and I." I said with a smile.
"I'll take that under advisement." The lack of any real emotion in Momonga's tone along with the lack of any facial expression was really throwing off my ability to tell what he was thinking. "Onto a different subject, what are your plans currently for this New World?"
"I'll give you my answer if you give me yours." I replied.
Momonga was silent for a moment, as if contemplating what to tell me, then he answered, "I wish to hopefully find at least one of my comrades if they managed to have been brought to the New World. From there, possibly finding a way back home. What about you, Kashia?"
"I've mostly been making up things as I go. But I've started looking into ways to make the world better than the one we've left. It's just this growing urge I have to change this place for the better. Alongside that, I haven't exactly had much thought on returning back to Earth. Currently though, I've joined an adventuring team called the Swords of Darkness and taken on an adorable apprentice."
"I see. So you've found a method to teach the spells of YGGDRASIL to an inhabitant of this world while lacking the actual knowledge of how our spells work?" Momonga asked with interest.
"Not really." I lied. Sure, Momo could be a possible ally to me, but there were certain things I wanted to keep close to the chest since knowledge is still power, and the fact that I had supernaturally gained knowledge of how spellcasting worked was too much of an advantage to just give away.
"What I actually do is buff my apprentice with mana transference spells and have her continually cast spells beyond her normal limits until she collapses. Along with that, I tend to teach her spellcasting theory on min-maxing her spell effects and mana usage. It's been doing wonders for her since I've managed to level her up a few times from the training."
I couldn't help but smile with pride at how fast Ninya was growing in power. There's no doubt that if she had been left alone to grow stronger at her own pace, she'd probably be a renowned mage well into her adulthood. But, with my powerleveling method, she'd probably be one of the strongest mages in the world by her early 20's.
"Interesting. Are you having this apprentice of yours earn XP from fighting monsters are does she just gain levels purely from the act of casting her spells?" Momonga with a contradictory monotone excitement.
"It's been purely through practice. From what I can reason, inhabitants of this world can gain XP passively through utilizing their skills or actively through killing other beings. Though it appears that interacting around Players like you and I creates a passive boost to the XP that they gain since my other team members have been growing stronger at astonishing speeds from just being around me. It could also just be related to being around something that so outclasses their level that their bodies naturally try to speed up their normal leveling as a method of compensation or self-preservation. I'd need more data to prove that finding though."
"That is something to keep an eye on. Aside from this, have you discovered any other unique properties of the inhabitants of this world?"
"There are some parts of the population that can be born with special skills which we'd consider as perks. Some can be less useful, like being able to predict the weather with a chance to be wrong, while others, like my student's, speeds up the ability to learn spells. It's completely random, but it does make me wonder if children of those who have perks have a higher chance of being born with a perk or not?" I answered while resting my chin in my hand and thinking.
Surely some nutcase has already considered an attempt at eugenics with producing a child with useful perks? The only question is if it actually worked or not?
"What I can glean from this is that while weaker than us, the inhabitants of this world are possibly more diverse in their skillsets in comparison. For instance, I couldn't even attempt to wield a sword until I used [Perfect Warrior] to do so, which means that both of us are locked to the rules of YGGDRASIL on class restrictions. The same cannot be said of the people here who don't have to follow the same rules that we must." Momo theorized.
While a serious discussion, I couldn't help but giggle at the idea of a giant, scary lich tripping over himself like an old cartoon while trying to handle a simple dagger.
Momo cocked his head in question before asking, "Kashia, why are you laughing right now?"
I held the giggling back as much as I could to answer, "Because all I can imagine right now is a giant, scary skeleton trying to stab a person with a butter knife and continually missing!" Then I burst into a new fit of giggles.
That was when I got to hear the first bit of emotion from Momonga as he gave off a chuckle. He had a single moment of levity before what appeared to be an enchantment in the form of a teal glow took ahold of his body and the chuckling died down immediately. I guess that this would be the emotional suppression that Momonga had been talking about. To think that it would take the form of a curse, something that I could recognize from the mystical knowledge that I'd attained. It was a harsh thing to witness, but understandable from a lore standpoint of YGGDRASIL.
In the universal lore of YGGDRASIL, becoming an undead was considered a horrific existence. Banished from passing onto any afterlife, yet trapped within a rotting form that the poor soul was unable to control. It was a terrible fate that none should ever be condemned to, and yet, there were those who thought otherwise. A lich was a person who would willingly give up their life, along with the lives of an untold number of innocents, to achieve power.
It was no wonder that the gods would then curse the person who would spit upon the cycle of life and death like this. 'To never find pleasure in un-life that you didn't appreciate in life' was just one such curse. One of the bosses, Ingvar the Scuttled, could be found in Midgard was given the curse to 'never again traverse the seas that you loved'. You'd have to find him trapped upon an island filled to the brim with his undead victims.
It was a cruel punishment to give to Momonga who had only been playing a character from a game. I highly doubt that the guy was the type of mass murderer that deserved to be punished by the gods. "Proceeding on from what we were discussing, we should try to study these people to learn of any further differences. The adventuring group that you are apart of should help with this since you'll likely be in close contact with them. My subordinates and I will continue our studies to find any further information."
"If you are sending your people out into the world, and I'm still very hesitant about that, mind you, can you try to get me any information on the Baharuth Empire? While I am learning what I can about the Re-Estize, there isn't much I can find out about the Baharuth since country isn't exactly giving out books or information about them that isn't either lies, rumors, or propaganda." I asked while leaning forwards and resting my elbows on the table.
"That is doable. I hope that you will be open to sharing some information with me in trade?" I gave Momonga a nod in response. "I think this meeting has served its purpose quite well. I'd be up to meet here again next week to resume our talk if you are?"
"Definitely, Momo. This looks like the beginning of a beautiful partnership." I stood up from my chair and held my hand out to the lich.
"A partnership would be a good step forwards, FoxB- I mean, Kashia." I couldn't help but smirk at the slip-up from Momonga. Then, he stood up as well and shook my hand. Then, I leaned forwards and added, "And if you need someone to talk to, I have an ear open to listen. They are quite large."
"I'll keep that in mind." He then let go of my hand before hesitantly adding, "Thank you."
"You're welcome, Momo. See you later." With that said, I reapplied my illusion and decided to cast [Teleport] and head to my cabin at Haven-Lake.
[Unknown]
I couldn't stop the trembling of my hands as I felt inconceivable rage fill my heart. Who in the name of my Love did this bitch think she was? Who was she to even touch my Love? HOW DARE SHE EVEN ACT LIKE SHE WAS ON THE SAME LEVEL AS HIM!
My hands smashed down on the table holding the scrying orb, causing the table to break into splinters and the orb to roll away on the carpet. That was when the door behind me opened and in walked my 2nd in command, Demiurge.
"Is everything alright, Albedo? You seem quite upset." He asked in that prying tone of his while adjusting his glasses. I took a moment to try and calm down enough to even answer Demiurge's question.
Then, I finally spoke, "What information do you have on the kitsune whore known as Fox13itch?" The moment I asked this, Demiurge gained a look of uncharacteristic surprise which quickly turned into that of concern.
"Quite a bit. After all, she is the one that once defeated my creator…"