Chapter 37: Warm Welcome
"Remember Narberal, I don't want any outbursts from you again. Understood?"
"Of course, Lord Ainz. Forgive me." She said, bowing her head in shame. Just earlier, she had almost attacked a soldier at the gate for not allowing them to enter the imperial capital without the need to prove their identity. And, of course, Ainz had to stop her from escalating the situation even more.
'Maybe I should've taken someone else with me. No, what am I saying, Lupusregina or Solution would be even worse for this job. Yuri is needed in Nazarick and Shizu would seem much too suspicious. I made the right call.' Ainz thought, walking through Arwintar's streets.
The empire was much more advanced than the kingdom, having well-kept broad roads, allowing for safer and better transport. Jircniv seemed to really care about his empire, that much Ainz noticed when observing his surroundings.
But he didn't come here to admire the scenery. Recently, the Martial Lord of the empire's grand arena had resigned unexpectedly. The known-to-be-proud war troll had disappeared, and his sponsor had nothing to say about it, making the committee responsible for the arena go in favor of removing his title for this year's tournament.
In his hand, Ainz held a poster he got from E-Rantel's adventurer guild, saying they sought new challengers for the title of Martial Lord. Of course, Ainz, as Momon, was not going to decline. This would build up his reputation in the empire immensely. And the title of Martial Lord could become a name feared by his enemies.
Seeking the arena was relatively easy, as it was built in the city's center, grand in height, and hard to miss. Walking there, he noticed many adventurers and workers waiting in line outside.
'Damn, now I'm going to seem like an asshole walking past them. But I have to get into the tournament.' As an official emissary of the Sorcerer Kingdom, he had a permit to enter the arena's grounds without the need to wait in line.
Taking his first steps past the queue, he already got stares piercing the back of his helmet. But he didn't care, even if he felt uncomfortable doing such a thing.
Nobody said a thing. Some recognized him from his obsidian armor, his two greatswords, or from his crimson cape. He was Momon, an adamantite adventurer from E-Rantel. The plate around his neck and Narberal's said enough.
Arriving at the front, the guard immediately noticed the plates. Seeing that only one adamantine team had two members, he knew these were Momon and Nabe from Darkness.
"Welcome, Sir Momon." He nodded, walking past the man into the building.
The Raven Hero entered, the door creaking behind him. Soon, all eyes were on him, whispers already audible in the back. Yet it didn't take long for them to go back to normal after noticing Momon's presence.
What he seemed to have entered was a sort of reception that also acted as a tavern. Left and right, he could see many adventurers sitting and drinking with each other.
'This just seems like a club, where the rich and strong get in, and the poor and the weak have to stay outside.' Ainz thought. He had once gone to a virtual club but instantly recognized it was nothing for him, disliking the people hanging out in there. A bunch of creeps and perverts.
He reached the reception and saw a middle-aged lady sitting behind the counter.
"Hello, I have come to participate for the title of Martial Lord." The Dark Warrior proclaimed, getting the attention of the woman.
"Of course. May I know your name?" She asked. From his gear alone and his plate, she could already feel the adventures the man before her went through. The man screamed Awesome from every angle.
"Momon of Darkness." He said. The woman was stunned for a second before pulling out a document. Not saying a thing, she filled it out on her own, leaving Ainz a bit confused.
'I mean, I won't complain if she does it for me. Privileges of being famous, I guess.'
"It's all filled out! The first rounds are tomorrow, so please enjoy our hospitality until then!" The woman said with a smile.
"Thanks." Ainz answered, feeling fortunate that he even made it into the tournament.
"Hey, you! That's my spot!" Momon heard a voice from behind calling him out.
Turning around, he saw a man towering over him, being well over two heads taller than him. He wore tight leather armor with iron shoulder pads and gauntlets to match. One could see the outline of his muscles clearly. The giant-of-a-man had slightly grey skin and a pale head with no beard nor hair, simply a pair of eyebrows.
While facing the giant, Ainz didn't feel intimidated at all.
"I was here first, so perhaps you should have come here earlier." Ainz responded, silencing the room. Soon, all eyes were on them, and one could feel the half-giant brewing with rage.
"Fight me for the spot, warrior!" He pointed at Momon. Narberal was about to intervene, but Ainz was ready to stop her.
He quickly analyzed the situation. Everyone was observing the two of them carefully. The individual before him must be famous, or rather infamous, and they were curious about how this fight would turn out.
'If I win, I'll win the respect of everyone in this room since they seem to know this giant.' He was sure he wouldn't lose, only if this person in front of him was somehow level 100. But that was impossible.
"And what's in for me if I win?" Ainz asked, and the man-giant laughed.
"Then you can tell everyone that you beat Ivar Stonebreaker, the Iron Rage!" He shouted, proclaiming his name as if it meant something. The people who hadn't recognized him until now gasped, but Ainz remained unfazed.
'Some type of barbarian or berserker, perhaps.' Ainz studied him.
"Then I accept." Momon replied.
Hearing this, the half-giant stepped closer, pulling out his giant battle axe from his back. It was about the size of a regular man, but what he did next shocked the Overlord.
He dropped it on the floor, leaving a massive crack in it.
Ainz understood the gesture, doing the same with his greatswords as he carved them into the ground.
'I just hope the damage of this isn't going to be too expensive.' Ainz mused.
"Bring in a table!" Ivar shouted, and in seconds, two waiters stormed in and placed a table between the two.
Confused, Ainz didn't quite follow what the half-giant had in mind.
"Come on, or are you scared you're gonna lose?!" Ivar taunted as he placed his hand on the table, Ainz finally catching on.
'An arm wrestling match. Different but not unwelcome. I'm still in my Overlord form without perfect warrior, meaning my strength is about of a level 35 character right now.' While his opponent wasn't near that level, he could still have a buff effect to boost his strength. After all, Ainz found out martial arts were somewhat flexible in terms of the effects they applied on the user.
But Ainz didn't care right now since he wanted to see what he was capable of without using [Perfect Warrior]. He put his hand on the table and met Ivar's grip. His hand was larger than his own, but the size difference wasn't extreme enough to make it impossible for Ainz to win.
A waiter quickly put bands around their arms so that none of them could lose their grip.
"You know, I never lost an arm wrestling match in all my years." Ivar smiled into Ainz's visor.
"There is a first time for everything."
"3, 2, 1. Go!"
Both immediately applied pressure, a small shockwave escaping their hands. The whole table trembled under their force, but they held firm.
Ivar smiled as he used more and more strength, pushing Momon's hand to the side with each passing second.
Suddenly, his face turned serious as he noticed a force he never felt before go against him. His hand was pushed back, even beyond the point where they began, a feeling he never experienced before.
"Is that all you can do?" Ainz taunted back, laughing tauntingly.
"W-What are you?!" Ivar screamed as he tried to push back with all his might but to no avail. His opponent was like a mountain wall, unmoving.
Then Ainz slammed his hand into the table, destroying it in half and smashing the half-giant to the ground.
The crowd cheered. Some were surprised, whereas others weren't. The room was engulfed in applause, praising Ainz's victory.
"We have a winner!"
Beaten and broken, Ivar sat on the ground, massaging his hand as he looked up to Momon.
"Who are you?" He asked.
"I am Momon of Darkness, adamantite adventurer." He answered, giving the man a helping hand.
Ivar first hesitated, but from Momon's character, he seemed to be an honorable warrior, making him take the Dark Warrior's help.
"I underestimated you, Momon. You are strong, really strong." He said in praise. "But how did you get that strong? I trained all my life until now, and I couldn't beat you." Ivar asked.
"Well, maybe I trained a little harder." Ainz said, at which the half-giant burst into laughter.
"You are not only strong, but you're also funny as hell! I like you. A shame I can't fight against you this year." Ivar said, somewhat disappointed.
"There is always next year. Then you can fight me once I obtain the title of Martial Lord." Ainz said confidently. Ivar could only smile at his boldness. He held his hand out, and Ainz did the same.
"If you ever need a sparring partner, tell someone to call for me." Ivar offered.
"I'll do, thanks." Ainz said, and the half-giant finally left.
Ainz wouldn't have expected this encounter to turn out friendly, but he had nothing against it.
"I must say I was quite impressed how you won against the Iron Rage." Ainz heard another voice calling him out. He turned around and was greeted by an older man in battle gear. "I am Parpatra, leader of the Dragon Hunt team." He introduced himself, reaching for a handshake.
"Momon of Darkness. A pleasure to meet you." Ainz said.
"A pleasure indeed. Shaking hands with someone who beat the second-strongest man in the kingdom is truly a pleasure. He and I had some troubles, and it was nice to see him lose once. Now, what do you say if we had a little sparring session to warm up for tomorrow?" The man offered, his sly appearance making Ainz somewhat wary of him.
'Surely he doesn't want to do this out of fun. I won't say no to a little sparring, but I should stay wary of this dude's motives.' Ainz thought.
"Sure, I do not see why not. I haven't fought since I left E-Rantel, so a little spar would do me good." Ainz answered.
"I knew you wouldn't decline. Follow me, and I'll lead you to the sparring rooms." Parpatra said, taking the lead. They took some corridors until they appeared in a grand hall filled with fields, most claimed by trainees trained by their teachers.
"There's an empty one." Parpatra pointed into the distance.
Arrived, both took a good amount of distance from each other. The old man's choice of weapon was a spear, good against armored foes and striking from a distance. Since this was only a spar, Ainz didn't expect Parpatra to try to hurt him. There weren't many gaps in his armor, the most obvious one being his visor. But apart from that, he was sure that his armor wasn't easy to break.
"Are you ready?" Parpatra asked.
"Always." Momon answered.
"Good." Immediately, Parpatra charged at Momon, striking his left shoulder. The tip scratched his armor as Ainz dodged most of the blow. The man did the same with the other shoulder, not putting great effort into his strike.
'What is he doing?' Ainz asked himself, finding his opponent's behavior difficult to interpret. Why would he purposefully strike him at different points? 'He's using this spar to find out the right distance at to strike me! Now that is clever.' If Ainz could smirk, he would. Deciding not to give Parpatra any more information about him, he decided to take it up a notch.
Parpatra saw the shift in Momon's speed, speeds a regular knight in such armor would never be able to achieve. The following attacks didn't hit their target, Momon gracefully evading some while blocking others. For normal humans, he appeared like a blur, but Parpatra could keep up with his movements, slightly.
"[Gale Acceleration]!" With the help of his martial art, Parpatra swung his spear toward Momon's left leg. Of course, Momon evaded by raising his foot, yet Parpatra expected that of him. With the back of his spear, he struck Momon's other leg, sending him off balance.
That was supposed to happen. Unfortunately, Momon simply jumped into the air, dodging the attack altogether. The strength of one foot was enough to propel him meters into the air, surprising the old man.
'Not bad. Would I be a normal opponent, he would've knocked me to the ground with that.' Ainz praised the man's creative fighting methods. Yet, as Momon looked at him, he seemed exhausted, his old age showing.
"Now, that was a good fight, even if you didn't use any martial arts, I must say you're strength, speed and reaction are exceptionally well." Parpatra said, sticking his spear into the sand.
"The same goes for you. I haven't met many warriors that used clever tactics the likes of you used. Even with your age you're still quite lethal." The old man heard and laughed.
"Many thanks, Momon. Now, exhausted as I am, I think I'll head to the tavern and get me something good." Parpatra said, stretching his arms into the air. "Now I wish you the best of luck for tomorrow, Momon. Let's hope we won't meet, shall we? Because I won't go easy on you next time." The old man said with a grin.
"I shall do the same then." Ainz replied, shaking the man's hand and making his smile disappear from his face. "Nabe, let's go." The Dark Warrior and his assistant left, leaving the veteran behind.
'A shame I could not learn any martial arts he uses. Now that I think of it, I don't think he ever used martial arts, and nobody mentioned he did. Is he so strong that he needs to use them only in the most dangerous scenarios? Or maybe he cannot use martial arts in the first place! No, that would be stupid. But not impossible. The Slane Theocracy has magical items that give the wearer advanced strength, speed, agility, reflexes. Everything Momon portrays. But no martial arts. Nothing is certain, and maybe he saw through me, knowing I would use this short fight to get any possible information out of him.' Parpatra put a hand to his chin, deep in thought.
'He could also be ridiculously strong to have no need to learn martial arts, but I witnessed his strength from his blocks, which were somewhat adamantium tier. That can't be either.'
Whatever theory Parpatra tried to think of, nothing made sense. Momon was simply an anomaly in the fighting world. Did he have martial arts? Then why not use them? Was he too weak for Momon to consider using Martial arts? That couldn't be. His ego wouldn't allow him to believe that. But for now, he decided to ignore these thoughts. The coming day would be the one he would finally be able to prove himself, an old adventurer who still had some fight left inside him.
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Finally a new chapter! I'm releasing this from my holidays, but I didn't forget about you guys. Hope you like it and if so, tell me if I should update this story or now that the Elden Ring DLC came out, that story.