Naofumi continued to brace for impact, even if he was a sitting duck, running didn't seem like an option.
'What is that monster? He took out the other heroes like it was nothing.' He looked back at Raphtalia, who was crouching behind him and whispered.
"Are you ok?" She nodded, but he could see her armor was singed and she was shaking. "What is that… thing?" she asked under her breath.
"I don't know, but we need to leave NOW." Naofumi slowly started to back away from the crater. He heard the yells and footfalls of the knights and mages who were coming to assist, but he did not rush to their aid, knowing fully they wouldn't help him. Even if they did, they didn't stand a chance against this thing. When he turned back towards the crater, he witnessed the skeleton slowly levitating into the air. The skeleton opened its arms wide, revealing a skeletal figure and a red orb in the center of his chest.
"To all who can hear me, know that I am Ainz Ooal Gown, the Sorcerer King!" He gestured towards the battered heroes below him.
"Your adventurers attacked me unprovoked, for no reason other than my appearance! Their lives have been spared, but know this is not out of weakness, but rather mercy!"
The group that was rushing forward suddenly stopped in horror, realizing how quickly the monster defeated the other heroes.
"But! I will NOT tolerate such disrespect and I demand compensation for their actions! Notify your monarch it is in their best interest not to provoke me further. As doing so will not only incur my vengeance but the wrath of the Sorcerer Kingdom!" And with that, 'Ainz' flew away towards the nearby forested area.
After he left, Naofumi got up and checked on Raphtalia. "Are you ok?" She stood up.
"I'm alright, it's nothing serious." He sighed in relief.
"That's good…" She blushed slightly. "...I don't think the potions I make now could heal anything major. We would have had to buy one from the shops."
'We don't have much after buying all of our equipment and I would hate to use the money I'll get from the wave to pay for it.'
Raphtalia sighed as she heard his reason. "Of course…"
"What did you say?"
"Nothing." She responded with a smile.
Around them, the knights and mages quickly ran to the other heroes casting healing spells and using potions on them and their parties. They, of course, offered no help to the last two standing. Naofumi walked up to the leader of the group.
"When do I get my reward for the wave?" The knight glared at him.
"I don't think you deserve a reward, considering you didn't help during the last fight and merely watched as that monster got away." Naofumi glared at the knight, to which the knight scoffed.
"…But I am under orders to tell the heroes… including you." He held up a scroll and cleared his throat.
"'You are hereby invited to a banquet at the castle for your victory over the wave. This is a momentous occasion that will be remembered for generations to come. Rest assured; you will be rewarded handsomely for defeating the wave during the banquet's ending ceremony.' It will most likely be delayed because of the other heroes' current condition." He read the invitation in the most monotone manner and then immediately ignored Naofumi as soon as he finished.
"*Tch* Whatever… Let's go Raphtalia!" He yelled.
"R-right!" She looked back at the fallen heroes for a second before rushing towards Naofumi.
Ainz flew deep into the forest and slowly descended into a small clearing. When he landed, he noticed nearby monsters running away. He did a quick scan of his surroundings, then looked at his new HUD.
The HUD in front of him looked nothing like the one he had in Yggdrasil. No skill hotbar, no chat, and no minimap. But it had other icons that he didn't recognize, Contracts, Help, and Recipes. Even though he had a HUD again, he was confused on how he was still able to cast spells like he had in the previous world.
He decided to open the Skills menu option, to check what might have changed during the transition to this world. But instead of his skills and abilities, error text filled his view.
[ERROR! UNKNOWN MECHANICS DETECTED! FAILED TO LOAD SKILL SCREEN!]
[LOADING USER'S MECHANICS…]
[ERROR! USER'S MECHANICS NOT ON FILE.]
[CREATING NEW MECHANIC DESIGNATION: "Yggdrasil"]
[PROCESSING: 0.1%... 0.2%...]
'No point in trying to figure that out now. Information. I must find out where I am and what kind of world this is. The spells I heard were not the tier system I'm used to, so I'm not in the old world. Oh, God. Will I have to learn another written language? Ahhh, please no!'
Interrupting his thoughts, Ainz suddenly felt a presence nearby. He tried to glance to his right trying to pinpoint the person's location without them realizing they were exposed. 'They' were in the trees, but he couldn't determine their exact position.
In the new world, or the 'old world', only the most advanced persons had any advanced anti-divination magic and/or skills. Without knowing the power standards of this new world, Ainz couldn't cast any spells to locate the individual or else risk endangering himself to a counterattack and/or their escape. A minute passed before he decided on his next move.
He turned over his right hand and summoned a [Fireball] onto it and then yelled into the surrounding forest.
"Whoever is out there, reveal yourself! Know that I will not tolerate being spied on from the shadows! If you do not reveal yourself, I will find you, even if I must burn this entire forest to ashes!" Ainz waited for a moment hoping they wouldn't leave without revealing themselves.
Eventually, a figure with dark light armor and a mask, covering their entire face, kneeled before him. "I deeply apologize for spying on you, Lord Ainz Ooal Gown. I am one of the Queen's Shadows." Ainz clenched his fist, canceling the [Fireball].
"Why did you follow me? I am sure you did not have any intention of making amends for those adventures' actions against me." Before they responded he turned around and summoned an obsidian throne. Even with the mask they had on, Ainz could see they were surprised by this action.
"I apologize once again, but I determined you were a potential threat to the kingdom. I am under orders to shadow any persons, royalty or not, who prove to be a threat to the kingdom. The fact that you came through a wave after one ended, also needed investigation." They lowered their head even more as they apologized.
"Hmmm… Yes, I can see why you would determine that, but what is this 'wave' you speak of."
"The waves are…" The shadow paused. Ainz could tell in an instant that this pause was not to think, but rather to determine if this information could be used against them.
"Surely this information is not a state secret. If you can't even tell me this, how are we ever going to establish trust between our organizations." Ainz let out some of his aura towards the shadow, making them freeze.
"Y-yes, of course, I apologize. The Waves of Calamity are a mysterious, reoccurring phenomenon that devastates nearby lands by sending monsters from the sky." Ainz glared at the shadow.
'An answer that technically resolves the question but one that gives me absolutely nothing to work from. Hah, this is going to give me a headache.'
"Fine, let us address more important matters. First, how much authority do you have, as a member of the 'Queen's Shadows'?"
They were quiet for a moment contemplating the question. "I cannot promise you anything that would directly involve the kingdom, such as land, titles, or anything along those lines. But we may assist you in many other ways." Ainz stroked his chin.
He could tell by the slight motions made by the spy that they feared him and the explanations they provided made sense, but he should not take any information given to him at face value.
'Having a position within the local kingdom is a blessing. If they try to provide me with false information, I could use their actions as political pressure against the current monarch. Even if they refuse my request, I'll get my information more directly and they'll be none the wiser.'
"I wish for information about this world, countries, laws, economics, customs, history, anything that relates to this world and/or the country I am currently in. I would prefer this information to be in written text, but I understand gathering these texts can take time. In the meantime, I wish for you to answer some basic questions I have." The shadow gave him a questioning look.
"To clarify, I am not requesting country secrets, just general knowledge most nobles would have access to. In return for this information…" He gestured to the surrounding area. "…I will remain in this forest for the time being. The Queen's Shadows will have constant surveillance of me, and I will get the information I desire." The spy thought about his proposal.
"Refuse, and all future negotiations with this country and/or monarch will be void."
Not that he thought they would decline, but Ainz added this minor threat to show the shadow that he couldn't care less if they refused his terms. This agreement was very much in their favor, only giving up basic information most wealthy individuals would have access to.
"We agree to your terms." They quickly responded.
Ainz clapped his hands together. "Perfect! Now, I do have some initial questions about the country that I am in. You may want to get comfortable."
'I need to get back to the Sorcerer Kingdom, whatever this place is it clearly isn't Yggdrasil 2. Even if I find members of Ainz Ooal Gown here, even if they want me to stay here forever, I will NOT make Nazarick suffer the pain of being left all alone as I have. I don't care if I need to burn this world down, I WILL return home!'
Author Note:
Thank you for all of the comments so far I really appreciate it, and didn't expect it.
Q: Does Ainz know about the Dragon Emperor?
A: Yes.