VOL7 OVERLORD

Chapter 2 The Butterfly Trapped by a Spider's Net

Part 1[edit]

Several team workers had already gathered at the Earl's house before dusk. The last team to arrive was 'Foresight' from Hekkeran. In total, eighteen people were present. The workers gathered for this job were among the best in their profession in the capital.

Team workers maintain a distance between each other as they measure each other. When the four 'Foresight' members finally arrived, they were greeted by various gazes from the other team workers. This scene could be considered as spectacular in its own way.

"Ah, somehow I feel like I've seen all these faces before. Like for example Beetle-san who was there, didn't I just see her recently on the Katze plains?"

"Eh? Didn't I mention this at the hotel? Tim Greenham also accepted this request... Did I not say this? Somehow it feels like I've said this before... After all, the team of workers gathered today all had fame that needed to be reckoned with within the capital! Let's clap for the pockets that contain from the client."

"I think I'm gonna miss that. After all, the one over there is the team leader, right?"

Inside the area between the separate teams, three people gathered in the middle, exchanging information.

"Greenham was supposed to be there, apparently. No doubt about it. Then, it's time to go and say hello to them."

"...Hmh! Urgh, that guy was there too? Ah, definitely the elven girls over there... Hmph, that man is really the most depraved. Just die, you dirt."

Imina blatantly spat at the last sentence. Even though he kept his voice down, it still made Hekkeran and the others quite worried to the point that they had to check around to see if anyone else was aware.

"Imina-san!"

"I know, I know, Rob. He will be a partner in this job... However, I really don't want to see his face."

"i don't like it either."

"Well, if I have to choose between like and hate, I don't like it either. Even so, you still have to consider the situation."

Heckeran, who interrupted the conversation between Imina, who was showing a face, and Roberdyck, who shrugged.

"...Oi, oi, you still have to say hello to him after this, so don't think about unpleasant things, or it will be visible on your face, okay?"

"Do what you can, boss."

Hekkeran frowned at Roberdyck's encouragement, as if saying "don't interfere with other people's affairs." and walked towards the group of three.

The first person to greet Hekkeran was a worker wearing full plate armor - blue steel. The design of the armor was strangely round, almost like a circle. Due to the enormous shoulder cover, the man wearing the armor looked more like a perpendicular beetle than a human.

However, after looking at the horn-like head covering and sticking out of his forehead, it was obvious that the armor was indeed deliberately shaped to look like that.

However, one thing that was unintentional was the length of the man's legs. They're very short. The image of him wearing the armor is like a real rhinoceros beetle being forced to stand upright by children playing. Smooth terms, short legs like those of the dwarf provide more stability. That is one of the traits that is suitable as a warrior.

"As I thought, you also came, Hekkeran."

"Yeah, Greenham. I guess the request wasn't too bad so I came."

Hekkeran raised his hand as a gesture towards the two remaining leaders in a relaxed manner. The two men responded back without any displeasure at all. Although Hekkeran was the youngest and last in terms of experience of the four of them here, his ability as a worker was on the same level as theirs.

"About your side." said Hekkeran, after staring at the Greenham team and quickly counting them. "There are five people. What's with the rest?"

"Rest, heal yourself from fatigue. Since our previous work was indeed similar, some of our members had to stay high to help with the movement and repair of damaged goods."

This man, Greenham, was the leader of the 'Heavy Masher', a team of fourteen workers.

Having more members certainly has its own advantages, such as having more options available in choosing how to handle each request. Usually, it can give you the flexibility to be able to choose a suitable member for each different request.

However, it is also not without disadvantages, such as receiving less income because it has to share its payments with more people, or being exposed to more conflicts due to incompatibilities between members, that makes it harder for them as a team to take quick action.

When considering the personalities of the same workers, it is not strange at all for a team to suddenly disband. Being able to maintain complete control of a large team of workers shows how strong Greenham's management and leadership skills are.

"Fuuhn, so tired. What if you support us in order to get enough results and not disappoint the colleagues who are left behind?"

"Your advice is a stupid thing. After completing this work, bonuses will be given based on the performance of the leader. Though unlucky, the best performance will fall to me accordingly."

"Oi, oi, that's right. It's not what you talk like."

Greenham only grinned, feeling he had no intention of stopping, Hekkeran shrugged and turned towards others.

"I think it's the first time we've ever met face to face."

Hekkeran reached out his hand, with the intention of "happy to meet you". The other man clasped the hand and shook it back. He has a very strong grasp.

He turned his eyes and looked directly at Hekkeran.

"-Foresight', I heard a lot about you guys."

It was a voice that sounded as bright as a bell, which perfectly matched his appearance.

"Tama-sama, 'Tenmu'"

The undefeated genius swordsman within the arena, there was not a single worker who did not know him. This man was 'Tenmu', whose team consisted of only him alone. Part of that team was the reason why Imina made such an unhappy face earlier.

"The genius swordsman who is said to be able to be on par with the strongest in the Kingdom, Gazef Stronoff. Relax it feels like your team is with us."

"thank you. But I think it's time it was said otherwise. The man should only be aimed at being able to equal Eruya Uzruth's."

"Oh, how clever to say."

Eruya smiled faintly, showing all her arrogance. Seeing this smile, the unpleasant feeling hidden within Hekkeran almost appeared once again.

"Then, we will rely on you in the ruins."

"of course. Leave me. It would be nice if there were monsters that could provide a capable resistance within those ruins."

Eruya said as she patted the weapon hanging on her waist, letting out a 'pound phone' sound'.

"It is completely unknown what kind of monsters are in it later. Maybe we'll meet the dragons?"

"It can be terrible. Monsters like dragons would definitely provide an incredible fight. However, victory will still remain mine."

By showing a smile 'really?', Hekkeran was the last person to react because he was forced to suppress his other emotions.

Just considering the sword skills, there were rumors that Eruya could even win against orichalcum-ranked adventurers. Taking this into account, there is some kind of basis behind his boasting. Confidence is a good thing, because it is also important for workers to show their abilities and look attractive to their clients.

However, there should be a limit to how much one can brag.

The strongest race in the world, the Dragon.

The possessor of the heavens, was able to let out a powerful breath, with barely impenetrable scales, and had superior combat strength thus far. As they aged, they were even able to use magic. Having a life that only humans cannot compare with, the wisdom they gather will be simpler than the sage (hermit).

They are creatures that are often mentioned in legends, whether as vile criminals or as creatures that help the heroes. Just like in the fairy tale of the Thirteen Heroes, the final opponent of their adventure is a dragon known as the 'Dragon God'. In many stories, dragons tend to be the last opponents of the heroes.

Although its existence was only used as an example when conversing, without still being able to be this arrogant was indeed surprising. No matter how one interpreted it, Eruya's sentence looked like a joke. Yet he could tell that Eruya was really serious just from the look in his eyes. How far is his pride?

Still not sure what kind of monsters would be inside the ruins. The appraisal of Eruya would definitely be a hindrance from the operation as a whole.

It might be better to stay away from him.

It would be best for him to be wiped out alone, yet it would still be annoying if the formation as a whole would become destroyed. A faint smile appeared on Hekkeran's face as he came to a conclusion, and changed his attitude towards Eruya, towards 'exhaust after use'.

"There must be a member of 'Foresight'. Oya-"

The look in Eruya's eyes when she saw Imina was filled with prejudice and insults.

There are rumors that Eruya is from the Slane Theocracy, where humans are considered the pre-eminent race. As a loyal resident of Theocracy, he had a tendency to regard those with mixed blood as lowly humans.

For a human like that who saw a half-elf like Imina taking part as equality really did not make him happy.

Because of this, these rumors are finally true... However, the people of Theocracy were supposed to have a baptismal name, although there were also rumors that he had already ignored it.

Heckeran considered this deep in his heart, and said in a loud voice.

"...Oi, oi, don't be so hostile towards my comrades, okay?"

"of course. We'll be partners for the same job this time. I'll definitely be cooperative."

"I'll keep your word."

Perhaps a strong wild brat like Eruya had grown up, yet Hekkeran was still afraid that he could go berserk. In conclusion, he could feel Eruya's unstable mentality. Hekkeran could not be relaxed even though he had given a warning, such was the unpleasant atmosphere.

"Ay, trust me. After all, back to the original topic, I don't mind letting others take the lead on this journey. As long as it is not a specific case, I will follow the orders given. If we run into trouble, I don't mind taking part in the front row. I'll let you witness my sword's abilities."

"Yes, you understand."

"...Then I'll get back on my team. If there's any problem just call me."

Eruya bowed, then walked away.

Hekkeran's countenance changed slightly after seeing the large number of women following Eruya. However, showing one's emotions here was completely unacceptable. It was not strange if the situation just suddenly turned unpleasant after one's emotions came out. As a team leader, this kind of attitude is unacceptable.

Heckeran suppressed his emotions, and put away his entire facial expression.

Turning his face away from what he considered to be trash, he greeted the last person.

"Hello, elders. It turns out you're still healthy and fit."

"Hey, Hekkeran. You look good too."

The sound that was issued from the speech was due to the loss of the front teeth.

The Parupatra 'Green Leaf' Ogrion.

Also known as 'Origin', he wears armor that looks as if it emits a green glow of leaves that are wet with morning dew. The armor was not made of metal, but from the scales of a green dragon. Parupatra's team successfully hunted a dragon. Of course, from the size of his scales it could be known that the dragon was not how strong. However, even so a dragon of such size is still considered dangerous for adventurers and workers.

Moreover, Parupatra was already over eighty years old.

Usually, in this kind of work, the majority of people will retire when they turn forty, some even before forty. There were very few adventurers who were above the age of fifty. As difficult as it may be, for a profession that is constantly surrounded by death, it is difficult to ignore the decline in one's physical abilities.

In reality, despite the special case, when compared to his prime, the time when he was at orichalcum rank, his abilities had already decreased drastically. Despite that, Parupatra still did not leave the front lines.

Many people in the industry respect Parupatra for continuing to adventure despite the age of twilight.

"Fumu. However, he did look a little dangerous."

The wrinkled face of Parupatra became tense as he spoke in a soft voice. Heckeran also agreed.

"really so. No matter how much he gets killed himself, it could be critical if we end up being dragged down by him."

"It's true he's very strong, but his overconfidence can harm us all. Like a walking disaster."

Greenham also added in a whisper "it's very difficult to deal with". After seeing Eruya's attitude, almost no worker thought otherwise.

"Also, how strong is he? I've rarely been to the arena recently."

"Didn't you know? I how; a-does the elder know too?"

"I only heard about it but never witnessed it myself. Maybe I can find out more if I ask my colleagues. In the end, how do we determine the size for the strong? If we use Gazef Stronoff as a reference point, from what this old man knows.for example, ah right also. where we put the Four Knight Empire."

"Knight's title 'Heavy Explosion', 'Unmovable', 'Lightning', and 'Violet Wind' huh.... It's hard to decide. While it was true when compared to that man, the Warrior Captain of the Kingdom, the Four Knights were indeed a little weaker. However, Gazef Stronoff's time of being the strongest was over. The flow of time finally triggered the presence of more powerful beings, signaling the birth of a new era."

"Are you talking about Uzruth? Is he really strong? Besides, I have never witnessed the true power of the Four Knight Empire with my own eyes... The strongest and I witnessed myself so far was the captain of the Imperial Guard of Mithrill under the Emperor's command. He was also extremely strong...maybe be on the same level as the Four Knights?"

"From what this old man knew, the strongest among all was the Dragon Lord of the Republic. It's not something that humans can fight against."

"I've heard that there are five or seven of them... Opps, first we re-think the power of Uzruth. Let's limit it to the limits of swordsmen among humans only now."

"If we do it like this then we should take out the swordsmen of the Republic of Argrand as they are mostly made up of demi-humans. Same with the King Warrior in the arena. What remains is the Valkyrie Knight from the Holy Kingdom who uses the Sacred Blade (Sacred Sword), but that means we will only be able to compare sword skills alone."

For the workers, gathering their strong information can be very important to complete the request. Because if they would later have to deal with the opponent one had to face during completing the request, one would be able to quickly decide how to proceed. Beyond this, it was natural for those living with swords to gather this kind of information.

That's what's happening right now. Initially, the discussion was supposed to be about how powerful Uzruth really was, but it slowly turned into a powerful exchange of information for them. It almost becomes like an argument between children where a sentence like 'he is strong!' can sound.

"Indeed the overall skill of those from the Slane Theocracy is very high, I still haven't heard a single one that stands out. After all, if there is one, then, we're not going to put a divine magic caster in here, are we?"

"Didn't Kingdom Re-Estize have the highest ranking female warrior in adventurers? How good is he?"

"Ah, 'The big chest without breasts'. He is strong. However, I heard that he lost to the Warrior Captain during the tournament."

"...I think I once remembered him beating an adventurer to death for calling him that.hya, hya, hya... What a horrible woman!"

"If it's like this, it'll be even harder to name a few more. Let's see, who is considered the Dark Knight of the City Alliance (City Alliance), Serabright the 'Flash' of the adamantite ranked adventurer team 'Crystal Tear' and the Optic 'Crimson' of the worker' team 'Great Blaze of the Crimson Lotus', both from the Draconic Kingdom. Also, take from Kingdom Re-Estize... Brain Unglaus."

The conversation stopped for a moment.

"Unglaus's Brain? Who else is that?"

Parupatra subconsciously asked Greenham in a surprised manner.

"Did the elder not know? He is also a famous sword wielder from the Kingdom... How about you?"

Heckeran shook his head. It was a name he did not know.

"It turns out that you're not..."

Unable to hide his disappointment, Greenham used an unreliable tone as he tried to recall what he knew.

"Although this was from earlier times, when I was entering the tournament held by Kingdom, he was the opponent I faced during the quarter-finals. I wasn't even able to reach her ankle at the time."

"Isn't that the tournament that Gazef Stronoff is also in?"

"really so. Brain Unglaus lost to Gazef Stronoff. However, a match between the strong could really be called spectacular.it was almost like a perfect notebook for sword users.how they pummeled each other and fended off each sabetage, the, how they decide the viewpoint of a person's swing based on the situation at hand. They can only be referred to as striking the eye and showing you the depth of the game with the sword."

For a man like Greenham to say something like this, it certainly shows how expert Brain Unglaus was once because he could fight on par with the strongest warrior famous in the Kingdom. His abilities must be top class.

Hekkeran sighed. There are a lot of strong people out there that he doesn't know about.

"Fumu.. Then, between Unglaus and Uzruth, which one is stronger? tell us your thoughts."

"Yourruth." Greenham replied "If compared to Unglaus then the winner would have been the man. It wasn't long before I saw some of his battles in the arena, so I'm sure of it."

"So in other words, Uzruth would be able to be on par against the former warrior captain of the Kingdom? Is he really that strong!? Otto!"

Overjoyed, Hekkeran unintentionally raised his voice and had to hold back.

"It turns out so, Unglaus huh. Looks like I can get some information about Kingdom.. Oh right, have you heard? Doesn't Kingdom now have an adventurer team with a third adamantite rank?"

"Of course, I've heard, elder."

"Ah, sorry. I haven't heard."

"Hekkeran.kahuanmu it could bring danger to your team."

"I already know that. However, it is very difficult to gather information based on those who have the same profession as us in the Kingdom. And also a waste of money."

"Hya hya. So brave. This old man doesn't hate that!"

"Chairman, I'd like to hear your opinion on this. I heard a lot of rumors about Momon from 'Darkness', but some of them were really too much. Like for example, being able to successfully conquer a Gigant Basilisk with just two members alone without any support from the healer."

"Well, isn't that just a rumor?"

Even for adamantite adventurers, being able to defeat an opponent as strong as a Gigant Basilisk with only two people was absolutely nigh impossible.

"Do you also agree, Hekkeran? The more information I gather, the more doubtful it seems. Even according to the information of the recent events inside the capital of the Re-Estize Kingdom, the rumor that he defeated a demon with a difficulty level of over 200 was just a single hit. In my opinion, it seems like the Adventurers Guild within the Kingdom deliberately spread false rumors out of personal interest, only wanting to obtain additional adamantite-ranked adventurers."

"That's possible. The appearance of a high-ranking adventurer must be an amazing thing. However, would Guilds really do this kind of thing? They are very strict in certain respects, which is why they are called a guild."

"Despite that, it was slightly different in each city depending on the Guild master in charge. Back when this old man was still an adventurer, the guild master in charge of my city was really bad. I ended up hitting him directly in the face. Hya hya hya! Since then I have been a worker."

Parupatra laughed happily.

The story behind why Parupatra became a worker has been very famous. It may be reasonable to say that there should be no workers inside the Empire's capital who do not know that. It was something that Parupatra often talked about after he got drunk.

"Although I have already said so, I don't think it's possible that a Guild would do this kind of thing."

"Then you think it's true?"

"It's hard to believe. Although when I tried to think about it rationally, the difficulty with level 200 - it was already hard enough to imagine how powerful and terrifying it was, it was already difficult to imagine how powerful and terrifying it was, being able to defeat this kind of opponent in a single hit was simply impossible. Although it can be done, the chances are very low. Let alone an event that happened like this, a demon with a super high level of difficulty appeared and many teams tried to defeat him, and the final blow was given by 'Darkness'?"

"If you say so, then it will sound more believable."

"I think it's possible. It was not strange for someone within the adamantite rank to be that strong. The range of skills between adamantite-ranked adventurers could be huge."

"So Hekkeran and I had the same opinion, but the elder thought it really happened as he said, really?"

"Hya hya. I thought so."

"Seeing yourself far beats hearing from hundreds of stories. Now I want to meet him at least once, but at the same time I don't want to either."

Just as the two of them were about to agree with what Hekkeran had said, the voice of a person was hit, followed by the cry of a woman, interrupting their conversation.

The workers there quickly focused their attention on the source of the commotion. Some of them have drawn weapons and entered the horses ready for combat.

The source was a shout, which came from Eruya's direction, a shout from one of Eruya's female colleagues, who was lying on the ground. Considering the situation, it seemed that Eruya was the one who hit him. Eruya's face turned furious, while a look of fear could be seen from the woman as she begged to be forgiven.

While desperately trying to suppress the turbulent feeling in his chest. The first thing Hekkeran thought of in his brain was his partner - he quickly looked at Imina. After strengthening himself, Hekkeran put away the expression on his face and went back to how it was. However, the pressure exerted by Hekkeran signified that if there were any further occurrences, he would definitely be the first to slide.

Hurry up, Hekkeran gives a sign to Roberdyck and Arche, instructing them to stop Imina if she takes action herself. .

Personally, Hekkeran felt the same way as Imina. However, right now he had no right to interfere with the affairs of the other team. Of course, if he really wanted to, no one would be able to stop him from taking action. It's just that he has to take responsibility. For reasons like this, the other team also showed no signs of wanting to interfere and only expressed their disgust.

In the end, Imina was finally able to realize, and suppress her emotions. He made a rude gesture towards Eruya's back and spat on the ground.

"...It seemed that he could only match his sword skills with the Warrior Captain of the Kingdom. It would be great if he could also match his personality, yet it was just too much asking. Then, let's end this useless conversation."

"...I concur. Since the Ecclesiastes have arrived, it's time to decide the most important thing."

"Since he has already retreated from this it will be between the three of us, but who will take full control of this operation?"

Suddenly everything was quiet.

There are four team workers here. The amount of combat potential combined from the four teams could be considered something amazing, but if it was not set up properly, then it would only be a waste. No matter how many weapons one has, if one cannot utilize them accordingly, it is no better than having one weapon.

Organizing multiple teams with different personality ranges is difficult enough to accomplish, doing so without receiving complaints is even more difficult. Errors that occur when giving orders can directly result in failure. And if the leader prioritizes his team first, then he can be the target of everyone's hatred.

To clarify, it is a responsibility that requires ability, yet incurs more harm than benefit.

Knowing this, the leaders waited silently while studying each other's expressions. After almost a minute of silence, the tired Hekkeran made a suggestion.

"To be honest, I think it would be better not to do it that way."

"It'll just slow things down. What if it gets even more chaotic when the battle starts?"

"...I suggest we take turns. In this way dissatisfaction can be suppressed to a minimum. We can also discuss this further when it comes to the ruins."

"Th-"

"Totally so."

That way Greenham's offer was received both Hekkeran and Parupatra.

"Then, let's use the order of arriving to determine the turn."

"What do we do with Uzruth's 'Your genes' group?"

"It doesn't matter even if we jump over the turn. After all, he wasn't able to lead from the start."

"I can only agree, elder. In that case, the one who had the first turn of the lead was myself, 'Heavy Masher', who suggested this system."

"We'll count on you then, Greenham."

"I'll depend on you, young man."

"I understand. However, our chances of encountering dangerous monsters within the Empire territory are almost zero. Only when we're in the Kingdom, near the Great Forest, will problems arise."

"Ah, we should reverse the sequence."

The two men laughed softly as Hekkeran's flat face appeared as he said so. However, their laughter quickly stopped when they noticed a man heading towards them.

The light finally began to shine inside the Earl's courtyard when his servant's head appeared. Walking with a straight and tense back, the butler walked in an attitude that reflected the standing of those serving the Earl.

Arriving in front of the workers, the butler stopped and bowed. Although no one replied to him, the butler did not mind and started talking.

"The time is up. Representing the Earl family, I would like to thank all those here who have accepted our request for home. There will be two representatives from our home who will be taking part in this trip. Including the adventurers employed for the safety of the trains and some other things, all became six additional people. The destination is the untouched ruins located near the Kingdom's borders - from the structure of the building it looks like a tomb. The time allotted to investigate was three days. An additional bonus will be given after the Master has confirmed the finding of the wreckage has been received. Is there a question?"

The details given by the butler were almost the same as the initial request. The new information is that adventurers will guard the trains.

Many are interested in the details of the route to be chosen to travel, but as a worker, will soon know the difference from which questions are allowed to be asked and which ones should not be. Obviously it was something the Earl did not want to open, otherwise it would have been announced.

If it was a clean request, they would hire adventurers instead. Because it was dirty work, the asking obviously didn't want to reveal anything. Some things are safer to not know.

"..In that case, I will lead everyone towards the prepared carriage."

Without saying anything, the entire group followed the butler.

'The 'Foresight' of Hekkeran is at the very back.

"The shit, he'd rather die. Hows it? What are we gonna do?"

Unable to tolerate Eruya any further, Imina whispered this to Hekkeran.

"Even though I heard many rumors before, yet seeing it for myself really showed how depraved the man was."

"-Indeed is really the most depraved."

The two remaining members also could not hide their disgust.

For 'Foresight', opinions with this type are indeed reasonable. Since they had already made women like Imina into their comrades, the thing Eruya had done was indeed unforgivable.

Within Eruya's team, except her, all the other members were women. They also have an elf race.

If it was just that, then Imina and the others would not have expressed such a huge amount of anger. However, they did have their own reasons why they considered Eruya as a lowly creature from the lowest.

Efl female members had almost minimal equipment, their clothes were made from the flattest fabric available, without any defensive ability. What's more, their short-cut hair showed a lump from the rest of the long ears that distinguished from the elves that normal elves usually possessed.

The reason why they, the Eruya team members, were in this state, was because they were slaves bought from the Slane Theocracy.

Slavery also existed within the Empire, but when previous emperors ruled, things changed. Although they were still considered slaves, the meaning became completely different. However, nothing had changed for the demi-human slaves fighting within the arena.

Eruya's elven slaves also fell into this category.

The Baharuth Empire, the Re-Estize Kingdom, and the Slane Theocracy, the percentage of the human population living in these three lands could almost be counted as one hundred percent. Compared to other countries, these three countries actually show disgust towards non-human races. Because of this, even those who are half-human - such as Imina - have difficulty.

The exception was for the dwarves. The Azellerisian Mountains stretched on the border between the Baharuth empire and the Re-Estize kingdom, and within these mountains was the Dwarven kingdom. As long as the Baharuth empire still maintained trade relations with the Dwarven kingdom, the rights of the dwarves were still protected.

"I feel sorry for these elves, but now is not the time to save them."

Imina sighed deeply, deep inside she knew that, but her feelings were simply unable to be released easily.

"Let's go."

As Imina began to walk forward, Hekkeran and the others accelerated their pace to catch up. What they saw when they caught up with the main group made their eyes widen in shock.

Two trains were set up for the trip to the ruins. There was also a group of people surrounding the train. They must be the adventurers mentioned earlier. The metal pieces hanging on their necks all gave off a golden luster.

However, what surprised them was not the carriage or the adventurers, but the horses.

"Sleipnir."

Surprised voices were also heard from other workers.

With four pairs of legs, Sleipnir is indeed much larger in size compared to ordinary horses. Due to their superiority in power, endurance and mobility, Sleipnir is considered a magical beast of the most versatile type to travel all over the land.

Of course, the cost of a single course was exorbitant, quite equivalent to the price of five or more war horses. Even for aristocrats, it was unusual for them to have just one.

Each carriage was pulled by two Sleipnirs, When considering the loss of these horses while adventuring, those people aware of their worth ended up admiring the generosity of the Earl. Or maybe he was just afraid that ordinary horses were not strong enough to pull all the treasures to be found from within the ruins. Others must have thought this way too. The sounds of people gulping down their saliva could be heard.

"Please use the provided car. The supplies are already placed inside. For the safety of the train, as well as the security of the tent location, we specifically employ adventurers. And also, please understand they signed an agreement stating that they will not enter into the ruins."

Suddenly thinking of moving forward, Hekkeran left his comrades and headed towards Greenham.

"Sorry, Greenham. There's something I want to discuss."

"What's wrong? What do you want to talk about?"

"It's about a couple for the trains, can you help me not to be in the same train as 'Your genes'?"

"Eh? Ah, I know. You don't.I understand. That's why it's about your colleagues, isn't it? Then our team that will pair up with 'Tenmu' instead."

"I'm sorry about this, you've helped a lot."

"Don't worry about it, we're all in this together as friends in this job. It would be bad if something happened before we even started the investigation. If-"

"-Is it alright for us to rely on the golden-ranked adventurers? What should we do if the location of the tent is invaded before we even return? Or if there are monsters that managed to break through the security perimeter of the camp site?!"

Suddenly, a loud and clear sound like a burning fireball could be heard from everyone, making Hekkeran and Greenham turn their attention elsewhere.

Eruya's sentence was directed at the butler. However, he did not want to hide his voice. As if time had suddenly frozen, the movements of the adventurers carrying luggage stopped by a gesture.

Usually, for those who are aiming for the top spot, it is clear that the road will become longer and more steep when the farther away it goes. Although it did not matter to what extent one could reach the end, the effort required to be able to get to the place where they were now was not something that could be achieved easily. Their feelings after hearing what Eruya said could only be referred to as being unsettled.

The profession of an adventurer is indeed very competitive, making his abilities doubtful - especially by the demand-making - could have a huge effect on their future career. It is necessary to show their strength.

No matter if they were adventurers or a worker, being able to get rid of this sentence, the one who spoke should at least have a position strong enough to allow them to escape it. Therefore, Eruya did not mind the current atmosphere at all, then whittled down.

"well, I do have to admit at least they're pretty good at having the qualifications as a lackey for luggage, but in order to keep things safe, I'm not sure."

That's right, my goodness. It will be bad if things get bad. They should also refrain from being employed...

The workers currently present were all as strong as adventurers with a mythrill rank. In other words, stronger than those adventurers. However, there were still certain things that one should not say, based on the current atmosphere.

Can someone give him a punch so he can be quiet?

The atmosphere among the workers began to stiffen as the majority of them started to look at Eruya for disagreeing. Looking around, Hekkeran quickly rushed towards Imina's side. It could be bad if the bloodshed starts.

However, the person who makes the next move is not a worker.

"You must be Uzruth-sama. I'm sure there won't be any problems."

"..Was it because of the assumption that we would also help secure the camp site? If it is like that then I can still receive your reply."

"It's not. It's just that we've asked for help from someone stronger than those who are already present - Momon-san."

As if responding to a sentence spoken just a moment ago, a warrior clad in full plate armor stepped out from one of the carriages. Because of the head covering she was wearing, her face was nowhere to be seen.

"Let me introduce you to everyone. Arriving at the adamantite rank with the strength of only two people, adventurer Momon-san from 'Darkness'. Teammate Nabe was also present. With these two people protecting the camp site, with this arrangement..I hope everyone is satisfied?"

The atmosphere suddenly became completely different. For adventurers and workers, standing in front of them was one of the people who had reached the top of their profession. Behind the presence of the strongest, every worker, no matter who it was, immediately fell silent.

Seeing how the workers reacted to the appearance of a highest ranked adventurer, the mood of the other adventurers also increased. A happy smile appeared on the face of the leader of the adventurer team as he conversed with the warrior in black.

"Please leave it to us all. During that time, can Momon-san take turns with the workers? And also, please take control of the leader and advise us on the security plan during the trip."

"I understand. Even though I'm still lacking, if your team has no problem with it, I'll accept it. However, I still rely on you guys as the main force of security. Your team contains more people. It would be better for us to help instead."

"No! What are you saying?! You are not lacking at all!! Doing it like that would make Momon-san drag-"

"No, your team will still be assigned as the main security. Please use us. Then now, Nabe."

Ending the conversation with a voice that carried a faint smile gesture, Momon descended the stairs from the carriage. The one who followed behind Momon was a woman who possessed an astonishing beauty.

Normally, when a woman appeared, there would always be a commotion. However, the circumstances would be very different if the level of beauty was already far superior. In the presence of a truly beautiful woman, one thing one could do was to steal their eyes.

"Hekkerama. That guy..."

"Yes, Rob. I think the same thing. We saw it in the north market. Over there... Momon from 'Darkness'. With just one partner. If it was like that, it would seem that the rumor of him defeating the Gigant Basilisk was not an exaggeration like it was at first."

"Giga-! About that, is it true?"

"It looks like it is. There are also rumors that they defeated a demon with a difficulty level of more than 200 at a time. I heard this from Greenham."

"-It's not real, is it? The difficulty level of over 200 was far beyond the limits of human abilities. It was not a realm that could be reached by humans.. Can't you just misheard 100 to 200?"

"Despite that, it's still amazing. But somehow I get the feeling that it really did happen as the rumors say. At least, that's how I feel."

Although it was only a momentary conversation with the golden-ranked adventurer, Momon's personality was clearly visible. Consistent with what people expect from adamantite-ranked adventurers. The impression given by Momon was that of a loved one.

"Before we start taking turns. There's something I want to hear from you guys."

Momon's voice wasn't so loud. However, the impression received when hearing the voice was grandeur and greatness.

"Why did you decide to go to the ruins? because you have received a request? However, in contrast to how the guild could at any time force adventurers to take requests, no one can prevent you from rejecting these requests. What was the reason you decided to leave?"

The workers exchanged glances with each other, hesitating how to retaliate. In the end, the first to speak was someone from the Parupatra Team.

"It's obvious because of the money."

Perfect answer to that question. No more other reasons. The reason why workers hesitate to answer is not because the question is difficult, but rather because they try to measure the true purpose of Momon because they have asked the obvious.

After making sure that each worker agreed with the answer given, Momon continued the question.

"In other words, the reward offered from this request is enough for you to risk your life?"

"really so. The amount offered is quite attractive to all of us. And also, bonuses will also be given if we find additional treasures from the ruins. Isn't that enough for us to risk our lives?"

The answer is Greenam.

"...Apparently so. So this is the final decision you make. I-i understand. I seem to have asked something free. I'm sorry."

"What you ask is not what offends us... We don't mind."

"Hya hya. You seem to be done with that question. Then, can this old man ask for something?"

"Please, senior."

"I've heard a lot of rumors about you. Whether or not that was true, this old man hoped to find out for himself."

"so. Seeing something by yourself far beats hundreds of stories huh? Alright. I'm fine too. Then let me to, no, let us as security guards to show our worth. In what attitude do you want from us in doing this?"

"About that, obviously you have to face an opponent, right?"

All of those present suddenly focused their attention towards-

"of course, it must be by the person offering it. This old man himself."

"What's? So seniors want to choose themselves?... Then I have to apologize first, because I am not a man who is used to holding back when fighting. Although I may not have intended to cause injury, I am not quite able to control my strength well - are you still okay with this?"

"Hya hya! As expected of the adamantite rank! This old man has decided to take that risk. I won't blame you for what happened."

A faint laugh could be heard from behind Momon's head covering.

"As expected of Senior. This is the difference from combat strength - I am indeed strong. Stronger than everyone present. That's why I'm rated adamantite."

Great pride, and an attitude as if looking down from above. However, not the slightest bit of unpleasant taste was felt from the workers present. This was clearly due to the impression of pressure being released from the man called Momon. The sentences were indeed accompanied by tremendous pressure and gave the impression of staring at death itself, therefore the sentences felt as if they contained the power of trust.

"...It's amazing."

"...Aye, absolutely amazing."

Many of the people present could not help but let out their voices due to the emitting pressure.

There are many women who will fall in love with a strong and mighty man. In terms of respect and admiration, many men are also attracted to the power of the strong. Like moths attracted by fire, people living in a world of blood and steel cannot resist the charm of an irresistible attraction, although they know that they will burn if it gets too close.

"Hya hya! It seems that no one here would mind you becoming an adamantite-ranked adventurer! Even though I have said this, since this is a rare opportunity, I still continue despite knowing that I will lose. The cart that's here is in the way. Can we use the empty area over there, instead, the butler?"

Receiving permission from the butler, Parupatra moved first towards the empty courtyard. All the workers followed. The adventurers and butlers also came.

"Judging from what the elder said, it seems we won't be able to witness much."

"That guy looks really strong."

"Uun, not just strong, is more insanely powerful. It felt like he was like he was stronger than every other team of adamantite ranked adventurers within the Empire."

"It looks like it is. The only reason the 'Silver Canary' adventurer team had adamantite rank was because their entire members were people with rare professions. Even if they had strange abilities, their true strength was nothing high. 'Eight Ripples' managed to get to where they were mainly due to relying entirely on their numbers and spectacular cooperation."

'Silver Canary' was a team led by a Bard who had already achieved a heroic level, while its members had many strange professions. 'Eight Ripples' was founded by nine members, but because of their numbers, they were often considered as a team each individual member still did not reach the level of adamantite. However, if it was about teamwork, they were known to be extremely expert beyond all the other adamantite ranked teams that could be achieved.

However, all of them were considered to have reached an impossible feat of rising to the realm of adamantite rank.

Whispers of such discussions could be heard from the team members in the back.

The content of the discussion is not just limited to the previous things. If you listen carefully, many things can be heard. The most discussed topic is how long Parupatra can last, that sort of thing. No one believed he could beat Momon. The main reason for that was because the man known as Momon had exuded a pressure that only those who already had adamantite ratings could have, even if it was only for a short while.

While Hekkeran fell into a daydream, someone walked to his side. Considering the sound the metal produced, it was obvious who it was.

"What does Greenham think of the fight that will take place between the two of them?"

"Although I don't feel good saying this, I can't see how the elder can win. Up to this point, what was left was merely looking as far as what the Elder could hold him back, that was all. Are you planning on going next after the Elder?"

"No way, that's right. How's yours?"

"I'll give up too. I would be content with just witnessing the might of a superior warrior. However, I hope to receive the sword clues during this trip."

"I also think so - Oh!"

Upon arriving in the courtyard, Momon and Parupatra began to retreat from each as they began to prepare their horses.

Parupatra's gaze was definitely not a gaze an ordinary old man could make, it was definitely the eyes of a warrior accustomed to fighting.

The atmosphere slowly turned to be filled with murderous lust, the peace surrounding the courtyard was no longer there.

While the audience was watching, the pressure created felt bad and some of them even started to sweat.

"...Oh my gosh, dope. The elder seems really serious."

Greenham, who was standing by Hekkerna's side, unconsciously showed his true self.

"Against an enemy of adamantite rank, it is indeed understandable to fight as if his life is at stake"

Retaliating, Hekkeran turned his gaze towards the black warrior, trying to put himself in the position of the elder, and was flabbergasted.

He could not feel anything from Momon.

His two hands were lowered at the side without showing any signs of taking any defensive action, meeting with bloodlust instantly as if it was nothing. It was really as if he was facing a harmless little boy and was holding a sword, that kind of feeling.

"Aahriya! It's stunning! Facing such a killing appetite and showing no signs of any reaction. It was impossible for him not to realize this much bloodthirsty aura being released, lest he had already arrived at the very top peak of the warrior, the final mental state would be void?!"

"Swordless Hearts? (Heart without a sword)? Or has his mental state reached the realm of clouds and water? Being able to stand up fearlessly like that when there was a lot of difference between the weapons of the two, he must have been very confident in his abilities."

The spear in Parupatra's hands was a magic item made from the teeth of a dragon, where the weapon Momon was holding was a wooden stick borrowed earlier from one of the adventurers. No matter how he looked at it, the wooden stick was clearly not added with any magic. Weapons coupled with magic can increase their sharpness, increase the user's abilities drastically and provide a variety of additional effects. Just looking at the direction of the weapon, Parupatra had an overwhelming advantage.

"No, I don't think so. It is true that there is a strong difference in weapon terms, the armor of Momon-san should be much better above the Elders in terms of its magic properties. And also, the additional magic items worn should be even better. The overall difference isn't that big, but Momon-san should have grasped the lead."

"Isn't it too early to jump to conclusions? I heard that the number of magic items possessed by elders is much larger and equal to that of most adamantite adventurers... The elder had travelled for a long time, and had already completed the work in an uncountable amount again. If we consider the amount of payment received, none within the Empire has paid more than him!"

"No, no, wait a minute"

"What should have waited was supposed to be -"

While the two people were still arguing, the pressure within the courtyard had already reached its climax and the first spark of battle had finally begun to appear.

"Then, come on!?"

"there are still important things to do after this. Don't make it too hard for you and come to me, senior-"

Without finishing his sentence, Parupatra charged towards Momon at a speed that many could not imagine from an eighty-year-old grandfather. Smooth and strong, he finished the action with a malleability so that his opponent, Momon still could not lift the stick in his hand.

"[Fang Thrust's Dragon]!"

Hekkeran's eyes widened in surprise to Parupatra who suddenly used a martial art at the beginning of the fight.

A two-prick attack streaked with a stick that was bent like a dragon tooth. Aside from providing additional damage based on attributes added by its users, this martial art technique also includes the effect of returning to its original place so as to increase the chances of providing critical damage. Using 'Piercing Strike' as its base, this technique was a technique created by Parupatra forty years ago. A technique with excellent balance is known by many and even now many people are still learning it.

Coupled with 'Dragon Fang Thrust', Parupatra added a layer of 'Blue Dragon Fang Thrust', which made additional light damage.

What was the old man thinking! Even though we have healing magic here, ready to desperately fight like that?

The effect of using martial arts is that even a small scratch will cause a sufficient number of lightning strikes. It is suitable when fighting against enemies that use armor made of metal. His decision to use this attack shows the seriousness of Parupatra.

However, for an attack that was known to be troublesome for those wearing metal armor, Momon easily avoided it like nothing. His actions made it look like he was wearing armor as light as feathers. The slowed movement that is usually caused by wearing full body armor does not appear at all. What made it surprising was that rather than making excessive movements like jumping backwards, Momon was able to dodge the attacks that came with minimal effort while standing upright.

"No way! How good is his kinetic view and physical ability?"

"-[Gale Acceleration]!"

Paruptra replied directly with another martial art.

The old man is overdoing it! Has the brain become fossilized?

"[Fang Thrust's Dragon]!"

Using the same technique as before, Parupatra stabbed Momon once again. The blade he had on his spear glittered with a white layer of cold air coming from the 'White Dragon Fang Thrust' he used this time.

Four consecutive strikes that give his opponent no breathing-space

A commotion sounded from the horde of people who were watching.

Sure oes. Even such an attack was unable to land a single one or make the slightest scratch on Momon's armor.

Parupatra quickly jumped back to create distance from Momon. Sweat began to gather on his forehead. It was not due to the depletion of stamina, but rather due to the large amount of mental pressure he received when facing death.

"That's amazing!"

"- Stronger than Hekkeran."

"Clearly, Arche. Don't use me as a comparison. What you see there is the highest adventurer. The absolute peak of all.the power of the adamantite ranked adventurer."

"Then, it looks like my turn to attack."

Momon slowly raised his staff, entered the horses. Instead, Parupatra placed the spear on his shoulder, loosening his posture. He attacked, because losing had already lost his battle spirit.

"remarkable. I give up, I retreat. Let alone winning, this old man can't even scratch your armor one bit."

"...Is that so."

In the direction of Parupatra announcing his defeat, the majority of the audience let out a "uooooh" sound as they sighed. Undoubtedly, a remarkable victory by Momon, like an adult playing with a child.

Discussions such as "Which martial school is used by Momon's leg movement technique?" it began to slide as the already excited audience began to share their thoughts with each other. Not caring about this, Hekkeran and Greenham walked towards Parupatra who was busy wiping his sweat while conversing with Momon.

"Have you finished, Senior?"

It felt as if the atmosphere and tone of voice had suddenly changed.

"...I guess you want to show me the real ability."

"...hya hya. That's too much for an old man like me. What I have shown is my true ability, Momon-dono."

"-Ah, I'm sorry for being disrespectful."

"There's no need to apologize, but I'm honestly very sad. And also, you don't have to be humble like that. What we old men respect is strength and not who lives longer. Being given that much respect by someone as powerful as you just makes me not feel good."

"...Apparently so. Alright. However, ending it like this without letting me even take a single swing left a bad taste for me. If there's another time, I'll start it. Then, I'll go back to move the luggage."

"There's someone else doing it. You shouldn't have to do that, right?"

"I don't think so. No matter what status I have, when a task is given to me, I still have to get it done right."

After saying so, Momon turned around and headed towards the carriage. Followed him a woman who had peerless beauty. The amazement and Greenham whose path was traversed could not stop turning their eyes against them once more.

Enchanted by a larger silhouette than Momon's back.

"Hya, you made this old man's face want to ask something."

"-Elder, what do you think of this?"

Parupatra's wrinkled face began to change, as if wanting to smile bitterly.

"Very strong. No, it should have been predictable for being an adamantite adventurer. However, I never imagined how far it would go. When we faced each other, I was under the impression that no matter how many times I attacked, I would never be able to touch it."

Heckeran also has the same feeling. Each of his attacks would probably be avoided by the man named Momon, then a counterattack would come. Although he could land a punch after using the best tricks one could think of, the image of his attack being condensed by the armor still appeared in Hekkeran's mind. Parupatra who experienced it firsthand, must have received an even stronger impression.

"So that's.. adamantite rank huh?"

"really so. This is called adamantite level. A world where only a few can reach. Aaah, really amazing and magnificent. A height you cannot reach and touch... Well, are you guys satisfied after seeing this?"

"No doubt about it! Thanks to being an observer, I was able to see the full details. If I were to fight, I would never be able to observe everything calmly. Although I must apologize for saying this to the Elder, but personally, I really wanted to see Momon-dono when he was about to attack."

"That's impossible. Momon-dono never intended to attack from the start. He did not even show the slightest fighting spirit. Apparently, it was just her word, if she couldn't help herself. If he were to really attack, the Elder would seem to be losing his life."

If it was like that, it sounded very arrogant. The elder of Parupatra was also a warrior who had strength to consider, a veteran who should not be underestimated.

However, it was because after obtaining it was showing how powerful adamantite adventurers really were.

"You know how else. There was a huge difference in strength between this old man and that fellow. Although I was very unhappy, there was nothing I could say after he was able to dodge all of these attacks like nothing."

That's what it means to be strong.

Choosing a weapon that was unfamiliar to him, where weight and balance were completely different, showed how much confidence he had in his abilities. The difference between the two is that big.

With a final sentence like "tired, tired", Parupatra turned around and walked away towards the carriage.

As Parupatra's figure slowly grew farther and farther away, Hekkeran heard him mutter the following sentence.

"Although when I was young and reached the top I wasn't able to get to that level, so it was adamantite rank huh."

The Parupatra figure is noticeably smaller when compared to Momon, which exerts tremendous pressure.

"so it's the highest rank. adamantite."

"yeah. Absolutely amazing."

Only a agreeing voice could be heard from the two of them.

Part 2[edit]

On the paved Road inside Arwintar, a car runs like the wind.

The creature that pulled the luxurious carriage was an eight-legged beast, a Sleipnir. Two tough-looking warriors sat on the front platform, on the roof of the carriage. The area where the luggage was usually placed was already modified into a seat for a group of four people magic caster and archer, who were watching around with wary eyes.

Can be likened to a mobile fortress that is running under close supervision during a hot day. And of course, the one riding in it matched the high status.

Just by looking at the emblem beside the carriage, which consisted of three stacked sticks, everyone with knowledge / certain cultures will be able to know who is sitting inside and who is the owner of the train. Thus, the knights standing guard did not make any sound.

There were three people in the car. All of them were wearing robes and dressed like magic casters.

Although the three people were famous figures within the Empire, there was no magic caster more famous than this man. This old man was the most powerful magic caster within the Empire, 'Tri Arts' Fluder Paradyne.

Across from Fluder were his two disciples, both of whom could use magic up to level 4.

As if he could no longer tolerate the heavy atmosphere after departing from the imperial capital, one of the disciples timidly said:

"Master, what should we do with the orders of His Majesty the Emperor?"

Silence filled the car once more. As they thought that was the case, Fluder replied in a deep and calm voice.

"If his highness wishes for it, we as his subordinates can only carry out his orders and begin our investigation. However, it was too risky to conduct an investigation using magic. Do we have to start studying the archives or do demon summoning? In the end, we still need to gather information."

"Do you say that even you yourself do not know, Master?"

Fluder closed his eyes and opened again a few seconds later.

"I know less. I don't know anything about a powerful demon named Jaldabaoth."

About a month ago, a group of demons attacked the royal capital. According to the information they gathered, the commander of Jaldabaoth and his servant were monstrous creatures from another world.

Due to the demon crisis, scheduled attacks to the Kingdom capital have not been carried out this year. Think normally, the Empire should have already taken advantage of the situation and attacked the Kingdom when they were still exhausted after the demon attack.

Apparently, there were two reasons why the Empire was waging war on the Kingdom.

The first reason was to drain the resources of the Kingdom. Unlike the Empire which formed a special force, the Kingdom formed an army from conscription to the people. Therefore, the Kingdom would lose in quality every time the Empire moved its troops, so they had to make up for it with the quantity of the troops. That was the reason why they chose the harvest season to call for war. The peasants would become soldiers and unable to harvest their fields, which was a long-term plan to siphon the Kingdom's resources.

Another reason was to weaken the strength of the nobles within the Empire. During the war, they would impose special taxes on the nobles who fought against the Emperor and sucked their money. If they refuse, they will be charged with treason. In the end, the only difference was to tighten the noose around their necks or kill them for coming up with the wrong idea.

Therefore the reason, the all-out Kingdom of the battle could be left alone - such was the conclusion of the emperor Jircniv. After all he had to pull the fangs of most nobles.

But there is another reason.

Where is Jaldabaoth now, who commits a crime that matches the title of a demon? And what kind of figure would a creature have created such a disaster.

Naturally there was an order to investigate Jaldabaoth falling to Fluder, the most famous magic caster within the Empire.

"And who had defeated Jaldabaoth, 'Dark Hero' Momon and his partner 'Beautiful Princess' Nabe. How intriguing. And the mysterious magic caster Ainz Ooal Gown. Did all the heroes hiding start making moves? Perhaps a fierce battle similar to the battle against the Demon God two hundred years ago would happen once again."

"...Is that gonna happen?"

"I don't know, but only fools make preparations only after the incident. Being prepared before that happens is the action of a wise man."

The train finally arrived at its destination.

A large area surrounded by thick, high walls with several watchtowers guarding it, guarding against dangers coming from both outside and inside. Selected Beberepa knights - from the first elite Knight Order was the best of the eighth order Knights in the Empire - formed groups with magic casters and made regular patrols.

Deep in the sky were personal guards under the direct jurisdiction of the Emperor, imperial air guards riding flying beasts, and even high-level magic casters using flight magic.

This was a symbol of the greatness of the empire, and the place where the previous emperor invested his greatest hard work, the Ministry of Magic.

The production of equipment for knights, the development of new spells, raising the standard of living through magic experiments, the essence of Empire's magic knowledge are all here. And the person in charge of the whole thing - even if it was someone else who was the magic minister - was Fluder.

The train moves through the territory, and finally stops before the deepest tower.

One common thing is that the various buildings they pass through there are people entering and exiting in large numbers. However, only a few people entered and exited this tower. On the contrary, the security at the entrance was far more than any other building.

First was how the knights for security looked. They were not from the 1st Order of Knigth that could be seen anywhere around.

They wore full plate armor coupled with magic, held magic shields and had magic weapons hanging from their waists. Their deep red robes, sewn with Empire symbols, were also magic as well.

The added magic might not be that powerful, but the equipment was not something to equip ordinary knights, even within the Empire.

These elite knights were Imperial Earth Guards under the direct command of the Emperor.

The magic casters beside him were equally capable. They were veterans and experts in combat, giving off an aura that could be on par with a veteran warrior.

And there's more. Four stone Golems with a height of 2.5 meters stood guard at the entrance. Without food or rest and never lazy, they are the most suitable for security.

This place, which had a security system equivalent to one that protected the emperor, only allowed entry to the magic casters who had arrived at the last half of the level 3 magic lesson, those with special conditions and magic casters who are experts in research.

After responding in the most respectful manner to the knights and magic casters with a gentle wave, he entered the tower. He arrived above the room in the shape of a bowl after passing through a straight passageway. Many magic casters work fast. The highest ranked magic caster hurriedly came towards Fluder.

"Has anything happened?"

"Nothing can be reported, Master."

After gulping, the student forced out an answer that appeared both good and bad news.

Fluder nodded with a complicated expression as he looked towards the thirty personally trained disciples - known as the thirty chosen disciples. The most famous one was his representative in charge of this place.

"Well, can't we connect it to a natural event?"

"Yes Master. We can't connect it to the existence of the lowest level undead, the skeleton. Right now we're doing an experiment by putting it next to a corpse to see if the zombies will rise naturally."

"Hmmmmm...."

Fluder rubbed his long beard as he looked at the scene developing in front of him.

There are dozens of skeletons doing farm work.

lift the hoe and swing it down. The movements of the entire skeleton were orderly and perfect. If anyone looked from the side, they would only see one skeleton moving.

That highly orderly movement looks like a tactical RPG. It is the true nature of the great project of the Empire that was carried out in secret. 'Using the Undead as a manual laborer'.

Such undead do not require nutrition or rest, and will not become tired. Low-level Undead were not intelligent beings, so they could only perform their ordered tasks and could not do other complicated things. However, if there was someone who gave him orders from the side, the matter would be resolved.

Removing undead to the fields will yield great results, such as reducing the manpower needed and falling prices of the crops... The lands of the fields could be expanded, and wounded and dead humans could be avoided. It's no exaggeration to call this a big project.

There were offers similar to using summoned monsters or creating golems as workers, but after considering the cost, efficiency and optimization, the use of undead was among the best choices.

But those who forbid it - especially groups led by priests - argue that using the undead, which is a manifestation of hatred for sentient beings, will destroy the soul of the dead.

It's different if you look at it from a religious point of view.

Although the undead rose from the corpses of the criminals, according to the teaching of the relics, the sins of the criminals had already worn off when they were executed, and turning them into undead was a desecration. It is hard to convince those who think so.

If they were to face food problems, because many died of starvation, it would be easier to convince them. However, the food supply of the Empire was plentiful and there were no problems for its workers either.

And that was the reason why the priests rejected this project.

However, the goal of the project was to strengthen the Empire's military might. By handing over the production line to the undead and freeing the workers for other areas, it would eventually create a large horde of humans that could be selected to become some top-notch knights.

What remains is the displeasure of the human workers with the safety of the work, and the doubt of the obedience of the undead. And also, in exchange for a large number of undead, the balance between the dead and the living would probably collapse, causing the creation of even more powerful undead. Obviously the source is not quiet for those who listen to the priestly sermons.

This facility is there to be able to experiment and get rid of that uneasy feeling.

"The main reason is still unclear, huh?"

"Yes, forgive me profusely, Master."

Why undead rise naturally. Knowing the main reasons is important for the future.

The place was said to be covered by fog for many years and was only clean when the Kingdom and the Empire went to war, a cursed place known as the Katze plains. Where the strongest undead, such as the Skeletal Dragon who was immune to all magic, appeared with extremely high odds.

Although the Empire had plans to annex the area around E-Rantel under his rule, they were reluctant to take over the place where the undead rose to the highest average level. Therefore, they should know how long the undead will rise, which will definitely help to control them. It was even possible to stop the appearance of the undead for all eternity.

"I understand, I understand."

Leaving the vice in charge, Fluder began to walk around the bowl-shaped room.

When he arrived at the opposite door, the number of disciples following behind Fluder increased.

In front of the door opened by the guarding knight, the line of people advanced. It was just like the passage before, yet the existence of humans slowly diminished.The air that smelled like dust and light seemed to lose to the darkness.

The passageway with the disturbing aura extended straight and connected to the stairs that twisted downwards. As they passed through the doors during the journey, the time between the sounds of their footsteps resounded within the tower grew shorter. They only headed five floors underground. However, the heavy atmosphere made it seem longer.

The reason is because they are underground. This was evidenced by the tense expressions of everyone, including Fluder, due to their nervousness.

On the bottom floor, everyone's faces changed, the pressure was so high that it was no surprise to say they were ready for battle.

Everyone was focused on a pair of heavy doors. It was a door that looked like it was separating from the other world. In order to not be able to be opened or destroyed easily, the doors were strengthened with magic and physical defenses layered. It is an impenetrable door.

Several pairs of heavy doors that they passed through during the journey said the danger of this place. The doors have the meaning to buy time if there are dangerous things happening here, and also have the main meaning to separate this area.

Fluder gave his disciples a stern voice.

"Don't be reckless."

The warning is quite short and simple, which tells how scary it is.

The magic caster who followed him nodded deeply. Fluder repeated his warning every time he came here. Even though they knew what was there, their expressions were not calm.

Sealed inside here was the strongest undead. If he were to miss, it would not be necessary to ask again what terrible tragedy would fall to the Empire.

Some people started casting protection spells. Not just physical protection spells, they cast magic for mental protection as well. After a while, Fluder looked towards his students once again to gauge their determination.

After nodding, he cast a seal-releasing spell.

With the power of the spell, the heavy door slowly opened with a 'gong' sound'.

Something akin to cold air was spilling out from the interior of the darkness, and some disciples were strengthening their shoulders from the cold. Even with magic items protecting from the environment, the hatred towards the living beings from the creatures inside was enough to send goosebumps up to their spine.

The sound of someone gulping spit sounded extremely loud.

"Let's go."

Responding to Fluder's voice, the disciples made various magic illumination lights, expelling the darkness from inside the room. The reduced darkness seemed to hide the light, making the surroundings even darker - that was how it felt.

With Fluder in the lead, the group walked towards the room where the aura of death hung.

Part of the reason was because of its narrowness, and the room was instantly illuminated by magic light.

What was inside was a giant pillar that was up to the roof. The tombstone-like object was very striking. However, there was something bound by the chains that attracted more attention.

The creature was actually bound by a chain thicker than the thumb. The end of the chain was secured by a large rock, and a large iron ball was tied to each limb.

It is difficult for any creature to move in such situations. This excessive bonding reflects how wary they are of this opponent. That was why some members of the group were still not calm despite being tied up with thick chains. They were convinced that this creature could break that bond and gain freedom easily.

The creature appeared like a knight wearing a full plate armor, but it was very different compared to the equipment from humans.

The most prominent feature was his large body. It's over two meters tall. Next was the black full plate armor. On the armor were carvings reminiscent of veins, and thorns symbolizing violence were seen everywhere. Horns similar to demons came out from his head covering, and a face that could be clearly seen. Inside that head covering was a rotting face. An empty eye-hole with a bright red glow of his hatred of living beings and his thirst for mass slaughter.

It was not a living creature, but something that was already dead. Only that was possible because the creature exuded an enormous hatred towards living beings.

"Deaths... Knight."

The red glow in Death Knight's eyes twinkled, his gaze looking like he was licking the magic casters before him. No, fast action should not be visible at all. However, the trembling aura gave the magic casters a shadow as if the creature was staring at them.

The ones accompanying them could at least use tier 3 magic, a group of elites, but right now, they could not stop their cracked teeth.

Despite the mental protective spells there, the fear did not stop spilling. The fact that no one tried to run showed that magic was still effective.

"-Control your spirit, a weak soul will be welcomed by death." Fluder warned as he approached the Death Knight. Retaliating, the Death Knight let out a bloodlust and urged strength through his limbs.

The chains were cracking as if they were groaning, but the creature's body was moving only slightly.

Fluder extended a hand towards the Death Knight. The Magic light pushed through the darkness, and the sound of the Fluder casting a spell echoed. A modified version of 'Summon Undead Level 6', the original Magic Fluder.

"-obey."

The magic had already been chanted - As if it melted with the surroundings, the soft Fluder's voice became eroded.

Instead, the eyes of the Death Knight were still filled with hatred towards living beings. Anyone could tell the spell was a failure.

"...We still can't control it, huh."

Fluder's voice was filled with regret. Even after five years, he had not managed to control this undead.

This monster was found in the Katze plains, where undead roamed.

A group of Knights from the Empire encounter and fight the creature as part of their mission of annihilation, though they have never seen this type of undead before. A few seconds later, they realized this was beyond their capabilities. The faces of the Empire's knights, known for their discipline and strength, were filled with terror and despair.

A one-sided battle - His opponent was too strong.

After cutting dozens of knights like grass, the knights realized the limits of their abilities and began to retreat.

And of course, they could not leave such a monster alone. Especially after they watched themselves as the slain knights turned into undead ghouls, it was easy to imagine the damage spreading if they gave their opponents time.

After many times arguing, the top leadership of the Empire decides to send out their ace - the greatest combat unit of the Empire, Fluder and his students.

And the result was that the Death Knight was captured, with Fluder and his team winning the victory. However, the Fluder only won because the Death Knight had no way of warding off the flight magic. Using the carpet as a bomber - repeatedly throwing 'Fireball' from above - to weaken the Death Knight's movements and defeat him. Interested in his strength, Fluder captured and moved him to this place.

Right now, the creature is bound by several spells, magic items and methods - They instill various ways to dominate the undead because the Fluder wants to control this Death Knigth.

"Dearly so.. If I can control it, I'll be able to get past that magic caster and become the greatest in history."

Passing through one of the thirteen heroes, the necromancer Rigrit Bers Coural. Passed by himself rapidly.

Actually, Fluder wasn't obsessed with pursuing power. What he was looking for was to stare into the abyss of magic. This is a process towards its final goal.

However, his students did not know and calmed him down. "I think Master passed that hero."

"really so. Thirteen heroes are relics from the past. They could not win against a Master who was at the sophistication of a new magic technique."

"I also feel like that Master has already passed Thirteen heroes. If Master can control the Death Knight, the Empire will gain the greatest combat power."

"They say the strength of someone who can defeat the power of many people, but that's only because the strength of that individual is still weak. This Death Knight is truly the strongest being."

No one saw Fluder's wry smile as he stood at the very front of the line. Only Death Knigt's eyes saw it.

"Even the Master cannot dominate... This Death Knight. How strong is he?"

"That remains unknown. In theory, this creature can be dominated. Does anyone know what is lacking?"

After a while, the answer remained silent.

Undead can be dominated through magic, but the only one who succeeds in doing so is one of the Thirteen heroes. The fluder was strong enough to dominate the undead who had a level high enough and he was strong enough that he might be able to dominate the Death Knight that was in front of him.

However, this is just a theory, dominating the undead requires a fairly complicated process. Basically, the control and destruction of the undead should be done by the priests using the power of gods. By using magic instead of divine power, it was only natural that various problems arose.

"..I don't mean to offend Master.."

One of the disciples spoke with a heavy attitude, and Fluder hinted at him to continue.

"Maybe the Master isn't strong enough yet? This Death Knight probably exists because it has already been summoned by magic with level 7..." "That's a good observation."

"I heard adventurers use numbers to measure the difficulty of monsters. How about using it?"

"But their size is very faint, I heard that the age and size of the monsters would make that number meaningless."

The other students spoke. "Other than an unknown monster, there is nothing clearer and simpler than that. And since they were already representative of the accumulated experience of adventurers, they shouldn't have gone too far."

"Wouldn't it be free for a legendary monster like the Death Knight?"

"By the way Master, did the secret book record the various monsters that mentioned such monsters?"

"No." Fluder rubbed his beard. "In addition to the complete Eryuentiu, the version that is open to the public is free."

One of the students asked again. Their voices were soft, yet they sounded loud in that quiet room.

"What is Eryuentiu?"

"Isn't that the name of a city?"

"I heard about it. But his name is like a sissy."

"Ah.. I've been looking for it, it means 'tree in the middle of the world' in the ancient tongue."

Warning the disciples who were talking casually, Fluder smacked his staff into the ground. This is a place that imprisons undead with legendary levels, not some sort of place where you can relax your vigilance.

Obeying the master's warning, silence returned to the room. The only sound was the writhing of the Death Knight who was trying to break his bond.

"Sadly, there's nothing more we can do here. At least for today. Let's go." "Yes Master."

After receiving some reply, Fluder started moving away from the Death Knight...

Even Fluder had a different step speed compared to when he arrived and left. With the pressure from the Death Knight's gaze behind him, he subconsciously accelerated his pace. It is the same with the students.

Walking ahead, Fluder remembered the name of one of his disciples.

"Eryuentiu."

The capital of the country was founded by the Eight Kings of Tamak, and also the last remaining city. At the same time, it was a city guarded by thirty guards wielding extraordinarily powerful magic weapons.

If he had a magic item from the Eight Rancid Kings, Fluder was confident that his magic abilities would increase. Never going to fall into the hands of others, the only exceptions were some items from the Thirteen heroes that were allowed to be carried by them.

A dark flame twinkled in the heart of Fluder.

Thirteen heroes. Heroes from the past. Fluder was someone who could be on par with them, yet they obtained permission while he was not. He doesn't understand what he lacks.

Fluder put away the burning fire and calmed down. His current status and what he achieved were equivalent to the achievements of the Thirteen heroes. No, in the hearts of Empire's magic casters, Fluder had already passed them in status.

But the black flames of jealousy could not be extinguished easily. He was not jealous of the power, the talent of strength, but the opportunity to gaze into the abyss of magic that lay before him.

Fluder is the best magic caster. This was a reality acknowledged by everyone, and the only one he could match was the Thirteen heroes of the past. However, he could not dominate the Death Knight, and could only use - according to rumors - six out of ten levels of magic. He was still far from achieving it to the abyss of magic.

And he's old.

Fluder is a mental magic caster who uses one of the systems of a class based on Wizardry - a forbidden art. Using taboo spells, he stopped aging. Of course, it was a complicated spell considering his level of practice, yet he forced it through a combination of rituals and spells.

However, Fluder's method of making the impossible possible still had a gap. Fluder, who should not grow old again after chanting the spell perfectly could still feel himself growing old slowly.

Now it can still be controlled, but with the passage of time, the final day for him will one day come.

Right enough. Fluder will die before seeing the magic abyss. If someone else had done it before him, he might have been able to arrive at this level earlier, but with no one to precede, he would have had to set his own pace.

Fluder looked at the students around him.

The one who was walking down the path that had been laid out by a figure known as the Fluder.

With gasoline added to the fire of jealousy, the fire became more and more blazing.

He, the most talented of the ones there, had already spent how much time he had to be able to arrive at the level where his disciple was? No, without even thinking about it, he must be older than his student. Someone who teaches and becomes a pioneer in setting the way, that's the difference.

Mengapa dia tidak memiliki seorang master?

Fluder tried to change his way of thinking.

- That's fine too. Leaving his name in the history books as a pioneer. The magic caster who has reached a new level after Fluder will thank Fluder for his achievements. His disciples were treasures to Fluder. If there is one person who becomes greater than himself, it will increase my strength

As he thought so, Fluder recalled a disciple he once had. If it was that girl, how far would it go?

"the Arche Eeb Rile Furt."

An amazing child. Learning level 2 magic at a young age and is already very close to level 3. If he continued, it was possible that he could reach Fluder's world one day. But in the end, he gave up on being a disciple...

In the past, Fluder only thought how stupid and disappointing it was.

"It's a shame."

Maybe Fluder has already let go of a big catch.

Where is the boy now? He thought he wanted to look for her. If he could use tier 3 spells, there might just be a guarantee of a certain level of status for the girl.

Maybe so, but he has a job to do now.

Fluder muttered the code sentence and the heavy door opened.

After exiting, the disciples around him took a deep breath with the same frequency. The air where the aura of the Death Knight was located was too heavy. If they hadn't done this, they would have couldn't stand it.

"Master!"

A low and rough voice sounded. It was one of his students, a famous adventurer. Due to his experience, he was appointed Deputy Director of security within the Ministry of Magic.

"...What was? Is there a problem?"

"No, no problem, it's just that the adamantite adventurer asked to meet with the Master."

Fluder looked at the man strangely.

They have no schedule to meet. As the best magic caster within the Empire, Fluder had all sorts of tasks other than his research, and someone who was extremely busy. If someone wanted to meet him suddenly, he could only shake his head. Only the Emperor could meet Fluder at will.

It may be true, but it's too early to turn it down. Adamantite adventurers are heroes, not people who can just be ignored. Same with Fluder. They were one of the sources of the rare artifacts he could obtain, so he could not take them lightly.

"Is that an honorary visit from the 'Silver Canaries'? Or the honored guest of the 'Eight Ripples'?"

Fluder mentioned the names of the two groups of adamantite adventurers that existed within the Empire.

But the student shook his head.

"No, it was a team of two people known as 'Darkness'. They showed their adamantite plates as evidence."

"What!?"

The famous adventurer team 'Darkness' of the Kingdom. With only two people, they had already completed tasks with the hero level. They even faced Jaldabaoth when a crisis broke out in the royal capital and defeated him.

Why would such a figure visit him? He had some questions, but the idea of discussing magic with a high-level magic caster 'Beautiful Princess' made him throw away his doubts.

However, as a subordinate of the Emperor, he was still reminded of the task given to him by the lord of Jircniv.

He would ask about it after meeting them. As he thought about it, Fluder said to his disciple:

"Please let our guests in. I'll be there as soon as I tidy up."

Part 3[edit]

"Ah, there really are ruins here, it surprises me. I didn't expect them to lie when offering such a fee, but it was still unbelievable that there were indeed ruins to explore in the middle of the plains."

His colleagues who stared at the ruins agreed with Hekkeran's monologue.

The ruins look like a tomb. The ground that seemed to sink slightly into the ground, as if the entire surrounding land was also descending, giving the impression of a basin.

The reason the ruins were unexplored was probably due to the surrounding meadows. There was nothing like the remains of an ancient city that attracted the eyes of adventurers. Another thing is the presence of several small hills around it that look like hiding the existence of the ruins, making it difficult to see. Although the roof of the building in the middle is slightly protruding, it will not be visible if you do not see it from this point.

Some of the ground surrounding the ruins had already fallen, revealing part of the walls. That's why these ruins have just been found. That's the conclusion of each team.

"It looks right. By the way, I'm a little excited. The chances of finding awesome things by exploring those ruins are really high."

"Who knows? well, there's no problem with this place. At least there are no dangerous monsters. However, what made me uneasy was the place that served as the headquarters of the main tent."

Installing a tent is the best option for a place like the plains.

The place was covered by hills and could not be seen from far away. If they paid attention to the use of the lights, it would be a little difficult to see their whereabouts.

And that's why it looks scary.

"But it's true, why do our clients know a place like this?"

The best guess is this area is the most suitable point for setting up a tent, and the ruins are visible to the client when they make the tent. That's what makes the most sense.

But that does make a new question. Why did they put up a tent in this far away place? Moreover, it was a noble from the Empire who put up a tent inside the Kingdom territory.

"- I heard there is a large underground organization within the Kingdom. I think it's called the Eight Finger. They look like a troublesome horde."

"They seem to have secret deals with the Empire. They had substantial power within the Kingdom, but it would be troublesome to investigate it further. I heard someone from my contact as a thief complaining about this."

Imina pressed down on her hair that was blown by the wind and Arche followed her as well. Roberdyck murmuring.

"I heard something about illegal drugs. It is a good item if used correctly. However, the people used it to enslave the weak, had actually misplaced it."

He could not help but raise his voice a little.

After all, Roberdyck became a worker to help the weak.

"This has nothing to do with the demand this time, so let's stop the assumptions that have no basis. After all, Arche's investigation determined that the client had no problem, right?"

Arche murmured that the investigation might not be so deep that it could delve carefully into the hidden things, but agreed.

"Everyone, you all understand, right?"

"of course. I'm not gonna say it in front of another team. After all, the workers might have already received a secret request from the Eight Finger. Other teams may have something to do with that organization, but we can't make groundless accusations. At least, not before this request is completed."

"I don't know how much blood and tears stain our money."

"-No matter how dirty it is, money is money and we have to accept that."

After gazing at Roberdyck, Arche took a deep breath to cool himself down.

"-I'm sorry, I said something disrespectful."

"No, I'm the one who's almost careless to say something disrespectful, I'm sorry."

"-Please don't mind me. You didn't say anything at all. Please keep it in your heart. I appreciated money more than my consciousness, however-" Arche raised his hand to emphasize the next sentence to be said. "I won't let my friends do unethical things. I've seen for myself some people die for their greed."

"I believe you, Arche."

Arche nodded his head and no one said anything else. They can communicate with their thoughts without speaking. It was because they had already argued like this many times before, so they finally decided to trust each other.

"So what do you think? My feeling is that maybe this tomb is in control of something very high."

Hekkeran stared at the neatly cut grass. The statues of angels and goddesses could only be called beautiful, and were obviously cared for on a regular basis.

On the other hand, the trees that appeared everywhere gave off a gloomy atmosphere.

The arrangement of the tomb is irregular, but scattered like the teeth of a bad witch, which is very opposite to the cleanliness of this place.

There's something that's taking care of this area. And it's no ordinary creature. A cold air signifying the danger of gnawing at their stomachs.

Hekkeran got rid of the cold and focused on the giant building. There are four basements at each compass point, with a large, elegant mausoleum sitting right in the middle. The four warrior statues that surrounded the large basement, gave off a menacing feeling to anyone who came closer and desecrated this place would be wiped out.

"The situation around is well guarded. I don't see any moss. Someone's doing his job seriously here, but what kind of person is he?"

The entire team - except for Tenmu - thought strangely as they read the explanation of the work.

Now that he had arrived here and confirmed that there was nothing but plains around the area, it was unnatural for a tomb to be built here.

The first is the location of the tomb. Building such a luxurious tomb in a very distant place is indeed surprising. Too unnatural. If this is not a place to cry for what is gone, but a monument to the legend of a great man, it is still understandable. It's happened anyway.

This is too unnatural.

The feeling that something strange was stuck in their throats was the reason why they were furrowing their brows.

"If there's someone here, it's gonna be a big deal. What should we do then?"

"...It would be annoying to drag innocent people into it."

"The team representatives have discussed this matter before. There are no records of any ruins located around this area. Since the nearest village was far away, the chances of ordinary people living here were very low. At best, they were squatters or monsters. Taking into account the absence of a single trace, they might not need any food, or they could provide their own food from within the ruins. We are ill-informed at the moment, speculating further will only keep us locked into one point of view and limit our thoughts. So let's stop speculating here." Normally, the discovery of the ruins would be reported to the state administration through the adventurer guild. The inventor will be allowed to explore it within a certain time limit. Due to this rule, inside the ruins found by the national agency or adventurer guild, killing the squatters was also allowed.

It is better to let thousands of innocents die than one guilty man be free.

Perhaps it was too brutal a rule, yet humans were indeed fragile beings in this world. That's why it's annoying if there are unknown creatures building nests near humans.

In reality, twenty years ago, a group known as the Zuranon occupied a ruin and conducted a terrifying experiment, which ended up being a disaster. There is little information about this, but a small town was destroyed.

It's a rule that something like that never happens again.

"well, it should be as usual the undead. If this place is occupied by undead, it would be critical if we do not finish them off and expel negative energy with holy power."

"It's worse than you think. If we just let the undead, there is a chance that the stronger undead will rise. That was the reason why there were extremely powerful undead inside the ruins."

"If a banished golem carries the final command from its master and tidies this place, it will be a blessing. One less thing to worry about. What's the plan after that?"

"-I think Hekkeran should have gone in my place."

"Don't worry about it. The other leaders didn't leave either, did they? Send the best people for this job, right?"

Arche sighed in response to Hekkeran who winked.

"-After all, when the night has come, the whole team will move together. We'll go inside from four sides and gather in the big mausoleum in the middle."

"It turns out, we'll be known easily if we do it in the middle of the day."

"-That's right."

They get a clear view of the surrounding area and do not see any signs of surveillance or travelers. It seems like there is no problem to infiltrate now, but they have to prepare for the unexpected. Moving in the dark is safer.

Although the operation started at night, they might be able to get further information by keeping a close eye on the ruins. They have limited time to complete their work, but the time spent here will be well spent, at least according to the brain of the operation.

It was no surprise that they spent several days observing the location.

"Isn't it safer to observe the place with 'invisibility'?"

"- We also considered it, but there is a chance the situation will probably get more serious later, so maybe we should do this together. Even in the worst case, we'll at least find something."

There are different ways to detect invisibility, so it's not a perfect mantra. If the workers approach after using magic and are known by the security of the ruins, the enemy's security level will increase if they do not know who the intruder will be. If they messed it up, they probably wouldn't be able to infiltrate the place in days.

To avoid this, they put out a plan to move in together.

Hekkeran nodded in understanding. There are many loopholes, but the plan is still balanced between the risks and the chances of completing the mission.

"I hope they give us time to rest."

"-is that. 'Darkness' and 'Screaming Whip' will take over security. To be safe, we will take turns to keep watch. We'll go inside in order when we get to Earl's house, two hours each."

"I get it, so we'll be the last ones."

"-rightly. We'll take the last turn."

Arche turned his head after shrugging his shoulders.

"Thank you for your hard work."

Roberdyck nodded to Arche.

"Tired. It took a long time because the jerk suggested to infiltrate through brutal means. It took a lot of effort to convince her. He really doesn't know what coordination means."

"Ahhh, the genius in the sword.."

"Calling him a disgusting jerk is enough."

In front of Imina's deadly sentence, Hekkeran smiled wryly and changed the topic.

"Then, let's go back to camp and wait our turn."

"agree. It may not rain for a while, but we will be late to prepare if it rains. Imina-san, it's your turn next, don't put on that scary face."

"Okay, ah, that's so annoying. I really wanted to stab him. Let's put the tent away from them." "It's fine as long as it's still around the designated point."

To be honest, it wasn't good, but it would be worse if they got too close to each other and started fighting.

Turning their backs towards the ruins, the four people started walking.

"-But the more I think about it, the stranger it feels. I don't understand why the Earl gave such a request."

As they turned back because of this sentence, they saw Arche who stopped staring at the ruins.

"I can't find any reason, or the period of construction of these ruins. Like just showing up. The statues were similar to the period before the rise of the Demon God, yet it felt somewhat eastern. Then the tombstone in the shape of a overtake... I don't understand at all."

After listening to Arche's muttering, Hekkeran suppressed his smile and tried to be elated.

"That means the chances of finding something interesting are just as high, right?"

"There must be scary stuff inside."

"... There'll probably be a lot of scary undead inside, everyone."

"-Uwah~, his grave."

"-Too fake, Hekkeran. That doesn't sound at all like me. And mimicking my voice is terrible."

"Ah, sorry about that."

"But-it'll be interesting." "Yup. Why does this tomb exist? who is buried here? My curiosity is stimulated and thirst for knowledge."

"I agree. Finding the unknown is fun."

"and finally money. It would be great if there were a lot of it."

He was satisfied with the smiles of his colleagues. There are times when they do the dirty work for money, but it is not something that can be talked about cheerfully. Doing jobs that were like adventurers suited them better.

Arche probably wouldn't join their adventurers after guarding her sisters. It will certainly take time to find a replacement member for Arche, and more time is needed to adapt to their teamwork. It is necessary to choose a job that has a lower level of difficulty.

This is probably the hardest and last job they will probably do as a team.

From now... Like adventurers, it is also good to explore the unknown by taking on jobs for adventure...

He looked up at the sky that stretched everywhere.

As the sky began to envelop the world, workers came out of their well-hidden tents. For secretive individuals like them, it was time to work. The adventurers began to prepare food.

After lighting the wood, which is a solid white material, coal is added to the fire. The light from the fire was covered by 'Darkness'. 'Darkness' covered the brightness, but not the fire itself. In the darkness, the flames from the boiling water were released from the boundless water sac.

Boiling water is poured into wooden bowls. Food rations for the trip are put into it and then change shape and become a flavorful soup. After adding the hard bread, this is the food served to everything.

The rest is personal choice.

Although the bowl contained only yellow soup - which was favored by workers for its nutrition and sparing, some people added slices of meat, other spices, or they drank potluck.

Everything stopped after one bowl. Considering the work ahead, this amount was too small. However, eating something too heavy would definitely affect the mission. Not eating anything is dangerous. No one knows when they will eat again.

Emergency food supplies are also limited, as too much carrying them will affect their agility. It must be measured precisely.

After handing the empty bowl to the adventurers, the workers put on their backpacks.

When the adventurers saw it, the workers began to move together. The adventurers were in charge with the security of the tent and did not take part in the infiltration into the ruins.

After climbing the hill, they scattered around the ruins. They are already preparing preventive measures if they are known during this phase.

Many people were wearing full plate armor, so their movements would slow down and the noises would make covert operations impossible, yet that was already considered. For people who could use magic, it was still possible to get through such a trivial matter.

First, they would use 'Silence', a spell that neutralizes all sounds within a certain area. Both the sound of armor and the sound of footsteps would not be heard.

Next was 'invisibility', which made the target invisible to ordinary views.

As a precaution, a besieger with additional spells of 'Silence', 'Invisibility' and even 'Hawk Eye' was watching from the surrounding sky. In order to quickly solve his problem, he was armed with a special arrow that could give a numbing effect.

After these two phases of preparation, the group arrived at their destination.

This is where the operation officially began.

They descended from the hill to the ruins a few meters below. After exploring its surface, they meet in a large mausoleum in the middle. And they need to do it in time effectively from 'invisibility'. To minimize the chance of unexpected things happening, there is a need to follow each step. However, it would be difficult to distinguish the position of each person when it is dark and everything is invisible.

However, there is already a way to deal with this. A strange stick with a length of 30cm suddenly appeared on the ground. The wand was floating in the air as if an invisible person was grasping at it, and emitted a faint glow after it was bent.

This special stick - a luminous wand - made with a special chemical liquid inside will mix when bent and give off light. The stick is placed because the effect of invisibility also includes all items carried by the user. In order to be seen by others, the stick must leave its owner.

After blinking for a moment, the stick had already completed its task and was destroyed. The glowing chemical liquid splashed onto the ground and disappeared without a trace after touching the ground.

In this way, the whole team signals that they are ready.

It was too far away to see the other teams, but four ropes were stranded from the surface of the Great Tomb of Nazarick. The ropes have bonds with certain intervals so that they can be easily climbed.

The end of the talite is connected to a python dropped to the ground, with the other end slightly swaying.

If one could see through invisibility magic, they would be able to see people descending with ropes.

Even a person like Arche, who focused more on magic and knowledge training than agility, could do it. Or rather, the workers and adventurers had to go through strength training to complete such a task. Thanks to their accumulated training and the effectiveness of their bonding, none of the workers fell, and all of them landed safely in the tomb.

The first goal of each team is a smaller basement.

When the duration of the invisibility is up, all members can now be seen. The iu teams headed towards the basement assigned to them.

Ducking down and staying near the gravestones, trees and statues, they dashed into the dim tomb. 'Silence' is still there so they don't make any sound. The warriors wearing full plate armor also tried as much as possible to hide themselves. Some shadows moved across the land.

When the leader of the Heavy Masher, Greenham, got closer to the basement, his eyes opened slightly. The basement was even more luxurious than he had imagined.

Although they considered this as a small basement, it was only because compared to the large mausoleum in the middle. Once approached, its size and grand architecture could be clearly seen.

The walls of the white stone were finely rubbed. Despite spending a lot of time in its construction, there was no sign of any damage caused by wind and rain.

Behind the three-step staircase was a thick metal door. The door is well rubbed so that there is no rust at all. Although black steel is shiny. It is clear how careful they are in caring for the building. - That means it is certain that this tomb is already occupied.

After Greenham came to this conclusion, his fellow thieves went inside and slowly investigated, starting from the stairs.

Greenham receives a signal it needs to back off because of 'Silence' - and slowly retreat. This is to avoid traps with far-reaching effects.

The thief looks for traps patiently. This was unavoidable even though they were already impatient.

The souls are in the body of the man, and when the body has decayed, the soul will be called back at the will of the gods. That was why the dead had to be buried immediately, with underground burials as usual, but slightly different for those with special status like the nobles.

If those who have not been buried directly, they have to dig the body so that they can make sure the body has rotted. To see evidence of decay, the corpse would be marginalized for some time before being buried. However, the bodies would not be placed inside the houses of the nobles.

What they will use is a basement in the cemetery. After putting the body there for a while, the priest will decide if the body has rotted and his soul has been summoned by the god before burying him.

The place where many corpses rested was a common place in the basement. This vast area had several stone platforms where the corpses were laid. The sight of some corpses rotting there and marching was indeed terrifying, but it was a natural thing in this world.

The circumstances would be different for a great noble who possessed authority and wealth. Rather than a common underground chamber, they would use a family basement that had been passed down for generations since their ancestors. The room in which those in authority are called by the god and their final resting place - that is, the basement as it is owned and passed down by generations in the family as symbols from power. It is natural to find household supplies and treasures as well. That means the basement is a treasure room for tomb raiders. And therefore, the place was also bombarded with dangerous traps to deter intruders.

Such a thing was definitely true for a basement as luxurious as this. Fellow Thief Greenham examined the venue carefully.

After the thief had completed several checks and went to the door, the voice suddenly returned.

The duration of 'Silence' is up. The time is right. The thief quietly stepped into the front door and checked carefully. Finally, he put down something like a stethoscope and listened.

After a few seconds, the thief turned towards Greenham and his other comrades and shook his head. Which means 'Nothing'.

The thief himself thought strangely then tilted his head. It was a mystery why the place was unlocked, but since the thief did not detect anything else, it was the turn of the front row guard.

Greenham headed for the front row and the thief reached the door. Behind them was a warrior with a shield. Greenham pushed the doorknob down and slowly opened the door. Maybe because it is routinely oiled or maybe the one who takes care of this place does his job seriously, the heavy door opens easily opposite to its appearance.

The warrior who was already preparing to act stood between Greenham and the door, raising his shield to defend against any sudden attack or trap.

However, there was nothing like an arrow shot. The iron door completely opened and a deep darkness appeared in front of the Heavy Masher.

"[Continual Light]."

The magic caster secret summoned magic light. The bright magic light was more or less adjustable. The basement became bright. With another spell, the warrior weapon also shone.

What was illuminated by the light, was a room that could easily be mistaken for the rooms of the nobles.

In the center of the room is a stone coffin commonly seen inside the temple. It is 2.5 meters long and filled with basic carvings. Four marble stone statues were carved into the shape of armed warriors and wore full armor. With many swords and shields in front of the full plate armor standing at each corner.

And also-

"-Hmm, is this symbol similar to something from your memory?" "erm, I don't know."

Hanging on the wall, a flag with golden corners, there was a symbol that no one had ever seen before. Kingdom Re-Estize may indeed be a foreign land, but the thief and magic caster already remembered the Heraldic of many nobles and kings. Since they could not recognize it, it could be assumed that it was a foreign flag.

"Don't some of the nobles from before the establishment of Kingdom Re-Estize?"

"You mean this was over 200 years ago?"

Many lands were destroyed by the demon god two hundred years ago, which is why there are only a few countries with a history of more than two hundred years ago. The Re-Estize Kingdom, Holy Kingdom, Republic and Empire were all established after two hundred years ago.

"If that's true, why is the situation still very good and durable after all this time? What is this material?" "Maybe you've been given a spell to preserve, right? It might have been fixed by magic."

"Sir chairman by the way. You can stop talking in a weird way, right? We're the only ones here."

"Hmmm..."Greenham frowned, then relaxed. "Ahh, that's exhausting. All that art stuff, that's stupid."

"It must be hard for you. Like he said, it's okay if we're alone, right?"

"Well, I can't do it, that rigid way of speaking makes me seem like a capable worker. It's hard to replace it in the middle, isn't it? Don't you know my rules when I work?"

Greenham answered his colleague's wry smile with his own wry smile.

Greenham was originally the third son of a farmer working within the Re-Estize Kingdom. As the saying goes, if many people divide their farmland, after several generations, the land from each that can be inherited will be smaller. The fields produced from each family will also decline. That was why the eldest child would inherit his land, the second child would also work as a maid, but the third child and the others would only be a problem. It was natural for them to move to the city in search of life.

However, Greenham was endowed with a good body, and succeeded in the end. But in the end he was just a farmer and the education he received as a backup from the reserves was also nothing. Likewise with reading, writing and acting.

It is true that workers focus their abilities and do the tasks given, not on how to behave. However, this is not a good thing for a leader. He tried hard for it, but unlike the other talents he had, he was not endowed with it and the result was only tolerable. Greenham remains a leader because he is considered high in other aspects. However, in order not to embarrass his comrades, Greenham began to speak in a strange manner.

"This unique way of talking is the usual way of promoting my team." That's what the client wants to think.

Despite that, people still looked down on him. However, such a picture was still better than that of a foolish farmer.

"Alright, the break is over. We're moving the kids."

Greenham put out the announcement and everything started to move without protest.

First was the thief who carefully entered the basement to look for traps.

The rest of the group placed a thick metal bar between the doors so as not to be fully closed if there was a mechanism to close the door. To avoid the light spilling out, the door was half closed. While the thief inspected the room carefully, Greenham and the others did not relax the vigilance. The use of light is inevitable. It was very possible if they were seen by the other party.

While Greenham and the rest of the team crouched down and surveyed the surroundings, the thief went to the area under the flag and observed it for a moment. After strengthening his resolve, he reached for the flag, then pulled it nervously as he touched it.

"There's no problem here, everybody get in."

The thief turned his head back towards Greenham and the others as he pointed at the flag.

"...It's really precious, made of gold cloth." "Haaahhhh?! Golden cloth? Put it here just like that, is there something wrong with their heads?"

Everyone was surprised because they were surprised. Everyone gathered under the flag and took turns touching it. The cold material under their fingers is indeed metallic.

Considering how large the flag was, the appraisal of the thief must have been correct. From its size, weight and artistic value, it is definitely worth a lot.

"Our client won this. Even though it's ours, or rather, the full payment for the four teams has still not been taken, there must be a lot of treasure here."

"Are we taking him right now?"

Greenham answered the thief's question.

"It's too big. And heavy. Let's take it later, anybody mind?"

"No, it would be difficult if the move dragged this. As for the results of his investigation, there were no traps or any secret doors."

"...Then, please."

Greenham nodded to the mage - the mysterious magic caster. His partner retaliated by chanting a spell.

"'Detect Magic' - I didn't detect any magic traps. We can dispose of anyone who hides with hidden magic." "...The investigation's almost over, let's get to the main target."

Their gazes were far away towards the stone coffin in the middle of the room.

The thief spent a lot of time investigating and decided that there were no traps.

Greenham and the warrior nodded at each other and began with the task of opening the stone coffin. The shape was indeed large and should have been very heavy, but it turned out to be lighter than they had expected. They use too much energy and almost lose their balance.

The cover of the stone coffin opened, showing a lot of light glittering from within.

Gold, Silver and jewelry of various colors, plus a variety of glittering accessories. And over hundreds of gold coins scattered everywhere.

They did expect something good after seeing the flag, but Greenham still grinned with the width of his mouth from one ear to the other because of this sight. The thief immediately observed carefully picking up one of the items inside - a golden necklace.

It was the perfect jewelry. It looked like an ordinary gold necklace when he first stared, but after examining it carefully, the chain had a fine engraving.

"...A simple estimate was a hundred gold coins. With the right buyer, maybe a hundred and fifty."

The reaction from the approximate thief is different. Some of them whistled while others smiled. One thing in common was the joy and fire of avarice burning in their eyes.

"A mere half of what we can get will be a bonus of fifty gold. Ten gold each, that's a scary amount for extra pay."

"That's really... Maybe this ruin is a treasure."

"Amazing. It's really amazing."

"That's right. It's a pity that this treasure was left here. Let's make good use of it."

As he spoke, the wizard took a ring with a large ruby attached and kissed the stone. "That's huge-"

the Priest put his hand inside, took the coin and let it flow between his fingers. The clattering sounds of gold coins clashing against each other sounded.

"I've never seen this much gold coin before. Which time period and what country did they come from?"

Using a knife to lightly cut the surface of the gold coin, the thief said with a sigh: "This is pure gold. Weighing just twice as much as a regular gold coin, the value may be higher, taking into account its aesthetic value."

"It's really - Kukuku..."

Laughter came out of the group that could not hold it. By just dividing the loot here is not a small amount. "All of you, thank the gods later. Let's take what we can take and then head towards the main goal. Our share will be taken if it's too late."

"-Ho!"

Greenham received a vigorous reply, filled with excitement and vigor.

Part 4[edit]

A large mausoleum is located in the center of the ruins. Giant statues of warriors that look as if they are alive one day surround a large basement like knights guarding their king. Hekkeran hides at the foot of a warrior statue that settles towards one of the smaller basements.

After a while, Hekkeran saw five people running from the smaller basement. They move fast but can still hide themselves. Hekkeran stared with fear if anyone might be watching them or something strange happened. Finally after making sure the group that came was fine, Hekkeran heaved a sigh of relief.

He gave the sign by peering out from the shadow of the giant statue and Greenham rushed there after seeing it. "You're really late Greenham." "Thank you for waiting for us all this time."

"We didn't decide when to meet so it's still okay. Instead, let's change the location then decide what to do next." Hekkeran ducked down and led the way carefully.

A few steps later, Greenham asked.

"Just want to ask, did your team find a treasure?"

Unable to hide his joy at remembering how it felt, Hekkeran's mouth smiled and said:

"Of course, a lot. The elder also said the same thing." "You too, huh. Coming to this tomb is the right move." "Indeed right. I'm grateful to the great man buried here."

"Hm. Maybe it's true, but since we've found so many treasures, shouldn't we consider the possibility that there might not be anything in the place where the master of this tomb was buried??"

"Well, I bet there's gotta be more."

"Hmm-how much did you bet?"

"much. I'll find him even more and I can get you a decent amount too. It's the best. Ah, the problem is we're both gonna risk the same thing."

The two men made no sound as the corners of their mouths rang a smile. "Indeed right. By the way, what is it?"

In front of Greenham, beside the foot of the giant statue, there was something like a stone tablet.

"That?"

The amazement did not stop, giving the answer to Greenham. The sentence inscribed on the tablet was something that the first of the three teams that arrived before had never seen before. They pinned little hope if Greenham's team might find out about it.

"Something like a stone tablet, engraved with possible sentences." "Enterprised with maybe a sentence? Why do you feel so vague about this?"

"It's an unknown language. Not the language of the Kingdom or the Empire, or even the ancient language around here. It may not be human language either. But I can read this 2.0."

"Well? If you think about it with a reasonable mind, it should be the year of construction of this place. But the numbers are too small."

"Arche thinks maybe it's a buzzword for something in the ruins... Well, let's just remember."

"True, we do that." After passing through the giant statues and climbing up a long and narrow sloping platform formed by a stone coffin, what they saw was an open entrance.

"She's death."

"Ahl. It does. I often kissed her from the thick fog on the Katze plains."

Greenham agreed in a soft voice with Hekkeran.

It was not a strong sickening smell, but the smell of the undead accompanied by the cold was found inside the tomb.

It may be a beautiful tomb, but there must be undead here.

The group strengthened themselves and looked at the vast space inside as they entered. Many stone platforms were placed on the left and right, on the other side were stairs leading down. The door leading downwards opened wide and an uneasy atmosphere flowed out from within.

"Next here."

With Hekkeran leading the way, Greenham and the others descended the stairs.

At the bottom of the stairs is a burial chamber with a door on the other side. Besides, there was no other door in sight.

It was indeed narrower than the basement above, but there was plenty of empty space. Team 'Foresight' Hekkeran, 'Tenmu' Eruya and team Parupatra are all here.

"Then, what should we do next? Our plan is to spread and gather information. Any new ideas after checking the basement?"

After speaking, Hekkeran looked at everyone gathered. There seems to be no new idea. Was it the glittering gluttony of them or was it just a reflection of light? It was unclear, but everyone's eyes were indeed excited. Everything seemed to be filled with excitement and could no longer wait to go inside the cemetery.

"An advice. My team will check the hidden doors and search outside."

It was the kaliat of their leader, but its members looked unhappy about it. The treasure they saw. They could not agree even though it was the opinion of their experienced leader either. They might imagine a mountain of flying treasure running away from their eyes.

"What do you think? We have examined the surface, but we have not done so thoroughly. It's possible that one of the smaller basements has a secret passageway inside, right? Isn't the rest of the tomb worth surveying?" "Elder has a point. I heard that even the ruins of Sasasharu, sung by the bards at all times, have a secret passageway that goes straight to the center of the ruins just one step from the entrance."

"A, Greenham's. We checked everything up to this room, but didn't find any secret passageways." "That's why I offered to do this. As compensation for my team taking this lower job, how about giving me a share of the items you met on this floor. Yup, how about ten percent of each team? And tomorrow, let my team be the first to check the floor under this one?"

"I don't mind this offer."

The first to speak was Greenham. Hecker agreed a moment later.

"Good, we all agree then! What about you Uzruth?"

"I'm not comfortable with that, but because it's only ten percent, yes it is." The elder only smiled with a cynical voice. In the end, it was Eruya who made a bitter smile expression after her fake attitude failed to gather any response.

"Ah, Elders. Can I ask you for help because you're going down that road. We found a flag with gold thread inside the basement we checked, but it seemed too difficult to carry it around. Can we trouble you to take it?"

"I agree with Hekkeran. It might be annoying, but can you help?"

"Then take mine too."

ERuya gestured with his chin to one of the elves, and he took out a wide cloth and placed it on the ground, groaning with his weight.

"I'm mengrti. Aside from this, is there anything you want me to keep or bring back?"

There is no answer to Parupatra's question.

"All right! As I offered earlier, my team will check above. Be carefull. It's okay if you leave valuables for me."

"Haha, we can leave a pair of monsters for you, but there won't be a single coin left for you."

After one round of laughter, Hekkeran asked the others: "Let's go?"

Everyone agrees immediately. They took one step forward. With their eyes glittering with gluttony and anticipation, they took their first steps into an unknown ruin - a huge underground tomb.

The door was opened and there was only one way that went deeper and deeper. As they expected, the road was kept clean and tidy.

Things like rust and moss were not found in the stone passageway, there were some indentations on the wall where figures with human shapes, wrapped in clothes for burial, were placed. There's not a single unique smell of a corpse here. In fact, there was an air wall and an undead smell.

There was a bluish-white light flickering on the roof with a fixed distance on each. However, since the distance between them was rather wide, there was some sort of darkness along the way. The light allows them to move freely, but dim enough that they can escape something. The danger is that they do not have an alternative light source.

"the rob. Was there an undead apapund reaction from the corpse?"

"No, nothing."

Arche thanked Rob and walked up to the corpse inside the body bag, opening it with a knife. After seeing Arche's actions, the other team also sent out one or two members to investigate the corpses that were inside the body bags.

"...From his height and size, the chances of this being a human were extremely high. A grown man."

"He was not wearing clothes, so it was difficult to recognize from the time period that these ruins were."

"However, these ruins are filled with many mysteries. The architecture, burial methods and time period are all unknown. Probably about six hundred years ago."

"-If it were true, this would be a historical find."

For the person doing the research, this may be a topic worth discussing, but they are here to do the work. After receiving cold gazes from Hekkeran and Greenham, they hurriedly announced the results of his investigation "The period of time and background of this rerunthan is still a mystery."

"I understand. Let's get moving? Personally, I want to kill some monsters."

Agreeing with the disgruntled Eruya, the group moved forward for a while and then stopped.

Their attitude is like preparing to draw a weapon.

A voice from the clashing bones sounded in front. Due to the lighting from the roof, they could see undead figures in front. After shortening the distance and knowing his opponents, the workers swayed as if they saw something amazing and discussed it in a clean manner. "Isn't that too..."

"Hey, that's right..."

"Eh? Are they just skeletons?"

When someone finally spoke without a second thought of the name of the monster, the group could not stand it anymore and ended up laughing loosely.

"Hey hey!! Isn't sending a skeleton a waste? We have a lot of people here, don't we?"

The appearance of the skeletal monsters looked roughly the same, so it was hard to tell what type they were.

However, it was easy to judge they were ordinary skeletons of air that he released.

"Although if they were just scouts, they should have sent out more powerful monsters - I know! There may indeed be no monsters controlling this tomb, or they are too incompetent to know how powerful we are. Or they're just fools who don't even know they've been infiltrated!"

They don't stop laughing.

"Eh, it can't be just a skeleton. Or maybe the entire treasure in these ruins was placed inside the basement on the surface?"

"That's a bad thing."

For workers who were on par with the mythril adventurers, the skeletons were indeed too weak. And workers are even superior in numbers.

In front of the six skeletons, they looked at each other and thought about who to go face. "I don't want to."

Eruya. It is easy to understand what he is feeling.

"Then I'll go."

Greenham said then moved forward. The weak brain of the skeleton looked like it was thinking something. They might be thinking about a lone warrior who is unusually strong. Or maybe they are considering something else.

The skeletons attacked together and- They were easily crushed with shields and axes.

It only takes a few seconds. Maybe less. Destroying the six skeletons and stomping on their remains, Greenham sighed as if he was tired. It was not exhaustion from the fight, but due to the fact that the first opponent inside this ruin was too weak, the lowest level undead of the skeleton.

"Fragile once, his name is also skeleton. It may be so, but it is a foolish thing to be careless. Stay careful with the possibility of a powerful undead that might appear and move forward very carefully!"

They tightened their faces after listening to Greenham's words and moved forward - towards the deepest part of the ruins. Their hearts were filled with anticipation of a treasure lying in front.

"Yare yare, so they left huh." "They're gone. They might just be workers, but we are now working in a team, so now we are partners for this job. It's also good if they come back safely... Momon-san, what do you think?"

"- They're all going to die."

Ainz retorted in a deep voice, leaving the leader of the adventurer team speechless.

Oh no, I said what was on my mind out loud

"Eh, oh, I mean have to mentally prepare for that possibility. What we're talking about is an unknown ruin. It is impossible to know what danger to face. Holding high expectations will only result in great disappointment." "It turns out so, so it's like that... Sorry for worrying you."

...I'm just making up, and he agrees with me? Well, that's good for me, too. The team leader lowered his head like this because he thought blindly that the sentence from the adamantite ranked man was indeed correct.

Ainz's efforts - his response filled with goodwill and a friendly attitude when the trip to Nazarick finally paid off.

"So as we planned, I'll rest first."

Ainz went to his place - which of course shared a tent with Nabel. Because of the distance, some people even assume that no one else hears the sighs. Or rather, that was what they had heard from the chairman just now.

Compared to the workers, he felt more friendly with Momon who was also an adventurer, and shared the information he got from the workers freely.

Ainz and Nabel closed the entrance of the tent after entering. They peeked out just in case and it seemed that no one was watching them. In fact, there are some people who do show intentionally not care.

"...Although they say this is a love nest, not denying it outright is probably a good move. They don't suspect anything even though our tent is a little far away.they don't care about this place and they don't come near."

There are bad things as well, but the profit exceeds the weight of the loss.

Ainz removed his headgear and exposed the face of his skull.

...

...

"Then, Nabe... No, Narberal. I will return to Nazarick and send Pandora's Actor to replace me as planned. If something happens then, get it done yourself."

"According to your orders, Ainz-sama."

"Erm. Call me if there's anything."

Ainz released the magic that created his armor and sword, then the weight from the head covering in his hand disappeared. The feeling of freedom from removing the armor made Ainz utter "ah" out of relief, although it wasn't difficult for him. It was the same reason why he twisted his shoulders which was indeed not stiff at all. This action was a remnant from the moment he became human.

"...Yare yare."

The rest of human emotion is indeed a troublesome moment.

If he could handle each situation calmly, his circumstances might be different now. However, if he lost all the rest of his human emotions, he would not love the Great Tomb of Nazarick as much as he did now. The longing of the Suzuki Satoru man to his friends will probably disappear as well.

Smiling wryly, Ainz cast his spell. Thinking about the rest of his human nature was gone from his brain. Ainz was not a talented person and could continue to focus on two or three things at a time. He had to let go of everything first to the side of what he was considering.

His spell was 'Greater Teleportation'.

Because he was wearing a ring, Ainz made it possible to break through the boundary of the Great Tomb of Nazarick, to the entrance of the throne room.

"Welcome back, Ainz-sama."

Moments later, a beautiful woman greeted him.

"I'm home. Albedo's."

The girl who was bowing deeply raised her head, a blazing smile appearing on her pretty face. He looked straight at Ainz - as if he had seen nothing else.

Ugh...

Looking at the golden pupils that were filled with rays of love, Ainz could not help but feel a thumping feeling all over the body. But he could not take an unworthy stance under the name of Ainz Ooal Gown, ruler of the Grand Tomb of Nazarick.

Ainz suppressed his weakened feelings for a moment when it was silent, and pretended to cough.

"As planned, the intruders are here. No, maybe they're already inside. How are you preparing to welcome them?"

"The preparation is done. Guests will be happy."

"It turns out.. Albedos. I look forward to their joy."

Ainz walked to the center of the Great Tomb of Nazarick, the throne room. Albedo followed him one step behind.

Albedo had only one order against the intruder this time. It was to conduct a practice test for the appearance of his defense system.

Where the place to put POP inside Nazarick and the combination of monsters had all been done by his old guild friends, and definitely done very well. But because of the current situation, it is hard to say that a better arrangement does not exist.

That's why it's necessary to check the defense system. And they can do it now.

"...The intruders are indeed fragile, so of course we can't test anything. But we pray we can learn something from this."

"I understand. I promise I won't let you down, Ainz-sama."

"good. As you know, avoid using costly traps such as spreading poisonous gas or sudden undead overflows, try using POPs and traps with slaves. Any issues?"

Responding to Albedo's smile, Ainz nodded.

"It's great, for a while, let's enjoy it ourselves. What did the other Guardian Floor do?"

"Yes, when Ainz-sama returned, I already gave the order to them to gather. Doesn't it allow them to enter in the order they arrive?"

"Allowed. The more people, the more festive."

In front of the throne occupied by Ainz many things that teriaht like a TV screen floating in the air. Each of these screens displays a different part of Nazarick. Albedo who was controlling him showed Ainz what he wanted to see.

Next was Albedo showing her control of the defense network. Although Ainz was not sure what changes were between now and before.

...To make full use of this exercise. I had to learn something from the pictures that were shown. If there is a sharing session after this, it is bad.

Ainz was the absolute ruler of the Grand Tomb of Nazarick. How could such a man not understand anything from the defense system compared to his subordinates?

"In case, I have to ask. There's no chance of triggering 'Ariadne', is there?"

Ainz opened his console and controlled the cursor, checking for problems while asking.

"I don't think there's any chance that's happening. However, I want to make sure that Ariadne will be triggered if the intruders are locked?"

Ainz recalled the Q&A Yggdrasil he had read in the past, no, explained the update notes from the developers.

"There shouldn't be... I think so."

Although that was the case within Yggdrasil, there was no guarantee that this rule could still be applied in this world. Even the whereabouts of Ariadne herself has not been ascertained.

"What happens if we manipulate humans into doing it ourselves?"

"There may be a chance that the system will be inactive, but consider the disadvantages if it is so I am too afraid and never test it."

Ariadne System.

A system that checks the validity of the headquarters being created.

There was a simple way of creating an invincible fortress: By sealing the entrance, no one would be able to enter. Just submerging the entire Grand Tomb of Nazarick underground was enough. But as a game, this is not allowed.

In order to stop someone from setting up such a base, the Ariadne surveillance system appeared.

There must be a path through from the entrance to the heart of the headquarters. The other thing Ariadne checked was the distance that one could pass inside, how many doors there were and the various other regulations based on the construction of the headquarters were all set in detail.

Dungeons that break the rules will be marked by the Yggdrasil system and fined. Guild funds would be reduced slowly by a clear average rate.

For Nazarick, such a problem had already been completed by the 5th and 6th floors - They had to pay a lot to be able to expand the dungeon and take care of it.

Ainz controlled one of the monitors that displayed the figures of the workers.

"Curtain! then it's time they showed up. They made me wait a long time."

Ainz was displeased when he saw the images of the fortress he had made with his comrades littered with the dirty legs of the intruders. Although his emotions would be suppressed if it reached a certain level, it still had not suppressed his burning anxiety.

"Albedo. don't let anyone loose."

"of course. Please enjoy watching the fate of these thieves who have disturbed the residence of the Supreme Being. And also.. Which experimental animal should we choose to experiment?"

"Ah, right. I did sparring with this old man. I do sparring with this guy on the street too. This team is not suitable for training. Let's destroy them first."

Ainz pointed towards the monitor that Albedo could see with her fingers.