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(P)(A)(T)/CalleumArtori
[...]---[...]
[AinzOoalGown]: You are crueler than I thought.
"Why do you say that?" I asked without taking my eyes off my armor, which I was fixing. Nothing extravagant, just adjusting the Mystical Symbols worn by use and checking if any of the runes were damaged.
It had been about an hour since dinner. Everyone was either sleeping or getting ready to sleep. From what I could see on the minimap, I was the only one truly active in the mansion, or in the back part where I was.
[AinzOoalGown]: You are well aware of the situation in the city where you reside, yet you tried to get as much as possible from the noble in exchange for food and materials for house reconstruction.
"Hmm..." I hummed.
Momonga, or Ainz, asked to talk privately where the transmission couldn't read the messages. I felt he was stalling at this moment.
I doubted he really cared if I was "cruel" or not, but still, I ended up giving a response.
"I never claimed to be a saint." I asserted. Much less a hero, as the residents of Winterhord were calling me. "Annabel didn't ask for help either, but rather a negotiation."
The countess had called me, and Gilbert not to plead for help or alms, but to negotiate with us.
If she had asked for help, I wouldn't have refused. If I could prevent many people from starving and freezing because they had nothing to eat or nowhere to live, I would help. I might not be a saint or a hero, but I wasn't a monster.
On the other hand, Annabel didn't do that. Instead, she put herself on equal footing and proposed a negotiation, which changed the whole story.
"Annabel didn't want to owe more than she already did." The reason she wanted an equal negotiation was obvious. "Why would I refuse if it would help both parties?" It would be foolish to refuse.
On one hand, the countess was not being attacked by her own people. Everyone had seen how she acted and how good she was as the ruler of this territory.
On the other hand, she hadn't done much in this latest crisis. The storm caught Winterhord by surprise, and no one could react.
Annabel kept everyone alive, provided food, shelter, and some protection, which, in my opinion, was more than enough. Without her, our group wouldn't have arrived in time to save the city.
But old politics always existed...
I killed the "Storm Monster," someone from outside Winterhord. Melissa and Robyn, also from outside Winterhord, were healing the people more effectively.
Selina helped the city's Symbol Masters fix the barrier, and none of them hesitated to praise the Steampunker as "wise" and a genius who greatly facilitated their work.
Again, someone from outside Winterhord.
Many people saw their actions during the fight. The Humvee moving quickly caught attention, even amid the chaos.
It was easy for the residents to put two and two together and figure out what they did running around with the vehicle.
Again, someone from outside Winterhord saved them.
Although Terraria was the main realm on the continent, and all villages, towns, and territories served the crown, our group, being from outside Winterhord, was still on the "same side."
But politics was politics, and despite Annabel and House Winterhord being almost supreme in the territory, there were other minor nobles who could create intrigues here and there.
Annabel might have kept everyone alive, but she didn't solve the problem, which was being used against her, even if on a smaller scale.
It was frustrating. They had just come out of the toughest situation they had ever faced, but they were still involved in petty fights.
I almost changed the offer from "I want two and a half tons of silk" to "Do you want me to beat up everyone and everything? Just point a target."
But that would only make things worse. So, I did what was more "correct" in the situation and what Gilbert had recommended to me: "Raise the price."
"You want food and materials to help your people? Fine, it's going to cost you a fortune! What are you going to do? Not buy and let everyone die?" It seemed petty on the surface, but underneath it was different.
What would the people think when they saw their "hero" being petty? Or better, what would the people think when they saw Annabel, the one who kept them alive for weeks in this storm, "struggling" to buy food and materials to continue keeping them alive?
Obviously, she wasn't "struggling" as they thought. I only asked for silk, the most abundant material in the city. I didn't ask for gold, rare materials, or any nonsense like "I want your hand in marriage."
But the people didn't know that. To them, Annabel was, even in a precarious situation, helping in the best way she could, even if it made the coffers of House Winterhord bleed.
The phrase "Someone from outside Winterhord" applied here too, but this time in the opposite way.
In the end, Annabel would "regain" the love and prestige of the people, and I would have my silk, plus enjoy a bit watching Annabel squirm as she tried to negotiate and failed miserably because being at a disadvantage would help her more in this situation.
I was still petty.
In the end, everyone benefited, and I never wanted to get involved in anything related to politics again.
[AinzOoalGown]: I see... You positioned yourself as "cruel" to make the noble appear "kind," even though she failed to save the city.
Say what you will about Ainz, but the guy understood things quickly, which gave me an idea of why he had requested this (CHAT) "private."
The transmission couldn't see his messages, but it still heard my voice normally. So, this "privacy" was somewhat flawed.
"Are you going to tell me the real reason why you requested this (CHAT), or just want to chat?" I asked, tossing my armor into the inventory.
The Mystical Symbols were fixed, and the Runes were still good; the real issue was the armor itself.
The armor was made of iron, and even though it was mana-infused iron, in my mana, it was still iron. The metal would only hold up for so long before simply giving up.
I needed another set of armor. It wasn't urgent, but I'd still prefer to have a backup.
[AinzOoalGown]: I won't try to be subtle then. Do you know me from somewhere?
"No beating around the bush?" I hummed to myself.
Ainz wasn't an idiot. The moment Serafall recognized Stark as "the comic book guy" and Kohta recognized her back, he realized something was off.
Serafall too, obviously, but the Maou was tormenting Kohta in the (CHAT) to find out if he recognized her because of her show or if it was like how she recognized Stark.
Ainz preferred to ask me for a private (CHAT) to clear up the doubts he had. I thought he would try to play it out, creating a "grand plan" to find out the truth and all, but he just asked me directly, which was actually preferable.
Did I mention I hated politics?
"To your question, Ainz, the answer is yes." I replied without elaborating further.
I may have provided information for free to the (CHAT) before, but this was a different story.
I didn't know Ainz or Serafall. If they wanted something more from me than just watching, they would need to pay for it. I'm not giving out information for free.
[AinzOoalGown]: That's what I thought. Thank you very much for the answer, sorry to take up your time like this. I'll need some time to think.
Interestingly, I felt like this last response came from not "Ainz" but "Suzuki Satoru."
Not the Overlord, the "Supreme One" Momonga, Ainz. But the human Suzuki Satoru.
"Take your time." I replied, but before moving him back to the regular (CHAT), I hesitated, but ended up adding something to my statement. "Try to treat the stream as a friendlier place, without intrigues."
It was friendly advice. I didn't know the guy very well, but I knew he had some trust and loneliness issues.
He didn't even use emotes, and I highly doubted he didn't know how to use them. But a "Undead Overlord" shouldn't know, let alone like using them.
Treating the stream as a friendlier outlet should help him, a place where he could relax and not worry about many more things, so to speak, or at least that's what I thought. He would decide if he would act here as the "Overlord" or as the "human."
He didn't reply to me, not even sending any message in the (CHAT), but I knew he had heard me, so I didn't mind.
After a few more minutes chatting with the (CHAT), I ended the stream.
I didn't open the Treasure Bag, even though I wanted to, nor the Frozen Chest or the Potion Recipe Random. I left all that for tomorrow.
When I returned to the room, I just threw myself on the bed and stayed silent.
I was alone, with the hallucinations gone. There was no longer a reason for everyone to sleep in the same place for protection, so everyone had arranged their own room to sleep.
I won't lie and say it didn't feel quieter than it should, but it wasn't something that bothered me.
I didn't sleep the moment I lay down, but rather closed my eyes and went into my spiritual landscape.
I appeared again in my grandfather's beach house, still in my seven-year-old body, which at this point didn't bother me anymore.
I left the house and wandered around the island for a while before going to where the nightmare energy was. The biome had grown after the battle against the Deerclops, which, if I didn't know I had complete control over that energy, could worry me.
I sat next to the "lake" of mud that was the center of the biome and began testing some things I had in mind and others I had seen in the Codex Umbra.
I wasn't crazy enough to follow anything in that book to the letter, but using it as a base was safer; I wouldn't take risks.
I spent a few hours testing some things and conducting experiments before leaving and going to sleep.
A quick and dreamless sleep...
[...]
"Any plans for today?" Gilbert asked me.
We had breakfast a few minutes ago. The others had gone about their daily tasks, which had decreased since the battle.
The city was "normalizing," so to speak. Everything was still a mess compared to before the storm, but it was getting better.
"I'll see if I can help clear the snow outside the barrier," I honestly told the merchant.
I wanted to go check the Wall Creeper nests and see if the spiders hadn't all died or not, but that could wait until Dylan woke up.
The countess had said that the spider nest was something deep and structured in layers of webs at the bottom of the caves, giving them an extra hope of not just freezing.
Depending on how deep the nest was, the cold wouldn't have reached so easily. The ice, snow, and natural earth around the nest must have also mitigated the cold like a kind of natural igloo.
The web the nest was made of should have helped too, as I doubted a nest of those things that had existed for years had no adaptations to the cold.
"Clear the snow?" Gilbert repeated curiously before snapping his fingers. "Ah, yes, your weird travel space. Think you can use it for that?" I nodded in confirmation.
"I have a few ideas." The VoidBag had a limit. Trying to pull all the snow was impossible, as the inventory would consider it one thing, but if I created demarcations, that was a different story.
I ended up grabbing the Humvee and leaving the barrier to test my idea, which turned out to be correct.
The snow around Winterhord, without being completely infused with nightmare energy and following the storm, had stopped flying and started accumulating.
It wasn't like a normal storm yet, as the nightmare energy was still present, but it had decreased enough for a whole day and night to accumulate almost five meters of snow around the city.
The barrier kind of managed not to have snow stuck to it, which was good for the city not to be buried, but it wasn't perfect; I had to dig to get out of the city.
And by dig, I mean manifesting four steel bars in the snow, in four different points, each fifty meters from the other, creating a demarcation in the snow.
I pulled everything inside it to the VoidBag and repeated it until reaching the ground, where I finally placed the Humvee.
"Well, I'm going then," I informed the guards on the wall who were looking at me with astonished looks and got into the Humvee to start cleaning the surroundings of the city.
What I would do with so much snow, I didn't know, but I'll end up finding some use or another. I could very well create an ice theme park or something.
While I drove the Humvee slowly and "mined" all the snow around the car using the steel bars to delimit the snow before pulling it into the VoidBag, I took the time to read the (CHAT).
[TheGreatGoddessAqua]: Assuming I believe this little thing really allows you to see other universes, is that it? Do you watch it just because? Can I at least start an Axis Order branch here? (Emote of a confused water droplet).
[AdvocateOfGenderEquality]: DON'T EVEN TRY DAMN IT! KEEP YOUR CRAZY CULTISTS AWAY FROM THE STREAM! GODS, LET ME BE A (MOD) IF I SEE ONE OF THOSE CRAZIES, I'M BANNING!
[(MOD)GeniusBillionairePlayboy]: For some reason, I feel like my decision to stay an atheist even knowing that gods exist is the right one... (Emote of Iron Man waving wisely).
[MagicalGirlSera-Tan]: Most gods are weird and treat their followers badly; they don't even have dental plans! The underworld is much better; we have the best hospitals, my whole family is a bunch of those too! (Emote of a devil magical girl in a nurse cosplay).
[WiseWizardGleam]: Hospitals in hell? I thought I couldn't be more surprised, but it seems I was wrong... And heaven? I can't say I'm a believer, but I have a certain curiosity. (Emote of a curious old wizard).
[ZombieSlayer]: Asking a devil about heaven wouldn't be blasphemy? Like, she's still a devil... (Emote of a confused baseball bat-wielding zombie).
[MagicalGirlSera-Tan]: Nah! I'm cool~ Heaven is boring, trust me, especially Gabriel, she's the worst angel, I'm far superior to her in everything, including being much prettier! (Emote of a magical girl puffing her chest up).
[TohsakaHeiress]: You know... Devas, you were right, what I had in mind when a goddess, a devil entered the (CHAT) was something completely different... I'm not sure if I'm relieved or disappointed. (Emote of a Chibi Rin sighing).
"No cult in my (CHAT)." It was the first thing that came out of my mouth when I read Aqua's message. "I'm serious, I'll kick everyone out if that happens." I'll ask Jarvis to mute anyone crazy that Aqua somehow manages to convince to join her cult.
Banning was extremely radical, losing viewers was trivial, but reading messages from crazies was even more foolish.
I noticed while reading the messages that Ainz wasn't as active as yesterday; he had sent only one message shortly after I opened the stream but stayed silent after that.
Unlike Serafall, who didn't stop interacting with everyone in the chat since I started the stream.
She was charismatic too, so much that I worried about some idiots trying to summon devils or demons in the vain hope of summoning her and unintentionally summoning something truly malicious.
I'll tell Sally and Dumbledore to warn Percy and Harry later not to attempt any nonsense.
The two, unlike most idiots, wouldn't try to summon something hoping to encounter a succubus but because they were curious and wanted to see if they could.
I could very well see either of the two kids simply trying to summon something just out of boredom or curiosity, and the worst part, it would probably work!
I spent the next hour circling Winterhord and clearing the snow around the city while chatting with the chat. I spent a bit more "Artificial Sapphires" than I intended to protect the Humvee, but nothing too costly.
If I put a portion of the snow I put in the inventory into the mana matrix Helena made for me, I'd probably recover the "Artificial Sapphires" I spent and much more, so I wasn't worried.
My peaceful conversation and calm stroll were unfortunately interrupted by the beginning of a turmoil in the chat.
I wasn't surprised when I saw that Stark had started it.
[(MOD)GeniusBillionairePlayboy]: Do I need to start a revolt for you to open that magical bag you got on the mission?! (Iron Man shouting emote: "Open that damn thing!")
[AdvocateOfGenderEquality]: I agree, what is this? Are you keeping everyone in suspense? There's a barking child and a crying dog here! Don't you have any mercy?! (Generic guy emote asking to see the "loot".)
[ExplosionCrimsonDemon]: I don't know what "loot" means, but I'm also curious to see the spoils of such a battle. What might the shadow demon have left as an offering in its death? (Black cat with an eye patch and witch hat emote asking to see the spoils.)
[AinzOoalGown]: I have to admit I'm curious too, especially after seeing that book of dark spells... Will there be an extra payment fee to see the drops? (Skeleton mage emote asking if the "Additional content is paid".)
[Darkness]: Keeping everyone suffering in suspense like this... How cruel, sadistic... (Paladin wiping drool next to her mouth emote)
[AdvocateOfGenderEquality]: STOP! DON'T START WITH YOUR PERVERSIONS HERE! (Indignant generic guy emote!)
Crying dog and barking child?... What the hell?!
"I'm about to open the Treasure Bag, calm down." I'm as curious as you are, you maniacs!
I noticed between Megumin's chuuni message and Darkness's masochistic message that Ainz had appeared again, but it seemed like he had decided to follow my advice and drop the "Overlord" persona at least on the stream. I'm happy for the guy.
Before I could even open the VoidBag to get the Treasure Bag, Serafall decided that what Ainz had said was a good idea.
[MagicalGirlSera-Tan] Donated 10,069 SP!: Ainz had a good idea! ~ Here's an incentive to show the spoils ~ No need to thank me ~
Besides noticing the double entendre in the message that I ended up ignoring, I realized that Serafall had sent the almost exact amount for the donation to appear on my screen.
After the chat became more populous, one or two SP donations were frequent, and it became impossible to see anything in front of me with the thousands of messages, so I set it up so that only donations with ten thousand SP or more would appear on the screen.
Did one and two SP donations lose strength? A bit, they still appeared in the chat with some highlight, which seemed to be enough for them to continue, even if they had decreased.
Serafall must have noticed this, as she sent exactly sixty-nine SP more than the limit for her donation to appear on the stream.
Interestingly, she seemed to be the "breaking the dam" because after her donation, several people decided to do the same but with less SP.
Others from the Fate chat didn't have this problem.
[AinzOoalGown] Donated 41,000 SP!: I'll take your advice, Devas. Here, a symbolic donation from Nazarick.
[(MOD)GeniusBillionairePlayboy] Donated 50,000 SP!: What's this? A wealth show? If that's the case, count me in!
[BestToadSannin] Donated 19,000 SP!: Ended up fighting some ninjas with some high rewards; here's some help in this "revolution."
[YellowFlash] Donated 22,220 SP!: Can't lose to my master. Here's some help, Devas.
The others had sent smaller amounts, but most, if not all, of the chat had joined in this "game" that Serafall had started...
I wouldn't complain, but it was suspicious why she had done that...
This donation show continued for a few more seconds before I pulled the Treasure Bag out of the inventory and made them decrease.
"All right, you guys won..." I said in a tone of fake defeat, making the chat explode in victory messages.
I could let them continue with the donations for a longer time, but I found it unnecessary, especially for something I was already going to do.
The Deerclops' Treasure Bag was roughly the size of the VoidBag, but it had a dark gray color, two fake ears, and, finally, an eye in the center and a mouth just below the eye.
It was, in a way, almost cute and cartoonish; I could easily see this bag selling like hotcakes... Huh...
I spun the bag in my hand for a few seconds to see if it didn't have anything else special, and then I opened the cord that held the top of the bag.
The moment I opened the Treasure Bag, many items appeared inside the Humvee. The first one I picked up was what had appeared on the passenger seat.
It was a retro radio, not large, about twenty centimeters, dark brown with some lighter tones.
-//-
[Radio Thing]
Type: Accessory/Vanity
Rarity: Blue
Prefix: None
Defense: 200
Durability: 333/333
Use: Turned on the radio; it produces exotic sounds...
Description: An old radio modified by the energy from another world, named by "The Streamer" as "Nightmare Energy." The radio seems ordinary, but the sounds that come out of it allow the listener to see something beyond...
[..]
~ Allows the user to see the world differently - 'Forbidden knowledge echoes from the radio...' ~
-//-
"Alright..." The description was suspicious...
I placed the radio on the Humvee's dashboard and turned it on. The moment this happened, a retro classical music started playing.
Instantly, along with the music, the whole world seemed to twist and change, everything's appearance becoming faded. It was exactly the same appearance of the "World" I could see when using the nightmare energy in my eyes.
I also noticed that the radio seemed to produce a small amount of nightmare energy, and within the music, between some notes, there were small insane whispers...
"Kind of creepy, actually..." The (CHAT) seemed to agree with me.
Still, it was something quite useful, and the music wasn't bad either.
I tossed the radio into the inventory and picked up the second item that was also on the passenger seat, behind where the radio was.
It was a small golden statuette of the upper body of the Deerclops. It shouldn't be more than ten centimeters,
-//-
[Deerclops Relic]
Type: Furniture.
Rarity: Fiery Red.
Use: A trophy, a reward for defeating a being recognized as a boss.
Description: A statuette made of pure energy and fused with gold, a cosmetic item representing "The Streamer's" victory against the Deerclops.
Note: Can be placed in what "The Streamer" calls "Spiritual Landscape."
[..]
~ If the world had a difficulty, it would be something beyond 'Master' ~
-//-
A reward trophy... Basically a decoration.
It wasn't entirely useless; it was essentially a medal representing the "great" feat I had accomplished.
I ended up tossing the statuette into the inventory. The note said I could take it to the spiritual landscape; I'll see how that works later.
The last two items, along with some gold coins that I could see and quickly pulled into the VoidBag, were in the back seat of the Humvee.
The first one I laid eyes on was the upper part of a deer skull, entirely made of off-white bone with two antlers that had four points each.
The second, an axe with a wooden handle, the axe head being red with a gray blade.
I first picked up the deer skull.
-//-
[Bone Helm (Evolutionary)]
Type: Accessory/Armor
Rarity: Rainbow
Prefix: None
Damage: 188 ~ ??? (Based on the nightmare energy used). (Evolutionary)
Maximum range: Based on the nightmare energy used. (The greater the distance, the more energy will be needed, and the less precision the hands will have). (Evolutionary)
Defense: 888 (Evolutionary)
Durability: 8888 (Regenerable), (Evolutionary)
[..]
Use: Put it on your head and see the world through the eyes of a deer...
Ability: When used, highly increases the user's control of "Nightmare Energy" and allows control of 8 shadowy hands that are summoned by the helm.
Description: A helm created with the essence of the Deerclops and shaped to be the exact size for "The Streamer" to use.
[..]
~ Essence, not soul, don't confuse ~
-//-
Holy fuck…
Just the defense of this thing was already absurdly good, even without any Mystic Symbols or Runes, the durability even more so!
But compared to the ability this thing had, defense and durability were completely secondary.
Increasing the control I had over nightmare energy was already excellent, but allowing me to summon the hands that Deerclops used? Damn! It was magnificent!
I knew that this item did this in the game, but knowing that it existed in a game and seeing it in real life was different; I didn't seriously think I could gain something like this.
I hesitated for a moment before putting the Bone Helm on my head, relying on Analyze: Item and the stream.
The moment I put on the Bone Helm, my vision instantly changed to the same view as when I used nightmare energy, and I knew I could control it much better.
I also felt that I had control over other "appendages" that I didn't have before.
I looked outside the Humvee, pulled a random stone from my inventory, and placed it in the snow. Then I commanded one of these extra "appendages" to attack the stone.
The moment I gave the mental command, a hand made entirely of shadows appeared around the stone and closed in, crushing it to powder.
I felt some of my nightmare energy being consumed when the hand manifested and attacked the stone, but I didn't even care because I was so happy.
"Holy shit..." Was this a reward for killing a boss?
I only didn't say "Where do I sign up to kill more" because I knew what beings awaited me, but it was close.
The smile I had on my face, along with the Bone Helm covering half of it, must have been something terrifying to see, at least I thought so when I saw myself in the rearview mirror of the Humvee.
Even better, the Bone Helm was an evolutionary item...
Damn, I was happy, so much that I almost forgot to pick up the axe that, for some reason, seemed sad because I forgot about it...
Her... I found out.
-//-
[Lucy, the Axe (Evolutionary - Lucy)]
Type: Weapon/Tool/Lucy
Rarity: Lucy
Prefix: Lucy - (Lucy)
Damage: 122.1,325 (Evolutionary - Lucy)
Knockback: 122.1,325 (Lucy)
Durability: 1221.3,25/1221.3,25 (Evolutionary - Lucy)
Ability: Can energize the user by cutting down trees.
Use: Lucy.
Description: Lucy.
[..]
~ 'I love Lucy!' ~
-//-
The moment I touched the axe, I felt a connection being formed between me and the tool, while at the same time, a voice echoed in my head.
("Are you Lucy's companion?")
The voice was feminine and lively, almost too much, actually.
"I guess you must be Lucy." I asked already knowing the answer.
Seeing the "?" messages in the (CHAT) while I talked to Lucy was funny; apparently, they couldn't hear her for some reason.
("It's me! And you? I feel like you're my companion, what's your name?") She responded back excitedly...
For some reason, I feel like this axe... She, is going to give me a headache...
"You can call me Devas." I introduced myself to Lucy while looking at the camera.
"I'm not crazy; the axe talks; I just don't know why you guys can't hear her, and yes, it's a 'her'." Everyone's reaction amused me.
Ignoring momentarily the (CHAT) and Lucy, who seemed confused about why I was talking to myself, I looked at her statistics.
Everything being "Lucy" was confusing, especially the numbers that took me a while to realize what they were... Also, they meant "Lucy".
"L" was the twelfth number of the alphabet.
"U" was the twenty-first number.
"C" was the third number.
"Y" finally, the twenty-fifth number.
It was partly totally incredible, at the same time funny and kind of insane.
At least the ability was useful and wouldn't turn me into a werebeaver, which would be strange...
"When Ruby finds out you exist..." I hummed holding Lucy.
("Who?")
"A friend of mine; I'll try to introduce you to everyone later." I replied back while putting everything back into the inventory and starting the Humvee.
I left only Lucy out of the inventory since, unlike Shadowflame, she was actually conscious, and putting her there would be cruel.
("Shall we cut some trees?") Lucy's excited voice echoed in my head.
"Maybe later, now I need to go smack an idiot." I replied to Lucy while driving the Humvee back to Winterhord, where I could see on the Minimap that the point representing Dylan had started to move.
[...]---[...]
Well, the next arc was delayed by one chapter, sorry for that.
Regarding this chapter, I kept it to conclude the rewards and include some interactions between Devas and the (CHAT).
Ainz has 2 personalities, Ainz and Suzuki Satoru; he hasn't decided yet which one to use in the (CHAT).
Keep in mind that this only happens because he has just arrived in the other world, so even with the suppression of emotion, he still remains much more human.
As for Serafall, well, she is "playing around" while Ajuka studies the cellphone, to the extent that she hasn't invited anyone to the (CHAT) yet.
Well, I won't drag this on much longer; as always, any questions, just comment, and I'll respond with my best without giving spoilers.
Having said all that, have a good night and enjoy the reading!