"What a shame... if only I could control this monster, I'd be able to surpass that magic caster and become the greatest magic caster."
If he succeeded, he would be far superior to the necromancer of the Thirteen Heroes, Rigrit Bers Carau.
In truth, Fluder was not particularly interested in strength. His true ambition lay in peering into the abyss. This was just a step along that road.
His disciples did not understand that, and so they began spouting misplaced consolation instead..
"Master, you've long since exceeded that hero."
"Exactly. The Thirteen Heroes are beings from the past; there's no way they can beat our Master, who stands at the pinnacle of modern magic."
"I also feel that Master has long since surpassed the Thirteen Heroes. However, if Master could take control of the Death Knight, the Empire would possess a source of incredible power."
"It's often said that an individual can't defeat a group, but that's just because the individual's too weak. That Death Knight is the most powerful individual around."
Fluder was standing at the head of the group, so none of them saw him smile bitterly to himself. Only the hate-filled eyes of the Death Knight saw it.
"Still, if even Master cannot take control of it... then how powerful is that Death Knight, anyway?"
"That... who knows? Theoretically speaking, it should be controllable. What are we missing? Does anyone have any ideas?"
The group's answer to that was silence.
The undead could be controlled through magic, and one of the Thirteen Heroes had done just that. Fluder's power was such that he could control undead beings of quite a high level. Perhaps he could even take control of the Death Knight before his eyes.
However, that was simply theoretical. Actually controlling an undead being with magic involved more complex mechanisms. Fundamentally speaking, controlling or destroying the undead was the domain of the priests, who borrowed the power of the gods. Magic casters used arcane power to emulate divine might, so various discrepancies were only to be expected.
"...It's not my intention to insult you, Master, but..."
One of his disciples began cautiously with that, and Fluder bade him continue speaking.
"Could it be you're simply not strong enough, Master? If magic of the 7th tier exists, then perhaps the Death Knight might require undead-summoning magic of that level in order to command it..."
"That is a good observation."
"I've heard that the Adventurer's Guild often summarizes the data of various monsters and converts them into a difficulty rating. Perhaps that line of thought is worth pursuing?"
"I've heard those values are very crude and are essentially meaningless due to changes in body and age," another disciple said.
"Still, other than unknown monsters, there's no metric which is easier to understand. After all, those values are based on combat feedback from adventurers and other forms of data; it can't be completely inaccurate."
"Going by what you said, you still can't use it on a legendary-class monster like the Death Knight."
"Ah yes, Master. Does that secret tome which records all manner of monsters mention that particular monster?"
"No," Fluder said while stroking his beard. Perhaps the complete version of the Eryuentiu might, but the only copies circulating in the outside world are not complete."
One of his disciples seemed to have a question, which he addressed to a disciple next to him. While his voice was very soft, the room was the very embodiment of silence, and so his words seemed surprisingly loud.
"What's the Eryuentiu?"
"Isn't it the name of a city?"
"I know that, but it sounds really weird."
"Hm... I looked it up once. I think it's a word from an ancient language which means, "The great tree at the heart of the world".
Fluder rapped the floor with his staff, as a warning to his chatting disciples. This was a dangerous place which incarcerated a legendary-class monster. Carelessness was strictly forbidden.
His disciples heeded the warning, and the master of the chamber (silence) ruled it once more, aside from the sounds of the Death Knight struggling against its chains in an attempt to break them.
"What a shame. There's no need for us to stay here any longer. Let's go."
"Yes."
After hearing the chorus of relieved replies, Fluder strode away from the Death Knight with big steps.
***
Even someone like Fluder could not maintain the same pace leaving the room as he had when entering it. His steps quickened as he felt the Death Knight's vicious glare burning into his back. In that respect, his disciples were the same as him.
As Fluder walked through the darkness, he recalled the word his disciples had mentioned just now.
Eryuentiu.
It was the capital of the kingdom founded by the Eight Greed Kings, and also its sole surviving city. At the same time, it was also a city defended by 30 city guardians equipped with magical arms and armor that surpassed conventional reason.
It was said that there were magic items left behind by the Eight Greed Kings there, and with them, he would surely be able to vastly improve his own magical skills. Fluder thought. These incredible items had never fallen into anyone's hands, and only the Thirteen Heroes had been allowed to take several pieces away.
A black flame flickered in Fluder's heart.
The Thirteen Heroes; heroes of the past. Fluder's might ought to have been the equivalent of theirs, but only they had been granted that permission, while he had not. In what way did he not measure up to them?
Fluder tried to put out the wavering fire in his heart, thinking of other things to reassure himself. His present position and all the things he had built were no less than what the Thirteen Heroes had done. No, among the Empire's magic casters, Fluder's status was greater even than the Thirteen Heroes.
However, once that the black fire — the flame of jealousy — blazed up, it could not be easily extinguished, because what he envied was not their power, their knowledge, or their abilities, but rather, the fact that they had obtained a chance to peer into the abyss of magic.
Fluder was a magic caster of the highest order; nobody would dispute that. The only people who could compare to him were the Thirteen Heroes of the past. However, he could not control the Death Knight, and of the ten tiers of magic that were said to exist — although the reliability of that information was a little low — he could only cast spells of up to the sixth tier.
This situation was a stark reminder that he was far from the abyss of magic.
Fluder was old.
Among the sage arts he had learned as a spiritual magic caster was a certain branch known as the forbidden arts. He had used this forbidden magic to stop his aging. Of course, given the level of magic Fluder had mastered, using that spell was very difficult. In the end, he had barely managed to cast it with a ritual spell.
However, since this was a twisting of the impossible into the possible, it had been distorted. The spell which should have granted immortality if perfectly cast instead allowed Fluder to experience, ever so slightly, the passage of time.
He could still handle it now. However, the distortion would grow larger, and eventually there would be a weakness in it.
Indeed. Fluder would die before he could gaze into the abyss of magic.
Perhaps if a skilled predecessor had guided him, he might have been able to reach his current position sooner. However, there had been nobody ahead of him, so all he could do was blaze his own trail.
Fluder nonchalantly looked at the disciples around him.
He looked around at the people who walked along the trail Fluder had blazed.
It was fuel to the fire of his jealousy, which blazed even more fiercely.
He... as the most knowledgeable person present, how old had he been when he had been at his disciples' level? No, there was no need to think about it; he would surely have been older than his disciples were. That was how great the difference was without anybody to guide him, without anybody to show him the way.
Why did he not have a Master of his own?
Fluder tried to think in a different direction to mask the complaints he often had.
***
—it was fine, right? He would go down in history as a forerunner. Every single magic caster would give thanks to Fluder for the results he had left behind, which were derived from the trail he had blazed. These pupils are my treasure; so long as any of them reaches a greater height than myself, it will be a part of my accomplishments too—
***
Fluder thought of one of his disciples while consoling himself. That disciple had long since departed his side.
What tier could that girl have reached?
"—Arche Eeb Ryle Furt."
She was an excellent girl. She had mastered the second tier of magic at a young age, and even begun her first steps upon the third. So long as she continued training, she might well have been able to reach Fluder's domain. But regretfully, at the end, she had abandoned her studies for some reason...
Fluder had been utterly disappointed back then. All the could think of was that she had been terribly foolish.
"What a shame."
Perhaps she had been the one that got away.
Where was that girl now? Fluder thought, perhaps I could try and find her. If she can use magic of the third tier, perhaps I could give her a good position.
That said, there were still things which had to be done.
Fluder incanted the command word, and opened the heavy door.
After that, he exited the room, and took several deep breaths with his disciples. That was because the air in the Death Knight's room was heavy with the stench of its presence, and it felt like the air would not enter their lungs.
"Master!"
A low, coarse voice called out to him. There stood one of his adept disciples, who was also a famous male adventurer. Due to the breadth of his experience, he was the second-in-command of the Ministry of Magic's security forces.
"...What happened? Is there an emergency?"
"No, not an emergency. Two adamantite-ranked adventurers desire an audience with you, Master."
Fluder looked upon the man with suspicion.
He had not arranged for a meeting with anyone. Fluder was the highest-ranked magic caster in the Empire. He had a lot of work to do, and then he needed to conduct his own magical research on top of that; he simply did not have any free time. He could not simply nod when someone said they wanted to meet him. In the Empire, only the Emperor could see him without making an appointment in advance.
That said, he could not summarily reject the request. Adamantite-ranked adventurers were heroes. They were individuals, but they were not beings he could simply overlook. The same applied even for a great magic caster like Fluder. At times, he would request them to help him find exotic objects, so he could not just ignore them.
"Are they from Silver Canary? Or Eight Ripples?"
He spoke the names of the Empire's two adamantite-ranked adventurer teams.
However, his disciple shook his head.
"No. They are a duo calling themselves Darkness. They even produced adamantite plates to prove their identity."
"What did you say?"
The adventurer team Darkness' name was well known throughout the Kingdom. Even with just two members, they had accomplished many heroic deeds. Apparently, they had recently challenged Jaldabaoth, who had caused havoc in the Royal Capital, and fought him off.
Why would people like that come to see him? Several questions appeared in his heart, but more than that, he wanted to discuss magical knowledge with the "Beautiful Princess" Nabe, said to be a very high-level magic caster. He immediately cast his doubts to the back of his mind.
However, he was the Emperor's servant, after all, and he remembered that his lord Jircniv wanted to see them.
He would bring the matter up after their meeting. Fluder gave orders to his disciples as he thought.
"Show them the way. I will tidy myself up and head over immediately."
-x-X-x-
"Ah! I didn't expect there to actually be ruins! What a shock. While I thought that it probably wouldn't be a lie, given the sizable payout, I can't believe there was actually an unexplored ruin smack in the middle of a grass plain like this. Really surprising, right?"
As they heard Hekkeran ask that, his comrades responded with their agreement
Apparently, this was a tomb of some sort, but when they actually saw it, it seemed to be sunk into the earth itself — as though something had pressed it down, like a basin.
One possible reason why ruins like these had not been explored was because the surrounding land was grass as far as the eye could see, with no remains of ancient cities nearby to draw adventurers' attention. In addition, small hillocks of dirt were scattered around it like stars in the sky, so even if there were ruins buried in one of them, they would have missed it. The central building protruded a little, but one could only see it after climbing to a high vantage like this.
Part of the dirt wall surrounding the ruins had collapsed, exposing part of the walls, which was how the ruins had been discovered. That was the shared opinion of the various teams.
"No doubt about it. In truth, I'm quite excited about this. After all, unexplored ruins might contain startling treasures."
"That's a bit hard to say, but given that there haven't been any problems for the area around the ruins, it's pretty clear that there aren't any dangerous monsters within. More than that, I'm more uneasy that our client actually specified a location for a base camp."
The campsite was situated on the plains. One could say it was an ideal location.
Since it was surrounded by scattered hillocks, which blocked line of sight, they did not have to worry about being spotted from afar. All they had to do was be mindful of the light from their fires and torches, and it would be very hard for others to spot them.
And because of that — he was afraid.
"How did our client know about this place?"
The most likely answer was that the client had searched for an ideal location for a campsite around here for some reason. That would explain a lot.
But if that were the case, it would raise more questions in turn. For instance, why had the client thought of having them camp in such a secluded spot, and why would an Imperial noble enter the Kingdom's territory?
"—I once heard that there was a massive criminal organization in the Kingdom, called Eight Fingers, if I'm not wrong. They say that organization did a lot of evil things."
"I heard they even did smuggling to the Empire. Some of my thief friends complained that they were really influential in the Kingdom, so investigating them would cause a lot of problems."
Imina pressed down her wind-tossed hair and spoke after Arche finished. Roberdyck spoke in quiet tones, like he was spitting on the ground:
"I've heard about their drugs. When used properly, medicines can be very helpful. But these people turn medicine into narcotics, which they sell to and use to harm the weak. I find that very displeasing."
That he raised his voice slightly could not be helped. After all, Roberdyck had become a Worker to help the weak.
"That's enough talk of all this idle fantasy that has nothing to do with the job. According to Arche's research, our client isn't doing anything dubious, but might be the subject of a purge, is he not?"
"Perhaps I didn't investigate thoroughly enough, or it was very well hidden," Arche said quietly. However, Hekkeran paid it no heed, and looked to the others for confirmation.
"Well, I think everyone understands."
"Of course. Don't mention that in front of the other teams. After all, Workers sometimes get requests from Eight Fingers for smuggling. We won't shoot our mouths off if there's a chance any of the other teams might be involved with that group. At least, until we're done with this job."
"Still, there's no telling how many people's tears went into our payment, and how dirty it is."
"—Even if the money's dirty, a payout is still a payout, and you can survive on it."
Roberdyck glanced at Arche, then inhaled and exhaled deeply to cool himself down.
"—My apologies, I was being rude."
"It's fine, I almost said something rude myself. Please forgive me."
"—Please don't worry about it, because you didn't actually say anything. I just wanted you to know that was how I thought about it. I'm not looking for spiritual fullness, but material satisfaction. However... " Arche quickly raised her hand, to indicate she was not done yet. "I've been doing my best to avoid doing things that harm my companions, because I've seen many people who destroyed themselves in pursuit of their desires."
"I believe you, Arche."
Arche nodded, and nobody said anything to her. The message had been passed even without speaking. They had all argued with each other several times in the past, and they had long since built up a relationship of mutual trust.
"So, what do you guys think? I feel that the tomb might be ruled by some kind of entity."
Hekkeran's eyes carefully studied the cut grass. That aside, the angel and goddess statues positioned all over the place were very intricately carved, making onlookers gasp in awe. It was evident at a glance that they had been regularly maintained.
In contrast, the trees standing everywhere around the graveyard were twisted and drooping, creating a gloomy atmosphere. There was no order in the way the tombstones were arranged, sticking up from the ground like the teeth of some ugly witch. They felt very out of place in contrast to the cleaned portions.
Someone was in charge of this place. However, that someone was not a normal person, went the frightening conjecture which rose from the pit of his stomach.
In order to banish the chill that ran through him, Hekkeran turned his attention to the huge building. There was a mausoleum in the north, south, east and west of the graveyard interior, and in the center was a magnificent mausoleum. Eight tall warrior statues were positioned around the great mausoleum. They radiated an oppressive feeling, as though they were intent on eliminating all threats and evildoers who came near the mausoleum.
"The vegetation in the graveyard's been neatly trimmed. There isn't even a trace of algae here, so someone must be taking good care of it. But what kind of person are they?"
Indeed, each team — Tenbu aside — had felt something was amiss when they researched the records about the job.
Looking around at the place itself, what they saw was plains and more plains. It was singularly unsuited to building a tomb.
For starters, one had to consider the convenience factor. Building such a luxurious tomb in such a deserted place made no sense at all; it was far too inconvenient.
It would be understandable if this was not to honor the dead, but to serve as a memorial to future generations. After all, people sometimes built monuments upon places where great deeds took place.
However, in that case, the fact that this great accomplishment had not been passed down in history felt entirely unnatural. All the teams had shared the information they had gathered, but there was no relevant data among it, which indicated that this ruin might have been erased from history.
It all seemed highly irregular.
There was a bizarre sensation, like something stuck in his throat, and it made him furrow his brows.
"Still, there might be a big incident depending on who's staying in the ruins. Have you checked up on that yet?"
"...I just hope they're not innocent people."
"—The brains of the various teams put their heads together just now, and they said that the Guild doesn't know anything about ruins in this area. It's also far from the nearby villages, so it's not likely that there'll be commoners around. If there's anyone here, then they'll be illegal squatters — the kind who can't show their faces in public — or monsters. Since there's no traces of footprints exiting the ruins, what we came up with was that either the creatures inside don't need to eat or drink, or the interior of the ruins are self-sustaining. However, since we know too little, we're limited to stereotypes for further theorycrafting, which might lead to our thinking being constrained. That's where we left our consideration of the ruins."
Once people discovered a set of ruins, news about it would be disseminated to various government organizations through the Adventurer's Guild, and the first people to discover it would have investigation rights for a limited period. Under that arrangement, those people who discovered ruins which had been previously unknown to the nation or the Adventurer's Guild had unspoken permission to kill any illegal squatters occupying the ruins.
In that respect, they had adopted a policy of "kill them on suspicion".
Perhaps this was a very brutal policy, but humans were weak creatures in this world. Therefore, beings of unknown provenance occupying territory at the edge of human lands would be very troublesome.
The fact was, roughly 20 years ago, there had been a group called Zuranon which occupied a set of ruins, performed frightening experiments, and caused a major disaster. An entire city had been destroyed while everyone had sat back and watched due to a lack of information.
The Guild made that rule in order to prevent the same kind of mistakes from happening again.
"Ah, under normal circumstances, it'd probably be the undead. If the undead really have taken over these ruins, then we'll need to clear them out and consecrate the place to disperse the negative energy, else it'll be bad, right?"
"Like you said, it would be very bad. Leaving the undead be will only lead to the appearance of more powerful undead. That's why powerful undead often appear in places like ruins and so on."
"It would save a lot of trouble if they were just Golems tidying up the ruins on orders from their previous masters. Then, what do you plan to do after this?"
"—I think Hekkeran should attend the meeting in my place."
"Don't worry about it, the other team leaders didn't take part either, right? This is called making full use of one's resources, mm."
Hekkeran winked at Arche, and she sighed with deliberate loudness.
"—In any case, all the teams will move in after dark. We'll enter from four directions at once and meet up at the central mausoleum.
"I see, because we'll be spotted more easily when entering in the day."
"—Correct."
The surrounding terrain was open, and there were no signs of observers or travellers. Thus, entering directly was also a valid option, but they had to be on watch against unexpected situations. It was somewhat safer to move around in the dark.
Besides, they might still be able to learn something if they continued observing the ruins, though they only had until nightfall. This job was under time constraints, but it would not hurt to spend some time here. That was probably what the smart people thought.
Perhaps they really wanted to continue observing the place for several more days.
"Still, can't we scout safely with [Invisibility]?"
"—I'd thought of that as well. However, since a troublesome situation might arise, it would be better to go in all at once, so at least we'd be able to learn something."
Invisibility spells were not perfect; there were many ways to see through them. If the Workers approached with magic, and they were spotted by someone — by the tomb's sentries — it would raise their alertness level, and they might not be able to enter at all for the next few days.
In order to avoid that, they opted for a plan where everyone would go in together.
Hekkeran understood that point and nodded. While there were still some holes in the plan, this was the best balance they could strike between risk and effectiveness.
"In that case, we'll be resting for now?"
"—Yes, Darkness and Screaming Whip will be in charge of security; but for safety's sake and to keep everyone on their toes, the various teams will be assigning sentries to keep an eye on things. We're going in order of arrival at the Count's estate and rotating every two hours."
"I see, so we're the last, then."
"—Yes, it'll be a while before it's our turn."
Saying so, Arche cricked her neck and worked her shoulders.
"Thanks for your hard work."
Arche nodded to Roberdyck.
"—I'm so tired. We spent so much time because that idiot wanted to just barge into the ruins. It took us a lot of time to talk him down. That man doesn't know the meaning of teamwork at all."
"...Ah, that sword genius guy..."
"Just call him Goddamn Son-of-a-bitch."
Hekkeran smiled to Imina — whose murderous intent was steaming off her — and tried to change the topic.
"In that case, I'll be heading back to the campsite to slowly wait our turn."
"I approve. I don't think it'll rain for a while, but we'd best prepare just in case. Imina-san, it's your turn, so please try not to look so scary."
"Fine. Ahhhh~ it just pisses me off! I want to stab him to death. I'm pitching my tent away from them."
"As long as you stay within the designated campgrounds."
It was not actually a good thing, but it was much better than pitching a tent nearby and then getting into a fight.
The four of them turned their backs on the ruins and left the plains.
"—Still, the more I think about it, the stranger it seems. No wonder the Count put out a request like this."
The group turned around as they heard Arche's voice, and saw her staring at the ruins.
"I can't tell the age or the background of these ruins at all. It's as though they just suddenly appeared in this era. It feels out of place. Those carvings look just like the carvings in the region before the Demon Gods rampaged through this area, but those carvings had an eastern flavor to them. And then there's these cross-shaped tombstones... no, I still don't get it."
As he listened to Arche's scholarly dissertation, Hekkeran had to suppress the wicked smile on his face and he barely managed to hide the excitement in his heart.
"So you're saying that we might find some very interesting treasure there, then?"
"Yeah, I'm sure there'll be some amazing treasure in there."
"...Either that, or some very frightening undead."
"—Uwah~ how scary~"
"—That's a horrible imitation, Hekkeran. It doesn't look like me at all. And you're trying to copy my voice too, that's just gross."
"Yes, sorry about that."
"Still... I'm kind of looking forward to it."
"Oh yes. Why does this tomb exist, and who was buried here? It piques my curiosity."
"That's right. Exploring the unknown always gets me a little jumpy."
"—And money. I hope there's a lot of treasure."
Hekkeran looked at the smiling faces of his companions, and satisfaction filled his heart. While everyone here had done dirty jobs for money, it was not of their own free will. In truth, everyone here preferred adventurer work.
There was no telling if Arche would be able to continue adventuring with them once she had to start supporting her sisters. Once Arche left the team, it might take a while to find their next member, and even if they found one, they would have to take on easier jobs before they blended into the team.
Perhaps this job, as the last one with their current members, was the best choice.
In the future... maybe we can take adventuring jobs... like adventurers, no, it would be good if we could go explore the unknown together.
Hekkeran looked to the heavens, at the sprawling, boundless sky.
***
As sunset slowly shrouded the world, the Workers filed out of their cleverly-concealed low tents. As the ones charged with carrying out clandestine operations, it was time for them to work.
The adventurers had already prepared a meal for them.
They started by lighting several white bricks of solid fuel, then added charcoal to it. Since they had cast [Darkness] on the fire beforehand, there was no illumination which would otherwise have lit up the surroundings. [Darkness] only eliminated light; it did not extinguish flames. Then, they boiled the water from a Pouch of Infinite Water over the lightless, yet vigorous blaze.
They poured the boiled water into wooden bowls, and the travel rations within lost their shape, and a fragrant smell of soup steamed forth. That, along with hard bread, was what everyone ate.
After that, it was up to personal preference.
The bowls were filled with yellowish soup — the type which Workers liked, made to provide nutrition and to be stored for a long time. Some people would add thin slices of jerky to the soup, some sprinkled spices onto it, and others would simply consume it straight.
Dinner was over with that bowl of soup. When one considered the amount of activity they would soon be performing, it seemed like a pitiful amount.
However, eating too much would affect their upcoming work, At the same time, not eating enough was also dangerous, because there was no telling when they would be able to eat again.
Their supply of emergency ration bars was also limited, because carrying too many would hinder movement. A compromise had to be made in this area.
They handed the empty bowls to the adventurers, and then the Workers shouldered their pre-packed bags.
Under the watchful eyes of the adventurers, the Workers set off in unison. The adventurers would be guarding this campsite, and they would not follow them to the ruins.
To begin with, they circled around the base of the hill, and then dispersed around the ruins. They had already arranged to launch a flare into the sky if they were attacked at this stage.
Many people wore full plate armor, whose cumbersome bulk and noise did not seem quite suitable for stealth operations, but that was only within the constraints of normal thinking. For those who could use magic to violate common sense, it was a trivial matter.
First, they cast [Silence]. This spell smothered all sounds within a certain distance, be it the clanking of armor plates or that of running across the ground.
After that was [Invisibility]. That spell made it difficult for observers to detect them with the naked eye.
For safety's sake, they had a ranger in the air with [Invisibility], [Fly] and [Hawk Eye] cast on him to keep an eye on their surroundings. He was equipped with special arrows imbued with a paralysis effect to deal with any sudden situation that might develop.
The group reached their destination under this double layer of protection.
It was time for the main event.
Their plan was to ascend the slope, then drop down onto the ruins several meters below. Then, they would search the surface portion and then meet up at the central mausoleum. All this had to be done while the [Invisibility] spells were still in effect.
That said, everyone had to move in sync in order to keep people from going off-script. However, it was late at night, and everyone was invisible, so it would be very difficult to verify each other's location.
However, they had already taken that problem into consideration.
Strange sticks, each about 30 centimeters long, suddenly appeared on the ground. The sticks floated into the air like someone was holding them, and after they were bent, they glowed dimly.
These special sticks — glowsticks — could be bent, upon which the alchemical solutions within would combine and emit light. The reason why they had been dropped to the ground was because [Invisibility] also affected everything the subject of the spell was carrying. In order to keep an item visible, it had to be removed from the subject's person.
The light shook back and forth a few times, and then the sticks broke, having served their purpose.They then poured glowing alchemical solution onto the ground and covered it up with dirt, neatly concealing it.
In this way, they learned that things were going smoothly for the Workers everywhere, and that they were waiting for the next stage of the plan.
While they could not see each other due to the distance, four ropes were simultaneously lowered to the surface of the Great Underground Tomb of Nazarick. This was climbing rope, and it had knots tied at regular intervals along its length.
The ends of the rope were tied to iron pitons sunk into the rock, and they creaked as they swayed.
If anyone present could see through invisibility, they would be able to see a group of people descending the ropes.
This much was nothing even for someone like Arche, who had focused on honing her magical prowess over her physical body and had not learned much in the way of athletic skills, Or rather, it would be better to say that both Workers and adventurers needed at least that much physical training.
The training and the knots were put to good use as each Worker descended without a problem, landing within the tomb grounds.
The first destination of each infiltration team was one of the four smaller mausoleums in each direction.
Now that the effective duration of [Invisibility] was over, everyone came into view again. Each team ran towards their respective mausoleum.
They were crouched low, concealing themselves with tombstones, trees or statues, running through the darkened graveyard. During this time, the [Silence] spell was still in effect, so they did not make any noise, and even the warriors in full plate ran with all their might while seeking cover. Their movements were swift and fluid, like shadows racing across the land.
***
Heavy Masher's leader Gringam slowly approached the mausoleum, and his eyes went wide.
That was because the mausoleum was grander than he had imagined.
While it was one of the smaller directional mausoleums, that was only in comparison to the huge central mausoleum. At a closer look, the structure was so impressive that its incredible grandeur made the breath catch in his throat.
The white stone walls gleamed like they had been planed flat. Many years should have passed since it had been built, yet there was no trace of weathering or stains from the wind and the rain.
A massive steel door stood atop a flight of three steps made from single slabs of rock. The door itself was polished and free of rust, and glinted with a dark, metallic light.
Just seeing this structure was enough to tell them how well it had been maintained.
—In other words, the tomb was definitely occupied.
As Gringam reached that conclusion, the thief among his companions stepped forward, and began inspecting the steps.
Gringam saw the thief gesture to him — because of the [Silence] spell — to move away from him, and so he slowly backed off. This was to avoid being caught in an area-effect trap.
The thief checked very carefully. It was somewhat frustrating, but it could not be helped.
Apparently, people's souls resided in their bodies, and when the body started to decay, the soul would be summoned to the side of the gods. That was why the dead were essentially buried in graveyards right away — in the embrace of the earth — but this was different for certain nobles and those in power.
If one buried the body right away, verifying the decay of the body would require an exhumation of the grave. Therefore, in order to personally verify the decay of the deceased, these powerful people would not be buried immediately after death, but left in state for a while. However, nobody would choose to put their corpses in their own homes.
Instead, they would choose to have their bodies stored in the mausoleums of the graveyards. The corpse would be placed there for a period of time, and once the decay began, the priests would bear witness to the fact that the soul had, in fact, departed the body to be with the gods.
The bodies in question would be placed within a communal space within the mausoleum. There would be several stone slabs within a wide-open space and the corpses would be laid out on the slabs. The sight of rotting cadavers laid out in a row ought to have been a gruesome sight, but within this world's frame of reference, it was an exceedingly normal sight.
However, if one were as wealthy and powerful as a Great Noble, things would once again be slightly different. They would not use a communal mausoleum, but an ancestral tomb. People believed that these were temporary resting places for the mighty to abide before they were summoned before the spirits of their family, and so being able to possess a family mausoleum was a symbol of power.
It was not at all unusual to decorate mausoleums with furniture or jewellery. In other words, mausoleums were essentially treasure troves for thieves. Therefore, these places were typically fortified with lethal traps and the like to ward off intruders.
Therefore, such a magnificent mausoleum must surely be laced with even more dangerous traps
After checking the steps, the thief began inspecting the door, and then suddenly, the sounds around them returned to normal.
The duration of the [Silence] had expired, perhaps just in time. The thief quietly crept towards the door, and began checking again. In the end, he rested something like a cup against the door, and tried listening to what was beyond it.
After several seconds, the thief turned to Gringam and company and shook his head.
In other words: "there's nothing".
The thief himself was quite surprised, and tilted his neck several times.
The door was not even locked, which defied understanding, but since the thief had not found anything, it would be the frontliner's turn after this.
Gringam stepped up, and reached out to push the door which the thief had already oiled. The warrior behind him braced his shield as well.
With a forceful shove, the heavy door began moving. Perhaps it was the oil, or because the people in charge of this place had been very meticulous in their work, but the door slid open smoothly despite its massive weight.
The warrior standing by moved between the freshly-opened door and Gringam, bracing his shield forward, so Gringam would not be hit by an attack or trap.
No arrows or the like flew at him. The metal door was now completely open, and a vacuous darkness appeared before the members of Heavy Masher.
"[Continual Light]."
The staff which the arcane magic caster was holding glowed with magical light. Through its variable, controllable illumination, they had a clear view of the mauseoleum's interior. The magic caster incanted another spell, and the warrior's weapon glowed as well.
The twin sources of light illuminated what looked like a chamber belonging to a member of royalty.
In the middle of the room was what looked like a religious altar, upon which was placed a white stone sarcophagus. Said sarcophagus was over 2.5 meters long and it was inscribed with delicate patterns. In the four corners of the room were white statues of warriors in armor and carrying swords and shields.
And also—
"—Hm, does anyone know anything about that emblem?"
"No, I've never seen anything like that before."
A flag hung from the wall. It had a strange crest stitched on it in thread-of-gold. The thief and the magic caster knew most of the heraldry used by the surrounding nations, so if they did not recall this particular crest, then it probably did not belong to the Kingdom's royalty.
"Could it be an emblem from nobles before the Kingdom was founded?"
"Thou meanst this is a relic from over two centuries ago?"
Many countries had been destroyed by the Demon Gods 200 years ago, and so there were surprisingly few nations around here whose history lasted beyond 200 years. The Kingdom, the Holy Kingdom, the Council Alliance and the Empire had all been founded within the past 200 years.
"If that's really the case, then what exactly is this flag made of, to remain in the same beautiful shape despite its age?"
"Maybe someone used preservation magic on it, or someone used magic to repair the aged portions."
"That's right. Say, leader, you don't need to talk in that weird way any more. We're the only ones here now."
"Umu..."
Gringam's eyebrows bent to a dangerous angle, and then his face promptly broke into a smile.
"Ahhhhh, what a pain, thou this and meanst that, it's all so stupid."
"Thanks for your hard work. Still, he's right; when it's just us, you can speak normally."
"No, I can't! Speaking stiffly and formally like that makes me sound more like a great Worker. And besides, changing the way I speak here and there is a pain in the ass, so I always speak like that on the job. That's one of my principles; you know that, right?"
Gringam answered his companions' bitter smiles with a wry grin of his own.
Gringam had originally been the third son of a farmer in the Kingdom.
If farmers evenly divided their fields between each and every one of his child over the generations, then the fields would shrink, which in turn would cause the crop yield to dwindle until the family line ended. Therefore, as the saying went, "dividing the fields" became synonymous with "foolishness". Because of that, the fields of a farming family typically went to the eldest son, while the second son could choose to help with the housework and the fields, but the third son would be nothing but a waste of space. Therefore they typically chose to leave their homes and eke out a living in the city.
It was true that Gringam was blessed with exceptional physical abilities and friends, with which he had made a name for himself. However, he had originally been a farmer, and he was a second-rate piece of insurance to ensure the family line continued at that, so he had no education. He could neither read nor write, and he did not understand etiquette.
It was true that Workers needed the strength to complete their jobs, and not education. However, there would be problems if he, as their leader, was ignorant.
He did his best to study, but his mind was not as capable as his body, and he messed everything up. Even so, the reason why he had not been removed from his position as leader was because his comrades approved of his performance, academic abilities aside. In order not to disgrace these friends of his, Gringam had chosen to speak in a weird way.
This would let their clients feel, "He's advertising for his team, so there's nothing strange about him talking in a funny way."
The fact was that people laughed at him for speaking in that way. However, it was far better than letting others say, "A team led by a clueless farmboy won't amount to much."
"Very well, we have tarried sufficiently. Let us be off, gentlemen."
Nobody objected to Gringam's declaration, and so they continued onward.
At their head was the thief, who carefully entered the mausoleum and searched the interior.
The other team members wedged stout iron bars into the gaps of the door. That way, no matter what kind of traps they sprang, the door would not close completely. After that, they half-closed the doors to prevent light from escaping the interior. While the thief carefully inspected the inside of the mauseleum, Gringam and the others kept a close eye on their surroundings, taking pains not to slack off. While it was necessary, they had still made light. Someone might have spotted it.
As Gringam hunkered down to watch the surroundings outside, the thief had already reached the bottom of the flag. After carefully examining the flag, he made up his mind to touch it, and in the instant he did, he immediately shrank away from it.
"It's okay for now, so come in, everyone."
The thief looked back, and after seeing that Gringam and company had entered the mausoleum, he pointed to the flag.
"...This ought to be worth a pretty penny; it's been woven from threads of precious metal."
"Whhaaaaaat?! Threads of precious metal? Are they mad, to hang such a thing here?"
Everyone exclaimed in surprise. Then, they rushed to the base of the flag and took turns to feel it up. The cold sensation was undoubtedly that of metal.
From the way it gleamed, the thief was probably correct. A flag of that size ought to be very heavy, and after factoring its artistic worth, it must be worth a fortune.
"It would seem our client's bet paid off. While he has not yet made back the payment to us... no, to our four teams, there must surely be much treasure in a place like this."
"Are we going to take it with us?"
Gringam replied to the thief:
"T'would be too bulky, and most weighty. We shall collect it later. Does anyone disagree?"
"Nope, carrying this around really would weigh us down. Also, I've searched this place; there's no traps here, or secret doors."
"...Then, I shall leave it to thee."
Gringam nodded to the arcane magic caster — the wizard — and his colleague cast a spell in response.
"[Detect Magic] — I can't sense any magical mechanisms around, unless they're hidden by concealing spells."
"...Then there is nothing else to inspect. Let us continue with our prime directive."
Everyone's eyes went to the sarcophagus in the center of the room.
The thief spent a long time inspecting it, and judged that there were no traps.
Gringam and the warrior nodded to each other, and then they pushed open the lid of the sarcophagus. The lid was massive, and they thought that it would be equally heavy, but it was much lighter than they expected. The two of them put their backs into pushing it and nearly lost their balance.
After pushing open the sarcophagus lid, the contents reflected the light and emitted a blinding, sparkling radiance.
There were ornaments and jewellery of gold and silver and various gemstones. There were over a hundred gold coins within the sarcophagus at a glance.
While he had expected something like this when they saw the flag, Gringam could not help but break into a smile as he saw all this. The thief carefully examined the interior, then reached into the sarcophagus and took out a piece of gleaming treasure — a gold necklace.
It was a breathtakingly beautiful marvel of craftsmanship. At a glance, the gold necklace looked like an ordinary necklace, but the chains were each carved with exquisite inscriptions.
"...It's worth at least a hundred gold coins. You'd be able to get 150 for it no problem, no matter where you sold it."
Everyone reacted differently when they heard the results of the thief's appraisal. Some of them whistled, some smiled so widely they could not close their mouths. What they all had in common was that their eyes were filled with the flames of delight and desire.
"We already arranged to get half of this, so at the very least, we've already made 50 coins. 10 per person. What a score!"
"Looks like... these ruins might end up being a treasure trove after all."
"Marvellous! This is just amazing!"
"Exactly, but leaving all that treasure here is too much of a waste. We should make good use of it."
As he said this, the wizard reached into the pile of treasure and took out a ring socketed with a massive ruby, which he kissed.
"It's huge."
The priest reached into the sarcophagus and pulled back a fistful of gold coins, which he slowly let slip between his fingers.
The coins clinked against each other with a clear, crisp sound.
"I've never seen gold coins like these before. Which era and which country did they come from?"
The thief nicked one of the coins with a knife, and said in a voice filled with emotion:
"These gold coins are really high quality. They're twice the weight of the standard trading coin, and you could probably get even more just from their artistic value alone.
"This really is... ku... kukuku..."
The group could not control themselves and broke into quiet laughter. Just their share of this treasure alone would be a startling sum.
"You lot, thank the gods for your good fortune later. Let us take this treasure with us and discover the true trove. If we tarry, we shall not have a share of it."
—Alright!"
Gringam's words were met with boisterous approval. Their voices were filled with excitement and passion.
-x-X-x-
They were at the central mausoleum. It was surrounded by statues of gigantic warriors and knights which looked like they were protecting their liege lord. They were so realistic that they looked like they might move at any moment. Hekkeran was hidden by the foot of one of the warrior statues, keeping a close eye on one of the four smaller mausoleums.
After some time, Hekkeran noticed five people running over at top speed from one of the mausoleums. He continued hiding, inspecting the running people for any abnormalities, and also whether anyone was observing them. After that, once he had confirmed that the running people were fine, Hekkeran finally breathed a quiet sigh of relief.
He leaned out from behind the statue and flashed a signal. Gringam — who was running at the head of his group — noticed it and ran toward Hekkeran.
"Gringam, what took you so long?"
"My sincerest apologies; it seems I have kept thee waiting."
"Well, it's not like we arranged a meeting time, so it's fine. That aside, let's move to a different place and decide what we'll do next."
Hekkeran lowered his stance, leading the way even as he kept an eye on his surroundings.
Shortly after they began moving, Gringam asked:
"A question, if I might; has thy team discovered treasure?"
After hearing the barely-concealed excitement in Gringam's voice, Hekkeran recalled the way his own team had been, and smiled to him in satisfaction.
"Oh yes, we did. We were all smiles. The old man said so too."
"So that was thy experience as well? Truly, we did well by coming to this tomb."
"Indeed, we should properly thank whichever big shot was buried here."
"Mm. That said, after discovering so much treasure, we might have to prepare ourselves for the possibility that the main tomb will be barren."
"No, I'm willing to bet that there'll be more treasure."
"Thy words... how much dare you wager?"
"Not bad. Not only can I find more in the tomb, but I can make a tidy sum off you as well, wonderful. However, the problem is that you and I might bet on the same thing."
Neither of them laughed out loud, simply smiled broadly.
"Indubitably. Speaking of which, this one has a question to ask of thee; what is that?"
Before Gringam's eyes was a massive statue, which had something which looked like a lonely stone plaque by its feet.
"You mean that?"
Hekkeran told the results of their investigations as they continued walking. The other three teams had seen the characters on the slab, but nobody understood it. He had the faint hope that Gringam might be able to make sense of it.
"It seems to be a stone plaque with symbols that look like language inscribed on it."
"Thou say'st the word 'like' in a vague sense...?"
"Nobody understands that language. It's not from the Kingdom or the Empire's language, and neither does it seem to be any of the old languages from around here. It might not even be a human language. However, we did understand the number 2.0."
"A number? Logically speaking, that ought to be the date when the mausoleum was built. But in that case, it would be far too small a number."
"Arche said it might be a riddle linked to these ruins... ah, in any case, just keep it in mind."
"Indeed, I shall certainly do so."
After passing the huge statue, they ascended a long, gently sloping flight of stairs that seemed to be made of the same material as the stone sarcophagus, and the entrance to the central mausoleum stretched before them.
"'Tis the stench of the dead."
"Yes, you're right. It's a common smell on the Katze Plains."
Hekkeran expressed his agreement with Gringam's muttering.
While it was not as nauseating as the vile odour of decay, the faint stench of undeath unique to graveyards hung in the cold air.
There were undead present in such a well-kept tomb
The group prepared themselves as they stepped into the mausoleum. Before them was a great hall. Countless mortuary slabs of stone lined either side of the hall, and opposite them was a staircase leading down. The door leading downstairs was wide open. A strangely chilling gust of ice-cold air flowed out from behind it.
"This way."
Led by Hekkeran, Gringam's group descended the stairs.
A burial vault lay at the foot of the stairs, with a set of doors straight ahead. It seemed to be the only one around.
While it was more cramped than the room above — the mausoleum — it was wide enough. Hekkeran's companions in Foresight, Eruya's Tenbu and Palpatra's group were all here.
"Now then, what shall we do next? The original plan was to split up here and investigate the interior, but after inspecting the mausoleums, do you have any other ideas?"
After saying so, Hekkeran looked around at everyone else.
It did not feel like anyone wanted to propose anything new. Was it desire, or just a simple trick of the light? He could not be sure what that glow in everyone's eyes was. Their faces were filled with excitement as they longed to rush into the depths of the tomb.
"In that case, I have a suggestion. We'll sweep the outside in a circle to check for hidden doors."
The team leader might have spoken, but the team members did not look happy at it.
After all, they had all seen the glittering prizes just now. Even if that opinion came from their veteran leader, it was very hard for them to go along with it. Surely, they must have imagined the treasure fleeing before their very eyes.
"How about it? We've checked the surface, but we can't say we checked it very thoroughly. There might be other routes hidden beneath the mausoleums, don't you think? Besides, we haven't checked the graveyard, have we?"
"I believe what the revered elder is trying to say is that according to the songs of the bards about the great ruins — that is to say, the Ruins of Sasashal — there was a safe passage near the entrance which could take everyone straight to the heart of the area."
"Ah, Gringam. We've checked already, but unfortunately there aren't any secret doors in this room."
"Precisely. We're willing to take one for the team, so in exchange, we hope you'll give us a share of the treasures you find on this level. How about 10% from each other team? Also, if you find another level below, can we ask for the right to go in and look first?"
"I have no objections to that proposal."
The first to reply was Gringam. Shortly after that, Hekkeran also expressed his agreement.
"Alright, it seems nobody objects! By the way, how about you, Uzruth?"
"Personally, I object very much, but it's only 10%, hardly a big deal."
The old man laughed merrily at Eruya's barbed reply. It was Eruya who was displeased by having his acidic words completely disregarded.
"Ah, old sir. In that case, we have a request for you. We found a huge flag woven of precious metal threads in the mausoleum we investigated. We didn't bring it along because it was too bulky. Can we trouble you to help us bring it back?"
"I concur with Hekkeran's opinion. Though it shames me to trouble thee, I would be glad if thou couldst help us recover ours as well."
"Since it's that way, we'll leave ours to you as well."
Eruya jerked his chin at one of the Elves, and the skinny girl shakily unloaded a large piece of cloth she was carrying on her back and laid it on the ground
"Understood. Is there anything else you wish to leave behind, or which you want us to take away?"
Nobody answered Palpatra's question.
"Alright! Then, we'll follow the suggestion just now and investigate the surface. You lot need to be careful too. However, if you find any valuables, feel free to leave them for us."
"Haha, revered elder. Gladly will we leave the monsters to thee, but regretfully, we will not leave so much as a single coin of treasure behind."
The group chuckled, and then Hekkeran asked everyone: "Then, shall we move out?"
The group accepted that suggestion immediately, and so they went forth. Their eyes gleamed with desire and expectation as they took their first step into the unknown ruins — the underground tomb.
After opening the door in the room, a passage led straight into the depths. Perhaps they should have expected this, but the passage was very clean.
This was a passage of stone with no mildew or algae growing on it. There were alcoves on either side, each filled with human-sized objects wrapped in funerary shrouds. There was none of the stench that was unique to corpses. There was just the cold, clear air, as well as a smell like that of the dead.
There were white lights spaced along the ceiling at regular intervals, but due to the great distance between them, there were still a lot of shadowy corners along the passage. While it did not affect their travels, the dimly-lit lamplight made them wonder if they had missed something. Moving without preparing illumination seemed quite dangerous.
"Rober, is there an undead reaction from that body?"
"No, none at all."
"Really?" Arche replied, and then walked over to a wrapped corpse, slicing the shroud open with a dagger. After seeing her actions, two of the men from the group stepped forward to help expose the cadaver underneath the shrouds.
"Judging by the height and physique, it's most likely human. And a grown male."
"He's not wearing clothes, so we can't tell which era the ruins came from."
"Still, these ruins really are a mystery. We can't tell its age from its architecture or the burial styles. For all we know, these ruins might be from over 600 years ago."
"—If that were really the case, then this would be a historic find."
Perhaps that topic might have been interesting to an academic, but they were here to work.
As Hekkeran and Gringam stared icily at them, the three quickly added: "These ruins' date of construction and background are still a mystery, after all."
"Understood. Can we move on now? I want to kill monsters."
The somewhat displeased Eruya expressed his agreement with Hekkeran and Gringam, and the group continued forward again. However, they stopped again after taking a few steps.
Everyone drew their weapons, steeling themselves for combat.
The sound of bones rattling came from ahead of them.
They could see undead creatures running at them from ahead under the illumination of the ceiling lights.
As the distance between them shrank and they saw what they were up against, a commotion rose from the shocked Workers, as though they had seen something they did not dare believe.
"Oh come on, are you kidding me..."
"Oi, oi, seriously...?"
"Eh? Are those really Skeletons?"
The moment someone mentioned the names of those monsters, their laughter exploded forth uncontrollably to fill the entire passageway.
"Oi oi oi oi! No matter how you look at it, Skeletons just won't be enough, right? There's all of us over here!"
Skeleton-type monsters did not vary too much in appearance, and sometimes, one might not be able to tell them apart at a glance.
However, judging by the impression they gave, the Workers were certain that these were just ordinary Skeletons.
"If this is supposed to be a recon in force, then they ought to be sending stronger monsters — I've got it! Either nobody's in charge of these ruins, or the opposition can't gauge our strength, or they're stupid enough that they haven't discovered the intruders yet!"
Everyone's laughter continued.
"No, Skeletons are just too far-fetched. For all we know, the treasures of these ruins are only in the mausoleums above."
"That would be terrible."
Skeletons were far too weak in comparison to these Workers, who were comparable to mithril-ranked adventurers. In addition, they were fewer in number than the Workers, so they had no idea what the opposition was thinking.
Faced with the six Skeletons blocking their path, everyone looked at each other, not knowing who should go first.
"Count me out."
Eruya clearly stated his opinion, and everyone could understand how he felt.
"Then I shall go."
After that, Gringam strode forward.
There was no telling what was going through the Skeletons' empty heads. Did they think the lone warrior had been cast out of his group? Or something else?
The Skeletons attacked at once, and then—
His cleaving axe and shield easily smashed them to bits.
It had only taken the space of a few seconds. No, in fact it had been even less than that.
After shattering the six Skeletons and treading their remains underfoot, Gringam sighed tiredly. It was nto because he had been fatigued by battle, but because he was very disappointed by the fact that after coming to these unexplored ruins which were a Worker's dream, the very first battle which was supposed to add color and flavor to this adventure had turned out to be against Skeletons, the lowest-ranking of the undead. He found it quite sad.
"Pathetic, Skeletons are just Skeletons, after all. That said, don't get careless. Consider that more powerful undead might show up, and advance while staying alert!"
Everyone's lips drew tight as they heard Gringam's words. They advanced, deeper into the ruins, their hearts filled with expectation for the mountain of treasure that awaited them.
***
"Good grief, they're gone."
"They're all gone. They might be Workers, but we did break bread with them, and they're our comrades for this job. I hope they'll come back safely... what do you think, Momon-san?"
"—That they're all going to die?"
Ainz answered in gloomy tones, and the leader of the adventurers who had questioned him froze up.
Crap. I said what was in my heart...
"Er, no, what I meant was that we should be mentally prepared for that outcome. These are previously undiscovered, and there's no telling what dangers are waiting for them inside. Being too optimistic is harmful."
"I see, so that's what you meant... thanks for your concern."
...I thought I was being pretty stiff, did that actually pass muster? I feel pretty good about this.
The leader was probably nodding non-stop because those words were spoken by an adamantite-ranked man, so he was blindly thinking the best of him.
It would seem that Ainz's efforts — he had been as friendly and approachable as possible during their journey to Nazarick — had borne fruit, given their favorable attitude towards him.
"Then, in keeping with the plan, I will go rest first."
Ainz headed for his — naturally, he shared it with Narberal — tent. Since it was some distance away from the other tents, he knew some people had been spreading rumors that it was because he did not want certain... sounds to be heard by others. In fact,, the adventurers' leader had told him that just now.
Compared to the Workers, the leader seemed to want to become closer to Momon, who was a fellow adventurer, which was why he had told him what he had heard from the Workers.
Ainz and Narberal entered the tent together and closed the flap, and then just in case, they checked around outside. Nobody seemed to be paying attention to them; in fact, they seemed to be deliberately trying not to stare at Ainz.
"...While people call this a love nest, I guess I was right to not deny it right away. That way, they won't be suspicious of why we pitched our tent so far away, and they won't pay undue attention to us or come near this place."
He might have lost some things, but he had gained much more in return.
Ainz took off his helmet, exposing his skeletal face.
"Now then, Nabe... no, Narberal, I will be returning to Nazarick. I plan to have Pandora's Actor take my place; if anything happens before that, think of a clever way to deal with it."
"Understood, Ainz-sama."
"Mm. If anything happens, contact me immediately. I'll leave that to you."
Ainz dismissed his magically-created armor and swords. The weight of the helmet in his hands vanished as well.
He did not feel tired, but after being liberated from the full-body bindings of his armor, he could not help but sigh contentedly. He rotated his shoulders — which did not ache — as a remnant of his human personality.
"...Good grief."
He felt that the lingering shreds of his human feelings were an impediment to him.
If he could calmly deal with all his problems, perhaps his present circumstances would be different. But if he did not have the remnants of his humanity with him, would he still cherish the Great Underground Tomb of Nazarick? Perhaps his thoughts as the human being Suzuki Satoru and his fond memories of his friends would have vanished with it.
Ainz smiled bitterly as he cast a spell. There was no part of his mind that still pondered the question of his humanity. Ainz was not a great enough person to worry about two or three problems at the same time and what he should do about them. He ought to be focusing on the task at hand and discarding everything else.
The spell he cast was [Greater Teleportation]
Because he was wearing the Ring, Ainz bypassed the barrier deployed over Nazarick and arrived immediately at the chamber before the Throne Room.
"Welcome home, Ainz-sama."
Right after that, a melodious female voice greeted him.
"I've returned, Albedo."
The deeply-bowed woman raised her head, and a smile like a flower blooming spread across her ravishing features.
Uhhhh...
As he saw the look of loving adoration in her eyes, Ainz felt itchy all over and he wanted to roll around on the ground. However, he could not act in a way which did not fit Ainz Ooal Gown, sovereign of the Great Underground Tomb of Nazarick.
In order to suppress the weak, lingering emotions within himself, Ainz deliberately coughed, something that his skeletal body should not have required.
"If all is proceeding according to plan, the invaders should be coming soon. No, perhaps they have already arrived. Have the welcome preparations been made?"
"They are flawless. I am certain we will be able to entertain our guests."
"Is that so... Albedo, I look forward to the reception you have prepared."
Ainz entered the heart of Nazarick; the Throne Room. Albedo was a step behind him, but soon caught up.
Ainz had given Albedo an order concerning the intruders this time round. He had expressed the desire to observe the performance of the defenses she had erected under live battle conditions.
In the past, his friends had decided where the POP monsters would spawn in Nazarick and where to station the monsters. His friends' arrangements were flawless. But now that the situation had changed, there was no guarantee that there might not be a better way.
In that case, one could say that re-evaluating the security arrangements was a pressing necessity. Therefore, he wanted to take this opportunity to observe it for himself.
"...The intruders are very weak, so obviously it will be impossible to use them to verify all the systems. Still, I hope we will learn something from this operation."
"Understood. I guarantee I will meet your expectations, Ainz-sama."
"Very good. Also, as you know, spraying poison gas on the enemy before the undead charge them and other currency-utilizing traps are to be strenuously avoided. I hope you will stick to traps that involve the POP monsters. Will that be alright?"
Ainz nodded as he saw Albedo's smile.
"Really now? Then I shall stay here and enjoy the show. Right, where are the other Floor Guardians?"
"I ordered everyone to gather upon your return. They will enter as they arrive. Is that acceptable?"
"I shall allow it. After all, it is more amusing when more people are gathered."
As Ainz slowly sat down upon the throne, several television monitor-like objects appeared before him. The monitors showed scenes from within Nazarick; or in other words, the scenes which their controller Albedo wanted Ainz to see.
This should have been the result of Albedo's tinkering with the defense network, but Ainz was not quite sure what had been changed.
...In order for this training exercise to be fruitful, I need to learn something from these images. Otherwise, things will go badly when the exercise is concluded and we swap opinions.
Ainz was the supreme ruler of Nazarick. Such a highly-placed man could not claim ignorance of the defensive systems to his own subordinates.
"Then, just in case, I'd like to confirm that Ariadne won't activate, will it?"
He opened the control console and saw that all was well, but he still could not help asking.
"I don't think so. However, I have a question for you, Ainz-sama. If the intruders block up the entrance, will Ariadne activate?
Ainz recalled Q&As he had seen before in YGGDRASIL. Or no, had it been explained in a patch?
"I don't think so... I remember it shouldn't... I think."
It had been that way in YGGDRASIL, but nobody could guarantee that it would still be that way in this world. Besides, they could not be sure if the Ariadne system even existed.
"Then what if there was some sort of man-made manipulation? What would happen?"
"It might not activate, but after thinking about the losses we'll take if it does, I'd rather not take that risk.
The Ariadne system.
This was one of the checking mechanisms involved in the YGGDRASIL base creation system.
The simplest way to make an impregnable fortress was to simply block up all the entrances so nobody could get in. For a large underground tomb like Nazarick, simply burying it underground would suffice. However, that was intolerable from a gameplay perspective.
The Ariadne system was used to monitor them in order to keep players from building a base like that, which was difficult to invade.
The system specifications required that there be a continuous path from the entrance to the heart of the dungeon. That aside, the Ariadne system would also measure the distance travelled within the dungeon, the number of doors one had to pass through, and many other categories, all in exacting detail.
Once a dungeon which violated these requirements was uploaded to YGGDRASIL, a penalty would be levied and a great deal of funds would be deducted from the guild coffers.
For Nazarick, the 5th and 6th Floors had solved all these problems — that, and the help of a great deal of cash items had helped them sustain such a large dungeon.
One of the monitors which Ainz was controlling showed an image of the Workers.
"Cheh! Alright, they've finally entered. I was getting tired of waiting."
Ainz was deeply displeased to see these lowlives enter the fortress he had built with his comrades, staining it with their filthy feet. Therefore, the surge of emotion within him exceeded the cutoff point, and he was immediately calmed down. Even so, it could not fully bank the flames of his aggravation.
"Albedo, not a single one of them is to escape intact, do you understand?"
"But of course. Please enjoy the fate that will befall these foolish thieves who dare profane the sanctuary of the Supreme Beings. Also... I believe you said earlier that you wanted lab rats to test your swordsmanship with. Which lot shall we use?"
"Hmm, that's right. I've sparred with the old man before, I've practiced with that man on the road, and this team isn't suitable for practice. By process of elimination, it has to be them."
Ainz shifted the monitor so Albedo could see, and pointed to a group of people.