Ainz had been lost in thoughts for a while. He was currently in his office on the 10th floor.
He had come to learn that the magic system of YGGDRASIL and this world were completely different. There were a few similarities here and not much.
For example, there were no sun and moon elements, but instead light and dark were present. The light and dark elements were observed to have very similar effects to that of sun and moon elements respectively. This was the biggest similarity present.
As for himself, Ainz had the ability to use this World's magic. Although he could only use support and healing magic. He could currently use only one support-type spell and its power was barely comparable to 1st-tier. But with 'Boost Magic' and Ainz's other skills, he could make its effect pretty potent. But that wasn't the best he had got since arriving in this world.
He had discovered quite a few things when he had tried this Shield on his first night in this World. The shield was something that could be the best addition to his original powers. It could ultimately make him powerful enough to defeat his former friend, Touch-me.
It had an ability to copy any shield with the exact same stats. Abilities of some were copied whereas of some were not. It did not matter the class of the equipment, it could be exactly copied. It could belong to mid class, divine class or even World class. He had found this out when walking closely past a death knight. The information of this ability got imprinted into his memory. He had copied two shields possessed by the undead in Nazarick and one other shield.
As for one other advantage, his shield could potentially have infinite growth. He could use various parts of monsters to grow his shield. In one day only, he had strengthened the shield so much. This was because many of the summoned beings in Nazarick could be described as monsters. Ainz had almost upgraded the shield around 5 times using different monster fragments.
He had tried upgrading his shield with the floor guardians' hair or Albedo's feathers but no avail. All the heteromorphic creatures were not considered to be shield decided on its own what was to be considered as monsters. He had even tried to use rings and such with defensive spells but that didn't work either.
But it had a very shocking disadvantage that he wasn't able to equip himself with any weapons other than a shield. This could hinder his previous fighting style quite a lot as he had normally used a staff while fighting. But still, he wasn't completely unfortunate in this matter.
As the power of this shield was only between Divine and World-class items, it only affected equipment lower that its meant equipment with more power that the shield could be equipped.
The World-items and The Staff Of Ainz Ooal Gown whose power was comparable to that of WCI came into this category and were the only weapons he could equip. He wasn't sure if there would be any adverse effects on their performance, but from the tests he did on the 8th floor, there were none. He would have to rethink his fighting strategies though.
But right now, he has been thinking how to get the mentally disoriented demi-humans to get the will to fight. Since arriving yesterday, all of their wounds have been pretty much healed already. Many of them had already sworn loyalty to him in fear of his and his subordinates' powers. Almost all of them were aggressive beast-men who followed the law of the jungle.
As for demi-humans, a few of them, unwillingly so, had agreed to fight and grow stronger. But almost half of them were too scared of fighting that they would go unconscious at even the sight the blood. Those whose mental health was able to improve using magic were training under several area guardians and Mare.
Those currently training easily adapted to using swords, spears, bows, knuckles and such. But the problem was magic. It was very difficult for both them and Mare because of the completely different kind of magic.
The biggest problem of all was the raccoon-type he had announced he would monitor himself. He had thought that he could get her to at least swing the sword but she wasn't even able to endure the sight of blades. It seemed she had lived through quite the trauma. His original plan was to see how strong the inhabitants of this world could get with YGGDRASIL items. This would also prove useful in adding manpower to Nazarick.
At his orders, none of the 'slaves' bought were to be treated like slaves but like inhabitants of Nazarick. This could both increase the their willingness to work and stay loyal to Nazarick.
He had to something about the raccoon-girl, Raphtalia by himself. He could not go back on his word now. He had even went to the treasury to bear a suitable weapon for her.
It turned out the type of magic she had natural affinities for were light and dark magic. As such he had chosen a weapon with the moon element.
As Ainz was ruminating about this , he heard a knock on his door. The maid in charge for the day went to receive the visitor.
"Ainz-sama, Demiurge-sama has a report to make."
"Send him in."
"Yes"
With this, Demiurge entered the room and knelt before him.
"Stand up Demiurge. What do you need to report?"
"Yes, a report from the eight-edge assassins stationed at the castle has come. Contact between them and that girl had been initiated in the castle."
"Hmm. That's good. Send one of the mercenary doppelgangers from Chacmool's Erich String Orchestra. I suppose the plan is going accordingly."
"Yes, it is as you say. According to the information collected, until all the heroes are not killed, new ones can't be summoned. But, each of the heroes may turn out to be vital for the protection against the waves. So, it is a very plausible theory that they would likely either try to imprison you alone or attempt to assassinate you along with the other heroes. Until the strength of the waves aren't confirmed, we could not do much about the heroes either."
"I see. By the way, what are the conditions of the heroes and the others? Did they lose their wills to fight or were their wills fueled by our actions"
"The conditions of the throne-room were found out by a patrolling guard. The heroes were then moved to rooms in the castle and it seems like they bear feelings of hostility and revenge along with great fear. This is especially true for the spear one. The king too is the same and that girl is enraging the king even more. "
"Demiurge, continue the good work. I will go check-up on the progress of the demi-humans"
"Yes."
Ainz teleported out of his office into the sixth floor Colosseum. Aura immediately came into view.
"Welcome, Ainz-sama."
"Mhmm. How are the demi-humans doing?"
"Most of them seem capable with swords and bows. The one under your direct care is still the same"
"I see. That is quite troublesome. Bring her to me."
"Yes."
Aura ran off with small clouds of dust forming behind her.
A few minutes later, Aura came riding on a chimera-like beast with Raptalia just behind her on a similar beast. She had teary eyes and was barely holding on the rough beast. Upon reaching a few meters away from him, the beasts stopped and they both got off.
"Aura, leave us alone."
"Yes."
Upon hearing this Raphtalia's eyes darkened. She began shaking uncontrollably and was scared of what was to become of her. Ainz's appearance alone was enough to make someone fall into the clutches of fear and her past all the more worsened the situation.
Ainz sighed in his mind and started towards her. She stood not moving from her spot yet trembling in fear. As Ainz was not even 2 meters away from her, he asked her an unexpected question.
"Do you like the sky here?"
"Huh?"
"The sky here, do you like it?"
"..."
There was no response yet quivering had somewhat slowed. She had not expected a question like this. After a few seconds, she nodded.
"You see, this is not the real sky. You, we are underground right now. This is something my dear friends made. This one in particular was made by one who really loved nature."
"Huhh! T-This is not real?"
"It's beautiful. Is it not?"
She nodded, unnoticed by her, her trembling knees had already settled. Maybe this was because of the casual tone he was taking.
For Ainz himself too, this was an opportunity to vent up his stress. All the NPCs already knew most of the things about Nazarick and he could not talk in this way with them. But for one such as Raphtalia, who had no prior knowledge on such matters, this was a chance for him to boast of Nazarick and his dear friends. He had realized that and was acting as such.
"Would you like to have a closer look?"
Her eyes went from the ground to the sky, to him. She nodded weakly. Upon getting the approval, Ainz lifted up her small body and placed it one of his arms. The seat would have been uncomfortable but Ainz chose to ignore that matter now. He cast fly and his body lifted itself into the air. He could have just given her the necklace with fly spell, but he thought she wouldn't be able to utilize it just yet. He wasn't even sure if YGGDRASIL spells embedded in equipment was accessible by her or not.
They went up quite some distance until a few meters away from the ceiling. The stars all seemed to be very close and the view was just fabulous. Ainz himself considered this sky created by 'Blue-Planet', one of his former friends to be a masterpiece. This could easily be mistaken for a starry night. In some ways, it could even be considered more amazing.
"Beautiful."
Raphtalia's eyes reflected the light from the stars making them glitter pretty. If not for Ainz's appearance one would have mistook it to be a lovely interaction between the two. Ainz would have really looked to be her father. Ainz continued talking about his comrades and this place, his home.
"It was created by me and my friends together. All of it. Everyone here is their children. My children."
This story is posted elsewhere by the author. Help them out by reading the authentic version.
Raphtalia was now timidly looking at Ainz, and not the sky. She was frightened yet she did not feel any danger. She did not feel the fear she had felt with her previous owners. In only one day, her health was completely restored by him and she had been provided with delicious food she could only have dreamt of. After so many sleepless nights, she had at last went to sleep with a full stomach.
Given, she had soiled the sheets she had been provided with for sleep, she was sure that she would be punished harshly. She was sure she would be made to work until her bones screamed of pain. Yet, the one with the long ears had just simply brushed it off, saying that it was 'Ainz-sama's order' to treat everyone nicely and forget their mistakes.
She was stunned at the ways things developed. Even when she had made a mistake, she was simply forgiven and later even provided with an exquisite breakfast. For the people living here, it might have been a small matter, but for her it was the most kind someone had ever been to her.
The one who brought her from the slave trader, healed her, gave her food to eat, and forgave her mistakes. Even the room she had shared with one another demi-human was comparable to a noble's room. She just wondered who and what kind of being he was. One who was held in so high regard at this place, someone who was followed by all. And such being who could create such place. Unreasonably enough, she believed all he said.
She mustered up her courage and asked a question she was wondering about. In her mind, maybe she already knew the answer to that question, but still she had to ask.
"W-what happened to your friends?"
"My friends, huh?"
He pondered for a while. The right streaks of light glowing in his eyes turned to her, then back towards the wonderful sky.
"My friends are, no. They are not here anymore."
Ainz hadn't lost hope that there might be other players beside him, and still held expectations.
Raphtalia had probably sensed the loneliness and sadness emanating from tightened the grip of her little hands on his robe. She didn't know how to reply. Ainz saw this and tried to change the subject.
"So, Raphtalia, let me ask you. Are you scared?"
"..."
She had no reply for that either. Rather, she had a reply but didn't want to say. Still she managed to nod timorously.
"What are you scared of? Me? The people down there? Humans? Or is it something else?"
"H-humans and, and blood."
She remembered the time she lived peacefully with her parents. The parents she loved so much. Then the humans who had attacked her peaceful village. She remembered everything clear as day. The day the villagers were killed as their screams begging to least spare their children. The moment her father and mother had entrusted their lives to her as they pushed her off the cliff. The moment she saw swords pass through the kind hearts of her parents. The last they smiled at her.
She remembered accurately all that had happened as she was put in a cage as a slave with her friends. Those said friends' faces as they cried themselves to sleep. The despicable noble that smiled as he abused and traumatized her. All was remembered without a single memory missing.
She didn't even realize that she was shedding tears heavily and letting all her emotions flow onto the robe of Ainz. She cried and cried until she let all her bottled emotions overflow and all her tears dried up. He gently patted her back with cold fingers. But the same cold fingers filled Raphtalia with warmth.
Ainz slowly descended unto the Colosseum but she did not let go of his clothes. Ainz felt quite uneasy not knowing what to do.
"Why don't you try to stand up and face your fears then?"
"..."
"I am giving you a chance. A chance so that what happened to you may not happen to others. Your friends or relatives who might still be suffering, to free them from that."
The lines he spoke were very cheeky, yet were true.
"But I'm scared."
"That's why you need to stand up to your fears."
"But.."
Ainz put her down. She stood facing the ground.
"Look at me. Who are you more scared of? Me or them?"
She wondered for a moment, then made eye contact with AInz,
"Them." Her voice was still very low and nervous but the answer was decided.
Ainz took out the sword he had chosen.
The blade was made of mithril and was decorated with beautiful streaks of silver. The hilt was black with similar pattern. The sheath of the sword was pure white with black crack-like design. It could be compared as a smaller version of Japanese bill sword.
He held it towards Raphtalia, and all she did was stare at it for a long time. Her hand very slowly reached out and held it. Ainz removed his hand and the sword suddenly jolted down because of its weight. Provided, the sword was light, but for her it was still considerably heavy.
The blade was called "The Crescent moon's sting". It was a legacy-class equipment. Although it was of very good grade compared to this world or even many of the items in Nazarick, there was no one in Nazarick who used this. This was because everyone had equipment better suited to them.
It had good stats and a few abilities but the best part was that it was easy to master. This sword was mainly used by players up to level-40. This was the best suited weapon for a beginners. Its power lay not within its stats but two of its abilities that could change the tide of the battle.
The first one "Moonlight Blessing" casts a magical barrier on the user that protects against any one magic attack up to the 7th tier or reduce the reduce the damage of higher-tier magic by 40%. This ability could be used thrice a day with a 10 minutes cooldown. He had already confirmed that the magic from this world can be protected against.
The second was an offensive ability called "Eclipse". It does elemental damage to all foes in a 20 meter radius in front of the user. It is more effective enemies with positive karma values.
She gathered strength and lifted up the blade, not wanting it to touch the ground. She took the blade out of the the sheath halfway through. The light from the stars reflecting upon the silver blade made it look very alluring.
"Umm. Thi-this is.."
"Keep it. Its yours now. Your training will start tomorrow. Its your duty to master it."
She nodded, yet this time it wasn't that apprehensive and a little strength and hope were reflected in her eyes.
"Good" With this Ainz tepeported away.
Raphtalia was left there standing alone with such a pretty blade in her hand. She could only wonder how much such sword would cost. And he gave it away without second thought. After a few minutes, Aura approached with the beasts from before. This time, while on the beasts, she held onto the sword more tightly.
Ainz reached the front of his room, he sighed internally in relief. During their talk, Ainz had a kind-of fatherly feeling. He could not describe it, yet it was there.
He had been at least able to get her to take the weapon. Now all that was left was her training and gaining levels. Although, there was still a chance that she wouldn't be able to defeat monsters, or more likely wouldn't have the courage to. He would have to take Cocytus' advice of this matter.
Now, that all was done for the moment, he decided to use the Nazarick monsters' fragments to gain new skills and such. He went to the 7th floor thinking of using the summoned monsters there. He was especially curious if Guren could provide him with new shield unlocks..
The Next Day
Ainz teleported over to the 6th floor Colosseum. Cocytus and Raphtalia had already arrived. She was perplexed seeing such a monster and was trying to distance herself from Cocytus. Cocytus bowed respectfully whereas Raphtalia did not move an inch. This resulted in Cocytus releasing a little of his killing intent.
"Bow. Down. Befor..."
"It is fine Cocytus. There is no need for that."
The murderous intent that filled the air completely vanished within an instant.
"For now. Raphtalia, are you ready?"
"Y-yes."
"I see-Create low tier undead"
As he said that a zombie type undead appeared in front of Raphtalia. He gave mental instructions to it and then spoke in a rigid manner.
"Strike it Raphtalia!"
"B-b-but..."
"Strike it!"
"B-b-but. I ca-can't"
"Do it. Or was your resolution yesterday just for show."
"B-but. It, I-I'm scared."
"Do it."
"..."
When Ainz had questioned Cocytus earlier what to do on this matter, his response was simple. He had said that if a warrior is unable to steel themselves, then it would not be possible to fight. Resolve in such a situation could only be made by forcing an inescapable situation where their determination is tested.
Raphtalia pondered darkly for a few seconds before taking the sword out the out of its sheath. The blade was still heavy and she did not know anything about swordsmanship techniques. She held the hilt with both hands and the silver blade facing the front. She gathered her courage and determination was reflected in her brown-red eyes. Her previously drooping tail was now completely straight.
Even with her body shivering, she closed her eyes and lunched forward. The tip of the blade peirced the zombie's chest. The zombie grunted in response yet was still unmoving. It did not show any hostility.
"Good. Again. Do it until you defeat it."
She did not hesitate this time. She took the blade out of it's body and pierced the abdomen of the zombie. She repeated this action many a times, sometimes attacking the lungs, arms, etc. It looked as if she was venting up both, her anger and nervousness on it. The movements were crude at best, but still managed to deal damage. At last, the blade struck the neck of the the undead and went out through its scruff.
The zombie grunted one last time as its body slowly withered away and became ashes. As the undead disappeared, the blade was left hanging in the air as Raphtalia's small figure was panting heavily.
"Good. Job. You. Have. Determination. Work. Hard."
"Y-yes"
Her eyes had resolve previously missing and her trembling stopped. She no longer seemed to afraid of neither Ainz nor Cocytus. Nervousness and distrust were of course still present but fear did not appear to be one of them.
Ainz reached out his hand and placed it on her head. She had a warm-hearted feeling. She seemed bewildered yet managed to get a small smile on her face.
"Good work. Now, Cocytu.."
Cocytus seemed somewhat different. He was looking at Ainz patting Raphtalia's head and was wildly releasing his cold breath. Ainz had a bad feeling about it. He was about to interrogate but decided against it.
"Uhm. Cocytus. I will, be going to check on the demi-humans. Be sure to train her well."
"Yes. Ainz-sama."
"Hmm. I will be going then."
As Ainz teleported away, Raphtalia again held her blade in both her hands and went to her knees. Cocytus took out one of his spare blades and urged her to stand up. She did as instructed and her training followed.
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Raphtalia had her sword tightly gripped in her right hand. She swung the sword in a horizontal arc. Her breath expelled as she did so. As the the sword swung 180 degrees, she wasn't able to contain the flow and lost her balance. She fell down on her back. She lost her grip and the sword was sent flying some distance away.
"That. Is. Enough. For. Today. Good. Work. We. Will. Continue. Tomorrow."
"Hah hah, Yes."
Droplets of sweat flowed down her reddened cheeks and she was panting heavily. She wiped away the sweat with her arm. She had been training for almost 90 minutes now.
Given, that she was still small and didn't have much strength, it was difficult for her to contain the inertia of her blows. She had barely managed to control around 1 in 10 swings of her sword. Still, these were the first 90 minutes of her training in her entirety. Considering that, she was doing fairly well in adapting to the balance of her blade and its techniques.
She picked her sword, wiped away the dirt and stored it in its sheath. She hanged the sheath on her back. It was originally supposed to go on her waist, but the notion was rejected for now because of her height.
As the training ended, Aura too came into the grounds. She had been observing her training since the starting. She stood beside Raphtalia with almost the same height. She seemed pleased with the results of their session.
"Sensei, Aura-sama, who is master?"
Cocytus had insisted that she call him sensei as he was technically her teacher. And she was referring to Ainz as master.
"Ainz-sama is the ruler of Nazarick. He is the one responsible for gathering and ruling the other supreme beings. Truly, he is our highest and most exalted master."
"It. Is. As. Aura. Says. He. Is. One. Who. Is. Mightier. Than. All. The. Guardians. And. Deserving. Of. The. Title. Of. The. Supreme. Overlord. Of. The. Great. Underground. Tomb. Of. Nazarick
"I-I see." The replies were immediate and heartfelt. She was a little taken back by them that they thought so highly so their master. She remembered her old master in her mind. Even the thought of it made her shudder.
Aura seemed to have noticed that and added onto her answer.
"Ainz-sama is a gentle and merciful leader whose intellect knows no bounds. But those humans have dared to intrude his plans and then even had the audacity to go against him."
Cocytus was nodding beside her. She herself was thinking about how great a ruler he must be to reveive such respect from his subordinates. But now she had one another doubt.
"Umm? What did the humans do?"
"Those deplorable humans had the impertinence to summon the entire Nazarick to this world with Ainz-sama as something like a hero."
"Then. Even. Arranged. To. Sully. His. Great. Name. That. Is. Absolutely. Unforgivable."
She heard those words but got stuck on a single one.
"Eh? Hero? What did you mean?"
"Since arriving to this world Ainz-sama had received the title of the Shield Hero."
At that her eyes went wide and began sparkling. She recalled her time with her parents and their talk about the legendary heroes. The guardians were completely oblivious to the thoughts in her mind.
"Like one of the legendary heroes."
"I guess."
"You. Have. To. Become. Strong. Enough. To. Be. Worthy. Of. Nazarick. And. Ainz-sama's. Kindness. That. He. Took. You. Under. His. Supervision. That. Could. Indicate. His. High. Hopes. For. You."
"Y-yes. I will try my best."
She wasn't sure whether to be happy about that or not. But what she did know was that she needed to work hard.
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And as such a week passed with Raphtalia training to become stronger. She had been unconsciously gathering trust and respect for Ainz and others in Nazarick. Her eyes became bolder day by day until a strength unbecoming of her age and her petite figure was seen in her eyes. Her level had not risen up but she had gotten plenty of experience in using her sword.
She had also learned two magic spells impulsively. She could not use the magic more than once at a time because of her extremely small mana pool. The abilities of her sword were able inaccessible because of the same reason.
She still hadn't fought any monsters for real, and she wasn't sure herself if she would be able to act when the time comes. But all she could do was reassure herself that it would be fine.
As for the other demi-humans, their level too hadn't risen in the least as there were no monsters from whom they gained exp. They were not yet made to kill any monsters outside of Nazarick as it had been decided that all that would be done after the queen's visit was done.
And the time for that had finally arrived. The time for queen's visit had arrived.