It was midnight and a carriage was passing through the village of Lafan. It was a normal carriage used by adventurers to travel. However, what was unusal was that instead of filolials, two dragons were pulling it. The dragons could still never be compared to those larger, flying dragons in a lifetime.
The village that the carriage was passing through could be described as primitive at best. The houses were made of bricks and the main source of income for the people was agriculure and trade. The best building present in the village was the only inn in the village.
The carriage stopped at the backside of the inn, where the stables were present. Three people stepped out of it. They were the revered spear hero's party. The party consisted of two women with the only man being the spear hero, Motoyasu Kitamura. They left the dragons to the caretakers present and went into the building.
The inside of the building wasn't very special but still was better than the others. The party arrived at the reception. The floor was wooden and the walls' rusty-brown color gave a very classy feeling to the interior. Upon seeing the receptionist, who was a pretty girl in her mid-twenties, Motoyasu left his party behind and ran up to the reception.
"Hello! We would like to have two rooms please. I am Motoyasu Kitamura. And you?"
The girl with black hair and blue eyes got flustered upon hearing the name. She replied hastily-
"Umm. Motoyasu, and the spear on your back. Are you the spear hero?"
"That's right"
"Uwaa. Spear Hero, y-you are welcome. Its our utmost honor to have you here."
"So, you are pretty beautiful. Would you like to go on a date?"
The gir's facel turned bright red until her ears. She couldn't muster up a reply. But before she could even open her mouth, a voice interrupted the two.
"Motoyasu-sama, I believe we should go up and rest up so that we could perform to our utmost best tomorrow." *Bitch entry*
"..."
It was Malty Q. Melromarc or simply Myne as an adventurer. Upon hearing, Motoyasu made a disappointed face yet did not complain. He took out 2 silver coins from his pouch and handed them to the receptionist. She accepted them, still flustered, and stored them in the cabinet below. She handed them two keys and described the location of the rooms.
As they both turned around, the receptionist's voice called out to them. It was a timid and nervous voice yet had an interrogating tone.
"Umm? Spear hero, are you going to head to the forest tomorrow?"
"Yes, that's right. There are pretty nice monsters there. We could gain good amount of exp. and loot."
"But wasn't the whole forest area prohibited for all. I heard it was the same for everyone."
"Yes. But Myne here, got permission from the queen."
"I see. Please stay safe, Spear Hero. Good luck on your travels."
They all retired to the rooms in preparation for what awaited them tomorrow.
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Morning had struck and Motoyasu's party was moving towards the 'Forbidden Forest' as it came to be known. They had left the carriage back in the village they had stayed last night. They chattered away their thoughts as they walked for an hour until the forest was barely 50 feet away.
They continued on the rugged path but were stopped by a strangely familiar voice.
"Malty-sama, I suppose you should not go any further."
"Huh!"
They all turned around in surprise to see two shadows kneeling behind them. They were wearing the exact same robe as they had worn before.
"Wh-what is the meaning of this?" Myne's tone showed that she was completely taken aback.
"We believe that you have been already informed of the new edict."
"But, we weren't gonna go deep in the forest."
"That does not matter. The rule clearly states that entry is allowed to none. You are no exception."
"Myne, did you not get the permission?" Motoyasu was confused too.
"Of course I have. I am the princess. We are going in there by my authority."
"Your authority does not overrule the queen's. From the previous village, after solving the problem of famine, you could have just headed west instead, yet here you are."
"That's, you know, yes, the monsters in the forest provide much better exp. It will ultimately help the heroes fight against the waves better."
"I am afraid that if you retaliate any more, we will not be able to persuade you any further. So let me ask you, are you still gonna go ahead."
"Y-yes. And anyways why could possibly lead to such a decision by mama?"
"We cannot reveal that to you, but, we could tell you that, a very strong monster is currently present there."
"Then, I can defeat that monster and the forest will be free from the monster. I think that is a good idea."
The spear hero seemed very confident. He was over-confident and ignorant.
"Our work here has been done. Our authority prohibits any action ahead of this. Then, we will be leaving."
The shadows left but the other girl in the party was left unsure about their decision.
"Hey, Myne, it will be fine right?"
She voiced her doubts, but as feared, the princess just brushed it all off with a wave of her hands. She then clung to the arm of Motoyasu with her breasts pressing against them.
"Let's go Motoyasu-sama. Let's defeat that monster."
"Yes, leave it to me."
As such ignoring all the warnings, the first step in the jungle was taken.
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Ainz was heading opposite the direction of Nazaick. It had been 2 days since the talks with the queen of Melromarc. Those two days were spared before exploring the surface for the new order to take effect. Also, the whole forest was completely under the surveillance of Nazarick. Many monsters were discovered that would be considered strong for this world.
Ainz's party currently had three members including himself. Those were Raphtalia and Lupusregina who were currently with him. It turned out that the party invites worked the same with those of Nazarick.
Right now, they were heading towards the place where the balloon monsters were present. This would be a test for Raphtalia to see how she would fare against hostile monsters. Faring against blood would be after that.
Raphtalia wasn't wearing any armor because she couldn't bear its weight along with the sword. She was just walking in a black skirt and white t-shirt provided from Nazarick. Her level wasn't high enough to use any of the sword skills either.
They were walking until the orange balloons came within the vicinity. They got aggressive and three balloons came jumping at them. Raphtalia quickly drew her blade and made a horizontal single strike from the right. The blade cleanly slit two of them in half. One of them slipped away with just touching the side of it. It opened its jaws wide desiring to bite her head.
She was not yet able to make consecutive strikes and lost her balance after the first one many a times. This time too, her feet and body weren't able to keep themselves stable. But the training Raphtalia did was not just swinging her sword once, but to fill the gaps in her technique.
She turned her entire body in the direction it was falling and amended her footing. Because of this, the balloon monster's aim missed and bit empty air. Her right hand left the hilt of the sword and she made a strike with one hand that sliced through the monster.
The way she used a sword was the same way a schythe is swung. Making use of the inertia of the strikes to make the next blow. This would later develop into a more controlled sword-style.
This narrative has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road. If you see it on Amazon, please report it.
Anyways, as the three monsters died, Raphtalia along with Ainz received 15 and 12 exp. respectively. The party was formed of the three members present.
"Lupusregina, did you gain exp.?"
"No, I'm sorry Ainz-sama but I do not see any exp. gain."
"I see. Then this means that the exp. gained here in this world are only limited to people of this world. Me, who gained the levels of the shield hero of this world similarly have access to such."
"Then, that means-"
"Yeah, Nazarick's denizens cannot gain any more levels."
Ainz head patted Raphtalia. Her tail began swinging around in excitement. Apparently, she really liked it when Ainz did so.
"Good work, Raphtalia. Get even stronger from now on."
"Yes, master."
Over the course of past ten days, the training with Cocytus, the friendly and energetic behavior of Aura, and the guidance and friendship with Ainz had slowly changed her personality. She was now not scared as much as before, she no longer apologized at every single thing and her eyes radiated the feelings of confidence. Although trust was still building up and her timid self was still present deep inside, all this was a huge advancement.
They went killing a few more balloon monsters here and there and after so long, Raphtalia reached level-2. The queen had told him about the party system.
On killing a monster, all the party members gained the same amount of exp and then there was the bonus exp. That bonus was divided among the various member depending on the damage they did.
From the start Ainz had done no damage so he gained the minimum exp. Whereas Raphtalia had gained bonus exp. all the times. So, she levelled up earlier than him. Lupusregina as expected, did not gain any exp.
Not long after this, Ainz got a message from Albedo.
"What is the matter, Albedo."
"Ainz-sama, three people have entered from the west side of the forest."
"Three people, huh. You are contacting me. Does that mean one of them is a hero?"
"Yes, it is the spear hero. That despicable girl there with him too. May I have the permission to kill her."
"N-No."
Yare Yare Daze(Good grief). Are they that anxious to get themselves killed. Even after an order to make the forest What shall I do? What about we make them slaves to Nazarick? No, not right now or again that will diverge from the plan and a new one would have to be made. We have to confirm the powers of the waves before too. If they turn out stronger than expected then he might be important for protection... I can't reveal my or Nazarick's identity either.
"Do not let them escape. Instill fear in them. Do it in any way you seem fit"
Capture the hero and that girl. Then, how about we, no, give them a tour of Nazarick's worst five. Tell those five, especially, Kyouhukou to go easy on them, such that there limbs are still attached to their bodies and they could be healed using a potion. MAKE absolutely sure that they do not see even an inch of Nazarick besides those five's room. Not an inch, be it anyone from Nazarick or the places themselves.
As for the one remaining human, capture them, but do not torture them. I will take care of them."
"Understood, Ainz-sama."
With that the message cut off. Beside him, Lupusregina called out to him.
"Is something the matter, Ainz-sama."
"Yes, it seems we have got unwanted visitors. Come, Raphtalia, Lupusregina, we are heading back until the problem is solved."
"Yes" They both said in unison.
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"Hey, hey, isn't it too quiet?"
"Yes, now that you mention it..."
"Motoyasu-sama, maybe the monsters are scared of you."
"Haha, that may be true."
They began their usual flirting. No one could tell they were walking in a forest filled with deadly monsters. Their mannerism was like one would take while walking on beaches.
Their guard was completely down and they did not notice that as they went deeper into the forest, the darker it became. Well not everyone, the member not involved in the flirting was still paying close attention. But, the lovebirds just ignored her.
"Motoyasu-sama! The surroundings are getting darker! I think we should head back! Its not safe here." Motoyasu was brought out of his own world by the third wheel.
"Huh"
Darkness now spread at a pace unlike before The previous white light was fading away at an alarming rate. It was as if it was being sucked away by darkness. Then, their vision slowly became distorted. The already barely visible trees seem to bend at awkward angles. It was as if light itself was kneeling in front of eternal darkness.
"Motoyasu-sama! Help me..." Myne leaned at the back of Motoyasu who was on alert with his spear ready.
"Everyone, stay behind me."
Motoyasu was close yet his voice seemed to come from far away. Darkness engulfed everything. All she could see was Motoyasu's back in front of her. She could hear the faint rustling of leather and armor and deep breathing. She was sweating profusely.
A faint voice of footsteps came from behind her. Upon noticing that, Motoyasu turned around in a furry and her face dug deep in his chest. It would have looked like a sweet moment if not for the situtation.
Suddenly all sounds stopped. It looked as if time stopped. Nobody moved and Myne felt a murderous gaze at her back. She had never felt such a pressure ever before. She would have fainted if she wasn't in Motoyasu's hold. She immediately turned around to see nothing. There was nothing that gave off hostility. All was black and the pressure vansihed within a second.
She felt a bad premonition. Turning around in a furry, she saw that Motoyasu was no longer there.
"Motoyasu-sama! Motoyasu-sama! W-where did you go? This is not the time for jokes." She started moving around recklessly.
"Zweit fire ball" As she said that, her hands glowed faintly and a huge ball of fire appeared above her. Nobody in the team had light magic and this was the only way to get vision for a limited time.
Zwoosh. The ball of fire vanished as if not there in the first place.
"M-Motoyasu-sama! Hel..." Something hard hit the back of her skull. She didn't even have time to react. She fell down with a thump and the culprit slowly walked towards her.
As the footsteps slowly approached, she tried to get up but all the strength in her body, was missing. It was like the last attack drained her of everything.
The crunching sound of branches and dead leaves being crushed as they were stepped on filled her with the urge to run away as fast as she could. She tried and tried but could not move anything except her eyes.
The person moved his feet in front of her eyes and helpless body as if teasing her. Her eyes widened so much that her eyes bulged. The person had the same boots as Motoyasu. She was too scared to confirm yet she had to do it.
She slowly moved her eyes upwards. The person had the same body style, armor and weapon as him.
"Motoyasu-sama?"
Her voice was nothing more than a mumble. Nobody except her could have heard it. In her mind she absolutely wanted to deny the conclusion she reached. She wanted to scream how this man could not use her and throw away. It was her who used others and not the opposite. That was not right.
However, her hopes were shattered as she took a peek at the face of the person in front of her. Motoyasu's face was distorted in a wide grin and he seemed to enjoy her reaction. The face was exactly the same she made once. The face that took joy in trampling others.
Intense sleepiness hit her. She could not even move her eyes anymore. The eyelids slowly shut away.
That's completely unfair... She cried in her mind as her consciousness went away.
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Her eyes suddenly shot open.
Dark
She was in a small room somewhere. A ceiling appeared that had a stone emitting light. She tried to jerk her head in other directions but she could not. Her head and her body were rendered completely immobile. Her body was hanging on the wall, almost as if crucified. Her hands and legs so tightly wrapped that she could not even feel them.
She moved her eyes frantically looking for someone to help. She moved her eyesight down and saw her bare breasts. The faint sensation of air against her body made her realize that she was naked.
These circumstances made her shiver in fear. She desperately cried for help but what escaped her throat was a pitiful scream.
"Aran- Aran-So you're awake."
"Eeeeeeekkk!"
It was a garbled voice. A horrific monster she had never even heard in stories showed up in front of her. It was a monster with a terrible appearance. Its head looked like a deformed squid and six long tentacles descended from the mouth till its thighs. The rest of the body looked like a swollen human. Its hand sprouted four webbed fingers and had long nails that were adorned with nail polish. Its cloudy and pupil-less eyes looked all over her face.
"Hey, you know its offensive to shout like that in front of a beautiful lady like myself. But well, ufufu, I shall forgive you. So did you sleep well?"
"hahhh hahhh hahhh"
Her breathing was rugged and terror filled her.
"Save me! Save me! Leave me alone!"
"Now, aren't you noisy. If you are asking for your friend with the spear, he is with Kyouhukou. Don't worry you will see him soon, Kyouhukou that is. For now, let us enjoy ourselves"
Despair spread across her face. She trembled as the monster's eyes ran the course of her body head to toes. She had teary eyes and was randomly spouting cries for help.
"Well, we are not given much time for today, so we won't have much fun."
"Noo! Saveee me!"
"Ufufufu. In order to show my respect, we shall begin with these."
"Show respect to wha-"
Her words stopped in her mouth and throat seemed to run dry. Her body trembled uncontrollably as tears fell from her eyes.
The monster, out of nowhere had produced three rods between its four fingers. One of them was slender with a five-millimeter long section at its tip with spikes. The other two rods were similar in length but not in diameter.
The monster started moving closer to her. The less the distance remained between them, the more the fear and terror in her increased.
"NOO! NOOOOO! SPAREEE MEE! PLEASE! NOOOOO! NOOOO! AHHHHHHH! AHHHH! IT HURTSS! STOP IT! NOOOOOOOO!"
And as such, the room was filled with Malty's cries of agony.
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Ainz was currently in the forest on sixth floor. He looked at the unconscious human in front of him. He had told Lupusregina to take Raphtalia to her room in the fortress made by Mare.
With him were the twin guardians of this floor. Aura, two of whose beasts were currently surrounding the girl in front of him. Mare stood beside Ainz with his staff and the world item given to him.
The world item was called "Avarice and Generosity". The gauntlet called Avarice had the ability to store the experience that the user was usually about to gain. And the gauntlet called Generosity could be used in place of the experience lost under certain conditions, up to the amount that Avarice had taken.
"Mare. Do it."
"Y-yes."
Mare approached the girl and lifted his staff. His eyes showed no remorse or pity for said human. He lifted the staff above his head and smashed the skull of the human. Its shape got deformed and it caved inside.
Mare then slowly stepped back as the others watched in silence.
"Awaken, Avarice. You may feast."
That timid voice of Mare became the cue for the left gauntlet, the one that resembled a demon's hand, to activate. A blue light was pulled out of the body of the girl and flew into said gauntlet. The gaunlet swallowed up the ball.
"Umm. Ainz-sama. It seemed to have successfully absorbed the exp."
"I see. That is good. That is really good. Hahaha..."
Mare and Aura smiled happily seeing their master in such high spirits.
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At a faraway place in room laid the queen of Melromarc. She was currently suffering from fever from stress and many other reasons. She was on her bed in a night gown as she wasn't even able to get up properly.
"Your majesty."
The queen reacted to the voice and looked towards the window grill. A member of the shadow corps was present there as expected.
"What is it?"
"Malty-sama has entered the forest. Since she was so insistent we weren't able to interfere."
"I see. Thank you. Continue the good work."
"Yes" They did not even stay for a complete minute.
"Ah, Malty."
There was no kindness, anger, joy, or hesitation in her words. There was only sadness and pity. Pity for her ignorant daughter and sadness for what was to become of her.