"If I've been keeping track of my progress correctly, then I should be about halfway there right?"
After Ulbert had finished asking(interrogating) that man he had found on the country side, he had finally gotten some answers to some things that he had been wondering. For starters, this wasn't YGGDRASIL, however, Ulbert couldn't care less about that fact. The only thing that mattered to him was he was in a nice, lush world, that held no constraints over him as far as he was concerned. Simply put, he was finally free to live his own life.
The second was how this world was run. He had learned of the surrounding nations of the area, though based on where he now knew he was, the slain theocracy, it probably wouldn't be of much help to him.
From what he had said, the Slane theocracy Practiced human supremacy, and all other beings were seen as lesser. That really told him all he needed to know about the country. That it was all trash. He may have been human up until a few hours ago, but even then he never liked humanity. They tend to only look out for themselves, and the rare few who can be trusted are to unable to do anything because of the overwhelming amount of the former.
And because of this, the farmhands information, which would have been little to begin with, was filled with so much bias that Ulbert wasn't able to get a good grasp on the nations actual policies. He even had to resort to using the [Dominate] spell at one point. But after a while, he had just given up, so he simply had to narrow it down from what he was given..
There was the Baharuth empire to the east, and while it was supposedly thriving,it mostly consisted of humans, so he decided against it.
There was the holy kingdom to the east, but the name alone caused him to vehemently choose not to go. A demon would most likely not be allowed within that place.
The council state to the north seemed to be a good choice, considering that it was filled with demihumans, but because he couldn't tell if the farmer was badmouthing it do to racism or evidence, he filed that excursion away into a maybe pile.
While that was all of the nations that he had known living out here, there was one more that he had heard of. The sorcerer kingdom to the north.
Supposedly it was ruled by a undead that had laid claim to the area that had previously belonged to the kingdom. And barely any information had reached the outside. While Ulbert knew that it wasn't the best idea, he had three reasons for why he picked this kingdom.
The first was because it was already in the direction of the council state, therefore he may as well drop in to see what was actually going on. The second was if the place actually was enslaved, he could defeat the undead and gain fame for doing so.
The third had to do with the sequence of events that had just transpired.
From the encounter that he had with that crazy guy, he had learned that this world wasn't that strong. Granted, that man may have just been especially weak, but he had claimed to be the 2nd strongest person in the country, so what did that mean for the rest of the world? For all he knew magic may not exist here.
He had chosen a weak spell like [Fireball] to test the strength of him, and used low level spells from there on out to not draw suspicion. Regardless, he most likely had drawn the infamy of higher ups in the country. That being the case, a kingdom where no info has spread from was the best place to go into hiding. Of course, even if things do go wrong, he could always just use his real might and turn the country to ash.
It was a different matter entirely however if they knew reconnaissance magic, while he couldn't confirm the existence of magic, it would seem odd for a fantasy world to not have it. Thus he had to move forward in time with the assumption that they could.
While it was a pain to walk through this forest, he infinitely preferred this compared to having to where a breathing mask to prevent his lungs from becoming shriveled husk. Besides it was nice to get a feel for what the world of the past may have been like.
As he was thinking over these things, he felt something brush against the side of his neck. He wasn't sure if he imagined it or not because it was so insignificant, but whatever it was, he choose to ignore it and press onward.
After taking other 7 steps, he felt the same thing on the other side. Now he was certain. Something was here.
"Whoever is out there, show yourself! If you don't I will make you show up by force!" as expected, nothing in the environment changed. Ulbert was really hoping that someone was here, because it would be very embarrassing if he was just shouting to himself.
While it was true that extremely high level illusionist and assassins could completely hide there presence with spells like [Perfect Unknowable] or [Perfect Illusion], Such mastery would not even be needed to trick Ulbert. Since his class went for pure destructive power, he didn't have much in the way of detection magic, nor ways to prevent them. He always relied on his friends for things like that. As he was, even somebody as low leveled as The fabled ninjas from Blue Rose may be able to get the drop on him.(though whether they can do anything is another matter.)
"I'm warning you, one more stunt like that and I'll reduce you to slag! I suggest that you run away now while you still have the chance!"
He waited for a few seconds so he could make sure that the other party had gotten the message. One he had confirmed that nothing was in his sight after squinting at his surroundings for one last time, he slowly began to take another step to his destination.
And at that moment, he felt that same feeling near his left eye.
Oh you are done...
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After the meeting between the cardinals had concluded, they had called upon the power of the 7th seat of the black scripture to find him before he could do anymore harm. Since the incident that had caused her to barricade herself in her room, she became a very different person. While she tended to be a very witty and sassy person before, she had now become a complete shut in. that wasn't to say her silver tongue had dulled, as anyone who sufficiently annoyed her would soon find themselves in a onslaught of insults they would be hard pressed to find themselves out of, but she now rarely left her home and choose to stay to herself more.
However she was still a member of the black scripture, and thus needed to follow her superiors orders. And so after casting her spells, they had learned that the demon was holing itself up withing the Emberwood forest to the north.
And once that was done, all that was left was to kill the wretched thing. However, they members of the scripture had been warned of its power. But also told that it would be extremely weak to any blows dealt, so to finish it off would be one of there top priority's. However they couldn't risk losing any of them before the war with the sorcerer kingdom. They needed to store there aces in the hole for another day. So stealth was the best option.
That being the case, the man known as "Heaven and Earth" the 12th seat of the black scripture was the perfect man for the job. He would sneak in undetected, cleave the abominations head clean off, then would head back to report his victory all before the sun came down.
At least, that's how it should have been. However the sight that he had just born witness to could only leave him to say, What the hell is going on? Despite being told that they creature was weak to blows of any kind, every time he was about to make contact with the things neck, it was like a invisible force was guiding him away from it, causing him to only graze the fur. This had never happened to him in his entire life, yet the seen before him proved it was the truth.
"Whoever is out there, show yourself! If you don't I will make you show up by force!"
While the shock of his blows missing there mark had shaken his confidence, he was at the very least, safe from retaliation, as the demon had just proven that his stealth skills were still in a league of there own. Thus he chose not to come out of hiding. If this thing really could do what it had said, it would not declare him to come out himself. Thus the best thing to do was wait it out, and look for another opening.
"I'm warning you, one more stunt like that and I'll reduce you to slag! I suggest that you run away now while you still have the chance!"
Like hell you will. Since he had refined his skills to the utmost, he was able to cast the legendary spell of the 5th tier, [Cap of Hades]. Which, being a improved version of the [Invisibility] spell, completely hid his presence from any creature, be it human or monster. So as long as he stayed out of range and sight, he was completely safe.
As the demon made to attempt to leave one more time, he knew this would be his chance. Within a fraction of a second, he darted forward like a shooting star in the night, daggers thrust outward. If the neck won't work, I'll aim for your eyes! Since eyes were the weakness of any living creature, especially ones without protective caps, this was a natural course of events. He could practically feel the decent into its brain cavity as the flame that carried its life was extinguished.
But, just like before, he had almost slid right off of his head, and the unexpected angle he found himself moving threw his balance off and he had a rather rough landing. But this was secondary to a man who prided himself on his assassination techniques.
How the hell did I fail 3 times?! Did he cast defensive magic? He needed to know what was stopping him from completing what should have been a easy job. If this type of magic became well known, then how would he adapt.
As he was thinking over his next course of action, he saw the demon begin to mutter something into its hand. While he couldn't quite make it out due to the distance between them, he could manage to make out bits and pieces. It sounded like, [W*ve *f *ain]?
At that moment, a translucent shock wave spread out from the fiend in all directions. It wasn't disturbing any of the local flora in the area, almost like it wasn't even there in the first place. As he watched it engulf the surrounding area, the wave quickly past over him.
And in the next moment came soul-shattering agony.
He had experienced pain before on the battlefield and during his training to become a member of the black scripture, but nothing that came to mind could have prepared him for this. The anguish he was experiencing was so great, that it was all he knew in that moment. He could not even think of any cognitive thoughts other than intelligible screaming. Such was the living hell that he was experiencing. He tried to scream, but his throat had closed from the intense muscle contractions of his body. A weak person may have just died outright, and for the first time, he cursed himself for being so strong.
Because his focus was lost, the spell keeping him invisible had worn off. But he didn't care. Let the creature kill him. Once he was dead, he could just be resurrected later. Anything his superiors would say to him would be better than this.
The demon did notice him of course. He tried to yell Kill me! Do it! But no words came out. The demon merely looked him in the eye, gave a grin and walked off. And his hope of ending his torment went along with him.
He experienced this hell for a full 4 hours before the theocracy finally found him.
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As the Baphomet reached his destination, he was greeted with a gate at the bottom of a great stone wall. The city certainly gave of the impression of being well defended. It would take considerable man power to breach the towering bulwark.
As he was admiring the dedication it must have taken to build such a barricade, he was approached by a man who appeared to be a gate guard.
"Welcome to E-rantel sir. Is this your first time visiting the sorcerer kingdom?" while he was being polite, Ulbert couldn't tell if this was a facade.
"As a matter of fact it is. Is it ture that the place is really ruled by the undead?"
"As hard as it is to believe, yes it is. While there still is worry about the future, the amount of improvements to our daily lives are hard to ignore."
"such as?"
"well for starters, homelessness is no longer a problem. Anyone who belonged to the paupers district was sent to rebuild destroyed villages and become farmhands to create crops for the country. And with the help of the undead, it is easier to produce. There is also the heightened security to prevent crime and so on."
"I see... well is there any chance that I would be able to enter?" after hearing the place be hyped up like this, he had to at the very least check it out. Otherwise, what was the point of that 12 hour journey?
"Of course. But it is a requirement that anyone who wishes to enter the city must attend a workshop before you can step foot inside.
"Workshop?" While Ulbert had seen these before at his old workplace, they mostly consisted of stuff he either didn't care about, or things that didn't apply to him. In the end, they were just a way to create the illusion of workers being important. But he knew better.
So what could be the point of having one before entering a city. While it all seemed suspicious to him, he knew that he couldn't be harmed anyways, so if it was a trap, he would crush it underfoot.
"I would be more than happy to."
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Ainz was happier words could express. Not only was he able to escape his ruler facade for a few days, but he was able to spend it with one of his best friends. What more could he ask for?
Even so, while he would love to spend all of eternity doing this, he still had a job to do. So with a heavy heart, he had to carry out his task as supreme ruler.
"Touch-san, while I hate to do this, could I ask you to try to talk to the other NPC's while I'm gone? I have to play the part of the sorcerer king every now and then, so while I don't want to leave just yet, I kind of have to." at that line, he felt nostalgia at the amount of times he had to leave YGGDRASIL to head to work, even though he didn't want to. It was just like back then.
"Sure thing Momonga-san! We can always talk whenever, and besides, I've been wanting to see how all of our guild members designed there creations. Now is the perfect opportunity!"
"Wonderful. Than I'll leave that to you. Crepuscule, we are going to head out into E-rantel for a while."
At the sound of her name being called, Ainz's duty maid for the day had entered the room to assist with whatever her master required. Her hair came down to both shoulders, and was styled to be wavy, yet appearing smooth to the touch. The color was almost pitch black, however, on closer inspection, it appeared to be a very deep shade of purple, which sparkled under the light. While her eyes may give the look of being downtrodden, she could not be happier in this moment, as she would be able to serve her glorious master.
"Right away Ainz-sama, I shall make all the preparations required before we head off."
"excellent, I look forward to it."
With a slight bow, she set off to complete her task, leaving the to friends alone once again.
"well Touch-san, I will see you in a few hours."
"the same to you, Momonga-san."
And with that, Ainz was left as the only person left in the room. Since he was waiting for Crepuscule, He simply decided to have a seat to clear his mind. But he could not help but mutter to himself, "How long will these happy moments last..."