"Ha… ha… ha"
Clouds of vapor rose as a great number of men and women ran in circles around a single racing track.
A great bonfire was burning strongly at the endpoint of the track, making the trembling humans run toward it with all their might.
Some of them would slow down as they got close to the fire, but the two Death Knights standing guard would quickly kick them out, and the cycle would continue.
They were on the 5th floor, and, more specifically, they were in an improvised building hastily built for this purpose while the great training tower was under construction.
The thick walls helped keep the blizzard outside, but the temperature inside was still in the negatives, something the running humans knew very well.
They ran naked, their skin in a raw red tone as their bodies desperately fought to warm up.
Maybe they wore clothes at first, but as those clothes got soaked in their sweat, they froze, turning into ice prisons around their bodies.
Their haggard faces were filled with exhaustion and a great dose of fear, but none of them showed any signs of stopping.
The screams of the last one to dare to stop were still ringing in their memories, giving them a very good reason to keep going.
Ainz observed the "training" for a while longer before turning to Nethys, who was to his right.
"Why are you making them do this?"
Given his knowledge of the modern age, he believed this type of reckless training was detrimental to athletes' development, so he couldn't understand why she was making them do it.
Nethys had previously asked for some of the captured knights to make some tests, and after a few days of interrogation, he had given her all of them.
Compared to the members of the Sunlight Scripture, these knights were not only weaker but also lacked status in the Theocracy, limiting the level of information they could give and making them all the more expendable.
"From the information received from the prisoners, people who train or fight with their lives on the line tend to grow stronger than the ones who only train in safety." Nethys reached into the void, retrieved a stack of documents, then opened one of them at a specific page before handing it to him.
The page described the reports from many of the prisoners when asked about training methods.
They all gave different methods, but one commonality was that putting their lives on the line was the fastest way to grow stronger.
"This, it seems, is common sense for the people in this world, and also the reason why adventurers tend to be the strongest humans in their countries."
She then pointed at the humans running below.
"Taking this into consideration, I made a training plan that helps the trainees put their lives on the line in a controlled environment with little actual risk to their lives. Right now, they are doing a quick warm-up before starting proper training. In a few weeks, we should already be seeing measurable results."
Nethys seemed almost proud of her accomplishment.
"That's very good to hear." He humored her, but at the same time, he looked at the naked humans, almost dying on the racing track.
Is this really just the warm-up?
He had his doubts about the 'with little actual risk to their lives' part, but if Nethys said that it was fine, then he would choose to believe her.
"Have you watched my duel with those humans earlier?"
There was something he wanted her help with.
"Yes, sir. Once Eris saw what was going to happen, she called all of us to watch it together in the Throne Room. Albedo, who was already there, joined us too."
"Oh, I see…"
He didn't know how to feel about this. It was a bit embarrassing to learn that so many people saw him flexing on some weak humans, and even more so that it had turned into an event for them.
"And what did you think of my performance?"
She looked at him for a moment.
"Amateurish."
"A complete waste of your stats."
"Inneficient."
"And… a bit cool."
Nethys was as harsh as ever, not sparing his feelings in any way.
The last compliment was a bit unexpected, but in general, her assessment was clear.
"Since this is what you thought, could you help me fix my form? Also tell me in detail where I should improve."
"Yes, sir!"
***
Clang!
His sword clashed with the Death Warrior's, making a loud screechy sound that would have made his ears ring if he had them.
The Death Warrior didn't show any sign of struggle and quickly used another sword to hit his hand, skillfully disarming him before sending a kick to his abdomen that threw him to the ground.
"Dodge!"
Nethys' commanding voice reached him, and he rolled to the left, leaving all his honor as the Supreme Ruler of Nazarick behind.
Thud!
The loud sound of the Death Warrior's sword splitting the snow to hit the ground where he had been just a moment before reached him as he quickly got up.
"[Create Greater Item]"
A new pair of swords appeared in his hand at the same time as the ones he had left on the ground vanished in the air.
Fighting without [Perfect Warrior] is really difficult.
His physical stats were on par with, or maybe even slightly above, those of the Death Warrior, but unlike it, he didn't receive any help with correcting his movements while fighting.
The game Yggdrasil rewarded skilled players, but it didn't require players to be martial arts experts to play a warrior character.
The player's avatar would have an inner correction system for their movements.
Even the clumsiest of players could look like a martial master when playing with a level 100 warrior, while pure magic casters would have no help with it, all while having poorer physical stats and no skills related to the field.
Truthfully, this is a bit frustrating.
Struggling to defeat an opponent of this level hurt his pride more than he wanted to show, especially when he could easily defeat it if he just cast a simple spell or used [Perfect Warrior].
But this would defeat the purpose of training, wouldn't it?
He looked at Nethys, who was watching their fight with a barely concealed anticipation.
"Come!" Ainz assumed the defensive posture.
He couldn't disappoint his coach, could he?
…
"I think it is about time for me to go."
Her master suddenly stopped, looking at a clock he had taken out, before saying it was time to go.
A wave of regret washed over Nethys upon hearing this.
The last hour had been extremely enjoyable for her.
Being able to do something she liked with the one she loved most made her feel happier than this rigid personality of hers allowed her to show.
But her discipline, and more than that, her loyalty and pride as a warrior, made it impossible for her to complain about it.
"Understood, sir."
Acceptance was the only answer.
Even so, she felt hollow as she said it, recognizing that this was why she felt reluctant to see her master, for no matter how happy their moments together might be, nothing could take away the pain of the departure.
"Do you think there were any improvements in my form?"
He said, in a joyous tone, something that offended her a bit.
"You did get better at defending yourself, but considering how bad you were at the start, I would be concerned if you showed no improvement at all."
Duty dictated that she should be honest when asked by her superior.
"Ouch! Oh, Nethys, my dear warrior princess, you are going to hurt my feelings one of these days, ha ha ha."
"I apologize, sir."
Suddenly, looking at her master felt hurtful, so she turned her gaze to the ground.
Sometimes she wondered if it would have been better to behave like her youngest sister, Eris.
Eris wouldn't hurt their master with her harsh remarks, or rather, she didn't need to say things like that in the first place.
She knew that it was rude to think of this when it was Ainz-sama who had made her this way, but the thought still came from time to time.
"Don't be. This is one of the things I like about you."
She looked up at those flames that held no sign of deception or intent to comfort.
His eyes were filled with only honesty, so she dared to believe him.
"Are you serious, sir?"
"Hum? Of course I am. Do you know how frustrating it is to be surrounded by yes-men all the time? You, Nethys, are one of the few people in this tomb who can tell me the truth with zero embellishments, and I love you for it."
He extended his hand and patted her skull with it. A gesture that should feel embarrassing for a warrior, but that only brought her a sense of joy and safety.
"Real improvement can only happen after problems are identified, so I'll never resent you for pointing them out, especially because I know you don't mean to offend me with them."
Ainz then looked to his side, and after a small pause, he spoke once again.
"Now, since we're on the topic of improvement, can you tell me why you think I shouldn't have appointed Cocytus for the campaign against those demihumans?"
Why is Ainz-sama asking me that?
"Don't you have urgent business, sir? Why ask this now?"
"No, Albedo can wait for a little while longer. Please answer my question."
So it was for Albedo in the end.
She didn't have much of a relationship with the Guardian Overseer.
She respected her, as one should with one of the strongest warriors of Nazarick, and also as one should to the highest-ranking servant, but not much else.
Even so, it still bothered her that Albedo was the one to enjoy her master's attention.
At the same time, for her master to prioritize her at this moment filled her with a certain sense of pride.
"Responding to you, sir. Cocytus-sama is utterly ignorant when it comes to warfare. He also doesn't show signs of having the intellectual capacity to fill this gap in knowledge and command skills in the short span of a few battles, so in my assessment it was unwise to give him this responsibility."
Her master looked amused by her response.
"Well, Nethys, what you say is true, or rather, it would be true if my goal were to conquer those demihumans."
"What do you mean, sir?"
"Hum… Tell me, Nethys, do you find that the training you just gave me was useless?"
Her master then summoned the Staff of Ainz Ooal Gown and pointed at her.
"I am a pure level 100 arcane magic caster, so I'm at my most powerful when casting spells. My physical abilities, on the other hand, are laughable in front of a warrior of my level, and while [Perfect Warrior] somewhat helps with that, it also seals most of my spells when used, so I would still be weaker than when in my normal state. So tell me, is what I've been doing useless in your eyes?"
"Of course not, sir. While it might not improve your overall power by much, learning how to deal with warriors, and maybe even how to move as one, will certainly be useful at some point."
Wait, could it be?
"It seems you finally noticed."
"I sent Cocytus there mainly to see if he can learn something new with the experience. He is a phenomenal warrior, and if Aura's report is to be trusted, there's nothing there that could threaten him in any way, so this mission is more of a field trip for him to see how difficult it is to command troops. It would be nice if he succeeded, but failure is not a problem either. He is mainly using PoP monsters to make an army, so even if they all die, it won't bring any damage to Nazarick."
"But still, sir, won't a defeat tarnish the name of Nazarick?"
"Do you think Nazarick's name is so frail that it would suffer from a single defeat under these circumstances?"
The gravitas in her master's tone suddenly reminded her that she was talking with the Supreme Ruler of Nazarick.
"That's not what I meant, sir."
"Hum, I understand your concerns, but you shouldn't be overly concerned with small matters such as a few failures or successes."
"Say Cocytus loses in this campaign, but from this loss he learns something about commanding troops that helps him win 100 more wars in the future, would you still consider this small skirmish with lizardmen and toadmen to be a failure?"
"What I care about is the prosperity and the continued survival of Nazarick and every one of its citizens. To that end, I'm more than willing to cast aside all my pride and fail a few times. So get rid of any indolence or arrogance that you might bring with you, for I will try to do the same to myself."
"You were created to do certain things, but as one of these creators, I tell you that you shouldn't confine yourselves to these perceived limits. Grow, improve, and become better, so that all of us may prosper together."
"Do you have any other questions about this topic?"
"No, sir. Thank you for taking the time to explain things to me."
"No problem. Also, take this."
Ainz threw a ring in her direction, and she grabbed it.
"What is this?"
It was a silver emerald ring.
"This is a ring I acquired on my trip to Carne Village. It can temporarily boost a warrior's level by 5. Play with it however you want, and see if you can find any interesting use for it, but consider lending it to Cocytus from time to time."
With these words, Ainz teleported.
***
Ainz felt his surroundings change from the frozen plains to a luxurious bedroom.
His bedroom.
In front of him, he saw Albedo.
"Welcome back, Momonga-sama!"
She smiled and began to remove her clothes.