Overlord (LN)

The truth was that Ainz was having a lot of fun with these outdoor activities. After all, this was something he could not experience in the virtual world of YGGDRASIL, let alone real life, and thus it was filled with novelty. Although the whole thing had taken too much time, it also reminded Ainz of the adventures he had exploring unknown places in YGGDRASIL.

If I was the only one who came to this new world, without the whole of Nazarick with me, I’d probably have gone travelling without a second thought.

The undead did not need to eat, drink, or breathe. That being the case, they could climb high mountains with their own two legs, or walk into the ocean depths. He would have enjoyed himself by witnessing the unknown vistas of the world.

However, now that his comrades’ treasures — his loyal subordinates — were here, Ainz felt that he should repay their loyalty by ruling Nazarick well.

Ainz cast his thoughts aside and calmly returned to his work. After hammering the four wooden poles into the ground, he tied the rope around them and then raised the tent over it.

“Thanks for your hard work.”

“Think nothing of it.”

Lukrut was inside the tent, and he thanked Ainz without looking at him. It was kind of rude, but it was not as though he was slacking off either. He had been digging a hole for a stove since just now.

The magic caster — Ninya — was pacing about the surroundings, incanting a spell as he went. This was an 「Alarm」 spell, and as the name suggested, it was a spell of warning that would trigger if anything trespassed on their camp. Though it had a small area of effect, it was still useful just in case.

This spell, which did not exist in YGGDRASIL, made Ainz narrow his eyes.

Although he had handed the task of learning about unknown magic to other people, as a magic caster, he still felt the desire to know about spells he had never seen before.

The magic Ninya used was a spell of the arcane type, like the kind that Ainz could cast. In addition, it looked very similar to a YGGDRASIL spell. Ainz had used a racial skill called Dark Wisdom to perform a rite which increased the number of spells he knew.

Could I learn spells that weren’t in YGGDRASIL by making a live sacrifice? Or is there another way? There’s so many things I know nothing about...

As Ninya realised Ainz was staring at himself, he smiled and drew closer to Ainz.

“Ah, there’s no need to watch me so intently. It must be pretty boring, right?”

“Well, I’m curious about magic, and I’m interested in what you’re doing, Ninya-san.”

“No way... I’m probably far below Nabe-san, aren’t I?”

“It’s because you know spells that Nabe doesn’t.”

Narberal nodded slightly, but Ainz noticed from the corner of his eye that the look on her face was more of jealousy than regret.

“I’d like to cast spells like you, Ninya-san.”

“You’re greedy, Momon-san. To think you’d want spellcasting ability even though your swordsmanship is so amazing... no, I should say that you’re being an adventurer, right?”

“Magic doesn’t seem like the sort of thing you can learn in one or two days. Well, you need to connect to the world, but only people with the appropriate talent can do it. If not, you’ll need to take a long time to experience it.”

Those words came from Lukrut, who had cut in without turning to look from where he was setting up the campfire. Ninya’s face turned serious:

“Mm. Momon-san, I think you have that talent. You’re different from other people... kind of like you’re not human at all...”

Ainz’s non-existent heart seemed to lurch in his chest. Ainz wondered if Ninya had sensed that he was undead.

Although he had already veiled himself in illusions and counter-detection spells, Ninya might have seen through Ainz with an unknown spell or some other special ability. Therefore, Ainz asked Ninya:

“...Is that so? I feel that I am strong, but not inhumanly so. You’ve seen my face as well, so wouldn’t you think that as well?”

“I’m not talking about appearances... it’s just that after seeing you fight, you’re clearly beyond the realm of humanity. Taking out an Ogre in one blow... as I thought, a real man gets by on strength, not looks. And you’ve got a beauty like Nabe-san with you.”

Upon closer consideration, Lukrut seemed to be saying that the illusionary face which Ainz showed them was an ugly one. However, when he thought about the looks of everyone he had met so far, Ainz could only sit down and accept his opinion.