The Overlord's Dragon

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"You guys are really on edge, huh?"

My words though said lightly as a joke, only got an awkward chuckle from Peter next to me as the two of us knelt on the thick grass of the great forest. The others, including Nfirea himself, were much the same. All of us were in a somewhat loose formation, just out of arm's reach but no further than that.

Ainz had left our group to 'patrol' our perimeter so our herb gathering could go uninterrupted. At least that's what the others thought. I knew the truth though so I wasn't too bothered by being left alone.

I had to hand it to Aura, she was in her natural element in this forest. The only reason I noticed her was simply because I was making an active effort to find her and even then, I had a feeling she let me see her, giving me a happy little wave before hiding away once more.

Lukrat, despite being the most alert ever since I've met him, never once even seemed to notice Aura. As it should be, honestly.

There were some concerns about Ainz leaving the group, talks about not picking any herbs until he came back but I put a stop to that fairly easily. I mentioned that I would be staying behind and could kill anything that would do us harm.

Of course, there were some naysayers named after a rodent that brought up concerns about me damaging the forest, but before I could politely tell him to stop being so scared, Ainz assured everyone that I was more than capable of protecting everyone while gathering the herbs.

Which was true and didn't need to be said, but I still found myself smirking in self-satisfaction when the rat grumbled.

"You, uhh, really aren't that worried huh, Lucard?" Lukrat spoke up behind me and I shrugged as I started combing through a random brush to find the herb Nfirea showed us.

"About what? A couple of wolves pouncing us?" I scoffed out, keeping my eyes on the bounty of nature before me, "We killed that massive group of goblins and ogres yet you guys are on edge just from gathering some herbs."

I'll admit, I was half paying attention to my surroundings in terms of guarding. I was more focused on quite literally everything else.

The smells of crushed grass and plucked medicinal herbs, the sight of trees that extended for miles and miles beyond my sight and the slight sounds of the creatures that I could hear scamper and run on the soft dirt ground of the forest, never noticing us intruding up their home.

It was intoxicating.

Compared to the almost sterile environment of Nazarick and the overpowering city of E-Rantel, the Great Forest of Tob was somewhere in between. In Nazarick, I knew what was going on and what to expect, stuff only changing when Ainz or I wanted them to.

In E-Rantel, it was a mix of everything; cooking meat seasoned with herbs, horse shit stomped into the road and whatever vile thing I could think of no doubt swirling around in the air. I had no control over it and that itself was enjoyable in its own way.

This forest, thick and vibrant with fauna and vegetation, was like E-Rantel in that I couldn't control it. But it was like Nazarick in that it was what I expected it to be:

Big, green and new.

And they just wanted to sit around and wait for Ainz to get back? What a waste of time.

"Well, I suppose Barghests are a type of wolf if you look at it in a certain angle," Dyne spoke up, his deep voice accompanied by a hum as he gathered plants in the basket next to him, its fullness only rivalled by Lukrat, "However, I must confess to you, Lucard, that you surprise me."

"In what way?" I tried to keep my voice level as I found what might have been the herb I was looking for, kneeling to pluck it.

"You said that you have a talent that made Fire Elemental spells easier to learn, but [Fly] isn't a spell that uses fire in any way whatsoever and yet, it is a Third Tier spell," Dyne says to me and I had to force myself not to look back as I felt his eyes on my back.

"It's quite inspiring to see one so young advance so far into magic. It's easy to see where you gain your confidence."

"Well," I say slowly, plucking the herb and placing it in my basket, "It is what it is. Ninya could probably go into the Third Tier if he puts his mind to it."

"W-What?" The voice of Ninya spoke up, whether surprised at my statement or being brought into the conversation, I couldn't tell.

"Well, I don't see why not," My words were more or less a verbal shrug as I carried on looking for more herbs, "You have a talent that helps you with magic, right? I don't see why you couldn't."

"D-Do you really think so?" Ninya's voice was surprisingly quiet for some reason, but I just nodded without looking back, brushing my fingers over the various plants of this forest.

"Oh, how about you learn [Fly] first? If you flap your arms again-"

Lukrat's voice suddenly turned into a yelp as I heard a meaty thwack behind me, my lips lifting into a smirk.

"Right, calm down everyone. Even if Lucard is here, I want everyone to be on alert and gather the Ngenac grass as soon as possible. The last thing we need is to be attacked because we weren't paying attention."

Peter's words, though said softly, held a certain amount of weight to them and everyone but myself gave Peter a nod while Nfirea smiled, relieved. With a satisfied smile, he didn't go back to work as I expected and instead looked at me, an apologetic smile on his face.

"Lucard...you haven't gathered many herbs before, have you?"

"And what makes you say that?"

It was true, but I thought I was doing a good job for a first-timer. How hard could gathering herbs be?

"Because your basket is filled with weeds."

"...What?"

A snort could be heard followed by another thwack, but I ignored it as I looked at both my basket and Peter's. His was more full, but that didn't concern me as it was more full with identical-looking plants compared to mine.

"Give me one of your whatever grasses," I more or less demanded Peter who nonetheless acquitted to my demand and handed me a single weed-like plant. Taking it, I took a supposed weed from my basket and compared the two side by side, gazing at the two with the utmost scrutiny.

They looked the same. Hell, they even felt the same. Slightly rough yet wet with dew. I took more time than it probably should've to notice something different.

Faint purple vein-like things in criss-cross patterns are spread thinly across Peter's grass while my own was just free of anything like that.

"How the hell did you people tell the difference in the first place?" I muttered more to myself than anyone else and I started to sort through my basket, picking out the useless from the useful.

The Ngenac Grass was the main thing we were supposed to gather, eventually filling the large wicker baskets he brought along. They were tall enough that they almost reached my elbows so I imagined we had to gather a fair amount.

"Heh, you'll be able to tell the difference sooner or later," Peter smiles at me, his hands moving from grass to grass, expertly plucking the ones with thin, faint purple veins with barely a glance, "Ngenac Grass is used by Adventurers, either for some emergency healing while far away from civilization or they sell it to Alchemists for some coin. It even gets called things like the Adventurer's Weed because of such reasons."

"It does, does it?" I hum to myself, looking at the verdant grass in the palm of my hand.

The thought of pocketing it crossed my mind, but I chose not to. Ainz and I were hired to do a job and it's not like it was a rare plant. We'll simply pick it up in our free time or ask someone from Nazarick to do it, so it wasn't worth the potential hassle from what amounts to stealing from my current employer.

A short while later after having cleared out my basket of actual weeds, I turned my gaze to look at one of the trees, almost as thick and taller than Cocytus, that had a sturdy rope hugging its brown trunk.

It was the rope that Ainz had tied around himself, partly as a way to find his way back and as a sort of alarm system. If the rope snapped or started acting weirdly, we'd know that Ainz had been attacked.

And no sooner had I looked at it, I noticed that the rope started twisting and turning. I doubt Ainz was actually in danger, so I took it as the sign that he was making his way back.

Good. He can have some fun tumbling around in the dirt for a bit before we start fighting against a creature of legend for our own ends and needs.

God, I should be way more excited for this but the chances of it being some creature from YGGDRASIL just seemed too high. If that was the case, it wouldn't be anything I hadn't seen before.

...Except, will it?

In YGGDRASIL, they were just NPCs. Bits of code with graphics layered on top of them. But here, everything is different. Hell, did I have to look any further than Ainz's Death Knights or the NPCs of Nazarick for proof?

Thinking they would just be the generic NPC monsters I was used to was stupid when such a thing as an 'NPC' clearly didn't exist anymore.

But here, they would be real animals. Actual, real animals with behaviours and thoughts.

Well, maybe not thoughts but close enough to them.

That made me wonder about my summons, as few as they were.

The [Primal Fire Elemental] didn't come under the same umbrella of my three other summons, though to say they're dissimilar entirely would be a lie.

My [Lesser Fire Wargs] wasn't anything special, merely Low-Tier Magical Beasts that were crawling all over Musplihm. I summoned two at a time due to my Chosen of Surtr Job but anymore was impossible. All in all, pretty lacklustre.

But the Fire Wargs and my other two summons were classified as a Magical Beast type. That was the incredibly broad term YGGDRASIL used when describing an animal of legend. Aura has a menagerie of Magical Beasts if I remember correctly.

But they wouldn't be the same as they were in YGGDRASIL. Ainz's sure as hell didn't, so why should I be different?

All I had to do was say the words and they would be summoned.

And of course, I can't. Not right now when I just thought of this no doubt vital information.

As if to match my mood, a shadow of a giant walked into the clearing, its shadow stretching under the glare of the sun.

"Took you long enough," I say to Ainz, looking behind me while everyone lets out a sigh of relief at the sight of him, "Find anything interesting out there?"

"Not particularly," Ainz sums up his meeting with Aura succinctly and turns his gaze to the others, "Forgive me for the inconvenience, but I've established the perimeter. I'm certain that nothing dangerous will approach us."

"Well, if Sir Momon says it, I don't think we have much to worry about then," Nfirea says gratefully, smiling at the towering undead in armour.

Oh sure, when he says it, it's all sunshine and rainbows. I say it and I get called cocky.

Well, whatever. No point making a fuss about it now. Might as well wait until this Wise King shows up and if I knew Aura as well as I thought, it wouldn't be a long wait at all.

After not so subtly Messaging Ainz mentally about the herbs we needed to pick, it took all of three minutes for something to happen.

"Something's coming," Lukrat says suddenly with a grim tone and the atmosphere around the whole group just changed as they prepared their weapons. I was more focused on picking the herbs, but I did glance over if only to show that I was listening.

"Could it be the Wise King of the Forest?" Nfirea questions aloud, his face wrought with worry and trepidation.

"If it is, things are going to get interesting," I say in a flighty tone, reluctantly stopping myself from picking up any more herbs and taking a moment to admire the sight and feel of dirt and smudged greenish plant matter on my hands.

"Lucard, this isn't the time for jokes," Lukrat says to me in a surprisingly serious voice, though I hesitate to call it scolding, "Whatever it is, it's big and it's moving straight towards us. It's moving in a serpentine pattern, which means something even bigger could be chasing it. If it's the King or not, I have no idea."

Even while straining my hearing, I could barely hear the cracking of fallen branches and the snapping of trees far off in the distance. I could've never guessed that this thing was moving in a pattern.

As much as it sucks to admit, Lukrat's skill as a ranger was no joke. That, in turn, made Aura's ability to run rings around him even more impressive to me.

"Everyone, take a basket and fall back. Even if it isn't the Wise King, we're in its territory and I'm not risking everything on a chance," Peter spoke up clearly with a stern tone that brokered no argument. Everyone but Ainz and I gave him a nod and he looked at the two of us with a determined expression.

"Sir Momon, Lucard, can I ask that you two take the rearguard? Out of everyone here, you're the best ones to take care of anything unexpected."

"Leave it to us," Ainz says confidently while I just wave off the Swords of Darkness and Nfirea.

"Get going already. If Nfirea gets hurt, the shame will be on all of our heads."

"Is that what you're worried about?" I hear a certain rat mutter to himself and I dutifully take no notice of his words as Peter and Dyne hastily take mine and Ainz's basket along with their own.

"Sir Momon, Sir Lucard, please don't overdo it," Nfirea all but begs us and his single blue eye shines with barely hidden admiration. Ainz gives a nod and I doubt anyone but me notices how forced the way he moved was.

I blinked at Nfirea, unable to say anything back as he and started to move.

I waited until the Swords of Darkness and Nifrea had left the clearing, the sounds of the animal charging towards us echoing louder and louder with each passing second.

"...I get why he's calling you Sir, but why me?"

Ainz's sigh that exhaled from his non-existent lungs answered my question in a manner words never could and he shook his head at my valid question, "We'll talk about that later. For now, we have to figure out what to do if this isn't the Wise King."

"Kill it and show the proof," I say rather bluntly to Ainz, casting my eyes against the thick foliage before me as a faint shadow, large and round, could be seen just behind the trees, "We'll figure it out afterwards because it's gonna be here in like a few seconds at most."

Without another word, Ainz unsheathes both of his greatswords and steps in front of me as if to act as my shield. I thought it was a bit much to act as if I was as fragile as I seemed, but we had to keep up appearances in case anyone was watching.

No one is, obviously but Ainz is nothing if not paranoid.

"Want me to bless your weapons?"

Ainz remained silent as if he didn't hear me, but I could tell that he was thinking over what I said, if only by experience at this point. He shook his head at me, keeping his steady gaze on the approaching shadow, a trail of dust following it. It's seen us by this point, no doubt about it, but even with my eyes, it was hard to see a hint of silver.

"Not for this, no. For now, let's see how we compare to magical creatures like this."

"Alright. Have fun with our guest, Ainz."

No sooner had I said that, the air shifted rapidly in response to something that I could only describe as a dark green blur smacking into Ainz's crossed blades, the screeching sound of steel hitting steel ringing out.

Amongst the sudden clash, I could hear Ainz grunt with effort as he blocked the lightning-quick blow and my cloak fluttered for a brief moment after the clash. I caught a glimpse of the appendage that struck Ainz. It was some sort of fleshy, scaled tail with dark green scales. Not a snake's head so it's not a Chimera or a Nue, so that crosses that possibility.

It must've been massive considering it could easily hit me or Ainz while still hiding amongst the trees and still have room to spare. Probably 20, maybe 25 meters long? Possibly longer?

Wait. Do bears have tails? They were hunted to extinction way before I was born, but I believe bears have tails. I mean, why wouldn't they have tails?

But would they use their tails to atta-?

"You were able to block this one's attack, human? Surprising, it is! Indeed, you might be the first that managed to block my blow, that you are!"

Out of nowhere, an echoing voice spoke up and soon trailed off, reverberating around us as if the trees themselves were speaking in unison with the voice.

It would've been creepy if the voice didn't sound so high-pitched and...young? Girly? It just didn't work. That wasn't even the worst part though.

I let out a disappointed sigh under my breath as the creature spoke, all sense of excitement leaving me in a sudden dash.

It wasn't a bear. Bears don't talk. Animals don't talk.

I think.

"It...is?" Ainz repeats after the thing had attacked him, confusion evident in his tone. Taking a moment to think about it, it did seem weird that whatever this thing was would talk like this.

But it's hardly the weirdest offender since we've come to this world. Hell, I'm sure Ainz's Death Knight's could talk if they had throats. Or tongues. Or anything resembling a normal body.

"Out of respect for your formidable defence, invader, I will allow you to leave this forest alive...but it is your choice, it is."

"You talk big for an over-glorified animal," My blunt words came out sharper than I intended, but I found myself not caring in the least as the air grew heavy with one-sided tension, "What, you think you can attack us once and just decide you can't be bothered? Considering how you're still hiding, how can you be anything but a snivelling coward?"

The air was punctuated by both Ainz's sigh and the sound of what can only be described as a steel-clad whip cracking through the air. I watch, unfazed, as the scaled tail whipped towards in a blur, only to be deflected by a swift strike from Ainz's greatswords.

"You have a mouth on you, small one, that you do! You have only sealed your fate with your words! But out of respect for you alone, armoured warrior, you may leave, that you may. But your companion will die, that he will!"

What an arrogant animal. Ainz was easily able to deflect his surprise attacks not once but twice now and it still acts like it has the right to doll out 'mercy' and 'respect'? As if it has the right to do that in the first place.

"Don't be so ridiculous. We have much gain from defeating you and even more to lose from running away. Retreating was never an option," Ainz declares rather confidently, pointing his twin blades at the lumbering shadow behind the trees.

"And more importantly, I will not stand idly by while you threaten Dracul's life. Will you prove him right and remain in the shadows? Or will you finally show yourself?"

The urge to make fun of Ainz once more rises within me, but I push it down and settle for a lop-sided smirk. Aura might be watching right now and we have to put on a show, after all.

"Such a cocky duo, you two are! Very well. I will bless the two of you with my majesty and power!"

Finally.

The lumbering shadow didn't so much as grow larger, but rather stood taller as it forced itself upon its two legs. Its steps made the verdant leaves of the forest quiver with every step and its silvery eyes glinted like unsheathed daggers in the darkness of the undergrove. Long, sharp-looking white-silver claws like spear-tips easily carved into the bark of a tree it had taken ahold of and I could see pinpricks of long white teeth line its gaping maw.

Its dull snow-white fur almost shined in its silky, soft splendour under the rays of the sun. I felt my eyes bulge out, almost popping out of my skull as I looked up at the wide, fat beast that had appeared before us.

So many emotions went through my mind at that moment.

Bewilderment. Amusement. Elation. All mixed in the swelling pits of my guts, bubbling to the surface.

But the ocean of disappointment I felt before had dried up, leaving nothing behind.

"Ohoho, I can see the terror and despair from both of you, that I can! Have you finally come to your wits?"

The beast smiled, I had no idea these creatures could smile like that which made it all the more equal parts interesting and disturbing, and I had to take in so many things at once that it made my brain hurt.

Like the fact that I couldn't tell where its neck was, so it seemed that its fat head was just connected directly to its body or how its green tail wiggled and writhed happily like a snake behind it. Or how runes I've never seen before seemed etched into its very fur on its wide-body or its tiny little round eyes were like pinpricks of darkness that shined with something akin to intelligent thought. Or how the giant creature tempted me with its tempestuous promises of fluffy embrace.

"...Is this real?"

Quite frankly, it was a stupid question. Of course, it was real. It was, at both times, too stupid and yet not stupid enough to be real. It defied all logic and so it must be true.

"This...this is…"

This is something alright. Something god damn amazing.

"...Let me ask you a question; what is your race?"

An abomination and something I want.

"I'm what you call the Wise King of the Forest. I have no other name, no I don't."

This gets better and better by the second. I can not think of a better scenario than this one at the very moment.

"Are you...are you a Djungarian hamster?"

I heard Ainz stutter as if he had to swallow spit, but it was only by this point that I realised how wide I was smiling at the Wise King of the Forest who was most certainly not a bear. Or a Chimera. Or a Nue.

But a giant. Djungarian. Hamster.

Sure, hamsters weren't as big as horses or had long scaled tales or could speak the human tongue but I didn't care about that because there was a giant hamster in front of me and I wanted one thing and one thing only:

I wanted to fight the giant hamster.

Scratch that. I am going to fight the giant talking hamster.

Said giant hamster, I still can't believe this was happening, tilted its head in a way that made me sure that it had no neck, peering at Ainz intently with its beady black eyes.

"Hmm...I've lived alone ever since I was born, that I have and I have not met any of my species before, so I can not answer your question. Perhaps you are knowledgeable about my race, that you are?"

"I suppose...one of our friends once had a pet like you."

Is Ainz having a conversation with a giant hamster. Is this actually happening right now.

"What!? How dare he make a pet out of the same noble race as me?!"

Holy shit, it's pouting. The giant hamster is pouting.

"I would like to hear more, that I would. As a living being, it is my duty to carry on my bloodline, it is. If there are more like me and I don't make descendants, than I fail as a being, that I do."

So. The giant hamster is a giant pervert.

And considering Ainz and I don't have children, doesn't that mean we're terrible people by its logic? I'm only sixteen while Ainz can't make children considering his whole...no penis thing.

"Ainz, can I take over?" I asked my friend suddenly, making him glance down at me as he no doubt saw my wide, wide grin plastered on my face.

"And why do you want to do that all of a sudden?"

"Because, Ainz. I want to fight the giant talking hamster."

"You? You are just a child, that you are! What hope do you have against me? If you answer my questions, I will let the two of you live, that I will!"

I ignored the giant hamster and simply carried on looking up at Ainz, the grin on my face not fading in the least. I could see Ainz internally debate for a moment, but he eventually gave me a sigh followed by a nod.

"I must admit, after finding out about...this, I'm lacking in motivation to fight them. Simply don't overdo it and make sure to leave them alive."

"Trust me, it'll be fine," I say to Ainz who slowly lowers his blade as I step forward and met the beady black eyes of my foe whose fluffy fat face was wrought with tension.

I think. It was hard to tell under all that fluff.

"You two are underestimating me, that you are! Whatever respect I held has disappeared! You two will be my prey, that you will!"

"Cute," I say without a hint of irony or shame, making the giant hamster growl angrily, "Tell you what, 'your majesty'. To make this fair, I'm giving you a free shot."

"You what!?"

"I'm giving you the first attack," I tell the hamster in front of me bluntly, "Make sure to make it count. You won't get another one."

To its credit, it was quick.

I could feel the air itself move under the force of the sudden blow. The Wise King's snake-like tail cracked like the sound of thunder as it rushed towards me in a blur. When it hit my head, I could feel the cool and coarse scales rub roughly against my skin.

My head snaps back, involuntary and the stunned silence that followed afterwards would've made my grin wider if it wasn't already threatening to split my face in two. The

"H-How are you still alive?! I hit you harder than the warrior, that I did!" The Wise King squeaked and shouted out. I brought my head back and I met the eyes of the King, wide and filled with distraught at my grin.

"That you did," I agree with the King and with my free hand, I lifted it as a red-hot glow started to suffuse with it. By my side, two dark red magical circles that flash into existence by my side appeared, "But it wasn't hard enough. Now, it's my turn."

"[Summon Lesser Fire Warg]"

The two circles by me pulsed once as if it was a single heartbeat and my glowing red-hot hand burst into a burning orange flame. As if it was a living creature, the flame dripped and slithered from my hand into the dark magical circles. Like a miniature whirlwind of flame, the fire swirls around in the magical circles, reaching just above me in its scorching stature.

Despite the wild-fire, no trees caught alight and I felt no heat from the infernos by my side. If the Wise King caught the shocked look on my face, I wouldn't know as I was too focused on the theatrical summoning.

The fires began to shift and stir, taking visible large shapes within the swirling flames.

A large paw stomped on the grassy ground, a plume of fire covering the ground as it did so and a growl that sounded like a crackling bonfire could be heard.

Then another, just as deep and foreboding growl joined it and I realised that I had indeed summoned two.

As the swirling fire died down, my Wargs finally showed themselves, growling and snarling at the shaking Wise King.

The magical beasts had the general shape of a wolf, as Wargs usually do and if seen from a distance, someone might mistake it for a normal Warg.

But they were so much more than that.

The Lesser Fire Wargs had coats of living flame, golden-orange and around their necks, they had manes of flowing flames. Flames licked through the gaps of their obsidian-black teeth, eager and itching to be unleashed. Their tails, like living plumes of fire, waved back and forth. Their claws of obsidian easily dug deep into the burning grass beneath their paws. In terms of size, I would say they are the same size as the King and as long as a horse.

They were clones in every way, indistinguishable from each other. But I recognized them as mine as soon as they were summoned. As Ainz described it, a sort of connection snapped into place in my mind and in doing so, my stupor was torn down in its place.

"You...you're not a normal human, that you are," The Wise King says slowly and I notice that the reverb it was speaking with was nowhere to be heard, "What are you, to summon such powerful beasts?!"

The person you just tried to kill, I thought to myself with no small amount of pride and vindication.

"Bál, Bruni," I spoke the names of my Wargs, the same names I gave them ever since I could summon them, "Make the Wise King submit, but keep its injuries to a minimum. Do not burn any of the trees and don't cause a wildfire."

I felt something akin to confirmation in my mind and I felt my grin turn less grim at the sight of them.

I have a dog, back home. He was a stupid thing that was way too expensive and took up a lot of space in our small home.

But he was a good dog. I was lucky to have a pet like that. Hell, I was lucky to have a pet at all.

He was one among many reasons why I had to go back home.

So having a pet again, one that was a canine as well and having two at once. It was like a small slice of home, even if I had to squint or outright ignore most details.

"You think to make me submit, that you do!? Then I will prove you wrong, that I will!"

The tail of the Wise King cracked once more and darted towards me, going in for the kill once more.

A screech of pain echoed out amongst the trees and a proud grin grew on my face.

Bruni, to my right, had caught the tail in his jaws. The smell of smoke and blood mingled in the air and I could see the tail itself straining to tear itself from the burning maw of Bruni.

The Wise King, rather than shred its tail apart, instead fell onto all fours and like a white furry blur, rushed towards me, a determined and furious look on its adorably fuzzy face.

It's stopped cold in its tracks without even getting close.

Bál's tracks charred the ground black with each step he took as he met the charge head-on, a rumbling threatening growl leaving his maw as he crashed into the Wise King. Not even a stalemate could be found as the Wise King yelped and a tangle of orange, snow white and brown fur tangle with each other. The smell of singed fur was overwhelming in a moment's notice.

As if to not hinder his brother or simply wanting to fight himself, Bruni let go of the King's tail and rushed to tackle the Wise King as it stood up, swiping at Bál with its sharp claws.

"Dracul," Ainz says in an almost pained voice and I had to tear my eyes away from the fight in front of me to look up at my friend, "Didn't I tell you not to overdo it?"

"To be fair, I didn't think the summoning would be so...flashy," I say sheepishly as the Wise King is shoved through a tree, breaking it into splinters in the process, "And come on, isn't this the perfect time to test out my summons?"

"No," Ainz says bluntly to me, waving to the forest around us as proof, "But there's no point in arguing about it now."

"Is it because you're interested in seeing how my summons shape up in this world?"

"I can't deny that is part of the reason. Your summons are quite unlike my undead, after all," Ainz tells me as the smell of smoke and burnt fur and flesh filled the air and we both turn our attention back to the fight in front of us, calm as the age-old trees are felled under the weight of the King's attacks.

"Do you think your Wargs will win?" Ainz asks me and I take a moment to think about it.

Lesser Fire Wargs would normally be considered no better than a Low Tier Magical Beast. No better than a Skeleton Warrior or a Zombie, if I had to compare them.

But it was different with me. Or I should rather say it was a different story because of my Job Class, Chosen of Surtr which granted me the Skill, [Summon Lesser Fire Warg] in the first place.

Not only did it make them stronger by default, but a passive that came from the same Job Class also made them even stronger if they were fighting in my presence.

What turned into a Low Tier mob became a Middle Tier one in all but name and a few skills that Greater Fire Wargs got. Of course, there were some drawbacks to be had; The Skill itself has a cooldown of about 10 minutes and I could only summon these two Wargs which only lasted a total of 5 minutes.

It wasn't a great Skill, honestly. It kind of felt like it was just slapped on the Job Class at the last moment, but I like it. Having it felt like I was a part of Muspelheim's upper echelons, able to effortlessly and command its beasts.

That didn't change the fact it was a rather shit Skill though.

"I've put some pretty heavy handicaps on them," I say to Ainz while I watch as Bruni's smouldering teeth bite deeply into the King's arm who lets out a squeaky grunt of pain, "But Bál and Bruni will win this, of that I'm certain."

Ainz didn't say anything, but I knew he thought the same thing as me. From that attack that I let hit me, I would say that the Wise King is probably around level 30, in terms of physical strength at least.

Which was why I was so certain of the victory of my pets. In terms of magical and physical strength, I would put them at level 40. In terms of defence, level 25 while in my presence. Out of my presence, it would be 30 and 15, respectively.

The once pristine clearing had become a site of ruin. Trees had been toppled, the verdant grass was charred black by the flames of Bál and Bruni's presence and the Wise King of the Forest's snow-white fur had turned pitch black in random patches. Though it wasn't fatally injured, that doesn't mean it could carry on fighting like this.

"I...I will not lose here, that I will!" The Wise King shouts or rather squeaks out defiantly and I see the runes on its body light up in a mystical, blue light.

"[Charm Species!]"

"Magic?" I mumbled out, my interest peeking as I felt something wash over me and just as quickly disappear into nothing. [Charm Species] was a mental spell, so Ainz and I were immune to it.

Unfortunately, my Wargs were not.

Fortunately, the massive hamster must be a low-level spell caster as the spell did nothing to my pet, unable to deter Bál's charge.

Each step he took burnt the grass under him, leaving little else but embers. The familiar sound of a cracking whip echoed out amongst the sounds of battle, a green blur darting towards Bál.

The Lesser Fire Warg tanks the blow to my surprise, allowing his charge to be stopped cold and causing him to leave a black trail of charred earth as he skidded on the ground. The tip of the King's Tail was a rather disturbing raw-looking piece of red flesh, the scales having been burnt away.

One of a Fire Warg's classic characteristics; each attack made in close quarters was reflected as fire damage onto the attacker. This, along with a couple of others, made them one of my favourite summons to use while exploring in YGGDRASIL.

Well, if you could really call that a favourite summon when I only have four things to summon.

Still, why did Bál take the hit? I found it hard to believe that Bál could be hurt by that attack, but that still isn't a reason to just tank it, even with his passive skill.

Then I blinked owlishly as I just noticed a simple yet blindingly obvious thing.

"So, you finally noticed?" Ainz says to me out of the blue and I glanced up at the armoured Overlord briefly before turning my gaze back to the fight.

Bruni was nowhere to be seen.

How I could even tell the difference was a mystery to me, but a part of me knew that it was only Bál fighting right now on his own against the Wise King while Bruni was…

A flash of reddish-yellow caught my eye, a stark contrast against the earthy brown bark of the trees or the verdant grass. Just behind the trees, a colourful shape of burning fur sprints towards the Wise King. My shocked look is replaced by an ecstatic grin as I watched Bruni charge at the Wise King from behind.

"For someone called the 'Wise King', they sure seem easily tricked."

"Ainz, don't be so jealous. Just because my summons have a functioning brain while your ones are all skin and bones."

Ainz lets out a huff that could've been a chuckle or a sigh for all I know and I turned my attention back to the swiftly ending battle before me.

The Wise King has finally taken notice of the pincer attack, its big head swishing from Bál to Bruni, its eyes wide with despairing realisation.

This has gone on long enough. Time to put the final nail in the coffin.

"[Draconic Presence I]"

No visible effect happened, but I could tell there the tension in the air had increased tenfold. The Wise King's beady black eyes, wide with fear, locked onto mine and I had to force the grin down to give it a cool, bored look.

"This is taking too long," I say, rather forcefully and with a mental command, both of my pets stop in their tracks and stare down the giant hamster, "Submit here and swear to serve-"

Without another word passing through my lips, the giant hamster flopped helplessly on the ground, showing its bare stomach to my pets and me.

"I submit! I swear to serve you, human child, that I do! Please spare me!"

"...Oh. Okay then."

How anticlimactic.

"Well...I suppose this was our aim from the start, in a way," Ainz says in an uncertain voice while I just stare dumbstruck as this so-called 'King' begs for its life.

"...I wasn't actually being serious about the whole serving me thing" I muttered to Ainz and myself in a bland and quiet tone.

"Then why did you say it?" Ainz whispers to me and my shoulders lift in a shrug.

"It was just a bit of taunting," I whisper back to Ainz before shaking my head.

"Well, whatever, I guess. Bál, Bruni, come here."

Responding to my command, my two Fire Wargs sauntered over to me as if they hadn't been in a life and death battle with nary a scratch on them. They sit down on their haunches before me, almost like regal statues.

I took a single look into their eyes of burning fire and I knew they weren't mindless.

They were real, actual beings that I had summoned into this world. On Bruni's leg, I noticed a trickle of golden-orange blood, as if his very blood was liquid fire. When it landed on the ground, it burnt and sizzled like acid before bursting into a minuscule fire.

They have never bled in YGGDRASIL.

And they'll cease existing any moment now. Just because I wanted them to fight a giant hamster.

"Good work, the both of you," I tell my Wargs, full of pride. Dropping my staff on the ground, I reached up and ran my hands through the flaming furs of their necks and heads. What should've scorched me to the bone was instead a gentle warmth that made me smile.

I'm sure the hamster would've given up at the end there, but I just decided to speed up things, that was all. They did most of the work and did a damn fine job, even if I put a bunch of restrictions on them.

Bál and Bruni's stoic, regal look broke slightly as their tails started to wag to and fro, a wide swath of grass burning under their tails until a strange black patch of charred earth was left.

Maybe this wasn't the best place to summon them.

"That was awesome, Sir Dracul!"

Out of nowhere, a cheerful voice could be heard above me. With barely any sound, a certain young-looking Dark Elf child dropped down from the tree-tops, quickly bowing before me and Ainz, a wide smile on her face.

"Aura, it's good to see you again," I smiled at the energetic Floor Guardian, "How long have you been watching?"

"Since you summoned those Fire Wargs, Sir Dracul," Aura tells me and she glances over to the fallen King, a strange expression on her face.

"Haaa...I was hoping to take its pelt after you killed it, but I didn't expect for it to swear itself to you just like that all of a sudden. Ah! T-That's not to say I'm not-!"

"Eeeeek!"

Ignoring the sudden squeak from the hamster, I found myself kinda confused by Aura's comment. I thought her type would be more of a collector of animals than just a collector of pelts.

Then again, all of Aura's animals are stronger than this giant hamster.

"Dracul knows what you mean, Aura. Don't worry about it," Ainz pipes in and I flash a blushing Aura to make sure she understands and he turns his gaze down at me, "Before we make our way back, Dracul, what are you going to do about your summons?"

My brow furrows in thought and I look back at my two loyal hounds, thinking deeply on the matter.

Sure, we could just wait out the rest of their summon time but I didn't really want to see that happen to them. Another way to get rid of them was as simple as dismissing them, but again, I didn't want to see that.

Taking them with us was out of the question, obviously. I can get away with some stuff, but bringing these two was too much.

Actually…

"Aura," I caught the attention of the Floor Guardian, "Can I trouble you with looking after these two for me? I know you have your hands full-"

"I would be honoured, Sir Dracul!"

Well. That was a quick reply. I looked at Aura's eyes, brimming and glowing with eagerness at my rather selfish request. I knew for a fact that Ainz had her building something in the forest, a warehouse or something like that. Not only that, but she was also in charge of scouting the forest, trying to find anything and anyone useful to Nazarick.

Like the rest of the Guardians, she had a pretty full plate, so I felt a bit guilty just shoving even more work onto her.

"Well, if you want, you could guide them to Nazarick or something. I'm sure you could find something for them to do," I tell Aura in an attempt to offset my own request, but all I got was a gleam in her miss-matched eyes. Wordlessly, I turned my head to look up at Ainz for help.

"I don't see an issue, just as long they don't interfere with Aura's duties," Ainz refuses to help me or either doesn't realise and Aura practically beams in response.

I suppose that's that, then. I turned to my loyal pets and cleared my throat.

"Bál, Bruni. Listen and obey Aura as you would obey me, understand?"

Though they didn't physically confirm, I could feel a mental confirmation and the two of them turned their heads in sync to an excited looking Aura.

I don't get why, honestly. She has a Fenrir under her control and even alone without Aura supporting it, a Fenrir could make mincemeat out of these guys.

"I won't let you down, Sir Dracul! I promise!"

"Thanks, Aura," I say with a smile to the Dark Elf, deciding just to humour her. Her cheeks flush up adorably, but with another bow, she turns her attention to Bál and Bruni, a wide smile on her face.

"Now, what to do about you?" I turned my attention to the so-far silent King and I swore its very fur froze when I spoke.

"I-I swore to serve you, that I did! Forever until my death, that I will! Y-You promised to spare me, that you did!"

But it was a joke. I wasn't being serious about the whole serving me thing.

I let out a slow breath through my lips, scratching the back of my head. I glanced at Ainz who seemed content to wait until I made a decision and with Aura here, I should be careful about what I say.

"That I did," I agree with the King and I walked over to it, staring down at its fluffy face, thinking over on what to do. Its round belly was still showing in what I assumed was a submissive gesture.

But it wasn't like I had much choice. Even if I said it as a joke, I gave my word. I had to keep it.

"My name is Dracul," I introduce myself to the Wise King and nod over to Ainz, "And he's Ainz Ooal Gown. If you're really going to do this, promise that you'll listen to the both of us."

"I-I do! I swear on my life, that I do!"

"In that case, can I ask you something?"

"Anything, Master Dracul!"

"As far as you know, me and Ainz are the only people that know about your species or something like that, right?" I asked the King who gave me a vigorous nod.

"And despite knowing that, you still tried to kill both of us."

"T-That's right, Master Dracul. I-I humbly ask your forgiveness, that I do!"

"Sure whatever," I reply rather flippantly, wanting to get the main issue at hand, "But you don't see the problem there?"

"W-What do you mean?"

"You would've killed the only two people who knew about your race."

A minute of silence passed as the Wise King of the Forest blinked its cute black eyes at me before a shocked gasp left it.

"Y-You're right, Master Dracul, that you are! You're truly wise, Master!"

God give me strength.

"Well, Ainz," I turned to my friend, shrugging my shoulders with an amused grin on my face, "Looks like we got our third party member."

"...I suppose we do."

After saying that in a pained voice and saying goodbye to Aura who took Bál and Bruni with her, I took the time to feed our new member a Health Potion to heal its wounds. Ainz tried to talk me out of it, but I went through with it anyway.

Sure, it tried to kill us, but it wasn't like it was ever going to succeed and we came in here more or less for the sole purpose of beating it into submission. All so we got famous and our names were spread across the land.

I felt like, since it fought so hard and it was on our side now, it at least deserved to be healed of its wounds.

And, as I and Ainz discovered, the King wasn't really a King at all.

It was more like a Queen. And to be honest, I wasn't shocked to learn that it, or rather she didn't know the difference.

And a simple question told me that it legitimately thought that Ainz was a human warrior while I was a human spell caster.

Wise King of the Forest, huh? What a goddamn double-faced lie.

Ignoring how silly her title was, I made sure that she was all healed up and using [Fire Siphon] once to make sure that no leftover embers would start a forest fire.

As we started making our way back to the Swords of Darkness and Nfirea, I found myself taking one last look at the once fertile clearing.

Trees had been broken, snapped like twigs. The plants and herbs had burnt into ash and it was like a bonfire had gone out of control. It was a pitiable sight compared to before I summoned my pets.

The thought of them made me glance over to the largest offenders in the clearing. The two spots where I summoned Bál and Bruni.

The two perfect circles of charred earth stood out a stark contrast to the rest of the verdant forest, abundant with life. Deep down, I had a feeling nothing would grow there ever again. I didn't know why or how, but I just knew that, while everything else might grow back, that spot would forever remain sullied.

I didn't have to look any further than Carne Village for proof of that, at least.

"Dracul? Is something the matter?"

I turned back to face Ainz, the 'Wise King' standing dutifully by his side and shook my head, "No, nothing. Come on, we should get going before they send a rescue party or something silly like that."

Ainz gave me a nod and without another word, the three of us left the now ruined part of the forest.

.

.

"What a magnificent magical beast!"

I will never understand these people.

"Yeah, I can tell just from a glance. This is the Wise King of the Forest, no doubt. Its strength is another level."

Get your eyes checked, Lukrat.

"When we smelled smoke, we feared the worst, but it seems you had it all in hand."

"You make it sound like we would have trouble," I say, my brow cocked upwards. Peter gives me an uneasy smile, chuckling awkwardly.

"Well...The Wise King of the Forest is a fearsome beast, legendary for its strength and ability to use magic, Lucard. Isn't it only normal to worry?"

I glanced at the "legendary" beast with a tepid look and saw the King glowing under the praise, a haughty proud look on its fat, fluffy face.

"More like it there was no point in worrying," I say bluntly, reaching out to run my hand through the soft fluff of the King's forehead, delighting in the sensation, "Plus, fearsome? King here is downright adorable."

"I thank you for your praise, Master!"

"This is...kinda surreal, huh?" Lukrat says hesitantly.

"Only to you people."

A sudden cough erupted from nowhere and I smirked at Ainz's attempt to steer the conversation away, "Be that as it may, it should be safe for us to return to the forest."

"But if you've tamed the Wise King of the Forest, what about En-Carne Village?" Nfirea spoke up, stumbling over his words, "Wouldn't the balance of power in the forest be upset without the Wise King?"

Oh, right. The reason Carne Village survived this long was because of the fact they were close to the King's territory, meaning monsters and such didn't stray so close.

I rapped my knuckles lightly on the head of the King and she lets out a hum in return.

"Carne Village, was it? The balance of power in the forest has been upset for quite some time, that it has. Even if I remained, I can not say for certain that I could protect it, no, I would not."

"To be honest, I think the Goblins could probably take care of Carne Village," I force the words out of my mouth with the same amount of effort as I shrug my shoulders, "I doubt there's anything worth worrying about in this place."

"You know, Lucard, I get the feeling you have a very different point of view on things like this," Lukrat says to me, his voice sounding a bit awe-filled and yet teasing

It's not my fault if my view on things were skewered. People shouldn't be awed by a giant hamster in the first place.

I said nothing to Lukrat though, simply shrugging my shoulders at him. I doubt I would ever see eye to eye with people in this world on certain matters, the experience was just too vast.

Despite my words, Nfirea looked anything but reassured. For a moment, I thought he was overreacting. I get that he has the hots for Enri and was worried about her but honestly, if the King was all that was standing between Carne's destruction, then what's the point of worrying?

All Enri had to do was use the second horn and train the villagers to defend themselves. Sure, some Goblins might die if they get attacked by something like the King, but they'll take it down, in the end.

As such, I tuned out when people started talking about how to defend Carne Village and immersed myself in the only interesting thing to me right now.

"M-Master, what are you doing?"

"Resting," I told the King as I leaned back into her side, its snow-white fluff almost absorbing me into its comfiness, "I'm just gonna wait until we get back to picking herbs."

It was like laying on a heated cloud, each strand of fur like a little thin feather.

It was perfect.

"Oh, I can help you in that matter, Master, that I can! I know where all the plants grow, that I do!"

"Perfect. You can make sure we get the plants in peace."

"Understood, Master!"

A burst of hearty laughter caught my attention and I cracked open my eyelid to see Ainz and Nfirea talking privately about something a bit off in the distance.

"I wonder what Nfirea said to Sir Momon to make him laugh like that…" Ninya glances at me, enveloped in the fluff of my giant hamster, "Lucard...what are you doing?"

"Enjoying myself."

As if to punctuate my point, I shuffled myself into the King's side, the softness threatening me with sleep.

Man, it would've been a waste to skin this.

"Ignoring what you just said," I glance an open eye at Lukrat who looks at me with a curious glint in his blue eyes, "Lucard, what do you think?"

"About what?"

"About defending Carne Village," Peter spoke up, looking at me curiously, "I'm interested in hearing what you come up with."

If only you knew.

I let out a sigh and frowned for a moment, thinking it over. It's not like I knew anything about building defences or whatnot. I'm only really good at killing things when you get down to it.

"There are two more monsters like the King, right? Just kill those two and everything will sort itself out," I say rather blithely, but I could already tell that wasn't a solution anyone could just do.

"I don't think that's possible for most people," Dyne points out the obvious to me and at this point, I had to tear myself from my living bed to look boredly at the Swords of Darkness, "And that doesn't solve the issue, rather, it could possibly make it worse by the vacuum left behind."

"They're not just mindless beasts either," Ninya spoke up now, frowning slightly at me for some reason, "For now, they're content to just stay in the forest. But if they die, whoever replaces them might start to expand beyond its borders."

And that's my problem, how?

Not even bothering to hide my frustration at this point, I cast my eyes over to Carne Village, still standing due to the actions of Ainz and myself.

And only us.

"Then why the hell are they still here?"

"What do you mean?"

I spun around, meeting Ninya's wide eyes while a bubble of frustration started to rise up within me without warning or reason.

"If they're in so much danger and they lived this long because this part of the forest was under the King's control, who I might remind you, is currently serving under me," I ignore the shifty and uncomfortable looks they spared towards the King who had a smug look on her face, "And they even admitted they couldn't protect it even if they wanted to, then the best cause of action is to tell them to pack their stuff and leave."

Maybe it was the fact that I had no real good answers and I was suddenly put on the spotlight for a thing I couldn't care less about. Maybe it was the fact that I was enjoying myself a couple of minutes ago in a clearing I had all but ruined.

But something was just rubbing me the wrong way and I couldn't stand it.

"Lucard, you can't just tell these villagers to leave their homes and livelihood like that," Peter tells me the stupidest thing I've ever heard and it just makes me angrier. What does it matter, as long as they're still alive? Homes can be rebuilt, even if they burn them down and salt the earth.

"And besides, without the support of the Kingdom-"

"The Kingdom doesn't give a shit about these people."

I didn't know what it was, but those were the words that made me snap. I didn't know what it was that made everyone freeze in place, but by that point, I couldn't care less.

"If the Kingdom actually cared about Carne Village, why is Nfirea so scared for his crush's safety? Why are you four Adventurers trying to do the Kingdom's job in the first place of protecting its people?"

The words that were flung from my mouth had a life of their own. The more I spoke, the angrier I got. The angrier I got, the more I spoke. At this point, I wasn't even looking at the others or Carne Village itself, my burning stare finding an unnaturally grassy field.

I had taken the time to ask a question to the few Sunlight Scriptures we had captured before they died. I asked them why they tried to kill Gazef and lured him out by attacking villages on the outskirts of the Kingdom's domain.

The answer?

A Noble of the Re-Estize Kingdom had paid them to do it. They didn't know who or why, but it didn't really matter to me. The mere fact that a Noble of this Kingdom, someone who should be supporting it instead of trying to cripple it made my blood boil.

I didn't know why. It's not like I care about Gazef or Carne Village in particular and that hasn't changed.

Just like how my hands ached to wring something fierce at the moment.

"Saying the Kingdom should be a reason to stay in this place is nothing but stupidity. If the Kingdom won't even pretend to care about those that support it, why should they give a single iota of care about it? What, do they expect for these people to just lay down their lives to farm wheat and chop down trees at the risk of their lives for a society that couldn't give a shit about them?"

"That's fucking stupid."

By the time, I tore away from the verdant field, my heart was pumping in my chest non-stop. I had to force the crisp, grassy air down my throat and into my lungs just to feel anything more than blistering heat inside me.

I wasn't shocked to see the outright flabbergasted look on Ninya, Peter and Lukrat's face. Dyne seemed more concerned if anything while the glint of fear in the King's beady eyes was unmistakable.

And before I could say anything, Ainz and Nfirea were already making their way back to us, having finished their conversation.

"Is something the matter?" Ainz asked warily, catching my eye as he looked over us while Nfirea just looked worried.

"...No, not really," I spoke up, coughing into my hand, "Are you all set to go now?"

"Y-Yes, I am," Nfirea's words stumbled for a bit before reaffirming himself, "Is everyone ready?"

Finally. We can get back to something interesting.

With the King by our side, the herb gathering went smoothly, if Nifrea's expressions were anything to go by. A sort of awkward feeling hung around the group and I had no doubt it was due to my outburst from earlier.

It was both parts embarrassing and frustrating. I didn't regret what I said, but I didn't think it through. As residents of the Kingdom, what I just said could be taken...badly, depending on how they took it.

But what's done is done. I'll just have to keep my mouth shut and keep my eyes open from now on.

And yet, somehow I know it will never be that easy.

.

.

Going back to E-Rantel took a day and a half of travel. Nothing interesting happened besides two things:

Getting a new name for the King and me deciding to ride it.

I've never ridden a horse before or any kind of animal for that matter so like hell was I going to miss out on the chance to ride a horse-sized hamster. It took a few times, but it was as blissful as I thought it was.

The others seemed almost awed by my attempts to ride the King.

Ainz was embarrassed, but he doesn't count.

We also shot names between the two of us, in private. I included the King, but she didn't really have an opinion. In her own words:

"Whatever name Master gives me, I will wear it proudly, that I will!"

Too bad I suck at names.

I wanted to call her something like Norn or Freya, but Ainz wouldn't allow it. I don't think he could take calling the giant hamster after something important. In truth, I didn't care that much to argue so when Ainz gave me his suggestion, I went along with it.

It felt weird giving another living being a name, but if Hamsuke likes it, I suppose I'm just overthinking it. Then again, Hamsuke would enjoy any name we gave her so I guess it didn't matter.

Eventually, though, we reached E-Rantel in the evening, a day after leaving Carne Village. The sun was hanging low in the sky as it saturated the sky in a gentle blood-red as the fortress-city was steady with the thrum of life.

I can't say to have missed the smell, but I can't say that it disgusted me as much as before either. Seems like my tolerance for smells was building up which was nice.

However, my tolerance for other things remained the same.

The whispers carried on the wind all carried the same basic awe, shock and fear that it made me almost roll my eyes as I walked through E-Rantel with the others.

As I said before, I doubt I will ever understand these people. They're so impressed by something like this, it kinda makes me want to summon my Wargs again just to see their reaction.

I didn't, of course, and simply became content whenever I glanced up at Ainz.

There he was, riding on top of Hamsuke.

It was hilarious. The term 'knight in shining armour' was hardly a suitable sentence to slap on Ainz and at this moment in time, it couldn't be any more of a picture-perfect scene as to why.

"Enjoying yourself, Momo?" I asked the big silly-looking lug whose almost silent groan went unnoticed by most people, "I think we'll be the talk of the town after this."

"Try the Kingdom," Lukrat piped up, catching my eye as he glanced at Ainz and me, "Getting the Wise King of the Forest as your own magical beast is gonna make the rounds, that's for sure. Wouldn't shock me if it bumps you two up a couple of ranks because of this."

"Oh, so we'll hit Adamantite?" I asked Lukrat bluntly, hoping we could skip the whole process of climbing the ranks all together with just this.

"Lucard, uhhh. You certainly don't aim low, do you?" Peter said to me, but he simply shook his head, "I think Lukrat was saying you and Sir Momon might become Gold or even Platinum Adventurers."

"Oh," I didn't bother to hold back my sigh of disappointment, "That's decidedly less impressive and worthwhile."

"I mean...you're not wrong, in a certain sense? But you shouldn't it look at it that way," Ninya's voice caught my attention and I glanced back at him, a somewhat exasperated expression on his face, "There are a lot of Adventurers that never go beyond Gold, no matter how hard they try."

"Capped at Gold , we call it," Lukrat said to me, a smirk on his lips, "You need some talent to stand out. If you have none at all, you're bound to just be left behind. It's a bit sad, but that's just how it is."

"I doubt that'll happen to us," I say rather bluntly, glancing at the slumped Ainz and preening Hamsuke, "So does that mean subjugating Hamsuke here is only at Platinum level at most?"

"I think you're overestimating Platinum level Adventurers by quite a margin, Lucard. If I have to say, what you and Sir Momon did was easily at Orichalcum and, as you said, perhaps even Adamantite."

"So why the hell are we jumping through these hoops?"

"It's because we've just joined, Lucard."

Before I knew it, we had already arrived at our destination, coming to a large crossroad. Nfirea's carriage, filled to the brim with rare medicinal herbs thanks to Hamsuke efforts, stopped and Ainz dismounted from Hamsuke quickly as if his back was hurting from sitting on the giant hamster.

"This is our first job as Adventurers, remember? No matter how impressive it might be, us going from Copper to Adamantite is just too big of a leap. What do you think the other Adventurers would say if we jumped so far high in such a short amount of time?"

The expression on my face said all of my possible feelings on the subject on pissant Adventurers and I could feel Ainz's non-existent eyes roll at me behind his helm.

"Don't give me that look. It's simply how things are."

"That's stupid, but whatever," I scoffed at Ainz and his reasoning, "But enough about that. It's about time you went back to the Guild, right?"

"Right. I'll be waiting for you back at the Guild, Lucard."

"See ya later then."

I discussed it with Nfirea during our way back that I wanted to see what his workplace and what his shop was like. Considering that the Swords of Darkness was going to help him unload the cargo and that Ainz didn't need me to get Hamsuke registered with the Guild, Ainz and I decided to kill two birds with one stone.

"I didn't take you for the type of person to be interested in Alchemy, Lucard," Dyne spoke to me as we went down one way and Ainz and Hamsuke went the opposite way. I simply shrugged at Dyne as the lamps of E-Rantel slowly grew brighter as the sky dimmed.

"I've never had the chance to see it up close before. And besides, the Job itself was that I have to protect Nfirea until he is back home, safe. Technically, I haven't done that last part just yet."

"I-I appreciate your concern, Sir Lucard, but really. My pharmacy isn't anything special," Nfirea spoke up, smiling at me somewhat uneasily.

"And besides, ignoring the fact that we're already in E-Rantel, I'm 90% sure we can keep Nfirea safe by ourselves," Lukrat said to me, a cocky smirk on his lips.

"Think of me as the extra 110% then," My reply wiped Lukrat's smug grin off and I could feel a pair of eyes on me as I spoke, "And I'll be the judge whether something is special or not."

"Oi, a word from your elders, Lucard; Women might like confidence in a man but there's a limit to these things, ya know?"

"Insightful. I'll be sure to keep that in mind next time I'm out wooing the ladies," I said dryly before a thought suddenly struck me, "That was a joke, by the way. In case any of you couldn't tell."

"Why did you feel the need to specify that?" Ninya muttered, but I let out a sigh, shaking my head.

"It's a long story."

Before long, we arrived at Nfirea's pharmacy and I had to say, I was impressed.

It was located in the trader's district in E-Rantel, nestled comfortably between two other buildings. It was a large, towering building, two stories high. It was built out of wooden and in the front windows were potions and alchemical solutions displayed proudly. I noticed that they came in colours from ocean blue to verdant green to a weird mercurial silver but not a single one was a blood red.

Walking further on, Nfirea led us into the backyard and unlocked the entrance to his backyard where he unlocked a back room, directing us where to put the bundles and buckets of herbs. I could already smell it before the door opened, but it didn't take much effort to realise that this was where Nfirea stored his herbs.

It was a quick and easy job, for me at least. I didn't bother to hide my smugness as I walked back and forth, lifting heavy bundles while the others were sweating their guts out.

It was hilarious.

"Thank you for your hard work, everyone. I have some cold drinks inside if anyone would like some."

I wasn't the one to refuse a free drink and everyone else was sweating from carrying, so it wasn't like anyone said no.

Nfirea led the way into his pharmacy, which also worked as his own home and my impression of it was only matched by my urge to gag.

It was a wide-open store-front with a wooden counter. On its side were potions of all colours small glass tubes lined up in wooden holsters.

The smell was almost indescribable compared to E-Rantel's air. It was like the air itself was dripping with the smell of crushed herbs, alcohol and a sort of wet smell that I could only compare to old, stinky water.

Nfirea had never seemed more comfortable since I met him.

"So what type of potions are these then? You told me there were three types, right?" I asked the alchemist, trying hard to talk normally as my eyes began to water ever so slightly and if Nfirea noticed my discomfort, I couldn't tell.

"Ah, these ones are made from herbs and our display pieces are made from magic and herbs. We don't have a lot of potions made with purely magic, but I can show you those if you would like," Nfirea offered to me, perhaps a bit too eagerly for my liking but I appreciated the offer nonetheless.

I had asked all sorts of questions about alchemy during our trip back and the first thing I was told that potions came in three types; those made with herbs, those made with magic and those made with both.

Those made with herbs tend to be the cheapest, being 2-3 silver coins worth but also the least effective. Those made with magic and herbs are better but also cost more, going into gold coins.

Those made with magic, in which an alchemical solution was infused with magic itself, was the most expensive and also the strongest potions. I didn't miss how these potions seem the closest to how they were made in YGGDRASIL.

I think I'm seeing a pattern here.

That didn't interest me though. What interested me was the fact that you could make potions out of nothing but herbs.

So that means I should, by all rights, be able to make a potion. Not a good one, but I should still be able to make it.

It was a thought that excited me more than I thought it would.

"Maybe tomorrow," I said to Nfirea, looking through each and every glass vial, residue resting at the bottom, "Right now though, I would rather just get paid and sleep in a real bed ton-"

Something creaked. It wasn't the floorboards. None of them creaked when we all stepped inside the store.

From the other end of the room, a door opened slowly and a woman in a dark cloak walked out slowly, her legs crossing over each other in a sensual sway.

Her hood was pulled back, showing her beautifully dangerous face. Her features were delicate and pointed like a glass dagger pointed at my throat. Her hair of gold stopped just above her shoulders, neatly combed.

Her wide smile went well with her blood-red eyes in the sense that it reminded me of when I ordered Shalltear to slaughter those Frost Giants.

"Hey, there~" The woman said in a soft, soothing voice that dripped like ice, "I was wondering when you were gonna come home, Nfirea~. You kept your big sister waiting!"

Yeah, fuck this.

"Momo, get your ass over here no-!"

I winced as what I could describe as mental radio static invaded my mind, the painful sensation blaring until I cancelled my [Message].

"Ah ah ah, this is a private affair now~ We can't have anyone intruding, don't you think?" The woman wagged her finger at me, a gauntlet of segmented iron on her hand and that damned smile on her lips.

She blocked my [Message]. How the hell she did not, I didn't know but weirdly, it brought me hope.

It means [Message] has flaws and limits. Good to know.

Not so much for right now, however.

"Anyone recognise her? She blocked my [Message] to Momon," I asked loudly and the response I got was expected.

Peter, Dyne and Lukrat drew their weapons when Nfirea shook his head, moving back from the woman with blood-red eyes. Her smile got wider, almost unnaturally so. The three male Adventurers formed a shield of flesh and steel in front of Ninya, Nfirea and myself.

"Ehhhh? Don't you think you're being a bit rude? All I wanted to do was just kidnap little Niffy over there and force him to use [Undeath Army] on this city~ Is that really so bad?"

[Undeath Army] was a 7th Tier Spell that did what it said. Summon an army of low-tier undead. It was a pretty easy spell to counter with wide attacks, honestly.

Though I suppose, from a certain point of view, it was a pretty terrible thing.

"T-That's a 7th Tier Spell. I can't even cast 3rd Tier," Nfirea spoke in a hoarse, scared tone and in response, the woman laughed delightfully.

"We're not after your magic, Niffy~ You have a super duper special talent, don't cha? We have a nice little Crown of Wisdom already set up for you~"

I didn't say anything because why should I? This woman must be incredibly sure of her victory if she's just spilling her plans to the people she's going to kill. I didn't even know what a Crown of Wisdom was.

Gotta make sure I never do this.

And it's not like she'll get her hands on Nfirea. Worst case, I can use [Teleport] to get me and Nfirea out here, safely. It's a 5th Tier Spell and that'll cause some noise for sure. Ainz will be pissed, but he would be more pissed if I let Nfirea die.

But. The Swords of Darkness will die.

I could see it, the little tells. Underneath that cloak, she was no doubt already holding a weapon. A dagger or something, ready to pounce at a moment's notice. If she uses martial arts, Peter and Lukrat stand no chance.

But the only way to save them would be to destroy our chances at being Adventurers. At destroying one of the surest routes of us finding someone else from YGGDRASIL and for me to return home.

That did little to remove the bad taste in my mouth. But it helped.

"Nfirea. You need to leave, now," Peter said in a steely tone that brokered no argument, keeping his gaze on the woman, "The only reason she's saying all of this is that she's sure she can kill us all easily. The only way to win is for you to get out of here."

Smart. Smart and pragmatic.

"Hey, mister 110%," Lukrat spoke up and I caught his eye as I stood by Ninya and Nfirea, the string of his bow taut with tension as he pointed a pointed arrow at the woman.

"Make sure to get Ninya out as well, kay? He's got another dream besides looking for some swords. He's still looking for his sister, after all."

The words struck a nerve with me and I didn't know why, at least for a second. Until I recalled what Ninya said to me when we were at Carne Village:

"Much like Carne Village minus the Goblins, I would say," Ninya says to me and there was no levity in their words, "You said you have an older brother? Then we're the same, but I have an older sister."

Have. Not had. But have.

The bad taste in my mouth grew, but I ignored it in favour of glancing between Ninya's dawning look of belated horror and Lukrat's grimly determined expression. He wasn't the only one as Dyne and Peter looked much the same.

I could so easily save them. I could break open this whore's skull with my bare hands, snap her neck or anything at all.

But I couldn't. It would ruin everything me and Ainz were working towards.

"You have my word," I found myself saying to the Swords of Darkness. Lukrat smiled warmly at me and I hated it as it made the knot in my stomach worse. Without looking at Ninya's intense and devastated gaze, I put my hands on Nfirea's and Ninya's shoulders, as if to pull them away.

"We need to leave. Now."

"So touching~ You're gonna make big sister shed a tear here," The bitch spoke and the glint of unblemished steel was unmistakable as she drew what I could only describe as a twin pair rapiers if they were like daggers. Stilettos, I faintly recalled the name from my time back home.

"But I can't let you do that~ So let's have some fun, okay~"

I didn't need to repeat myself as I had to all but start dragging out Ninya and Nifrea but they eventually started to move. I met Ninya's watery gaze, his expression angry, resentful and twisted with emotion. Seeing him would've shocked me if I wasn't trying to save his life.

"Don't make me break my word, Ninya. We have to leave right now."

Ninya opened his mouth-

"You're taking too long."

And another, older voice croaked out. It was the voice of someone who sounded as if they spent all of their life inhaling dust and glass shards. It wasn't a voice I recognized and it froze the blood in my veins.

Not out of fear. I wasn't scared, because why should I be? If nothing else, I would survive. But I still didn't know what else to call it.

Just to the side of us, another door opened and it took me a moment to realise that they were human and not some sort of ghost due to how pasty and lifeless their pale skin was.

In contrast with the blond woman, he wore a cloak of blood-red crimson. His bald head remained me of a malformed egg and his sunken eyes seemed sickly and unnatural. Around his neck jingled a golden chain necklace, bleach-white skulls of shrunken heads dangling as he shuffled towards us. In his gnarled grip was a rotting, dark wooden branch, about as tall as him.

A spellcaster, no doubt. Probably the one that blocked my [Message].

He was close. Close enough that all I had to do was take one step forward, swing my staff and that'll be it. It would be so simple and easy.

But I can't. Can't risk it.

The knot in my stomach became just that much tighter and the frozen blood in my veins was filled with an angry warmth that grew hotter and hotter.

It was just so unfair. Everything about this was just unfair. Everything about this just pissed me off more and more.

"Ehhh? But Khazi, you spent so long preparing just so their screams wouldn't escape the building~ If I don't take advantage of that goodwill, what kind of woman would I be?"

"Don't forget why we're here," The spellcaster spat out to the woman who pouted with fake offence. And of course, he didn't leave.

I hated this. I hated everything about this.

I had hoped that if we left, I could get Ainz and save at least one person. I would at least be able to [Message] him and he could get here in seconds.

But if we just left, they'll die. Without a doubt, Peter, Dyne and Lukrat would die.

And it's not as if they don't know that. Even now, their expression was much of the same as before. It's almost like they had accepted that.

I hated it. I hated everything about it.

"Ahahaha~ That's a scary expression there, little boy~" The woman spoke to me as if she could accurately judge how I was feeling right now and I found myself meeting her glinting red eyes.

The sight of her cocky, almost deranged smirk made my blood boil.

"I betcha you had a lot of plans and dreams for the future right~?" I removed my hands from the shoulders of Ninya and Nfirea so I didn't turn their bones into dust by mistake.

"You were gonna explore the world, have adventures and get all famous, living your life to the fullest," If I wasn't so focused on the beating of my heart and blood rushing in my ears, I would've laughed at how close and yet how far she was.

"Sorry, but your big sister is here to make sure that doesn't happen~" Every word spoken was like gasoline on her upcoming funeral pyre, "This isn't like those stories of heroes slaying monsters or whatever. You'll suffer and die, but that's just how the world works~ So be a good little brother and put up a good fight, okay~?"

I shouldn't do this. It isn't what Ainz and I had planned. It goes against everything we're trying to do.

But I want to do it. I have the power to do it.

And in that moment of clarity, I realised that was all of the justification I needed. Probably all I will ever need.

I opened my mouth and-

.

.

When Ainz left Dracul with the Swords of Darkness, a small niggling feeling settled into his mind, but he ignored it. This must've been the second time that Ainz felt this feeling when Dracul left his sight.

The first time was when he let Dracul fly into the mountains, on a quest to hunt down the Dragons for their skin.

And he came back, having slaughtered a group of Frost Giants and brought back an interesting weapon.

That was a...surprising day, for Ainz Ooal Gown. But a fruitful one as the weapon Dracul brought back had already been picked clean. While it wasn't powerful, it was interesting and something that would've never been found in YGGDRASIL.

Still, the Overlord ignored that small biting feeling as he took the time to draw Hamsuke down on a piece of paper.

The process to register a magical beast was surprisingly simple. All that was required were the name and a hand-drawn picture, the latter of which can be paid for and it would've been drawn with magic.

Ainz opted not to pay as their funds were dreadfully low at the moment, but by the time he had drawn the outline of Hamsuke's body, he wished he decided to pay after all. He was hardly an artist and it showed how slowly he moved his pencil to make sure not to make any mistake. He had been warned if the picture was not satisfactory, he would have to draw it all over again.

That was not the worst part, in Ainz's mind. The worst part was the receptionist patiently waiting for him to finish. The fake smile plastered on her face was like cold knives scraping across Ainz's mind.

Ainz found himself wondering what the point of her watching was. What was he going to do, steal a drawing he himself drew? Or was she security, in case he ordered Hamsuke to do something unsavoury?

Whatever the case was, it made him incredibly self-conscious and uncomfortable. Forcing himself to ignore her, Ainz once again went back to drawing. But his mind wandered elsewhere.

It was obvious to Ainz that Dracul was growing close to the Swords of Darkness. It would be a stretch to call them his friends, but Ainz was sure that Dracul was endlessly amused by taunting and snapping light insults off.

The incident with Ninya came to mind. While he didn't have the chance to talk with Dracul, Ainz knew him well enough that something must've happened for Dracul to share the feeling of flying with Ninya.

While Ainz didn't mind Dracul getting close with outsiders, he also hoped that Dracul would not get too close either. At the end of the day, they can never know what Dracul and Ainz truly were. And a friendship built on lies was quick to fall.

His fingers gripped the pencil just a tiny bit tighter, but he stopped before it would break. Ainz realised he still hadn't drawn anything and quickly began once again.

But the sound of bells ringing in the distance stopped his hand. In the nearly empty Guild building, the shock was palpable and the fake smile on the receptionist was replaced with genuine and sudden worry.

The indistinct shouting from outside swiftly outgrew the ringing of the bells and the few Adventurers left in the building all but ran out.

"Excuse me, could you tell me what's going?" Ainz quickly asked the receptionist who seemed surprised at Ainz's question.

"The bell that's ringing is the one we use when fires break out-"

As soon as the word 'fire' left her mouth, Ainz had already turned his back and stormed out of the Guild, his fists clenched tightly and the small niggling feeling burrowing into his bone marrow.

The first thing Ainz's saw wasn't the rising smoke where Dracul and the others went. Or the citizens and Adventurers of E-Rantel rushing towards it, buckets filled with water in hand. He, much like most, was watching the skies.

Because what Ainz could only describe as a rising sun shot up into the air, far bigger than what Dracul's normal [Fireballs] are like. It was so bright that Ainz had a gut-wrenching feeling that it could've been seen for miles around.

Without a doubt, it was the 4th Tier Spell, [Grand Fireball]. It barely took Ainz a second to know who casted it.

"W-What the hell was that? Magic?"

"Has to be. Don't know what else it could-"

When the [Grand Fireball] exploded, it was with the force of thunder and the smell of sulphur. Some even took cover when the thundering crash echoed throughout the night, fearing for their lives. By now, it was hard to hear his thoughts

"Hamsuke!" Ainz called over to the magical beast and within the moment she had come to his side, Ainz was already mounting the magical beast. He ignored the sudden yells and complaints thrown at him as he had bigger things on his mind.

"Go towards the smoke. Now."

"R-Right away, my lord!"

As Ainz rode through the current pandemonium that E-Rantel was going through, he wondered how long this stint of being Adventurers could go if things like this kept happening.

.

.

Technically, this doesn't count as a month. This chapter was kinda a bitch to get through in so many ways except in certain parts. I hope I'm able to properly convey things here, so I don't want to explain every little thing, but I will say that after this, we start to veer into OC/AU stuff.

Frost Giant genocide hoooo.

One thing I should say is that someone by the user name of Lalisbeth contacted me quite a while ago and asked me permission to write an AU of Overlord's Dragon (holy shit someone actually cares enough about my stuff to write about it). I gave him permission to write it and if anyone is interested, here the title is the Dark Warrior's Caster. You can find it under the OC category. From what I've read, it's an AU of Overlord itself with Ainz and Dracul, both actual human adventurers, hunting down Shalltear and Demiurge (Or rather Honyopenyoko and Jaldabaoth). All in all, I liked it but I'm heavily bias so take that as you will.

I would post a link but doesn't like links in fics.

One thing I would like to mention, which caused me even greater embarrassment, is that someone put this fic under the fanfic reccs in the Overlord's TvTropes page.

That's insane to me, honestly. I know from experience that not every fanfic recc on the tropes is good, but the fact that not only one but two people have taken the effort to write an AU about this fic and also recommend it in the TvTropes and even write a review kinda made my whole month.

I should've said this earlier, but the next chapter won't be a proper one. It'll be a interlude, 6-7k words at most, about the various going-ons while Ainz and Dracul are off role-playing as Adventurers.

And now for my big announcement: I'm gonna make a dumping ground for my ideas. What this means is that I realised that I have the terrible habit of thinking up ideas for stories and wanting to write them. What makes these so bad is that they last for fucking weeks and I can barely get them out of my head.

I don't think I'm unique in that regard. You see it a lot of with fanfic writers and they eventually write so many fics, they get bogged down in them. Hell, it happened to me. Overlord, DxD, Goblin Slayer, Danmachi and now FT. Might not seem like a lot, but if you look at Goblin Slayer and FT, they only both have one chapter each. Which is kinda fucking sad, to be honest.

For instance, for the past couple of weeks, I've been plagued by three ideas that won't leave me:

Overlord's Dragon x Fate/Apocrypha. (Dracul as Saber of Black because that's funny to me.)

Exalted Solar OC. (Exalted is a pen and paper RPG, kinda like DnD but with dinosaurs that piss heroin. No, I'm not joking and I'm also not joking when I say this is pretty much common knowledge of those that know of Exalted. Or people who work for Fate that can punch people into literal ducks.)

And a League of Legends SI/OC with a big emphasis on Ionia. (Martial Arts, Wuju, that sort of thing.)

And I still want to write these. I think they would be fun. But I don't want to make it a fic and get people's hopes up that I will make it a proper series like Overlord's Dragon or Danmachi. So with that in mind, I've just decided to bite the bullet and make a fic in Misc. Books as my general sort of dumping ground for ideas that won't leave me. If I have a lot of fun writing a series, say the LoL one, then I would make that a series and write it like that.

I don't actually know if I'm allowed to do that. Worse comes to wear, I'll use the Archive of Our Own website and dump them there with a link in my profile.

Honestly, I should probably write something there soon. It looks pretty bland. And by bland, I mean barren.

Another minor thing, regarding DxD. In the free time I've not been writing, I've been spending some time writing down some stuff for DxD. Expanded world, what the Balance Breaker is, new OC Angels (or rather ones in the bible) and little footnotes. Can't say when it'll be done, but probably like. Somewhere between 2020 and 3020.

Anyway, see you guys next month. Or year.