Overlord Premise Chapter 12 (Patreon)

Hey friends and fans! Kairomaru is bringing you a new chapter! As Nazarick makes first contact with a group that lives within the territory that they wish to claim, how will the natives of the New World respond? A show of force is often the fastest way to demonstrate how vast the power gap between two parties is. However, while Momonga could do that easily by himself, that would deny the other members of Nazarick a chance to grow and develop. Momonga very much wants to see his friends’ creations grow beyond their initial programming, after all. Not to mention that he has some ‘growth’ to do himself, both as a leader and with his own personal relationships.

If you’d like to become a patron and get access to these chapters earlier, just head on over to Pat re on and add a /Kairomaru after the com.

Make sure to thank the patrons that make these stories possible by checking out the Patron Plaque on my profile!

So, without further delay, please enjoy.

-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-

Chapter 12 – Growth and Contact

The morning for Nazarick was the same as it always was. The various Homunculus Maids were in the large cafeteria enjoying their breakfasts, along with a few of the Area Guardians. Everyone was preparing for another day of completing their own varied tasks for the continued upkeep and glory of the Great Tomb of Nazarick.

In Momonga’s office, the Primordial Deity was greeted by Shalltear as he’d instructed the vampire to do each morning from now on.

“Good morning, my Lord.” Shalltear gave a proper curtsy in her ballroom gown, bowing her head to the Supreme One.

“Good morning, Shalltear.” Momonga gave her a smile. “You look well this morning.” It was the truth. A long and restful sleep had done Shalltear well, even as a vampire.

Shalltear felt the small smile form on her lips from the light compliment. “Thank you for saying so, my Lord.” She stood up properly to look at Momonga. “But I could never compare to your divine glow.”

Momonga barely suppressed an amused sigh. “It pleases me greatly to see that you’re taking care of yourself, Shalltear. I’d like to grant you something before I decide on your inevitable punishment.”

“Grant me something, Lord Momonga?” Shalltear tilted her head just slightly in curiosity.

“Yes. Come here, Shalltear.” Momonga beckoned her forward and to come to his side. Shalltear did so without question or hesitation, soon standing at her Lord’s side and waiting for any further orders. What she didn’t expect was for Momonga to turn in his chair (a subtle show of strength that he could do so since his chair was heavy and not a swivel chair at all) and gently place his hands on her shoulders before pulling her closer.

Shalltear’s snow white cheeks turned a dark pink as she was embraced by Momonga. She returned the embrace a moment later, not wanting to let this opportunity to be closer with her beloved pass her by. “My Lord Momonga…”

Momonga gently released the embrace a short time later, and seeing Shalltear’s joyous expression, made a bold decision. “Shalltear…” He softly tilted her chin upwards so that her blood red eyes met his nearly prismatic eyes. Their lips met and Shalltear went still for all of a second before returning the love and affection that Momonga was giving her.

“Mmm?!” Shalltear’s eyes snapped open from where they’d closed a second before as Momonga deepened their kiss and their tongues met in her mouth. It wasn’t just the French kiss that had shocked Shalltear though. ‘Blood? My beloved’s…blood?’ Shalltear realized that Momonga must’ve bitten his tongue to give her a taste of his divine blood and her heart thundered in her chest from the act of love. Her body trembled in elation and ecstasy as the taste of Momonga’s blood coated her tongue. Shalltear instinctively clung to Momonga as she reveled in the bloody kiss they were sharing. It was a high like no other, the True Vampire felt like she had ascended to a plane of absolute bliss.

“Hah…” Momonga pulled back from their kiss, his tongue had healed very quickly thanks to passive traits from his Race, and he looked at Shalltear’s soft features, the vampire still had her eyes closed and was lightly trembling in his arms. “Are you alright, Shalltear?” He asked her softly.

“Ah~” Shalltear slowly opened her eyes as a beautiful smile crossed her lips. “I’m perfect, my beloved…” She cooed with her blood red eyes half-lidded. “Is it really okay for me to feel such happiness?”

In the corner, standing respectfully, was Albedo. Though she was standing respectfully earlier, now she had her left hand clenching her white dress tightly while her right hand covered her mouth to keep herself silent. ‘So lucky!’ Albedo whined in her mind, seeing Shalltear receive their Lord Momonga’s love and affection. ‘I want that…’

Momonga kissed Shalltear’s forehead and the vampire cooed in delight. “Just because you have a punishment coming, doesn’t mean that you don’t deserve happiness, Shalltear. I want you to remember that.”

“Yes, my Lord.” Shalltear agreed, still almost floating in her joy. Her soft white skin practically glowed with radiant vitality from just the small amount of divine blood that she’d been blessed with. “I will fulfill all of my roles and complete all of my tasks to the utmost perfection.”

“Very good.” Momonga smiled warmly at Shalltear. “I’ll see you tomorrow morning, Shalltear.”

Shalltear bowed low to Momonga. “I’ll wait longingly for that time, my Lord Momonga.” She practically floated out of the room, not even bothering to throw a cheeky, smug grin Albedo’s way. Such was the level of bliss that Shalltear felt as she closed the door to Momonga’s office behind her.

Albedo approached Momonga, taking her normal position to the side of his desk, and looked at the Supreme One longingly. “My Lord…” She placed her hands on the desk and leaned forward, showing off the generous amount of cleavage that her dressed allowed. “Could you bestow your love upon me as well~?” The succubus let out a breathy moan.

“We do still have work to do today, Albedo.” Momonga reminded the beautiful succubus. “I plan to visit Carne Village with Lupusregina to check on the projects that I have going on there.”

“But Lupusregina is training with the cat this morning, Lord Momonga.” Albedo reminded her beloved with a sensual smile. “We have plenty of time~”

It was true, Lupusregina often trained with Clementine in the mornings to help the new Weretiger acclimate to her new body and the abilities that came with it. The two usually practiced and sparred until a short time before Lupusregina left to watch over Carne Village for the day. As Momonga didn’t plan on cutting their training together short, there was a bit of time left in the morning.

‘I, or rather Momon, doesn’t have anything to do with the Guild today, and no requests have come in just yet either. Our current projects are still in progress, or have already given their first reports, so there aren’t any reports to go over right now. Aside from my plans in Carne Village today the only thing we’re waiting on is the last report on the Lizardmen villages in the large lake within the Great Forest of Tob.’ Momonga mentally went over the schedule for the day before he made his decision. It wouldn’t do for the leader of Nazarick to shirk his work and responsibilities just to fool around, after all. But with nothing needing his attention, it wasn’t much of a surprise what Momonga (a man that in his old world had never had any romantic prospects) would choose. “Very well, Albedo.”

“My beloved, Lord Momonga~” Albedo purred in delight as she slipped around the desk and eagerly met Momonga’s lips as she was pulled into his lap. “Mmm…”

Momonga slid his hand up her thigh, over her hip, up her side, and then softly cupped her breast as they kissed. The softness never failed to amaze Momonga as he began to massage and play with Albedo’s large tit.

Albedo mewled as Momonga played with her breast. The succubus loved her beloved’s hands on her body and cooed when his free hand slipped into the open side of her dress and found her ass before he began to grope her ample bottom that was barely covered by a skimpy pair of panties. “Hah~ Yes, my Lord, touch me~” Her words were silenced as Momonga kissed her again, deepening it into a French kiss a moment later and making Albedo moan into his mouth as their tongues played.

“Beautiful.” Momonga breathed out once he pulled back from their kiss to look at Albedo. She was breathing harder, her bosom bouncing just slightly from her deep breaths, and her yellow eyes were alight with love and desire.

“Thank you, darling~” Albedo looked so happy at the compliment even as she pulled the top of her dress down enough to free her breasts, letting her love gaze upon them again. “Mm, my beloved…” Albedo moaned both seeing and feeling Momonga’s eyes all over her tits. She felt his hardness beneath her, fanning the flames of her desire even further. “Ah!”

Momonga took one breast into his hand, massaging it and playing with the hard nipple. The other he licked, kissed, and then sucked on, reveling in the softness and the experience of being intimate with such a gorgeous woman. A few moments later and Momonga let out a muffled groan as Albedo’s hands, divested of her normal white silk gloves, worked his robe open and pulled his hard length from within. “Albedo…” He breathed out heavily.

Albedo moaned eagerly as she stroked Momonga’s cock with both hands. “Oh, my darling, seeing you like this…knowing that I’m pleasing you…makes me so happy~” The succubus cooed before leaning forward to press her tits into Momonga’s face even more. His hand on her ass wasn’t idle either, making Albedo pant as the hot skin against her own heated flesh set off fires of pleasure within her.

A while later and Momonga left his office with a smile on his face and a spring in his step.

It was five minutes after that that Albedo, her long raven hair still slightly wild and her white dress clearly wrinkled a bit, left the office as well. The Guardian Overseer had a radiant smile on her face and her entire body seemed to be glowing with beauty and vitality. Her yellow eyes were shining as well, the succubus almost seemed to have too much energy as she set about her daily tasks as the Overseer with vigor.

-Nazarick ~ Sixth Floor ~ Colosseum-

“Grrr!” Clementine growled fiercely as she flexed her claws, her red eyes locked onto Lupusregina. She’d been disarmed (again) by the Battle Cleric, and was forced into transforming into her hybrid-like state to continue the fight. At the very least, she was certainly getting plenty of practice with her new transformation ability during these morning practices…spars…beatings, yeah, beatings was the most accurate term. They always ended up with Clemetine down for the count while Lupusregina was still perfectly fine.

“I made the kitty mad~” Lupusregina teased Clementine with a sadistic grin. “Too bad she doesn’t have any pride left to crush.”

That was another thing that Clementine had learned quickly about the seemingly jovial maid. She was a sadist hiding behind a smiling mask. While Lupusregina could easily make friends if she wanted to, and probably with almost anyone, all of the successes and triumphs that she watched said people achieve were, secretly, things that the werewolf maid wanted to watch fall apart and go up in flames, just to see the look on the person’s face at losing it all.

“[Ability Boost], [Greater Ability Boost], [Evasion], [Greater Evasion], [Stride of Wind], [Flow Acceleration], [Physical Boost], [Grand Power Strike], [Piercing Strike], [Power Claw].” Clementine combined ten Martial Arts all at once, her Weretiger body capable of handling this much, for a short moment in time, as it glowed with one color after another as each art was applied. It was further proof, in her mind, that she’d made the right choice to join Nazarick and become more than human. She blurred forward, and would’ve been unseen to most people at all, her claws shining with all the power that the ten Martial Arts could imbue them with.

Clang

Lupusregina blocked the claw attack with her large scepter: Crosier. The black and silver-colored weapon looked like an overly large religious symbol (fitting for a Cleric) and didn’t buckle, even under the power of Clementine’s attack. “Wow, you’ve got that new Martial Art of yours down already?”

Clementine grimaced, knowing better than to get caught up in any kind of banter with Lupusregina, lest she get hit by some spell from the Battle Cleric. There was just a small bit of gratefulness for the compliment though. [Power Claw] was a Martial Art developed by Demi-Humans with natural claws, it was unusable by humans because of that. But Clementine had seen it more than enough times to understand it on the various missions that she’d been sent on with the Black Scripture to eliminate stronger Demi-Humans that the Sunlight Scripture couldn’t handle. Now that she was a Weretiger with her own claws, she’d basically taught herself the Martial Art from memory and had been working on perfecting it the last few days.

“Whoa!” Lupusregina said with a grin as Clementine didn’t stop her attack, instead shifting into a combo as both [Piercing Strike] and [Grand Power Strike] faded away. The two were ‘instant’ Martial Arts that faded after a strike landed or missed. The rest, however, were still active and Clementine put the boosts to could use as she pressured Lupusregina with a chain of claw attacks. “Pretty fast there, kitty!”

“Damn it.” Clementine growled under her breath as Lupusregina continued to keep up with her. She ducked under the large scepter and went to claw Lupusregina’s leg to slow her down, but the werewolf simply pulled her leg back and tried to crush Clementine with her large weapon. Clementine moved to the side easily thanks to her Martial Arts and struck the top of Crosier, sending the scepter smashing into the ground further while opening Lupusregina’s guard. The glowing claws of Clementine’s right hand blurred towards’ Lupusregina’s throat, looking to tear it out, even as the werewolf’s eyes widened just slightly.

Whap

Clementine felt her arm jar slightly as her wrist was caught by Lupusregina’s hand, the Cleric having taken one hand off her huge scepter to stop the attack. “Shit.” She was thrown backwards by Lupusregina’s greater strength and landed nimbly without even looking at the ground. The distance between her and the werewolf Battle Cleric was even greater now than it had been earlier.

The sound of applause was heard and both Lupusregina and Clementine looked over to see Momonga watching their sparring.

“Lord Momonga!” Lupusregina beamed at her Lord (and crush) happily as she bowed to him.

“Lord Momonga.” Clementine bowed at the waist, knowing that she was still the lowest within Nazarick given her newly joined status.

Momonga bid them both to stand properly with a wave of his hand. “That was quite the interesting fight.” He praised them both. “Lupusregina, do you know why Clementine was almost able to get a hit in at the end?”

Lupusregina looked thoughtful for a second. “I didn’t expect her to attack my weapon and force it into the ground like that.” Crosier had already been on the ground from the failed attempt to crush Clementine with it. Lupusregina had expected Clementine to use the opening to try and attack her again and had taken longer than normal to react when that hadn’t happened.

“That’s the result of Clementine’s greater experience in battle.” Momonga nodded to Clementine, giving her praise for her combat skills.

“Thank you, my Lord.” Clementine had a small smile on her lips as she bowed her head in thanks for the compliment.

Momonga smiled at both women. “Experience can triumph over greater strength, so you must never assume that you know the outcome of a battle against an opponent that you don’t already know everything about.”

“Yes, Lord Momonga.” Lupusregina nodded, giving him a quick bow of thanks for his insight. “I’ll make sure to build up more experience so that I’m not caught off guard in the future!” She promised with a smile.

“Very good.” Momonga was glad that Lupusregina was taking this seriously. The werewolf of the Pleiades was quite the ‘energetic’ type, and sometimes didn’t think things through. “I was very pleased to already see such progress from you, Clementine.” He smiled at the weretiger woman. “You only recently broke past your limits to use nine Martial Arts, and now you can use ten.”

Clementine felt her heart thump in her chest once, her new instincts practically purring in her head at the praise. “Thank you, Lord Momonga. Your blessing is the only reason that I’ve already improved so much.” A gentle hand resting atop her head, right between her fluffy tiger ears, made Clementine blink and look up from her bowed position. Momonga was patting her head, softly moving his fingers through her blonde hair as he smiled warmly at Clementine. It was only a moment later that Clementine realized that she was purring as her tail swayed side to side slowly.

“Don’t sell yourself short, Clementine.” Momonga said as he pulled his hand away, having been overtaken by the desire to pet the cute tiger girl. “Your diligence in your training is what’s making the difference in your overall strength. Keep it up and become a reliable member of Nazarick.”

“Yes, my Lord.” Clementine said as she bowed once more. Not only did she thoroughly enjoy his touch and his praise, but the genuine belief in her was not something that she was used to from her life before Nazarick. Her cheeks felt hot and her stomach was filled with a pleasant fluttering sensation that she’d never experienced before.

‘I want that…’ Lupusregina thought to herself as she saw Clementine getting praise and affection from Momonga.

Momonga turned to face Lupusregina and gave her a warm smile. “Lupusregina, I believe that it’s time that we head to Carne Village for the day.” He held out his arm to her and Lupusregina’s golden eyes widened.

“Of course, Lord Momonga!” Lupusregina was at his side quickly, looping her arm through his with a beaming smile.

“Clementine, continue with your day as usual.” Momonga nodded to Clementine with a small grin.

Clementine nodded to him and gave a half-bow to her new Lord…God…crush… “Yes, Lord Momonga.” She returned his grin with a small smile. If there was one thing about being the newest and ‘lowest’ member of Nazarick, it was that aside from her daily sparring and training, she had no other tasks assigned to her. Clementine’s one and only task was to get stronger and become a more valuable member of the Great Tomb.

As Momonga and Lupusregina walked away, taking the lengthier walk up to the surface to spend more time together, on their way to Carne Village, the werewolf couldn’t be happier. It wasn’t proper for a maid to walk arm-in-arm with her master like she was, but Lupusregina had been offered it and having her feelings not only acknowledged, but returned by Momonga made her heart soar. She giggled brightly while leaning into Momonga as they left the Colosseum behind them and took a nice stroll through the woodland of the sixth floor of Nazarick.

-Carne Village ~ Later-

It was a rather normal day in Carne Village, all things considered. The fields had been blessed with rain the day before yesterday and the weather was sunny and warm, perfect for their crops to grow. If everything continued as it was, the village might even have a bumper crop this year, so the winter wouldn’t be marked with hunger and potential starvation.

“Hah, what a nice day.” Enri smiled as she worked on her chores. Today it was laundry as she hung up her and her sister’s clothing on the line to dry. She’d get the bedding washed next and have everything in the house clean for Nemu and herself.

With some of the Goblins helping with field work and others hunting in the forest, Carne Village’s food supply had become much more stable, and meat was now becoming more common in their meals, even if only a little. A single mid-sized piece in a bowl of stew was amazing for villagers that had lived the majority of their lives on a mostly vegetarian diet.

‘I wonder what we’ll have for lunch today?’ Enri wondered to herself before one of the Goblins, Kaijali, came running up to her.

“Boss! That guy…I mean, Lord Gown is here!” Kaijali said after a second to correct his address of the savior of Carne Village. He was average of height for a Goblin, green skin, well-muscled, and dressed in a red tunic with chainmail over it, a leather belt that held his sword, and with leather boots on his feet. His most distinguishing feature was the scar that ran diagonally across his face from just above his right eye to the left corner of his mouth.

Enri blinked once before her mind caught up to what Kaijali had said. “Lord Gown is here?!” Enri didn’t yell but the volume of her voice definitely rose as she quickly finished hanging up the laundry and then rushed alongside Kaijali to get to the main square. As they ran, Enri could already see the villagers gathering around, the tall form of Lord Gown standing across from them with Miss Lupusregina at his side.

“Hey Enri!” Lupusregina waved with a grin on her face as the blonde young woman slowed her run to a jog and then a walk, before stopping entirely near the front of the crowd.

“Miss Lupusregina.” Enri smiled at the maid of Lord Gown, and the one that helped watch over and protect the village. “Lord Gown.” Enri greeted the aristocratic and handsome looking man in his resplendent feather cloak with a proper bow, as she always did.

Momonga gave Enri a small smile. “Miss Emmot, always nice to see you.” He greeted her politely, which never failed to get the other villagers murmuring lowly amongst themselves. “Are the Bareare’s around, by any chance? I have something for them.”

“L-Lord Gown! We’re here, sir!” Nfirea called out from the back of the gathered villagers, having just arrived with his grandmother after one of Enri’s Goblin Troop had come to tell them about the visit from Ainz Ooal Gown. Nfirea and Lizze stepped forward, next to Enri, and looked up slightly at the tall man.

“To what do we owe the pleasure, Lord Gown?” Lizzie asked with slightly wary eyes. A lifetime of dealing with nobles and aristocrats after her skills as an apothecary gave her a bit of a bias about them all.

Momonga put his hand beneath his pure white wing, looking to the villagers as if he was reaching into a hidden pocket beneath the immaculate robe, and pulled out a rather large glass vessel with a cork stoppering the top. The inside was filled with a red liquid that was easily identified as blood, though a bit darker than a humans. “A rare material recently came onto the market and as the greatest apothecaries that I know, I thought you’d be able to make the most of it.” He held the glass bottle out to Lizzie. The two had both agreed to research new potions for Lord Gown for taking them in after the incident with Zurrernorn kidnapping Nfirea, after all.

Lizzie accepted the bottle and placed her right hand next to it. Her hand glowed green and the bottle followed suit a second later as Lizzie cast her [Appraise Item] spell on it. “Wh-Wha-What?!” The old woman cried out in shock.

“Grandma?” Nfirea gently placed his hand on her shoulder to help steady her. “What is it?” He looked at the glass bottle warily.

“Ahahaha!” Lizzie laughed and just made everyone more confused. “Nfirea, the Lord has brought us an entire bottle of Basilisk blood!” She kept a firm grip on the bottle, even as she showed it to her grandson.

Nfirea gaped in shock at what his grandmother was holding. “B-Bas-Basilisk…?” He managed to utter out a moment later. In almost a blur, he turned to face Momonga and bowed at the waist. “Thank you for such an amazing thing, Lord Gown! We’ll do our utmost to pay you back!”

The fact that the amount of Basilisk blood in the bottle would probably be enough to almost bankrupt the Bareare’s was left unsaid. After all, it was rather rare for the blood to ever enter the market, and it was a powerful reagent for alchemy and potions.

Momonga waved his hand once. “So long as the blood goes towards furthering your research into new potions for me, I will not ask for monetary repayment.” All of the villagers, even though most didn’t really know the value of Basilisk blood, looked at their savior in complete surprise. A noble not using their wealth and influence to control the commonfolk was just so unheard of in Re-Estize Kingdom. “Your repayment will come in the form of the new potions that I believe you’ll create.”

“We’ll do our utmost to live up to your expectations, Lord Gown.” Lizzie actually gave the nobleman a genuine smile as she bowed her head, nearly cradling the bottle of Basilisk blood to her chest.

Enri smiled happily at Nfirea and Lizzie, seeing how ecstatic the two were about the bottle that Lord Gown had brought them.

“Is Miss Brita around?” Momonga asked as he didn’t see the former Adventurer’s distinctive red hair among the crowd of villagers.

“I believe she’s out with Latimon in the forest, my Lord.” The Village Headman said with a small bow. “I apologize. Had we suspected that you’d be visiting, we would’ve made sure that everyone was here to greet you properly.”

Momonga, once more surprising the commoners, shook his head once. “No, the fault is mine. I should’ve given notice to you beforehand if I expected everyone to be here. I hope that Miss Brita is doing well here in Carne Village.”

“She’s learning well from Mr. Latimon, Lord Gown.” Enri spoke up with a smile. She and Brita had become friendly since the former Adventurer had joined the village. “Miss Brita is on her way to being every bit the Ranger that Mr. Latimon is, sir.”

“Excellent. I look forward to seeing her progress in time.” Momonga had a small, pleased smile on his lips. As long as Brita succeeded in becoming a Ranger, his experiment could begin soon enough.

The sound of someone running was heard behind Momonga and as everyone turned to look, the sight of a slightly short teenage girl came into view as she rushed down the dirt road towards everyone. “L-Lord Gown, sir!” Celicia called out as she got closer to the group. The former Adventurer almost skidded to a stop and then bowed at the waist. “I’m so…sorry…that I wasn’t…here to greet you…Lord Gown.” She panted for breath from having nearly run across the entire village.

Momonga smiled at the girl, happy to see a brighter, cheerier side of Celicia after what had happened to the Swords of Darkness. “Think nothing of it, Celicia.” Momonga forgave her, even though in his opinion there was nothing to forgive. “I take it you were engrossed in your studies?”

“Y-Yes.” Celicia admitted sheepishly as she looked off to the side a little. “I’m making my way through the book that you wrote for me, Lord Gown.” She smiled brightly up at him.

Shortly after Celicia had come to live in Carne Village, like the Bareare’s, the village was once more visited by its savior, Lord Ainz Ooal Gown. The first time that Celicia had met the nobleman, she’d learned that he was a Caster, just like her. The two had gotten along quite well, despite Celicia’s initial distrust of him. Her trauma of having her older sister taken away by the nobles that ruled over the land where they’d been born wasn’t likely to ever fully go away. But the next time that Lord Gown had visited, he’d brought her a handwritten book of spells that he thought she could learn. The prodigious young Caster had been doing her best to learn the spells within the book, her Talent of Magic Aptitude making that a bit easier than it would be for most others.

“I’m pleased that it’s been beneficial to you, Celicia.” Momonga smiled at the girl. She still wore her Adventurer attire, but Momonga couldn’t fault her for that. It was probably a link to her former life, and her friends, that she didn’t want to let go of. Momonga could certainly understand that sentiment. She was starting to let her hair grow out though, it hadn’t grown much yet, but Momonga noticed it was a little longer than when they’d gone on the Quest to escort Nfirea together. “Which spells have you learned recently?”

Celicia perked up and smiled brightly. “I’ll show you!” She faced away from everyone and held her staff out pointing the ring-like head towards the sky. “[Thunderlance]!” Lightning sparked around the head of the staff for a second before a bright bolt of blue-white lightning shot from the staff and into the air, disappearing after several meters. The gathered villagers all applauded Celicia’s spell, making her blush a little at the kind praise. “I also learned how to cast another spell too…but it works better with a target.”

“Allow me, Celicia.” Momonga held out his right hand. “[Summon Undead: First Tier]!” The ground a few meters in front of Celicia glowed and a single Skeleton rose from the magical light. It was the lowest form of Undead and by far the weakest as well, making it perfect for target practice.

The Skeleton took a step forward and then another, slowly approaching Celicia.

“[Shockwave]!” Celicia pointed the head of her staff at the Skeleton. The air visibly warped before the invisible pressure wave slammed into the Skeleton and shattered its ribcage into fragments. The rest of the bones were blasted backwards as well from the force, scattering over the ground. Now destroyed, the bones crumbled away to nothing as the summoning was dispersed.

“Oooh!”

“That was impressive!”

“Way to go, Celicia!”

The villagers all cheered for their resident Caster.

“Hehe…” Celicia smiled sheepishly and gave the gathered villagers a small bow. It was quite different having so many people amazed by her casting.

Momonga and Lupusregina both applauded as well, even if both spells were only Second Tier spells. Ninya had managed to learn them in the somewhat short time since she’d received the book from Momonga. It was a testament to not only her innate Talent, but also her own hard work.

“Two spells already learned. You’re quite impressive, Celicia.” Momonga praised her with a small smile.

Celicia shook her head once. “No, it’s entirely thanks to you, Lord Gown! Your book explains the spells simply and easily, so it’s easier to understand and begin practicing!”

What she didn’t know was that Momonga had no concept of the Magic’s innerworkings. Momonga’s information came from his memorization of a great deal of YGGDRASIL’s spells along with their descriptions and flavor text. Without being bogged down by the ‘thoughts’ and ‘explanations’ that many Casters of the New World put into their own writings, Momonga’s self-written book was a simpler process of learning a spell overall.

“Aww, Celicia is always so modest.” Lupusregina teased the shorter girl with a grin. “I’m sure you’ll get up to Third or Fourth Tier one day!”

Momonga chuckled as Celicia blushed and shook her head. “Nonsense, I’m sure someone as talented as Celicia will reach Sixth Tier in time.”

“S-Sixth…Tier.” Celicia looked at Momonga in disbelief. “I…I don’t know about that, Lord Gown…” That was the level of the great Caster from the Baharuth Empire: Fluder Paradyne! Widely believed to be one of the greatest human Casters to ever live.

The villagers of Carne were quick to cheer Celicia on, making the teenage girl rub the back of her head and blush cutely.

“I…I’ll do my best, everyone!” Celicia said as she took her staff in both hands and held it horizontally at waist level before bowing to the villagers that believed in her so much. She straightened up and looked up at Momonga with a smile, silently thanking him for practically making her an unofficial student of his in the Magical Arts.

-Nazarick ~ Afternoon-

Sitting upon the black throne in Throne Room of Nazarick, Momonga looked at Cocytus’s kneeling form. “Cocytus, is it ready?”

“Yes,” Cocytus exhaled two gusts of frosted breath from his mandibles. “Everything is as you requested. I will depart as soon as I have your blessing, Lord Momonga.”

“You have it.” Momonga nodded to the Floor Guardian. “I’ll leave you in charge of everything.”

Cocytus nodded once before speaking. “As a Guardian and a warrior, it’s an unexpected delight to be given command of Nazarick’s first war in this world. I will serve you well, my Lord. This I swear.” Another burst of frosted mist escaped the Vermin Lord’s jaws.

Momonga looked into Cocytus’s blue insectoid eyes. “Excellent. I have no doubt that you’ll live up to all of my expectations.”

“Excuse me.” Cocytus bowed low once more before standing and turning to leave the Throne Room. A few moments later and the heavy door closed behind Cocytus with a thud.

“Be sure to keep in regular contact with him, Albedo.” Momonga said, even as his gaze was still on the large doors that Cocytus had just left through.

Albedo, standing right beside the throne, looked at her Lord and gave a small nod. “As you wish, my Lord.”

-Great Forest of Tob ~ Great Lake ~ Wetlands-

A single Lizardman walked through the forest alongside the great lake that his people lived in. He had dark green and charcoal black scales, though they looked closer to brown due to how they were mixed across his body. He wore a long green cloth across his torso and around his neck with ragged ends that resembled a scarf, with a brown cloth edge with a crème-colored fur around his waist. On his chest was a red symbol that had been branded into his skin when he’d decided to go out into the wider world and temporarily leave his tribe. At his waist was a magical weapon that looked like a three-pronged club of ice, if not for its razor thin tapered edge that denoted it as a sword. It glowed dimly with magic and would never melt; such was the nature of its existence.

This was Zaryusu Shasha, a Traveler, as marked by his tribe: the Green Claw. As he made his way through the forest, his powerful tail swayed slightly, scattering the leaves and sticks on the forest floor. A trait of the Lizardmen to keep the paths they made through the forest clear and free from any new growth. Their webbed feet made it slightly more difficult to walk on dry land than in the shallow waters of their wetland home, though some Lizardmen like Zaryusu were better at it than others, so keeping the paths clear was for the benefit of everyone in the tribe.

“Hm?” Zaryusu raised his head as he emerged from the forest and saw his older brother standing near a specific section on the edge of the massive lake. “This is hardly a place for the Chief to be seen, don’t you think?” He joked with his brother as he approached.

The current Chieftain of the Green Claw Tribe of Lizardmen: Shasuryu Shasha, had dark green and charcoal black scales, but his looked mostly dark green, unlike his younger brother’s. He wore a short cloak of rough yellow fur, looking almost like straw, that was held together by a colorful string at the front of his neck. A brown leather strap held a large, single-edged greatsword on his back, and his scales had noticeable scars on them in various places, the result of a lifetime as a warrior and his two fights to become Chieftain and then maintain his position from challengers. He was also larger than most Lizardmen, making some seem small by comparison if they stood close to him.

“Zaryusu.” Shasuryu looked over his shoulder at his approaching brother.

“Brother…are you eyeing my crop?” Zaryusu questioned with his tone going a little higher near the end to indicate that he was teasing. Lizardmen didn’t have the physical anatomy to ‘smile’ like humans and other demi-humans, so their language filled in what their expressions couldn’t.

“Nh…” Shasuryu’s jaw snapped closed and he looked out over the lake as opposed to down int the water as he had been, his powerful tail swayed behind him slightly, the tip wiggling a little as it batted against the grassy ground. “Please… I just came to see if the fish had gotten any bigger.”

Zaryusu looked at the wide area that he’d enclosed with a net wall, allowing smaller fish to enter and become food for the fish that he was farming. Said larger fish were now all too big to get through the nets, leaving them to only grow larger and tastier as Zaryusu helped supplement their diet as well. “So, you’re saying that you don’t want to eat them?”

“Nnn…” Shasuryu’s tail drooped a bit.

“They’re good.” Zaryusu said, knowing exactly how to prod his older brother’s appetite. “Way more fat on them than the ones you catch fishing.”

Shasuryu looked over at his brother. “That so?”

Zaryusu nodded once. “When they hit your tongue that prime greasy goodness fills your mouth, and when you bite into them…it just melts.”

“Mnnnn!” Shasuryu let out a long hissing grunt, his tail now smacking the ground more powerfully than before.

“My sister-in-law was right…your tail gives you away, brother.” Zaryusu said with a hiss of laughter.

Shasuryu grunted. “Huh? Come on! My own wife is talking behind my back?” He stilled his tail like nothing happened. “It’s just a stupid twitch, nothing more.” Shasuryu looked at Zaryusu. “If you ever nock that arrow, you’ll know exactly how I feel.”

“That will never happen. You know that.” Zaryusu said with certainty.

“Hmph! Why not? Because of that damn mark on your chest?” Shasuryu briefly glanced at the red mark on his younger brother.

Zaryusu looked at his fish farm as he spoke. “I left the tribe to travel the world. Our laws are clear. My knowledge is respected, but I’ll always be considered an outsider in our people’s eyes.

Shasuryu crossed his arms. “The elders, you mean.” His tone indicated just what he thought of the stiff and unbending mindset of the oldest among their tribe. “You know this…what you’d call it?”

“Fish farm.” Zaryusu reminded his older brother.

“Yeah, it’s great! No one in the tribe has ever done anything like it.” Shasuryu praised his brother’s new knowledge that he’d brought back with him from his travels.

Zaryusu glanced at his older brother. “I couldn’t have done it without you, brother.”

Shasuryu snorted once. “All I’ve done is drool over them.” He eyed one fish in particular as it swam, easily the biggest and fattest among them all.

“Come on, I know you spoke to everyone on my behalf.” Zaryusu knew exactly the trouble his brother had gone through to support his endeavors. He got a small grunt from Shasuryu as the Chieftain turned and headed back towards the forest. “Once they get a little bigger, I’ll give you the pick of the lot!” He said with his volume rising near the end to indicate a smile as he spoke.

“Don’t keep me waiting too long!” Shasuryu gave a backwards wave, his strong tail thrashing back and forth in anticipation as he headed back into the forest and towards their village.

It was only a short time after Shasuryu returned to the village that something caught the attention of the Green Claw Tribe. The laughter of the playing children, along with the everyday bustling about of the residents as they gathered material like wood or water plants, all came to an abrupt end as a swirling black cloud appeared overhead. The Lizardmen looked upwards in confusion at the strange phenomenon, only to see the swirling cloud spreading out to blot out the sky over the village, casting everything into an unnaturally dark shadow.

“Hide the children in the huts!” Shasuryu quickly took control of his tribe. “If you’re not a warrior, get into your homes, now!” He ordered loudly so that everyone in the village could hear him.

Zaryusu, having seen the swirling clouds from afar, was quickly running towards the village, his webbed feet making large splashes as he entered the shallow wetlands.

Something dark and twisted fell from the center of the swirling black clouds. It was clearly an undead Monster that resembled a cloud of roiling black mist. Countless fearsome, ever-changing faces emerged from within the mist belonging to many species and Races. The wind around the strange undead carried the sounds of weeping, cries of agony, the gnashing of teeth, and the last gasps of the dying with it.

“Weak ones.” The roiling mist of undeath spoke int multiple voices that made more than a few of the Lizardmen feel confusion building in their minds. “Servants of the Great One, we come as a forewarning. Henceforth, we announce your deaths. The Great One has mobilized an army that shall destroy you. Though that be so, in his generosity, he will grant you a grace period to put up a futile resistance.” Several of the Lizardmen warriors hissed angrily at the threat. “Eight days from today. On that day, you will be the second of the Lizardman tribes around this like to be sacrificed!” The strange undead Monster rose back into the air towards the swirling black clouds. “Put up a desperate resistance so that the Great One may judge your worth. Remember these words! Eight days…” The undead disappeared back into the black clouds and the entire mass flew off across the sky until it vanished over the forested horizon.

The entire Green Claw Tribe could only stare in stunned surprise at what they’d just seen and heard.

Zaryusu, however, narrowed his eyes at where the creature had disappeared.

-End Chapter-

-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-

Oh ho! Momonga is getting closer with the ladies that have feelings for him!

Amazing what NOT being an unfeeling pile of bones can do for a man, huh?

Lupusregina is training Clementine on how to use her new Weretiger body! There’s already been some improvements simply because of how much stronger Clementine’s new form is compared to her human form!

Even better, we see Momonga pet the tiger kitty Clementine and make her purr! Kek!

Then he takes a long walk through the floors of Nazarick arm-in-arm with Lupusregina, making our adorable werewolf happy! Yay!

Momonga visits Carne Village and delivers some of the Basilisk blood to Lizzie and Nfirea! The two apothecaries are ecstatic about the incredibly rare ingredient and promise to use it to further Ainz Ooal Gown’s goal of creating a new potion!

We see that Celicia has been sort of taken on as a Magic student by ‘Lord Gown’ and that she’s starting to grow and develop more! Will she soon reach Third Tier Magic?

The information has been gathered. Cocytus has been chosen. An army has been created. The warning has been sent!

The five Lizardman Tribes of the Great Lake’s wetlands are under threat from the ‘Great One’!

But something has changed in the message…what’s that last part about ‘the Great One judging their worth’?

What’s next for Momonga and Nazarick?

Keep reading to find out!

Until I get your reviews, later!