As the group neared the edge of the forest, the trees gradually grew shorter, and the sun began falling behind the mountain.
The blue sky was dyed a madder red, and then it passed into night. The silhouette of the mountains against an endless sea of stars could only be described as majestic. The knowledge that even this magnificent view was but a fraction of this world made Ainz feel like nature itself was bearing down on him.
His sinuses quivered, and he took in the fresh, fragrant air.
Why could he do that — or rather, if he could do this, why could he not tell how food smelled? Ainz pushed those thoughts out of his mind, and instead chose to savor this air, which could not be found in Nazarick or the outskirts of E-Rantel.
In YGGDRASIL, he would not have been able to experience the greatness of nature in this way.
He felt a sense of fulfillment, just like when he had gained new experience while adventuring as Momon, and Ainz’s heart filled with satisfaction. In all honesty, they could go back now without ever finding the Dwarven Kingdom and he would not mind at all.
Isn’t — isn’t this the sort of scenery adventurers should be seeing?
Ainz chuckled, and then spoke to the people behind him.
“Then, we shall camp here for tonight.”
After they all replied in the affirmative, Shalltear asked Ainz, “Shall we return to the Great Underground Tomb of Nazarick?”
Indeed, the wisest thing to do would be to make a mark here and then teleport them all back to a safe place to spend the night. However, for some reason he did not feel like it. It was not a matter of the merits or demerits of the situation, but a purely emotional issue.
“There’s no need for that. We shall set up camp here.”
“But Ainz-sama, the thought of making you camp at such a place…”
A quick look around would reveal only bare rock, and the frigid mountain winds — granted, they had no effect on Ainz, who was immune to cold — stole body heat. Anyone without cold resistance or thick woollen clothing would feel as though they were being pricked by needles. This was probably because the wind had blown across heaped piles of snow and brought the cold air down the mountain slopes.
Ainz smiled as his respect for the grandeur of nature grew ever deeper.
In YGGDRASIL, there were guilds that explored and adventured to turn the unknown into the known. They travelled on an endless journey with those feelings in their hearts.
They were weak in guild battles, but threw themselves singlemindedly into the unknown reaches of the world. At that time, he did not understand what they were thinking. However, after encountering a magnificent world like this one, he began to see where they were coming from.
While he had been Momon, he too had entertained the thought of letting go of everything and travelling the world—
“—Ainz-sama?”
The thoughts that had begun floating up in his head were suddenly scattered.
“What is it, Shalltear?”
“F-forgive me for interrupting your contemplation, Ainz-sama.”
“Ahh, no, it’s fine. I wasn’t thinking of anything important.”
“Really? All right, then…”
“Then, what’s the matter? Ah, you’re talking about camping here, right?”
“Yes. Please accept my sincerest apologies for not preparing a suitable tent despite knowing that you might wish to stay here, Ainz-sama. I wish to retrieve one from Nazarick. Might I be allowed to use [Gate]?”
“There’s no need for that. It wasn’t that you forgot the tent, but rather, I didn’t write it down on the list because it wasn’t required. Did you know that Mare can make a shelter with magic?”
Shalltear nodded.
I see. Then, you should know that I can do so as well. I could use a magic item like the Green Secret House instead, but that might be a bit too cramped for our numbers. Now, watch this.”
Ainz looked for a suitable location. It could be slanted, but the important thing was that it had to be open and free of rocks.
He found one almost immediately, and then Ainz cast his spell. It was a 10th-tier spell.
“[Create Fortress]!”
As the spell took effect, a mighty tower appeared where there had been nothing before. It was a tower which stood over 30 meters tall, standing erect and proud like it was going to swallow up the starry sky.
Its massive double doors looked strong enough to shrug off battering rams. The walls were studded with countless spikes to keep anyone from climbing them. Four demonic statues adorned the corners of the uppermost level of the tower. They felt weighty and oppressive even at a glance.
This sturdy fortress-like fortification was the physical incarnation of the word: “towering”.
“Then, let’s go.”
As Ainz approached the door at the head of his group, the iron doors swung open. He waited there for everyone else to enter. In YGGDRASIL, anyone on the same team could open those doors with a touch. On the contrary, everyone else could only gain entry by destroying the door. He wondered how the door in this world would make that judgment.
Ainz left two of the undead outside, and then ordered them to open the door after it shut. The doors remained closed.
He waited a bit longer, but there was no sign that the doors would be opening.
“…Could it be that only I can open them? Aura, go touch the doors.”
With a “Sure!” Aura touched the doors experimentally, but they did not seem like they wanted to open.
It would seem only Ainz could open those doors. He mentally furrowed his brows. Friendly fire was a pain in the ass… If other players existed in this world, small changes like this might end up affecting others, and in the worst-case scenario he might end up killing someone by accident.
It’s been nearly a year now… And I still have to be careful about using my power. It would be a tragedy if someone got caught in our area-of-effect attacks. Should I point it out to the higher-ranking people? Mare, especially… although they might resent me for nagging them about it if they’ve already realized it… I guess I’ll try and pass it off as an off-hand remark or something.
Subtly reminding people was unexpectedly difficult. It was completely different from just going up and scolding them. Ainz had become thoroughly acquainted with that fact during his time in the working world.
As his heart grew heavy, Ainz decided to terminate his experiment and open the gate to let the two undead outside come in. He closed the gates once more after ensuring that everyone was through, and then moved forward.
A pair of double doors faced the entrance, and a passage stretched on beyond them. At the end of the passage was yet another set of double doors. The way was lit by magical lights, so there were no problems travelling along it.
The instant he opened the inner doors, a blinding light shone upon them.
Before them was a round hall. The floor was as white as snow and the ceiling was high above. A spiral staircase coiled up from the center of the room and connected to the upper levels.
“Then… we shall spend the night here. Anyone who needs to rest can do so. Anyone who does not… well, standing here isn’t very good either. Everyone, stand by in your rooms.”
Ainz indicated ten doors with his pointing hand. Incidentally, space here was expanded, so this place was larger on the inside than the outside.
“There are more rooms like these on the second and third floors, so go ahead and use them. Aura, Shalltear, Zenberu, the three of you stay behind. I want to plot our future route given what we have learned today. Ah, yes, let’s gather on the couch over there. Then, carry on, everyone.”
“Ainz-sama, what shall we do with the Vampire Brides?”
“Umu…”
Ainz could not answer Aura’s question right away. After all, bringing them along had been Decrement’s idea, and he could have done perfectly fine without them. Ainz paused briefly to think before saying, “I’ll give them orders later. For now, have them wait in their rooms.”