Valkyrie's Shadow

Chapter 13

“Get them back…” The Baroness frowned, “Will that be possible here, Your Majesty?”

“I can’t vouch for how effective it will be here,” Ainz told her, “but it should be something like the Adventurer Training Area, yes? The calculations for how challenging this is for you may be skewed due to what comes with your new Racial Class Levels, so we can only try and see how it goes.”

One of the things Nazarick had learned early on was that experience did not accrue through kills like in Yggdrasil. One could not powerlevel individuals by having them endlessly mow through mobs that would have yielded them experience in the game, nor could one equip them in high-level gear and send them after opponents many times stronger than themselves to produce significant results.

On the other hand, the Lizardmen training under Cocytus had grown stronger simply by performing drills and sparring with one another. Hamsuke had acquired her first Martial Art from scratch through rigorous training. The consensus was that it was not the value of the target one defeated, but the relative degree of challenge represented by each task that resulted in experience gain. This experience could not be manually allocated – that was, one could not select the Racial or Job Class Level that the experience one gained went towards.

The entire process required careful guidance; experience-yielding actions carefully catalogued by those overseeing the Adventurer Guild and those investigating civilian levelling processes like Pandora’s Actor.

Even then, there were still many questions as to how that experience was distributed. Wizards and Fighters gaining experience through study and training was simple enough to understand, but if a Fighter used a bow would they gain Ranger experience, or specialized Archer experience? Or would it add to their Fighter experience as Fighters could also use bows in combat? Once one started factoring in Prestige Classes and quickly lost a sense of what went where, experience flows became an indecipherable snarl.

Baroness Zahradnik went to a knee, sorting through her equipment and consumables. A frown crossed her face as she laid a row of blue potions before her. Unlike in Yggdrasil, fast healing potions produced by alchemy in this world were blue. There were also the purple potions developed by Nfirea Bareare, but Ainz had kept those out of circulation.

“Did you bring those to use as positive energy bombs?” Ainz asked.

“No,” the Baroness answered, “they’re just leftover healing potions from when I was still Human. I thought it prudent to keep a few since I can still use them to heal others.”

“They’re probably not normally sold, but have you considered purchasing negative energy potions?”

Her hands stopped sorting through her items.

“I’ve never heard of negative energy potions.”

Ainz quickly reviewed what little he knew of this world’s alchemy in his head before offering something he thought would make sense.

“Hm…well, it’s like this: these blue potions are a result of a special alchemical solution being imbued with a spell. Healing potions are imbued with healing spells. Potions that provide various buffs are imbued with those buffs. The fast-acting alchemical potions that one purchases are essentially spells in liquid form. Following that logic, one can imbue a potion with a spell that inflicts negative energy damage, which would be a healing potion for Undead beings.”

“Based on what I understand about Alchemy,” the Baroness nodded, “that does make sense. I will look into it…but what would I say? Ordering negative energy potions would appear quite strange.”

“It shouldn’t be too hard to come up with something,” Ainz cradled his chin with a hand. “Purchasing consumables for your Undead security forces, for instance, or a way to repair Undead labourers in an emergency.”

“…that’s an excellent idea, Your Majesty,” she said. “They have real potential for improving the performance of the Royal Army.”

“Umu,” Ainz nodded sagely. “Magical crafters are quite scarce in the Sorcerous Kingdom, but if an Alchemist that can make negative energy potions can be located, Cocytus would be most interested in securing a supply.”

The Baroness returned to her preparations. She pulled out an arrow with a clear glass head, holding it up to an eye before she turned to ask another question.

“May I use my bow this time?”

“Hmm…”

Ainz considered what might result from using a bow. According to Pandora’s Actor, Baroness Zahradnik had some sort of cultural Prestige Class that functioned something like a Fighter variant with command, leadership and administrative aspects. There was also her identity as a Ranger, but since the suspected holders of her Prestige Class identified in the Empire did not possess Ranger Skills and Abilities, Ainz determined that she had separate Ranger Class Levels.

He carefully weighed the potential results. If she were still Human, the answer would be simple. Using a bow ran the risk of her gaining Ranger experience. Since her potential as a Captain-type Commander class was worth far more to the Sorcerous Kingdom, having her stick to a melee weapon meant that her experience gains would more likely be directed towards her Prestige Class.

After determining that she was a Revenant, however, Ainz also wanted to see how her Racial Class Level progression would turn out. Heteromorph, Demihuman and Monster levels were not as simple a matter as saying ‘one level in x Racial Class Level is one level in y Job Class Level’.

Some Racial Class Levels, like Ainz’s skeletal caster line, qualified as arcane caster levels, but they had distinct attributes and numerous racial traits, Skills and Abilities in addition to simply being an arcane caster. Other Racials Class Levels, such as Shalltear’s Vampire levels, did not qualify as specific Job Class Levels at all. It was a Vampire’s racial qualities and superior stat allocation that made them excellent melee combatants, thus ideal for melee-focused character builds.

Revenants existed in a grey area since they were Monster Class Levels in Yggdrasil and thus there was no concrete information as to what those levels were. The only thing that stood out to him about them when it came to traits that might correlate its Racial Class Levels with Job Class Levels was the Revenant’s extraordinary tracking ability. They could hunt down the subjects of their aggression no matter where they went, as long as it was in the same world.

If Revenants were Rangers and using a bow meant that she would specifically gain Ranger experience, they might be able to raise her Revenant Racial Class Levels by having her focus on ranged combat.

In the end, Ainz decided against it. There was no guarantee what her Revenant Racial Class Levels were, and the Job Class Level that she had with the criminal-detecting ability reeked of being a Ranger Prestige Class unique to this world. It was better to play it safe and stick to levelling Job Classes that he had more information on.

“Let’s continue with melee combat,” he told her. “That fight with the Zombie Wyvern didn’t allow for a satisfying showcase of your capabilities.”

“Very well, Your Majesty.”

Preparations complete, Baroness Zahradnik rose to her feet, dusting off her knees. She brandished her weapon at the nearest Undead – a Skeleton Mage – then paused and lowered it again.

“Pardon me…”

She waved a gauntleted hand in front of the Skeleton Mage’s face.

“What are you doing?” Ainz asked.

“Becoming a mage involves quite a lot of study,” she replied. “Since this is the case, shouldn’t these Skeleton Mages be intelligent? Destroying mindless Undead is one thing, but local magic casters are in short supply…”

As mobs, Skeleton Mages were mindless, but he didn’t have a way to explain why that was. He also made a note to himself to not ever reveal the fact that he had Skeleton Mage levels in his build, lest it lead to all sorts of awkward questions.

“You were thinking about recruiting them?”

“Yes, Your Majesty. I’m uncertain how things work with the Undead, but I thought that it might be possible to have them train to become arcane craftsmen. I am not sure whether I can convince them to move in and not attack the living citizens, but a separate workshop could be built out here if it is required…”

Though the Baroness differed in many ways from regular aristocrats, this was one behaviour that they shared. She used what could be used, moving to secure valuable assets for her demesne when she identified them.

“I like the way you think,” Ainz told her. “Unfortunately they are as mindless as any other low-level Undead. These Skeleton Mages inherently know how to use the spells that they possess. They did not study to obtain what they have. It is much like how a Skeleton Archer somehow knows how to use a bow with basic proficiency.”

Follow instructions…hmm…

An idea formed, and he changed his mind about how he would have Baroness Zahradnik clear the ruins.

“Shall we make this more interesting, Baroness?”

“What do you propose, Your Majesty?”

“Let’s head outside the settlement. I’ll explain what I have in mind along the way.”

They made their way through the ruins and out onto the flat, cracked terrain that characterized most of the plains. He made sure that the levels of the Undead around them had not changed before clearing his throat to speak.

“Since you’ve been working with the Royal Army and are developing your skills as a Commander, I believe it would be more productive for you to act as one here. We’ll start by having you form an ‘army’ out of the Undead around us.”

“If they’re all mindless Undead, how can I recruit them? As far as I know, I have no Skill or Ability that allows me to forcefully conscript soldiers.”

Ainz chuckled, imagining the noblewoman going around trying to convince Skeletons and Zombies to join her army.

“Just pick out what you’d like, Zahradnik-dono,” he told her. “I will use my Undead Domination and order them to obey you. As with all Skills, there are limits, but since the Undead around here are so weak we should be able to come up with a respectable number. You probably won’t want most of these, so start by clearing out the weaklings. Let me know if there’s anything you’d like to ‘recruit’.”

In addition to potentially raising Baroness Zahradnik’s commander levels, it was a learning opportunity for Ainz. With the upcoming events in the Holy Kingdom, he thought it would be prudent to gain some sense of how low-level armies functioned in this world. He was terrified of messing up Demiurge’s plans in some catastrophic manner, and it wouldn’t do for the Sorcerer King to appear completely ignorant in front of the Holy Kingdom’s forces.

The Baroness started by smashing a nearby Skeleton. Every Undead within fifty metres moved to attack her. Her sweeping strikes destroyed multiple weak Undead with every swing. She didn’t stop attacking once they were gone, however: proceeding to destroy Undead Beasts, Ghouls and Wights. In the end, she was left with a single Wraith, which kept passing through her body. As the Baroness’ weapon was mundane, it couldn’t connect with the incorporeal form of the Wraith.

After several more attempts to injure the Wraith with her spear, she stopped. The Wraith continued its futile attempts to harm her, moaning as it went. The noblewoman appeared to think for several seconds before raising her arm and backhanding the Wraith as it came in for another attack. It recoiled sharply, flying into the ground. When its head popped up again, the Baroness stepped forward and kicked it.

Ainz watched in amusement as she went around punching and stomping the Wraith. With most, it was equipment that was magical and unarmed attacks mundane. With Baroness Zahradnik, it was the reverse. The one-sided brawl ended a minute later, with the remains of the Wraith dissipating into nothingness.

“You didn’t fancy any of those?” He asked as they walked up to join her.

“I was getting a practical feel for their qualities,” she replied. “That Wraith made me realize that some of them are more ineffective in this situation than I thought they would be.”

“Umu,” Ainz nodded. “To the living, the Undead possess many traits, Skills and Abilities that make them problematic opponents. Against adversaries that are immune to them, however, they can become rather unimpressive.”

This was something that Ainz knew well from his many years of playing Yggdrasil. Though he had Abilities that augmented the quality of his summons, he still had to carefully consider what he used against his targets.

“For instance,” he folded his hands behind his back, “Basic Wraiths use touch attacks to deliver an ability drain. This ability drain is not raw damage, but an attack against the vitality of the target. The living become weaker and weaker until they turn into lifeless husks. Undead are immune to this as they have no vitality to speak of, so while its incorporeal nature might seem useful at first, a Wraith is a poor choice when fighting Undead, Constructs, and other non-living opponents.”

Baroness Zahradnik nodded and moved on to the next area, clearing away the weak Undead. The beginnings of her formation started to manifest: three Undead Beasts – a bear, a cow and a boar – a half dozen Skeleton Archers, three Wights and a Ghast. After using them in the next battle, she stopped picking up Wights.

“These Wights aren’t hitting as hard as they should,” she said.

“The Wights here should be around Level Nine or Ten, but their attacks are split between a physical and energy drain component. Their signature ability is turning any Humans or Demihumans that they kill into Wights, which makes them quite efficient against groups of weak opponents that they can turn. It won’t work here, however.”

Ainz looked over the Undead soldiers she had arranged, nodding silently to himself.

“Aside from that, it appears you have a good grasp on how to best use various Undead against the Undead.”

The Undead Beasts worked as a solid front line, while the Ghasts made for manoeuvrable offensive strikers. If left to their own devices, mindless Undead prioritized attacks against the nearest opponent that they could harm, and the zombified Undead Beasts made for ideal meatshields. She was struggling with how to employ the Skeleton Archers, however, as they weren’t exactly sharpshooters and were as likely to hit friend as foe when releasing arrows into the melee. Ainz was curious how she would ultimately address that problem.

Several Skeleton Mages were added to her growing forces, but they were used conservatively. The Baroness turned a dubious frown upon the line of casters.

“I’m divided on how useful these Skeleton Mages are…”

Hey, I’m a Skeleton Mage too!

“Is there a problem with them?” He asked.

“I’m not sure if I would call it a problem, Your Majesty,” she answered, “but magic casters tend to have issues with endurance. From what I’ve read on the topic, arcane casters in armies are employed to make decisive strikes or are held in reserve for problematic opponents. Those specialized in Abjuration, Enchantment and Transmutation provide support from well behind friendly lines. Regardless of their role, however, mana regeneration is a universal issue.”

“I see…the considerations that an army commander must make for magic casters factor in multiple battles and extended campaigns. Mana enters into your logistical calculations rather than in Adventurer terms where it is more likely that the outcomes of single fights weigh more heavily.”

“With the New Adventurer Guild’s expeditions,” the Baroness replied, “mana management has become a broad logistical concern as well. But yes, the old way that Adventurers once saw things doesn’t work for an army. Even against one of the Undead here with weak Damage Reduction, a single hit from a Ghast hurts about as much as a single Magic Arrow from these Skeleton Mages. A Ghast can keep attacking until they perish, while a Skeleton Mage is limited by their mana. With this being the case, it’s better to hold Skeleton Mages in reserve to deal with threats that the Undead troops with mundane attacks cannot harm.”

As Baroness Zahradnik turned away to lead her ‘soldiers’ through the dusty surroundings of the settlement, the notion that she had been born and raised for life on the battlefield floated to the forefront of Ainz’s mind.

The decision of the NPCs to set her on the path of command was proving itself to be correct. She quickly absorbed and effectively integrated new information, applying it to her existing experience and knowledge. Her pragmatic and prudent approach to things swiftly swept aside hollow preconceptions and superstition. Combined with her stalwart nature, indomitable drive and apparent talent, Ainz had before him the opportunity to forge the first spear of the Sorcerous Kingdom.

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