Valkyrie's Shadow

Chapter 1

A black line slashed through the mist, widening into the portal of a Gate spell. Through it, issued the telltale tread of metallic Death Knight steps, but first came a figure cloaked in a rich green mantle. At her sudden appearance, the mists roiled away into the darkness, but the figure’s stride was uninterrupted as she lightly made her way along the pier to the vessel awaiting beyond.

Several moments later, a half dozen Death Knights stepped through the Gate. A figure adorned in hooded midnight robes followed after, as tall as the Death Knights that came before.

A tattered stole of ancient, yellowed cloth was draped over its shoulders, with glowing crimson symbols running along its length. In the crook of its left arm, it held a monstrous black tome clasped and bound with wicked ornaments and twisted black metal. Those who gazed fearfully upon it might wonder what evil would be unleashed upon opening its cover.

In the grasp of its wickedly-gauntleted right hand was the handle of a massive flail. The jagged blades of the flanged head dangling upon its chain issued shadowy vapours as it swayed back and forth like an unholy censer.

If the Undead beings that came before were Death Knights, then one could only look to what followed and call it a Death Priest.

A second Death Priest appeared beside the first, and they joined the Death Knights as they divided themselves into two columns of four. The grim procession took their places to either side of the Gate, forming an aisle between them.

It was only then that the Sorcerer King arrived, emerging into the stillness of the Katze Plains in all of his dark majesty. At his side walked the crimson-armoured figure of Shalltear Bloodfallen. Six Vampire Brides followed in their wake.

The Gate silently closed behind them as they made their way towards the pier. Ainz glanced at the Undead lined up on either side of his path.

In addition to having the new equipment made, he had gone to check if any urgent matters required his attention. After that, he went to the Fifth Floor to expend his daily uses of low and middle-tier Undead creation. With the Baroness’ inquiry over healers in mind, as well as the recent requests by the Royal Army to make other Death-series servitors available, Ainz created a couple of Death Priests and brought them along for testing.

He frowned over the low-effort naming sense of Yggdrasil’s developers. There were several types of Death-series servitors available. Each represented a role that might be found in a party: Knights were tanks, Cavaliers were Cavalry, Warriors were offensive Fighters, Assassins were combat-oriented Rogues, Wizards were arcane casters and Priests were divine casters. As if those names weren’t lazy enough, someone had slapped ‘Death’ to the front of them all and called it a day. A couple of them did sound pretty imposing, but when one threw all of the names together, it looked rather lame.

One levelled fairly quickly in Yggdrasil, so Players weren’t stuck with their mid-30s pets for long. In this world, however, he was stuck with them for good.

Not that it was an explicitly bad thing. In Yggdrasil, the racial skill that created Undead resulted in temporary summons. In this new world, he found that he could use a corpse to make them permanent. For some reason, he could not create permanent high-level Undead using the same method, but the rest still served for various purposes.

Ainz made his way forward on unhurried steps, maintaining his regal gait before one noblewoman, one Floor Guardian, some pop NPCs and his Undead servitors. Upon taking his seat on their transport, the Vampire Brides boarded, then the Death Priests and the Death Knights. The six Death Knights lined themselves up on either side of the hold while the Death Priests stood with their backs to the mast, facing the bow and stern.

As the crew made preparations to resume their journey, one of the Elder Lich researchers from Ashurbanipal flew down to settle on the carpet rolled out before the throne-like couch.

“How are your studies going?” Ainz asked.

“We have learned much, oh Supreme One,” the Elder Lich answered with a bow of its head. “It is a specimen uncatalogued in this world thus far. What is to be done with it?”

The gargantuan Mimic essentially made up the basement of the tower. It could probably be excavated, but Ainz had no idea where to put it or what use it might have.

“We’ll leave it where it is for now,” he said. “Never mind any harm that might come to it, I doubt anyone will come this far into the region. Once you’ve sorted out the information gained here, draw up some proposals for how it might be utilized.”

“I hear you, Great Master,” the Elder Lich lowered its head. “Then, with your permission, my colleagues and I will be returning to Ashurbanipal.”

“Umu.”

The Undead researcher flew off, trailed by the figures of several others. Ainz turned his attention back to the activity on the ship. The knarr was about twenty metres long, so he thought that things would become slightly crowded with all the new passengers. Aside from the area in the hold in front of where he was seated, however, surprisingly little had changed.

He looked down to where the Vampire Brides had set up an area for attendants with two low tables.

Eh? Aren’t those kotatsu?

They almost certainly were. Just looking at the magical furniture from Yggdrasil made him want to go over and sit down. In addition to the two kotatsu, various shelves and cabinets had been installed in the spaces where the deck overhung the hold. The additional supplies they brought with them had all been neatly stored away.

Crimson lighting came to life below him, casting a lurid glow that diffused into the mist. With his seat where it was, Ainz wondered what he looked like right then.

“Shalltear…what are these additional arrangements?”

“I originally intended for Ludmila to act as a lady-in-waiting,” Shalltear replied. “With her working as the captain of your vanguard, however, I brought in more of my handmaidens to fill the role. The atmosphere here is so nice as well, so I thought they would enjoy it. That naturally led to them bringing a few things…”

Did their adventure just turn into a company trip? He eyed the Vampire Brides, who seemed to have made themselves quite comfortable. They weren’t really in the way, so Ainz figured that their presence was a good thing overall.

“Your consideration for your vassals pleases me, Shalltear,” he told her. “I hear they’ve worked quite hard on the transportation network.”

If the Undead truly enjoyed their time here, maybe he could build something. A spa? Or maybe a whole resort.

The number of intelligent Undead servitors in the Sorcerous Kingdom kept growing, so there might be some potential for Undead recreation. They would, of course, insist that they were perfectly happy toiling away, but they would probably also accept this sort of company-sponsored vacation if it was presented as a form of recognition for their services.

Would a hot spring work? One of the ones with different types of baths for different Undead. They could add some ping pong tables…

Over the next fifteen minutes, Ainz continued dreaming up his Katze resort. Maybe intelligent Undead from all over the world would come and visit. But how would they get here? The lands all around were populated by the living who harboured unthinking hatred for the Undead.

Hmm, that’s right – wasn’t there supposed to be some sort of strange ship wandering around here?

No signs of it had been noted so far. Then again, it wouldn’t leave any signs if it was a ghost ship or something along those lines.

The sight of the Death Warrior Captain and Baroness Zahradnik moving about the ship pulled Ainz out from his ruminations. It appeared that they were about ready to set sail. The two made their way up to the canopy, and the Captain saluted before moving to his place in the rear. The Baroness stood before Ainz, her forest green Mantle of Energy Resistance drawn tightly closed in front of her.

“All has been readied, Your Majesty,” she lowered her head. “We await your order to set sail.”

“Umu,” he nodded. “Are your Undead forces accounted for, Zahradnik-dono?”

“They will be marching along the riverbank. This ship is faster than they are, so it may take some time for them to catch up if we travel a fair distance without stopping.”

“That will be fine,” he replied. “As much as I look forward to how you do as a commander with the support of the Death Priests, there is no need to rush things. Exploration and discovery are to be savoured, and we have many days ahead of us.”

“Very good, Your Majesty.”

Ainz felt that he was becoming accustomed to how Baroness Zahradnik conducted herself. She seemed to be faring much better than before, though he still sometimes noticed her subtly-masked efforts to manage her reaction to him. His gaze travelled down the line of her cloak – he still hadn’t seen what she looked like in her new equipment.

“Were there any problems with the new magic items?” He asked.

“P-problems?” The Baroness looked up, “No, I was actually quite, erm, shocked when Lady Shalltear brought everything to the manor.”

I guess most people would be overwhelmed. It’s more powerful than a national regalia from around here…

Ainz was still deliberating over how powerful the items they would distribute to the locals should be. The Baroness’ equipment felt reasonable since she was a senior government official who had not only proven herself in many areas, but also served in hazardous settings. More importantly, her relationship with Shalltear meant that her existence was to be preserved. Several of the other NPCs also seemed to hold more regard for her than the average outsider.

The same equipment in the hands of an Adventurer, however, was far too much. Nearly every item they found on their expeditions would probably pale in comparison. This would, in turn, dampen any excitement over their discoveries and affect the morale of the Guild as a whole. Having them strive for the rare showpieces he considered before was likely the better option.

Cocytus’ commanders would require a certain degree of protection as well, so the matter of equipment became a delicate balancing act. The preservation of key personnel aside, suitable magic items would help members of various government institutions perform their roles. At the same time, however, they couldn’t steal the spotlight from the Adventurer Guild.

“In that case,” he said, “let’s see what it looks like.”

Visible hesitation came over the Baroness. After several moments, her cloak parted, revealing a dress fashioned in a vaguely militant style.

A copy of something Peroroncino made for Shalltear’s wardrobe?

In addition to her combat equipment, Ainz instructed Shalltear to come up with a defensive set for her civilian work. It would also double as protection if she went to foreign lands as a dignitary. The outfit suited her well and fit in well for what he had observed of court fashions in the region.

“You included the boots from the other set?” He asked Shalltear.

“Pandora’s Actor said that they match both outfits, and I agree.”

Without the metal sollerets of her combat equipment covering them, it did appear to be the case.

An upgrade to the Boots of Striding that the Baroness had lost, her new Boots of Swiftness doubled one’s self-powered travel rate. It also enhanced balance, jumping, climbing and any sort of acrobatics if she performed those. In addition, it provided a modest bonus to her dexterity, which affected coordination, agility, and precision. Three times per day, the item could be activated for a two-minute duration Haste effect.

He spotted a few more Artifact-type items that were also shared between sets, most of them accessories. The Mantle of Energy Resistance also numbered amongst them.

“There were no issues equipping everything?”

“None, Your Majesty.”

“Good.”

Strangely enough, they had never tested whether Humans here could wear equipment in every slot that Yggdrasil characters could. That it was possible was simply an assumption since so many other things appeared to be similar. The closest thing was having some Lizardmen equip items when they participated in the Martial Arts experiments performed over a year ago.

“If there are no problems with this set,” he said, “let’s take a look at the combat equipment.”

The Baroness silently nodded, then turned around. Beside Ainz, Shalltear snorted, and he turned at the sound.

“Is something the matter?”

“I wouldn’t say that anything is the matter, Ainz-sama,” Shalltear’s eyes glimmered as she smiled in amusement. “Ludmila is unaccustomed to using equipment with Quickswap properties, so she’s paranoid that she’ll forget to equip certain slots and expose something delicate along the way.”

In front of them, the noblewoman’s ears turned red.

“Can…can that happen?” Ainz asked.

As far as he knew, it couldn’t. Quickswap either allowed one to instantly unequip an item, or exchanged predetermined pieces of equipment with one another. Presumably, the civilian outfit and the armour set had been linked. When activated, the items’ Quickswap function would always work as intended.

“I’ve never had it happen,” Shalltear replied, “but it doesn’t keep her from worrying about it.”

After what felt like two or three minutes, the Baroness turned back to face him. A slight blush coloured her high cheekbones. She threw her mantle open, and her new glaive appeared in her right gauntlet. Even as she stood tall before him, the noblewoman’s gaze turned down shyly to the side.

She wore plate armour, but it did not have the bulk of the full plate suits that heavy infantry wore.

Her torso was armoured in two parts. The overlapping bands of a segmented plackart wrapped around her abdomen like a corset, while a cuirass and backplate encased her chest. A black gorget with silver trim protected her collar and lower neck. The bevor and helmet of the set appeared to be missing, replaced by a silvery circlet that wrapped around her brow.

When the set had been crafted, Ainz questioned this apparent lack of head protection. While the Undead were immune to critical hits, corporeal Undead would still suffer the loss of sensory function if the associated parts of the body were damaged. The answer, however, left him with even more questions and he could only accept that it worked for the time being.

Light pauldrons fitted closely over her shoulders and armpits, and intricately articulated couters protected her elbows, granting her a full range of motion with her arms. While her gauntlets and the lower canon of her vambraces fully covered her hands, wrists and forearms, the upper canon only covered the outside of her arms. The exposed portions of her arms revealed a black bodysuit beneath the armour.

Despite having so many different pieces, everything so far described – aside from the bevor and helmet – was a single piece of equipment that occupied the ‘body’ slot of a Yggdrasil character’s avatar. Much like how sollerets were worn over boots, ‘hand’ and ‘wrist’ slot items could be worn under what otherwise appeared to be a full suit of upper body armour.

Her ‘face’ slot was the cowl of her mantle, which was actually a separate item that improved her concealment skills. Shalltear put forward the notion that, since the Baroness was also a Ranger, she might be able to conceal herself even when in the middle of a battlefield. This would in turn give her additional leeway to take in her surroundings and issue orders, as well as making it more difficult to physically detect her if she wasn’t fighting.

Two of her three miscellaneous ‘accessory’ slots were occupied by an upgrade to her destroyed necklace and the borrowed flight hairpin. The third was an ear cuff – she hadn’t pierced her ears before she died and rose as a Revenant, so any attempts at piercing them simply regenerated.

For the Baroness’ ‘leg’ slot, sollerets, greaves and poleyns went over her thigh-high boots and stockings. Tassets strapped to her faulds hung over both hips. They covered the two Infinite Haversacks on her belt, turning them into makeshift armoured pockets. Aside from the tassets and faulds, only a white pleated skirt with frills of black lace was draped over her bare thighs.

Functionally speaking, it was an arrangement common to cavalry armour. Wearing the lower body armour of heavy infantry made it next to impossible to ride a mount, and freeing up the legs made it easier to both ride and control one. It also happened to result in the ‘absolute territory’ that several of his guildmates fancied in female outfits, which was probably one of the reasons why Peroroncino had picked out the armour that Baroness Zahradnik’s equipment was modelled after.

“Umu,” Ainz nodded. “As expected, it looks good on you. You present quite the striking image now.”

The young noblewoman started to fidget at his assessment, though Ainz thought there was nothing for her to be embarrassed about.

It was surprisingly conservative for something that reflected Peroroncino’s tastes. Aside from her visible head and the ‘absolute territory’ between the frills of her skirt and the tops of her stockings, no skin was visible. Peroroncino had some sort of strange theory about certain ‘types’ being more enticing with less exposure, and excitement being magnified as one anticipated the inevitable removal of their equipment…

Ainz shook away the memory. Why did he always remember Peroroncino’s perverted ravings while useful bits of information from other guildmates had been long forgotten?

Admittedly, Baroness Zahradnik was one of the ‘types’ that Peroroncino had described: a proud young woman who was virtuous, upright and resolute. Even before donning her new equipment, she exuded the same sort of atmosphere. Now, it was immeasurably enhanced.

The brilliant white armour with its conservative silver and black trim, along with the holy-attributed glaive in her hand, presented the image of a pure and valiant female warrior. The Baroness bore a striking resemblance to the princess knights from Peroroncino’s expansive eroge collection.

Ah–

“I think I figured out what the ‘KH’ in the set’s name means…”

“What might that be, Ainz-sama?” Shalltear asked.

“Considering this look,” he answered, “it should be ‘Kishi Hime’, right? Princess Knight.”

Their gazes went to the fidgeting noblewoman, then back to one another.

“Ah, that makes perfect sense, arinsu!” Shalltear brightened, “As expected of Ainz-sama! Only the one who leads the Supreme Beings could understand the thoughts of another Supreme Being, arinsu!”

He didn’t want to understand. In fact, he was ashamed that he could decipher an acronym derived from one of Peroroncino’s fetishes. All that was left was the ‘Y’…

Nope. He didn’t want to think about it. In the process of thinking about not thinking about it, however, he suddenly realized what it meant. He resisted the urge to bury his face in his palm.

Still…the image was perfect. Too perfect.

“Your selection was right on the mark,” he told Shalltear. “I doubt even Peroroncino-san could have done better.”

Shalltear’s crimson eyes widened, then she quickly lowered her head.

“Y-your words are too much for this humble servant, arinsu!”

Ainz gave the Baroness a final once-over before directing his vision towards the ruins on the shore. Though there had been some minor occurrences and various learning experiences, they had uncovered nothing of the region’s past. The last two days yielded no texts, no items, nor anything at all that might have provided them with a window to its history. There was nothing but dust and rubble.

He leaned forward intently, following the river’s dark waters until it vanished into the mists beyond. There had to be something, somewhere – and finding it would be their challenge.

“It’s high time we move on,” he said. “There’s a mystery waiting to be solved.”

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