57 New World XX
Helios was seated on a chair inside his office. At the same time, Solution was serving him tea and snacks. Albedo was standing beside him while Malachar was standing before his table.
"And according to the information I received from one of the members of the Army of Death, an adventurer team known as Shadow's Blades has recently become an Adamantite-ranked adventurer team."
I was shocked to hear this. In the original series, there wasn't any mention of an Adamantite-ranked adventurer team from E-Naeurl. This further proved the point that this, indeed, was an AU. Which meant I needed to be careful. I was confident in my power to defeat anyone under Rank 9, but still, caution should be exercised.
"Do you know their names?"
I asked Malachar in a carefree manner while sipping on some tea.
"Yes, I believe their leader is called Mara, a warrior; Faela, the scout and ranger of the team; Kellan, the team's mage; and Lorik, the team's priest."
"Hmm, seems like a well-balanced party. Keep an eye on them; they might prove valuable in spreading the fear."
I spoke while scratching my chin.
"Understood, also, the Army of Death is done preparing for the final assault on the Corpus of the Abyss' HQ. What is your command for one known as Saintes?"
Malachar had already informed me of the Saintes. According to the information, she was able to turn herself into a type of undead known as Chimeric Undead. While to the residents of this world, it might have seemed like a powerful undead; she was a mere pawn at best in the grand scheme of things.
And I am not talking about her current power. Chimeric Undeads were one of the most common types of undead in the Underworld.
The Underworld was a realm for the undead. In my past life, I had many run-ins with its leader. Now, Chimeric Undead has the potential to reach peak Rank 6 at most.
"They can kill her; I have no need of her in my plans," I replied nonchalantly.
"Understood, then if you allow me, I'd like to take my leave."
He spoke while bowing a little. "You are dismissed," I said while sipping from the cup.
'I should also get going. It's almost time to move on to the next part of the plan. But before that,'
I looked toward Solution while thinking. She was wearing her iconic maid outfit. After the news of Albedo's and mine union spread through Nazarick, many of the members of the Pleiades and other females from the tomb are vying for my attention.
So, today, I decided to grant someone their wish.
"Hey, Albedo. Want to take a bath?" I asked while looking toward Albedo.
"Sure, darling. Let me get ready," She enthusiastically spoke.
I then turned toward Solution and spoke.
"And Solution, follow us to the bath. I want you to bathe me."
"It will be my honor, Lord Helios," Solution replied, a mixture of professionalism and a subtle eagerness in her voice.
~Scene Change~
"Now, start casting the spell," Hermione spoke while sitting on a chair. Before her, Nemu was preparing to cast a spell. They both were in the testing room of Hogwarts. She was trying to cast a spell from the book about the Spirit Magic Helios had given her.
"Got it, teach," Nemu replied enthusiastically.
She was trying to cast a summoning spell to summon a spirit and form a contract with it. The power and quality of the summoned spirit were based on the amount of MP and the aptitude of the summoner.
A magic circle manifested on the floor.
"Come, the superior spirit of the four elements, heed my call and answer my summon!"
Nemu continued chanting the chant for the spell. As she neared its end, the magic circle began to shift. Four other magic circles, each shining in distinctive colors of Blue, Red, Yellow, and Green, manifested in the cardinal directions of the original magic circle.
"Come to me!" Nemu ended her chant, and the magic circles began to shine brightly. A purple Aura began to leave Nemu's body and travel toward the central magic circle. It was her MP, and she was offering 95% of it to summon a powerful spirit.
A few seconds later, the magic circles shattered, and a beautiful lady stood in their place. She had green hair, green eyes, and a lithe physique. She was the Greater Spirit of 4 elements, known as Titania. A sigil appeared on Nemu's right hand because the bond between Nemu and Titania had already been formed.
She now could use elemental spells up to 7th-tier. She then raised her right hand toward Titania so the sigil faced her.
Titania's body transformed into motes of light and traveled toward the sigil and entered it. After the last speck of light entered it, Nemu turned toward Hermione and skipped toward her.
"Did you see it, teach? I was able to summon a greater spirit!" She excitedly shouted while stopping near Hermione.
Her excitement was valid because she could summon a Greater Spirit on her first try. Spirits were divided into four stages;
Lesser Spirits -> Greater Spirits -> True Spirits -> Ancestral Spirits.
Nemu knew about the different levels of the spirits due to the book Helios had given her.
"I saw; well done. But don't let it get to your head."
"Ok."
Hermione nodded and got up from her seat. Because it was still early in the morning, she decided to teach Nemu about different elemental spells.
"Let's head to the classroom there; I will teach you some elemental spells."
Saying this, she exited the training room with Nemu in tow. Their first stop was the library, where most of the magic tomes and spells books were stored.
They both entered the library and began traveling toward a specific section where books regarding elemental magic were stored.
Hermione stood before a bookshelf and raised her hand. Immediately, a book began to float down from its previous location toward her hand. This was a feature that Momonga made.
After getting the book, she opened it and began reading its contents. Nemu was inspecting the sigil on her hand. Because the spirit has inhabited it, they could not telepathically communicate with each other.
"What tier of magic could you use?"
"I can use spells up to 8th-tier with ease."
"That's cooool! How long do you think it will take me to learn spells of that tier?"
"You'll be able to cast them soon enough."
Titania replied in an androgynous voice.
"You think so?" Nemu asked while holding her excitement.
"Yeah, just keep training, and you'll be able to cast higher-tier spells in no time."
Nemu and Titania kept talking about magic while Hermione searched different books to find the correct one.
"Finally found the one. Let's go."
Hermione spoke while turning toward the library's exit. Nemu also began following her. They kept venturing through the empty halls of Hogwarts before reaching the classroom.
The classroom was filled with benches, a table for the teacher, and a blackboard. Nemu quickly entered it and sat on one of the benches to the front while Hermione walked to the table and began teaching Nemu about a few elemental spells.
The book Helios gave Nemu focused on the fundamentals of Spirit Magic rather than individual spells. Nemu knew how to use Spirits to augment her spells and make them more powerful, but didn't know many elemental spells.
~Scene Change~
Enri sat in her humble shack on the 11th floor, methodically cleaning her blade. A faint, content smile graced her lips, resulting from the praise she had earned from her master. According to her master, she had transcended above what a typical human could achieve.
When Helios used the ritual to transfer the stats from a Player to her, her level was 74. But after training and battles with high-level monsters, her level naturally grew to 76, and she even unlocked another Job Class.
Even though she was a human, she could level up like a Player. The ritual Helios used was partly to blame because while transferring cultivation/stats from one party to another, it also transferred a part of their talent and bloodline to the other party. This meant that Enri was a part Player like the God Kins from the Slane Theocracy, but because the bloodline content in her was purer than those God Kins, she could level up more quickly.
This proved Helios' hypothesis that there was a limiter placed on humans, due to which they weren't able to level up efficiently. According to him, this could be due to the faulty implementation of the Leveling System or meddling from the Dragon Lords.
Back to Enri cleaning her blade, she was instructed by her master to be ready for an excursion in the coming few days. She didn't know what to expect from it, but she was excited, nonetheless.
She was also excited to test her new Job Class; she unlocked it while fighting a high-level monster. It was called Arcane Duelist. It allowed her to augment her physical stats by using MP.
'Just a few more years, then I will show you true despair.'
She thought while cleaning her blade. She hadn't forgotten her true purpose of pursuing power. That was to make the Slane Theocracy pay. Finishing the cleaning ritual, she gently set her sword aside, rising from her seat with purpose. It was time for training.
With refreshed vigor, she cleansed her face and donned fresh attire. Sliding her sword into its sheath, she exited her dwelling and used her ring to teleport to the 6th floor.
She was using a modified version of the Ring of Ainz Ooal Gown; it allowed her to teleport to any floor, excluding 8th and 10th.
She appeared on the 6th floor colosseum, where her master, Helios, awaited her. She respectfully approached him and bowed when she reached him.
"Greetings, Master Helios."
"At ease, Enri."
He spoke nonchalantly; to some, his tone might sound like he wasn't interested or somewhat angry, but Enri knew it was nothing of that sort.
She stopped bowing and looked toward Helios' eyes.
"Hit my hand without using your weapon or skills; I want to see where you stand."
He spoke while opening his right hand and aimed the palm toward me.
"Understood, Master."
She took a stance to punch his opened palm. She knew he was way more powerful than her; even her full-powered attack wouldn't scratch him.
After she had prepared, she punched his palm with her full strength. As her punch traveled, it formed a whirlpool around it, attracting dust from the callosum floor.
As her punch connected with Helios' palm, all the dust exploded in a small explosion.
"You certainly have improved."
He spoke while waving his hands to clear the dust.
"Now, attack me while using your new Job Class."
He again pointed his open palm toward Enri, who took a stance to attack while using the only skill from her new Job Class.
"Augment."
To Be Continued…
