Valkyrie's Shadow

Chapter 4

The Baroness licked her lips nervously.

“What must I do, Your Majesty?”

“It will be a straightforward matter,” Ainz said. “We will determine your traits one at a time, creating a concrete profile to work with. However, you will take damage during our investigation of your resistances, elemental weaknesses and such. This will not be a problem, as Shalltear is present to restore your health or deal with any conditions that you receive.”

At least he hoped it would be a straightforward matter. His basic tests would be simple, but there was no telling what might result. A defensive ability might activate, or some racial trait could result in various effects.

“Very well,” Baroness Zahradnik nodded. “Thank you for your offer of assistance, Your Majesty.”

“There is no need to be so polite,” he told her. “This may take a while, and engaging in courteous discourse at every point will delay our proceedings significantly. Let us begin with a review of what you have already discovered.”

The Baroness turned her head slightly, as if trying to look around herself through her blindfold.

“Lady Shalltear,” she said after a moment. “I’m not confident that I possess the appropriate terminology to describe everything…”

“Ludmila displays many basic Undead traits,” Shalltear said. “She has an Undead reaction when examined with the appropriate skills or spells, does not physically tire, is healed by negative energy and harmed by positive energy. She does not need to eat or sleep, though she can do so if she wants…for some reason, she outwardly displays Human characteristics: her body is warm, she has a pulse and can emit the various bodily fluids of living Humans.”

Ainz leaned back in his seat, steeping his fingers as he listened. The latter third of the described traits instantly struck the Baroness off of the list of all Undead that he knew of. No, that wasn’t quite right – despite his own Undead state, the personality and reactions of Suzuki Satoru still existed, and he still acted very much like a Human in many ways. Could it be something like that? It was possible that her former Human identity could express itself more strongly with a flesh and blood body compared to his skeletal frame.

“How about Undead traits and abilities that suppress emotions and translate damage?”

“There is no sign that she possesses emotional suppression, even when she is…distressed to the point where she can’t function properly. As for how she perceives damage, I poured a healing potion on her hand and it burned a hole straight through, arinsu. She didn’t snatch her hand back or scream as a Human would.”

“I was aware that I was being hurt,” the Baroness clarified, “but I felt…detached from it. The pain was not pain – more like a sense of being harmed expressed in a sensation that Humans experience. I hope that at least made some sense.”

“I understand what you’re trying to say,” Ainz replied. “There is nothing wrong with what you felt, Zahradnik-dono: this is how Undead register damage. Since you were formerly Human, it may seem strange to you and you may even react in very Human-like ways if the stimulation is significant enough. Tell me – do you know what damage means to an Undead being?”

Baroness Zahradnik was silent for a moment.

“As I understand it,” she said carefully, “Undead are animated by negative energy. Some Undead have bodily weaknesses, like Zombies having their heads destroyed. For the most part, however, this damage is not physical harm but depletion of the negative energy that animates us.”

“Hoh…is that something you came to realize on your own, or is it knowledge derived from local lore?”

“I’ve done some research to better grasp the nature of the Undead servitors that work in my demesne. There are also plenty of opportunities to observe the Undead in the Adventurer Training Area. Upon becoming Undead myself, I was able to clearly understand much of what I learned beforehand.”

“So you know that Undead do not suffer critical hits – mortal wounds and damage that disables bodily functions – as the living do. But you must also be careful of this same fact.”

The noblewoman standing before him furrowed her brow behind her blindfold.

“What does that mean, Your Majesty?”

Ainz raised a hand to stroke his chin.

“Hmm…let us put this in simple numerical terms, shall we? Say that the sum of negative energy that animates you is capable of withstanding 100 damage – 100 health, if you will. Now along comes an enemy with a sword that deals 10 damage per strike. As a Human, being stabbed in the heart would result in a critical hit and you would most likely be finished unless you had something or someone to heal you. As an Undead, you’d simply take 10 damage. Do you follow me so far?”

Baroness Zahradnik nodded. Ainz continued with his example.

“The catch is that, barring the parts of your body that count as natural weapons or something similar – teeth, nails, hair and the like – this weapon will deal 10 damage wherever it strikes you, reducing your overall pool of health. If a Human was stabbed in the foot by this sword multiple times, there would be a point where there wouldn’t be any additional damage from subsequent blows – the foot would already be ruined. Undead, however, do not work that way. Every nick, scratch and cut will deduct your total pool of health. Being stabbed in the foot by this sword 10 times would result in 100 damage and you would perish.”

“Truly?” The Baroness frowned.

“Truly,” Ainz smirked. “Silly, no? It is something I find that people around here rarely, if at all, consider. As a former Human, it is something very important that you should understand. Your approach to combat must change. Wounds once considered mortal and debilitating can be received to no more effect than if you were wounded anywhere else, but the damage that you would have once shrugged off will add up and become fatal, despite not hampering your capabilities.”

“What about amputations?” She asked, “Can Undead be destroyed by damaging detached body parts?”

“Generally speaking, no, but there are Undead that can exist as a set of detached pieces. Those ones can be damaged in the way you describe, but it is often easier said than done.”

“I see. Thank you, Your Majesty,” the Baroness lowered her head. “As you say, this is not something that I would have considered. I’m not certain where to begin for the moment, but I will work on amending my combat style.”

“Good,” Ainz replied. “It would be mortifying if one of the Sorcerous Kingdom’s nobles died because someone kept poking them in the arm. Now, what else have you discovered?”

“After taking damage from the healing potion,” Shalltear said, “her wounds quickly closed.”

“Regeneration?”

“I believe so,” Shalltear nodded. “Her health returned to full, according to my Life Essence. It’s not quite as good as a Vampire’s, but the rate is still significant.”

I guess someone repeatedly poking her in the arm wouldn’t kill her…wouldn’t people usually mention something like this, first?

Barring some of the strangeness revolving around her formerly Human state and identity, of which no associated mechanics in Yggdrasil existed, her ability to regenerate was the first trait that went towards narrowing down what race she might be. There were, however, still many possibilities – especially if one considered that Undead in this world did not necessarily appear as they did in the game.

“Have you tested what types of damage stop her regeneration?”

“We have not, Ainz-sama. I thought it would be the usual things, but I didn’t want to check and have something accidentally happen that would interfere with her duties.”

Unlike Trolls, whose regeneration was disabled by fire and acid damage, Undead could vary quite widely. Fire and Holy damage, however, were probably safe guesses.

“We’ll investigate that later during our resistance tests,” he said. “What else is known?”

Several moments passed, and Shalltear remained silent. Was that really all? If it was him, he would have investigated his new racial in every way he could think of at the first opportunity.

“I can’t be sure of this,” Baroness Zahradnik said, “but I may be stronger than I was as a Human. I’ve experienced death before, and understand that resurrections leave one weaker than they were before. I cannot tell if I lost levels when I died and rose as one of the Undead, or if I simply rose as one of the Undead, retaining my levels and thus a similar amount of strength.”

She had a good point. There were no status screens or other convenient ways to discern one’s stats at a glance. Something else the Baroness said stuck out to him.

“Did you just say ‘levels’?”

“I did, Your Majesty.”

“How much do you know about them?”

“Only as much as I’ve heard from Lady Shalltear, Lord Mare and several others. As I understand it, levels are a way to quantify strength and vocational expertise, like how the Adventurer Guild uses Difficulty Ratings and various benchmarks by trade guilds are established. One gains levels in ‘classes’, which broadly represent one’s capabilities in the aspects related to that class.”

It was the most solid grasp on Yggdrasil’s class and level system Ainz had heard from a native of this world.

“It is not so easy to understand for most,” he said. “The Adventurer Guild, for instance, still prefers to use their established Difficulty Rating system. How is it that you are able to grasp levels and their related concepts when others struggle with the very idea?”

“It is…my faith, Your Majesty.”

“Your faith?”

The sound of the waves lapping against the sides of the ship filled the silence as Baroness Zahradnik appeared to hesitate with her answer.

“The tenets of our faith – our scriptures – convey the wisdom of the gods. The practices of the faithful are an attempt to follow the scriptures: to live lives that adhere to that wisdom. The results of our practices demonstrably prove that our scriptures are correct, and by correlating what I already understood with the knowledge provided by the Sorcerous Kingdom, I have been able to enact plans for my demesne with confidence.”

I guess Players have attempted to convey knowledge of Yggdrasil mechanics to the native population in the past. If that’s the case, why does it seem like most people are entirely ignorant of them? It’s not as if it’s difficult to prove…

“You’re using knowledge of classes and levels in your demesne?”

“Yes, Your Majesty,” the Baroness replied. “Though it is somewhat pointless trying to explain the details to each of my subjects, I’ve started to develop standards by which the progress of each vocation – and presumably their class levels – can be measured. I have also ensured that my subjects enjoy a comfortable standard of living. They will not feel the need to pursue other avenues of employment to make ends meet.”

“I see…by doing this, they will continue to advance in their careers, and thus the associated Job Class levels.”

“It appeared to be the best way to prevent build contamination amongst my subjects while maintaining a high degree of satisfaction.”

Build contamination…just how much Player terminology has she picked up?

“Umu.”

Ainz nodded, though he supposed that she couldn’t see him. Was the blindfold really necessary? The collar? It occurred to him how strange it was to be casually discussing things with a chained and blindfolded woman.

“I will be most interested in your results,” he said. “As for figuring out whether you lost levels: you are a Ranger, are you not?”

“…I see.”

Baroness Zahradnik turned to face the bow of the ship. Her hands came up to remove her blindfold.

“I’ve lost levels,” she said. “I once considered these Skeleton Warriors weaker than myself, but now I see them as slightly stronger.”

“It is common for Heteromorphic races to be far superior to Humans in raw, physical attributes,” Ainz told her. “On that note, you wear a Mithril tag. These Skeleton Warriors are Level 16. If you perceive them as being stronger than yourself, it means that you are at the lower edge of Platinum, at best.”

“I understand,” the Baroness replied. “I will report this to the Adventurer Guild upon our return.”

How upright. With that weird detection Ability, she reminds me more and more of Touch Me…without the useless cosmetic effects.

“Mah, we’ll see how strong you are by the time you get back. We’re going on a long journey, after all. You may gain a few levels in the process.”

The noblewoman blindfolded herself again and turned back to him with a straight face. Ainz started to feel like he was being pranked, but he pressed on.

“Since we’re on the topic of physical attributes, is there anything else that has changed in that regard?”

“I’m not sure whether this counts, but people say I appear more attractive now. That I’m more persuasive or charismatic.”

Enhanced strength and persuasive ability…regeneration…but she’s not a Vampire? What other Undead have that?

“Can you recall any point where this newfound charisma has tangibly affected anyone?”

“I do draw noticeably more attention than before if I’m not concealing my presence. I think Nabe of Darkness experienced its effects once.”

“You used a Skill on Nabe?” He frowned inwardly.

“We were just chatting,” she replied. “At one point, she appeared to realize that she had said more than she intended to, and she thought it was my doing.”

“What happened, then?”

“She berated me about not utilizing my Skills and Abilities properly.”

Ainz nodded silently. He knew they were acquainted from before, but Nabe still showed a degree of temperance that she did not have in the past. Being targeted by a Skill or Ability would have almost certainly elicited a violent response from her when they started Adventuring as Darkness.

“Nabe has a point,” he told her. “We Undead have access to many supernatural Skills and Abilities that you did not possess as a Human – you should be more aware of what you can potentially do from now on.”

“I will keep your words close to heart, Your Majesty,” she replied. “There was also something else discovered in my time together in Völkchenheim County with her.”

“Do tell.”

“There was an…incident. When we finally found and subdued the suspect that we were pursuing, Nabe wanted to punish him on the spot. I intercepted her spell, but I didn’t take any damage.”

Ainz’s crimson eyes flared, and he leaned forward in his seat intently.

“What was the name of the spell?”

“Shocking Grasp, maximized. When she reached out to touch the suspect, I put my arm out in front of her hand. The spell clearly struck me, but nothing happened.”

He reached into his inventory, pulling out one of the weapons he had crafted. The blade of the Adamantite dagger crackled with bright blue arcs of electricity.

“Let’s confirm your findings,” he said. “First, remove any equipment that might interfere with our observations.”

The Baroness pulled a ring off of her finger, and Ainz immediately felt her register to his Undead Blessing. In addition, several items glowed in his Arcane Vision.

I guess that explains that. She had a Ring of Non-detection.

“Should she strip completely, arinsuka?”

The young noblewoman blushed under her blindfold, and Ainz coughed at Shalltear’s suggestion.

“No, this is sufficient for our purposes. I only wanted to get anything that would prevent us from monitoring her condition out of the way. Is that ring something she received from you, Shalltear?”

“Yes, she didn’t want people to discover that she was Undead, and she thought it might cause a panic if the citizens saw that a Human had turned into one.”

“I see…well, keep track of any changes.”

“By your command, Ainz-sama.”

He turned his attention back to the Baroness. After a moment, he lowered the dagger. There was a more effective way to collect information available.

“Actually, there’s something I should have done first.”

“What might that be, Your Majesty?”

How would he present his reasoning? No, she had already resolved herself to exploring her new nature. By all appearances, she was also a loyal noble who would accede to his actions without question.

“I am going to dominate you.”

He raised his hand towards her. Rather than displaying hesitation or fear, a light flush travelled all the way to the tips of her ears. The Baroness’ lips parted, and her breathing picked up.

Eh? Why is she doing that…

Shalltear abruptly stepped forward, shoving her vassal to the side. The noblewoman stumbled away awkwardly, tripping over the railing with a cry. She fell into the river with a loud splash.

In front of him, Shalltear drew out another heavy black collar from her inventory, closing it over her neck with a loud click. She then produced a square of black cloth.

“Shalltear,” he asked as she blindfolded herself, “what are you doing?”

“I-If Ainz-sama desires this type of play, please allow me to be your partner!”

Ainz’s jaw fell open, and a single cry echoed in his mind.

Dammit, Peroroncino!