"Hmm?"
In the grasslands, Riezel suddenly felt something that caused his brow to twitch slightly.
He could sense that, shortly after he unleashed Arcs Ray, a wave of magical energy suddenly descended from the sky, sweeping out in all directions.
It wasn't exactly aimed at him but radiated outward in all directions.
'He must be checking for an ambush, wondering if it's just me or if there are others hiding.'
Riezel could vaguely guess the protagonist's intentions, so he didn't rush and just quietly stood in place, waiting.
However, what made him uneasy was that the protagonist didn't seem rushed at all. Not only did he avoid hurrying down, but he also continuously used several magic spells, letting his magical energy radiate outward.
With his senses, Riezel could only faintly identify that, among the magic spells he detected, some could hinder detection, some would trigger upon detecting any anomalies, and others could nullify stealth or invisibility.
Needless to say, the protagonist in the sky was extremely cautious, setting up all sorts of magic on himself. Just the ones Riezel could recognize numbered several, and the ones he couldn't identify were probably even more.
Riezel felt somewhat speechless.
He remembered that the protagonist in the original work was indeed a very cautious person, to the point of being overly careful.
However, knowing that was one thing, but facing such a situation in person was another.
'Looks like we're completely incompatible types, huh...'
Riezel was someone who disliked the status quo, loved seeking thrills, and was willing to take risks that others would find terrifying. Meeting the protagonist, who was cautious to a ridiculous extent even after reaching the maximum level as a player, was simply a mismatch.
Despite this, Riezel didn't show his feelings and continued standing patiently in place, appearing calm and composed on the surface.
In this situation, however, the protagonist still showed no intention of coming down.
About fifteen minutes later, Riezel sensed that many beings had arrived nearby and were approaching him silently, like a pack of wolves hiding in the forest, surrounding him.
Among them, several beings fell within Riezel's Transparent World, emitting a sense of power that could threaten him.
'Guardians...'
Riezel remembered the term from the original work.
Although the so-called 'Guardian' was the generic term used to refer to guards in the original work, what Riezel meant by 'Guardian' was the strongest group of NPCs in the Great Tomb of Nazarick.
According to the original work, the Great Tomb of Nazarick was originally a dungeon until it was occupied by the heteromorphic race-only guild, Ainz Ooal Gown, which transformed the dungeon into a ten-floor fortress, each with its own unique features.
In the Great Tomb of Nazarick, the first to third floors were genuine graves, the fourth floor housed an underground lake, the fifth floor featured glaciers, the sixth floor was a jungle, the seventh floor contained lava, the eighth floor was a wilderness, the ninth floor was the royal suite, and the tenth floor was the throne room.
Meanwhile, the organizational structure of the Great Tomb of Nazarick was quite strict.
At the top were the forty-one guild members of Ainz Ooal Gown, known as the 'Supreme Beings', and below them were the NPCs created by these guild members.
Although the NPCs held equal status among themselves, there was a hierarchy due to their different roles.
In this hierarchy, the Guardians were the highest-ranking among the NPCs, second only to the forty-one Supreme Beings.
In the Great Tomb of Nazarick, the Guardians were divided into two types.
One type was the 'Floor Guardian', responsible for one or several floors, while the other type was the 'Area Guardian', who safeguarded specific areas on each floor.
Since Area Guardians were managed by the Floor Guardians and tasked with protecting designated areas, when Guardians were mentioned in the Great Tomb of Nazarick, it typically referred to the Floor Guardians.
Each of them was a Level 100 NPC, some even stronger than the players, including the protagonist, who ruled the Great Tomb of Nazarick.
Now, this group of powerful beings seemed to gather here, surrounding Riezel with countless heteromorphs from the Great Tomb of Nazarick.
'Interesting...'
Riezel smiled slightly, no longer feeling puzzled.
In the next moment, he turned his head and gazed in the direction of several invisible beings radiating a particularly strong sense of power, gently raising and waving his hand.
*Whoosh!*
In that instant, the beings seemed to be stirred into a state of vigilance, each releasing subtle, murderous auras.
However, their murderous auras differed from those of humans, carrying an evil, ominous presence and a sense of decay, reminiscent of demons from hell unleashing their malice upon the world.
Nevertheless, their murderous auras arrived quickly and faded just as fast.
Because, just then, a voice interrupted, causing all the beings to withdraw their murderous auras.
"Sorry to keep you waiting."
As this deep yet commanding voice echoed across the grasslands, two figures descended from the sky.
One was a towering warrior clad in full black armor, while the other was a man dressed in a suit, resembling a businessman.
Yes, they were none other than Momonga and Demiurge.
At this moment, Momonga wore a full-coverage helmet, completely hiding every part of his body within the armor and leaving no gaps.
Meanwhile, Demiurge's face was no longer the frog-like visage but had a distinctly Eastern appearance, featuring neatly combed black hair and round glasses—even his wings and tail were concealed, showing no signs of his true race.
However, Riezel quickly noticed that Demiurge's body was actually under some kind of illusion. Even though Demiurge had retracted his wings, he couldn't hide his tail voluntarily, so he relied on illusion magic to cover it up.
Momonga, on the other hand, not only donned armor that obscured any signs of being undead but there was also faint magical energy at work, clearly using some magic to block all forms of surveillance magic on him.
"Was that magic just now your doing?"
Momonga immediately asked a question, as if he didn't want to give Riezel much time to observe them.
"If so, that was quite a creative way to say hello, but I can't help but wonder what your true intentions are in doing that."
Surprisingly, there was no trace of hostility in Momonga's words—or rather, it seemed like he was showing a bit of goodwill, interpreting Riezel's actions as simply a way of 'saying hello'.
Clearly, Momonga didn't want to make an enemy out of Riezel—at least, he didn't want to be at odds with anyone for no reason.
No choice.
Considering that the Great Tomb of Nazarick had just been transported to this world and Momonga had little understanding of it, he aimed to avoid making enemies and conflicts with others to stay on the safe side.
Even though he was Level 100 and had all the NPCs of the Great Tomb of Nazarick at his command, forming a force that was astonishingly powerful in this world, he didn't want to be impulsive.
After all, who knew if there was someone above Level 100 in this world?
What if Level 100 in this world was actually common?
What if he and his guild were actually pretty weak in this world?
Seeing the young man in front of him daring to travel alone across these vast grasslands, he might be Level 100 or 200, right?
No, it could be even more than that.
Perhaps this young man was someone at Level 400 or 500?
At this moment, the Supreme Being of the Great Tomb of Nazarick, Momonga, felt a surge of caution. He had even stealthily pulled a teleportation item from his inventory, ready to escape at any moment.
If necessary, he could even use cash items.
As everyone knew, in any online game, it was only through whaling that you became strong!
Momonga, being a heavy whaler, wasn't worried at all.
No, maybe he was a little worried.
'I'm just a salaryman, dammit! Why do I have to deal with this kind of pressure?!'
Just as Momonga complained inwardly and desperately held back the urge to roll around, Riezel finally spoke.
"Heh, that's a strange thing to say..." Riezel said with a light chuckle, calmly staring at Momonga. "If you see a suspicious shadow flying above your head, you obviously want to swat it down, wouldn't you?"
"Hmm... that's true..." Momonga didn't argue with Riezel's statement and deliberately followed his train of thought. "Now that you've seen the true form of the suspicious shadow, what do you think?"
"Well, it's not like I have no thoughts on it..." Riezel replied, his expression as calm as a still pond. "In a place like this, at this time of night, seeing someone suspicious flying in midair makes me really curious about your background."
"Oh? If that's the case, aren't you just as suspicious, wandering around in a place like this alone at night?" Momonga retorted calmly.
"Can't help it." Riezel shrugged casually. "What can I say? I'm an adventurer and an information dealer, after all."
As soon as Momonga heard this, it stirred something within him.
"I see... so you're an information dealer?"
As Momonga looked at Riezel, it seemed like the gaze hidden beneath his helmet shifted.
If someone suddenly got transported to an unknown, new world, what would they need the most?
Information.
In such a situation, having an information dealer appear before them was like a timely downpour.
Momonga didn't realize that this was exactly the reaction Riezel wanted to see.
"Well, being an information dealer is my side job, while my main job is being an adventurer." Riezel continued, suddenly smiling at Momonga. "That's why I travel alone in desolate places like this. I gather information on hidden treasures, ruins, or artifacts that no one knows about."
"Umu, what a coincidence..." Momonga lowered his head as if to hide his thoughts. "We're actually travelers who accidentally wandered into this area, and we happen to be troubled about how to deal with the current situation. We want to know which way to go next and where we are."
"Oh? Really?" Riezel smiled knowingly.
"Yes." Momonga calmly nodded and extended a hand. "So, may I ask what kind of price I would need to pay for your information? If the price is right, would it be possible for us to purchase some information we need?"
Upon hearing this, Riezel understood that he had accomplished half of his goal.
Needless to say, this was exactly the development he had wanted.