A moment later, Riezel finally responded.
"Didn't I already say? Being an information dealer is my side job."
"Detailed info on magic."
"Rare and unusual items."
"Priceless treasures."
"All of them are what I want, but the only question is... can you afford my price?"
Upon hearing this, Ainz's nonexistent brow furrowed deeply once again.
Ainz observed Riezel through the visor of his helmet, trying to see through his thoughts, but all he could make out was a calm and indifferent face, showing nothing more.
"Since you even know about the existence of YGGDRASIL, with all your knowledge of this world's so-called secrets, do you still need information about magic from me?" Ainz asked, his tone probing.
"Knowing is one thing, but understanding is a whole different matter. No matter how well I grasp Tier Magic, I can't compare with someone like you—a player from YGGDRASIL, right?"
Riezel spoke in a calm, almost indifferent tone.
"Besides, there's a rumor that YGGDRASIL has over six thousand magic spells. With that many, not even you can claim to fully understand every single one of them, can you?"
Ainz stayed silent, tacitly acknowledging Riezel's point.
"If you don't know how to set a price, then let me decide."
Seeing Ainz still indecisive, Riezel continued, extending a hand and holding up one finger toward him.
"First, as the fee for purchasing information from me, you need to pay me detailed information about one Super-Tier Magic, including but not limited to demonstrating its effects in person."
"Afterward, you can ask me any question, but for each question, I'll charge you detailed information about one hundred magic spells, also including but not limited to demonstrating their effects in person."
"If you can't meet the condition of demonstrating their effects in person, you'll need to use items that can fulfill this condition as payment, like magic scrolls, precious weapons, sealing crystals, and so on."
"Does that make things clearer?"
Needless to say, this was a price list entirely set by Riezel.
"Super-Tier Magic..." Ainz muttered, his focus immediately zeroing in on it.
"Yes, Super-Tier Magic." Riezel nodded calmly. "Someone like you should be able to afford that price, right?"
Super-Tier Magic was magic above 10th-Tier Magic and could typically only be used by players.
Even high-level NPCs couldn't normally acquire it, nor could items like sealing crystals contain such high-tier magic. Only players with magic-oriented job classes could learn it after reaching Level 70 in YGGDRASIL.
In other words, even in the Great Tomb of Nazarick, Ainz was the only one who could use Super-Tier Magic, and none of the other NPCs were capable of it. If this world didn't have another high-level player with a magic-oriented job class, he would be the only magic caster in this world who could wield Super-Tier Magic.
Naturally, Riezel intended to start exploiting this.
"By the way, you're also concerned about that vampire of yours, aren't you?" Riezel added with a faint smile. "While I wasn't the one responsible for her condition, I do know the details of what happened to her, so you can ask me about her as well."
Such a statement caused Ainz to fall into deep thought.
By now, Ainz was almost one hundred percent convinced of Riezel's words.
Although Riezel still seemed suspicious, his detached and indifferent demeanor suggested that Shalltear's matter wasn't directly related to him, so it might be better to seize the opportunity to resolve his lingering questions and gather as much high-level, secretive information as possible.
Moreover, Riezel, at the very least, seemed to know Shalltear's unusual condition, which alone made purchasing information from him worthwhile.
Ainz ultimately made up his mind.
"Alright, my first question..."
Ainz spoke solemnly, his gaze locked on Riezel.
"Other than me, are there any other players in this world?"
By asking this, it was clear that Ainz had agreed to the price that Riezel had offered.
Riezel's smile widened, his expression becoming less restrained as he began to answer.
"Based on the historical traces I have found, there are a few groups I can clearly identify as players."
"The first one is called the Six Great Gods, who appeared around 600 years ago. They were the ones who founded the Slane Theocracy with the goal of protecting the human race from other races."
"The second one is known as the Eight Greed Kings, who showed up roughly 500 years ago. They were the ones who spread Tier Magic throughout this world and briefly conquered it with their overwhelming power after wiping out most of the dragons that had once ruled it."
"The third one is called the Thirteen Heroes, who emerged around 200 years ago. They were a group of powerful individuals from various races who gathered together to defeat the Demon Gods threatening this world, with some members being players."
"As for others, there are only rumors, nothing concrete—meaning they didn't leave a significant impact on this world, possibly because their strengths weren't high enough to be noticed."
Ainz listened to Riezel's answer carefully before asking another question.
"And? Where are they now? Are they still alive?"
Needless to say, this was a critical question for Ainz, since if those players were still alive, he would have to be on guard.
Although the natives of this world weren't a threat to the Great Tomb of Nazarick, players were a different matter entirely. If they were really still alive, he couldn't ignore the possibility that they might turn against Nazarick.
Fortunately, it seemed that those players no longer existed.
"Among the Six Great Gods, five were human and had lifespans, so they passed away long ago. As for the last one, he was killed by the Eight Greed Kings, meaning none of the Six Great Gods remain."
"As for the Eight Greed Kings, they suffered severe losses during their battles with the dragons, and later on, they apparently had infighting, resulting in their own demises in the end."
"Likewise, the players who were members of the Thirteen Heroes didn't survive either. One of them was said to have been accidentally killed by their companion during the fight against the Demon Gods and refused to be resurrected afterward."
"In conclusion, based on the information I have, you're the only player still active in this world."
As Riezel finished his explanation, he added with a slight shift in tone.
"By the way, that's your second question."
In other words, it wasn't free.
Ainz stayed silent and didn't object.
Paying with information about magic wouldn't cause him any real harm, so if Riezel wanted to charge for it, so be it.
"Why are players like me transported to this world in the first place?" Ainz asked, a hint of nervousness creeping into his voice.
It couldn't be helped.
Clueless about the truth behind his arrival in this world and why his power, NPCs, and other game-related things had become reality, how could he not feel a little tense, no matter how much he told himself to stay calm?
Riezel glanced at Ainz briefly, noting the tension in his demeanor.
"Well, the details of this matter... Sorry, not only do I not know the full situation, but even the dragons, who once ruled this world, wouldn't claim to have full control over it." Riezel slowly shook his head. "One thing's for sure, though, this seems to be related to the Dragon Emperor."
"Dragon Emperor?"
Such an unfamiliar name made Ainz pause for a moment.
He knew that dragons existed in this world.
Dragons were considered the strongest race, having once ruled this world, and before the Eight Greed Kings appeared, they held an iron grip on the dominance of this world.
In YGGDRASIL, dragons were also among the strongest races, where they not only had immense physical attack power, defensive power, and stamina, but could also use countless racial abilities and magic, which led to the defeat of many players.
Nevertheless, he had never heard of the name 'Dragon Emperor', though he was somewhat familiar with 'Dragon Lord'.
Dragon Lord was said to be a special title within the dragon race, given only to dragons who reached the highest age, possessed extraordinary power, or could wield ancient magic.
Apparently, those who held this title were regarded as kings by their own race.
Among them, some Dragon Lords who could use ancient magic—magic that existed before Tier Magic was introduced—were called True Dragon Lords, a classification and definition given by the Slane Theocracy.
For this reason, Ainz had heard of Dragon Lords and had also learned about True Dragon Lords through his intelligence-gathering channels.
However, Dragon Emperor?
Such a name was a first for him.
"Okay, don't look at me like that."
Riezel quickly cut off Ainz, who was about to speak.
"I don't know much about the Dragon Emperor either. All I know is that he's the father of one of the currently surviving Dragon Lords named Platinum Dragon Lord and was once the strongest among the dragons."
"If we were to classify him using the level system in YGGDRASIL, the Dragon Emperor would be the only existence I know of that surpasses Level 100."
As soon as this fact left Riezel's mouth, Ainz was stunned, and Narberal covered her mouth in surprise.
It was only natural.
They didn't really expect that this world had a being that exceeded Level 100.
"What's he trying to do by doing this?" Ainz couldn't help but ask, his impatience evident.
"Unfortunately, that is a question only he himself knows the answer to." Riezel smiled faintly and shrugged his shoulders. "Even Platinum Dragon Lord, his own son, probably doesn't know the details of this."
As soon as Riezel finished speaking, he raised three fingers toward Ainz.
"Alright, that's the third question."
Upon hearing this, Ainz sighed inwardly before deciding to go all out, asking Riezel a few more questions related to YGGDRASIL and information about the players who had come to this world.
It wasn't until Ainz reached the eighth question that he suddenly realized the amount of magic information he needed to pay for had already exceeded the magic he knew. If he asked any more, he would have to pay using items.
Such a realization made Ainz pause his plans to keep asking for more information. At this point, he had already gotten the most important information, so the rest could be investigated slowly by himself.
Given this, it was time to get back to the main reason he had come to meet Riezel today.
"I want to know why Shalltear is under mind control..." Ainz said in a low, heavy voice. "Logically speaking, she couldn't be affected by mind control."
Indeed, this was the thing that confused him the most.
Undead from YGGDRASIL were, after all, immune to mind control, so whether it was him or Shalltear, as long as they were undead, they had immunity to it.
It didn't make sense, yet Shalltear had been affected by it.
It just didn't add up.
"Ahh... the reason for that is actually pretty simple..."
Riezel looked at Ainz with a faint smile and revealed an answer that made his heart shake.
"Someone had used a World Item on her."