Nazarick Intelligence

"As for the matter you specifically instructed us to investigate, a magic caster named Ainz Ooal Gown once saved a village called Carne Village."

"An adventurer named Momon does indeed exist as well. Both are active in E-Rantel, a fortress city within the Re-Estize Kingdom."

"The Re-Estize Kingdom lies northeast of the Holy Kingdom and is likewise a nation primarily founded by humans."

"A newly formed adventurer team called Black Squad defeated demihumans known as the Giant of the East and the Serpent of the West, then subdued a magical beast called the Wise King of the Forest."

"And the captain of Black Squad is the adventurer known as Momon."

At this point, Muni paused. He lowered his head before continuing.

"I had intended to use magic to investigate his detailed information, but the great Supreme Being instructed me to return and report immediately upon encountering them. I feared alerting the enemy, so I did not obtain any detailed information on him."

"If my actions did not align with your great Wisdom—please punish me."

The air fell utterly silent, with only the sound of Higashino Makoto chewing his food remaining.

He picked up a napkin and wiped his mouth, shaking his head helplessly.

"Didn't you carry out my orders perfectly? Why would I punish you?"

"Rather, you did very well. If my memory is correct, that Momon is actually a level 100 magic caster. Acting rashly might not only have achieved nothing, but could even have put you in danger."

"Even if something had gone wrong, it would not have been the fault of someone who strictly followed orders."

"Do you truly think I'm the kind of incompetent leader who only blames his subordinates for mistakes?"

Upon hearing that, not only Muni, but even Gokusai Kaibi beside him could not help rising from her chair before kneeling in front of Higashino Makoto.

"How could that be?!"

"Your subordinate would never dare!"

He raised a hand to stop them from speaking further, then stood and helped the frightened man and bird back up.

"Don't be nervous. I have no intention of blaming either of you."

"You are my sword and shield, my claws and fangs, my eyes and ears. You could even be called my family."

"So just work for me without worry. Even if you make a small mistake, I will forgive you."

Gokusai Kaibi was so moved by Higashino Makoto's words that tears filled her eyes. Her beautiful gaze shimmered as though she were only a handkerchief away from wiping them.

Muni was much the same. Though he was a bird, tears streamed from his eyes in great quantities. He even covered his head with his wings, his body trembling in sobs.

"All right, Muni. Send the information you gathered directly to me."

"From now on, focus most of your efforts on gathering information about the True Dragon Lords and searching for World Items. Especially World Items—you do not need to fly back specifically. The moment you find one, report directly to me. I'll use a gate to go there myself."

Muni spread his wings and flew into the air, giving an earnest reply.

"Yes! I will not fail the Supreme Being's trust! All the World Items in this world should have belonged to the great Lord Amon Nikola in the first place! I will surely recover your lost treasures!"

What did he mean, World Items should have belonged to me in the first place? It wasn't like I was some ancient human village chief or that constantly crashing Golden Flash.

Still, how should I put it?

World Items were simply too dangerous. Higashino Makoto did not want someone wielding World Will to one day breach Novas Aetir and smash him to death with a single blow.

It was safer to keep them firmly in his own hands.

Feeling the memories that had suddenly appeared in his mind, Higashino Makoto narrowed his eyes and waved at Gokusai Kaibi.

"Gokusai Kaibi, you should leave for now as well. Come see me again at lunchtime."

Only after sensing that both the man and bird had left the room did Higashino Makoto begin carefully reviewing the information.

The Re-Estize Kingdom, the Roble Holy Kingdom, Momon the black-clad adventurer, and even the Dragon Kingdom, which Muni had not mentioned just now, all appeared in fragments of imagery...

Should he make contact with Ainz Ooal Gown in advance?

Of course, the best time to make contact would be after his level broke through further—when he could crush all of Nazarick beneath him like a speed bump.

Higashino Makoto silently opened his status panel and looked at his level—

"Name: Amon Nikola"

"Level: Lv101"

That was right, Lv101.

During this period, relying on the experience provided by Sin Silver Coins, Higashino Makoto had raised his level to the unprecedented Lv101 of the game.

Both Inverted God and World Calamity had reached their maximum level of Lv5, and he had learned the skills Great Catastrophe and Wrath of the Salt King.

Making use of the advantage of having three MP bars, he could unleash a set of wide-area magic attacks with explosive damage in an extremely short time.

As for the remaining level, since he could not directly learn a top-tier or special class, Higashino Makoto had originally planned to choose the intermediate faith-based class, Dragon Priest.

But things had turned out unexpectedly. When he leveled up, he directly obtained a special class called Limit Breaker.

And based solely on the increased attributes, a single level seemed to grant several times more than the increase from Lv99 to Lv100!

"I feel terrifyingly strong right now!"

Even now, even if his PvP skills were trash, with his compatibility and attributes, he basically would not crash and burn if he encountered Ainz.

The Platinum Dragon Lord was also the cautious type. Most likely, he would only encounter its armor.

And as for the Platinum Armor, as long as he held it back with summons, a single burst combo should be enough to make it say GG.

Should he go out and have some fun?

The moment that thought surfaced, Higashino Makoto fiercely shook his head and cast it aside.

Wasn't level crushing fun enough?

The information about the Dragon Emperor, Mother, and Nazarick's eighth floor was still uncertain. What if there happened to be some power that countered him and he crashed and burned?

What was more, he had no idea what the Dragon Emperor had done. Not only had he summoned the game YGGDRASIL from data into reality in this world—

He also seemed to have connected it to other worlds. At the very least, the magic trees above Lv80 had been summoned from other New Worlds.

The magic trees and the Bone King were still manageable, but what if it connected to a world with absurd combat power, like Dragon Ball?

According to a certain saying from the forums in his life before the life before his last, he was merely a "street-busting scrub." If he did not play it safe and got crushed like a speed bump, wouldn't he cry himself to death?

"Hehe, the Bone King is great!"

"Stand in front as a target and give me plenty of time to develop safely."

His fingers lightly tapped the sofa's armrest as he suppressed the restless urge stirred up by gaining power.

Still, when he thought of the millions of humans who were about to be destroyed, Higashino Makoto could not help feeling some heartache—

The proportion of handsome men and beautiful women in this world was extremely high, basically two whole grades above his previous life!

Those should all have been my private property!

There were not many species in this world that suited his tastes to begin with, and humans were one of them.

Yet Ainz had wiped out nearly one-fifth of them in a single stroke.

What a waste!

Was there some way to save at least some of those humans without exposing himself?