Probing

The probing came sooner than Higashino Makoto had expected.

Early the next morning, someone knocked on his door.

It was not the gentle, rhythmic knocking of a maid, but three almost provocative bang bang bangs, so forceful that the door itself trembled.

Higashino Makoto opened his eyes, glanced at the still-gray sky outside the window, and sighed.

"Nazarick's hospitality sure is enthusiastic."

He threw on an outer robe, picked up the spear leaning against the headboard, and went to open the door.

Aura stood outside. The dark elf girl had her hands on her hips and was looking up at him with a broad smile on her face.

Her younger brother Mare stood behind her as usual, only a pair of timid eyes visible.

"Morning, guest!"

Aura's voice was crisp and bright. "Lord Ainz told us to show you around Nazarick. Let's go!"

They called it a "tour," but Higashino Makoto noticed the beast-taming whip hanging at Aura's waist and the staff Mare held in his hand, poised to cast at any moment.

This was not a tour. It was a patrol.

Higashino Makoto yawned and lazily leaned against the doorframe. "So early? Does no one here sleep?"

Aura blinked. "I'm a dark elf, so I naturally need less sleep. As for everyone else..."

She tilted her head and revealed a meaningful smile.

"Most of Nazarick is undead, so they really don't need to sleep."

"Fine."

Higashino Makoto straightened up and rested his spear on his shoulder.

"Then let's have a look around."

Aura led him through the corridors of the Ninth Floor, introducing things as they walked with the lively tone of a genuine tour guide.

"This is the banquet hall. It can hold three hundred people at once. That way is the wine cellar, where we keep famous wines collected from various worlds. Further ahead is—"

"Wait."

Higashino Makoto stopped and pointed at a tightly shut black door at the end of the corridor.

"What's that?"

Aura's smile did not change, but her voice dropped slightly. "That is Lord Ainz's private domain. You may not enter without permission."

Higashino Makoto nodded without asking further.

But he noticed that as Aura said that, Mare's fingers twitched slightly, and an almost imperceptible glimmer flashed at the tip of his staff.

A magic trap?

Without showing anything, he continued following them.

The first round ended with undercurrents surging beneath the surface, neither side gaining the upper hand.

After touring the Ninth Floor, Aura led him deeper inside.

The Eighth Floor, the most dangerous area.

The moment he stepped onto this floor, Higashino Makoto felt an intense pressure. The air was thick with magic power, the temperature dropped by more than ten degrees, and even his breath formed white mist.

"This floor is..."

Aura's tone became subtle. "One of Nazarick's most heavily defended areas. Lord Ainz said that the guards here could deal with any invader."

When she said the word "any," she deliberately watched Higashino Makoto's reaction.

Higashino Makoto's expression remained unchanged. He even looked around with interest. "Pretty cold. Still, I did hear Peroroncino mention their glorious record of repelling fifteen hundred enemies."

Aura: "..."

Mare muttered something quietly from behind his sister.

The walls on both sides of the corridor were covered in magic runes, glowing faintly in the dim light. The floor was made of cold stone slabs, and every step produced a clear echo.

As he walked, Higashino Makoto suddenly stopped.

"What is it?"

Aura turned back.

"Nothing."

Higashino Makoto smiled.

"I just think the guards on this floor seem more... interesting than those on the others."

The instant he finished speaking, a deep roar came from the darkness ahead.

The sound made the walls tremble slightly, and the air seemed to freeze for an instant.

Mare immediately raised his staff, while Aura's hand went to her beast-taming whip.

But Higashino Makoto merely stood where he was and picked at his ear.

"Don't be nervous. I was just saying."

The roar vanished, as though it had never existed.

Aura stared at him for two seconds, then suddenly smiled. "You've got quite some nerve."

"Whether I've got nerve or not is another matter."

Higashino Makoto started walking again. "But I do have one good quality—I don't look at what I shouldn't, and I don't touch what I shouldn't."

After all, he had not come here to steal secrets. The knowledge he had gained from the anime was already more or less enough.

Aura blinked thoughtfully.

Round two: Higashino Makoto moved first and held his ground.

After lunch, the probing changed hands.

Higashino Makoto was invited to the arena on the sixth floor.

Apparently, Cocytus wanted to "spar" with him.

Inside the enormous circular arena, Cocytus stood at the center with blades in all six hands, his towering body casting a broad shadow.

The compound eyes of the insect reflected a cold gleam beneath the sunlight.

"Higashino Makoto."

Cocytus's voice was as low as muffled thunder.

"Lord Ainz said you are a master of the spear. I, Cocytus, wish to witness your skill."

Standing at the arena entrance, Higashino Makoto looked at the four gleaming katanas, then at Cocytus's serious expression.

"You're serious?"

"Of course."

"A spar?"

"Until a clear victor is decided."

Higashino Makoto fell silent for two seconds, then suddenly smiled.

"Fine. Then let's spar."

"But let's be clear first: I went a little overboard during the final stretch of the game. I'm only around level sixty right now, so remember to go easy on me."

He took the spear from his shoulder and slowly walked to the center of the arena, stopping opposite Cocytus.

The difference in their sizes was absurd—Higashino Makoto only reached Cocytus's waist.

"You make the first move."

Higashino Makoto lowered the spearpoint toward the ground, his stance casual.

After all, his mere level-sixty Grem definitely could not defeat the other side.

Cocytus did not stand on ceremony.

The first blade came down.

It was unbelievably fast, the edge splitting the air with a shrill howl.

That strike possessed enough force to cleave a tank in half.

Higashino Makoto shifted aside. The blade grazed the hem of his clothes and carved a deep trench into the ground.

Thanks to the keen insight unique to Golden Fortune, an intelligence-specialized world-class item, combined with the combat instincts granted by a class build that could barely count as both magic and martial, Higashino Makoto narrowly managed to evade it.

"Not bad," Higashino Makoto remarked.

"Remember to go a little lighter. I still don't know whether I can be resurrected if I die as a player."

Cocytus's compound eyes flickered. The second, third, and fourth blades descended at once.

All six blades struck together, sealing every possible angle of evasion.

After dodging the first three, Higashino Makoto could not evade the fourth, fifth, or sixth. It seemed he could only raise his hands and concede.

But Higashino Makoto did not believe Cocytus would actually cut him down!

Ignoring the incoming attacks completely, he launched a desperate strike that was practically an exchange of injury for life. His spear surged upward like a fierce dragon ascending to the heavens, stopping just before it pierced Cocytus's throat.

Naturally, Cocytus would not kill Higashino Makoto. At least on the surface, the exchange appeared surprisingly even.

No expression could be read from the insect's compound eyes as he withdrew his weapons.

His personality had been designed after that of a warrior, and he actually liked Higashino Makoto's "shatter the jade" style of fighting.

But that meant the plan to test all of the other party's strength had more or less failed.

"You—"