"Everything is going exactly according to plan," is one of the few phrases that I always wanted to say out loud.
From the very beginning of the mess, it became clear that I had a great opportunity to get some artifact or information. But what was hard to expect was such a successful outcome as getting a priceless treasure. Yes, for the ability to use any item without being tied to a class or race in Yggdrasil, the administration would have received a ton of complaints. An extremely cheating feature that goes beyond common sense.
However, there were other potential benefits besides this one. And I'm not talking about the magic booster, by no means, a useless thing with a strange debuff. You can only give it to the Hands of Umbra for research. Khajiit turned out to be much more interesting.
As soon as I got closer to him, devotion became clearly visible on his wrinkled face. Incredibly sincere eyes, looking at me as if I were the eighth wonder of the world or the coming of God. Once the thought struck him: to serve a good cause, then it would be a sin to refuse a subordinate who was literally lying on the road.
It would probably be a good idea to contact the Demiurge to discuss the new data. The Message spell is perfect for this, and it truly has great potential in the new world. You can spread the spider web for many miles, and then maintain communication between the various intelligence departments. The prospects are especially good if you can create more scrolls, since there is plenty of leather for their production. One downside is that with this spell it felt like I was contacting headquarters via Skype.
— "Did you see everything through the long-range mirror?"
- "Of course, sir. We have carefully analyzed all your moves in order to be ready to use the gifts you have provided at any moment," the demon, who was also my trusted deputy, reported admiringly.
— "Amazing. Now I will find out the condition of a person who has a unique ability to use any magical object. He must be secretly kidnapped from everyone, and also organize the best maintenance for him. Time to complete the mission: a week."
Hopefully, the Umbra Hands will be able to conduct some research on preserving human anomalies after turning into undead. Individuals with good potential are extremely rare and it would be a shame to lose them to old age.
In general, every resource matters.
- "As you command, may I use shadow demons and hidden teleportation scrolls to carry out the operation?"
— "No problem. The second task involves kidnapping a necromancer to transform him into an undead; either whole or his remains. Test all the risks on him first, as a guinea pig. But remember, the man in the red robe named Khajiit is related to the famous death cult. He will serve as an excellent source of contact with them. No matter how weak the cult members are, they have accumulated enough authority for him to serve the good of Nazarick."
Let's hope that in the future it will be possible to transform the cult of Zuranon into a religious one, so that it will spread the religion I need around the world. It is foolish to underestimate such a tool for managing public opinion. If I manage to gather all the worshipers of death around me, then it will be much easier to use them wisely. I don't need destroyed cities under my personal control, especially those that fell to an army of second-rate skeletons.
As for the neighboring cities...
A neighbor's problem is a neighbor's problem.
"You want me to prepare that very plan?!" Demiurge asked solemnly, as if pieces of a puzzle had come together to form a complete picture.
— "That same plan?"
- "Yes, that one."
I have too many plans with different priorities, how can I understand, even without seeing the interlocutor, what he is thinking? Sometimes it is so difficult to negotiate with smart creatures who think too highly of you.
— "Act, but do not jeopardize Nazarick's valuable assets." In the past, as a good development department manager, I needed to trust my subordinates, as well as reward them for their initiative.
- "Excellent, sir, but I am a little ashamed to use all your labors to implement this plan. I...", - the demon hesitated, searching for the right words. - "I promise that I will try to use a crumb of your wisdom, and at least a little, but repeat one of the results that you achieved in less than a day."
He probably wants to somehow realize the potential of the captured pawns. We have many influential figures on the chessboard, if we play the game correctly, then we can... Oh, right, now it is clear what he wants to realize.
You should have said so right away.
- "I have the highest hopes for you. Perhaps we will call this plan: "Total War IV", if you do not mind" - in Japan, the number "4" is considered a symbol of misfortune.
"I would never dare to object to the Supreme Being!" the Demiurge answered sharply, maintaining due devotion in every word.
- "Excellent, I have things to do, so I have to cut off the connection. The main thing to remember is that there is no need to rush. Every detail must be used at the right time and in the right place."
*
Things aren't going too well according to plan. I don't want to say that out loud. But I'm not talking about the truth about the Crown of Wisdom user's talent, or the successful recovery of the necromancer's remains after a public execution, or the successful kidnapping of the recovering Nfirea Bareare.
There was a much larger, clawing spirit problem, slowly creeping towards the core of my consciousness. At first it was a trivial suspicion, but over the past four days my suspicions had grown into full-blown paranoia. Like parasites from the warp, doubts had begun to invade my mind, polluting it with obsessions.
- Lord of Dawn, I personally prepared breakfast for you!
— It's cold in the evening, if that's what you want...
- Don't get me wrong, we put on different dresses so that you could distinguish my sister and me better.
— What? Why do adventurers need impractical clothes? We are in the city, and it is safe here. You can relax.
These four adventurers are up to something bad. I can still understand the motives of Kurumi, with whom my relationship began to actively progress in the horizontal plane. However, her moans couldn't motivate four adventurers to sleep with me at once, could they?
What we have:
Two twins with fancy hairdos and pretty good shapes. Initially, I had a hard time measuring their bust size, but the red and white dresses I unexpectedly discovered on them perfectly emphasized their protruding shapes. And considering their external similarity, increased feminine charm and a simple desire to sleep with me... They grew from "girls with a broom on their head" into a new category. Perhaps I'll call it "it's worth thinking about their offer at leisure."
A cute little vampire, who turned out to have bigger breasts than Shalltear. She had beautiful red eyes, snow-white skin, and golden hair that shone in the sun. The sun… The wrong vampires were wrong in everything. Instead of the traditional burning from ultraviolet rays, the children of the night received penalties to their stats. Penalties… Perhaps Evileye had overheated in the sun, and her dubious hints were an easy way to ask me to teach her higher-ranking magic. Who would understand them, centuries-old lolis.
And the last, probably the most active thorn in my suspicions is Lakyus. All the facts indicate that it is she who is responsible for inciting my comrades to greater pressure on me. Every morning there are new schemes to seduce me. Kurumi noticed this too. But she did not attach much importance to it. On the contrary, she was pleased with the very fact of my popularity with the female sex. However, even she has recently begun to be annoyed by the persistence of dresses accidentally falling off women's bodies.
It seems…
Well, it doesn't look like it, but that's how it is.
I went too far with the activation of the scroll to summon mid-high undead. I remember wanting to leave a combat unit in the city to expand my territorial control, but who knew that the world was a little off. Everything went wrong. All the girls in Nazarick, and now even outside of it, lined up to see me for the next night. Kurumi alone is more than enough for me, as they say, I haven't even tried one dish yet, but I need to evaluate the rest of the menu.
It's good that I have a non-human body, so I'm not far from death; from exhaustion.
"Well, well, you're all busy," the expected guest appeared in the luxurious room of the hotel in this city. Kurumi was as beautiful as always in her dark dress, and the effect of intangibility creates an amazing contrast with the black and red aura.
— We have some shortcomings with setting priorities. We have to control many processes and work in multitasking mode, — leaning back in my chair, I slightly pushed the documents with "requests and suggestions" aside. The last week was not easy, for example, I had to do two things:
The first and most important thing is to provide a testing ground for the Umbra Hands. The Chimeras found a suitable place, so there were no problems from transferring non-existent property rights to the testing ground. Almost none. A surprise awaits me. The research team asked for time to prepare a secret project, and then they asked me to personally take a look at the results a little later. If I'm not mistaken, there is a little over a month left until the start of the active testing phase. Although the Umbra Hands are trying to impress me with their grandiose plans, they will eventually ask for help. I am completely sure of this. To strengthen their "secret sample", they need some materials from the third section of the laboratory located on the eighth floor of Nazarick.
Secondly, and less importantly, one prisoner was freed from the Ice Prison - the sister of the Guardian General. Nigredo has a jagged face, covered and intertwined with hundreds of scars. In terms of combat potential, she is not one of the strongest NPCs, rather, she was invented for the sake of humor. It's funny, but now I have to deal with her ugliness. I hope the research department is pretty good at surgery and plastic surgery. They'll come up with something... For example, the Hands of Umbra can first practice on Clementine. After a date with a horde of orcs, she doesn't have the best appearance. An excellent testing ground: 2.0.
"But is it worth taking everything apart at once?" she asked in a mesmerizing voice, circling the table and stopping behind me. Her warm hands were light on my shoulders, and then she tilted her head to whisper in my ear. "I'm bored…"
In general; the minimum goal is to rise above death from exhaustion.
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