Chapter 335: 334 "Wish Upon a Star
As it turned out, though Ainz was no longer human, he still seemed to value the most basic honesty.
That very night, Reiger received a message from Ainz.
"Your compensation is ready, come and get it."
The payment location Ainz provided Reiger with wasn’t any other place but the vast grassland located at the border of the Kingdom, the Empire, and the Theocracy where the two first met, which was also near the Nasalik Underground Tomb.
Clearly, the guy was still extremely cautious, believing that delivering the goods to Reiger near his own headquarters was the safest.
To this, Reiger had no objection, and upon receiving the message, he used "High-level Teleportation" to leave Ye-Rantel and head for the grasslands.
It was around midnight when Reiger successfully arrived.
There, Ainz, as if having waited for a long time, greeted Reiger along with several people who had used an Illusion Technique to conceal their real faces.
Next to Ainz were stacks of treasure chests.
Reiger first glanced at the treasure chests and then looked around before speaking to Ainz.
"Isn’t it a bit exaggerated to put on this display every time you see me?"
What Reiger referred to were of course the invisible people shrouded in darkness surrounding him, just like the first time they met.
No, it wasn’t just the first time; when Ainz confronted Reiger during the day, Reiger was once again encircled by this unseen "alien legion."
Therefore, Reiger had paused for a moment when he stepped into the room provided by the guild for his talk with Ainz.
Now, for the third time, he was receiving this kind of treatment, this kind of honor.
"...I can’t help it. Facing you, without making multiple preparations and defenses, I’m afraid I won’t be at ease."
Ainz skirted the topic and pointed to the treasure chests beside him.
"These are the magic artifacts I’ve prepared. They can fill in the gaps for the magic information I will shortly owe in payment. You can look them over later."
With that, Ainz signaled to the people he brought with him to open the chests.
Instantly, Reiger saw the contents of those treasure chests.
Inside, there were neat stacks of scrolls, chunks of sealing crystals, and magic rods of varying lengths—some in abundance, others less so, but barely enough to be considered a wide variety.
Among them, the scrolls were the most numerous, filling several chests, while the rods of varying lengths didn’t even fill one chest.
All of these were magic artifacts capable of casting spells.
There was no need to elaborate on the sealing crystals, which could seal any tier of magic from the first to the tenth and were single-use artifacts, each containing a specific spell.
Scrolls, similar in function to sealing crystals, were made from parchment that had gold coins melted into it, drawn with an array, and then crafted with magic, capable of casting the spell infused during its creation. Like the sealing crystals, scrolls were single-use, but since the power of magic released from them was generally at the minimum level, they were much cheaper and not uncommon in this world.
The rods of varying lengths were mainly divided into short rods and magic wands.
Both of these magic artifacts were precious treasures that could invoke the contained spells a certain number of times.
In other words, they were reusable versions of sealing crystals or scrolls.
The difference between the two lay in their usage conditions.
To use the magic within a short rod, in principle, only a Magic Singer who could use the spell of that system could succeed.
For example, a short rod imbued with the first-tier faith-based spell "Light Healing" could only be used by a faith-based Magic Singer; a Magic Singer proficient in other systems’ magic would not be able to use it successfully.
This restriction also existed with scrolls.
When using a spell from a scroll, you must be capable of casting that spell, or it must exist within the spells you can currently learn; otherwise, the scroll cannot be used.
The usage conditions for a short rod are more lenient than those for a scroll, but restrictions still exist and not everyone can use it.
In contrast, magic wands did not have such restrictions.
Magic wands are precious magic artifacts that can be freely used by Magic Singers of different systems, and therefore, they are valued much higher than short rods.
However, magic wands also have flaws; the power and duration of their released spells are fixed, with the duration only lasting about half the normal time and the power being only three-quarters of the original, which is a modest regret.
Now, Ainz had prepared different quantities of magic scrolls, sealing crystals, short rods, and magic wands to make up for the deficit in the number of spells owed.
"The people I brought along are capable of using some spells that even I have not mastered. Along with the magic I can demonstrate myself, if nothing unexpected happens, it should exactly meet the agreed number."
As Ainz explained, Reiger nodded nonchalantly.
Today, Ainz had asked Reiger a total of twelve questions, and at a price of one hundred spells per question, he was required to demonstrate as many as twelve hundred spells to Reiger.
This far exceeded the number of spells Ainz himself possessed.
Particularly since Reiger had also requested Ainz to prepare as varied a collection of spells as possible, including different systems, effects, and types, which undoubtedly presented yet another challenge for Ainz.
After all, Ainz was a magic caster who specialized maximally in necromancy, and his forte was necromantic spells; he wasn’t incompetent at other systems’ magic, but those spells were clearly not enough to pay Reiger.
With no other choice, Ainz could only painstakingly and at great expense bring over a few servants from the Nasalik Underground Tomb to demonstrate the magic he couldn’t, and for the lacking parts, pay with magical artifacts, thus assembling twelve hundred types of magic.
"The rest are super-tier magic spells."
Ainz tossed a piece of parchment to Reiger.
"I’ve written down all the super-tier magic spells I know on this, pick one."
Upon hearing this, Reiger took the parchment and, without wasting time, started to browse through it.
It truly did list several super-tier magic spells.
Reiger saw several familiar names, all super-tier spells that Ainz had used in the original work.
For example, a super-tier magic spell that upon activation, produced extreme heat that could burn everything within its range to ashes, with enough intensity to cause the earth to crystallize — "Fall of the Stars."
For example, a super-tier magic spell that could change the climate and weather — "Heaven and Earth Change."
And for another example, an area-of-effect instant death spell that could kill everyone within a certain range and summon a proportionate number of "Young Black Goats" based on the number of the deceased — "Dark Harvest Sacrifice."
These spells all had the terrifying power or effect to determine the outcome of a battle in an instant, truly deserving of the name of magic above the tenth tier.
To be honest, Reiger was quite tempted.
Especially the "Fall of the Stars" super-tier spell, which seemed custom-made for Reiger.
From the description of this magic spell, it was evident that it was a fire or light attribute spell, and such a spell, once in Reiger’s hands and amplified by "Pioneer of the Blazing Sun," would double in power and effect, and it was conceivable how terrifying it would become.
If there wasn’t an extraordinarily suitable choice, Reiger would certainly choose this spell.
However, Reiger suppressed the urge to choose it.
There were two reasons.
One was that he knew Ainz would have opportunities to use this spell in the future, at which time he would have a chance to freeload it, so there was no need to waste an opportunity to choose it now.
The other was that he had already decided which super-tier spell to use for this opportunity.
It was a spell that, in Reiger’s view, and indeed in the view of many others, was exceptionally broken.
— "Wish Upon A Star."
In "YGGDRASIL," this was a super-tier magic spell that, once used, would randomly produce a variety of effects.
Its activation required the consumption of experience points; the greater the proportion of experience points consumed, the more effects would emerge, and the user could choose one of these effects to realize, thereby fulfilling their wish.
After coming to this world, this super-tier magic spell had become an incredible spell capable of granting heart’s desires and turning the impossible into possible, based on the amount of experience points consumed.
A super-tier spell capable of granting wishes!
Although there was a cost, was there any other spell more worthwhile to learn than this one?
"I choose this one!"
Reiger, without hesitation, chose this spell, pointing to "Wish Upon A Star" on the parchment and speaking to Ainz.
"...Very well."
Ainz glanced at it and then gave Reiger a slightly strange look.
As Ainz had not yet used any super-tier spells in this world, he did not know how "Wish Upon A Star" had transformed into such an inexplicable force in reality.
Therefore, Ainz agreed to it without much hesitation.
Next, Ainz, along with a few of his subordinates, began demonstrating magic spells before Reiger.
This demonstration lasted nearly all night.
By the time it was almost dawn, Reiger had gathered the results of a whole night’s demonstration from Ainz and his people, along with the treasure boxes filled with scrolls, crystals, and staves.
All of these scrolls, crystals, and staves carried magic, and Reiger had already obtained detailed information about those spells from Ainz. Under such circumstances, as long as he used these items once, the magic within these items would also be learned by him.
One super-tier magic and twelve hundred tier magic spells, Reiger had them all in his grasp.
This time, he truly returned with a full load.
"By the way."
Before leaving, Reiger said one last thing to Ainz.
"Later on, I will probably come to watch the battle between you and your Guardian."
"Just don’t be unwelcome then, will you?"
Leaving behind these words which caused Ainz to frown, Reiger left, satisfied.