Chapter 402: Without danger, how would I take risks?
Reiger had been trifling with this world for over two months and had long since grown tired of it.
He didn’t crave beating the weak; rather, he sought adventures that forced him to fight for his life on the edge of life and death, making his adrenaline surge and filling him with an unprecedented thrill.
In this respect, the first world Reiger visited through Dimensional Travel was a perfect fit.
After all, only by achieving great deeds through adventures could one level up, granted by the divine boon tailored for Reiger, who relished adventure and cared not for danger, fully engrossing himself in battles against formidable foes.
Were it not for a prior trading relationship with the Nasalik Underground Tomb, Reiger would have tested his mettle here long ago instead of continuously bullying the natives of this world.
Now, having officially fallen out with Ainz, he finally set out to embark on an adventure to Nasalik Underground Tomb.
It could be said that, even without the issues concerning Lakyus and others, Reiger would have immediately headed to Nasalik after finishing his business in the capital.
Danger?
The more dangerous, the better!
"Without danger, how can I adventure?"
"Without adventure, how can I achieve greatness?"
"Without achieving greatness, how can I level up?"
Considering Reiger’s current strength, it was true that the only way he could level up was by venturing into the Nasalik Underground Tomb.
Ainz himself acknowledged that Reiger had displayed strength beyond the max level of one hundred, capable of contending against and defeating multiple max-level NPCs simultaneously, a feat beyond the scope of ordinary players.
Unless the Dragon Emperor, the only character in the original story confirmed to possess strength beyond level one hundred, were to reappear, there might be no one in this world who could match Reiger in single combat.
Therefore, if Reiger wished to embark on an adventure and achieve greatness, his only choice was to challenge the Nasalik Underground Tomb, rumored to have obliterated an army of 1500 players.
"This time, I shall succeed or die trying."
With that declaration, Reiger no longer wasted words with Ainz and charged towards the Nasalik Underground Tomb below.
"Damnation!"
Within the Throne Hall of the Nasalik Underground Tomb’s tenth floor, both Ainz and every NPC present felt a towering rage and killing intent towards Reiger’s actions.
"Demiurge!"
Ainz’s aura of misfortune flared as he stood from his throne and commanded with unbridled fury,
"Prepare the materials needed for revival immediately, and resurrect Shalltear and Albedo!"
"Also, place personnel on every floor and activate all defensive systems and anti-enemy systems at once!"
"This time, we must ensure that the petty thief who dared to offend the Nasalik Underground Tomb remains here forever!"
"I will make some preparations on my side as well. If necessary, use the World-Class item slumbering in the Treasury and the powers of the eighth floor immediately!"
Undoubtedly, Ainz was truly enraged this time.
He would no longer hold back and was prepared to utilize all resources of the Nasalik Underground Tomb, wielding the full power of Ainz Ooal Gown to annihilate Reiger!
"All floor Guardians and Domain Guardians, attack at once!"
At Ainz’s command, the monstrous figures erupted in roars filled with murderous intent.
"Yes!"
Thus, the entire Nasalik Underground Tomb sprang into action.
......
And so, Reiger’s assault on the Nasalik Underground Tomb began.
With the first to third floors already destroyed by "Dimensional Collapse", Reiger directly descended onto the fourth floor, arriving in front of a massive underground lake.
This underground lake’s seabed was the resting place of a strategic golem who was also the Guardian of the fourth floor of Nasalik Underground Tomb; but because it lacked intelligence, acting purely as a massive siege machine, it did not take part in any Guardian meetings or actions and was not factored into the combat strength as it didn’t have subordinates to manage.
If judged by combat capability alone, this massive golem called Kagandoya might even surpass Shalltear. Unfortunately, it lacked wisdom and intelligence, understanding only to obey orders; hence, among the intelligent Guardians of Nasalik Underground Tomb, Shalltear was deemed the strongest.
Had Kagandoya possessed intelligence, it would have rightfully been considered the strongest Guardian in the Nasalik Underground Tomb, not Shalltear.
Reiger’s arrival, however, did not disturb the golem.
Activating Kagandoya required time, which justified its placement on the fourth floor, to give it time to power up in the event that the first to third floors were not yet breached.
But Reiger had obliterated the first to third floors of the Nasalik Underground Tomb with a high-tier magic spell and directly breached the fourth, leaving no time to activate Kagandoya.
Thus, Reiger ignored this level and flew towards the fifth floor.
The Nasalik Underground Tomb was designed with mechanisms to hinder teleportation. To reach the lower floors, one must either use a teleportation circle or descend by foot.
Reiger really wanted to launch another round of Super-Tier Magic and blow away a few more levels, but by then, Ainz had already activated all of Nasalik Underground Tomb’s defense and enemy response systems, making it impossible for Reiger to easily utilize Super-Tier Magic to bombard the Nasalik Underground Tomb again.
The power of Super-Tier Magic is indeed formidable, but it has a critical flaw—it requires a long preparatory phase.
In addition, the nature of Super-Tier Magic is more akin to a special skill, which can only be used up to four times a day. Unless one uses pay-to-win items to remove the preparation time and use limits, it is fundamentally hard to employ it in actual combat.
As soon as Reiger entered the Nasalik Underground Tomb, he was met with incessant attacks, either being assaulted by swarms of undead or triggering thousands of traps, leaving him no chance to employ Super-Tier Magic.
Therefore, Reiger had no choice but to force his way through, unable to rely on any more clever tactics.
Fortunately, the Guardian of the fourth floor was still slumbering, and the numerous undead were no match for Reiger, easily vanquished by him.
As for the myriad of peculiar traps, Reiger only wanted to say that, before the Decomposition Magic taught to him by Yuri, they were like paper mâché, unable to even touch him.
Reiger simply wrapped himself in the crimson fluctuations of Decomposition Magic, ignoring the thousands of magical traps and slaying the obstructive undead legions as he invaded the fifth floor.
This ice plain zone might be troublesome for others, but for Reiger, it had little effect.
Unfortunately, who could have known that Reiger’s "Solar Pioneer" not only made him resistant to high temperatures but to low ones as well?
The ice plain zone, which could afflict others with freezing damage, couldn’t even slow Reiger down. It had to rely on Cocytus, leading a huge group of ice attribute monsters, to block him in an attempt to keep him within this floor.
Regrettably when Reiger burst into flames, transforming into a miniature sun rising within this floor and melting all the snow and ice, the outcome was decided.
The many ice attribute monsters failed to stop him.
Cocytus ultimately met his demise under Reiger’s Solar Breath, evaporated by the intense heat.
Reiger broke through the fifth floor and entered the sixth.
This floor was much trickier than the fifth, with various types of magical beasts everywhere. Even dragons of level 90 and above, which could only be produced in the Nasalik Underground Tomb’s management system through payment, were present. Coupled with Aura and Mare, these two Guardians joining forces, the obstacles Reiger encountered grew significantly.
Mainly because Aura is an NPC character specialized in group combat. Not to mention she ruled over many magical beasts, she also had special abilities to enhance the power of magical beasts, giving Reiger the feeling of being besieged by a vast army made up of numerous enemies ranging from Lv.6 to Lv.7.
Mare, being second only to Shalltear among the Guardians, was a Forest Priest capable of using various support and enhancement Magic along with Healing Magic. He was even adept at using elemental earth attribute Magic. With him providing support from behind, the difficulty increased exponentially.
Trapped on this floor, Reiger fought relentlessly for a day and a night, turning the sky dark before he finally managed to wear out the many magical beasts and the Guardian twins on this level.
"How, how can this be...!"
"Does he have infinite stamina and Magic Power...!?"
"How can a human fight for so long without getting tired?"
Many onlookers watching the battle on the sixth floor found it unbelievable.
Even Ainz felt the same.
Generally, even if they were undead that do not tire or need food or sleep, after such intense fighting, they would either deplete their life force or exhaust their Magic Power, unable to exert their full combat power and becoming significantly weakened.
Reiger however showed no such tendency, with never-ending Magic Power and limitless stamina. Those eyes displayed on the Throne Hall’s viewing window were always pulsating with light, unbearably bright.
Is this what it means to be human?
He’s clearly a perpetual motion machine!
"Damn it! How can there be such a monster...!?"
Ainz couldn’t help but curse aloud.
By that time, Reiger had already stormed into the seventh floor.
The seventh floor was a lava zone that, contrary to the fifth floor but similarly, posed no hindrance to Reiger at all.
In the high-temperature environment, not only was Reiger unaffected, but he also thrived like a fish in water. There, he unrestrainedly used Solar Breath, seeming to suck away all the heat from the entire floor. His divine sword radiated red light as he effortlessly cut through the bodies of demons with high physical defensive power and fire resistance, ultimately slaying the commanding Demiurge from behind.
Reiger took much less time to get through this floor than the sixth, about only an hour and a half, before he smoothly passed through.
As a result, Reiger truly achieved the astonishing feat of a single person breaking through the first seven floors of the Nasalik Underground Tomb.
Of course, there were several reasons for this outcome.
One is that many of the mechanical and Magic traps in the Nasalik Underground Tomb could do nothing against Reiger, who was constantly enveloped in Decomposition Magic. Once touched by Reiger, the traps would be decomposed, rendering this critical enemy response mechanism in the Nasalik Underground Tomb completely useless.
Another is the fall of Shalltear and Albedo early in the fight in the first three floors. The Nasalik Underground Tomb lost its strongest Guardian and the Guardian Chief who could lead them all. Its deterrent power dropped significantly. Moreover, Kagandoya had not been successfully activated which allowed Reiger to breeze through several floors that should have posed considerable challenges.
And another reason was that Reiger was well-versed in the original work, possessing a certain degree of understanding of the Nasalik Underground Tomb, essentially giving him a part of the strategy and countermeasures.
The combination of these reasons allowed him to pass through the first seven floors so easily.
"It’s you who forced my hand!"
Watching Reiger prepare to enter the eighth floor, Ainz grew ruthless.