pertwk Page 402
Page 402
Ainz did not refute this point, after all, the facts were right in front of him, and there was no point in refuting them.
However, he didn't intend to explain anything. Ainz didn't dwell on the topic of players. After thinking for a moment, Ainz replied, "You really didn't do what happened to Shalltear?"
On this point, Roya nodded very seriously and said, "I didn't do it. As I said before, I just fought with that vampire. Someone else did it."
Ainz nodded, and just as he was about to ask his next question, the young man raised his voice and said with a smile, "However, I do know who made the move!"
Ainz's body trembled slightly, and his fists clenched, but his expression was completely obscured by the mask.
Ainz's thoughts were racing at that moment, and without further hesitation, he quickly made a decision.
"If you can answer a few questions truthfully, I am willing to offer you super-tier magic as a reward," Ainz replied in a deep voice.
"Sure, but if the information you need exceeds this price, I will refuse to answer your questions or ask for a higher price."
“Of course.” Ainz did not object to this point, and then he raised the question that had been lingering in his mind.
"The first question is, besides me, who else in this world is a player?"
This was the question that puzzled him the most. Judging from Roya's previous attitude, the favorability of Roya's faction towards the players had dropped to rock bottom.
The young man didn't hide anything when answering the question; he straightened up and made his expression serious.
When engaging in this kind of intelligence exchange, it's better to maintain a serious demeanor. After all, speaking in a frivolous tone won't be as persuasive, which is also a matter of attitude.
The young man answered seriously: "Judging from the existing historical traces, there are three relatively clear groups of players."
"The first one was the six gods who descended into this world about six hundred years ago, laid the foundation for the Slane Theocracy, and protected humanity from numerous subhumans and aliens. They were the earliest players to descend into this world."
"Secondly, there was the Eight Desire King who descended upon this world about five hundred years ago, promoted rank magic, severely damaged the dragon race that ruled the world at that time, briefly unified the continent with overwhelming power, and established a nation."
"The last group to appear was the Thirteen Heroes, who came into this world about two hundred years ago. They were a group of strong people from various races who gathered together to defeat the demon god that was threatening the world. Some of them were the players."
At this point, Roya paused for a moment before continuing, "In other words, the six most famous gods in the world, the eight Desire Kings, and the thirteen heroes are actually all players. As for whether they are hiding behind the scenes with other players, I don't know."
"However, this is roughly the structure of the world."
Ainz's brow twitched upon hearing this. He had considered the possibility of players existing in this world, but he hadn't expected the number of players to be so large, and that these players, in some ways, had even changed the world.
If such a guy is still alive, then it would be a very troublesome situation for Ainz.
Without much hesitation, he asked the second question directly: "Where are they now? Are they still alive?"
Not all players are friendly to each other.
Even in another world, it's the same. Just because they're all players and come from the same place doesn't mean they'll sit together and help each other.
Human hearts are unpredictable; only interests are eternal. Once interests are involved, even if Ainz can give up, can those players give up?
So in a sense, when he learned that he wasn't the only player in this world, but also that there were heroes who had existed for hundreds of years, he genuinely hoped they were all dead.
However, Roya's answer to this was quite simple.
"This question is of high intelligence value. I can answer it, but you have one last chance to ask a question."
"can."
Ainz gritted his teeth and nodded in agreement.
"They are all dead. Five of the six great gods were human and had a limited lifespan, so they died young. The remaining one was killed by the later Eight Greed Kings. So now all six great gods are dead."
"As for the Eight Desire Kings, they were severely damaged in the war with the Dragon Clan, and later they engaged in internal strife, ultimately perishing in mutual destruction."
"None of the players among the Thirteen Heroes survived. It is said that they accidentally killed their companions in the battle against the Demon God and refused to be resurrected."
"In other words, you are the only known player in this world right now."
Suddenly, Ainz felt his heart finally calm down.
"Is that so?" Ainz asked, feigning a thoughtful expression.
Roja, however, directly exposed Ainz's thoughts, mocking, "Laugh if you want, their deaths are indeed a good thing for you, aren't they?"
Ainz didn't dwell on this question with Roya. He continued, "Third question: Why were players like me teleported to this world?"
Even with his skeletal frame, Ainz could feel the tension in his voice when he said those words.
Shalltear's matter was indeed quite serious, and Ainz took it very seriously.
However, when Ainz unexpectedly learned that Roa possessed so much information, Shalltear's matter had to be put on hold.
The three questions mentioned above were the ones that had lingered in his mind the longest and were the ones he valued the most.
He desperately wanted to know how he had managed to travel to this world.
However, in response to this question, Roja glanced at Ainz expressionlessly and then said, "This question involves a higher level. This information alone is not something that a super-tier magic spell can afford."
"However, I really can't answer this question. Not to mention me, even the dragons who once ruled this world wouldn't dare say they have all the information."
"However, based on the information we have, we infer that the appearance of the players is related to the existence of the [Dragon Emperor]."
This is a completely unfamiliar term.
【Dragon Emperor】.
Dragons do exist in this world.
The dragons of this world are hailed as the strongest race of life forms.
They once ruled the world and were the dominant race that held a firm position in the world before the appearance of the Eight Desire Kings.
In "YGGDRASIL", dragons are also considered the strongest race. They not only possess powerful physical attack and defense capabilities and unfathomable stamina, but they can also use countless special abilities and magic, causing countless players to suffer defeat.
The dragon race is undoubtedly extremely powerful, but in Ainz's knowledge, he had never heard of the term "Dragon Emperor".
This word was completely foreign to him.
Ainz knew a little about the Dragon King. It was said to be a title of special significance among dragons. Only dragons that had reached the highest age, possessed special power, or were able to use unorthodox magic could receive this title and enjoy the honor of being king.
Among them, some dragon kings who can use ancient magic that existed before the advent of rank-based magic are even called true dragon kings. This is a classification and definition given by the Slane Theocracy.
In other words, Ainz knows something about both the Dragon King and the True Dragon King.
But the Dragon Emperor was truly unaware of this. Upon hearing this information for the first time, Ainz turned his inquisitive gaze toward Roya.
Luo Ya blinked, somewhat speechless, and said, "It costs more."
"Ninth-tier magic, is that alright?"
“Five, and you must pay me some magical items as compensation for the price difference. After all, it concerns the Dragon Emperor. You can only hear this information from me; you can’t find out it anywhere else.”
"can."
After agreeing on the terms, Luo Ya slowly said, "I don't know much about the Dragon Emperor either. I only know that he is the father of the Platinum Dragon King, one of the current Dragon Kings, and the strongest being in the Dragon Clan in the past."
Upon hearing this, Ainz did not speak, but continued to look at Roya, giving the young man a look that said, "Are you kidding me?"
Such information is certainly not worth two ninth-rank spells.
The young man, left with no other option, continued, "If we're using the 'YGGDRASIL' ranking system, then the Dragon Emperor is the only one I know of who exceeds level one hundred. That should give you an idea of his approximate strength level, right?"
Upon hearing this, Nabella immediately exclaimed in surprise, "This is impossible! How can there be an existence that exceeds level one hundred?"
Not to mention Narberal, even Ainz looked shocked.
Ainz muttered to himself, "So, there really are beings in this world that exceed level one hundred?"
But then another question popped into his mind.
What exactly does this being want to do by summoning players from another world?
The answer to this question was destined to be one that no one could answer. Even when Ainz cast another questioning look at Roya, Roya could only shrug helplessly and say seriously, "This is all the information I know about the Dragon Emperor. As for why he summoned the players to this world, I'm afraid only he himself knows the answer."
"Alright, that concludes the three questions. You probably have one more question you'd like to ask, right? For an extra fee, I can consider answering your next question."
Roya naturally wouldn't complain about earning less, and when Ainz learned that Roya actually possessed so many secrets, his heart stirred, and all sorts of ideas arose in his mind.
Chapter 418 Six Questions
To be honest, three questions are not enough, but fortunately, judging from Roya's attitude, we can obtain more information through trade.
This is a good thing for Ainz.
"I want to know why Shalltear is subject to mind control?"
Logically, the undead should not be affected by the effect of mind control, especially Shalltear, who is a high-ranking vampire and has extremely high resistance to magic. It is strange that even someone like Shalltear is affected by mind control.
However, Roya's answer to this was quite simple.
"That's a very simple problem. The other side used a world-class item."
Upon hearing this answer, Ainz's expression turned serious once again.
"World-class items? There are actually world-class items in this world."
In YGGDRASIL, magical items are categorized into lower, intermediate, upper, highest, legacy, sacred relic, legendary, and divine artifact levels based on the amount of data possessed.
Crafting legendary items is extremely difficult, requiring the combination of multiple ultra-rare items. Therefore, even at level 100, it's not uncommon for players to not have a single legendary item. Even Ainz Ooal Gown, one of the top ten guilds, hasn't managed to equip his NPCs with all the legendary items; at most, he only allows them to possess one or two.
Beyond the divine artifact level, there are world-class items.
In YGGDRASIL, there are 200 top-tier items whose power can only be matched by other World Items (even super-rank magic is ineffective). Among them, the 20 strongest World Items are specially called "Twenty." "Twenty" possesses the ability to severely disrupt the game's balance, so the item design restricts its holder to only one use. After being used, "Twenty" disappears and reappears somewhere in one of the nine worlds.
Ainz Ooal Gown is the guild with the most World Items (eleven in total, originally twelve, but one was later stolen; the guild with the second most has only three), two of which are World Items of the "twentieth" rank, which can only be used when the enemy uses an item of the same rank.