This is the seventeenth chapter of Overlord New World.
Summary[]
Part 1[]
Ainz Ooal Gown announces to the runesmiths that he will be heading to the dwarves former capital. The representative of the runesmiths cautions Ainz as the capital is still a dragon's den. Where there lives the King of the Frost Dragons, the White Dragon Lord. The mention of Frost Dragons, makes Ainz recall the memory of the deceased Swords of Darkness talk of such things and how they wanted to investigate it themselves. Though finds it a shame it never came to be.
The next day Gondo Firebeard appears before Ainz is about to depart. At first Ainz thinks the dwarf wants to see him off. Though the dwarf tells the Sorcerer King he will be his guide. Having spoken to the other runesmiths the other day, Gondo is familiar with the route to Ainz's destination, and asks to guide him there.
However Ainz warns that there may be many dangers, so asks if the dwarf has any combat skills. Gondo does not, but he assures the undead that he is prepared for the risk, and will rely on his cloak his father left him. Not only that he has informed the Regency Council of his assistance to Ainz. Regardless, Ainz feels that he would be in trouble should anything happen to Gondo and prefers that the dwarf remain in Feo Jera. Not easily dissuaded, Gondo slyly tells Ainz that there is a treasury in the ancient royal capital. It should still be intact unless the Quagoa or dragons have yet to break it open. And withing are various dwarven treasures. Among them are weapons made by Gondo's grandfather, as well as technical books passed down through the royal family. Within those books, Gondo believes that there may be secrets written down by former runesmiths. This is a reason why Gondo wants to accompany Ainz, to retrieve those books.
And he adds that while it may be rude, he asks if the Sorcerer King turn a blind eye to his actions after the capital is recaptured. Ainz though asks how they will get the key to open the treasury? Sadly Gondo has no means to open the treasury, but lauds Ainz that perhaps he could do something about it. Ainz worries the dwarf is under the impression he can do anything, and also be complicit in petty theft. Though Gondo simply states all he has to do is open the treasury and look away. The only thief will be him, Gondo, and Ainz can maintain deniability. Even son, if there is a manifest of the treasures, it could be a dangerous act to Ainz.
In addition Ainz asks if the dwarf has any shame in stealing from his country's treasury. However Gondo has no guilt, as his homeland had cast aside runecraft, so he is perfectly fine with stealing a secret book as it will have no meaning anymore to the Dwarf Kingdom. Gondo's words are true to Ainz, as there is no point in letting people have such things they do not need. So he agrees to turn a blind eye to Gondo's future purloining, but wants a list of items Gondo intends to take to which the dwarf complies. Having accepted Gondo as his guide, the dwarf then tells the Sorcerer King that there are three trials to the road to the former royal capital: the Great Rift, the Land of Molten Magma, and the Maze of Death.
Gondo warns that the Maze of Death contains deadly poisonous gas which is periodically released. If inhaled, it paralyzes the limbs and eventually stops the heart. His warning is directed to Aura and Shalltear, but to Ainz that will not be a problem, for him and Shalltear and Aura, the danger for them is nil so he will inform the dwarf later. The dwarf goes on to say that is a cavern with countless passages, with no one knowing the correct route, not even the Regency Council. That is alright to Ainz, as he and his party will just have to gather information as soon as they arrive and respond flexibly.
Ainz, Aura, Shalltear and Gondo then head out. The gated connecting the passage to the Feo Jera's Garrison. Ainz and his party, along with the escorting dwarven soldiers are met with a grisly sight of a bloody massacre of dead bodies. The dwarves react in revulsion while the Sorcerer Kingdom party remains calm. Leaving the dwarven soldiers behind at the fortress, Ainz uses [Mass Fly] to levitate himself, Gondo, Shalltear and Aura above the slaughter.
At the edge of the Great Rift where the post of the remains of the bridge are, Ainz thinks that this is where the Death Knights were defeated. He then orders Aura to use her senses to see if there is any sign that someone is using stealth abilities to hide. But Aura reports that there is no signs of anyone alive. Ainz studying the bridge sees that it was destroyed in the retreat of the enemy. A though occurs to Ainz, if the opponent of the Death Knights were so strong to easily defeat them, then why did they cut the suspension bridge.
For Ainz wonders maybe that the opponent had confidence in their abilities, in defeating the Death Knights hence the extra measure. And given that Death Knights are rare entities, maybe the opponent realized that there was an actor, Ainz, behind the Death Knights and became wary. It is assumed by Ainz that the opponent decided that it was better to stop the invasion of the Dwarf Kingdom, even if it meant destroying the suspension bridge over the Great Rift. This makes Ainz impress, although unknown to him, Aura looks like she has another opinion.
Ainz orders Shalltear to tell the dwarven soldiers that it is safe and to begin clean up of the fortress. Aura though kneels close to the ledge, despite Gondo telling her it's dangerous, to study the ground. Meanwhile, Ainz would like to give Shalltear a few things to be careful of. Though Shalltear asks him to wait a moment, before getting a notebook, ready to take notes, which Ainz finds is a good idea since they are about to enter dangerous territory. As for Aura she continues to study the the ground near the remains of the bridge.
Part 2[]
Ainz goes on to say that the reason why it's dangerous is because there is no doubt that there are enemies that can easily defeat Death Knights. And he apologizes it he sounds as if he is comparing Shalltear to a Death Knight, as seems insulting. Though Shalltear does not mind, stating she will do her best to defeat the strong being who defeated the Death Knights created by Ainz. To her confusion, Ainz says to not do that. This does not make sense to Shalltear as if there is a strong enemy the practical thing would be to attack seriously, before apologizes as she misspoke to her master. Ainz tells her to consider the actions the enemy might take. The thing that the enemy wants most would information on their "forces." To do so he enemy will send in troops to gauge their strength. If the enemy checks their abilities and judge that they have a chance of winning....they could attack with a deadly strategy to prevent an escape.
While the two talk, Gondo asks what is up with Aura studying the ground, though the dark elf does not answer him, still intently conducting her examination. Meanwhile Shalltear stunned at Ainz revelations asks how could he know what the enemy would do. Although Ainz clarifies that he does not know if the other person will go that far. Aura having finished tries to call out to Ainz about her findings, but Ainz put a boney finger to his skeletal lips signaling the dark elf to stay quiet, planning to tell Aura later once he explains to Shalltear as he is too excited to stop now.
Attentive to his motion for silence, Aura obeys. Ainz then continues to tell Shalltear that if the enemy were strong like him, he would do the same tactic as he mentioned, as would his comrades. Upon hearing that of the Supreme Beings, leaves Shalltear shock. Hearing all this from Ainz she confesses that she didn't realize that the enemy could have that much power. Though Ainz tells her she should think that others could do what he can do. As it is foolish to think one is special and get carried away, so Ainz tells Shalltear to not to her guard down. Because he wants to prevent the other party from gauging the strength of Nazarick.
So he is going to give her some restrictions until she can attack the enemy's main camp. The Floor Guardian is allowed to use magic up to the 10th tier, but forbidden to using too much of a variety of spells. Shalltear now understands, Ainz wants her to give false information to the other party so that they don't realize it. Thus luring the opponent into a false sense of security, then counterattack and defeat them. Ainz also says that she should observe the enemy's movements carefully and decide what information to give depending on the situation. Conversely, disrupt the enemy and draw out information.
Once Ainz confirms Shalltear will write his words in her notebook, he redirects his attention to Aura, asking her what she wanted to speak to him about when she was trying to get his attention. Instead Aura cheerfully saying that it was nothing. Gondo interrupts stating that they should move ahead as it would be troublesome if the road collapses. Agreeing with the dwarf Ainz declares they will leave soon.
Back in the Council Chambers, the Master of Caves and Mines informed the remaining members of the Regency Council that the Sorcerer King had finally departed. With the Commander-in-Chief and the Forgemaster absent, the rest of the council burst into relieved cheers, some even pulling out bottles of alcohol to celebrate. The brief levity, however, ended the moment the Merchant's Guildmaster reminded them that the Sorcerer King might return at any time.
The High Priest of Earth added another sobering point: the Sorcerer King had also accepted their request to retake the ancient capital, in exchange for taking the runesmiths with him to the Sorcerer Kingdom. The Master of Caves and Mines noted he had seen the runesmiths gathered before Ainz departed and wondered what exactly the foreign king had discussed with them.
The Director of Food Production admitted he had no idea—but insisted it would be dangerous for any of them to dig deeper. “Only fools touch a hot furnace,” he warned, urging the council not to involve themselves in anything related to the runesmiths. He also suggested they avoid dealing with the lizardman, Zenberu, who had been left behind. Reports said the lizardman was happily drinking with a group of dwarves anyway.
With that in mind, the Brewmaster resolved that they needed to warn the absent Forgemaster not to investigate anything unusual concerning the Sorcerer King or his entourage. The Commander-in-Chief, he added, would return shortly and be informed as well. The Brewmaster then mentioned that the Forgemaster had not left his workshop since receiving the Sorcerer King’s request for armor. This prompted the Cabinet Secretary to voice his curiosity: what kind of armor could the Forgemaster create with the mysterious metal given to him? And what even was that metal?
Determined to find out, the Cabinet Secretary made his way to the Forgemaster’s workshop. Outside, several uneasy blacksmiths stood gathered. They explained that the Forgemaster had locked himself inside and refused to come out. The Cabinet Secretary was not concerned—this was normal behavior—but the blacksmiths insisted something was wrong. They had heard no hammering for more than a full day. That had never happened before. They would have checked on him, but they feared being yelled at.
Accepting the risk, the Cabinet Secretary opened the workshop door and peeked inside. The Forgemaster stood before a blazing crucible, unmoving, completely focused. The Cabinet Secretary tried informing him that everyone outside was worried—but was forced to duck as the Forgemaster hurled the ore ingot at his head: the same ore given to him by Ainz.
Recovering from the near miss, the Cabinet Secretary angrily demanded whether the Forgemaster was trying to kill him with heated metal—only for the furious craftsman to press the ingot against his colleague’s cheek. The Cabinet Secretary screamed, assuming it was hot, then blinked in confusion when he felt no heat at all.
That, the Forgemaster raged, was precisely the problem. Ever since receiving the ingot from the undead king, he had been unable to heat it, no matter how long it stayed in the furnace. After a full day the metal had not changed in the slightest. Worse, he could not even scratch it. He despaired: how was he supposed to forge anything from a metal that refused to behave like metal? And yet it could be shaped—Ainz had lent him a dagger forged from the same material, proof that someone had succeeded where he had utterly failed.
The Forgemaster trembled with humiliation. He had always believed himself unmatched in experience, a craftsman who understood metal better than anyone alive. But faced with this unfamiliar ore, he felt exposed—conceited, arrogant, a fool who had mistaken pride for genius.
The Cabinet Secretary did his best to console him, urging him to treat this as a chance to learn anew. The words stung, but the Forgemaster knew his colleague was right. With little else to say, the Cabinet Secretary delivered his final message: they were not to interfere with the runesmiths. He expected to see the Forgemaster at tomorrow’s council meeting. The Forgemaster gave only a muted grunt of acknowledgment.
As the Cabinet Secretary departed, he cast one last worried glance at the forlorn dwarf. Inside, the crucible continued burning as the Forgemaster stared into it, motionless. Later, the fire in the workshop slowly died—and when it finally went dark, the Forgemaster was gone. Only the empty workshop remained.
Elsewhere, in Feo Berkana—the former dwarven capital—the Lord of Clans Pe Riyuro sat upon his throne, casually dining on food lizards. He informed his subordinate, Yozu, that he had already received the messenger’s report about the black-armored monsters appearing at the Great Rift.
Offering Yozu one of the lizards, Pe Riyuro continued eating when the offer was politely declined. Returning to the matter at hand, he wondered aloud whether those armored monsters might be dwarven golems held in reserve. But then again, he mused, what could triumph over such beings? In the demi-human lord’s mind, the image of a Frost Dragon surfaced.
Major Events[]
- Ainz Ooal Gown intends to go reclaim the royal capital of the dwarves and is warned that it is the den of Frost Dragons, ruled by the White Dragon Lord.
- The next day Gondo Firebeard offers himself as a guide to Ainz, informing him of the treasury at the royal capital, containing runesmith books and treasures that could be retrieved.
- Ainz is warned of the three trials to the capital: the Great Rift, the Land of Molten Magma and the Maze of Death.
- Later at Feo Jera's Garrison, Ainz examines the site where he assumed the Death Knights were defeated, by a powerful enemy, before directing his attention to Shalltear Bloodfallen who readily take notes.
- The Regency Council are relieved that the Sorcerer King has left, notices that the runesmiths met with the undead, though decide not to inquire about it lest it invites trouble.
- The Cabinet Secretary visits the Forgemaster to find the blacksmith is at a loss on how to shape the metal Ainz had given him.
- In Feo Berkana, Pe Riyuro learns about the failed attack on Feo Jera from his subordinate Yozu.
Character Appearance[]
In Order of Appearance[]
- Ainz Ooal Gown
- Shalltear Bloodfallen
- Aura Bella Fiora
- Olasird'arc Haylilyal (Cameo)
- Ninya (Flashback)
- Dyne Woodwonder (Flashback)
- Lukrut Volve (Flashback)
- Peter Mauk (Flashback)
- Gondo Firebeard
- Master of Caves and Mines
- Director of Food Production
- Brewmaster
- High Priest of Earth
- Merchant's Guildmaster
- Cabinet Secretary
- Zenberu Gugu
- Forgemaster
- Pe Riyuro
- Yozu
- Olasird'arc Haylilyal
Abilities Used[]
Spells/Skills:[]
- Mass Fly
Known Locations[]
Chapter Notes[]
- The first part of the chapter was released with 14 pages.
- The second part of the chapter was released on November 18, 2025 with 18 pages.
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