Next, on their way to the Eight Fingers stronghold, Reiger and his group didn’t have a clear and open path but instead encountered quite a few troubles.
These troubles were the traps set along the way.
Whether it was the previous arrival of the kingdom’s troops that had raised the alertness of the Eight Fingers, they had laid many traps near their stronghold. In addition to the previously mentioned magical system that could sense life over a wide area, there were also a variety of attack-oriented traps.
Some of these traps were magical spells that could cause bodily harm, such as curses, while others were mechanisms set up with items, like poisonous mists and strong acids that could corrode human flesh, as well as lethal traps that would trigger upon being stepped on or touched, such as pits with swords sticking up, bolts shot from either side of the forest, and mine-like explosive areas. It felt as if one had entered a perilous labyrinth rather than a criminal organization’s base.
Reiger even detected magic mechanisms near the stronghold designed to obstruct teleportation and others that countered flying magic, preventing anyone from approaching the stronghold from above. Together with barriers that could reflect intelligence-gathering magic, the defense mechanisms of the Eight Fingers stronghold were so comprehensive it bordered on the absurd.
With such arrangements, Reiger thought of one person.
"Could this be the handiwork of Ainz?"
The person meticulous enough to set such extensive defenses, in Reiger’s impression, seemed to be only Ainz, who was notoriously finicky.
Furthermore, considering the previously encountered overwhelming number of minions summoned by a powerful vampire, Reiger was ninety percent certain that all this was the handiwork of the Nasalik Underground Tomb.
The one who attacked the human city of the Roble Holy Kingdom and secretly infiltrated the royal capital, taking control of the Eight Fingers, was likely Shalltear acting under Ainz’s instruction.
"This is getting interesting."
This was the only thought that emerged in Reiger’s mind.
At this time, professions from the Thief Series like Tia and Tina became extremely useful.
"Watch as we disarm all these traps."
Tia and Tina stepped forward confidently, beginning to disarm the traps arranged near the Eight Fingers stronghold.
Sometimes they pre-emptively triggered some simple traps, rendering them useless, at other times they deployed special techniques to dismantle magical traps, and occasionally they would suddenly produce some odd magical artifacts, using these to neutralize traps, thus clearing the way of various deadly devices.
Lakyus and Iveyer also did their part, both being strong Magic Singers with the least among them having stepped into the Heroic Domain. They had a solid understanding of how to deal with magical defenses, so they either cast appropriate magic or utilized their own magical artifacts to systematically dismantle the magic mechanisms along the road.
Of course, even they sometimes couldn’t handle certain magic mechanisms, failing even to detect some.
After all, being natives of this world, no matter how strong they were here, they simply couldn’t compare to the monsters of the Nasalik Underground Tomb.
Even for Iveyer, placed in "YGGDRASIL," she would have been no more than around level 50. The highest level of magic she could cast was also limited to the fifth tier; how could she possibly handle all the magic mechanisms set by the aberrations of the Nasalik Underground Tomb that could casually use even tenth tier magic?
Besides, the Nasalik Underground Tomb held many precious artifacts brought from "YGGDRASIL," some even acquired through paid items with unique effects and formidable power. The indigenous beings of this world were simply too green to cope with the threats posed by these artifacts.
Therefore, even as Reiger used magic to perceive the world and gather intelligence, observing his surroundings, he casually dismantled traps that even Lakyus and Ivey hadn’t detected.
How did he dismantle them?
Quite simply, a gentle touch with the disintegration magic personally taught by Yuri was all that was needed.
With Reiger’s attribute enhancement, the disintegration magic taught by Yuri, a strategic-class magician, had the power to dissolve any magic.
Hence, all Reiger had to do was lightly touch with disintegration magic and no matter how sophisticated or powerful the magic mechanisms were, they would instantly dissolve and vanish without a trace.
In doing so, Reiger wasn’t even aware that there were in fact countermeasures linked to these magic mechanisms, which would activate and inflict damage on the disarmer if interfered with externally.
These countermeasures even included instant death magic capable of fatally affecting the disarmer. Had it been someone else, even if they could disarm the various magic mechanisms near the stronghold, they would have been caught out by these hidden countermeasures.
Not to mention, if the girls from [Blue Rose] had encountered these countermeasures, they surely would have met their demise.
But before Reiger’s disintegration magic, these countermeasures were dissolved along with the traps, leaving no trace behind, to the point where Reiger didn’t even realize they existed until much later.
Brian was right; if [Blue Rose] hadn’t encountered Reiger and invited him along, their journey would have been a one-way trip, no different from seeking death.