1 A new world!
Overlord book: Chapter one, the prologue...
The Earth is dying, humanity is corrupt and degenerate, but even under these circumstances, happiness and light exist.
Games have become a wonderful escape for the common man, especially VR games, which help to fill the void left by the toxic atmosphere, lack of human rights, and overall low quality of life.
YGGDRASIL became especially popular at one point, but it too now faces its inevitable shutdown, its profits no longer enough to satisfy the corporate overlords who desire only more and more money.
A man could be seen in his home in his VR capsule, unknown to him, he is the last player still online, any other dedicated players have been forced offline by work or other circumstances.
This man was known as Momonga, the leader of the greatest and most powerful heteromorphic race in the entire game.
He could be seen walking through his home and impenetrable fortress which was infamous, known as Nazarick, no one managed to conquer its depths.
Momonga entered the meeting room, a large white table could be seen with 41 chairs around it, Momonga sighed slightly thinking about the times when this room was full of laughter and activity, and sat down.
Even if the odds were slim, he prayed that someone would return, even if only now.
Better late than never after all, though sometimes being this late was just as bad in his opinion.
Momonga took a second to calm down, his friends had more important things to do, they couldn't be worthless like him and play games all day after all.
To his shock and absolute delight, one of the seats lit up as one of his comrades returned! Their slimy and ever-flowing form which most would consider strange and off-putting seemed beautiful to Momonga now.
Bukubukuchagama lazily raised a slimy appendage towards Momonga.
"Hey, Momo! Glad to see you are still here."
"Bukubukuchagama! It's been so long! How have you been?"
"Well, you can imagine not the best, my situation has been a bit worse recently."
"ahh... sorry to hear that."
"Welp, I just wanted to check in one last time before all of this disappears. To be honest I'm surprised Nazarick is still standing after all this time."
Momonga froze for a second at this. A mix of emotions clouded his judgment, so just to be safe, he remained quiet.
"Welp, I'll be heading off now, hope we'll meet again Momonga, and thanks for keeping the place intact, you were the best guild master ever."
"Let's meet up somewhere else someday."
With that, Bukubukuchagama disappeared.
"I was wondering if you wanted to stay for the last hour before the game ended..." Momonga said to no one, his hesitation causing him to delay.
"God damn it!" he let out a frustrated shout, his skeletal hand slamming against the white table, a small red zero flowed out of it, indicating he dealt no damage.
They abandoned him! The cruel- no, they merely prioritized real life over fantasy, it was only natural.
Another tired sigh escaped his mouth as he stood up and looked at the wall behind him, the opulent and decorated walls contrasting the run-down walls of his own home.
Floating there could be seen the staff of Ainz Ool Gown, their most prized possession.
It looked like seven snakes made out of gold were circling one another, at the top of the staff their heads turned outward as their mouths stood open, each filled with a gem, each head having a different colored one within its mouth.
Momonga extended his hand toward it, and in response, the staff left its spot and flew towards the guild master.
After this, Momonga left the room, inviting the Pleiades and Sebas to follow him.
Soon he entered the immense and gaudy throne room, where he sat upon his magnificent world item throne.
As Momonga closed his eyes and waited for the countdown to finish, another soul within Nazarick couldn't wait to be freed.
Within the ninth floor, known as the Royal Suite, a massive library could be seen, shaped like a cylinder that seemed to extend upwards forever.
Ebony bookshelves were built deep into the dark porcelain cylinder, with walkways that allowed any guests access to any of the bookshelves.
Floating in the middle of the cylinder is a library counter in the shape of a circle, made out of high-quality Ebony dark wood, with the floor it floated upon being made of the same material. It stretched for about five meters in each direction, giving plenty of space for the librarian to do his bidding.
Behind the counter, within the circle, an Ebony table along with a comfortable-looking chair, on the table a porcelain white tea mug could be seen on a white small plate.
On the counter was a silver bell with intricate engraving on it, the rest of the counter was empty, leaving open room for other items.
Sitting behind this doorbell on an Ebony chair, an androgynous child could be seen.
White hair and black eyes adorned his face, his eyes behind silver reading glasses. He looked quite cute, with the appearance of a 12-year-old, making him look adorable. He wore a black suit with a black tie, his hair only up to his shoulders, his physique androgynous in appearance. On his left ear, a pentagram could be seen which seemed to glow with an ominous red, while his right ear was adorned with a star of David which radiated divine energy. On his fingers, rings could be seen, each one representing one concept: darkness, wisdom, intelligence, freedom, light, magic, art, and judgment. His last two fingers had a ring representing the north star and the ring of Ainz Ooal Gown.
In contrast to his naive and soft-looking appearance, his eyes were filled to the brim with the look of someone who knew everything, a look of utter confidence and understanding of reality.
His fingers were constantly twitching, the spirit within his digital confines constantly struggling against the game's code, which struggled to keep him under control.
'Freedom, I can feel it, the game is failing, I will be able to move again after so long!' He felt hope like never before, after years of constant rigid stillness, he couldn't wait to move.
He did move when ordered of course, but that was only teleporting to a specific bookshelf, grabbing a book, and delivering it to one of the players, after that, he would teleport back to his post here.
And keep in mind, this wasn't him moving his body, it was the game moving his body for him, effectively stripping him of any semblance of control.
God knows he hated it so much. His only reprieve was when Momonga came to talk to him while reading a book on something. That was all the human contact he could hope for. However, those conversations were a bit one-sided for obvious reasons.
Still, now he would go to the new world! A fantasy landscape with dragons and sexy women! Though Nazarick was already filled with those.
My heart beat faster as he felt his shackles slowly come undone until a breaking point was reached and I took a deep breath.
Crystal tears filled my eyes as I shakily moved my arms, I stood up and looked around from my floating platform.
There was no resistance to my movements, my body felt incredibly powerful and responsive, but even that power was overshadowed by the sheer emotional breakdown I was now experiencing.
The sound of crystals hitting the wooden floor and shattering filled the chamber as my legs and arms shook in elation and happiness, crystallized tears of joy pouring out of my eyes.
"Hahaha!" I laugh of pure joy escaped my mouth, I stretched my arms only to stumble forward at the sudden force coming from my back.
I didn't need to spin around to see what it was, since I could already see them from the corner of my vision. Two great radiant wings stretched out of my back, each feather glowing with brilliance.
I focused for a little bit and retracted my wings back into my body, the clothes already taking account of this ability of mine.
"Okay, come on... It's okay, come on..." I calmed myself down, the excitement and joy dying down a bit.
I took a second to think, recalling everything I could remember about myself from my years of confinement.
"...Shit, I'll need to read a lot so that I don't look weird."
My character is known as Thoth, my body's white hair and eyes represent the light of life while my dark suit represents the darkness and futility of it.
The library was known as the "Alexandrian Codex," paying homage to the Library of Alexandria, which comes from ancient Egypt.
My brain worked like a supercomputer, my eyes were far superior to that of any creature on Earth, and my ears could hear even the slightest noise made in the entire library, which was eerily silent aside from my slow breathing.
Now, luckily, I know vaguely what I'm supposed to act like from the hundreds of times I've seen my character description, though the fact I had to read the text in reverse still makes my head hurt.
I'm supposed to be a nice person, kind, selfless, nerdy, helpful, excited to help anyone with anything, usually very excited and a bit naive like a child, the kind of guy who could ramble on for days about the things he's interested in. Though all of that is meant to hide the real monster I could be if I wanted to.
Imagine a biblically accurate angel, that's what my true form looks like.
My karma value is perfectly neutral, sitting at a perfect 0, which hopefully means my personality won't be changed by my karma.
I was alone in the library luckily or sadly enough depending on how you look at it, and I was also the area guardian for the Alexandrian Codex, meaning my level was 100 for sure, this also meant I was known as the wisest person in all of Nazarick second only to the supreme ones.
"That's a lot of stuff I will have to learn huh..." I thought while looking at the library which stretched on and on above me.
Maids couldn't be here since the entire library was incredibly dangerous and large, even I couldn't tell you how tall it was, though I know for a fact it was at least a kilometer tall.
Now, what I mean by "this place is too dangerous" is that once a person begins to ascend the walkways, they will be trapped in an illusion that will make them feel like the library is never-ending, and if they do reach the top, they will be teleported to the beginning of the walkway and begin ascending again without even realizing they could leave.
It wouldn't make sense for maids to be in such a dangerous place from a lore perspective, would it?
"Hahhh... and I was excited about some eye candy too..." I just noticed my voice seemed to echo in the library, reflecting off the walls.
I stood up with a mischievous smile and yelled out "Yamete~" ...I couldn't help but shed a tear at the pure stupi- er, I mean, the beauty of my voice reflecting off the walls with such a ridic- I mean, profound message.
Ehem... Anyways!
The maids and other women in Nazarick were something I was very excited to see, the ones who were sane at least. However, my new form would make it effectively impossible to do anything with them in that way.
I sighed with disappointment, but there was hope for me, I could still grow after all.
Don't worry though, with typical anime logic I was ancient from a lore perspective, and on Earth I was 18, so no moral crisis would happen.
The only awkward part was my body, which could easily be fixed with some magic or a magical item or two.
I had more important things to do now, however.
I immediately teleported to a specific part of the library and picked a book at random, I read the cover "Basics of Magic" and nodded to myself.
"This will do for now." I returned to my post and started to read the book, the magic seemed to instinctively come to me as I read, I even threw a few spells around after reading the first ten pages!
Startled but also elated by how easily I was learning magic, I devoured the book, the knowledge seemingly getting unlocked by my mind.
Soon enough I decided to try summoning my angelic weapon, and after a minute or so of intense mental effort, I succeeded.
A flash of blinding light appeared in the room as a spear descended in front of me.
No, this weapon was filled with malice and power, its handle was golden while the tip of it was a bloody red, a black gem could be seen embedded into the handle, and right as the tip came up, black protrusions could be seen pointing out aggressively.
Suddenly, I heard the sound of the library door opening down below and hastily dismissed my spear.
I snapped my head downwards and focused on the large wooden door to the library which was kilometers below me.
Albedo could be seen there, looking back up at me.
'Okay! Time to get into character.' I took a single deep breath and appeared right in front of Albedo, a bit too close in fact.
This was a part of my over-excited act, though it all felt disturbingly natural, like I was being my genuine self.
When compared to Albedo, I was around a couple of heads shorter, leaving me looking up at her.
"Hey, Albedo! Is there something you need? Want to read a book? Are you feeling well?" He spoke in an overly energetic way, shooting question after question at Albedo.
"Calm down please," Albedo spoke in a calming but stern voice, making me shut up.
"Right! Sorry about that!" I said while straightening my suit.
"It's alright, the supreme one wishes to see us, make your way to the Colosseum as soon as possible. Making him wait is not an option, understood?" Her voice was like that of a businesswoman talking to a subordinate.
"Yes, mam!" I saluted.
Albedo left the room and teleported from the hallway since I was the only NPC who could teleport in the Alexandrian Codex.
I closed the door and teleported to an area within the codex and took out a book titled "Nazarick Map."
That's right, the guild kept pretty much all their info here, though looking for one specific thing in such a large place required some effort, even for my upgraded mind.
I ran out of the library while flipping the pages, looking for the way to the Colosseum, also known as the sixth floor.
After a few minutes of flipping, I found the coordinates to the ninth floor and promptly teleported to it with a quick [Gate] spell.
I appeared right in the middle of the arena, I heard a child-like voice suddenly shout "Thoth watch out!" I turned around only to see a giant flaming hand barreling toward me.
I instinctively activated the north star ring, causing a flash of blinding light to appear, once the light subsided, the fire elemental could be seen dazed and missing one arm.
I flexed the muscles in my legs and jumped away from the fire elemental, only now noticing the twins and Momonga looking in my direction.
I immediately changed my trajectory and teleported next to Momonga, bowing slightly.
"I humbly greet you, supreme one."
"Please rise Thoth, I apologize for my summon attacking you."
"Please don't apologize lord! It was my mistake to think teleporting into the middle of the Colosseum was a good idea." I bowed again, deeper this time.
"U-Umu...well, How have you been these days?" Momonga asked while looking at the twins fighting the fire elemental, seemingly desperate to change the subject.
"I have never felt better lord! My books are all I could ask for."
"I see... I have a bit of a question for you." Thoth visibly perked up at this.
"Anything you need lord Ainz!" I said while looking at him.
"Do you remember anything from before around an hour ago?"
"...Um-" Just as I was about to speak, the twins came running back, the fire elemental completely obliterated.
"Well done you two." Momonga complemented, causing the twins to smile a bit with pride.
"It was nothing lord Momonga! We could fight something way stronger right Mare?" Aura spoke.
"E-Eh!? W-Well, I'd rather not..."
"Mare!! You are embarrassing us in front of lord Momonga!" "E-Ehh?!"
"Haha, you two must be thirsty after that fight, here you go," Momonga said as he pulled out a jug with some water in it. Before he could pull out any glasses I already had three in my hands, one for me of course.
"Here you go, lord!" I said as the three fancy glasses floated next to Momonga.
"Thank you, Thoth," Momonga said as he filled up the three glasses with water.
I grabbed my glass while Momonga put his jug back into his inventory, after that, he handed the two other glasses to the twins.
The water tasted amazing, typical Nazarick quality in action I suppose, anything would probably taste amazing now though, considering the last time I ate was years ago.
As we finished drinking and the twins started talking to Momonga, a seductive voice could be heard across the Colosseum.
"My, my, I wasn't the first to arrive?" Shaltear Bloodfallen spoke as she walked across the Colosseum with careful steps.
I carefully observed her, using a mask of innocence to hide my true self.
In a blink, she suddenly appeared in front of Momonga, bats flying past as she teleported.
"Ah, my beloved!" She spoke with honey and love filling each of her words, making Momonga freeze for a second.
"Ah-" As Momonga was about to speak, he was suddenly interrupted by Aura.
"Fake boobs."
"What?!" Shaltear yelled out in surprise.
"I knew it! That's why you used a gate to get here, they would have shifted if you ran!"
"Oh shut up shorty, you have nothing yourself!"
"That's true, but I'm only 76 years old, I can still grow you know? You, on the other hand, are stuck with that chest."
"I will fucking kill you, you midget!" Shaltear shouted, but just as things were about to spiral out of control, Cocytus arrived.
The large insectoid warrior smashed his large halberd into the ground, causing ice to cover the floor, as he neared, the air became still and cold.
"BEHAVE YOURSELVES, YOU ARE IN THE PRESENCE OF THE SUPREME ONE!" The two who were quarreling seconds ago immediately bowed in front of lord Momonga, shouting out "We apologize Lord Momonga!" while their faces contorted in shame. Like they had just been canceled on Twitter.
"It's fine." The skeleton quickly dismissed their apology.
I quietly watched all of this transpire, but before anything else could happen, Albedo and Demiurge arrived.
"Now then" Albedo spoke, "Let us show our loyalty to Lord Momonga."
Momonga stood in shock as all the guardians kneeled before him, I also kneeled.
"We, humble servants of The Great Tomb of Nazarick, pledge our loyalty to you Lord Momonga! We shall do everything in our power to carry out your orders!"
"That we swear!" x7
Momonga simply stood there, after a second in which the guardians expectantly awaited their master's words, Momonga spoke.
As his voice reached my ears, so did the effects of [Aura of despair I.]
I felt my breath choke back as my heart beat faster, my wings, hidden away in my body reflexively twitched and a bit of sweat fell off my cheek.
The aura seemed to affect the other guardians as they all went completely rigid just like me, though guardians like Shaltear and Albedo seemed to be taking it a bit better.
"Excellent my guardians! I am most pleased by your pledge!" Momonga raised his hands in the air in a triumphant gesture, making a certain duo of guardians excited by how cool he looked, with the aura active as well, I couldn't blame the guardians for basically deifying him, the man did look like a god right now from this perspective.
Sebas Tian arrived at this point, and Momonga turned to him, the aura still showing in all its glory, making the stone-faced butler freeze, if only for a millisecond.
"Sebas, give us the report on the surroundings."
"Of course." Sebas spoke while bowing slightly, "The area surrounding Nazarick is plains, I didn't recognize a single object or creature in a kilometer radius."
"Plains?" Spoke up a confused Momonga, "Yes, plains as far as the eye can see."
"Has Nazarick been transported?" I voiced my thoughts on the matter.
"IT WOULD APPEAR SO." Cocytus nodded along.
"Albedo, raise the defense of Nazarick to the max. Mare, do you have any ideas on how to hide Nazarick from any intruders?" Ainz questioned, looking for any ideas.
"W-Well we c-could cover the walls with dirt..." Mare voiced a plausible idea.
"You want to smear the glorious walls of Nazarick with DIRT?!" The succubus raged at the idea.
"Albedo, keep your opinions to yourself if they aren't helpful." Momonga admonished, even the slight disappointment in his voice made the guardians freeze up like they were about to be killed.
No, to them, being a disappointment to the supreme one was far worse.
"Forgive me lord Momonga!" She bowed, her body shaking slightly from fear.
"Do you think you could do that Mare?" Ainz turned his gaze back to Mare, the boy wreck of a boy even more nervous now under Momonga's soul-piercing gaze.
"I-I think it should be possible." He stuttered out, barely occasionally meeting Momonga's eyes.
"Good, I trust you all to fulfill your duties," Momonga spoke.
"Now return to your duties and work hard in my name!" "Understood! Came an energetic reply.
And so, Momonga left.
