NETHER REGIONS

(AN: Credit to TheVersalStudios for the idea to have Ainz join the fun somehow. Originally, I was just going to have a bunch of empty universes, but it sounds hilarious to have him transported to the Bonzai Universe in the tomb of Nazarick.)

A distant region, the Nether.

Suzuki Satoru had watched the countdown timer until the MMORPG Yggdrasil would shut down, but he couldn't have expected that he would be transported to a completely different place. Luckily, his practiced calm as a salaryman carried him through his interactions with the NPCs.

When they had declared their undying loyalty to him earlier, he was quite unsettled. It was moments like those that he was happy to have his expressions masked by his skull. He was a bit worried because he noticed he had become less and less human since he had become his avatar, Momonga. Would he eventually be an emotionless undead after enough time?

But he couldn't afford to contemplate these questions yet, because the Great Underground Tomb of Nazarick was facing an emergency. When Sebastian had reported back the terrain changes, he was surprised to find that the Tomb seemed to have been transported to some hell dimension. The surroundings were extraordinarily hot, causing any water that wasn't deep within the lower levels of Nazarick to evaporate entirely.

Other than the terrain changes, there was an ever-present [MENU] that all the NPCs seemed to share access to, along with himself. Of course, Momonga had noticed the similarities of the [MENU] with the original YGGDRASIL system, which he had used for almost a decade. But there were significant differences. The information that Demiurge gathered helped him understand most of the significant points of the system.

1. Firstly, the world around them is completely composed of blocks, and these blocks have varying values of 'durability' applied to them. These blocks seem to have some coordination with the inbuilt crafting options of the [MENU].

2. They seemed to be inside a type of dungeon known as a [TOMB], which makes perfect sense considering. This [TOMB] seems to be a naturally occurring dungeon within this... world. The most significantly notable feature of [TOMB]'s is their complete armored encasing of a [Bedrock] type block, with the exception of the tomb entrance. This would make any enemies have to enter through their designed entrances unless another workaround is found.

3. It seems that the usual method of enchanting weapons using data crystals has changed to experience from the level bar on the [MENU]. Momonga's level 100 character abilities and options had changed to a Rank 4 [Overlord] in the [MENU]. The levels he had painstakingly gathered, could only be used for enchanting now.

Momonga finished going over his notes and the three bullet points he had underlined repeatedly so he wouldn't forget them during his next discussion with Albedo.

"Sigh*" Momonga sighed. He missed his friends, he hated acting like he was greater than he was just so he didn't disappoint his friend's children.

"Where are you guys now I wonder?" He asked the air, with melancholy.

*Poof*

"Woah!" A small blue Genie poofed into existence right in front of Momonga, he exclaimed in surprise at seeing the skeleton [Overlord] alone on his throne.

Momonga immediately stood up and raised his hand warily.

"Who and what are you?" he demanded, leaking his Aura of Despair unconsciously.

"Oh! Wow~ I'm a huge fan, Mister Satoru!" Genie quickly reached out and grabbed Momonga's hand and shook it vigorously.

Momonga looked and felt awkward at the tiny genie, being able to shake his hand so vigorously despite his size. Also, he very clearly was prepared to cast a spell with his hands, why is this guy shaking it like nothing happened instead? Wait, did it just call him Satoru?!

"Y-you know me?!" Momonga asked in confusion, his race's mental suppression kicking in and calming him down a second later.

"I do! But I didn't mean to bring you here. It was an accident!" The tiny Genie said while looking sheepishly at his toes.

"There was supposed to be nobody left alive in your universe, but somehow you along with 10 others had somehow arrived here attached to the Yggdrasil game. I must have not heated it long enough." The tiny Genie explained while mumbling the last sentence quietly.

"Wait!? Who else arrived?!" Momonga grabbed the tiny Genie excitedly.

"I'm meeting each of you one all at once, I don't know the others. I'm just a clone." The tiny Genie muttered, a bit depressed.

"But I got to meet you!" The tiny Genie exclaimed, perking back up.

But Momonga was not paying attention at the moment, his heart finally felt like it was beating again. He could feel it, he just someone knew, some of his friends had arrived here too. Even though, he figured that the creature in front of him was no less than a god if it brought him here. He still had to risk angering it, to know if he could meet his dear friends once again.

"Is it possible to meet each other?" Momonga asked the tiny Genie, anxiously.

"Yes, but only after the players arrive. I'll open the other dimensions such as the Nether, the one you are in." The tiny Genie explained.

"Players... am I, are we inside a game?" Momonga felt like the question he asked was absurd.

"Of course not, this is a real world. But those players will think it is a game. I came to tell you to keep this to yourself and also to compensate you with a small tiny minuscule boon." The tiny Genie explained, his voice squeaking in a high pitch and getting softer as the sentence neared its end.

Momonga sat back down on his throne, the racial ability of the undead, constantly forcing him to remain calm. Tiny Genie had to wait a total of 5 minutes before Momonga had regathered his thoughts enough to ask about the boon he would receive.

"Well, here is a list of minor boons." Tiny Genie pulled out a small scroll, which was unrolled, and kept unrolling, as it seemed to never stop. It unrolled so much it was going up the walls of the throne room, only to come back down the other side.

It took Momonga all but 3 seconds before he choose the 5th minor boon on the list: [Acting King]. He could naturally assume a role, without any flaw or added stress from maintaining it for a long time. It was exactly what he had hoped for. As soon as he selected it Tiny Genie disappeared after a 'Todaloo~', just as Albedo burst into the throne room with her full combat gear.

"Momonga-sama!~ Are you alright?!" She cried with worry.

"Mhm- I am absolutely fine, Albedo. What's wrong?" Momonga replied, acting perfectly like a competent overlord would.

'It would seem the minor boon I chose has already started to work.' Momonga thought internally, after noticing how comfortable he was with his motions as an 'overlord'.

"Ah-" Albedo paused in shock, feeling the absolute aura of an overlord from Momonga, more than ever before.

She felt like she was in front of a natural King, and her outburst had been far too disrespectful. She immediately went to one knee and apologized, but Momonga raised his hand to stop her.

"Albedo, tell me. What troubles you?" Momonga asked.

"Y-yes, Momonga-sama. I was just worried. Demiurge tried to contact you with [Message], but you didn't answer. When I tried to open the throne room doors, they were locked!" Albedo exclaimed, looking hurt.

"I understand, Albedo. I am alright. No, I am better than alright." Momonga said while he was thinking back on being able to possibly find his friends in this 'game' world.

'Perhaps Yggdrasil was a real-world all along too.' he thought, while he chuckled softly on the outside.

"Albedo, accompany me. There is much to do!" Momonga stood up from his throne with regal practice and commanded Albedo to follow.

"Yes, Momonga-sama!" Albedo squealed with delight, but her expression was hidden under her black armor.

AN: I hope you enjoyed the addition of a 'boss level character' added to the ever-changing landscapes of this game. Let me know if you enjoyed it in the comments.