Overlord

Before the Death Match

Part 1

After teleporting into the Treasury, the first thing Ainz saw was countless lights glittering in the air, like stars in the sky.

The ceiling was so high that one would have to strain to see its heights, and its walls were so broad that they exceeded the range of one's vision. The vast room they defined was filled with dazzling treasures.

In the center of the room was a heaping pile of gold coins and gems, so immense that it resembled a mountain range. Even the amount which could be seen to be counted was but a tiny fraction of the actual sum. In addition, there were masterfully made works of art buried in the mountain of gold.

A quick glance revealed a golden mug, a scepter encrusted with all manner of gemstones, a crystal pitcher, an animal pelt which emitted a platinum radiance, an exquisitely woven tapestry made with thread-of-gold, a pearl-colored ocarina, a fan made of rainbow-colored feathers, a mask made from animal hide, and many, many more.

Needless to say, they were but the tip of the iceberg.

There were hundreds more such articles buried within that gigantic heap of riches. As his followers beheld this literal mountain of treasure, Ainz could hear whispered gasps of awe from them. It would seem the voices came from two people.

Sixty six percent, huh…

Ainz looked behind him, at the three women waiting for orders.

Albedo had shed her armor and changed back into her white dress. There was a look of genuine admiration on her beautiful face as she looked around her surroundings. A similar expression adorned the face of Yuri Alpha, the maid to whom he had given his ring upon returning to Nazarick.

Only one of them was unlike the previous two. That person did not gasp in awe, but instead watched Ainz in silence.

Her face was a work of sculpted beauty. Only one of her eyes — which radiated a cool glow like a cut emerald — was visible, the other being covered up by an eyepatch. Her strawberry-blonde hair gleamed as it reflected the starlight which shone from the ceiling.

She was a heteromorphic being, of the kind known as Automatons. Her name was CZ2128 Delta, or Shizu for short.

As a Pleiades Battle Maid, she was dressed similarly to Narberal and Yuri. However, the biggest difference in her outfit from the others was that all her accessories were done up in an urban camouflage pattern, while her skirt had a cute "1-yen" sticker on it. In addition, she had a firearm of some sort at her waist, attached to her belt like a sword.

Incidentally, that magic gun, the Automaton race, and Shizu's job class of Gunner had all been added to the game after the large-scale update called "Valkyrie's Downfall."

Yuri adjusted her lensless black spectacle frames. She seemed unable to abide the mess around her, given her sense of duty as a maid. Then, she asked:

"Ainz-sama, may I ask why these treasures have not been tidied up? Even if there are protective spells in effect, this is hardly an ideal storage method. You have but to command us and we will immediately begin tidying—"

"Look closely around you one more time."

Yuri looked around, taking about the time of a single breath, and then she apologized.

"My sincerest apologies. Please forgive my lack of insight."

"Pay it no heed. However, the fact is that the items buried within the gold pieces are hardly valuable."

The places where Ainz had looked and where Yuri's eyes had followed were the reason for her apology. There were shelves everywhere, piled all the way up to the ceiling, and the treasures there were more eye-catching than the mountains of gold.

There was a wand socketed with bloodstones, a pair of hihiirokane gauntlets inlaid with garnets, a small silver ring adorned with black diamonds, an obsidian statuette carved in the shape of a dog, a purple amethyst dagger, a miniature altar with countless small white pearls embedded all over it, a peony made from some glass-like material which scattered light in all the colors of the rainbow, a rose blossom which had been masterfully carved from a star ruby, a tapestry which depicted a soaring black dragon, a crown of platinum which held an enormous diamond, golden censers that were encrusted in gemstones, a mated pair of a male and female lion statuettes, carved from ruby and sapphire respectively, cufflinks which looked like flames and which had fire opals set into them, an intricately-carved cigar case made of rosewood, a jacket made of some golden beast's pelt, a dozen plates made of apoitakara, anklets decorated with gemstones of four colors, a grimoire whose cover was made of demantoids, a human-sized statue of a woman which had been carved from gold, a belt with imperial topazes sewn into its material, a chess set whose pieces were all topped in different gemstones, a statuette of a fairy carved from a single piece of emerald, a black cloak that was decorated with countless small gemstones, a drinking horn made from a unicorn's horn, a golden dais that held a crystal ball, and so on.

In addition, there were many mirrors of blue topaz, red crystals that were the size of a man, a gigantic platinum statue of a warrior, a pillar covered in mysterious characters, as well as a gigantic alexandrite which one would need both arms to fully embrace.

These numberless treasures gave Yuri her answer; which was that there was simply no place to put them.

"Let's go."

Albedo and Yuri answered Ainz in the affirmative. Only Shizu remained silent, merely nodding in acknowledgement.

Ainz cast 「Mass Fly」, and then the four of them took off.

It was then that they realized that a faint purple poisonous gas hung in the air.

Yuri looked around to find the source of the purple gas, but though she looked to the ceiling, the walls, and the corners, she could not pinpoint the source of the purple radiance.

Just as confusion bloomed on Yuri's face, a monotonous voice answered her:

"…Yuri-nee. Powerful magic toxin in the air."

"Eh?"

Yuri's surprised answer was met by a cold, inscrutable look. That look came from Shizu's calm green eye, which was devoid of any emotion.

One would not be able to pick up any emotion from those eyes. Shizu had a beautiful face, but if one were to be ungenerous, one could call it an actor's mask.

After all, Shizu was an automaton. She would not show any emotions — indeed, that was how she had been programmed.

"…Blood of Jormungandr?"

As Shizu named that most potent of poisons, Ainz replied:

"Mm, that's correct. I didn't tell you, but the air in the Treasury is toxic. Anyone without poison immunity or items granting it will die within three steps."

"Would that be why you chose me — forgive me, why you chose the three of us to accompany you?"

Indeed it was.

Yuri — who was adjusting her glasses — was a Dullahan, while the stiff-faced Shizu was an Automaton. The two of them were heteromorphic beings who were immune to poison as part of their racial features.

"You're right in the reason for which I brought you here… However, I brought Shizu for more than just that; she is also here for verification."

Ainz and his entourage crossed the mountain range of gold with the 「Mass Fly」 spell, and then they came to the door on the other side.

No, was it right to call it a door? It was more of a bottomless black shadow in the shape of a door, affixed to a wall.

As they arrived before this painting-like door, Ainz fell into thought.

"This is the armory, so what is the password…"

"Ainz-sama, if there is an armory, does this mean that there are other treasures stored in other locations?"

…Eh? Does Albedo not know about the interior of the Treasury?

Ainz had no idea why Albedo would have such doubts. However, it was understandable why she would not know about such things. After all, the Treasury did not exist within the Great Underground Tomb of Nazarick proper, but could only be reached via the use of the Ring of Ainz Ooal Gown. It was designed to be very difficult to infiltrate. Thus, it was only natural why Albedo — who had only received the ring ten days ago — would not know of such things.

He had many questions about what exactly the NPCs knew, but after thinking about it, Ainz dismissed those concerns as trivial, and answered her question.

"Ah, yes. I had a friend called Genjiro. He liked sorting things out neatly, so he should have arranged the items by their intended purpose."

"Is he the Supreme Being who made our comrade Entoma?"

"Yes, that's right, Yuri. However, it seems there was an exception to his orderly tendencies. If he was truly obsessed with cleanliness, then the treasures among the gold pieces should have been tidily arranged as well. One would not want to say that one's room was filthy, after all. Come to think of it, these items should be arranged in order of defensive gear, weapons, jewellery, wondrous items, consumables, crafting supplies, and so on. Also, there's the rooms for the management of Nazarick… and yes, there should be a room for data crystals."

As Ainz chattered on, he pointed to where a two-dimensional shadow now appeared on the wall.

"However, they're all located in the same place inside, and it doesn't really matter which direction you enter from… oh, my apologies. I seem to have said too much."

"Certainly not. I am grateful that you would answer our questions so readily, Ainz-sama."

The two battle maids bowed in thanks as Albedo made her reply.

We're almost out of time, what the hell am I doing? It seems like my mouth won't stop whenever I talk about the glories of Nazarick…

Ainz shrugged, and then looked to the shadow before him.

This was a door which required a certain password to open. Perhaps one could force it open with magic or rogue skills, but Ainz did not know spells like that, not did he have such skills. Thus, he had to speak the password—

That was only to be expected.

There were so many such gimmicks in Nazarick that he would probably only be able to remember a password if it was one he used frequently. However, given that he did not come to the Treasury often, he did not remember the password to this door.

He had only come here when paying for the upkeep costs of Nazarick with the money he had earned, and that had been years ago.

Since he could not remember the password, Ainz spoke a master password:

"All glory to Ainz Ooal Gown."

In response, the jet-black door displayed a series of words: "Ascendit a terra in coelum, iterumque descendit in terram, et recipit vim superiorum et inferiorum."

(TL Note: This is an excerpt from the Emerald Tablet, AKA the Tabula Smaragdina.)

"…Tabula Smaragdina-san really was a perfectionist."

Albedo reacted to those words which Ainz could not help but mention.

Ainz thought of one of the people who had designed the tricks and traps used by Ainz Ooal Gown.

He had a hand in designing about twenty percent of the smaller mechanisms throughout the Great Underground Tomb of Nazarick. His abnormally intricate designs consumed much of Nazarick's free data capacity, which caused the other members to complain about being unable to indulge themselves. Thus, he took responsibility for his actions and paid for many cash items to expand said data capacity.

Ainz studied the words which appeared. This must be a hint for the password, but what could it mean?

He racked his brains, taking his time to plumb the depths of his mind for the answer.

Soon, Ainz finally found the password, which slumbered within his memories.

"It should be — By this means you shall acquire the glory of the whole world, / And so you shall drive away all shadows and blindness — am I correct?"

As Ainz said this, he looked to Shizu with questioning eyes.

Shizu nodded in response to him.

She had been made by one of his friends who had worked on different mechanisms from Tabula Smaragdina. Shizu's backstory had been written so that she would be familiar with the bypassing of Nazarick's mechanisms. This was why she could easily solve that password hint.

However, Ainz had not asked her for help because he wanted to indulge the selfish d.e.s.i.r.e to open the door through his own efforts.

The Great Underground Tomb of Nazarick had been brought to life when it came to this new world. Therefore, he wanted to be the first to set his feet here, much like how men wanted to leave their footprints on freshly-fallen snow. It was that d.e.s.i.r.e which drove Ainz to open the door on his own.

As though in response to Ainz's wishes, the shadow door collapsed into a single point. Soon, the shadow was gone, leaving a fist-sized sphere of blackness floating in the air.

Now that the shadow had vanished, one could see into the tunnel that had been left behind. This was an orderly place, completely unlike the previous area. The best way to describe it would be something like a display from a museum.

The dimly-lit room was very long and stretched ever inward.

The ceiling was about five meters above the ground, a height which was clearly not designed with humans in mind, while it was about ten meters from one wall to the other.

The ground was made of tightly-fit, shiny black stone blocks, and it looked like a single gigantic stone slab.

Neat rows of countless weapons were arrayed on the walls to Ainz's left and right, making an impressive display.

"I'm going in."

Ainz entered the Armory without waiting for his three followers to respond.

What awaited the three of them were broadswords, greatswords, estocs, flamberges, scimitars, patas, shotels, kukris, claymores, short swords, sword breakers…

Of course, swords were not the only weapons here. There were one-handed axes, two-handed axes, one-handed bludgeons, javelins, bows, crossbows…

Just the types alone were almost uncountable.

In addition, there were many unrealistic weapons here that stretched the definition of actually being called weapons. Those were the kind that could not possibly be sheathed, or which were more decorative than useful, and so on. No, these weapons were in the majority.

Almost none of them were made of anything as ordinary as mere steel.

There was a sword with a blade of blue crystal, a pure-white sword with gold inlays and engravings, a black sword with purple runes along its body, and even a bow that seemed to have been strung with pure light.

Then there were other weapons that looked dangerous even at a glance.

There was a two-handed axe whose blade constantly dripped fresh blood. Tormented faces appeared and vanished on the black metal of a gigantic mace. There was a lance that resembled human hands clasping each other. And then there were many more weapons like these, in amounts which defied easy counting.

One could guess that most of them were magic weapons, but the exact effect each of them had was a mystery. One might be able to guess at the purpose of a sword whose blade flickered like a flame, but it was impossible to know the abilities of a sword whose blade looked like a whip and which wriggled like a centipede.

The group looked at these weapons on either side as they silently walked through the Armory. Before long — about a hundred meters and thousands of weapons later — they reached their destination, which was a rectangular room.

It might have been used to receive guests, since there was a table and sofa set in the middle of the otherwise-empty room. There were other passages visible to the left and right which looked similar to the one through which Ainz and company had entered.

There was only one route which led further on, in contrast to the way they had entered. The atmosphere of that way was also dramatically different. If the previous room had been like a museum, then the next one was like a tomb.

The height of the room was about the same as the previous one, but the dim interior extended further in. It was hard to tell due to the angles, but it looked like there was a large niche set into the wall, with something placed within it.

After hearing the sounds of surprise from behind him, Ainz said:

"Within lies the Mausoleum."

"The Mausoleum?"

"Hm? Albedo… do you not know the name of that room?"

Well, I did pick that name myself… If it's like this, Albedo might not even know the name of the Treasury's Guardian…

"Then, do you know of Pandora's Actor?"

"Yes, I do. As the Guardian Overseer, I am aware of his name and appearance… Pandora's Actor is the Area Guardian of the Treasury, and his abilities are on par with myself and Demiurge. Other than managing the Treasury, his purpose is also to prepare the currency needed to activate Nazarick's defense network. In other words, he is a treasurer."

"That's pretty much it. However, that is not all. That fellow—"

Before Ainz could finish, he was interrupted — the three NPCs turned to look at one of the other passages and saw an entity there.

That being had a bizarre appearance.

While it had a man's body, its head was that of a distorted squid. The right side of its head was half-covered in a twisted, tattooed letters, which resembled the ones that had floated up on the door just now.

Its skin was like that of a corpse, with purple blotches amidst a ghastly white color, and it was covered in some sort of sticky slime that gave off a bizarre sheen. Webs of skin grew between the long digits of its four-fingered hands.

Its body was covered in a shiny, form-fitting black leather outfit studded with silver jewelry. Several belts wrapped around it. Its black cape was closed in front of it, as if to conceal its body.

It was the very picture of a heteromorphic character. The six twitching tentacles which sprouted from its mouth dangled down to its t.h.i.g.hs, and it turned its cloudy blue pupil-less eyes to survey the group.

Albedo cried out in surprise:

"Tabula Smaragdina-sama!"

This was one of the Forty One Supreme Beings. As a magic caster, he was superior to Ainz in terms of attack power.

"No, that's not him!" she immediately continued.

The two maids watched Albedo's reaction and swiftly moved into action.

Shizu drew her gun and braced its stock against her shoulder, levelling her muzzle at the person before her.

Yuri clenched her fists in front of her c.h.e.s.t, and punched her gauntlets together, which made a sound like a ringing gong.

Then, she slid next to Albedo's side, in front of Ainz and Shizu. Ainz was a magic caster while Shizu was a gunner, neither of whom did well in close combat. Thus, this was the ideal position for her to be in order to cover for them.

"Who are you!? Even if you disguise yourself and your presence as a Supreme Being, I would not mistake my own master for anyone else!"

The mysterious being who looked like Tabula Smaragdina merely inclined its head at Albedo's question, but did not make any reply.

"—Really now. Kill it."

As that cold voice rang forth, the two battle maids hesitated. Though this was an unknown opponent, they were still a little reluctant to attack someone who resembled one of their creators.

Under these circ.u.mstances, one could not fault the battle maids. All that could be said was that Albedo's calm judgement was impeccable.

Their top priority was the safety of their ward, Ainz.

Albedo clicked her tongue as the other two failed to act. Just as she was about to charge, a distinctly unhappy Ainz said:

"That's enough. Return to your true form, Pandora's Actor!"

Tabula Smaragdina's body distorted.

In the space of a heartbeat, another heteromorphic being stood where the impostor Tabula Smaragdina had been, though it was something else entirely.

Its face was flat, with no nose or other facial features. Its mouth and eyes were replaced by three empty holes. There were no eyeballs, teeth, or a tongue; just three black holes which looked like they had been drawn on by a child with a black marker.

The pink, egg-like head was smooth and shiny, without a single hair to mar its surface.

This strange character — and Narberal — were both Doppelgangers.

His name was Pandora's Actor, and he was a level one hundred NPC personally designed by Ainz and placed in charge of the Treasury. His talents lay in disguise, and he could copy forty five separate forms and even their abilities — though only at eighty percent of the original's potency.

His hat bore the crest of Ainz Ooal Gown, while the uniform he wore was very similar to the uniforms used by Neo-Nazi elite guards during the Euro-Arcology Wars twenty years ago.

After forcefully cl.i.c.k.i.n.g his heels together, he raised his right hand to his cap in a grossly overacted salute.

"I bid you a fond welcome, my creator, Momonga-sama!"

"…You seem quite lively."

"Indeed! I burst with energy every day! Speaking of which, may I know the purpose for which you have come? And to think you would have in your train these fair maidens, the Guardian Overseer and the Pleiades Battle Maids!"

Yuri and Albedo returned to their positions behind Ainz after the Area Guardian revealed himself, although the three of them had different looks on their faces.

Yuri — who took pride in her position as one of the Pleiades — adjusted her glasses and seemed displeased at being called a "fair maiden." She looked as though she wanted to say something, though ultimately she did not.

Albedo, who stood beside Ainz, seemed to be jealous of the fact that Pandora's Actor had been created by Ainz and pursed her lips where Ainz could not see her.

Shizu, on the other hand, showed no change in her expression and simply returned her weapon to its place.

"We will be going into the innermost vaults to retrieve World Class Items."

"Of what do you speak!? Has the time come to unleash their power!?"

Pandora's Actor put on an exaggerated look of shock. This act made Ainz furrow his nonexistent eyebrows.

His clothes were one thing, but why did he have to overreact to everything? No, Ainz knew the answer to that.

Ainz was the creator of Pandora's Actor; in other words, his every move and gesture existed because Ainz thought they were stylish. Thus, he had happily worked them into the character design.

"…Ugh, this is really…"

In the past, he had thought of military uniforms as being very cool, and he believed that actors ought to be dramatic, but watching someone as intelligent like him make such showy motions was—

"Uwah~ how lame~"

Those quiet words slipped free of Ainz's heart, so softly that nobody heard.

This was his black history.

His living, breathing black history (Pandora's Actor).

If anyone else in the guild were around to witness this NPC's conversion into an actual person, they would probably be rolling around on the floor, laughing out loud. Well, that was how he felt; he was not pointing fingers at anyone.

"…Forget it, I need to pull myself together. As one of the undead, I don't have time to be shaken by such psychological blows," Ainz quietly said to himself as he calmed himself down.

"…Mm, you're right. I intend to withdraw 「Greed and Generosity」, 「Hygieia's Chalice」, 「Billion Blades」, and 「Depiction of Mountains and Rivers」."

"…And what of the other two?"

"Leave them. They're one-use items. The fact that they're so powerful means you have to think about the right time and place to use them. Then, there's also the matter of how to recover the items to use them again."

"Indeed, it is so. For these legendary treasures, so mighty and potent that they are worthy of being called trump cards, which can make the impossible possible, or even change the face of the entire world—"

"—Pandora's Actor, I'd like to test your knowledge; there are two hundred World Class Items, but how many of them are you familiar with?"

"Forgive me, Momonga-sama, but I only know of eleven of them."

Ainz nodded in acknowledgement. Those were the World Class Items which Ainz Ooal Gown possessed. He did not know that there was one more, 「Atlas」, which had been stolen from them. In other words, he had learned that the NPCs' knowledge was affected by their settings, but they could ignore any contradictions in their backstories.

Ainz had observed the NPCs for several days now. He had learned that the NPCs seemed to take after his former guildmates in the parts of the their personalities which were not covered by their character details, as well as in the interpersonal relationsh.i.p.s with other NPCs. For instance, the relationship between Shalltear and Aura, or that between Demiurge and Sebas.

Ainz smiled, though his expression did not change.

So basically, they're like everyone's children.

It felt like his friends from the past were by his side once more. It gladdened Ainz's heart, but at the same time he felt terribly alone.

Ainz shook his head to disperse his hurt feelings.

"Is that so, Pandora's Actor? I seem to have asked you a pointless question."

"Certainly not; I must tender my sincerest apologies for my lack of knowledge."

With that, he bowed. Every move he made was exaggerated to the point of being ridiculous.

"…Never mind. I will be heading to the Mausoleum soon. Has anything happened here?"

"Of course not, everything within this domain is the sole property of yourself and all your colleagues, Momonga-sama. How could anything happen?"

With a theatrical flourish, he gestured all around him.

"Although, it is with a heavy heart that I confess that I was hoping you intended to make use of my abilities, Momonga-sama."

Ainz paused, and began sizing up this heteromorphic creature.

He was right; at one point Ainz had indeed intended to make use of him. Pandora's Actor possessed wit and cunning that ranked among the pinnacle of Nazarick's denizens. While he usually applied said intelligence toward strange purposes, it was very difficult to cast aside his wisdom during times of great need.

In addition, Pandora's Actor possessed very flexible abilities, to the point where he could replace all the other Guardians.

However, Ainz had not made him for combat or administrative duties, but to preserve the forms of "Ainz Ooal Gown" and the memories of his comrades.

"…You are my final ace in the hole, so I do not intend to use you for petty tasks."

"…I am truly grateful for that."

With a look on his face which suggested that he was hesitant to speak (probably), Pandora's Actor once more took a deep bow.

"Understood. Then, I shall continue to manage the Treasury from now on."

"Mm, make me proud. Also, from now onwards, call me Ainz, Ainz Ooal Gown."

"Ohhhh! I hear and obey, my creator, Ainz-sama!"

After Pandora's Actor saluted him, Ainz turned away, as if to show that the conversation was over. Just then, a voice came from behind him.

"However, Ainz-sama; though this might offend you, I submit that since a situation has arisen that requires the use of World Class Items, it might be better for you to permit me to leave the Treasury and move around on other floors."

"…"

He had a point there.

Pandora's Actor was a treasure, but it would be foolish to lose more important treasures because all he did was display him rather than use him. Now was the time to deploy of him, given that this was an emergency situation, and he also had to move the Treasury's gold to the Throne Room.

After making his decision, Ainz turned around, just in time to see Pandora's Actor placing a hand on his c.h.e.s.t, as if to recommend himself.

Ainz also heard a quiet "uwah~" from the otherwise expressionless Shizu.

That sound carved a grievous wound into Ainz's soul — although his emotional suppression immediately calmed him down.

Pandora's Actor was indeed far too dramatic, and it made his creator (Ainz) think that every single movement he made was designed to scream "I am cool."

Perhaps such actions would fit him if he was a handsome man, but instead he was an egghead, which made them terribly unfitting. It even made Ainz feel uneasy when he saw him.

Ainz quietly studied Pandora's Actor for a while, and then he plucked a ring from his pocket dimension and tossed it to him.

The ring traced an arc through the air, landing neatly in the hand of Pandora's Actor.

"This… is the Ring of Ainz Ooal Gown, and it possesses the ability to…"

Ainz held up a hand, as though to tell Pandora's Actor not to go on. Although he seemed quite disappointed, Ainz decided to pay him no heed.

"This is just in case. Albedo, inform the vassals of Nazarick about Pandora's Actor. Before that, you are only to travel between the Throne Room and the Treasury, Pandora's Actor."

"Understood."

The two of them responded at the same time, but Pandora's Actor clicked his heels together with great force, tossing out his arm which was straightened all the way to the tips of his fingers and saluted with great pomp and circ.u.mstance… or to put it less kindly, he was hamming it up.

Ainz looked at his egghead, and gently shook his head.

He was not a bad sort, and he was quite capable, but regretfully—

"Uwah~"

Why did I design him with such a personality? I used to think this sort of thing was so cool. No, actually, I still think his uniform is kind of cool…

If Ainz could have blushed, his face would be bright red.

"Oi, Pandora's Actor."

Ainz grabbed Pandora's Actor by the shoulders and pulled him aside, as if to say, Come with me. Of course, he told Albedo and the maids to stay where they were.

"I have an important question for you. I am your creator, and the one you are loyal to, right?"

"Indubitably so, Ainz-sama! For as I was made by you, if you d.e.s.i.r.e me to do battle with the other Supreme Beings, I shall charge into the fray without hesitation!"

"I see… then, I have a request for you as a human being… no, a man… no, as your creator… Could you please not salute any more?"

Pandora's Actor locked his vacant eyes with Ainz's own, his confusion at Ainz's words evident within them.

"Er, that… how shall I put it, your saluting is pretty weird, so please don't salute any more… As for your uniform, it makes you look very strong, so we'll leave that be… but please, really, don't salute any more."

"Wenn es meines Gottes Wille!"

(TL Note: If this is my God's will!)

"Is that German? Don't speak like that either. No, you may use it if you please, but just not in front of me. I'm begging you."

"Y-Yes…"

This was the first time Pandora's Actor had such a look of shock on his face, and his answer seemed a little strange. After realizing their faces were close enough for a kiss, Ainz backed off and asked weakly:

"Please, I'm begging you. I didn't think my emotion override would trigger over something like this. It's worse than riding a giant hamster… I can hardly believe it myself. Although I'd like to discuss the matter in greater detail, the situation is quite urgent, so we'll leave it at this for now."

♦ ♦ ♦

"Then, there's something which has to be done before entering the Mausoleum. Albedo, leave the Ring of Ainz Ooal Gown which I gave you with Pandora's Actor."

Ainz explained the reason for that to a confused Albedo.

"This is the final trap emplaced here; the Avataras within are programmed to attack anyone with a Ring, even if that person is you or me."

"I see… intruders would use the Ring to get here. Thus, they would trigger that final trap."

"Evil, don't you think?"

"Of, of course not!"

Albedo reluctantly plucked the Ring from her left ring finger, folding it into a silk handkerchief before handing it to Pandora's Actor. As he saw this, Ainz removed his ring as well, and placed it into a box that he had produced from thin air.

"Ah!" Ainz exclaimed. He seemed to have thought of something. He placed the ring with the box which contained all the other rings that he had not yet decided to gift to people.

This was because he would still be considered to have the ring on even if it were in his pocket dimension, which would result in the Avataras attacking him if he entered the Mausoleum.

"Albedo-sama… could you please let go?"

As he heard that vaguely annoyed voice, Ainz turned to see Albedo and Pandora's Actor playing tug-of-war with the silk handkerchief.

"My, my precious…"

"Ainz-sama said so, didn't he? If you wear the Ring, you'll be attacked. It's just taking it off for a while…"

"What are you saying? This is the Ring which Ainz-sama gave me! How could I—!"

"…Albedo, there's no time for this. If you're unwilling to leave it with him, then I shall…"

"My apologies, I'm ready now!"

Albedo suddenly let go, making Pandora's Actor lose his balance and stumble back with a cry.

"Is that so… then enter. Pandora's Actor, you will direct Yuri and Shizu to move some of the treasure to the Throne Room… Though it might be troublesome, be considerate of Albedo and do not use her Ring. Instead, use the one I gave you."

"Thank you very much, Ainz-sama! I cannot bear the thought of others using the Ring that you personally gifted to me. But — Of — Course — since this is an emergency, it is not that I am truly unwilling. I just wish to let you know how much I value that ring, Ainz-sama, although I am sure that you already know that even without the need for me to—"

"—Understood! …Then, who shall stay here and receive Ainz-sama when he returns?"

A look that ill-fitted an elegant beauty crossed Albedo's face as Pandora's Actor interrupted her self-promotion. Ainz decided to look away from Albedo in that state, so as not to mar the image of the beautiful maiden in his mind.

"We should be some time. I will notify you with a 「Message」 and you can return to us then. After all, we cannot leave this place without a Ring."

"Understood."

Ainz and Albedo entered the Mausoleum, under the eyes of Pandora's Actor and the two maids.

This dimly-lit place was deathly silent, and it seemed like a suitable place for the spirits of the departed to rest. Ainz felt somewhat guilty about breaking the silence here, but nevertheless, he opened his mouth and asked the person travelling beside him:

"That's right, Albedo: what do you know about World Class Items?"

"From what I can tell, they are the most valuable treasures that the Supreme Beings have collected. They are deeply cherished and one of them is in my possession… but that is all."

"I see. Then, on some other day, I shall commit what I know about the World Class Items to paper. It will be safer to let more people know about that information. Before that, however, I shall inform you about these dangerous items."

Ainz began talking about them as he walked.

♦ ♦ ♦

World Class Items.

These items were closely linked to the game world of YGGDRASIL.

The World Tree Yggdrasil had countless leaves, but then a gigantic monster appeared which devoured these leaves, causing them to fall one after the other, until only nine were left. These nine leaves were the previous incarnations of the Nine Worlds: Asgard, Alfheim, Vanaheim, Nidavellir, Midgard, Jotunheim, Niflheim, Helheim, and Muspelheim.

However, that leaf-eating monster continued its advance on those nine remaining leaves. This was the backstory upon which the players adventured into unknown worlds in order to protect their own world.

What did those World Class Items represent? They were equivalent to those other leaves — in other words, a single World Class Item represented a world. Thus, the basic design principle of World Class Items was that they possessed enormous power, and indeed, many World Class Items were extremely powerful.

Many players had even expressed the opinion that these items were too imbalanced, but the developers simply replied, "The possibilities of the world are not that small," and showed no intention of changing these balance breakers.

The developers seemed to have a soft spot for the word "World," and so any class or monster with "World" in its name was usually much stronger than normal.

To the developers, the incredibly powerful last boss of the main campaign storyline — known as the "World Eater" — was the signature World Class Enemy. In addition, only the winners of a tournament held in each world could become a "World Champion."