i'm gonna keep writing because this is honestly pretty fun
Chapter 3
"Yo, back up a little," Java scowled, shoving the demon's tail up and out of her face. She kept a wary eye on the pincer, which seemed to be waving quite violently behind him in quick and piercing motions. "Calm down there, bud. What, did I insult your mother while I wasn't paying attention?"
"It is my nature to fight and conquer," he said resolutely while Java batted the pincer away. He was tacking on the roleplaying aspect a bit too much, in her opinion. "Complete the duel. You will not die to anyone or anything but me!"
"Yeah, not dying anytime soon," Java sighed, dismissing him. Peroroncino stared at the demon a bit warily.
Java had expected the demon to be all "bow before me, lower life form" on her since she was moving as a human character, but surprisingly he didn't rub it in as much. He seemed more interested in just fighting at any opportunity, and the prospect of strong opponents caught his attention.
Maybe he was intimidated by the other heteromorphic characters? No, he fought groups of 30 or so players on a regular basis, there was little chance that he found any fear from them, regardless of appearance.
It might also have been because she proved herself, but that was more of an afterthought considering the demon seemed to be lacking a few brain cells. Maybe she hit him too hard that time and he got insulted.
She was a bit worried about people who had seen the World Enemy before and what would happen if they recognized him. Then again, there could be people that changed their own avatar to look like a boss monster, though she'd never seen any players like that herself.
The flashiest characters actually were the ones roleplaying, she thought, side-eyeing Momonga who had managed to gain higher-level drop items, which included clothing. Customizing them was also available, of course, but that was usually if he had an item to do so.
Thank god YGGDRASIL had so many people entranced by the roleplaying aspect of the game; otherwise, this demon lord would've been more of a problem...
He still seemed to be craving for a fight, though. Following her around like a shadow, pincer tail waving with the attitude for striking at random moments, Java felt the urge to put him back where he came from. That would be a problem, too, since this World Enemy seemed to roam those mountains. People would come looking for a fight eventually, only to see that he was not there.
Other than that, the demon had no acknowledgment of the life he had been in before, trapped in one place by his coding. It was as if he had not recognized his place as an inferior monster ready to be attacked repeatedly, at least in the dev's standards.
Was it possible that he slept for most of that time?
There should definitely be long periods where no one comes to challenge him since he was a very tough Enemy to beat, but that seemed...quite possible, actually. Java peered closer at the NPC, and the tail paused right at the crown of her head, stopping right before it impaled itself into her skull.
She didn't know how these characters were made or how their memories worked before being developed into the storyline. For NPCs with long and detailed backgrounds, it would make sense, but for those whose purpose was just to exist, did those characters have their own lives before they turned into cannon fodder? Were they plucked out of their homes? Or were they blank slates, made only to exist after their birth and thusly having no recollection of their past?
That was a truly piteous thought. Java opted for patting him on the head sadly, earning her a glare and a twitch of one silver brow. She wisely decided not to do that again.
Touch Me and Momonga had both agreed on letting her join their clan, named Nine's Own Goal by the nine members who created it. They were all heteromorphic characters, though that was not very surprising since nobody else would want to have a non-human member that could be PKed in an instant. Momonga had been the second addition, and the name had come soon after the last person joined, with Touch Me as the appointed leader of the group.
The other eight players had all been saved by Touch Me in similar patterns, Momonga explained eagerly, much to the warrior's embarrassment. They had all been hunted down by human players only to be saved at the last minute. Their need to repay that debt banded them together and made them close friends, who trusted each other with their lives and their weapons.
"What happened to the ninth?" Java asked, only seeing eight members visible. Momonga laughed nervously but did not respond. Java assumed it was bad history and left the subject alone.
Bukubukuchagama and the demon (who denied vehemently, but after realizing that Java was discreetly trying to get rid of him accepted without hesitation) had been added as the eleventh and twelfth members.
Peroroncino, who they called soon after they disbanded the party and joined the clan, was apparently already a member of that group.
"What?" Said player asked nonchalantly, shaking his feathers as he materialized from thin air, logging on fully and readjusting to his settings. "They're the reason I'm playing on a regular basis. Well, I would've done that anyway, but..."
"And why didn't you invite me?" Bukubukuchagama cried, waving thin gooey arms in prayer. "I would've killed to join!"
"I don't want to invite you to everything, y'know!" Peroroncino groused, displeased. "Also, I didn't want my friends to be associated with the likes of you!"
"Hah? The hell is that supposed to mean?"
But before Peroroncino could reply, Bukubukuchagama turned towards the previously known World Enemy, self-introduction in mind. "Anyway, I haven't introduced myself properly. Hello! I'm Bukubukuchagama, what's your name?"
"Lowly fools like you have no permission to know my name," the demon retorted rudely, crossing his arms in one abrupt motion. Java promptly smacked him, earning a quiet hiss in return.
He didn't have a name, Java realized. Well, he might have before, but now he didn't, since she had destroyed every part of him that was once NPC. She grabbed the end of his tail and wrenched it backward so he lost his balance for a moment, his ire now pointed toward the puny human who had challenged him, but her serious mein did shut him up.
"His name is Az'gathan," she said, a finality imbued within it that made his eyes widen, and with that came the coursing power of the new title granted to him. "His nickname is Situs, so you can call him that, too."
'Az'gathan' blinked at the name, settling in place like a second skin.
It was not often that a demon acquired a name. If one tried to use another's name as his own, he would be consumed by the name if it was one of superior standing to his own. However, given willingly, and by a higher being, the name could be used by a demon of lesser standing.
Once they had parted ways, Java pulled over and asked, "was I right? The Sin Sloth?"
"Was that what my 'nickname' was for?" Az'gathan seemed bemused, which was great because his tail stopped getting as twitchy. "Yes, that is correct. I am the Sin of Sloth, and I symbolize the halfhearted ways of mortals and the crushing feeling of indecision."
"Nevermind, should have just called you 'Stultus' instead," Java muttered under her breath. The demon glared but no longer moved to attack. Java called that progress.
Nine's Own Goal operated on a weekly basis, which seemed pretty active considering most of them had a day job. Java was online 24/7, but none of them had to know that. She showed up when they did and left to other worlds when they logged off, and since her name didn't show up on anything (even the roster?! Peroroncino shrieked, triple checking. How is she not on the active list?) it was fine.
The first one to join after the original nine was a guy with the player name Nishikienrai. He seemed easygoing, shrugging off any setbacks with ease but also rallying his clan members in a way that seemed honest and forthright. His attributes were all categorized in the ninja category, but his personality completely contradicted what his playstyle was: he was aggressive, he was a risktaker, and he had an insatiable urge to charge in with the prospect of fighting higher-level monsters. With players, however, he was much more serious, to her relief.
The next player was a crab heteromorph with four hands, light orange in color and wielding a giant crab claw for a hand. His build had originally been for blacksmithing, but because of that he had been PKed quite a bit. He had the basic combat skills, but once overwhelmed he pretty much went down without a fight. However, as a teammate, he gave far better equipment for the rest of the group because of the smithing skill, which Java found quite interesting.
His clothing matched his vocation, which consisted of goggles and a black apron. His player name was Amanomahitotsu, which was quite a mouthful to say but not the strangest she's heard.
She didn't converse with him a lot, since he seemed to have several day jobs that he had to work and was offline for some of the time. She did think he was also very easy to converse with, despite his slight shyness and self-deprecation.
Tabula Smaragdina was someone she didn't talk to very much. However, he had a deep interest in lore and occult, which she could find respectable. He was also a very good strategist and held a lot of respect within the group for handling many group affairs with a keen eye. He was a good go-to when people wanted to know how to build their characters more efficiently, although he himself didn't fight actively.
He was someone that she would've expected to settle feuds between clan members, but apparently he had some issues himself. When he became too in-depth with his personal projects and interests, he would talk nonstop about it and become utterly single-minded, which made it hard to continue a conversation. Java enjoyed listening to him anyway, as the topic really did seem interesting and he seemed like a person who needed to get his thoughts out.
Warrior Takemikazuchi was a weapon fanatic. After being saved by Touch Me and being the person that he was, Takemikazuchi took that as an insult for being seen as weak and vowed to put the man in his place. He had also been one of the original nine.
Currently, he was leveling and re-leveling all of his skills, min-maxing his build so he could fight one-on-one battles better. He was a tank, like Bukubukuchagama, but he also split skills evenly around physical strength so his true damage increased. He took his role wholeheartedly. He was quite loud, which Java found funny as he engaged in one-sided arguments with Touch Me and lost invariably.
Ulbert Alain Odle was quite the pessimistic person. Out of game and in front of his friends, he was quite kind and caring although a bit of an eccentric, but his take on human players was that of extreme dislike. After meeting him for the first time, they grew quite close since they shared a common interest in NPCs and heteromorphic creatures (Ulbert's was more of the demonic variety, Java simply liked them in general) but Ulbert told her that she was the sole exception out of all the human players as his friend and ally.
"They shun heteromorphic creatures because they think our appearances are grotesque," Ulbert said, gray goat head twisting to the side so that one golden eye met hers dead on. He really enjoyed playing the villain role, much to Touch Me's ire. The two seemed to be having an inward feud that Java didn't want to pry too much on, since Ulbert seemed to have some bad history that needed to be locked up and kept secret. "What does that matter? There can be angels that are so cruel that they are mistaken for the devil, and demons so kind that they can be mistaken for an angel. In the end, they're all looking at the avatar and not the player."
"You take things too seriously," Touch Me laughed, helm shaking, and Ulbert sneered as his focus shifted to the warrior.
"Says the one wearing full body armor to appear human. You look the least monstrous out of all of us, what would you know?"
"Hey, hey, settle down," Momonga said, stepping in between them to stop the fight. Touch Me seemed aggravated but calmed at Momonga's warning. Ulbert, however, turned his back and left them standing there.
"They've had different views on life," Momonga whispered to her later after the remaining clan members had settled down and left the voice chat, the causes of tension gone and hopefully staying away from each other for a bit. "Ulbert thinks Touch Me was born with a silver spoon, while Touch Me thinks Ulbert is wallowing too much in self-pity. I believe they're both wrong, but I hope they can figure it out before it's too late."
Java agreed, but that wouldn't make the impossible happen. They resorted to arguments when splitting loot and such, but otherwise they seemed to settle on Momonga's final decisions as the mediator between them.
Az'gathan gravitated toward Ulbert's point of view, which made them quite good friends considering Ulbert thought Az'gathan also acted as a villain character.
He was a villain character, Java thought in her silence, but Ulbert didn't need to know that.
All of them had briefly questioned her about the World Item she had 'found' in Muspelheim. Momonga mentioned how she could customize it by opening the data crystal and typing the attributes in. Since it had more space than even a divine item, Java could use it basically as she wished.
She chose to give it to someone else instead.
"Here," she said. Momonga blinked in surprise. "I don't need it."
"You don't?"
"Nope."
Momonga seemed to be shaking. "I can't take a Twenty from you after all you've done for us," he declined, refusing furiously despite however many times Java had pushed it towards him, so she chose to take that moment to chuck it at him, turn away, and hightail it out of there before Momonga could give it back.
With the loss of one Item, Java prepared to go and get another.
Az'gathan made a face as she wound space-time around them, warping into the next realm they would fight in.
"Fighting my brethren displeases me," he muttered, furrowing his brow. Java turned to him, surprised.
"You have feelings?" She asked.
She ducked the tail that stabbed into the place where her head had just been, laughing. So he did have a sense of humor, after all.
"No, I do not care much for them," Az'gathan replied, brushing off invisible lint from his armored shoulder. "However, there is one Lord of the Seven that has power far beyond my own, even as powerful as I am."
He frowned. "He may kill you without remorse."
"I'm pretty sure you would've done the same if you could," Java shrugged. "If you're injured too much, then run. I can handle it alone."
The tail hovered, then stopped. "Do not die."
"Too late," she said, then traversed into the thunderstorm.
The bad weather had not disappeared since the last time she came. This was probably that [Control Weather] skill she had heard so much about, she thought, rain coming down hard and almost pelting her if not for her magic repelling it away from her skin and clothes. Az'gathan kept pace behind her, tail moving quickly to throw the raindrops off. It was quite efficient, but it looked difficult to do.
There was a circular structure in front of them, with four sets of stairs each coming from the north, south, east, and west sides. They took the closest staircase, which had been the eastern one. The marble was slick with rain, black stone swirling with designs like the galaxy hanging past the storm clouds. In the middle stood a tall, dark figure, hood covering their face. The person turned their way.
The first demon after joining Nine's Own Goal was the Sin named Pride. While fighting, his cloak had been thrown off to reveal the armor he had underneath: it was quite different from the first Sin she'd met, as this armor had a deep purple sheen, covered not in decorative symbols but fully plated scales and metals of all materials. There was a third eye tattooed on the center of his forehead, with red irises and a dark sclera.
30 remaining.
This demon had not dropped an item, to Java's surprise. She left as soon as she relieved Pride of the green text, and luckily he had been too stunned to move. The next demon was not in Muspelheim but Niflheim, a world with a demon majority NPC group.
29 remaining.
"Still no drop? Tch." Java teleported without another word. That NPC had been either Gluttony or Greed, she hadn't stuck around long enough to figure it out. Az'gathan followed her continuously, ever the faithful demon. She wasn't sure whether he wanted to fight someone in this endeavor, though, as he was still somewhat pent up.
28 remaining.
27 remaining.
26 remaining.
The 25th proved to have results. "Oh, thank fuck," she said, turning the weapon over and over in her hands. It was a wand, small and feather-light, with a thin pointed tip and a leaf engraving at the other end. Wrath was standing in front of them, perplexed by how both people had ignored him after receiving the items. "Jesus Christ, now all the Lords have escaped. Alright, time to go."
"Wait!" The NPC spoke, cowed but still standing strong.
Java let out an aggravated sigh, turning back to face the demon, the 'strongest' that Az'gathan had spoken of - Wrath. He was the last one she had defeated.
"Why have we been freed?" Blood red eyes focused unnervingly on hers, deferent to the one who had so easily let him escape from the invisible prison he had been placed in for millennia. He had adjusted to this new predicament the fastest, Java noted as he pulled himself to his feet. His skin was ashen grey, long mane of dreadlocks unhindered and let down, while smoke trailed from the burning ground of the surrounding volcanic rock. He was also the most recipient to responding to the human. "What shall we do now?"
"Do what you've always done. Or don't, I don't care," Java said, shooing him away. "Just make sure the devs don't notice you and attack anyone who comes by, or I'll come back and kill you myself."
(The demon shivered. He knew, with utmost certainty, that Java would come and do just that.)
Having completed what she'd come for and killing time 'destroying' World Enemies, she returned to Helheim without a hitch. She'd hopped through the nine worlds looking for all of them after some searches turned up empty, but even then it had taken under three hours due to her running away when she did find the World Enemies rather than sticking around to fight. Az'gathan looked disappointed. Her [Message] skill turned on with a click.
"Oh, hey, you're back!" Bukubukuchagama yelled, waving in the distance. Java teleported closer while Az'gathan took the winged route, flying up high and rocketing down to gain speed. "Guess what we found while you two were gone!"
"A dungeon?" Java guessed. Bukubukuchagama's blank stare made her feel slightly bad for guessing correctly.
"How did you know - you know what, never mind. Yeah, we found a dungeon. It's pretty hard, too! Nishikienrai found it, nobody else had been there so its untouched," she added with an evil laugh and the rubbing of her hands. She was talking with Ulbert again, wasn't she... "It's in the marshlands. It could even be one of those dungeons where you can build a base! I'm so excited! We'll probably need more members to conquer it, though," she mumbled with a frown, gooey mess sagging a bit.
"Oh, oh, did you find a World Item?" Bukubukuchagama then remembered. Java's expression made her light up again, twirling. "You did! Oh, wow, Ulbert's going to go nuts! I'm gonna tell Peroroncino about this!"
"Lucky, that's one word to describe you," Ulbert muttered, grasping the weapon when she found him. He was surprisingly easy to find, messing with the base description on the item as soon as she gave it to him. "I can't believe you actually found it. You told me you would find it by tomorrow, and you finish the task in six hours. There's only 200 of them, and they're extremely hard to find. Are you a World Item magnet or what?"
"What're you gonna make with it?" Java asked, peering over his shoulder curiously. Ulbert's gaze moved to her, then went back to the item, a malicious grinning emoticon popping up over his head.
"I was going to log off, but after you gave me this it's time to pull an all-nighter," he cackled, opening the data crystal for the description and typing so fast that his fingers blurred. "You'll see by tomorrow."
Java left him to it.
"Hey, Az'gathan, by the way: why is Wrath turning out to be more understanding than you?" She asked, prodding at the tail poking out behind him as he watched. The tail lanced toward her right arm, but she grabbed it instead and tried to tie a knot. The tail rebelled viciously, wiggling like a particularly strong worm. Az'gathan remained unimpressed.
"He believes that he has been put in his place. I, however, have not been defeated yet."
"Y'know, I've met the Seven Sins before in different worlds, and all the versions seem quite different from each other," Java mused, tilting her head. "Not just appearance, but personality as well. None of you have any of the stereotypical attributes for your title like laziness or reckless anger, which is somewhat nice. I was getting quite tired of that bit."
Az'gathan's tail shortcircuited. Java stared down at it in confusion.
"There are others?" He asked, awed. She furrowed her brow but nodded: technically there were many, all in universes that he would never be able to see because of how disconnected they were from each other.
"Well, yeah."
She made the second illusion far past midnight, when most average players had gone to sleep. Muspelheim's Sin had returned, remaining in the same spot at the top of the mountains where it could be 'challenged' without a hitch.
The World Enemies were too widely known for her to risk it. She asked Az'gathan another question that had been pressing on her mind.
"Don't you have any summons near here?"
"I do not," he replied. "They would only be in the way when I fight."
"But even the dungeon bosses-"
"Dungeons and raid bosses are there to protect a specific area," he interrupted, flexing a claw. "Furthermore, they cannot move from their spot. World Enemies and possibly a few divine enemies are able to roam their terrain reaching up to a certain point. I have a very high perception, as does the others."
"Oh, I see," she nodded. "Covering the entire map is pointless when you're coming to fight some of the strongest monsters in YGGDRASIL, anyway. The players would probably do their best to avoid them as not to waste any mana or hp, which would give you far more of an advantage than they need."
"So," she concluded, arm casting out towards the vast plains in front of them, the dungeon further behind the forest line, "what do you think of the world so far?"
"Weak," he spoke immediately. "Unappealing. Too many humans. They are using their strength in numbers, as that clan member of yours - Ulbert - had mentioned before."
"You're also a clan member," she deadpanned. "What are your memories of Yggdrasil? Before the game part of the world existed, I mean?"
"I don't quite remember," he answered after a slight pause. "Players have existed ever since my creation. Yggdrasil has always been mostly destroyed. That was how it's always been."
It was possible. Yggdrasil had the story written as historical proof, but that could have been implemented by the game writers. Maybe, in this world, Yggdrasil had always been tarnished by the World Eater.
But why wouldn't the leaves grow back? It had eaten most of the leaves, yes, but the Yggdrasil she knew gained flowers where it had lost them, grew back fallen leaves, and the ones it did have never withered or turned brown in age. It had been a sacred tree, a god itself.
Speaking of the leaves...
Java remembered the ones still in her bag and pulled them out, looking over them carefully. She didn't see any use for them, and there was no option popping up for her to change them into useful things like World Items or parts for rare material.
"Do you know what these are for?" She asked Az'gathan, hoping he would have some sort of answer.
He shook his head. "I do not. I have never seen this type of plant before."
There were nine leaves in total, three from each wrapped piece of cloth. Java decided to check who was still online, searching around. Momonga was still up, right where she had left him at one of their clan meetings. Ulbert was off doing his work on the World Item he had. She decided not to go bother him now.
She chose Momonga.
"Oh, hey," he greeted as Java walked up to him, leaving Az'gathan behind to rest. He had used many [Teleport] skills in a short amount of time and he didn't have a magic item that would keep him from needing sleep. That had been a new item that she'd learned about recently, but since she didn't need sleep anyway she had no use for it.
"Shouldn't you be asleep by now?" She asked.
"It's fine, I can stay up for one more hour," he replied. "I'm working on the World Item you gave me. What's up?"
"Show me when you're done!" She gave him some of the leaves to put in his inventory and use the [Appraisal] skill on, holding more up for Momonga to examine and waiting for input."Anyway, can you help me with these? I have no idea what they do."
"Woah! 'Yggdrasil leaves'? That sounds pretty important."
He cast [Appraisal: Magic Item], reading the description, but then frowned as if he had hit a roadblock.
"Can't you make World Items out of Yggdrasil's leaves?" He asked, contemplation in his voice. "That's from what I remember of the lore. Yggdrasil used to have a countless number of leaves. The World Eater came and destroyed most of them, leaving only nine attached. The rest that were not eaten were scattered across those nine worlds."
"Right," she said, deciding to open the data crystal. Their description popped up, but she didn't have [Appraisal] so she couldn't figure out what to use them on or how to use them at all. "So what's the problem?"
"Well, it can't be that easy, right? We have nine of them, if they all turned into World Items that'd be crazy," he laughed. "I'm pretty sure this is from an event item or something. Maybe you picked them up from the ruins you investigated."
"Just try what it says," Java urged. With a sigh, Momonga took the ones he had and transformed them with the press of a button on his console-
"Ah."
The rest of the spaces in his inventory had been filled up, each containing a different World Item, border easily visible through Momonga's screen.
They stared down at the verdict.
"HOLY FUCK! ULBERT GET OVER HERE!" Momonga's very uncharacteristic scream had Ulbert scrambling back to base camp while he simultaneously called the remaining members. Java felt herself leaning back at his enthusiasm, feeling like she was staring into a nascent sun giving off too many waves of energy at once. "Touch Me-san? Are you awake? Guess what we have, five more World Items! Wait, Java, you still have four more! We have twelve Items in total! Get everyone online, we're using these on everybody!"
Needless to say, the people who came online did not get much sleep after that. Some skipped work to make sure they could safeguard their items, while others (like Touch Me) returned only after their normal hours, but in the end twelve out of the fourteen members had received an Item, Az'gathan being excluded and still fast asleep. One was a Twenty, the type that would disappear after one use because of its capabilities.
Java handed hers in to Momonga, granting him the second World Item. "H-huh? Me?" He asked, pointing to himself. "But don't you want one?"
"It's fine," she said. "Give it to someone else."
Yet Momonga insisted that she keep it, and Tabula Smaragdina proclaimed that he could not use it as he was the sole group commander and would be too focused on making sure everyone else could manage, so eventually Java sighed and decided to give it to Az'gathan instead, who would wake up after a couple more hours. Demons ran efficiently, but not as efficiently as she did.
He didn't show much of a reaction on his face, but his tail wagged in glee and Az'gathan made an effort to hide it as much as possible. It was quite a good response so Java chose to leave him be. Well, he was probably as strong as two or three of those Items, but if he could find a use for it that was not in his skillset it would still turn out to be a good present.
She wondered what he would make with the settings.
Normally, they still would've been unable to do that dungeon raid, but after finding three more members - Herohero, Blue Planet, and Ankoro Mocchi Mochi - and with almost all of them having World Items, they were ready to place the challenge. However, before that, Touch Me called for a final group meeting to announce a big change.
"We can form a guild with this many members," Touch Me said, recounting the number of people in their group. "We have seventeen exactly. Along with the addition of World Items, despite not having as many people we can defeat the dungeon. Make sure to use them properly, this will be our one chance."
"We're forming a guild now?" Takemikazuchi asked, shouldering the weapon on his back. It was the World Item, transformed into a samurai's sword that fit his character description. "It's about time, honestly."
"I don't want to advertise our having World Items yet," Touch Me warned, switching out his weapon. Java was barehanded already, so it didn't matter much. "If we form a guild now and other people come to join, they may only stick around to take one and leave. We should wait on using them near other players until we have a good reputation by itself."
"Do you think we should wait on conquering the dungeon then?" Amanomahitotsu asked nervously. "If we lose our items in there, it might turn out bad."
"Completing a dungeon with only seventeen people does sound a bit suspicious," Ulbert agreed. "Besides, I'm not done with my World Item."
"I think we should," Touch Me said. "Someone might take it before we do. I've seen several groups around this area already, but none of them have found it. We shouldn't push our luck waiting."
"Not worth the risk."
"We should do it," Takemikazuchi spoke. "I think we can do it. We've gotten this strong already, haven't we?"
"I agree with Take-san," Ancient One told them, also taking a side. "Don't you think it's great? We'll start off our guild with a bang. This game was meant for players to thrust themselves into danger. With that in mind, isn't clearing an unknown dungeon a good thing? Let's become a guild that goes all in."
"Stupidly going all in and losing half our inventory isn't what I call a smart choice," Flatfoot frowned. "I'm not fully leveled yet, so I don't feel too great about this plan. We should bail." An argument seemed imminent, as there were divided opinions on whether or not to take the risk.
"Let's do a majority vote," Momonga cut in, avoiding another bad situation. "All in favor?"
Java raised her hand. So did Az'gathan. Ulbert and a few others did not, but it was clear that the majority were indeed in favor. "It's decided, then. On that note, we can vote on who the next guild leader will be. Touch Me, are you willing to take on that role?"
"I'm stepping down," Touch Me mentioned, earning a few exclamations of surprise. "I wasn't a very good group leader anyway, and I think Momonga could manage it far better than I have."
"Wait, what?" Momonga said. "That's news to me!"
That was true: since nobody wanted to step in between Touch Me and Ulbert, Momonga was usually the person to go to when stopping those fights. Everyone seemed to simultaneously agree that it was for the best.
"All in favor of Momonga?"
There was no opposition. Momonga sheepishly bowed his head. "O-okay, then. Thank you, everyone. I'll try my hardest."
Their guild had been renamed as Ainz Ooal Gown, the name having been chosen by Momonga after taking on too many other recommendations. He had liked the old name, he said with a grin, so he had created an anagram from it. The result was pretty cool, in her opinion.
Java avoided speaking to them for the rest of the day, checking out the dungeon alone. She didn't want this to be a sweeping victory as it would definitely seem a bit suspicious, but at the same time they would be very disappointed if they lost so quickly. Momonga had just reached level 60 after grinding, but the recommended amount for players to beat it was at level 80 and above. She went through each floor as quick as she could, avoiding any interaction with the raid bosses and watching the patterns of the pop monsters.
Looking at what information she had collected, the Great Tomb of Nazarick was a 6-floor dungeon that could be made into a guild base when conquered. There was a treasure chest with equipment that Nishikienrai would probably find interesting, along with a considerable amount of gold coins near the end. Bukubukuchagama had mentioned how this was an unexplored dungeon without any claim by another guild, so they should make use of their head start.
There were Five Rulers on the first five floors, one per floor. They each seemed to have level 70 to above level 90 attacks and were ordered by the last boss, the Lord of Helheim, to protect the Great Tomb of Nazarick. Three of these monsters she looked at more closely, consisting of the Pure White Bat, a Lightning Dragon, and a fallen divine being named Asura.
Surprisingly, the strength of these bosses were not by what floor they had originated from. The Lord of Helheim had given her a speech as soon as she had entered, mentioning that whatever order she had entered the tomb first would relegate the strength of the floor's protector. If the guild was successful for beating it on the first try, the Lord of Helheim mentioned, they would be rewarded with the rights to the Great Tomb of Nazarick.
The NPCs were very well made, Java admitted, looking at the last boss on the list. It was formed by a statue cursed with evil intention, standing five meters tall and having six arms, each of them holding a different weapon. He was able to use a sword, ax, spear, club, and a bow, and the last hand was used to nock the arrow. His defense was extremely high, too, with intricately made armor covering his body.
She felt slightly bad for intruding into their home, yet the Lord of Helheim seemed quite alright with letting her in.
"This dungeon was meant to be conquered," he said fondly. His appearance was that of a bearded old man, dressed in modest clothing but very kind. He stroked his long white beard thoughtfully, watching alongside her as they traversed the area. He seemed to know that she was not a player, to her shock. "That is what we were made for. However, that doesn't mean we'll make it easy for them."
"I see," Java replied, nodding her head. Asura did not move as they moved through the dungeon, though the hand holding the sword dropped to cross over his chest in a symbol of deference. The Lord of Helheim raised a hand and the living statue returned to its normal position.
"I am in charge of keeping administration over the whole of Helheim. I keep watch over all of the dungeons and monsters in this world, not only Nazarick. I am glad for their gaining independence. I have heard that you were the one who assisted the dragon Qeizodis, am I correct?"
"Yeah," Java admitted, wide-eyed at the self-aware NPC. "I didn't know there were other people who knew about the world they really live in."
"I've lived for a very long time," he told her quite wearily. "I have learned many things about players. That is what has been given to me."
Later that night, all members of the guild logged on to start the dungeon raid. Java made sure to stay near the back so that she wouldn't make any suspicious signs of recognition. Az'gathan trailed even further behind, disinterested.
"They're somewhat strong, but I can still beat them," he spoke, tail flickering. "I have no interest."
The Lord of Helheim merely watched and did not partake in fighting, although she learned that when confronted he was stronger than all the bosses here. He appeared in front of them, loud booming voice echoing in the dim light of the dungeon. His first line when greeting them had been formal: "You who desire this land. Defeat us, and show us your true power."
"Hey, who is this old man?" Nishikienrai joked, pointing his blade carelessly in his direction. Java tensed.
"Hold on, idiot, let him talk," Ancient One spoke, jostling him. She briefly let out a sigh in relief. "He'll probably tell us what to do next."
"Defeat the boss on each floor," the NPC spoke. "After stepping into the circle, you will be transported to an assigned floor. You will be split into groups of five."
"We're gonna split up?" Momonga frowned, worried. "We're at uneven numbers, though. There'll be two groups with an extra member, but having only three players for the others? That's impossible!"
"We can choose, right?" Java murmured to the Lord of Helheim. He nodded silently. "Okay. I got this. Is it alright for me to go first?"
"I will make sure that you fight the strongest enemy, as requested," he replied. "Now go."
Java straightened up.
"Hey, everyone, I'll go alone," she said with a grin. However, instead of approval and blind acceptance, there were multiple harsh sounds of disbelief from her team members. "No, seriously, it's fine. My stats are all around, so don't worry about it."
"There's no way that's going to be an optimal build, you won't have enough damage to beat them," Peroroncino declined. "Alright, then. Java, you'll be in my group. Az'gathan, you'll-"
Java stepped into the circle without hesitation.
"Wait, no-"
"What the-"
"No!" Touch Me said, one hand reaching out to stop the circle, but with a fizzle Java disappeared into the ether.
The group stared vacantly at where she had been standing moments before, feeling as if a part of their soul had left them at Java's self-sacrifice. "On that note, I'll be alone as well," Az'gathan said, nodding slightly and moving in place. "Do not worry about her, worry for yourselves. We will both come out victorious. Goodbye."
They continued to stare vacantly as Az'gathan also disappeared. The NPC could hear a cricket chirping but could not locate its whereabouts.
"You're kidding," Punitto Moe said, completely deadpan. "You're joking me. They're going to die."
"What just happened?"
Ulbert broke next. He fumed so loudly that Momonga could hear the flames bursting out of nowhere. "When she comes back out, I'm beating the shit out of her," he snarled, then pointed. "You, you, you, and you, come with me before I leave you all behind. We're getting this over with."
"Oh my god, we're all going to die," Blue Planet moaned. "Why did I join this guild? I wasn't ready for this, it's my first dungeon-"
"This'll be exciting," Takemikazuchi laughed as he settled in his group of five. Ulbert had chosen three other high-level players and one low-level, so the matchup should be fine. They all stepped onto the plate. "If you guys die, I'm taking all the loot!"
"In your dreams," Nishikienrai sighed, then gestured. "Momonga-san, Touch Me-san, Tabula-senpai, Bukubukuchagama-san, are you all ready?"
"All set!"
"Here we go," the guild master replied, and then they were all gone.
The Lord of Helheim glanced around the room, at the statues standing in wait alongside the walls and the long tapestries hanging from the dark grey brick, and turned to face the entrance, door still ajar.
"Let's see how this goes," he sighed, and with a flash he left so that no one was left remaining. The trial had begun.
The guild, when defeating each of the Five Rulers, would all eventually make their way to the sixth floor and complete the dungeon. Tabula Smaragdina had mentioned how the Great Tomb of Nazarick was a simultaneous attack dungeon, where multiple groups had to attack at the same time which was why there were five parties.
Java blinked, Asura staring her down from the far end of the arena. According to the rules, the bosses were supposed to get stronger as every party stepped onto each floor, and the weakest challengers could go first and fight the weakest enemy. However, she had asked beforehand to fight the strongest one at max level, lowering the rating for the rest of the monsters in the process. "They will be fine," Asura rumbled as if reading her thoughts, then went into a fighting stance. "Oh foolish ones who challenged us, know the might of those who become stronger with every layer of binding removed from us."
"Let's have a good match," Java agreed, and then they lunged.
Asura pulled out spells that Java had not seen from any player in YGGDRASIL, and their strength surprised her immensely. Along with his high resistance and defense, his elemental attributes were dedicated to each weapon in his hand as he swung the handled blades. "[Solar Flare]. [Neptune Lightstorm]. [Jupiter Tempest]."
His sword caught fire. From the flaming hilt of the blade, a torrent of flames shot toward her and encircled her in a torrent of inescapable heat. It would've burned her skin if not for her teleportation skill, sidestepping the attack. A blizzard of light energy was next, released from his ax and dealing both cold damage and a [Slow] debuff that lessened her speed. Java waited for his last spell.
His lance used electricity. The Coliseum was flooded with strikes of lightning that hit randomly and without hesitation, forming in a split second and blinding the victim. Java jumped high, far above the range of the lightning-spawned attacks, and shot a spell of her own.
"[Great Ore of Mercury]," Asura said, using what looked like a buff resistance spell on himself, but it was too little, too late. The beam of light came down like a hammer, blasting him with pure elemental energy and sending him nearly off the edge.
"H-how," the boss spoke, arms still quivering from the last blow as he recollected his bearing. "Such strength. To think you have made it this far with only one hit! I have underestimated you. In this case... come forth, my minions!"
[Summon Primal Elementals]. Asura threw all the weapons from his hand into the sky and called down five great beings made of pure elemental energy, each attributing to the magic the weapon had commanded. The fire, water, earth, and air elementals were summoned around him, ready to act as ordered, and there was one elemental that seemed far stronger than the rest. It bore down upon her, the final Star Elemental, at a solid level 90.
"Come at me," Java cackled, grinning with jagged teeth.
The match was ended as Java destroyed them, one by one and with deadly precision. The Star Elemental was spared for last, lacking emotion or rage as the minions around it died. That was what an NPC looked like, she thought, observing the last one closely. "Do these beings have autonomy over their own minds?"
"They are made from the magic channeled within my weapons," Asura replied. He seemed to have figured out the winner at this point, dropping four arms but crossing two over his chest as the elemental stopped attacking, obediently letting Java walk around it as if she were ready to dissect it. "I concede. This match is yours."
"Thank god," Java sighed, shoulders slumping. "These guys will probably show no mercy on the rest of the bosses, though. I'm sorry for that."
"No matter," Asura replied, head bowed low. "Once the dungeon has been conquered, we will no longer exist. We have prepared for this for a long time."
Java furrowed her brow. "Are you sure?"
"We are willing to die with our dungeon," Asura replied in a mellow tone. "Thank you for your consideration. I wish you the best as this Great Tomb is made anew."
Java decided to stay with him on the last floor a little longer. [Message] spells had stopped by now as the other guild members focused on their own fights, so Java sat down and decided to keep him company.
"I have been defeated," Asura said in amusement. "You are no longer required to stay here."
"It'll probably take a while, so I'm fine here."
"I see," he replied, and they fell silent. "...I admit, I am a bit afraid of the ending. No creature wishes to die. I will miss this Tomb."
"I've only been here for about forty minutes at most, but I'll miss it, too." Java examined the broken pillars of the arena, the floating rock high above them, the expansive room that turned dark and blurry at the edges as if the floor itself were an illusion. "I can only imagine how it feels to you."
"Home," Asura said, almost hesitant, like he was testing the word for the first time. "It is home. I am sure that my companions also agree."
"What's going to happen to the Helheim guy?"
"He will move to other dungeons in the designated world he was assigned to," Asura replied. "He is never stuck to one place. He is omnipresent, a part god, if you will. He maintains the aspect of NPCs that the game creators do not reach."
"And what is that?" Java asked. Asura opened his mouth, then closed it as his eyes shut.
"It is time."
"Ah."
"They are waiting for you." Asura pointed to the teleportation circle on the far end of the arena, glowing steadily to show that the transfer to the final floor was available. "I may meet you in the next life."
"Goodbye," she whispered, and stepped in. The last thing she saw was the waving being beside the statue, white and ethereal with elemental magic, as it finally vanished from this world.
"Congratulations. You have completed the Great Tomb of Nazarick and cleared all the floors. You have received the World Item: [The Throne of Kings]."
"We did it," Bukubukuchagama whispered, awestruck. "We won."
"Java, you survived!"
"Thank you for your everlasting faith," Java blandly retorted. Was it just her, or were Az'gathan's claws covered in blood?
"JAVA! Get over here! I'm confiscating all your items as punishment!" Ulbert shouted, and Java instantly started to run away. She felt a cold prickle running down her back. "Hey! Get back here! I'm going to kill you, so stand still!"
"You said you wouldn't kill her if she won," Momonga smiled helplessly as Java ran out to the exit immediately, not even choosing to stick around and celebrate the win in favor of keeping her life. The list of items they had won was in his hands, ready to be distributed equally amongst their members.
"I would've killed her either way! JAVA! I'm tearing you limb from limb after that stunt you just pulled!"
"Am I free to leave?" Az'gathan murmured to Peroroncino, who was watching them run without shame after dropping character (Ulbert specifically. Maybe this was his way to show happiness?) "I shall go see where Java has gone."
"Yup! Make sure she didn't die, or we would've wasted this all for nothing," he said, a smile forming. For the first time, Ainz Ooal Gown would gain attention as the first to defeat this dungeon. He felt his pride swell. "On second thought, bring her back. I'll message her. Let's take a commemoration photo!"
WOOHOO third one down! They're getting bigger, and the transition from clan to guild is complete.
See you in the next chapter!