Chapter 3 The Great Tomb of Nazarick

There were 28 people gathered in the meeting room. In Yggdrasil, the groups were composed of six people, and a Raid band could have a maximum of 5 groups. Judging by the current number of members, there were two open spaces.

Since having two missing people was a big gap in the capabilities of a group, the intention was to fill those places with mercenary NPCs. Still, their AI was not good, and their combat ability was even lower than that of a mediocre character of the same level, so the people leading them needed to have experience in doing so, otherwise they would be hampered once they entered the dungeon.

Considering this, the ones leading the NPCs were Punitto Moe and Tabula's groups.

Momonga raised his hands and shouted, "I'm sorry for repeating it! Everyone, please listen to me! I intend to assign the groups. As usual they will be grouped into physical attackers, magic attackers, defenders, healers, and others. I also need to assign the explorers—" Momonga paused briefly, coughed a little, and then reluctantly continued with "We also need to assign sentinels. Does anyone have any objections? "

The sentinels were a group that would be used to guard the entrance of the dungeon, being alert against anyone who came near, and depending on the circumstances, would eliminate any intruder.

Harry smiled sympathetically at Momonga, knowing it had probably been hard for the Overlord to decide that. This was a group activity, but assigning sentinels meant that some of their companions would be left behind guarding the entrance.

It was necessary however, since there was a method of PK called 'Crushing' that involved attacking from behind a group of players who had just entered a dungeon. Once their opponents were forced into the depths of the dungeon, they would have no way to confront the monsters in the dungeon and at the same time the PKs attacking them from behind. It was a kind of pincer movement. Momonga was probably making that suggestion because he knew how powerful it could be.

There was the disadvantage of dividing the Guild's fighting power of course, but in the end the pros were greater than the cons. As such, there were no objections.

"Then, the next thing will be to decide who the sentinels will be ... How many will we need?" the overlord said with a tinge of guilt, which made some of the Guild members raise their hands.

"I'll be happy to stay behind," the first person was the alchemist Amanomahitotsu, who resembled a giant crab-like monster. After that, two more people raised their hands, which were also members of craft classes.

The clan had never really focused on completing dungeons and PKing, so there were many people that were not necessarily combat-oriented, but simply liked to discover things. Naturally, even the members of the artisan classes didn't invest all day in their workshops, and they took some levels in basic combat classes to be able to take care of any problem, to a certain extent.

That said, since their avatars contained artisan classes, they felt they were a burden during dungeon assaults.

Momonga bowed his head to the three of them and said gratefully "I'm sorry, but can we leave this to you?"

"Don't be like that Momonga-san, please raise your head. We are the ones who talk nonchalantly while everyone else is fighting. "

"I also want to try to create a new weapon. I just discovered a rare metal processing technique, so I want to try it. "

"We will only take our tasks to the entrance of the dungeon. Don't worry about it."

After Amanomahitotsu spoke, the other two followed him. Even so, Momonga inclined his head towards them again before turning to address the Ninja.

"So, Nishiki-san, I would like you to share your map with the rest of us. Is that alright? "

"Naturally. Also, I have just finished collecting information about the monsters that appear in the swamp. Nobody minds if I share that too, right?"

Nishiki Enrai produced a series of scrolls, one for each member, and pointed at them with his finger to produce copies. Once that was done, all present extended a hand to take a parchment.

Harry looked closely at the cartographic information. There was an X in the exact center of the extensive swamp, where it was messily identified as "Dungeon Here". Beside it were three symbols marked "Base of the Tuvegs", and other icons labeled "Many Slippery Things", "Poisonous Gas", and things like that. Additionally, there were lines labeled "Probable Patrol Routes".

There were also facts about the monsters, with their name, level and other information.

Nvl.74 Grenbera Purple Worm, Nvl.78 Lord Plague of Grenbera, Nvl.80 Demented Devourer, Nvl.80 Naga of Pantano, Nvl.83 Priest Tuveg of Grenbera, Nvl.84 Knight Tuveg of Grenbera…

"And so—" Nishiki's words made him stop midway through his study of the monsters, and he turned around to look at him. "These are the guys I found. Around level 80 means that the monster's higher level in the depths of the dungeon will be around level 90. That should also be the ideal level."

Most members of Ainz Ooal Gown were level 90 or close, so they should be able to complete the dungeon without problems…. If all went right.

"Still, we shouldn't be careless. It's common knowledge that dungeons are more difficult than the areas that surround them. "

"Even so, luck is going to be an important factor. Completing a level 90 dungeon in a single attempt is not completely impossible. If that is the case, then let's go with everything we have. Now is the time to use our cash items. "

…Ah, cash items.

Harry couldn't get them, since this world was his reality, he had no access to the thing called "Cash shop" and he couldn't ask for his comrades to buy things for him since Harry couldn't exactly pay them back in their real-world currency.

That being the case, he made do with the ones he had gotten from the adventurers he had PKed so constantly, but that meant that he couldn't chose the items he got, so he had no word on whether it was useful for him or not.

When they didn't fit with his fighting style however, he had the chance to trade them with the members of the Guild in exchange of something that would be useful for him, so it wasn't a complete loss either.

"Right! Then, everyone, we will leave for our goal in 30 minutes. Please prepare!"

A chorus of "Yeah!" resounded so loud Harry was sure it could be heard all over their base.

The Guild members of Ainz Ooal Gown gathered outside Helheim, about a hundred meters from the Poisonous Swamp covered in smog, at a place called the Perforating Crystal Plains.

Similar to the Poisonous Swamp, the Perforating Crystal Plains were a dangerous place, covered in frozen vegetation similar in appearance to glass blades that produced damage with each step taken within the plains. Additionally, mineralized monsters roamed the plains, and anyone who didn't use blunt-type weapons would find it quite difficult to deal with them.

In any world, especially in the territory of the heteromorphic species in Nilheim, Helheim and Muspelheim, the further one went from its center, things became more dangerous. In addition to the monsters that roamed the site, the terrain itself became a danger.

Still, considering no one on the guild was human, they had certain countermeasures that allowed them to move at full speed through the Perforating Crystal Plains. They had yet to move forward however, since they needed to be careful with other players that may be out there as well.

The group threw several layers of defensive magic, and used eyes created with magic to explore the surroundings. Additionally, they used magic of illusion of the highest range, the spell [Mirror World] to create a hemispherical screen that enclosed the members of the guild.

From inside the bubble one could observe the outside without any problem, but from the outside, the inhabitants of the barrier were invisible, and the people from the outside would only see the bottom. Apart from making it difficult for users to detect, the spell could also deflect a certain portion of the attacks aimed at the occupants of the interior.

Some members also used divination magic, as well as going to personally explore the surroundings to make sure there was no one watching their movements. Only once this was done did Momonga gave the instruction to move forward.

"This is a huge wetland area riddled with poisonous swamps, controlled by the Tuveg, which are immune to poison," stated Nishiki, leader of the exploration team that was guiding them.

Players received different types of information when entering a new area, depending on the natural and learned skills they possessed. For example, alchemists and herbalists, with their skills, could obtain information on the many herbs they could collect in the area.

This was the reason Harry always made sure to tag along whenever the crafters went to a new area. It had simplified greatly his investigation regarding potion ingredients after all.

"And then... uh, it's nothing special. The monsters in the place are almost the same as those that Nishiki-san discovered. There is no information about oddities either... could they be hidden? Or maybe there's no unusual information?" the Nphilim samurai said, since a warrior could get details of the monsters that inhabited an area.

"It's impossible that there is no unusual information, it must be hidden. I feel like it's most likely in one of the Tuveg villages. Also, if there are some herbs not discovered in this place, we might be able to create a rare potion. Man, the game developers are insane, they make it too difficult to collect the ingredients for your potions... I have already created more than 200 types of potions, but there are still many that I have not even discovered yet. "

Harry internally sighed, agreeing with the alchemist Amanomahitotsu. Discovering potions always was a pain, although in the end it was usually worth it.

"Well, developers are one thing, but I think the game company is also insane. I mean, with all the content, you can play for a long time... but they seem to have forgotten about the term 'user-friendly'. "

"Effectively— ah, shoot."

"Hm? What's wrong? Are you low on nanomachines? "

Harry perked up at that, since he had never witnessed what happened to the Players that ran out of those.

"My nanomachines are fine. I replaced them before connecting," the single phrase made him internally scoff, disappointed. Maybe another day he would have more luck.

"Really? It's fine, then. This could take a long time, so it would be a good idea to make sure your nanomachines are on top before entering the dungeon. It would be bad if you were disconnected by force at a critical moment…. I have a friend in real life who was taken out of the game during a guild classification battle, and by the time he returned, his guild had lost and he was fired for that. And it was not even their fault they lost. "

"... That's pretty scary."

"I know our guild wouldn't be like that, but there are other guilds like that out there. You know, the ones that try too hard. I hate those demanding guilds. The games are made to be played after all. "

Harry stopped paying attention at that point, knowing he would probably fit better in such a Guild. This was his reality after all, so he had considered leaving behind this one, which was conformed of calm adults playing only for fun, to join one that took things a little more seriously.

But in the end, the ones that actually took the game seriously more often than not were teenagers, so he wouldn't last long in such a Guild. Having reached that conclusion, Harry had decided to stay.

That and he actually liked the members of this Guild.

"Come on, give me a break," Harry heard Momonga say lightly from somewhere behind him. Huh, he hadn't noticed he had slowed down his pace, he could now hear the conversation between Momonga and Herohero.

"Anyway, Herohero-san, how did you get human vision?" he heard the Overlord ask.

That was a valid question considering Herohero was a slime. Instead of ordinary vision, slimes used a kind of sense of motion detection to recognize their surroundings, so he shouldn't be able to perceive the world as a human did.

"Ah, I equipped myself with a magic item that gave me that ability. The ability to detect innate movement that all slimes possess is very useful, but it is only effective within a limited radius. I can't see beyond 100 meters, which is a bit scary if you ask me. I would be in trouble if someone attacked me from outside that range, so I decided to use something that would allow me to see normally. "

"Any advantage comes with a weakness. This is how this game works. "

"The good serves as a balance to the bad. Oh, I'm feeling something with my sense of vibration. "

Momonga gave a silent signal, which made the whole group freeze. Harry didn't need to look around to search for the source of HeroHero's unease, since the outline of a gigantic worm could be seen from among the mist surrounding them.

It was a large purple worm, almost ten times the length of a human torso, and its surface was glistening wet. It looked frankly repulsive, but Harry had found that it was very useful for creating Stamina potions, so he hunted them often.

Those worms moved in packs however, so it would be annoying if it detected them.

Completely synchronized, the magic throwers pointed their fingers, wands or staffs, at the worm, while the warriors prepared their long-range weapons. If the creature detected them, they were ready to destroy it in an instant before it could call its friends.

After several seconds passed, it seemed as if their enemy hadn't noticed them, since the worm slowly slid back into the swamp.

"I'm not someone who likes stealth. I want to make my way through them,"Ulbert complained from somewhere in the distance.

"Ulbert-san, please don't waste your MP. You should use everything with the boss," Tabula reprimanded seriously.

The construction of Ulbert's character revolved around the World Disaster class, which had incredible firepower. On top of that, the demon had taken levels in classes that specialized more in offensive skills. Considering only firepower, he easily found himself in the top five of the guild, but he still had a great weakness. Although he had a large reserve of MP, his rate of consumption exceeded even that, so he exhausted his MP too quickly.

It was not an exaggeration to say that the difficulty of the expedition to a dungeon was directly related to how much MP Ulbert would be able to save to face the boss.

"Aww I was kidding, I'm aware of that. I've been keeping it all this time, right? Since this is the first adventure of Ainz Ooal Gown, I'll make sure everything goes well! " Ulbert exclaimed, clenching his fist to show his sincerity, before adding "Oh, but I wouldn't mind if you lent me some of your MP. That way, we could go through them and still have enough for a big show with the boss," The demon said as an afterthought looking at him.

Harry smirked knowingly, and gave thumbs up at the demon while answering "It's not a bad idea. If the time comes, I'll lend it to you."

Even if he was limited to the use of Yggdrassil spells, transferring magic— in this world 'MP'— to another person wasn't a problem, since he knew the appropriate spell.

"Ahhh let's hope it doesn't get to that though, the last thing we need is for Harry to run out of MP in a critical moment. If it gets from bad to worse, we'll need a thief to get us the hell out of there," Punitto Moe interjected.

For some reason, Harry seemed to have some levels as a thief. He didn't really understand why, since normally all he did was use wandless variations of [Alohomora], but the 'Game' had seemingly classified him as such.

Truth be told however, Harry really had opened the exits in case of emergency more than once, whenever they ended up trapped in whatever place, dungeons included.

From his perspective, it was safe to use his original magic so long it wasn't terribly obvious, since he only needed to know Yggdrasssil's equivalent. In this case, since lock-picking didn't produce any lights, runes or sounds, he could simply say it was another spell when asked and be done with it.

Nodding in acceptance at the other's suggestion, the conversation ended at that, and the group followed the vanguard through the swamp.

They found many Tuvegs on the way, but the Guild moved carefully around them so they wouldn't be spotted. These monsters had the ability to see through the magic of concealment, so they were very careful on that regard, which made the trip take a long time.

Once they finally passed the Tuvegs however, they could see something on the other side of the swamp. It was their destination, the dungeon.

The wall that separated the dungeon's entrance from the swamp was covered in moss and destroyed in several places, so it couldn't really serve its purpose as a barrier. One could see the interior through the cracks.

There were ruins in that place - the ruins of a tomb. The destruction was complete, even the tombstones had been smashed. There seemed to be something like a mausoleum in the middle, but it was beginning to collapse, and the whole place looked more like a ruin than anything.

At first glance, there was nothing suspicious.

"There are no signs of monsters. There is also no sign of incorporeal beings. "

"The same here. There are no signs of objects moving above or below the ground. "

"There are also no undead reactions."

"Do you think a boss will appear? Or a trap? It would be difficult to deal with multiple summoning traps at the same time. "

"In any case, I have already used my trump card once of the four times I can use it a day. At a minimum, there are no magic traps in place. "

The other members of the guild had already used their own means to examine the place, and the reports came slowly. They paused to look at each other, and then began the march toward the small island. The rearguard team —where Harry was located at— was on alert, keeping an appropriate distance from the scout team in case something happened.

"... So this is the kind of dungeon in which the real battle begins after we enter that old collapsed structure?"

"No, it should happen once we cross the mausoleum and enter underground, right? After all, we're still pretty close to the swamp. In any case, keep your sensors away from the structure so they don't activate anything. It will be a different matter after we put our feet on the island. So, Momonga-san, please do the honors," Tabula extended one of his arms on the last sentence, long fingers curling as if inviting the other to enter.

"Well then…" Momonga muttered simply, before setting foot over the dungeon.

"…there's nothing, Momonga-san. I sent my arcane eyes to the central mausoleum, but there were no contacts in the sound of enemies," Punitto-Moe said after a while, since nothing had happened.

"In other words, this place is a safe area, then?"

"Even so, this place was built by those fucking developers, there could be some kind of timed effect waiting for us..."

"Exploration team, is everything okay? If it is, then I think the dungeon is in the basement of that building."

Nishiki used a couple of skills, which made the ninja's body glow, before he gave the signal that all was clear.

"Then, everyone, let's get going."

After indicating that they agreed, everyone went abroad. Harry looked around the devastated cemetery, still on guard, but was distracted by the voices of his friends, which were seemingly discussing about something.

"−Aw man! I thought you were one of ours, Flatfoot-san! "

"Nah, I like them flat, but not necessarily lolis."

"Look who's talking, after naming your weapon like that ... Or is it referring to something else? Could it be that you like men's chest, Flatfoot-san? "

"C-Chest of men?"

"Am I wrong? Don't you like them flat? If that's the case, then a man's chest would be... are you gay? "

…That was Peroroncino all right. With him around, that kind of topic wasn't exactly surprising.

Harry felt pity for the stupefied Flatfoot, but there was no need to interfere, since the formation allowed that person to be close to them.

"...People might laugh about it at a party, but do you really think you can scream that kind of thing just because you're among friends?" scolded Bukubukuchagama, with a tone of voice that was a bit too low to be normal.

However, for some reason, her younger brother Peroroncino didn't seem to notice that yet. And Flatfoot, in an impeccable show of his assassin skills, had already left Peroroncino behind, moving away from the pair of siblings.

Harry took some distance as well, to make sure he wasn't going to be dragged in.

"Well, big sister, it's because you are flat yourself that men are not—"

"—Hey." That cold voice carried in like the blade of a guillotine when it fell. The birdman immediately stopped talking, but it was already too late. "Hey, brat. Do you want me to tell everyone about what you did when you were twelve? "

"...um, I'm very sorry for what I said."

"Hey, did I give you permission to shut up? What I said seemed like a joke? Hah? You better—"

Harry hurriedly made the silent 'help' signal to Momonga, who looked at him oddly before Harry pointed to the siblings. Immediately understanding the situation, the overlord hurried over to them before the quarrel could escalate more, physically stepping between them and forcing them away with his body.

"Chagama-san, Chagama-san. Calm down a bit, please. "

"Ah— Momonga-san," Bukubukuchagama's voice seemed to have returned to normal, but the flames of her anger were still noticeable.

Probably this was only a small pause on her fury, so Momonga continued hastily, "Well, ah. Soon we will go to the dungeon. I think it would be better if you calmed down, is that alright?" the overlord begged with both palms together, which made Bukubukuchagama relax her shoulders.

"…Ahhh, I can't believe I let that fool irritate me. Sorry about that," she said lightly, before turning to face Peroroncino. "Hey, silly brother of mine. Remember this well, take care of your manners, even if you get along with people. Especially when you count your dirty jokes. Don't embarrass me just because you got emotional with your friends, got that? "

"…Yes."

"Shouldn't you thank Momonga-san? "

"Mm. Thanks. Sorry about that."

There was no energy in Peroroncino's words. The submissive and obedient manner in which he spoke made him sound like a dog that had been hit with an electric baton.

After hearing her brother's apology, Bukubukuchagama left them behind without another word. Of the three people watching her as she left, Momonga was the first to break the silence.

"Why did you call me over instead of stepping in? Come on Harry, give me a break!" the overlord said accusingly with mock fatigue, to light up the atmosphere.

"...that lady is terrifying. She really knows how to change her voice," Harry said smiling, shrugging it off. "And as Guild Master, aren't you the best option to dispel this kind of quarrels? You're really strong Momonga." He finished the sentence with a smirk and mock bow, as if awed by the other's intervention.

"Ugh, seriously…. I'm not so strong. Anyway, I felt like I was standing in front of a terrifying boss. "

The three of them laughed softly, which meant their attempt at cheering up Peroroncino was successful.

"All right, let's move! We are the only ones left," Momonga exclaimed with a hand motion, so they picked up pace until they caught up with the others.

With one eye on their surroundings, the Guild climbed a run-down flight of stairs into the building. The interior was unexpectedly impressive, with five statues standing tall, it was as if those immobile figures were looking down on them.

The sight of these statues made the enthusiasm of the Guild drop, even if it had the contrary effect on Harry, the others thankfully couldn't see his expression.

They had seen this sort of dungeon design several times in the past.

"Ah, Momonga-san, this looks like a simultaneous attack dungeon. It seems to be the hardest kind, the sort that needs five parties to progress... Then again, we should probably be glad it's not one of those dungeons that needs 36-man parties (a legion) and allows two guilds to cooperate on invading them. Those are just crazy," Tabula complained to the Overlord.

Those are the best actually, not even I can get past those alone Harry thought, feeling excited at the challenge, even as Momonga groaned quietly at Tabula's words. There was muttering from around them as well, as the rest of the Guild complained about how the simultaneous-attack dungeons, which were also known as 'die-by-yourself dungeons', required them to split up.

This was also an unknown dungeon which nobody had explored before, so they didn't know what was awaiting them.

Just then, Punitto Moe began suggesting team assignments "How shall we proceed then, Tabula-san? This is a deviation from the original plan, and now we'll need five parties."

"Indeed. The question now is how to allocate everyone. We should probably discuss this together. Things being as they are, we should have the crafters come in as well, since it would be hard to be pressed from behind anyway."

The basic 6-man party configuration in Yggdrasil was one tank, two attackers, one healer, one seeker and a wildcard—also known as other—who was capable of adapting to changing situations.

They had to evenly allocate their manpower into five parties, which was a fairly brainpower-intensive task. Anyone taking on this task needed to be intimately familiar with everyone's abilities and preferences, to make sure all of them made it to the center of this dungeon.

Dungeons like these were typically designed so that everyone would meet up at the boss room, where they would face the Raid boss together. If this pattern held true, then the parties had to be balanced, since all of them needed to survive and go against the Raid Boss. There was strength in numbers after all, 24 people would always be better than 12 people.

Therefore, the most important thing was to not lose anyone and reach the dungeon's core.

Punitto Moe stood before everyone and discussed the matter of personnel assignment with Tabula. The rest of Harry's guildmates started to make their own preparations, changing their gear and verifying their items. Some of them had suddenly disappeared, so Harry deduced they were 'offline' for a bathroom break, and some others were talking excitedly about the raid.

Slowly, the Magical Attackers, Physical Attackers, Tanks, Healers, Seekers and Others were assigned to their parties.

Harry fell into the "Other" category.

Harry used the equipment dropped from PKing other players to learn or gain many different spells or skills. Because of that, he was typically placed in this position during dungeon raids. Depending on how the battle developed, Harry could end up stepping in as replacement for the Magical attacker, the seeker, the healer, or the tank.

Finally, Punitto Moe announced the party assignments. By far, Momonga's group was one of the strongest, closely followed by Harry's group.

On Momonga's side, the Magic Attacker was Ulbert, the Physical Attacker Warrior Takemikazuchi, the Tank Bukubukuchagama, the Healer Yamaiko, the Seeker Nishiki Enrai and the Wildcard: Momonga. This was a team made of members who were fully optimized for their role.

On Harry's team, Tabula was the magic attacker, the Physical Attacker and Tank was Touch Me who was supported on long distance by Peroroncino, Herohero was the seeker, Wish III was the assigned healer and Harry was the Wildcard.

The rest of the teams, in contrast, were not nearly as good balanced as these two. Momonga seemed to have noticed as well, since he was arguing against this distribution with Punitto Moe.

"—I think putting Bukubukuchagama-san and Warrior Takemikazuchi-san in parties with NPCs would be more even. However, we know nothing about this dungeon. Therefore, I think it would be better to have two strong teams rather than an even distribution." the Death Vine was explaining to the Overlord, who still seemed reluctant "Momonga-san, if the worst comes to pass, please take down the boss with Touch-san's group. Although I understand that defeating a 30-man boss with only 12 people is incredibly difficult, I feel that it would be better to make preparations for that situation."

Harry hummed at that, balancing the pros and cons in his head for a short moment before deciding the strategist was right. This was the best they could do, considering they knew nothing about the dungeon… since the objective was to clear it on the first attempt, it was better to ensure that at least the strongest members would make it to the Raid Boss.

The Overlord looked at both teams for a short moment, before nodding with reluctant acceptance.

"…I understand. Please accept my humble contribution."

"I'm looking forward to it," Punitto Moe agreed, and the overlord finally moved towards the center, giving the instruction to move forward.

After assembling the parties, they each arrived before the stone statues. Once they were close enough — most likely for having triggered an automated sequence — something activated.

"How dare you profane the Great Tomb of Nazarick, oh foolish and greedy ones," a male voice resounded around the room, as if coming from the walls.

"Or should I say, brave ones," a female continued, speaking mockingly to them.

"Be you foolish or brave, we shall measure your resolve. We stand before you, the Five Rulers." It was a hoarse man's voice, different from the first two, it sounded much older.

"You who desire this land. Defeat us, and show us your true power," the fourth challenged, before all fell silent. Oddly enough, the fifth statue didn't 'speak' at all.

Once that ended, a light appeared on the stone slabs laying at the statues' feet, which were probably a teleportation device of sorts.

"That thing said 'You who desire this place'. In any case, it's clear that this is a Guild base dungeon." Tabula commented towards the others, genuinely surprised.

"An unexpected bonus."

Clearing a dungeon often yielded a variety of items, from rare data crystals to artifacts. However, clearing a Guild base dungeon merely gave you owner's rights. In addition, guilds could only own one dungeon at a time. If they wanted to claim another dungeon, they would need to relinquish their claim on their present one.

Harry internally worried what would happen to the one he had found first, if they managed to conquer this one. Would he have to give up the Volcano?

"...Would anybody want to use a guild base in a far off place like this?" Herohero asked out loud, seemingly to no one in particular.

"Probably not. Besides, we don't know what kind of base this is," Peroroncino answered him, crossing his arms over his feathery chest.

It was unknown how many total levels of NPCs they could create. And then, they also had to consider the problem of maintaining POP monsters, the monsters which automatically spawned under level 30.

They had maintenance costs, depending on their type. It was zero for undead, but living creatures, in particular large creatures, had maintenance costs which increased proportionally to the size of their bodies.

In other words, a guild base which only popped large living creatures would rack up a ruinous maintenance bill. If a guild base's innate income wasn't sufficient to cover those costs, the guild members would have to earn that money themselves. In addition, trap activation and monster summoning were expensive as well. Being attacked by an enemy guild could incur incalculable expenses for the defenders, and might even force them into bankruptcy.

Harry had 'deactivated' the POP monsters creation for this very reason. He had warded heavily the whole area after all, so it's not like he actually needed them.

'"We won't know until we claim this place."

"...Well, we could always sell the information."

Their enthusiasm had cooled off by now. After all, even if they did take this place, they would have to either give it up or sell it, even when the entire guild had worked so hard to conquer it.

Sensing the mood in the air, Touch Me spoke up.

"Still, everyone. Don't you think we ought to have a proper Guild base? Not a rented one like we have now, but something we can change and rearrange as we see fit."

"Well, if we're talking about making anything we want, I've been thinking of settling down somewhere and then making something in earnest. However, will it be here?"

"Even if we don't find a place to settle down, I agree with Touch-san that we need a proper guild base. I mean, we can't leave too many things behind because we're afraid of being attacked at any time, right?"

He was answered by a chorus of people saying, "That's right".

"I think using this place for experiments in building a guild base would be a good reason for conquering it. Besides, I read up on the guild base system on the developers' site, but it seems different from how it actually is in the game."

"The Experimental Tomb of Nazarick, huh. It has a nice ring to it."

"Well, we won't get anywhere just talking here… let's just do as Momonga-san says and clear this place once. We can discuss everything later. Let's not count our chickens before they're hatched." Punitto Moe interjected, which was met with shared agreement.

Soon, they would be treading into uncharted territory, an unknown dungeon. They needed to keep a clear mind.

"Say, you think we can sustain our buffs? If we could, then we could use extended buffs on ourselves, right?" Herohero asked to Tabula, the magic caster of the group.

"I don't think the devs would be that nice. Be ready to have them all stripped off you the moment you step through that door," was the realistic answer of the Brain Eater, the long tentacles of the head curling as if bothered.

"Those devs are real shits."

Someone laughed uncontrollably. This was how much the Yggdrasil devs were trusted. Fully 100% of players agreed that they were sadists, to the point where they would be more worried if the devs didn't place any evil traps.

Therefore, when something unreasonable happened, there would be a great cry of "shitty devs". In fact, calling them "shitty devs" was in its own way a form of affection from the players.

…Although there had been numerous occasions where they cursed the devs in earnest.

Harry found it amusing. He had always thought the World was trying to expulse the 'adventurers' for some reason, placing as may hardships as possible when it came to them. When he discovered this was actually a 'Game', he understood that whoever had made it probably just liked to see them suffer.

"Then, why don't we have our lovely guildmaster Momonga, who suggested we attempt this unknown dungeon, come out and address us? Come on, Momonga-san, say something."

The overlord let out a nervous squeak that sounded like "Eh?" as Punitto Moe spoke, but once he noticed the others were looking expectantly at him; he coughed and raised both arms before exclaiming.

"Everyone! I'm the newly elected sadistic Guildmaster, Momonga!" Amidst the chuckling, Momonga continued with a determined tone "This is Ainz Ooal Gown's initial venture! We shall conquer this difficult dungeon that we have seen for the first time! We shall make the shitty devs grind their teeth in frustration! We shall do what no normal guild can do! Everyone! Let's go!"

"Ohhhh!" an overflowing cheer echoed through area, before each group started to walk towards their assigned statue.

Momonga —

After passing through the rightmost of the five doors before the statues, Momonga saw a classic graveyard sprawling before them. The place was veiled in fathomless darkness, aside from the parts lit by magical illumination.

However, even if Momonga could see in the dark, he could not see his companions. It would seem they had been teleported elsewhere. Well, if there were only one teleport destination, there would be no need for so many doors, so it was a logical conclusion.

Momonga abandoned his vain hope. All he could do was pray they all met up again inside.

"Good grief, what a relief. Those devs might be shit, but even they aren't shitty enough to split up the team. You know, split them up and make them meet up again later."

"Take-yan, so you're saying that if they ended up sending multiple people of the same roles together, we might as well forget about trying to conquer this dungeon, then."

"...I really think those shitty devs would actually do that."

"Mm, I agree with you, Buku-chan. Honestly, sometimes I feel the developers are too evil. 'Ah, sucks to be you', is what I imagine they'd say."

They talked and laughed as they prepared themselves.

Unbeknown to them, that had actually happened to three of the teams.

AUTHOR NOTE:

Chapter is of 6.3K words = 15 pages in Word.