Preface: Hello internet. This is a slightly more detailed summary than is fitting for the story caption. Like numerous other fanfictions on this site, it involves Ainz coming to the new world with an OC guildmate. As such, I'll probably speed through the details of the first four or five novels for interest. The original idea for this fanfiction was, how would overlord play out if Ainz acted strategically and actually wanted "project utopia" from the beginning. However, I felt that removing the "nervous goofball" factor, for lack of a better term, of Ainz would detract from the story. As such, my OC was introduced and, as you can probably tell by the title, has knowledge of science and engineering. Inspired by A Chemist in King Ainz's Court, by The Blight, but focusing on more engineering and political strategy plays. (Insert obligatory disclaimer: I don't own any of the characters except for my OC) Hope you enjoy!
Prologue:
It was 11:30 PM on the day Yggdrasil would shut down. The DMMORG that had taken the world by storm 12 years ago and held its popularity was coming to a close today due to waning popularity. In The Great Tomb of Nazarick, there was a large meeting room with a red crest laid into an exquisitely crafted white table. There were 41 chairs surrounding the circular table although only 2 were filled for the final night of the game. The two players sitting were Momonga and Sypher. Momonga was the guild master of Ainz Ooal Gown, once the 9th ranked guild in Yggdrasil with 41 members, now fallen significantly lower with 37 members quitting the game. Sypher was one of the few members left, and despite his love for the game, he still found it difficult to due to his job as an engineer. While he was definitely lucky to get an interesting job, at least one he considering interesting, near project deadlines the hours got brutal and hardly left any free time. The only reason he was able to log in for this night was that a project deadline got moved back due to budget constraints. It appeared the two of them were the only ones to stay for the closing of the game. HeroHero had already come by to say his goodbyes but had to go because of the oppressive schedule his job dictated.
"It's too bad that more people didn't stop by for final moments of the game," Sypher stated while looking at Momonga.
"I know most of them had quit over the last couple years, but I was still hoping there would be more than just two of us," Momonga stated dejectedly. He looked around the room and froze on the guild weapon behind him. "This is our home, we spent thousands of hours and even real money to make this place the best it can be. But they all turned their backs on it so easily."
Sypher knew what was going through his head. Unlike him, Momonga worked a regular salaryman job with no other purpose than continuing to survive. For him, Yggdrasil gave a sense of purpose and community that was rarely found in the corrupt and destroyed world they called home. The two of them actually knew each other in real life from before Yggdrasil, as such, he and Momonga ended up talking about more personal topics with each other as needed. "Momonga, you know it's not their fault. One of the requirements for the guild was they had to be functioning adults. As such they have jobs and other people in real life they care about," Sypher stared blankly. The words stung as he said them. Like Momonga, Sypher didn't have any family or friends in the real world to spend time anymore, but he knew that even without Yggdrasil he could still drown himself in work to keep busy.
"I know but it still hurts," Momonga said with a heavy sigh.
"It's 15 minutes till shutdown, should we do one final round and go to the throne?"
"Sure."
"Oh. Since it's the end anyway, it only seems fitting that you should equip the guild weapon, GuildMaster." Sypher said with a grin.
"Hmm, are you sure? I mean all of us worked so hard to get it, it's only fitting that it sits on a pedestal"
Sypher rolled his eyes. He knew about Momonga's collector sense and figured it was getting the better of him "Yes, bonehead. Like HeroHero said, you are the one that kept this place up and running the past couple years so we have a home to come back too.
"Ok if that's what you say," Momonga said with an expressionless smile.
With that, the two toured the halls of Nazarick one last time, finally coming to the path to the throne room. They were met with a row of maids and a butler.
"Oh yeah, the Pleiades and Sebas Tian", Momonga said with a nostalgic tone "In the end, the end no player managed to make it to them".
"Well, the 8th floor is pretty hard to clear after all with all the ridiculous NPCs there. As a side note, was it just me that took far too long to notice that Sebas' name is just Sebastian split into two", Sypher said with a half-sheepish smile.
"Ha ha", Momonga gave a light chuckle to his friends, "Unfortunately not". He returned the smile as both of continued to the throne room with Sebas and the Pleiades in tow.
Ainz and Sypher entered the intricately detailed throne room with 41 massive banners on the walls and walked up to the throne. Ainz sat on the throne with the staff and the guardian overseer Albedo to his left and Sypher standing on his right.
"That's Tabula's NPC right? What was she like again"
Momonga used the guild weapon to pull up Albedo's settings. "Jesus that is a wall of text. I know Tabula was into details but this is ridiculous." He scrolled all the way to the bottom. "Uhhh"
"What's up?"
"Apparently she's a slut", Momonga said with an expression that words cannot describe
"Huh, well then to each their own I guess?"
"We should probably change that, " Momonga deleted the line and everyone returned to their previous positions.
Sypher was a doppelganger similar to Pandora's Actor but with an assassin and support build. Inwardly smirking, he changed his appearance to match Pandora's Actor with one change. He had an old fighter jet insignia from the 2000s on his cap as a homage to an old game he once played.
He turned to Momonga and struck a ridiculous pose while shouting, "zum Ruhm von Nazarick!" in the most German accent he could muster. Momonga buried his hands in his face and gave a blush and then pouty emoticon while Sypher was almost rolling on the floor with laughter.
"Sorry, sorry, but your embarrassment over Pandora's Actor never gets old." Sypher stated while giving a 'face with stuck out tongue emoji'
"Oh shush," Momonga said while smirking "You know what" Momonga entered Albedo's settings. "She is madly in love with Sypher."
"Oi Oi, that too much don't you think"
"Well, you can be embarrassed by an NPC now too."
"Whatever" he playfully shrugged off while looking at the time. "Well, one minute to go. It was a good run, I hope to see you in the near future."
"Likewise my friend, have a good life."
.1.2.3
"Huh," Momonga and Sypher thought at the same time as they stared at the game that should have been gone.
"Whaaaaaaaaat"
Chapter 1: The New World
Both players opened their eyes and looked around. They were still in Yggdrasil. "What's going on," Sypher exclaimed with shock as Momonga could only stare in confusion.
"Could it be they delayed the server shutdown—?" Momonga gesture wildly to try to open the menu to open the menu.
"...What the hell is going on!?" Sypher said while facing Momonga.
"Your mouth moved."
Before he could react, Sypher was interrupted by another voice. "Is something wrong my lords?" The voice belonged to Albedo. They both stood in shock. First, their mouths are animated and now and NPC is acting on its own.
Out of nowhere, a green light bathes Momonga and he settles into the throne. "Sebas, stand up." After seeing Sebas reacts he continues "Go outside and secure the perimeter of Nazarick and Pleiades guard the 9th floor."
The NPCs all responded immediately, "Yes my lord"
"Albedo come to me"
"Yes my lord", Albedo responded calmly, however on the way she shot a smile at Sypher that he noticed.
Once Albedo was at the throne, Momonga grabbed her wrist and then let go in shock after a minute. "She has a pulse."
Sypher now somewhat more alert, tried to use a [Message] spell. He was surprised when he got a response. "Momonga is that you?"
"Sypher, what's going on I can hear you but you aren't talking?"
"I tried using [Message], seeing as how everything else makes no sense I want to see what is the same." Sypher had calmed down a bit and figured that considering they could feel small impulses, smell, and converse with NPCs freely, this wasn't Yggdrasil and was beyond the reach of any technology they had even in 2126. "Albedo please leave us alone for some time."
"Yes, Lord Sypher," Albedo stated and went towards the door, "remember that I am available for you whenever you want me." She added in a sultry tone before leaving.
"Ok what the actual hell is going here." Momonga exasperated.
"I'm just as confused as you are but we do know somethings," Sypher paused to gather his thoughts. "We are still in what appears to be Nazarick, but the NPCs look and feel alive, more so than before, and they respond to commands and act in ways that were definitely not programmed in the game or possible with the technology. I mean we have our full range of senses for christ's sake", he said while thinking about Albedo's exit. After a pause to think, "As unlikely as this sounds, our minds must have been placed in another world that is like Yggdrasil with the guild base and our game avatars."
Momonga paused for a minute before responding, "Honestly I was thinking something similar, this entire situation is so bizarre. I mean it looks like [Message] still works but what else does?".
"I think the first thing we need to confirm is our safety, are all the denizens of Nazarick loyal to us. As far as I remember, some of them could definitely hurt us maybe even kill us in a fight and we don't even know if our old skills work." After pausing for another minute, Sypher continued "I think that we should go to the Arena on the sixth floor to test our skills. It'll also give a chance to see if Nazarick is still intact."
"Right," Ainz responded
Both players activated their guild rings to try teleporting to the 6th floor Arena. After a flash of light, they were both pleasantly surprised to find that it worked.
"It seems our teleport rings work," Sypher said with a breath of relief
"I'm going to go check out the other floors just to make sure everything is alright. I'll message you if anything is wrong." Momonga said as he teleported away.
Sypher was still in his Pandora's Actor form from earlier so he decided to change to his normal avatar. He tried to visualize and morph his current form into his avatar. As expected, it took a couple tries and the first few botched attempts were surprisingly painful but not debilitatingly so. He finally got it down and morphed successfully into his usual assassin build. His avatar stood about 5' 10" and was an average build, not too muscled, but was still toned due to his assassin and ninja skills. His gear was a black bodysuit with a single blood-red stripe on each arm and leg and a matching helmet. The red lines were merely cosmetic and toggled them off using a skill when fighting. The suit itself had to be light due to his class and skills but was made of heavily enchanted metallic fibers so could defend against anyone below level 80. He also had his collection of weapons in his inventory. He mentally prepared himself and stepped into the large arena. After taking in the scenery was met by the guardians of the floor; Aura Bella Fiora and Mare Bello Fiore.
"Welcome to the sixth-floor arena Lord Sypher!" Aura stated energetically
"Hello, you two. How is everything today?" While Sypher was still on his guard while confirming the loyalty of the other members of Nazarick, he still viewed the two dark elves as children and as such acted kindly.
"We are doing great today!" Aura exclaimed.
"Y-Yes everything is in order on the 6th floor," Mare replied sheepishly while tugging on his skirt. Sypher could still not believe this was a boy.
"Good, one moment please," Sypher said as he suddenly had a thought. [Message] . "Momonga are you there?"
"Yeah, I'm here," Momonga replied.
"I just checked in with Aura and Mare on the 6th floor. They don't seem openly hostile just like the other NPCs so far. Is it the same on your end?"
"Yeah everyone has bowed and referred to me as 'lord' so things are looking good."
"Good, I think we should meet with all the guardians. Can you message Albedo and tell her to gather everyone but Victim and Gargantua to meet in the 6th floor in 2 hours. Make sure you come before then to test out your skills." Sypher asked Momonga
"Ok, I'll be there once I finish with the 1st to 4th floors."
"Good see you then," Sypher responded as he cut off the Message.
"Aura, I wish to test of some of my skills. Can you prepare some level 30 golems and get some level 80 summons for practice." Sypher asked.
"Right away lord Sypher" Aura responded as she ran off.
When she returned with the golems and monsters, Sypher had them spread out and got out a small katana. It was only a legacy class item that was enchanted for additional damage. In combination with his level 100 skills, however, he estimated that he should be able to one hit a level 30 despite higher defense against slashing attacks and cause noticeable damage to the level 80 monsters. He prepared one of his moves [Chain swift strike]. It was a high-level move that could target up to 5 enemies in sequence while still providing a powerful blow. If everything worked like the game, Sypher figured he should be able to handle the 5 golems and be on the other side of the area in a flash. As he activated the skill he immediately felt his legs spring forward and an immense pressure on him. In the game, the sense of touch was reduced so the users would still be able to distinguish from reality, but now he was sure he would pass out from the sudden acceleration. As he closed his eyes and prepared for the worst, he found himself in one piece on the other side of the arena and all 5 golems in pieces. Before he could respond he heard a voice.
"Woooaaah! That was amazing lord Sypher," Aura exclaimed like a child who had just seen their favorite athlete do something.
"Nonsense that was merely a simple skill. The weapon isn't even my main one." Sypher responded while calming back down.
"Exactly! Even while holding yourself back you can dispatch enemies in the blink of an eye." Aura responded.
"Ok then," Sypher responded unsure of how to refute the child. He continued to test some of his other skills to confirm they work the same and gradually his body got used to the new and heightened senses. He also got accustomed to the pocket dimension that was now his inventory. He was still struggling to come to terms with the fact that he was now in a fantasy world.
Momonga came by soon after and verified that all his skills were working as well. After a small break, they decided to start prepping for the meeting with the guardians. They had decided to communicate via [Message] for all conversations in public until they had a better grasp of the situation.
"Momonga you're done with your tests?" Sypher asked inquisitively.
"Yeah, but I have a question for you before we continue," Momonga replied in a somber tone.
"Yes?"
"If this is a different world, do you think we should try to return to our old one?" Momonga asked "Personally I had nothing going for me there but Yggdrasil and if that is gone then it might be better just to live here in this fantasy world.
Sypher frowned, this was a serious topic and he was all kinda still hoping this was a dream. "Honestly I'm not sure. I mean you know that my lot isn't that much better than yours since I would just end up drowning myself in work." He paused for a bit before continuing "I can't say for certain but I definitely haven't ruled out staying here as an option. Anyways back to the topic of the guardians."
"Right. They all seem loyal to us and can act outside of their base commands. However, after some thought, it does seem like their personalities are controlled by the backstories written for them." Momonga paused before realizing what he did earlier, while silently cursing himself for changing the settings his friend wrote: "Uhh, sorry you may now have Albedo chasing after you if the other NPCs are anything to go off of."
Sypher sighed and thought for a minute before continuing "It's fine we can worry about that when it becomes a problem. Let's open with asking about their loyalties to confirm their actions and then figure out from there. Good?"
"Yes, that seems fine," Momonga replied, still somewhat perturbed by his earlier actions knowing they are now real.
As Sypher and Momonga stood at the raised outer ring of the Arena, with the guild weapon between them as the guardians lined up one by one, with Albedo leading in the front and kneeled before them.
"We the guardians pledge our loyalty to our lords and masters, the supreme beings."
Both Sypher and Momonga were taken aback by this display, so much so that Momonga accidentally released his despair aura out of nervousness. Sypher quickly tapped him on the back to hoping nobody noticed before picking up the conversation.
"Yes, we are pleased with your loyalty. Momonga would you like to give your response to the guardians?" Sypher said in the most kingly voice he could manage. His main form was still a humanoid because it was advantageous in the game so his voice had not changed too much from the real world. He was aware of this and also that Momonga's voice got noticeably deeper and his appearance as an Overlord with Divine class gear definitely made him more intimidating as a ruler.
Momonga now out of his trance responded: "Yes, both of us thank you for your continued loyalty and hope that you continue to serve us as you have in the future."
"Your thanks are wasted on us as all of us would lay down our lives to serve you." Albedo replied, still kneeled. All the other guardians nodded in agreement.
"Anyways" Momonga cleared his throat, "Sebas is back with a report of our surroundings. Sebas if you will"
"Yes Lord" Sebas replied from the side before continuing "It appears that Nazarick is now in the middle of flat grasslands for 1 km around and forests past that. There are also no creatures or buildings within the kilometer."
Everyone present was noticeably surprised by this and stood silent until Sypher spoke up.
"Very good Sebas." Sypher stopped before turning to Momonga and nodding then to the guardians. "It is as Momonga and I thought, Nazarick has been transported to a different world. We must be on guard. Move Nazarick to the highest security level." This conversation continued to discuss strategies to hide Nazarick. Despite Albedo's initial protest, Mare's idea to disguise Nazarick as a hill was chosen.
Sypher started to conclude the meeting "Before we go, we want to know something. In your own words, What kind of people are we to you?"
"The supreme beings are beauty incarnate", Shalltear said with a blush.
"Beings whose skills and knowledge exceed those of any guardian", Cocytus replied
"Compassionate and thoughtful", Aura responded.
"Kind and merciful," Mare said.
"Rulers who can act quickly and wisely" Demiurge responded with a smile.
"Beings who are willing to stay with us till the end," Sebas said while still bowing
"Lord Momonga is the leader of all the supreme being and Lord Sypher being the most intelligent, as well as the man to whom my heart belongs," Albedo exclaimed, almost fanatically.
"Ri… Right" Momonga stuttered for a second before returning to his regal voice. "Then go work faithfully to protect us and the great tomb of Nazarick". He and Sypher then teleported away.
After the meeting with the guardians, all of them had set off to do their appropriate tasks.
The two players turned rulers had to have their own meeting. To prevent eavesdropping, they met in Momonga's study.
"Ok, I'm starting to regret the whole supreme being roleplay act we programmed into the guild NPCs. I mean if they think we are literal gods and follow our actions too much, it could be bad for everyone involved." Sypher said with a worried expression.
"Yeah." Momonga nodded with an exasperated look "I'm worried about not living up to their expectations." He shook his head and slapped his face to forget about it given the new task in front of them. "Before we start with scouting there was one weird thing I notice about me. It seems that whenever I feel strong emotions they get suppressed like magic."
"Really? Is it for all emotions?"
"Well, I'm not sure if it is for all emotions. So far it's just for fear and nervousness"
Sypher thought about this for a moment before responding. "Hmm. Well, you're undead, right? Undead should have racial passive to mental status debuffs so maybe strong emotion is considered a debuff and it is automatically 'healed' so to speak."
Momonga thought and said in response "That would be quite annoying."
"Well, it's just a theory I had. Personally, I haven't had any changes like that myself but we should keep note." After getting a nod from Momonga he continued. "We should start to look at the surroundings. We have a mirror of remote viewing right?"
Momonga racked his brain. "There is one near the throne room I believe. We also have a spare one in the treasury so we can split the searches."
"Good thought. I'll head to the treasury and meet you in the throne room then."
"Right."
With that, the two started to survey the surroundings for additional information. Because of Momonga's undead nature, he didn't need to eat or sleep. For Sypher, he used a ring of sustenance to continue without food or sleep so that he could continue working until Nazarick was secure. And while he didn't say it out loud, he wanted to stick with Momonga to keep each other's sanity until they got used to their situation in this world. At the Sebas' fervent request, the two of them had let standby to assist them at all times, meaning they had to make sure not to drop the facade. It took a few hours just to use it without their usual menu and even after that most of their search came up as grasslands or forest with a few low leveled monsters here and there. If they were the same as Yggdrasil, even the POP monsters would be able to handle them. After over 24 hours of searching, Momonga settled on something interesting.
"What's that?" Sypher asked while shifting over to Momonga's mirror to get a closer look. He could see people running around a small village.
"A festival perhaps?" Ainz hoped.
"I don't think so," Sebas stated coldly from his point.
Upon zooming in, one could see armored men indiscriminately slaughtering the villagers. The fact that he and Ainz only continued to stare upon the horrifying scene made Sypher realize something. "Sebas please leave us for a minute. This is an order" he said in the most commanding tone he could muster.
As Sebas bowed and exited Sypher exclaimed "Momonga I think I figured out something!"
"I think I'm on the same page with you," Momonga stated as if he had just made a terrible realization.
"I'm going to keep this quick. Neither of us reacted to seeing the villagers being slaughtered where if we were human we might have thrown up at the sight. On top of that, I barely wanted to help them or felt bad for them."
"Yeah, I know what you mean. I didn't feel anything. I guess that means our avatars are affecting our mental states as well." Momonga said while looking at his bony hand.
Sypher cleared his throat before continuing "I believe you karma was -500 and mine is around -100. It matches up with our responses to the scene. I think we need to look into this later, but first, we should save the villagers."
"I thought you didn't feel much for them."
"Well yes, I said that however, the humans there can be a good source of information for this world. Definitely better than just scrying our surroundings and hoping for the best." While Sypher was talking he internally pondered the fact that he referred to them as humans instead of people. Like he didn't consider himself human anymore. 'Whatever a thought for another day'
"Yes, but we don't know how strong they are?" Questioned Ainz.
"This is a good chance to test our strength against the world. If our scrying is anything to go off of these men should be pretty low level and if anything strong appears we can teleport out of there." Sypher stated in a hurried tone.
"Right. Sebas," Momonga continued once Sebas entered the room again "Tell albedo to meet me fully armored and prepared for battle. Also, have reserve forces trained in stealth to be on standby."
"Yes my Lord."
Sypher turned into his angel form that was mainly meant for healing with light attacks. His transformation skills and levels are similar to Pandora's actor in the sense that he can mimic 80% of the strength of a level 100 player. However, he had a greater variety when compared to Pandora's Actor because he prioritized function over roleplaying. A Seraph Aesphere, similar to a Seraph Empyrean but focused on support and healing magic rather than attack. He chose this transformation because its attack skills were still good enough to handle anything level 60 and below and could heal which he figured could be used to get in the human's good graces. Anything higher than level 60, either Momonga or Albedo could handle it.
Momonga opened a [Gate] to the village outskirts and Sypher stepped through.
Well, that's the prologue and the first chapter is done. It's still somewhat close to the original story at the end of chapter 1 but things will really start to change at the end of the next chapter. Please let me know if you are interested and leave a review with your thoughts and any suggestions or comments about the story. This is my first fanfic so leave suggestions for things like formatting and writing style as well if you have thoughts on those. The story will probably update at least once a week for the near future if people like it.