His eyelids were heavy and hard to open, the sheer thought alone brought his relaxed state great discomfort, urging him to just stay this way a few moments more. But through his will alone he prevailed, managing to triumph over the sandman's clutches.
However the victory hadn't last, as the sobering reality introduced contradictions.
"Huh!?"
A confused sound escaped, causing the nearby maid to look up in surprise.
"Is there something wrong, Lord Ainz?"
Her concerns were lost to him, as he was deep in thought pondering his state.
He had been sleeping just now. His focused grew more as the surrounding became silent. How can an undead fall prey to fatigue. Were his traits disrupted?
Even so...
His focused went to his hand. His heart skipped a beat, and eyes widened. The heart began to beat rapidly as his calm state faded.
"What's going on here?"
He asked, the sound of his voice still unchanged. A bit of calmness had replaced the unease.
He closed his eyes and settled his emotions, it wouldn't do well to be irrational. He really cherished his friend's words at times like this. Outbursts would sometimes cause irreversible damage.
"What happened to my body?"
His voice was now calm and non-frightening, helping the maid to regain her composure.
"Forgive me, my Lord. But you've ordered us to not bother you for 30min as you had something to do."
"Was my body already changed when you came?" He paused and looked up. "Assassins?"
...Concealed voices entered his ears.
"Yes, Lord Ainz. We figured the transformation was Lord Ainz' doing."
His memories of the events prior were a bit hazy, only bits and pieces being recalled.
He did a swift inspection and found no problem with the body.
"What about my state when you came in?"
His questions continued.
"We found Lord Ainz on the ground laying next to his divine equipment. Other than that the were no injuries on Lord Ainz's body or mind."
The fact that he hadn't been injured was a bothered to him. How did he lose consciousness then? His brows furrowed.
Finding no answers in his pondering, he stood from the bed, flipping the sheets to the side. He had an urge to inspect this new form.
The maid matched his movements as she draped a dark purple gown on him.
His worries and fears had made him ignore the naked state of his body.
'A new form, huh? Does this mean i performed a race change?' The thought came to him like a speeding bullet, causing him to almost trample.
He stood for a second but then continued with his walk.
'This couldn't be a normal race change.'
Ainz wasn't smart but even he wouldn't do something as drastic as a race change without giving it some thought.
He reached the mirror and a reflection of his appearance was visible to him.
"What the hell...?"
His eyes widened and his jaw dropped, the appearance before him was one of models and actors. No, it had the appearance surpassing those of models even, lingering before the line of perfection. He was awed and overwhelmed.
A slight sense of happiness and arrogance appeared as the idea of this being his form hit home.
A past memory sprouted as he inspection continued.
Hey, have you heard about the new avatar feature the devs added.
Yeah, I heard it was unpopular, never got around checking it out.
I have it acted like a second character with a human avatar default. It also has many restrictions so many kind of didn't bother with it.
A second avatar?
Yeah, I heard there's a loophole that can be explored to characterize its buil-, sorry man I have to take this.
It was Tabula who informed him about it.
He looked at the reflection as his memories played.
He had included a very rare drop item while customizing the secondary avatar since it fit the requirements. But he was sure he hadn't customized its appearance to be like this.
'Did the transmigration affect the avatar as well?'
It wouldn't be impossible, many things had been affected by it.
"What do you think of this body?"
Ainz asked the individuals present in the room with him.
"It has a magnificent appeare-"
"I was talking about the feel it gives, not its appearance."
"Ack..Forgive us, Lord Ainz. It has an aura of a high existence. Powerful and dominant."
Ainz quickly picked up the keywords from the answer, causing his mind to go into overdrive as more memories came to him.
It was just after a raid when Ainz asked his guild mates about the oddity of the boss. It had been located in helheim, and taken a lot of players to bring it down.
Warrior Takemikazuchi had been the one to answer him, informing him that the reason for its oddity was because it was a god-type enemy with territorial buffs.
He had been confused by the answer, but Takemikazuchi had provided him further explanation. Explaining that the boss was a Nordic god and also describing the difference of Gods. He also learned that the boss they fought wasn't a battle-type but a commander type.
That had struck him as odd since it possessed incredible physical attributes, especially its speed and strength.
Defeating it was satisfying but the distribution of items had left a sour taste in his mouth, getting what he considered useless item.
Takemikazuchi had advised him to hold on to the item as god-type bosses were very rare.
"Hmm..."
His brows furrowed as he noticed tensions in the room.
"What is it?"
Ainz demanded, after noticing the indecisive mood in the maid.
"Will Lord Ainz remain in his current form."
That was a good question. Was his main form lost to him?
He entered a state of contemplation as he noticed the calmness of his demeanor. He had expected a living form to bring back his anxious emotions, but it seemed that wasn't the case.
'I guess my role as ruler has really affected me.'
Ainz mused.
He clenched and unclenched his hands as he responded to the maid's question.
"Yes, but my other form isn't lost to me." He paused as he pondered further. "Are you worried about my attire?"
The maids were too simpleminded, so discerning the reason behind their questions wasn't so hard.
"Yes my Lord. The picked out attire wouldn't suit this majestic new form."
...majestic? He smiled at the clear attempt at flattery.
"Then you have my permission to seek out the necessary clothes without restrictions."
"Lord."
He mind was suddenly drawn back to his appearance again, inspecting his new features a bit closely.
The crimson glows that had occupied his sockets had been replaced by cold purple eyes that lacked emotions. His long silky hair the color of winter had in trance him, as if urging him to touch it. And his pale fair skin compliments his overall features pretty well.
The fact that the new form hadn't disrupted the majestic and exaggerated feel that his previous form had brought him great joy and relief.
'The image of Nazarick wouldn't be affected.'
Ainz thought. The return of his once lost senses had filled a piece of his heart with relief, especially his most cherished sword.
"Hmm...?"
The doors to his chambers opened as five maids entered in unity, each with piles of clothes in their hands.
Ainz silently let out a sigh, dreading the coming events.
*
Having finished being dressed, and the process having taken longer than expected with frequent praises in the middle. Ainz elegantly walked out of his chambers, his practiced movements now second nature to him.
The countless hours he had spent practicing hadn't been wasted.
Though he would usually be dreadful of all the work he had to do such morning, today Ainz was feeling incredibly relaxed and expectant. He was curious to see how the guardians would react to his new form.
He had been wondering how to impress the form upon them. Gathering them and introducing them to it would produce predictable results. Acting like nothing had changed would raise his status in their minds and as strength their loyalty.
The reasons for it were foolish and childish, he just wanted to see their honest reactions.
When he entered his office, he found that Albedo and her assistants were yet to arrive.
Relief washed over him. It would be an awkward start if things had turned out that way.
Walking through the room felt a bit different too. His form was projecting this as a new experience. Everything from the furniture, walls and design felt rich but not overwhelming. Had his skeleton form restricted this much from him? He wasn't sure, nothing ever felt wrong when he in it, so it was hard to tell.
He shook the thoughts out his mind and continued to just enjoy himself.
Reaching his desk, he sat down, finally feeling the pure embrace of his and his friends' hard work in YGGDRASSIL.
While his face hadn't conveyed the emotions, the atmosphere in the room felt respected and welcoming.
The maid, having been aware of his master state, proceeded with her tasks. Ainz had been in tranced in by the new reality that he hadn't bothered with other things.
The maid placed a cup of tea atop his desk, drawing Ainz out of his reverie. His eyes widened in surprise as he remembered about his other senses. He can enjoy meals and drinks now, he rejoiced. His regal demeanor only a inch away from crumbling.
But his years of practice hadn't been wasted, he being able to recover his composure with minimum ease.
He nodded to the maid whose mood brightened even further after the gesture.
Ainz picked the cup, exercising the greatest caution while doing so. His image as ruler could be affected by the slightest of things. So without any impatience or eagerness, he brought the cup his lips and took a sip.
The tea was the best he had ever had, granted he hadn't had many types. It didn't have any lingering effects either, which only added to its enjoyment.
He took another sip...
"Hmm...Fragrant tea?"
"Yes, Lord Ainz." The maid paused before continuing. "Is it not to Lord Ainz's liking?"
While the tea was essentially just boiled scented water, Ainz had been overwhelmed by its taste. The leaves used, and brooding method were really what made great tea.
"Nonsense...this is exactly what I wanted."
The maid beamed...
Ainz wondered if this was what the rich drank. Well he was one of the rich now, so maybe this is indeed what the rich drank. He thought.
He felt like he was going to enter a whole paradox of useless thoughts if he continued this line of thought. Already forming ideals and principles normal people would consider outrageous.
Finding his thoughts useless and less entertaining, Ainz decided to ready his heart for the upcoming events. It was back.