Behold, a crossover where our favorite skeleton gets summoned that actually follows the rules of Shield Hero (some stretching may occur but no outright breaking).

I've had this idea for a while and every time I see an Overlord x Shield Hero fic they pretty much always do the same 3 things:
1) have Ainz keep his level from YGGDRASIL and be massively OP (Completely breaking the rules world of Shield Hero operates on)
2) Summon Ainz as the Shield Hero even if he doesn't fit it's preferences. He really is a much better fit for the Spear given his loyalty to his friends.
and 3) Do something so Ainz's body looks/becomes human

I'm not doing any of that.

Hope you'll all forgive the lack of prologue, but it goes exactly the same as the start of Overlord until the server shutdown and I assume anyone reading this has read it or at least seen the anime and knows what happened anyways.

An, of course, I don't own Overlord or Shield Hero. All rights to their respective owners, yada yada yada.

Chapter 1: A Skeleton Hero?

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"…Hm?"

Momonga opened his eyes and found himself standing in an unfamiliar room with robed men all around. He also noticed a glowing geometric pattern on the floor that was likely supposed to represent some sort of ritual. Something strange was going on. Momonga would likely have screamed "What's going on!?" had he not remembered the words of one of his past comrades, Punitto Moe, telling him that he should never panic.

"What's all this?"

Momonga heard a voice come from his left and saw two boys who couldn't have been more than seventeen years old. What was odd about them was that they were both wearing what might be school uniforms and had weapons, one a sword while the other a bow.

"Where are we?" The boy carrying the sword continued to ask.

It was a good question. When YGGDRASIL's servers shut down Momonga should have been forcibly logged out, but instead he was here. Is this some sort of new game created by the devs? If so, there may have been an announcement during the end of game streams, but they still need to have an easy way to log out or risk being charged with cyber-kidnapping.

"Oh Heroes! Please save our wor-" The robed man who spoke stopped short as he seemed to finally take a good look at Momonga. Then murmurs spread around the room about an undead. Not that Momonga understood why. After all, while monstrous characters were in the minority, they were by no means uncommon. Perhaps players' appearances were supposed to be reset and his maintaining a skeletal form was a glitch? It would explain the appearances of the others with him.

"What?!" Three voices exclaimed, two from the boys to Momonga's left and another coming from his right. There was another young man, a bit older than the others, wearing a hoodie and bearing a shield. He was also staring at Momonga with an expression between shock and disbelief. By looking right Momonga was now able to see that instead of the Staff of Ainz Ooal Gown, he was now holding a spear somewhat similar to the weapons wielded by the young men.

"What is that supposed to mean?" The one with the bow questioned the robed man, who then managed to shake himself out of his previous surprise.

"Yes, um, there are many complications in this situation, but to offer a simple answer to your question, we have just completed an ancient ceremony and summoned you four Heroes." He stammered while shooting glances at Momonga.

"What do you mean by 'summoned'?" Momonga spoke, causing the robed man to take a step back and the others to look at him.

"What…?"

"Huh?" The boy with the shield stumbled back after looking at Momonga for a few seconds.

A moment of silence passed as all eyes were on Naofumi. Luckily for him the roded man chose to continue with his request rather than comment on it.

"O-our world teeters on the brink of destruction. Heroes, please lend us your strength," he bowed deeply as he spoke.

"I don't think so."

"Yeah, me neither."

The two with the sword and bow quickly denied the request for aid.

At this point Momonga only passively listened while trying to find how to log out of whatever he got pulled into and ignoring the odd looks that the others continued to give him. His command console was no longer present, but after a few moments he noticed a small indicator in his peripheral vision. He had been about to move to touch it when it reacted and a window opened across his vision. It showed things such as his character name, stats, class, level, equipment (which seemed to be glitched), skills, and magic but no log-out option. There was a help menu which he was about to look through when the robed men started leading them to meet with the king about how they would be compensated.

As Momonga followed the others out of the room he reached out to the one with the sword. "By any chance do you know how to log off? As interesting as continuing this experience would be, I have work tomorrow and need to get some sleep."

"The normal method doesn't seem to work, and with how I ended up here I don't think it will be possible."

"Not possible…"

While it may have seemed that Momonga was simply parroting the young man's response, it was really due to his realization that the young man's lips were moving as he talked. He then moved his bony hand to his own jaw and felt it move. This was wrong. It wasn't possible for player's facial expressions to be expressed in DMMORPGs, the technology simply hadn't reached that point. It was possible for an NPC's mouth to move on a preset pattern and match the dialogue it was giving, but that still took a tremendous amount of data so game developers never bothered. Beyond that, his sense of touch felt far more real than it should.

The path they took went by a window, from which Momonga was able to get a glimpse of the surrounding town. It didn't look like anything he recognized from YGGDRASIL, if he had to make a comparison it would be closest to old European cities from sometime before the industrial age. It was a sight which made both Momonga and the young man with the shield pause for a moment.

"Wow look, this really is another world, huh?" The boy carrying the bow commented as he passed by it.

"Indeed," Momonga agreed.

"Even the air feels different. It's like how you'd expect to see it described in some sort of travel brochure." The shielder noted with amazement.

The first part of the shield bearer's comment caused Momonga to pause as he did indeed feel a slight breeze, but the second confused him. There was nowhere left on Earth with air anyone would enjoy. Well, not unless you counted the domes, but they haven't used brochures since they were first built.

"Does that mean that you've never traveled outside of Japan before?"

"Judging by the breeze, I'd say this place has a fairly standard Mediterranean climate."

"Uh… uh, yeah sure, that's what I meant. I couldn't remember the word for it."

This entire conversation had Momonga so confused. He wasn't sure if this was the sort of climate common to the Mediterranean in the past, but there wouldn't be a way for anyone alive to know how it felt or any point in comparing its present state to this. Before he could become lost in thought the robed man guiding them ushered them forwards and they continued on to the throne room.

Had the heroes thought about the path they took they might have realized that it was far longer than necessary. Of course they didn't notice this or the runner that was sent along the shortest route in order to inform the court of the ritual's success and Momonga's unusual appearance.

On their arrival the four "heroes" stood in a line before the king, who looked them over carefully before saying anything. Since Momonga had gotten sidetracked at the window he had entered last and was now at the far right of the line.

"… So, these are the four Cardinal Heroes?"

The man on the throne fit the image of a wise old king rather well, though he didn't seem to have much respect for those he supposedly had summoned to save his people. He was likely the type of person who is good with the people that he considers to be worthy but incredibly condescending to everyone else. He also seemed to be as concerned with Momonga's appearance as the robed men.

"I am the king of this country Aultcray Melromarc XXXII. Heroes, raise your heads!"

Did he think we were bowing? Momonga wondered. Is he actually nearsighted? Or did he have what he was going to say planned out and assumed they were going to bow? Momonga glanced at his fellow "heroes" out of the corner of his eye and saw that he was not the only one annoyed by the king's attitude. No, the realism was getting to him. The king must be an NPC to explain the situation, but why would whoever wrote the script think the players would be bowing?

"Now then, I shall begin with an explanation. This country, no, this whole world is on the brink of destruction."

The king continued to explain how there was an ancient prophecy about a series of "waves of catastrophe" that they ignored until after the first "wave" hit and they realized that they needed help. They had some sort of hourglass to tell them when the next one would come, but they are apparently spaced about a month apart.

Momonga had an odd feeling that this plot sounded familiar? Had one of his guildmates told him about this game in the past? That felt likely, but who was it? Pereronchino? No, he mostly only talked about hentai games and this didn't seem likely to be one. It was certainly something that would be eating at the back of his mind until he figured it out.

It wasn't until the king explained how the weapons acted as translators that Momonga realized that, unlike with the sword hero, his lips didn't match what he was saying. That seemed strange to him. Why would a company go through the trouble of making it so player's faces matched their words but give an excuse to let the NPCs have mismatched mouth movements? Based on difficulty to program and processing power needed, it should be the reverse.

Once the king's exposition was complete the other heroes made it clear that they wouldn't work for free or let the people look down on them. Well, the sword and bow heroes did. The shield hero was a bit caught off guard by their demands but quickly agreed with them. The only one who remained silent was Momonga, who had at this point skimmed through the help menu and failed to find any way to log out. There were a few actions that might log him out by force, anything that would be considered R-18 for example, however those actions were also illegal and even if he explained why he did it, he still might face charges. Or, on the off chance this wasn't a game… he didn't even want to think about the consequences.

"Of course we are planning on compensating you all for your efforts." It was the king's aide who stepped forwards as he spoke.

"Naturally," the king continued from where his aide left off. "I've made arrangements to support you financially, and also to provide you with whatever you may require, in thanks for your efforts on our behalf."

As the others accepted Momonga gave a simple nod, coming back from his search for anything that might indicate how to leave.

"Very well then, Heroes. Tell us your names."

Oh, is this where you would normally set your character's name? But the menu already had his name written as Momonga. If he gave a different one would it change? Did he even want to change it?

The sword hero spoke first.

"My name is Ren Amaki. I am 16 years old, and a high school student."

What? Did he just say he was in high school? It made sense given his age and clothing, but his parents must be incredibly wealthy if they could afford to continue his education that far. Momonga didn't feel there would be any reason to give your level of education in this sort of situation, but he effectively just declared that he came from a wealthy family and was likely one of the best educated among the four of them.

"Ok, my turn. I'm Itsuki Kawasumi. I'm 17, and still in high school."

Another in high school?! Momonga was starting to get nervous. Even if he was twice their age, if they found out he hadn't even finished middle school they would probably look down on him, assuming they didn't already plan on doing something based on his skeletal body.

"I guess I'm up. My name is Naofumi Iwatani. I'm 20 years old, and a college student."

COLLEGE STUDENT!? Only the 1% could afford to send their kids to college these days. What the hell is going on here? Momonga felt like something forcibly calmed him down and was able to think rationally. There was likely a logical explanation for all this and he would have time to figure it out later, unless he finally managed to log out (something that appeared to be becoming less likely with each passing second). But for now the best thing to do was avoid revealing his lack of schooling, and the best way he could think to do that was, ironically, to go full RP with his intro.

All eyes in the room were on Momonga who had delayed long enough for the silence to start to get awkward. He cleared his non-existent throat (how he did so would need to be investigated later) and began. "I am Momonga, Guildmaster of Ainz Ooal Gown and ruler of the Great Tomb of Nazarick."

Silence returned as everyone looked at him. Then Naofumi spoke in a hushed voice. "Shouldn't you at least tell him your age?"

Momonga had anticipated that question and already had the perfect response. "Do you really think that the passage of time holds any relevance for me?"

He heard one of the other heroes snicker but wasn't sure which one it was.

"Now then. Ren, Itsuki, and Momonga, correct?"

"Your Highness, you have forgotten about me."

"Oh, I'm sorry, Naofumi."

Had his introduction caused the king to overlook Naofumi? If so he should probably apologize as well. As Momonga pondered this, the king continued.

"Now then, Heroes. Please check your Statuses and objectively assess yourself."

"Eh?"

Momonga was not the only one confused as Naofumi and Itsuki also didn't seem to know what he meant. There was a screen to show stats, was that it? If it was then maybe he could demonstrate that he wasn't the complete fool that most with a higher education thought those of lower classes were.

Itsuki voiced his question, "Excuse me, but how are we supposed to evaluate ourselves?"

"You mean to say that you all haven't figured it out yet? Didn't you realize it the moment you arrived here?" Ren seemed annoyed that he had to explain this.

If Momonga was wrong he would likely be laughed at, but he hadn't seen anything else that might be it, so he took the chance.

"Would 'Status' refer to the screen that shows stats, abilities, and so forth? If so, I found it through an icon resting on the edge of my vision."

"Yeah, just focus on the icon and it will open." Ren smiled satisfactorily.

Momonga took the time to study his stats a bit more closely than when he was scanning for a logout function. Everything under "Equipment" other than the spear that he was holding had a seemingly random string of characters for a name. His skills list was much easier to understand, a single word: "None". On the other hand "Magic" seemed to contain all of the spells he knew from YGGDRASIL. Not that he had time to scroll through a list of over 700 entries. It did bring up a question of how he would be able to cast them. Actually it felt like he already knew how to cast them. If he concentrated he could feel things like MP costs, range, and cooldowns. Unfortunately he didn't seem to have enough MP for anything above a 1st-tier spell at the moment. The reason for this was quite simple if he looked at his class. Spear Hero LV 1.

"Only level one… not very reassuring."

Did Itsuki think they would start at a high level? Oh how fun it would be if Momonga had come with his 100 levels from YGGDRASIL intact and could wipe the floor with anything in his way, but no, he was starting at level 1 like all the others. Well, not quite like them as he had his spells and undead body. And leveling up from the beginning could be fun in its own way. Why was he getting excited about this when he still needed to find a way to log out and get to sleep for work?

"What is all this?" Naofumi asked the king.

"Do these things not exist in your world, oh Heroes? You are experiencing 'Status Magic.' Everyone in this world can see and use it."

Interesting, most games don't do anything to indicate that the NPCs know what stats are, but this doesn't seem to be a normal game.

"And what are we supposed to do? These numbers seem awfully low."

Itsuki was still concerned with his starting strength. It made sense; Momonga had no idea whether the values he saw were good or bad for a level 1. While some of the stat types were the same as in YGGDRASIL others were different. If he were to make a guess, it seemed that his stats were distributed to be not a plain spearman, but a magic-using one. Of course that may just be his personal bias and the fact that he retained the use of spells.

"Hmm. From now on, you, Brave Heroes, face a dangerous path, and you must hone and improve both your skills and bodies, as well as your legendary weapons." The king explained.

"Improve? You mean these things aren't strong right from the get-go?" Naofumi raised a good point. While there were always some exceptions, normally a game would have you find, craft, or purchase stronger weapons. To only use the starting weapon was rather unusual.

"Yes, according to legend, the summoned heroes improved their legendary weapons, and they became stronger and stronger."

"That sounds rather vague." Momonga commented. Was it the sort of situation where the weapons grow as the wielders do, or maybe they would have to use other methods to improve them? Momonga felt like he had seen something like that in one of the menus he skimmed over while trying to logout but didn't recall what it said.

"We can work all that out later on," Ren responded. "Right now, we should focus on improving ourselves, just like the king has asked us to do."

"Are we going to form a party? The four of us?" Naofumi asked the question even though it seemed rather obvious to Momonga. He wasn't sure about group size, but they had a good balance with a tank, a melee attacker, a ranged attacker and him as an all-rounder.

"Wait just a moment, Heroes." The king's aide spoke out to them again. "The four of you should set out separately, to recruit your own companions."

"Is there a reason for this?"

"Yes. According to the legend, the cardinal weapons will reject their own kind. As soon as you, Brave Heroes, unite, this will interfere with the growth of skills and weapons, and the owner."

"So we can't team up?" As Naofumi was asking that, a message appeared before all the heroes' eyes.

Attention: When two or more wielders of the legendary weapons operate together, it causes an adverse reaction in the weapons. Working separately is highly advised.

What? Who in their right mind would design it like that? Why even have us start in the same place if we can't work together?

"I will attempt to secure travel companions for you all. Regardless, evening draws near. Heroes, you should rest for the night and prepare for departure on the morrow. In the meantime, I will find talented fighters to form your parties."

The heroes thanked the king before a maid led them to their room. It seemed they developers opted to go with a more period accurate outfit rather than the widely popular maid uniforms. That ruled out several of Momonga's companions as possibilities for who could have told him about this game, as they were big fans of maid uniforms and wouldn't have liked that developers chose to ignore a good place to include them. Whitebrim in particular would have been fuming about it. In short, the conversation would have been quite memorable.

Omake: Don't PK me Bro

"Oh Heroes! Please save our wor-" the robed man stopped when he looked at Momonga then whispered, "a skeleton?"

The two boys to Momonga's left looked and raised their weapons at him. Momonga took a step back and moved to aim the staff of Ainz Ooal Gown at them, but then he realized it had been replaced with a spear.

"I've never seen a skeleton appear in the summoning room before." The swordsman spoke.

"Me neither, but a monster's a monster." The other boy started to draw back his bowstring.

Momonga was outnumbered in an unknown place and his staff was gone. Well, there was one thing he could try.

"Don't PK me bro."

"Did that skeleton just use gaming terms?"

"It did, you don't think…"

"Are you… a player?"

AN: And there we have it. The first chapter of Momonga being summoned as the Spear Hero. Of course he went through a lot of the same thoughts as when he was summoned to the new world, but there being other people with him and the game-like interface makes him less likely to believe it's a different world rather than him getting stuck in a different game.