The very first thing Momonga did when he returned was to message the guardians and confirm that all was well. There were no intruders, there had been no attacks, so far as they could tell everything was completely 'normal.' Momonga found that interesting, as only a couple hours earlier they had not been alive. The NPCs obviously knew him and the other residents of Nazarick. But what sorts of memories would they have?

Both Albedo and Sebas had returned to the throne room with him, so it occurred to him to ask them some questions concerning this.

"Albedo, what did you do yesterday?"

She blinked. "I performed my normal duties. I was in attendance in the throne room, had lunch, spoke with the guardians, had-"

"Wait! You actually spoke with the guardians?"

Albedo blinked at him and fidgeted. "It was merely to confirm the status of their floors and that there were no problems. I am their leader so it is a part of my duty. Did… did I do something wrong Momonga-sama? I used message so I did not leave the throne room until I had dinner and then went to bed."

"So you physically left the throne room?"

Albedo gasped and fell to her knees. "I beg forgiveness Momonga-sama! I swear I did not know I was meant to remain here at all times! I will have a sleeping mat brought in and I will take all my meals here and have the maids bring me a bowl so I may perform my bodily functions without ever stepping outside the throne room!"

"Er, no, that's not what I meant. I am sorry, Albedo, but I thought you were always present in the throne room."

"Ah! I understand. Whenever a Supreme Being is in the Great Tomb, regardless of the time of day or what tasks we are doing, we all go to our posts so as to be ready to serve."

Momonga turned to Sebas. "Is it the same for you as well?"

Sebas gave a nod. "Yes, Momonga-sama. It is the same for every NPC of Nazarick. We live only to serve the Supreme Beings. When none of you are present we will go about our usual routines. But when any of you arrive we instantly return to our proper stations, to carry out your will."

"Instantly? Even if you are asleep?"

Sebas's eyes widened slightly at the question. "Of course. No servant of Nazarick would dare sleep when they should be available to serve a Supreme Being. Such a thing would be absolutely unthinkable."

Albedo swiftly nodded agreement.

"So you can be asleep in bed one moment and standing in a hallway the next?"

"Hai."

"But how did that work?"

Momonga noticed as Sebas and Albedo shared a confused glance. "I do not know the specifics of the magic. But how could it be any other way?"

"Every NPC knows the instant a Supreme Being arrives as well as his, her, or its identity." Albedo added.

Momonga found all of this very interesting, but decided not to ask further about it. The absolute last thing he wanted was for them to start to develop doubts about him. Everyone in Nazarick assumed that as a Supreme Being he was infallible and had all the answers. It would be very, very dangerous to start putting doubts in their minds. The key thing was that so far as Albedo and Sebas were concerned nothing had changed. Whatever force / god / magic that had given them life had also given them false memories. For every inhabitant of Nazarick other than him, today was a normal day. (Excluding the minor fact they were in a different world now.)

"Momonga-sama," Albedo spoke after a short pause. "I know Herohero-sama was here for a short time earlier. Will he or any of the other Supreme Beings return?"

"Ah, it is unlikely, but not impossible." So far as Herohero was concerned Momonga knew for a fact he had logged out prior to the Change. So the odds of his returning were effectively zero. But there was at least the possibility that some of his other friends had been on line at the time and been brought to this new world.

"I see, that is truly unfortunate." She sounded disappointed and bowed her head. But he thought he saw just a flicker of a smile.

"It is still possible there could be other PCs in this new world. If there are I want to find them."

"And destroy them!" Albedo said.

"What? No!"

"Oh, you will merely make them your slaves?" Albedo lowered her face. "You are truly merciful to your enemies Momonga-sama."

"Indeed." Sebas agreed.

Just what sort of reputation do I have with them? Momonga wondered. Well, the guild had practiced a lot of player killing and been invaded by an alliance of no fewer than eight opposing guilds. Ainz Ooal Gown had viewed most other PCs as enemies. That had been the nature of the game though. Naturally, things would be very different now. But he could hardly expect them to understand that.

"There is something I want to ask both of you. What sort of person am I to you?"

Sebas bowed to him. "The head of all the Supreme Beings, and a merciful leader who stayed behind with us until the end."

Albedo's cheeks blushed as she answered. "The highest ranking of all the Supreme Beings and our ultimate master." She paused and clasped her hands together. "As well as the man I love!"

He stared at her. "Eh?"

XXX

Momonga was not able to deal with the revelation of Albedo being in love with him. In his actual life no woman had ever said it to him. And while normally he would have been delighted to have the affection of such an absolute beauty, he also felt ashamed for manipulating Tabula-san's creation. He managed to avoid the issue and would deal with it later.

The next couple of days were spent on experiments. Knowing he was in a different world it was vital to ascertain if and how the different aspects of the game still functioned. One of the first things he did was go outside and use a wide range of spells, running the gambit from tier one to ten and above. He used his staff, his own ability, and a few lesser magical items. He knew from his earlier experiment on the sixth floor that he could still use magic. He had wanted however, to make sure it worked outside of the tomb. Momonga also wanted to see if he had access to his full inventory of spells and abilities, and to see if he could recover MP once used.

He was very pleased to confirm that magic worked here exactly as it had in Yggdrasil. Momonga also ordered Shalltear, Narberal, and Lupisregina to also use a wide variety of spells. This proved that not only wizard magic but druidic and faith based spells worked as well.

He learned that the tomb would continue to automatically spawn low level undead, and that all the traps and magical features of the different levels remained active. As did the maintenance cost. At midnight exactly 1,288 gold pieces from the treasury were 'consumed.' This was the daily price needed to maintain the Great Tomb of Nazarick. As Guildmaster, Momonga had been very aware that in Yggdrasil guilds required gold to function. He had spent literally thousands of hours killing monsters and raiding various dungeons to guarantee the guild would have what it needed. Thus, in the treasury there was a literal hill of gold coins and hundreds of magical items great and minor. At the current rate of consumption his guild had enough gold to maintain itself for 176 more years. And there was always the Exchange Box if an emergency arose. So acquiring more gold was not a pressing issue. But the fact the gold was still needed was interesting in and of itself. Logically it didn't make sense, but then neither did game characters coming to life or the fact magic itself was real. Momonga found he was able to mentally adjust and accept it. All he cared about was finding out the rules of how things worked now.

As with the gold, food and other consumables that were used up were not replaced. The scrolls Momonga used were gone. He had Narberal, and Lupisregina drink some minor potions, the potions worked and were then gone. The tomb had large inventories of both scrolls and potions, but would need to find sources of raw material to make more… assuming that was possible in this world. Most of Nazarick's inhabitants were undead, but there were still hundreds who were living beings and would need to be fed. The larders were full and Momonga's rough estimate was they would last about three months. Water at least was not an issue, they had an entire lake on the fourth floor. Other than fish and crab there wasn't much food on the island, they would need to discover and secure a food supply. He and others could use magic to create food and water, but nowhere near enough.

Wandering through the tomb he noted that the spa, lounge, disco, arcade, nail salon, and other locations that had just been decorative back in Yggdrasil were now as real as the NPCs. He learned he could not swing a sword without encasing himself in magical armor. Yuri could cook a piece of meat to order. When any of the other Pleiades tried they burned the meat to charcoal. All of his levels were devoted to mage classes, he was not even a first level warrior. Yuri had the non-essential cooking skill, none of the other combat maids did. So the proficiencies and skills assigned in the game had transferred over just like spell levels and combat abilities had. When he had more time Momonga would need to experiment to find out if it were possible for NPCs to learn new things in this world.

Momonga learned as much as he could about magic, the tomb, and his NPCs. On the third day it was time for one particular experiment. It was one he did not want to perform, but in a world with firearms and possibly other modern weapons, it was one that was absolutely necessary before he ventured out into the world.

XXX

All the guardians had been assembled in the throne room to act as witnesses. If he was going to ask them to risk their lives for him it was only fair they know what would happen here. Standing before the throne was one of the homunculus maids. She had a woman's body and wore a black maid uniform. Her head was that of a fox and she had a single bushy red tail. As she stood before the throne her tail drooped and her head hung low.

"Though I do not know my offense I beg forgiveness, Momonga-sama."

"No, no, you've done nothing wrong Kitiara! Please understand your service has been exemplary and I have no complaint whatsoever!"

Kitiara raised her head slightly and her fox ears perked up. "Then why am I to be executed?"

Momonga shifted in his seat. Her tone was curious rather than accusatory, but he could not help but feel guilty. He and his friends had created the NPCs, they represented everything he and his friends had loved. Momonga felt it was his duty to do everything possible to protect them, and this included a level one homunculus maid every bit as much as it did Albedo or any other level one hundred guardian. But there were times when some sacrifices were absolutely necessary.

"I am truly sorry, I know how unjust this is. However, I must be absolutely certain I have the ability to resurrect in this world. After you are killed I will attempt to resurrect you. Whether or not I can this knowledge is vital to the survival of Nazarick."

"So my death will be useful to you?"

"Yes."

"Oh, thank goodness!" Kitiara grinned and her tail began to energetically wag. "I feared I had failed you. If my dying serves you, then it is my greatest joy and honor to give my life for you, Momonga-sama!"

Albedo suddenly stepped forward. "Momonga-sama! Please allow me to die for you!"

Cocytus raised four hands. "I beg to be allowed this honor!"

Shalltear knelt down with a hand over her heart. "For my beautiful, Momonga-sama, I gladly offer my life!"

Every guardian offered to sacrifice themselves for him. All the apparent eagerness to die in his name didn't make Momonga happy. It instead reminded him that he would need to be very careful leading them. Obviously, the NPCs would not hold themselves back from needless risks if they thought an action would please him.

Momonga raised a hand. "I thank you for your courage, but I have chosen Kitiara for a reason, she is best suited for this."

His words actually made her puff out her chest and sent her tail into over drive.

This isn't right, no one should be so eager to lose their life. But he needed to find out. "Kitiara, if you would like to take a few minutes to prepare yourself-"

"I am ready Momonga-sama, and thank you with all my heart. All glory to you and Ainz Ooal Gown!" She knelt down and held her head up to smile at him.

A battle axe materialized in Albedo's hand. Momonga hesitated but finally nodded. The axe flew, separating head from neck in a single, clean blow. The head came off with a rush of blood as the body toppled over. Momonga noted that when Kitiara's head came to a stop, it was still smiling. He was surprised at how little he felt at the sight of an actual corpse. All the blood and gruesomeness simply did not bother him.

Momonga stood and opened a small pouch. He let one hundred gold coins spill out, that was the cost for resurrecting a level one NPC. Momonga then lifted his staff.

"Kitiara, resurrect!"

Before his eyes the gold as well as the body began to melt and flow together. Even the blood moved into a single mass. It came together and coalesced into a living body. Kitiara opened her eyes and came to her feet. All the guardians applauded the success. Resurrection worked in this world. If the worst happened he could bring people back, just so long as he had enough gold.

It was finally time to go exploring.

XXX

The Evil Witch had finished her patrol and was on the way back home. Big surprise, there been nothing but empty water. Captain Warwick was in his chair and both Mark and Sate were in the bridge with him. Mark had the wheel, Sate was just there talking his usual crap. It was late afternoon, they would probably make it back to port sometime tomorrow before noon.

"As soon as we dock I'm heading straight to Maggie's," Sate said. "She's got a new girl, fifteen I think. Got the nicest little ass! And she's fresh too! Hardly been touched yet."

"They never stay that way long," Mark noted. "A couple months and she'll be just like the rest of them, an old pro."

"That's what I'm saying! I want to hit that as hard as I can while she's still a sweet little thing."

"Good luck with that," Warwick told him. "By the time you see her she'll probably know how to give you a slippery slide."

"Aw, come on John, don't be that way! It hasn't even been a week! I like 'em innocent"

"Then don't go to Maggie's, there's nothing innocent there."

"Well where else am I supposed to go to get laid?"

Mark grinned. "See? That's the whole problem. You say you want a sweet girl, but a sweet girl's not going to let you yank down her panties whenever you want."

"Well what's wrong with that?" Sate demanded.

"The ones who'll let you fuck them whenever you want aren't sweet or innocent."

"Hey, I want both. No reason I can't fine me a nice girl with a great ass who won't mess around and still take care of me whenever I want."

"Yeah," John said. "And I'd like a thousand pieces of solnium. Keep dreaming."

"You know what the real problem is?" Sate asked and then answered himself. "It's that we live in a shitty little town at the ass end of nowhere. We should all just go to Hannover."

"Shut your fucking mouth," John snapped. "You need to stop talking about this or I swear by sky and sea I'm going to tell Bloody Billy. As much as you run your mouth I can't believe he hasn't already cut your throat."

"C'mon, were all friends here. And you know I'm right. How many times you bitched about how boring our shithole is."

"That's because it's boring, I never said it wasn't. But there are a lot worse things than boring. You think they're going to welcome us if we just show up? We'll probably get strafed by a Hummingbird and that'll be the end."

"Nah, I bet they'd sign us up."

"Well we'll never know since it's never happening, now shut your mouth about it or I really will see Bloody Billy soon as we get back."

"Fuck you," Sate said, but did stop talking after that.

A few minutes later Mark pointed at something. "Fogbank off the starboard bow."

"Seriously? I've never seen fog in such clear weather. There hasn't been a cloud all day."

John got out of his chair and took a few steps to stand next to Mark and have a look. Sure enough there was a small band of fog out there.

"Huh, that's weird, it's not moving or spreading out. It's sticking to that one spot in the ocean. Hey, is that Cutler's Point?"

"Yeah," Mark said. "Never seen fog hang around this long."

John peered down at the radar screen. It showed the Point out there but nothing else. It was possible a ship could have landed on the island. Their radar wouldn't have picked it out.

"Want us to go take a look?" Mark asked.

John glanced at one of the gages. The battery charge was at twenty-eight percent, they had plenty of juice to spare.

"Fuck it, why not? Not like we've got anything better to do."

"You're the boss." Mark turned the wheel and altered course.