Outsider Chronicles: A New Guardian

O...K, I wasn't expecting this. When I was reborn into a world that I'm pretty sure was Mass Effect, I was gearing up for some serious fun watching people fumble, even if I would be getting on a bit when it finally rolled around. What I wasn't expecting was to end up in an entirely new world after my favorite video game ended. Well, this is gonna be fun

OK, I admit it, this is gonna be really, really odd. The Mass Effect thing is literally so I can throw the MC off and screw with his head, although it may come back into play later on. I'm not sure how long with will last, but whatever. Enjoy!

Chapter 1

Hmm, I think I might be in trouble. When I died from a crashed Xbox electrocuting me, I probably should have seen this coming. I mean, I was playing Mass Effect! How much cliche could you get for the start of an SI insert? Then again, unlike those, I woke up as a baby, not on Eden Prime, so I guess thats something.

To be perfectly honest, other than the advanced technology and the fact that we had colonies on other planets, growing up in this new world wasn't actually all that different. I went to school, did homework, played games and did everything I did last time through. Still, I'd learnt from my mistakes last time through and so focused on improving myself. That is until I was 12 and a new type of game was released. Dive Massively Multiplayer Online Role Playing Game, or DMMO-RPG's, weren't new, hell, there were a good number of fun ones and the current version of WoW held the distinction of being the first of its kind. However, in 2126 a game was released that blew it and everything before it out of the water and turned me into a full on Gamer geek once again. YGGDRASIL, a truly massive game with an incredible amount of player freedom, a constantly evolving world and an amazing community. It had a frankly obscene number of races, classes and jobs to choose from and I frickin LOVED it. It hit every single nerd button I had and, for a couple of years, it consumed my life. I did eventually drag myself out of that pit though and became a contributing member of society...insofar as a 14 year old can be at least. That didn't stop me from playing it at every opportunity though! I loved the game so damn much I completely missed the obvious that was staring me in the face until it was way too late.

My character was a Werewolf, a form of Heteromorphic race similar to Vampires that could switch between a Humanoid form and a powerful, wolf like monster. My Human form possessed agility, Magical abilities and the ability wear armour and incredible stealth skills, while my wolf form possessed an incredible amount of raw power and speed, especially under the light of the full moon. Thanks to that racial ability and my (admittedly excessive) playtime, I quickly earned a reputation as one of the most powerful solo players in the game. Ironically enough, since Werewolf players were so rare, very few people actually knew that that was the class I played. True, my 'Human' form had beasteal features, such as animal like ears, nose, fangs, claws and pads on my hands and feet, but most people thought I was playing a Demi-human race.

Thanks to that, I didn't have to deal with quite as many PKer's as the more obvious Heteromorphic races did, mostly those that actually bothered to look up what Race I was or didn't care either way. In fact, I actually tended to work as a mercenary for hunting parties to earn my gold and EXP...right before turning around and tearing my clients apart as soon as we parted ways. Hey, it may be dirty, but it was way better than some of the Human Race players treated my fellow Heteromorphic players.

Oddly enough, despite the fact my clients always ended up getting torn apart by a giant wolf monster, no one ever seemed to notice and I had a steady supply of customers and even invites to join various Guilds. I turned them all down though. Like I said previously, I much prefered playing as a lone wolf. That is until one day when a group of particularly dim group of Human players who kept hiring me and then getting torn to bits. Apparently they wanted my help dealing with a group of Heteromorphic players who kept striking into Human lands and slaughtering anyone who tried to cross them. Considering the only thing these idiots had going for them was deep pockets, I'm not sure what they planned to do, but I'd yet to get board of slaughtering them, so I agreed to tag along.

"How in the hell did they manage to get lost in their own territory?" I growled as I stomped through the forest where my current pray were prone to appearing.

It also happened to be my current employers territory, which is why I was so annoyed that they had somehow managed to get lost. I was currently using my Tracking skill to track down my future doggy chow, grumbling all the while. Considering how high my skill was, it didn't take me long to find them in a nearby clearing.

"How the fuck did you lot manage to...get…" I trailed off as I entered the clearing and found my clients facing down a group of nine non-Human players, "Huh, guess you didn't need me after all."

I quickly scanned the newcomers levels and let out a huff when I saw they were all much stronger than my current companions...who were currently sneering, posturing and making threats. True, they greatly outnumbered the strangers, but numbers likely wouldn't mean much here. Especially not when I recognized the group. They were one of the strongest up and coming Guilds that had managed to take over one of the most difficult dungeons in the game with only nine players. Yeah, these idiots were doomed.

"HA, now Loup has arrived, we can finally get this party started and show you scum who's boss!" shouted the leader of my soon to be chew toys.

I sighed.

"You idiots do realize that these guys are much stronger than us, right?" I asked, "And I really don't feel like getting smacked down a level."

"Awww, we can take um!" said one of the other members, "After all, we're the heroes!"

I let out another sigh.

"Right, thats it," I said, "RPing is one thing, but I'm not losing my EXP to idiocy. Beastform."

"Huh?"

My body began to glow and morph, rapidly growing a thick pelt the colour of steel, my face bulging out into a powerful muzzle full of razor sharp fangs, my normally yellow eyes turning red and my humanoid frame contorting into the shape of a massive wolf the size of a horse with steel gray fur with a silvery stripe down my back and a massive set of claws and teeth that I quickly put to good use turning the idiots into mulch. They were so surprised they couldn't react before I'd finished them off. With the last one taken out, I turned to the nonplussed would-be pray and sat on my hunches.

"Um, good doggy?" said a Warrior in white armour.

I just let my currently canine tongue loll out of my mouth, showing off my massive fangs in a doggy grin.

And thats how I met the members of Ainz Ooal Gown, one of the strongest Guilds in the entire game. I'm honestly not sure how it happened, but I ended up tagging along with them to finish the quest they were on and ended up adding the lot of them to my Friend List. They were just so much fun to hang around with. I didn't actually join the guild, mainly due to the fact that, as previously mentioned, I like lone wolfing it, but also because I didn't fit the requirements for being a member of the Guild, being only 14 at the time (and wasn't that a shock for my friends when they found out. Hooray for Reincarnation induced maturity!). Still, that didn't stop me from making friends with and adding an extra set of claws on occasion, nor the Guildmaster, Momonga adding me to the 'Guest List' feature that Guilds had that allowed non-guild members to come and go as they pleased, albeit with some restrictions. It did stop the various OP NPC's the Guild created from tearing me a new one, so I had no problem with it.

It says something about a game, especially an MMO, when it can remain strong and at the top of the charts for 12 years. WoW was proof of that considering it was still consuming countless lives, although Yggdrasil now had it beat. However, all good things must come to an end and eventually, the player numbers began to slip. The fact that the devs had moved onto other things by this point meant that the game was slowly dieing. Hell, even Ainz Ooal Gown was hemorrhaging members by the end and they were one loyal lot. I suspect that the announcement of a new, very similar game being announced by the Devs didn't help the longevity of the game and, frankly, I was looking forwards to it as much as everyone else. However, I'd poured a lot of time and money into Yggdrasil, so I'd be sad to see it go. As such, I was currently wandering through the world, occasionally teleporting from area to area, taking in the sights and remembering all the good times I'd spent in this world.

I reached the top of a cliff and stopped, knocking my fist on a tree with a slight smile as I took in the view.

"I'll miss this when its gone," I muttered, "Even if the new games even better, I think this world will always have a special place in my heart…"

I let out a sigh and glanced at the clock. Half an hour until timeout. I brought up my console, intending to logout, but before I did, I noticed a name still logged in on my Friend List. It was the Master of Ainz Ooal Gown. I snorted. If I knew him, he'd be staying on until the Servers shut down. I hesitated for a moment, before shrugging and activating a teleport spell to the Great Tomb of Nazarick instead of logging out. Since we both shared a rather unhealthy love for the game, it felt right to spend the last few moments hanging out and reminiscing.

I appeared in front of the Gates and equipped the Guest Amulet that would prevent the defences from activating as I entered the Dungeon turned HQ. The Amulet had similar enchantments on it to the Guild Ring, allowing for limited teleporting within the Tomb, although not as freely as with the Rings. As soon as I stepped through the door, brushing past the undead guards, I teleported deeper inside, reappearing outside the meeting room that had been distressingly empty of late. I stuck my head into the room, but it was empty. I noted that the Staff of Ainz Ooal Gown was missing from its pedestal though. I quickly checked my friend list and saw that, yes, Momonga was still online. I spent a few minutes wandering the corridors, but I quickly realized he must be in the Throne Room, one of the areas I couldn't access as a Guest since it also served as the location for the Guilds last stand, should the need arise.

I let out a huff and turned on my heel.

"Guess hanging outs now not an option," I said, "Guess I'll go sit outside until the game ends...then I should go to bed. I gotta go make that pitch tomorrow at work."

I pulled a face and teleported outside. I took a deep breath and stretched, relishing in the feeling of my virtual muscles stretching for the last time, before I dropped down beside the gate and tilted my head up, watching as the fluffy clouds wafted over the half moon.

"Heh, I wonder what the skybox in the new game will look like," I muttered.

I smiled and closed my eyes, focusing on the clock to bring it up to center stage.

"Just a few more seconds…"

I watched as the clock ticked down the last five seconds until midnight, waiting for the serve to kick me as it shut down at midnight. The clocked flicked to six zeros and I let out one last breath...before the clocked ticked forwards one more second and my body was consumed in pure pain.

And done. If you're wondering why Loup didn't realize that staying in Yggdrasil was a bad idea unless he fancied ending up in a fantasy world, the main reason was because he didn't think of it. Like it was mentioned, he just assumed that Mass Effect was the only world, so he never made the connections, despite it staring him in the face. Denial can be a powerful force.

Speaking of, since I didn't have anyone mention it, this character's name is Loup Garou, which is french for werewolf.

I'm probably taking some liberties with how Yggdrasil works, but I honestly don't give a shit. Unless it directly contradicts the rules laid out in canon, I'll be doing my own thing. Oh, and since this is an Outsider Chronicles, expect crossovers.

Until next time, please leave a review!