Volume 8, The Millionaire Pretender
Chapter 1, Office player wearing lich skin
DMMO-RPG.
This is a new term that emerged in the 22nd century AD. That is "DiveMassiveMultiplayero The abbreviation of "nlineRolePlayingGame", at that time Human beings have been able to use the Internet and nanotechnology to design a computer network in the brain, and connect this network with neuron nanointerfaces and dedicated control interfaces.
In this way, when people play virtual games, they can feel as if they are in the real world and have an immersive experience.
To put it in a more understandable way, DMMO-RPG is equivalent to a "virtual reality large-scale role-playing game", which means that players can personally enter the game world and enjoy a sense of reality as if they have traveled through another world.
Among the many DMMO-RPGs that have been continuously developed, there is one famous game that is particularly eye-catching.
That is "YGGDRASIL".
This is a Japanese game launched in 2126 and is famous for its excellent degree of freedom. It has a vast world stage, numerous professional skills, and player appearances that can be changed at will. You can even set various background information by yourself, create guild strongholds and exclusive NPCs.
There are more than 2,000 basic occupation types in the game, including basic occupations and advanced occupations. However, the maximum level of each profession is only level 15, so if you want to reach the comprehensive level limit of level 100, you must practice at least seven or more professions. Of course, as long as you are willing, you can also practice a hundred professions at the same time, and each profession has only one level. In such an inefficient and strange way, you can practice to level 100 in one go.
In short, this game became a sensation all over the world as soon as it was launched. Since then, it has become popular in the global gaming industry and has dominated the game for twelve years.
However, no matter how popular online games are, they will one day be replaced. When the second generation of "YGGDRASIL" that uses new technology is about to be launched, the first generation of "YGGDRASIL", which is already lagging behind and outdated, has ushered in the day of shutting down the server.
Countless hardcore gamers around the world feel like they are mourning for their offspring, but they have no choice but to make an appointment to meet again in the second-generation game.
Then, as time passed quietly, it finally came to the last day of game operation...
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AD 2138, twelve years after the server of the "YGGDRASIL" online game was opened.
Late at night, the Great Tomb of Nazarick is the base of the evil undead guild "Ainz Ooal Gown"
In a conference room with a giant obsidian round table, there sat a top player who had reached level 100.
He wore a luxurious black academic robe with purple and gold embroidery on the edge, and there were gorgeous decorations on the collar, making him look like an ancient emperor who was extremely extravagant. However, his head is a skull without any flesh. The large empty eye sockets shimmered with red and black light, and a black haze like a halo emitted from the back of the head. There was also a flashing red light beating among the ribs of the chest.
This is an undead player in the game who has a Lich number and has reached the highest level of the ruler of death (level 100).
His real name is Suzuki Satoru, an ordinary Japanese office worker who is withdrawn and unsociable. The player name of the game is "Flying Squirrel", and he is the leader of the top guild in the game, the "Ainz Ooal Gown" guild. This guild once ranked ninth at its peak, but now it has fallen to 29th. This is the ranking on the last day of operation. At its worst, it fell to 48th place.
The reason for the ranking drop is simple. Of the forty-one players in the entire guild, thirty-seven have deleted their accounts and left the guild due to various reasons. Except for the president "Momon Squirrel", although the remaining three people are still on the list, they have not logged into the game in the Great Tomb of Nazarick for a long time.
In short, this is indeed a game guild that was once very glorious, but now it can be said that only the wreckage is left.
But "Flying Squirrel" still tried his best to maintain the guild until the end when the server was finally shut down.
At this moment, the lich "Momona" had just had a conversation with one of the few remaining guild members, the slime monster Kurohiro, and they both complained about their work in real life: they didn't understand reporting or liaison at all. , the subordinates who discussed the specifications were completely different from the day before yesterday. They were criticized by their bosses for failing to achieve results. They were so busy at work that they couldn't go home every day. Their abnormal daily routines led to abnormal weight gain, and they were forced to take more and more medicine...
However, after complaining, the worries of life and work remain the same as before, and there will be no change for the better.
Therefore, after the exhausted Kuro Kuro finished complaining, he had to quit the game and go back to sleep, and then disappeared offline.
At the empty round table, only Momonga looked at the seat where Kuro Kuro was sitting just now, and murmured the last words he originally wanted to say:
"...Today is the last day of game operation. I also know that you are tired, but this is a rare opportunity. Do you want to stay together until the end?"
——However, there was no time to say these words.
"...Alas——"
Momonga let out a long sigh from his heart. Through the conversation just now, he already knew how tired Heiro Heiro was now. Even though he was so tired, he still responded to the email he sent and went online on the last day of the game's operation. That alone is cause for deep gratitude. If you continue to ask the other party to stay, then you are not just being shameless, but you are looking for trouble.
Looking around, there was a huge round table emitting obsidian light in the center of the room, surrounded by forty-one luxurious seats, but almost all of them were empty. In the past, all the chairs were occupied, but now only my lonely figure was left.
Although the current guild is superficial, there were happy times before.
Remember how lively this place used to be! Some people still dragged their exhausted bodies online after hard work, while others had quarrels with their wives because they were having too much fun and failed to take care of their families. Some even smiled and said they asked for a special break to go online.
Sometimes just chatting can take a whole day. Sometimes everyone said silly things to heat up the atmosphere; sometimes they prepared adventurous plans; sometimes they recalled the thrills of treasure hunting: they once launched a surprise attack on the enemy guild's base, and finally succeeded in capturing the opponent's castle; and they were once attacked by a so-called world-class The enemy's strongest monster attacked, and the guild was almost destroyed; many rare resources were found by chance; and various monsters were set up in the tomb to resist the invaders, and they eliminated groups of invading hostile players.
The names of those player friends are still deeply imprinted in Momonga's mind.
But now, there is not even a single person left here.
"...I really miss it, those days were so pleasant..."
Although the game is free of monthly fees, Momonga still spends one-third of his salary on it. This is not because his salary is very high, but because he has no other interests. At most, he will only spend money in this game. There is a paid lottery in the game aimed at cheating players of money, and Momonga spent a lot of blood for this. However, after spending so much money, I finally got a rare item. Before I could be happy, I heard that one of the guild members, Ye Wuzi, had won the same item for only the money of a lunch. Momonga was so unwilling to give in that he almost wanted to roll around.
Perhaps because the members of Ainz Ooal Gown's guild are almost all members of society and have their own jobs and incomes, almost all players spend money in the game, and Momonga spends even more money. Maybe you can squeeze into the top few in the entire server.
That's how he got hooked on the game. Besides having fun adventures, the greatest pleasure is being able to swim with friends. For Momonga, whose parents are gone and has almost no friends in the real world, this guild is a brilliant memory of the good times he spent with his friends.
However, now the guild is about to disappear. His heart was naturally filled with regret and reluctance.
However, as an ordinary person, Momonga has no financial resources or connections to change this fact, so he can only silently accept the end time.
"...Alas - the twelve-year game is over. When and where can we meet again?"
Momonga once again let out a long sigh from his heart, his shoulders shook violently, and the truth that he had been suppressing in the past finally burst out:
"...Are you kidding!" He slammed the table and roared, "...This is the Great Underground Tomb of Nazarick that everyone has spent countless efforts to build! Why can you abandon it so easily!"
But after the brief outburst of losing his temper, a feeling of emptiness and loneliness immediately emerged in his heart.
"...No, it shouldn't be. They didn't abandon this place easily. They just faced the choice of reality or virtuality. This was a last resort. No one has ever betrayed the guild. Everyone must have faced a painful choice..." The statue of the flying squirrel It is to convince myself that I keep talking to myself.
After a moment, he stood up, left the round table, and walked towards the wall, which was decorated with a luxurious staff.
——The complex and huge staff is entwined with seven snakes. In the mouths of the struggling snakes, each held gems of different colors. The material of the handle is like crystal clear crystal, emitting a bright blue light. Anyone would think that this is an extremely high-end treasure - this is the guild weapon that each guild can only have one, "Ainz Ooal Gown's Staff", which can also be said to be the symbol of the Ainz Ooal Gown Guild.
The treasure that was supposed to be held by the guild leader was instead decorated in the room - that's because there was no other item that could represent the guild.
More importantly, as long as the guild weapon is destroyed, it means the guild has disintegrated, so the guild weapon is usually not used to exert its powerful performance, but placed in the safest place. Even the top guild Ainz Ooal Gown is no exception.
Even though this staff was tailor-made for Momonga, the guild leader, Momonga never took it once and only decorated it here.
However, at the last moment when the game is about to cease service, it seems that there is no need to be so cautious.
Reaching out to take down the staff, Momonga left the conference room where a round table was placed and also named "Round Table".
Even if everyone has left, he will still stick to the guild until the last moment.
——Although as the service shutdown time approaches, there are not many players left in the game. But there may also be some players who lack moral integrity and want to take advantage of the situation and attack those famous guilds that are in a state of no one, in order to gain cheap spiritual satisfaction.
In fact, in the eyes of real hardcore players, these guys are just crows pecking at carrion and garbage.
In other words, is he the kind of "alternative brave" who "kicks Nanshan Nursing Home and punches Beihai Kindergarten"?
But no matter what, as one of the top guilds that has never been attacked since its establishment, the Great Tomb of Nazarick of the Ainz Ooal Gown Guild is obviously likely to be attacked by these crow-like despicable players—— The Great Underground Tomb of Nazarick, which is notorious in the game, was attacked by the largest crusade since the server was launched. There were a total of 1,500 troops from eight guilds, other solo players, guild NPCs, etc., with the intention of conquering the Great Tomb of Nazarick. They fought until the sky was dark, but ended up being completely wiped out.
But that's only when there are guild players stationed there, so the Great Tomb of Nazarick has such combat effectiveness. If we relied solely on the automatic defense of the guild NPCs in the Great Tomb of Nazarick, we might not even be able to withstand a force of 150 people. Therefore, in order to maintain the reputation of the Ainz Ooal Gown Guild and prevent it from being captured at the last hour of the last day, Momonga decided to stay here until the last moment and see the end of everything with his own eyes.
After all, this is the guild that he has invested twelve years of hard work in! As a perfectionist, he will stay here as the president until the end!
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With emotions lingering in his heart like a surging tide, President Momonga walked through the luxurious corridors of the Great Tomb of Nazarick.
This notorious underground tomb is not as gloomy and dirty as some people imagine. Instead, it is a gorgeous world full of solemn atmosphere like a fairy tale castle. Gorgeous crystal lamps are hung at regular intervals on the high ceiling that you have to look up at, emitting a warm light. The wide corridor is paved with polished wooden floors, which reflect the light from the crystal lamp like marble, shining as if studded with stars. If you open the doors on both sides of the corridor, you can also see a dazzling array of luxurious furniture, exquisite carpets and beautiful paintings.
In addition, there are forty-one carefully crafted beautiful maid NPCs, standing on both sides of the corridor with smiles, bowing deeply to President Momonga as he passes by, like a particularly beautiful landscape) These maid NPCs are guild players Carefully designed based on different magazine illustrations. From her clothes to her appearance, everything is exquisite and gorgeous. In particular, the exquisite embroidery that adorns the apron is breathtaking.
With memories of the past, I wandered around the Great Tomb of Nazarick for a long time, but I never waited for any players to come. Therefore, Momonga, who thought that the last day would probably be spent peacefully, looked at the translucent watch on his left wrist, checked the time, and then slowly went downstairs along a huge staircase covered with luxurious red carpets to the bottom floor. ——The tenth floor of the Great Underground Tomb of Nazarick, preparing to move towards the throne room.
As he walked down the stairs, the seven figures standing in front of the stairs bowed respectfully.
"...Huh?"
It was a team composed of an old man dressed as a butler and six maids.
At the front is an old man wearing an orthodox butler's uniform. His hair is all white, even the beard around his mouth is white. His back was very straight, like a sword made of steel, and his deep face had obvious wrinkles. He looked kind and approachable, but his eyes were as sharp as an eagle catching its prey.
Behind the butler, there are six maids who follow them everywhere, but they are slightly different from the previous maids. Their hands and feet are wearing gold, silver, black and other metal gauntlets and kneepads of different colors, and they are wearing exaggerated and gorgeous armors. , only she did not wear a helmet on her head, but replaced it with a white headdress that showed her identity as a maid. What they have in common is that all of them are very high-level beauties, but their types can be divided into coquettish beauty, healthy beauty, wild beauty and classical beauty. Each maid holds a different type of weapon and is a true maid warrior costume.
Opening the menu casually, Momonga checked the information of the butler NPC in front of him.
"...Ah, your name is Sebas, and you are the Pleiades, the battle maid group?"
I opened the menu casually and checked the identities of the several NPCs in front of me. President Momonga discovered that it turned out that Butler Sebas and the maids around him were the guild's last line of defense against foreign enemies. However, if enemy players have the ability to invade here, these NPCs may not be their opponents at all, so these NPCs are actually just abandoned pawns used to buy time.
But so far, no group of players has been able to invade here, so they have been waiting here for the opportunity to appear.
They have not received any orders since their birth, they have just been waiting here for the opportunity to appear.
Unfortunately, as the game is about to be shut down, they no longer have any chance to play.
Momonga gave a bitter laugh and tightened his grip on the staff in his hand - feeling sorry for the NPC, this idea was really stupid.
NPCs are just electromagnetic data. If you think they have emotions, it's just because the people who designed the AI are excellent.
But... "... As the president, in the end, I should give them something to do."
Momonga kept walking, passed the seven servants, and said: "...Follow me."
Then, Momonga led the servants following him through the magic circle and faced the giant door in front of him.
The majestic double doors, which are more than five meters high, are dotted with exquisitely carved statues. The right door is a goddess and the left door is a statue of a devil. The design is quite realistic, and you can feel from a distance that they are about to attack from the door.
Although they looked vivid, as far as Momonga knew, both statues had not been moved since they were completed.
Probably sensing Momonga's arrival, the giant door opened at a slow speed that matched its own weight.
The atmosphere in the air immediately changed.
Although the atmosphere on that floor before was as quiet and solemn as a temple, the scene before us now was even worse. The solemn atmosphere seems to have turned into an overwhelming pressure, making people unable to help but feel awe at the sight of it.
This is an unusually wide and tall hall, just like the court hall of an ancient emperor. Even if hundreds of people come, it won't feel crowded. The ceiling when you look up is quite high, the walls are white-based, and the inside is dotted with various luxurious decorations with a gold theme.
Several gorgeous crystal lamps hanging from the ceiling are made of colorful gemstones, emitting a dreamlike and dazzling light. There are huge flags painted with different patterns on the wall. From the ceiling to the floor, there are forty-one flags fluttering in the wind, representing the forty-one guild players.
At the end of the room, which uses a lot of gold and silver tones, is a staircase with only a dozen steps. At the top of the staircase is a huge throne cut from huge crystals, with a chair back that is as high as the sky. A huge red flag with the union's logo hung on the wall behind it.
This is the deepest and most important place in the Great Underground Tomb of Nazarick──the Throne Room.
Momonga stepped into the spacious room that seemed to absorb the sound of footsteps, and looked at a female NPC standing next to the throne.
This is a beautiful woman wearing a pure white dress, with a slight smile on her face like a goddess. Her black hair, which is the opposite color to her dress, is full of luster and reaches her waist. Although her golden irises and upright oval pupils are a bit abnormal, other than that, she is an impeccably beautiful woman. However, on both sides of her head, two goat-like curly horns grew. Not only that, but black angel wings can also be seen on her waist. Perhaps because of the shadow of her horns, her goddess-like smile looks like a mask hiding her heart. Wearing a necklace that glowed golden like a spider web around her neck, it covered her shoulders to her chest. The slender hands were covered with gloves that shone like silk, and they held a strange weapon that looked like a short staff. At the front end of a short staff about 45 centimeters long, there is a black ball floating lightly in the air without any support - if I remember correctly, she should be a level 100 NPC designed by Cuiyulu. The name should be Albedo.
She is the chief floor guardian of the Great Underground Tomb of Nazarick, Albedo. NPC responsible for managing a total of seven floor guardians. In other words, she is the character who ranks above all NPCs in the Great Underground Tomb of Nazarick.
Because of this, she could stay in the deepest throne room and be on standby.
Momonga thought so, and at the same time ordered the butler and the battle maid group to stand by in front of the throne, then climbed up the last ladder and sat on the throne.
Then, he glanced at Albedo seemingly casually.
"... Speaking of which, what is her setting?"
As for Albedo's character setting, we can only remember that she is the steward of the Guardians, the highest-ranking NPC in the Great Underground Tomb of Nazarick.
Since the NPC Albedo was created by other guild members, Momonga only knew that "such a guy" existed.
Driven by curiosity, President Momonga operated the control interface and began browsing Albedo's detailed settings. In an instant, the dense text filled the field of vision like a flood, almost like an epic masterpiece. If you read it carefully, you should be able to see the end of the operation.
It felt like a flying squirrel that had stepped on a landmine. If his face with only bones left could still move, it would be shaking non-stop now.
I wanted to scold myself in my heart for forgetting that the guild member who designed Albedo was a guy who was extremely obsessed with character setting. Such a detailed character setting, even the famous NPC setting beloved by the official , I’m afraid it’s nothing more than that.
But since it has been turned on, there is no other way but to start browsing with an indifferent mood.
It’s not about skip browsing that only picks out the key points, but it’s about quickly scrolling the page in one breath just looking at the title.
After skipping the long text and seeing the final character setting, Momonga was stunned.
"...and a slut at the same time."
Could this... be considered... contrasting cuteness? But no matter what, this setting is too much! ?
"...Change it."
Raising the Staff of Ainz Ooal Gown, the settings that originally had to be changed using editing tools can be directly accessed by using the guild leader's privileges. After a few operations on the control interface, the last sentence disappeared immediately.
Momonga thought again and looked at the blank space in Albedo's character setting sheet: Wouldn't it be better to fill in some more content? So...
"...Now I love Momonga."
Wow! So shy, I'm such a fool...
Momonga, who was very innocent in reality, stretched out his hands to cover his face. A shy emotion that seemed like he was setting up his ideal girlfriend and writing a love plot made Momonga unable to help but feel his heart beat faster and feel guilty. Although I wanted to rewrite it because I felt shy, I finally changed my mind and thought this was fine.
The game will come to an end today, and the current shyness will soon disappear.
Moreover, the number of words in the eliminated sentences is exactly the same as the written sentences, which is quite perfect. It would also be a pity if a blank space is left after deletion.
Sitting on the throne, Momonga looked around the room with a little contentment and shyness, and found that Sebas and the maids in front of him were still in a still state. Even being in this space together, watching them stand motionless felt a little empty.
"...Then...worship."
Immediately afterwards, Albedo, Sebas and six famous servants knelt down to the throne together and made a bow.
very good. Momonga nodded with satisfaction, then raised his left hand and looked at the translucent watch on it, ready to confirm the time again.
23:55:48
The server is about to stop. I'm afraid the GM has started broadcasting continuously, and fireworks are also being set off in the night sky outside.
However, Momonga did not open the GM, he just sat quietly on the throne here, waiting for the game to be automatically ejected after the server was stopped.
It seems that everyone has reached this point peacefully, and there should be no more accidents.
Just let me guard this guild and finish the last journey quietly
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However, immediately afterwards, an incredible alarm broke the silence of this last moment.
"...What? The Great Tomb of Nazarick has been invaded from the surface?! There are only a few minutes left before the server stops!!!"
President Momonga murmured to himself in shock and anger, and at the same time moved his skeletal palms, tapped a few times in the void, and brought up the surveillance screen of the entrance to the surface of the Great Tomb. Then, he saw through the screen that near the surface entrance gate of the Great Tomb, in a swamp filled with purple-red miasma, a group of petite intruders were following the skeleton soldiers who were the outer guard of the Great Tomb. A fierce fight was going on.
"...It seems...more than half of the invaders are...cat people? The rest include goblins, slimes, vampires, and...a paladin and a magician? This combination is really strange! Could it be a player from the 'Cat Kingdom' guild?"
Momonga muttered in confusion. He didn't remember any enmity between himself and the Cat Party Concentration Camp Guild, and they didn't even have many interactions with each other.
In addition, although more than half of the invaders were cat people, they did not display the flag of the "Kingdom of Cats" guild, and the leader and backbone of the enemy team actually looked like the vampire! So it seems that the identity of the other party cannot be truly confirmed.
However, no matter who the opponent is, since they have already come to the door, it seems necessary for me, the master of the Great Tomb of Nazarick and the president of the Ainz Ooal Gown Guild, to stand up and challenge him. But... He turned around and looked at the time displayed on his watch again.
23:57:00
The service suspension time announced by the game company is 00:00:00.
——There are only three minutes left in the game operation, and the Great Tomb of Nazarick has ten floors, and there are powerful guardian NPCs on each floor, and space restrictions are also implemented. Except for players who are members of the Ainz Ooal Gown guild, enemy players cannot use the random door in the tomb. They can only defeat the guardians level by level to clear the level. Finally, they can reach the tenth level and meet Momonga. Long decisive battle.
No matter how powerful the intruder is, they only have three minutes, which may not be enough to break through the first floor of the big tomb!
What's more, these players who don't know where they come from don't look very powerful, and they can't even kill the lowest level skeleton soldiers...
After watching for another minute, he found that more than half of these useless players were still fighting with the skeleton soldiers on the periphery. They didn't even manage to rush into the temple that was the entrance to the surface of the Great Tomb. President Momonga closed it out of boredom. Monitor the screen, and then slump on the throne exhausted. "...Forget it, I'm too lazy to pay attention to these guys who overestimate their capabilities, just quietly wait for the game to stop serving!"