The Ring of Ainz Ooal Gown was not merely a symbol of identity for every member of the legendary Ainz Ooal Gown Guild, but also a crucial artifact for the function and security of the Great Tomb of Nazarick.
As a guild player settlement in the virtual game Yggdrasil, Nazarick possessed powerful isolation and teleportation effects. Under normal circumstances, players could not directly teleport from the outside world into the guild headquarters, and vice versa. This mechanism was deliberately designed to prevent players from exploiting the characteristics of teleportation magic to instantly invade the heart of an enemy guild's headquarters during guild wars, thus eliminating the excitement and strategy in large-scale battles between players.
However, to facilitate the normal movement of personnel within the vast confines of the guild headquarters, a network of guild teleportation circles was established within the game. As long as a player held the unique guild ring, they could use teleportation magic to travel through the various teleportation stations within Nazarick without the slightest hindrance.
It was precisely because of the importance of the guild ring that, after Momonga and the entirety of Nazarick mysteriously transmigrated to another world, he would carefully remove his precious ring every time he left the great tomb. When he returned, he would ask one of the loyal NPCs to wait for him at the entrance and then return the ring to him. Although this procedure was somewhat troublesome and time-consuming, Momonga knew that the security of Nazarick was far more valuable than momentary convenience. For the sake of protecting his home and newfound family in the Great Tomb of Nazarick, this little extra time was well worth the sacrifice.
Momonga received the ring from Mare with a nod of thanks, then asked in a calm yet authoritative tone, "Mare, have all the Floor Guardians gathered in the throne room as I commanded?"
"Yes, Lord Momonga," Mare replied with an obedient nod, his eyes showing deep respect.
Momonga was the last remaining player of the once glorious Ainz Ooal Gown Guild, and he was the only figure still trusted and respected by all the NPCs in Nazarick. So, after receiving his urgent command, all the powerful and loyal NPCs in Nazarick immediately stopped all the work they were doing and gathered orderly in the grand conference hall on the tenth floor, waiting for Momonga's arrival with unwavering loyalty.
Teleportation magic activated in an instant, and Momonga, along with the ever-faithful Mare by his side, made a short journey through the various vast levels of Nazarick and directly arrived at the magnificent throne room on the tenth floor. As soon as Momonga landed gracefully on the majestic throne, which symbolized his position as the supreme ruler of Nazarick, all the NPCs gathered below immediately knelt in unison in solemn reverence to their master.
"Your Supreme Majesty Momonga!" they exclaimed in unison, their voices echoing throughout the spacious throne room.
"Rise, Guardians!" Momonga replied with a slight nod, raising his right hand in a calm yet confident gesture, granting the NPCs permission to stand. In fact, this action was not just a formality or to satisfy his ego. After the mysterious time travel to another world, the Nazarick NPCs gained the ability to think and act independently. However, their deep respect and loyalty to their creators – the members of the Ainz Ooal Gown Guild – remained unshaken. They believed that all their guild members were supreme beings who were omniscient and omnipotent. As the sole remaining player, Momonga was also regarded as the same figure in the eyes of these loyal NPCs. If he acted in a way that did not conform to the perfect image ingrained in the NPCs' minds, it would not only deal a heavy blow to their morale but also bring shame to the other departed guild members. So, now he had no choice but to try his best to play the role of a perfect and wise ruler.
After all the NPCs stood gracefully, Momonga directly addressed the urgent matter at hand. "Based on the information I have gathered over the past two days outside Nazarick, I have gained a basic understanding of this other world. However, I have also just received another piece of news that is quite troubling to my heart. Although I already have some guesses in mind about this matter, I still want to hear what you all have discovered and thought about it."
"The story is this," Momonga began in a calm tone, recounting his adventures in the city of E-Rantel and his surprising discoveries in Carne Village. "Nabe and I went to a city called E-Rantel and successfully obtained identities as adventurers..."
As Momonga narrated his experiences in detail, including his encounter with Kael and the extraordinary abilities of the Carne Village residents, the entire magnificent throne room fell silent for a moment. All the NPCs listened attentively, their eyes fixed on their master.
After waiting for a full two minutes and seeing that none of the NPCs dared to express their opinions, Momonga began to feel a little uneasy and lose his patience. He recalled the company meetings before the time travel, when a superior would ask such an open-ended question, he and his colleagues would often have a similar reaction – silence and waiting for others to speak first. After all, the more you spoke, the greater the responsibility you had to bear if something went wrong later. Instead of suffering later, it was better to act like an ostrich and let others step on the landmines.
Could it be that I am being too harsh or intimidating that no one dares to express their true opinions? Momonga couldn't help but reflect on himself silently. His original intention in raising this matter was to gather the wisdom of all of Nazarick and find the best course of action they should take, not to act arbitrarily based on his own opinion!
Just as Momonga began to feel hesitant and prepared to encourage the NPCs to speak boldly, someone stepped forward calmly.
"Your Supreme Majesty Momonga!" a calm yet confident voice called out.
The speaker was a man wearing a neatly tailored dark red suit and elegant round-framed glasses. If you ignored his long, curved demon tail wrapped in shimmering silver plates behind him, his appearance was essentially the same as a successful modern businessman or lawyer. He was Demiurge, the Floor Guardian of the seventh floor of the Great Tomb of Nazarick, a great demon with extremely evil attributes and one of the two NPCs with the highest intelligence and strategic thinking in all of Nazarick.
Seeing Demiurge preparing to speak, Momonga felt a surge of hope. He greatly looked forward to the insights and suggestions from this one of his most intelligent subordinates, hoping Demiurge could provide him with valuable references and guidance in dealing with this perplexing situation.
"Based on the information you have so clearly provided, Your Majesty, I have roughly arrived at a conclusion that may be relevant. Please correct me if I am wrong."
"Oh? How interesting! Tell me about it, Demiurge," Momonga replied in a hopeful tone.
"Yes, Your Majesty. Based on my analysis, I hypothesize that the mysterious man named Kael is most likely a player like you, Your Majesty, and he has only recently arrived and is exploring this world just as we are," Demiurge said slowly with his characteristic sly smile that always lingered on his calm face.
Momonga pondered for a moment, carefully considering Demiurge's words. "What is the reasoning behind this interesting conclusion of yours, Demiurge?" he asked curiously.
As if he had already anticipated that Momonga would ask this question, Demiurge provided a detailed and logical explanation without needing to think for long. His extraordinary intelligence allowed him to quickly analyze information and draw insightful conclusions.
"The first and most striking point is the highly suspicious identity and origin of the other party, Your Majesty."
"According to the testimonies of the Carne Village residents that you collected, the other party claimed to be a god who had just awakened from his eternal slumber. However, according to the initial investigations we have conducted around Carne Village, there are no sacred buildings such as ancient temples, magical seals, or historical ruins indicating the existence of a god in that area."
"Also, it seems that the natives of the other world generally do not have any impression or knowledge of the other party's name. If he were truly a god who had existed in this world for a long time, it would be impossible for him not to leave any traces of legends or myths among the populace."
"Therefore, I theorize that this 'god' identity is most likely fabricated by the other party, with the aim of allowing him to better integrate into human society and obtain valuable intelligence about this new world for him."
"Then, there is the extremely striking difference in strength between him and the ordinary humans of the other world, as well as his extraordinary ability to help others become significantly stronger in a short period of time."
"The intelligence you painstakingly gathered indicates that the abilities of humans in the other world are generally not outstanding. Third-tier magic is considered the highest limit that ordinary people with average talent can reach. Even the highest-tier magic that the most powerful human mages on record could use was only the sixth tier."
"However, the other party is not only able to produce a large number of mysterious items that seem to contain magical power above the eighth tier, but he is also able to raise the abilities of an ordinary villager to the point where they can use extraordinary sixth-tier magic in a very short period of time. This behavior is clearly extremely inconsistent with the abilities of other humans in the other world."
"It is difficult not to suspect that a being with a questionable identity and abilities that are clearly far beyond those of humans in the other world is a player like you, Your Majesty."
Demiurge looked up slightly at Momonga's expression, trying to read his reaction. However, unfortunately, Momonga's expressionless skull face revealed no information. So, Demiurge added in a cautious and thoughtful tone, "Of course, Your Majesty, this is just my initial guess based on the available information. Further verification and deeper intelligence gathering are needed to confirm the accuracy of this hypothesis."
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