Call me Akuma

When I opened my eyes, I found myself in a bed. Colorful drawings of cartoons and a collection of action figures adorned the room along with many broken musical instruments, but trash littered the floor, including a few bottles and half-eaten food. I got up from the bed and walked to the nearest mirror. Staring back at me was a teenager's reflection. Suddenly, my head started to ache as memories of the original owner flooded in. 

After a few minutes, I remembered that the original owner's name was Max Ito. He had three main hobbies: drawing, collecting action figures, and playing games on his VRUK helmet. However, playing music was his true passion—something he had loved ever since he was little. His father had given him a guitar for his third birthday, sparking a lifelong love for music. Max became an orphan when his father died in a work accident a year ago, and his mother had passed away when he was still a child. After his mother's death, his father never remarried, leaving Max to grow up as an only child. 

Fortunately for Akuma, Max father's death in a so-called work accident one year ago entitled him to compensation amounting to half a million dollars. However, the truth behind his father's death was far darker. It wasn't a simple accident but a result of the company's negligence. Max had the chance to pursue a wrongful death lawsuit, which could have brought him justice and several million dollars in reparations. But the company, desperate to protect itself, resorted to threats. They made it clear that his life was at stake if he dared to fight them. 

As a coward he was, accepted the hush money, signing away his father death for a mere $500,000. The company then shamelessly used his father's death as a means to bolster their image, boasting about their generosity. They paraded the payout as proof of their care for their workers, turning the tragedy into a PR stunt. His father's life was reduced to a talking point, and Max's silence became their triumph. 

This decision haunted Max. Every dollar felt tainted, a reminder of the justice he had abandoned and his own cowardness. It wasn't just grief he carried—it was the heavy burden of regret which he will never get rid of. 

Max squandered almost $200,000 on parties, games, and buying action figures in an attempt to cope with his father's death. Despite his excessive spending, he couldn't come to terms with his loss nor his guilt, leading him to spiral into depression. 

Max stopped going to college and isolated himself in his room for many months, ordering junk food—which was a luxury—and playing games, drinking alcohol to numb his pain. Living such an unhealthy lifestyle, he gained almost 100 pounds. Eventually, he succumbed to alcohol poisoning/ethanol toxicity, ending his troubled life at the age of 19. 

"What the fuck? I thought I was supposed to be reborn into the Overlord universe. Why did I transmigrate into an almost 300-pound baby elephant body?" I muttered, looking around the room. There was no point questioning the thin air. First, I needed to make a plan to become strong in the Overlord universe. Luckily for me, I watched the Overlord anime in my past life, so I'm familiar with the story. 

From the original owner's memory, I gathered that this world was set in the 22nd century, where the Earth was so polluted that breathing outside air was deadly for humans. More than 60 percent of people had to wear gas masks to even go outside the city. Some rich people had implemented artificial lungs to filter out the pollution from their bodies. This all began in the late 21st century when rapid industrialization continued without sufficient regard for environmental sustainability. Big corporations prioritized profit over ecological concerns, leading to excessive pollution and resource depletion. Governments, heavily influenced by corporate lobbying, failed to implement effective environmental regulations. Laws were altered to favor corporate interests, weakening environmental protections. 

As corporations grew larger and more influential, they began to exert control over political systems. Government officials, often in collusion with corporate leaders, enacted policies that prioritized industrial growth over environmental and public health. The air became so polluted that the sky was perpetually obscured by black smog. Due to the lack of sunlight, most plants and animals died, leading to an increase in carbon dioxide and food shortages. Rivers and lakes were heavily polluted, changing colors and becoming murky with industrial waste and chemicals. The pollution reached such levels that conventional water purification systems failed. Rainfall became highly acidic and foul-smelling, caused by pollutants like sulfur dioxide and nitrogen oxides in the atmosphere. Acid rain further contaminated water sources and soil, making them inhospitable for plant and animal life. 

Because of soil contamination, traditional farming methods became impossible. People had to move agriculture into controlled environmental domes, leading to high food prices and making fresh produce a luxury item. Even the oceans were so contaminated that most marine life became extinct. When primary sector industries collapsed and food scarcity led to riots across the country, desperate and hungry people took to the streets to demand solutions from a government that had long neglected their needs. The riots escalated into a coup d'etat. Politicians, perceived as responsible for the crisis due to their complicity with corporate interests, were targeted and killed by angry mobs. The government effectively ceased to function. 

With the government incapacitated, corporations seized the opportunity to fill the power vacuum. They took control of legislative, executive, and judicial functions, effectively transforming the country into a corporate state. Corporations enacted laws that further cemented their control, prioritizing their interests and suppressing any opposition. To escape the worsening environmental conditions, corporations developed "complete environment cities" called arcologies. These self-sustaining habitats provided a controlled environment for corporate employees and affiliates, starkly contrasting with the toxic world outside. Arcologies became exclusive enclaves for the elite, creating a stark divide between those who lived within these safe havens and the general populace struggling outside. 

In the 22nd century, brain augmentations known as neural nano-interfaces were as common as 21st-century smartphones. These augmentations allowed the human brain to function as a supercomputer. The neural nano-interface was essential for daily life and was used for almost everything, from playing games to going outside, applying for a job, and identification. It basically became your identity, so it was highly protected from hackers by big corporations, but some hackers still found ways to use neural nano-interfaces to commit crimes. Some hackers used the brains of others as a VPN to commit crimes, making them virtually impossible to find. To combat these threats, corporations implemented VRUK helmets, which recorded every action a user took in the virtual world. This data was then collected and monitored by the corporations. Naturally, many people didn't want to wear such helmets to log in to the virtual world, but big corporations made it mandatory for almost everyone except very high-profile people. 

At the same time, DMMO-RPGs like YGGDRASIL became very popular among people. There were many reasons why they became popular, but the two main reasons were that they allowed people to escape from the bleak and polluted reality of the 22nd century. The real world had become almost uninhabitable due to severe environmental destruction, making it difficult for people to find joy and hope in their daily lives. In contrast, DMMO-RPGs offered beautiful virtual environments, allowing players to experience nature and adventure in a way that was no longer possible in the real world. The second reason was that, with outdoor sports and tourism becoming impossible due to toxic air and polluted landscapes, leisure activities had to be confined to indoor or virtual environments. DMMO-RPGs provided a safe and accessible form of entertainment that could be enjoyed from the safety of one's home. This was particularly important for the poor, who could not afford expensive indoor recreational facilities. 

Luckily for me, I live in an arcology city rather than a normal city where a lot of people die before they even reach 50 years old due to disease and cancer. The original owner's father was a product manager in an organization, which gave him the right to rent an apartment in an arcology city. 

 "What the fuck? The owner of this body never played YGGDRASIL in his whole life—he only heard of it... Well, that is good for me too. I can start building my own strong character in YGGDRASIL. With all the money I have and my previous knowledge and hard work, it will not be that difficult for me to reach the top 5 strongest player category." 

Putting my thoughts aside, I got up from my bed, which was difficult because of this baby elephant body, and walked toward the desk. I sat in my chair and grabbed the VRUK helmet that was on my desk. I put on the helmet, logged into the virtual world, and started looking for a game named YGGDRASIL. 

 First, I would liquidate every asset Max owned, including his father's retirement fund. By doing this, I could get one to two million —a sum that would be entirely invested into the game. However, this plan wasn't something that could be achieved overnight. I needed a few weeks to execute it fully. 

 Second, I needed to make a strong character. Third, I would buy every purchasable item in the game. Fourth, I would establish my own guild and recruit every strong player that I know, like Touch-me, a World Champion player, Corrupted, the strongest player in YGGDRASIL, Momonga, and other guild members of Ainz Ooal Gown. 

Fifth, I would look for all of the 200 world items, each of which has the power and ability to destroy the game's balance. Finally, I would wait until the game shut down so I could teleport to the new world. 

I was very excited about my new adventure. Having everything planned out; after searching for a few minutes, I finally found the game named YGGDRASIL and logged in to the game. But what I saw in front of me literally broke my hope and dream: "Motherfucker! This game is about to shut down in three days! FUCKING SHITHEAD OLD MAN, I WILL KILL YOU!!!!" 

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The Beggar King is asking for stones to feed his family. 

Also, Beggar King has left a few pop culture references and memes. If you find them, comment, and Beggar King will give you a like.