Call me Akuma

"Beep! Beep! Beep!" 

Hearing the alarm, Akuma jolted awake and checked his watch. Midnight was approaching. Without wasting a moment, he silenced the alarm, threw on his VRUK helmet, and entered the virtual world. His destination was clear: the Mydoom office. 

Before he could knock on the door, a voice from inside called out, "Don't bother knocking. Just come in." 

Stepping inside, Akuma found Mydoom sitting alone in his chair. Mydoom gestured toward the sofa. "I've been waiting for you. Have a seat." 

Ignoring the offer, Akuma cut straight to the point. "Give me the cheat for the game." 

Mydoom leaned back, amused by Akuma's urgency. "Calm yourself, boy. There's no need to rush. Your cheat isn't going anywhere. Take a seat, and we'll discuss this properly." 

Suspicious of Mydoom's relaxed demeanor, Akuma took a moment to compose himself. He walked to the sofa and sat, sinking into it as if he were at home. Fixing Mydoom with a sharp gaze, he spoke evenly. 

"You're right, Mydoom. I should calm down. Let's talk this through. After all, I was about to hand you 200,000 for a cheat to a game that's shutting down tonight. Don't you think that's absurd? Let's discuss this." 

At Akuma's words, Mydoom suddenly stood up from his chair. 

"Why are you standing?" Akuma asked, leaning back with a smirk. "Sit down. Let's talk calmly—just like you wanted." 

Mydoom stared at Akuma for a few tense seconds, his expression unreadable, before bursting into loud, unrestrained laughter. 

"Ah! Ah! ah! There's no time for chit-chat, boy. There's work to do!" Mydoom declared with a sly grin, tossing a file toward Akuma. "Here it is—the cheat. With this, you can control almost everything in the game—health, items, money. The only thing it can't do is create entirely new items or spells." 

Akuma caught the file, his expression unreadable. "Thank you," he said curtly. Before opening the file, he looked at Mydoom. "Is this really a game cheat, or did you plant some kind of trap or spying code in the cheat?" 

"WHAAA THE FUCK DID YOU SAY?!!! Are you questioning my integrity! BOY?!!!!" Mydoom furious hearing the allegation of Akuma. "If you don't want the cheat from me, then give it back. I don't need your money. THEN GET THE FUCK OUT OF MY OFFFICE!!!" 

"Calm down. I was just asking a normal question. I'm not questioning your integrity. If I didn't trust you, I wouldn't be here asking you for a cheat." 

Mydoom, clearly unimpressed, sneered. "I don't need your trust, boy. Where's my money?" 

Akuma's calm reply came almost immediately. "Let me verify if it even works first. If it doesn't, why the fuck would I pay you? Give me a few minutes." 

Without waiting for Mydoom's retort, Akuma logged into YGGDRASIL from the cramped office. He opened the file and began testing the cheat. Within a few minutes, his initial skepticism had turned to grudging respect. The cheat worked exactly as Mydoom said. He could manipulate stats, tweak items, and adjust player health effortlessly. However, it was clear Mydoom hadn't exaggerated—he couldn't create new things like spells or items, only modify existing ones. 

Satisfied, Akuma transferred 190,000 directly into Mydoom's account. The sound of a payment notification nearly made Mydoom collapse in joy, but he quickly regained his composure. "Thank you for your generosity!" he exclaimed, his fake politeness nearly oozing off him. "Come again if you need any more cheats boy. I'm always happy to help!" 

Akuma studied Mydoom's grinning face for a moment, fighting an overwhelming urge to punch him. His fist clenched slightly, but with a deep breath, he turned on his heel and walked out of the office before his temper got the better of him. 

After obtaining the cheat, Akuma remained skeptical of what he'd gotten from Mydoom. But there was nothing more he could do except put his faith in it. With a resigned sigh, Akuma quickly logged into the game YGGDRASIL. 

In the game, players could choose from a variety of races, which were generally categorized into three main groups: Human Species, Demi-Human Species, and Heteromorphic Species. 

Human Species: Includes races such as Elves, Humans, Dwarves, and others. Players of the Human Species only have access to job classes and lack racial classes. However, they are a balanced race with no significant weaknesses or penalties, making them ideal for players seeking versatility. 

Demi-Human Species: Includes races like Beast men, Goblins, Trolls, and others. Demi-humans have access to both racial classes and job classes, allowing for unique abilities and builds tailored to their race. 

Heteromorphic Species: Includes races such as Angels, Insects, Undead, and more. Like demi-humans, heteromorphic species also possess both racial classes and job classes. Their racial classes grant them more powerful innate abilities compared to demi-human, but they also come with significant weaknesses and penalties. 

For example, Momonga/Ainz, as an Undead, possessed numerous basic racial immunities and resistances. These included immunity to poison, sleep effects, paralysis, stunning, disease, death effects, charm, and exhaustion. Beyond these immunities, the undead also has an extensive array of resistances, too many to count. 

In addition to his racial classes, Momonga/Ainz's job classes—such as Necromancer and Ruler of Death—granted him the ability to control undead and wield powerful dark magic. This combination of racial and job classes made him extraordinarily strong, but it also came with significant weaknesses and penalties. 

Undead characters like Momonga/Ainz were particularly vulnerable to Fire, Holy magic, and bludgeoning melee attacks, making these elements a critical threat to his otherwise formidable power. 

In YGGDRASIL, there are over 2,000 basic and advanced job classes that players can unlock by fulfilling specific conditions, such as defeating powerful monsters like an Ice Dragon. While Demi-Human and Heteromorphic Species gain unique abilities through their racial classes, players of the Human Species rely entirely on job classes and skills for progression. 

This reliance on job classes gives Human Species a unique advantage in flexibility. They can mix and match classes to create specialized builds that suit their playstyle. However, they lack the innate strengths provided by racial classes. 

To maintain balance, strong racial classes often come with corresponding weaknesses. For instance, Demi-Human and Heteromorphic Species: While powerful, they may face equipment restrictions or specific vulnerabilities to certain attack types and penalties. 

On the other hand, Human Species compensate for their lack of racial abilities with greater versatility and no significant penalties. This makes them an ideal choice for players who prioritize adaptability and strategic builds. 

In YGGDRASIL, players often discriminated against both Demi-Human and Heteromorphic Species, but Heteromorphic Species faced the most severe prejudice. This was largely because there were no penalties for killing Heteromorphic players, as they were perceived as monsters or villains within the game. In contrast, killing Humanoids or Demi-Humans incurred penalties that varied in severity, discouraging player killing of those races. 

As a result, many Humanoid and Demi-Human players began farming Heteromorphic players for easy XP and item, to the point where a significant number of Heteromorphic players quit the game entirely and started over as different races. This relentless targeting made playing as a Heteromorphic species especially difficult in YGGDRASIL and was one of the main reasons why few players chose this race. 

Even Momonga/Ainz considered quitting the game due to being relentlessly farmed by other players simply because he was a Heteromorphic character. Ultimately, only those who were deeply committed to role-playing as villains or monsters—or those who enjoyed the challenge—chose to stick with Heteromorphic races. 

The entire reason the Ainz Ooal Gown guild was first established was to combat the discrimination against Heteromorphic Species. The guild was exclusively made up of Heteromorphic players—members of other species were not allowed. 

This exclusivity led the guild to adopt a unifying philosophy: since they were already seen as evil monsters by the majority of the player base, they decided to embrace that perception and act the part of evil monsters. 

If any guild member was attacked, Ainz Ooal Gown would spare no effort in gathering as much information as possible about their enemies. Once their target was identified, the guild would retaliate ruthlessly. 

Akuma was contemplating which race to choose to play as when he discovered that his cheat allowed him to play as any NPC in the game, including bosses. In YGGDRASIL, there were countless bosses, but only 32 were known as World Enemy Bosses—monsters that posed a threat to the entire world. 

According to the game's lore, one of the World Enemy bosses was the Devourer of the Nine Worlds, the final boss of the main campaign storyline. This insect-like larva monster began devouring the countless leaves of the YGGDRASIL Tree in its quest to metamorphose into adulthood. By the time it stopped, only nine leaves remained, which became the Nine Worlds of YGGDRASIL in the game. 

The remnants of the devoured leaves—each equivalent in power to an entire world—were forged into World Items, the most powerful artifacts in YGGDRASIL. Only 200 World Items were created. 

The Devourer of the Nine Worlds would also target the remaining nine leaves, forming the main story in YGGDRASIL. Players were tasked with protecting the Nine Worlds from being devoured by this monster, using the power of World Items. 

To achieve this, players had to embark on challenging quests to seek out and obtain these powerful artifacts. The World Items were essential tools for defending their worlds against the Devourer, making them a critical component to defeat the game. 

Akuma was especially intrigued by the idea of playing as a World Enemy Boss, the most powerful entities in YGGDRASIL. Even the weakest World Enemy Boss was strong enough to annihilate the entire Trinity guild, the strongest guild in the YGGDRASIL. 

What made World Enemy Bosses so formidable were their two unique abilities: the power to bypass all the players' resistances and immunities, and their status as level-breaking monsters. Unlike players, who were capped at level 100, even the weakest World Enemy Bosses exceeded this limit. They were the first confirmed monsters to break the level cap, solidifying their position as unmatched threats in the game. 

Akuma pondered for a long time, fully aware that the choice he was about to make wasn't just about his game avatar—it would determine what he would become for the rest of his life in The New World. After much deliberation, he finally made his decision: Akuma would play as a Doppelganger. 

----

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. 

If we reach 100 stones, I'll reward you all with a bonus chapter!