Harbingers of Change

Momonga slowly looks around in confusion. There was a strange clarity in the view in front of him. The resolution and view distance had jumped a few dozen times all of a sudden. From the smallest of details on the throne room door in the distance to every barb on each of Peroroncino's feathers. Even the smallest details of complexion on the confused Albedo's perfect face.

'That expression is different. She didn't have that before.' He mused.

The succubus was looking around, blinking her worried eyes. The NPCs didn't have either code or preset movements to do so. His gaze moved lower as he saw the subtle movements of her ample breasts with each of her breaths.

"Hey Momo, do you see what I'm seeing?" Peroroncino suddenly asked, taking Momonga's attention away from Albedo.

His voice was unfamiliar, more powerful sounding.

Something had gone wrong, very wrong. Did his dive gear fry his brain and he was now in some kind of coma, reliving the last moments of his life in a dreamlike state? Momonga panicked and then suddenly felt like he had just ended a long meditation session. His thought process became clear once more, like a stream from a mountain spring.

"Yes, something has changed. Pero, Buku, do you feel different?" Momonga asked. His own voice sounded much deeper, more powerful, one of a born ruler.

"What is going on? Momonga, what is all this, dammit?" Buku screamed, causing her voice to echo throughout the throne room. It sounded like the source of the voice came from under the water, being muffled and almost unrecognizable compared to her original one.

"Calm down, Buku. We will figure this out."

"CALM DOWN!? I see in all god damn directions at the same time! You better explain to me what the fuck is going on? Did my gear break?! Did the game break?!" Buku shouts again, her gelatinous form bubbling, threatening to explode.

"Is something wrong, my lords and lady?" A timid, panicked voice asked.

Albedo didn't understand what was going on but she could feel a sudden change. The reaction of the supreme beings showed the same confusion she felt. Speaking without being spoken to was very improper for someone of her station, but maybe she could help them somehow.

"Did she just speak?" Pero asked, confused. The sudden influx of new sensations was strange enough, and now one of the NPCs moved of her own accord and even asked a question on her own.

Albedo dropped to her knees and mumbles in a panic, "P-please forgive me, I didn't mean to interrupt."

"It is fine, Albedo. Peroroncino is merely confused about all the changes. Do you feel different?" Momonga asks. An NPC shouldn't understand what he just said, but Albedo acted like she was alive, so it was worth a shot to test her response. Even if this was some illegal alpha test of the new generation Dive MMO, it went beyond the current capabilities of the technology. Would a gaming company really have access to such an advanced AI all of the sudden?

Would all their brains have fried at the same time and left them in this state? Or maybe even his friends were just the figments of his imagination…

"I feel different, my lord. I can't tell how and what, but something has changed."

'Could all of this be real now? That can't be.'

"Just as I thought. You may rise." Momonga gave her the command and started frantically thinking about the situation.

He needed to know, to reaffirm it all somehow. There was no way in hell that this was still in the game. The strange feeling just before the server shut down was enough confirmation on its own. He needed to think about what to do.

{ Pero, Buku, can you hear me? } Momonga sent a message to both of his friends. Excluding Albedo from the conversation was critical for now.

{ Yes, so you have ideas on what is going on? } Peros asks.

{ I think we are not a game anymore. This feels far too real now for a VR. }

{ REAL! You want to tell me I will not wake up to go to work tomorrow and I am a slime now?! }

{ Buku, please calm down. We will figure this out. } Momonga said.

"FUCK YOU! This is all your fault! I shouldn't have come here!" Buku shouted and stormed out of the throne room as fast as her form allowed her to.

"Wait, sis!" Pero shouted and ran after her.

Momonga let out a sigh. This was his fault. If he hadn't invited them to come, only he would get trapped like this. For now, all he could do was to confirm that indeed this was now reality and try to figure out what had happened.

"Albedo, come closer, please."

Succubus smiles and walks close to him.

"My Lord, what is your command?"

"Albedo, may I touch you?"

"Yes, of course. A Supreme Being doesn't even need to ask."

Ainz gently touched her wrist and sensed a light twitch in her muscles as Albedo's face twisted in discomfort, making him let go of her hand immediately. Why did she react like this? Did she find his touch disgusting?

'Negative touch, it is still active! Hmm, I can just feel my abilities being active or not with no UI.'

"I'm sorry Albedo, my negative touch was active. I didn't intend to cause you pain."

"I will bear any pain for you, my Lord. I am your shield." Albedo said enthusiastically, returning her expression to a pleasant smile.

'She has a pulse. She feels pain and she emotes like a person.'

There was no other option but to assume that this was reality for now. What did he know? He is Momonga, an overlord. How he felt the texture of what he touched, how he could see and hear, was not clear now. The proximity of Albedo made him realize another thing. He could smell her perfume.

The sudden realization made him flustered. There was a woman of divine beauty near him; a woman that, until now, was just a bunch of digital data. Before he could start to panic, the wave of calmness crushed the rising emotions once again.

'Be calm. I'm Momonga, guild master of Ainz Ooal Gown. That means I am the ruler of Nazarick. That means I'm her boss. Be professional! What kind of boss would react like that to his subordinate?'

For now the best course of action was to act like a ruler. Now to figure out if Nazarick still operated the same way. For all he knew, nothing existed behind the doors of the throne room and his friends popped out of existence once they left.

"Albedo, could you please check Nazarick's parameters and tell me if something is wrong?"

"At once, my Lord."

Albedo activated a floating panel and started operating it with incredible speed. It deeply surprised Momonga that he could follow Albedo's movements, as her hands moved with a blur when she checked all the data.

"Everything seems in order, Lord Momonga."

'That was fast. What next? I have to tell her something.'

As a salaryman, Suzuki had noticed how his superiors often got out of doing their job by just stroking the egos of subordinates eager to prove themselves. Maybe that would work on Albedo? Her flavor text said she took great pride in her position as the guardian overseer after all.

"Albedo, I am curious about how you would approach the current situation?"

Albedo responds with the enthusiasm of an eager intern, affirming to Momonga that it worked.

"We currently lack intel on what are the global effects of changes we felt. My course of action would be to increase Nazarick's security to maximum and send expendable stealth teams to determine the threat levels of the outside world."

"Just as I thought, an excellent suggestion. Carry it out, please."

"Oh, you give me too much praise, my Lord," Albedo says with a wide smile. A moment later, her expression changed to a serious one and she sent out orders via the message.

With a moment of silence, Momonga could think for a moment. What was his current situation? He was in Nazarick and, by the looks of it, the Great Tomb was intact. Albedo seemed loyal and eager to serve. Somehow, he could read her expressions clearly and see her joy when praised. Was it the case with the rest of Nazarick? Could he fight them off if something went south?

Another problem was his two friends. Buku panicked and ran off in anger, with Pero following her. Could he really trust them in this new situation? Momonga truly wanted to believe so, but was he willing to put his head on the chopping block and hope they never betray him? They left the game years ago, left him alone. For them, Nazarick may mean nothing at this point, but for Momonga, Nazarick was home.

The sensible conclusion was to not suspect his friends, but to be cautious at the same time. Buku was very distressed and reasonably so. The current situation was bizarre, to say the least. He himself was an undead, with no idea how his skeletal body even held itself together.

Momonga glanced at Albedo, who stood by his side, sending out orders with a determined expression. How often he had wished for her to be real…

Then it hit him. In a strange, unbelievable twist of fate, he may have gotten his wish. His home remained intact, and the NPCs were alive. The thought of this being just some fever dream of his fried brain didn't leave him, but for now, with no way of proving it, he might as well assume everything was real and start planning his next steps.

He needed to test his own abilities, talk with other NPCs and see how they reacted to the new circumstance and so much more.

"Lord Momonga, scouts reported findings outside the Great Tomb of Nazarick." The pleasant voice of Albedo brought him back to the present moment.

"Go on."

"Nazarick is inside a cavern within a labyrinthine cave system. Scouting teams didn't explore further than a kilometer and didn't find an exit. Every single scout reported hearing a robotic voice. All of them received the same message. 'Adapting the life form to the new world. Adaption complete. Thought Communication acquired.' Some reported this voice giving them other abilities as well. What are your orders, Lord Momonga?"

'A robotic voice. Could it be the same one I heard just before servers shutting down?'

That voice was somehow connected with what had happened. Momonga didn't have a clear idea what it even was, but on the safe side, he didn't want to put anyone at unnecessary risk.

"For now, leave only expendable pop guardians outside. In case of an attack, all named NPCs should retreat to level six. If scouts outside encounter intelligent life, either try to capture it alive or avoid it entirely until we know where we are and how strong everything is."

"It will be done, my Lord."

"I will be in my quarters. Report if there is any news."

‹x›‹x›‹x›‹x›‹x›‹x›‹x›‹x›‹x›‹x›‹x›

Not alone, even in his own quarters. Momonga wanted to scream. He was in this new situation for an hour and at no point was he alone even for a moment. Multiple invisible eight-edge assassins skittered around the ceiling. The black spider-like creatures formed a constant perimeter around him, not leaving even for a single moment.

And then there was a maid standing by the door.

Although her beauty was not on Albedo's level, she was distracting enough on her own. Dark hair tied in a bun and the small glasses combined with her unmoving serious expression gave her a very intelligent look. A blue choker around her neck looked somewhat out of place, but Momonga remembered she needed one to keep her head in place as a dullahan.

She is dressed in a typical maid's dress weaved out of metal. A metal corset and metal plates on her hips accent her already curvy figure even more. Two massive spiked gauntlets on her slender hands contrast the most with her look. This was the eldest of the Pleiades battle maids, Yuri Alpha, standing with a proper posture, unmoving and waiting to spring into action at her Lord's command.

The Pleiades were the last defense of Nazarick. With their levels ranging from forty-six to sixty-three even combined, they were not an actual threat to max-level players. Their main purpose was to give a momentary distraction to invaders so the guild members could prepare for the last standoff. Fortunately, such times never came, as even the largest invasion didn't get past the eighth floor of the Great Tomb.

Momonga glanced at her a few times while picking up various weapons stacked in his quarters. These were the items he couldn't even use in the game, but because of his collector's nature, didn't sell. A massive two-handed sword was his first choice. It felt weightless in his hands. He found it strange. As a caster, he should feel the weight of such a massive sword.

A single swing already answered one important question. Weapons were not restricted to class anymore. He had no skill with a sword, but for a moment, it didn't matter. If needed, he could learn to use any type of weapon, or at least he hoped so.

He glances at Yuri once again, trying to remember her full skill set. She specialized in close combat, so it was a safe assumption she didn't have any prior skills in using ranged weapons.

"Yuri, could you please try using that bow over there?" Momonga says, pointing at one of the many weapons stacked in a large vase.

"My deepest apologies, Lord Momonga, but I possess no skill with a bow."

"Try it anyway, and don't worry if you fail."

Yuri carefully picks up the intricately decorated bow and draws it without an arrow. Her stance is a bit off, but overall it seems she could use it with no problems. Momonga sees a surprise on the maid's face as she looks at the drawn bow herself.

"Lord Momonga, I don't understand how I can use this weapon."

"Yuri, do you feel any changes in yourself?"

"I think so, but it is hard to explain. It feels less restrictive, like some limitation was lifted, but I can't tell what exactly has changed. I don't remember having a conversation with anyone before. My Lord, I apologize for asking, but is something wrong?"

How to answer this question? He couldn't say that she just came to life an hour ago with all her memories being just a background text. What if she remembered things from the game? What if all the Nazarick's NPCs did? It was a safer bet to ask one of the floor guardians about the invasions and see what they can tell.

"No, nothing is wrong. Something did change and I am figuring out what exactly happened. If you have anything to add, please speak freely."

"I apologize, but that is all I can tell."

"Thank you for helping with the test and for your input, Yuri Alpha."

There was a sudden wide smile on Yuri's face that faded away a moment later and her face returned to a neutral expression. Yuri bowed and walked back to her spot by the doors.

Her actions made Momonga wonder if Yuri suppressed her outburst of happiness by herself or if it was her undead nature that did it. It sure did look similar to his own emotional suppression.

Edited by Edgy.