Overlord: The Beginning After The End

A world built on bloodlines, backgrounds, and inherited power—what could a penniless nobody like him possibly accomplish there? He probably wasn't even qualified to be cannon fodder.

Not that it was completely hopeless. After all, Might Guy's story was proof that even hard work could achieve miracles. But that required circumstances to align just right—being born in the right village, at the right time, with the right teacher.

And what if the timeline was off? What if he arrived in the era of Madara's Perfect Susanoo versus Hashirama's Wood Golem? What was he supposed to do then?

Beg to be trained? Might Guy's father probably wouldn't even have been born yet!

Taking a deep breath, Ethan forced himself to calm down. There were still two options left. Maybe—just maybe—one of them would offer a glimmer of hope.

[A Tiny Skeleton That Knows Magic.]

His gaze lingered on the third option for a long moment before he let out a dry chuckle.

"Knows magic… just a little, huh?"

The evaluation couldn't have been more accurate—emphasis on a little.

Ethan felt a dull throbbing at his temples. His face flushed as the realization hit him. He'd seen plenty of transmigration stories before, but this particular skeleton? It was one that rarely made casual appearances in multiverse settings.

"I have already cut myself off from mortal desires…"

He muttered bitterly, staring at the image. It depicted a skeletal figure clad in a black robe adorned with gold and violet embroidery. A golden staff gleamed in its bony hands, and faint arcs of lightning crackled between its fingers.

Why did it have to be this world?

Ethan resisted the urge to bury his face in his hands. Three options down, and none of them seemed remotely survivable.

To be fair, this world seemed safer than the previous two—on the surface, at least. But there was a catch.

Life might be manageable if he could secure a place under the protagonist's protection. But what if he couldn't? Worse—what if he ended up as a grunt in the kingdom's army?

And what if that army was the one facing Ainz Ooal Gown during the war?

Black goats.

The image of writhing masses of flesh and countless monstrous appendages surfaced in Ethan's mind, sending shivers down his spine.

Call him paranoid, but even ignoring the protagonist's overwhelming power, the rest of this world wasn't exactly welcoming either.

Take Kyohuko, for example—Clementine's unfortunate victim turned Sebas's personal maid. Her story alone was enough to serve as a cautionary tale.

And that wasn't even touching on the truly nightmarish aspects, like the infamous Pleasure Farms.

Ethan shook his head. No, better to shelve this world as a backup plan for now. It was certainly less immediately dangerous than the first two, provided he stayed far away from the protagonist.

Worst-case scenario, he could make a beeline for Carne Village and try to ingratiate himself there.

Of course, there was also the option of throwing himself at Ainz's feet, declaring his loyalty to the Supreme Being, and hoping for mercy. But actually pulling that off in practice?

Easier said than done.

First off, even if Ethan claimed to know the whereabouts of one of the Supreme Beings, there was no guarantee that Albedo wouldn't kill him on the spot. And even if he somehow survived that, where was he supposed to find leads on Ainz's former comrades?

If he failed to produce results and Ainz discovered the deception, the consequences would be far worse than death.

Pretending to be a Supreme Being himself wasn't a viable option either.

The original story didn't provide much detail about the other Supreme Beings, but one thing was clear—they were Ainz's closest friends, and even the most distant among them had known him for at least five years.

That created a major problem.

Ainz knew his companions intimately. No matter how much Ethan tried to study their personalities, there was no way he could match Ainz's understanding of them. A single slip-up, and his fate would be sealed.

After carefully considering the risks, Ethan concluded that this path wasn't worth taking—unless he happened to start in Nazarick itself. In that case, lying to survive might be his only option.

With his thoughts organized, Ethan turned to the fourth and final choice.

[A Slightly Damaged Pirate Flag.]

At first glance, the flag seemed ordinary—a black background with a white emblem.

But the moment Ethan noticed the exaggerated mustache design on the skull, his thoughts froze.

Edward Newgate.

The man known as Whitebeard—the only pirate who could rival the Pirate King.

There was no longer any doubt in Ethan's mind. This world had to be One Piece. And if it wasn't, then that one percent chance of error was nothing more than wishful thinking.

If the previous three worlds had at least left him a sliver of hope, this one snuffed it out entirely.

Survival here wasn't about effort—it was about luck.

Even if he ignored the timeline issue, just being born in the wrong place could spell disaster.

Any random island in the Grand Line was enough to chew up and spit out someone like him. What chance did he have to survive in a world crawling with monsters?

Was he supposed to start with a Logia Devil Fruit handed to him on a silver platter?

He scoffed at the thought. Keep dreaming.

"I choose… the tiny skeleton that knows magic!"

The decision came almost instantly.

Compared to the other three options, the Overlord world felt like the least dangerous. At the very least, it didn't seem like a death sentence right out of the gate.

Of course, if he ended up starting in Nazarick, then he'd just have to deal with it. After all, if his luck was bad enough to land him there, then picking any of the other worlds wouldn't have saved him either.