Bab 4: Deities Amongst Mortals
Chapter 4: Deities Amongst Mortals
During the years in the New World, Ainz had been cautious, always remaining on the lookout for Players. It was unknown if his cautiousness had been the reason he had lived so long.
He was no fool to think he was the only Player in the New World, especially when there were clear signs he wasn't.
According to Ainz's own guess and documents he collected throughout the years, it could be determined that the New World had been forcibly changed, causing the descent of Players every century or so.
The Great Tomb of Nazarick and his descent had been around a hundred years after the Minotaur Sage - the Sage of the Beastmen - Ruler of the Minotaur Nation.
The order of the Players descent seems to follow the century rule. Many Players can descend at a time but if one Player descends, one must wait another century for another one.
The first Players to arrive in the New World are the Six Great Gods, a Player group of a mixture of Hetermorpics and Humanoids races.
These Players possess strength that humans and other races could not challenge and slowly worship them as gods, hence Slane Theocracy.
The Six Great Gods, worried about the weak humans and their lack of strength amongst the other races, decided to use a World Item - Oroboros - to introduce the Tier System. This action forcibly altered the rules of the world and caused many holes in the world's operation.
Under the reign of the Six Great Gods, the New World was at peace, the human race that had always been slave gained powerful backers, however, that was short lived. Few of the humanoid gods have fallen leaving Sushana - God of Death and Alan Alaf- God of Life to hold the mantle of protection for Slane Theocracy and by extension, the human race.
A century passed and eight Players appeared who would later be known as the Eight Greed Kings. They were far more powerful than the Six Great Gods, they had many subordinates however they were slaves to their greed. They did not care that Surshana and Alah Alaf where fellow Players and killed them, eliminating potential enemies.
They divided the world amongst themselves and destroyed many races, mainly the dragon races. Eventually, greed and ambitions sprout amongst them, causing the Eight Greed Kings to self implode.
After the Eight Greed Kings' defeat at their own hands, the Evil Deities arrived, destroying many kingdoms and spreading terror across the land, until the Thirteen Heros appeared and cull the dangerous gods.
Then somewhere amongst the beastmen, the Minotaur Sage appeared and disappeared with the only waves being his inventions.
This is what Ainz knew of the confirm Players in the New World. Though he learn many things, the question of who or what summoned Players in the first place remain unanswered. However, the fact they can bring level 100 Players and World Items, they must be extremely powerful.
It was right after conquering the Celestial Kingdom, that Ainz had received a news he both long for and dread, Players' have been spotted in Katze Plain!
When he received the news, Ainz's mind went blank and was shocked that even his emotional suppression couldn't protect him from.
Since Nigredo was the one to inform him, Ainz had no reason to doubt her words. However, Ainz's anxious heart did not become calm but even more panicky.
Nigredo was unable to determine how many enemies there were or their build.
Returning to Nazarick, Ainz order the NPCs to put the Tomb on full alert. If he had just arrived in the New World he would not have made the decision he would be making, but he had people relying on him, so he cannot abandoned them.
Ainz left Nazarick with his fully equipped Floor Guardians, excluding Victim, Sebas, Cocytus and Guaganta.
Victim as the trump card of the Eight Floor is impossible to leave when Players have been confirmed. Without his sacrificial skill, the dangers Players would face will be limited.
While Ainz did not doubt Rebudo's power, there was no reason to risk Nazarick on pride.
Sebas and Cocytus remained as they were strong offensive type NPCs. Though Ainz wanted to have Demiurge, Nazarick Defensive Commander and Albedo the Guardians Overseer behind, Ainz determined they would serve more effectively at his side this brought them.
Sebas commanded the Pleiades on the Ninth Floor and Cocytus commanded his elite troops, though not ideal, Ainz selected them in the end.
<Gate>
Teleporting to Katze Plain, Ainz was surprised to see a huge palace, with an army of NPCs led by Players waiting for him.
At the head of the NPC army were three individuals that could only be Players. It was an Undead, an Angel and a Demon.
Each of them wears items that match their avatars. For example, the undead dressed in dark robes, and carried a staff and a death scyth, looking like what one would expect of a grim reaper.
The Angel donned white armor with golden inscriptions. On the angel's back, there were twin platinum swords. The area around the Angel was tossed in a holy aura but that didn't seem to bother the undead and demon.
The demon was the one that looked out of place. If Demiurge was a cunning prince of darkness, then this person looked like the Devil himself. He is dresses in a black business suit with a sleek and clean look. He carried a briefcase at his side, and had golden jewelry on his wrist and fingers.
How did one come to the conclusion he was a demon? Well it was because of his horns that he did not hide plus the demonic aura seeping out of him.
Thinking, Ainz concluded that the palace was most likely a clan. From a cursory glance, he could tell it was a clan base, which also means the number of Players present should be limited. Back in Yggdrasil, a clan could only have 30 or less members, any more and one will have to create a guild.
Though whether it be a clan or a guild, the threat Players face did not diminish. Back when Ainz Ooal Gown was just a clan, only a few guilds in the top hundred could challenge them, and that was because some of the core members of the future Ainz Ooal Gown didn't join at that time.
So to Ainz, he did not lower his guard one bit. If anything he increased it. 'Why were they waiting for him? Did Nigrodo's spells get detected?'
One must know that Nigrodo's information gathering skills were top notch, even amongst most Players. To even detect her skills, it must be a clan function or a World Item. Whichever one it was, cautiousness must be applied.
Looking at his left and right at Demiurge and Albedo in their battle gears, Ainz sighed but still stood tall like a supreme ruler that he was.
Thinking of the Sorcerer Kingdom, about the races living in harmony, Ainz eyes flared up and ordered, "Demiurge, I want you to approach and determine what is going on. Are they willing to go against Ainz Ooal Gown or bend the knee?"
Demiurge looked at the Supreme One, with unknown inquiries but complied with a bow, "I shall return, Lord Ainz."
Demiurge faces transformed into toads and sprouted slimy wings and took off.
"Mare, Aura and Albedo, if this becomes a battlefield, I want you to contain it within Katze Plains, especially you Mare. You can go all out if you must, just don't destroy our kingdom in the process." Thinking of the power Mare showed during that event Ainz had no choice but to caution him. If he Mare was not his subordinate, Ainz would definitely cull him! Mare had use a simple spell to destroy an island! He was too dangerous.
"Yes, Lord Ainz!"(3)
Coughing to clear his mind, Ainz turned to Shalltear, "Shalltear, you will stay at my side. Your job is simply to defend and buy me time to cast my spells ."
Albedo was more suitable for this role but she lacked attacking abilities. Shalltear while she lacks defense abilities, she maxes in other areas. It's no wonder she is the strongest Floor Guardian.
"Yes, Lord Ainz!" Excitement could be heard from Shalltear's voice, followed by the muffled gritting of teeth in the background.
Not waiting long, Demiurge returned. "Lord Ainz, the enemy state that they are an affiliated clan to Seraphim. They do not know how they arrive in this world, or what is going on."
Ainz eyes flared up at the mention of Seraphim. He would not forget this name, a sworn enemy of Ainz Ooal Gown. Weighing the pros and cons, he asked, "Demiurge, what do you think is the best course of action? As it stand right now, we have hegemony over the surrounding regions, and hold immense power in our hands, but eventually we will be challenge once more Players descend. How can we prevent this?" He asked Demiurge but he was actually asking himself. He and the guardians are powerful but not everything last forever. His job as the ruler of the Tomb was to insure its continued existence.
The guardians fell into silence before Demiurge answered, "Lord Ainz, I have pondered this same question before and came to the conclusion that we should take some of these Players under our wing. If everytime we encounter Players, we kill them, our reputation will eventually be ruined and will negatively change the perception the Players have of us in the future. It is already a foregone conclusion that the New World will become Ainzland but we cannot control all lands by ourselves. Give them a chance to prove themselves to us but not enough to cause a rebellion."
Ainz held his staff and thought about Demiurge words. In the centuries that pass, Ainz has become extremely powerful, so much so that his research means to enhance the undead, which further increases his strength.
For example, just standing in Katze Plain - a land of death - enchanted his abilities beyond level 100. The negative energy was fueling his strength and he could easily regenerate his mana once depleted, meaning he can spam Ten Tier Spells with ease.
It had taken him decades to even discover a way to enhance him, an Overlord further. This means these Players who just descending had no means of escaping from him, however the more time that pass, the more likely they could escape his grasp.
"So did they decide to surrender or fight?" Ainz asked with an answer already in mind.
"They wish to enter an alliance with us, not willing to become servants."
An alliance is something Ainz did not particularly want, not because he was warmongering but because having the lackeys of Seraphim roaming free in his territory was not a good look or a smart idea.
Pondering, Ainz retrieved a black scroll and wrote some words on it.
This scroll is something that guilds in Yggdrasil use to enter alliance with one another. They had restrictions and punishment imposed on it, from losing levels to gaining the hatred from NPCs.
The Player was the one to create the rules and restrictions for the item, Yggdrasil just witnessed and made sure it was upheld.
He did not think he would have to resort to this but since many of the game mechanism have change, the scroll should not be different.
"Give them this scroll and sign it. Albedo you are to allocate a decent job for them. This area will be given to them as their clan domain."
Ainz opened a <Gate> and left. He was not interested anymore. He had already gauged their levels, and they were only around level 80 -95 which while powerful was nothing to the NPCs.
With Demiurge and Albedo left in charge, nothing will go wrong.
And as Ainz predicted, the Players joined the Sorcerer Kingdom becoming gods under the Gods of the New World.
In the New World, there are the 41 Supreme Beings who reign above all, followed by the Gods of the New World and finally, the Third Generation Gods, the surrendering Players.
Of course, not all contact with Players were peacefully. After the Third Generation God incident, a century passed and a new guild descended and after hearing about Nazarick and Ainz Ooal Gown decided to join hands with Slane Theocracy, and attack the Sorcerer Kingdom.
Ainz utilizing the Third Generation Gods as meat shields, was able to defeat the guild and capture some of the Players, imprisoning them within Nazarick.
Ainz didn't think he was being cruel, he gave the Third Generation Gods a chance to live and enjoy privileges they would not otherwise. So what if they died in the place of his NPCs? Their lives do not equal a hair on their heads. That being said, with Resurrection Magic, he was able to resurrect the dead, though at the cost of levels, which only made Ainz more relieved.
The Players of the Clan of Order were close to level 100. That might not seem like much but it was. If a Player and NPC were to battle, the Player had a higher chance of winning, especially since they knew more about the game machinist than the NPCs themselves.
Ainz would not be surprised if a level 80 Player defeated a level 100 NPCs. That was the norm back in Yggdrasil, and that being the case, Ainz did not want a time bomb in his command. That was also the reason why he only allowed the Third Generation God's access to the Sixth Floor and below. To reach higher levels, they would need to prove their loyalty. The higher they got, the closer they got to the core power of the New World.
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Authors Note:
I thought about how my original story lacked many stories of what happens in the New World and decided to add this. Though, in the future we will explore a myriad of worlds, the core will still be the New World - Ainzland. If anything was not explained or you find something confusing, do not be afraid to drop a comment.
Status Power Mingguan
-- Peringkat
Power 
-- Power
stone