The Troubles of the Supreme Sovereign

After a night of testing and exploration, Momonga could finally confirm that he was now in the real world—yet this was not the world of YGGDRASIL, but an entirely new and unknown one.

The surroundings of the Great Tomb of Nazarick were not grasslands, but a chilling, poisonous swamp, and the sky of "Helheim" was never this clear or bright.

Despite it being night, the sky of this world revealed both moon and stars, a stark contrast to the cloud-covered gloom of Helheim.

Sebas's report on his reconnaissance of the area also indicated that this was neither Helheim nor YGGDRASIL; though he found it incredible, Momonga had no choice but to accept the result.

However, these were minor concerns. What worried Momonga most were the NPCs of Nazarick. These NPCs had been created by him and his companions, and upon arriving in this reality, they had gained not only life but their own thoughts as well.

Once he had tentatively accepted reality, Momonga gathered the primary NPCs on the sixth floor of Nazarick to ask for their opinions of him. To his surprise, the NPCs held him in such high regard that he dared not even dream of it.

This evaluation made Momonga nervous, even panicked. The NPCs treated him with absolute reverence, but in his original world, he had been nothing more than a bottom-tier worker who could be discarded at any moment; when had he ever received such respect?

In the game, he and his companions were the masters of the Great Tomb of Nazarick, the rulers of Ainz Ooal Gown, and the creators of these NPCs.

But now that it had become reality, these NPCs were equal to him in level; if a battle were to break out, he might not be able to defeat them.

Yet, these beings of near-equal strength bowed before him. To Momonga, this was not a pleasant surprise but a source of terror. If not for his undead body being made of bone, his facial expressions would likely have spiraled out of control long ago.

Even so, he was so nervous that he stumbled over his words, though fortunately, his skeletal appearance prevented the NPCs from noticing his distress.

Since these NPCs viewed him as the supreme ruler of Nazarick, Momonga had to be mindful of his words and actions to maintain his authority and the image he held in their hearts, fearing that if his true nature were exposed, he would disappoint them and subsequently face their betrayal.

Although maintaining his image was a top priority, Momonga believed he also needed to familiarize himself with everything in Nazarick as quickly as possible. During the YGGDRASIL era, he had never needed to worry about the details of Nazarick, but now that he was in reality, he had to—if only to ensure he could respond quickly should the NPCs ever betray him.

Throughout the entire night, Momonga began to commit to memory things he had never paid attention to in Nazarick before, such as the names of the NPCs. Nazarick was home to a vast number of them, not just Floor Guardians, but various other types as well.

In a sense, Nazarick was like a castle; the Floor Guardians were its guards, but beyond them, there were various servants who tended to the master of the castle.

Although these NPCs were not as high-level as the Floor Guardians, Momonga felt it was never a mistake to familiarize himself with their names.

Beyond learning the names of the various NPCs, there was also the matter of confirming his combat capabilities. This was now reality, and he did not know if the items and equipment from YGGDRASIL would still function.

Although one night was not enough for Momonga to test everything, he found that his common items worked without issue. By the next day, Momonga sat in a chair in the reception room, quite satisfied with the results of his night-long exploration.

He had never imagined there were so many things he didn't know about Nazarick; there was truth to the saying that the more familiar something is, the more foreign it can become.

"Hmm..."

Momonga stroked his skeletal jaw, feeling not a hint of exhaustion. Truth be told, he was quite satisfied with this body; it required no food, no rest, and felt no fatigue whatsoever.

In his original world, the liquid food produced by capitalists had been his daily sustenance. It was cheap, but Momonga hadn't consumed it for the price; he did so simply because it saved a great deal of unnecessary time.

Furthermore, he believed that no matter how delicious a meal was, it would eventually turn into waste once consumed, so wasting time and money on fine dining seemed ridiculous to him. Liquid food was one of the few good things he believed capitalism had produced.

Now, his undead body, having labored all night, had not sent a single signal of fatigue or hunger to his brain, which pleased him greatly.

In fact, when he thought about it, this was only natural. With a body reduced to nothing but a skeleton, where would the food even go? In terms of being rid of the need to eat, he decided that becoming part of this real world wasn't so bad after all.

"Is something the matter, Momonga-sama?"

Sebas, dressed in a black tailcoat with sharp, raptor-like eyes and white hair and beard, bowed slightly and inquired of Momonga.

He was the guardian of the ninth floor, served as the butler of the Great Tomb of Nazarick, and was the leader of the Pleiades, who had six battle maids under his command.

As a Dragonoid, he was the strongest melee guardian in Nazarick.

"No, it is nothing."

Momonga responded to Sebas's inquiry, though his heart tightened. If he could, he would rather be alone to study the Mirror of Remote Viewing.

This item could display images of a designated location, which was convenient for hunting players or tracking down PKers, but it could be easily evaded by using low-level anti-intelligence magic.

Not only that, but the item was also susceptible to counter-attacks from offensive barriers, making it less than ideal.

Despite these flaws, given the current situation, it was perfect for observing the scenery outside of Nazarick.

However, since this was now reality and not the world of YGGDRASIL, Momonga was still somewhat clumsy with how to operate it.

Although he did not want Sebas to stay, he could not resist the man's enthusiastic attitude. To avoid failing Sebas's "good intentions" and to ensure his refusal did not cause Sebas any dissatisfaction, he had no choice but to allow him to wait by his side.

His undead body granted Momonga better composure than he had as a human, but he could not handle Sebas's gaze from behind. If he didn't find a way to control the Mirror of Remote Viewing soon, Momonga felt he would not be able to remain seated there much longer.