Yggdrasil, as its name suggested, was the World Tree, so the game placed particular emphasis on the word "world."
World Champion, World Disaster, World Guardian, world bosses, and so on.
Naturally, that included the most essential of all: World Items.
Roy stayed completely out of the competition for World Items early on because it affected whether his journey to the New World would succeed.
For that reason, he could not interfere ahead of time, not even by buying them.
Who knew which of the World Items the Dragon Emperor sought had to be discovered for the transportation to succeed?
So he did not interfere.
Even with the game about to shut down, he refused to buy a single World Item.
Instead, he uncovered them himself.
The items that had remained undiscovered right up until the game's shutdown were Roy's heaven-sent destiny.
In the original story, the narration mentioned that fifty World Items had been discovered when the Great Tomb of Nazarick's guild was founded.
But that clearly did not include the Throne of Kings or the items the Great Tomb of Nazarick discovered later.
Through his investigations using backend access, Roy knew full well that countless players' efforts had brought the total number of discovered World Items to one hundred as the shutdown approached.
Some World Items were unknown to the public, simply because players had secretly stashed them away.
For instance, the unnamed spellbook carried by the Eight Greed Kings, who had traveled to the New World, was not publicly known.
Roy would not take any of those hundred items discovered by players. He would refuse them even if they were offered for free.
Out of two hundred World Items, he only wanted one hundred. Was that so unreasonable?
He was positively kindhearted.
Roy had even used AI to calculate whether players might discover these World Items.
The answer was no.
There was no chance of someone discovering a World Item at shutdown and consequently traveling to the New World.
The difficulty of discovering the remaining hundred World Items could only be described as disgusting.
Apart from the World Crown in his possession, it would be perfectly normal for the other ninety-nine to remain undiscovered even after another ten years.
"Isn't that right, Megara the Fury?"
"Damn you, damn you! Why won't you die?"
"Because you'll die before I do, of course. Goodbye."
After taunting her, Roy activated Silver Bullets of Allure.
Despite its name, the skill actually manifested as countless golden rounds raining down from the sky.
Its world-destroying power shook the entire dungeon.
The Fury's body turned transparent, then insubstantial, before finally disappearing.
Silver Bullets of Allure could annihilate an entire group or eliminate a single target.
Against a single target, its power would continue to increase.
Unable to withstand this killing move, Megara the Fury was ultimately reduced to nothing.
"Congratulations on completing tenfold revenge against the Furies for the first time." "World Item awarded: Blood Oath of the Erinyes."
When Roy saw this World Item, his first reaction was not joy, but-
How disgusting.
To obtain this World Item, a player had to take revenge after being killed by one of the Three Furies for the first time.
Then, embracing the philosophy of "kill me once, and I'll kill your whole family ten times," they had to clear the dungeons thirty times in succession.
Ten kills for each of the three women, all in the required order.
That alone would have been bad enough, but the quest also demanded that a taunt skill be used before each opponent died.
Only then could this special quest be completed and the World Item obtained.
Just how fucking petty and obsessive would someone have to be to hunt down the Three Furies over and over like this, regardless of the cost?
Even if they ignored the cost, they would still need knowledge of ancient Greek mythology to realize they had to get the whole family together.
Yes, the Three Furies were figures from ancient Greek mythology.
Their names were Tisiphone, Alecto, and Megara.
Together, they were known as the Erinyes.
Hence the item's name: Blood Oath of the Erinyes.
How disgusting.
They obviously did not want anyone to complete it.
Of course, the game's lead designer, Matsuno Hideaki, had once said:
"Actually, we provided hints for this quest."
"Players receive generous rewards on their first clear. The rewards decrease with subsequent clears, dropping to zero after the tenth."
Listen to that. Is that something a human being would say?
Even a player with a strong vindictive streak would never shuttle between three dungeons to kill them thirty times, operating at a loss while also activating a taunt every time a Fury was about to die.
Only a ghost could complete this quest.
Without his privileged access, Roy would have wanted to curse even if someone had shown him the script.
[World Item: Blood Oath of the Erinyes] [Effect: Activates upon the holder's death. Choose to kill all enemies who participated in the attack against the holder, or designate one of them to die ten times in succession.] [The Furies never forgive.]
Its activation conditions were extremely harsh: it could only be used after the holder was killed. It was essentially an inferior substitute for the Saint-Slaying Spear.
Either it wiped out everyone who had ganged up on the holder, or it killed the mastermind behind the attack ten times.
Considering that players might carry resurrection items, killing someone ten times in succession was indeed a way to inflict severe losses.
But once Roy traveled to the New World, he probably would not equip this World Item.
Giving it to a dedicated tank NPC, however, would be a good option.
When the NPC was killed, it could activate Heaven and Earth Perish Together and take everyone down in one go.
It was not particularly powerful, but it was not weak either.
Roy put away the Blood Oath of the Erinyes. With the most disgusting quest out of the way, he began the next leg of his journey.
Seven days was a very short time.
Roy had deliberately waited until so close to shutdown to ensure no other player could accidentally obtain a World Item, thereby keeping the conditions for transportation unchanged.
Some people thought they could simply hide in the Great Tomb of Nazarick and travel alongside the Bone King.
But that was not a safe bet.
What if transportation required sitting on the throne in the guild hall while holding a World Item?
Someone hiding in the Great Tomb of Nazarick might be rejected outright as an outsider and fail to travel.
That was why Roy had always restrained himself and kept the world as it was.
The second World Item was the Hall of the Valkyries.
The method of obtaining this item was just as disgusting.
Players only had a chance to acquire it after the major expansion, "Valkyrie's Downfall," was released.
As for how to obtain it...
First, you had to accept the guild quest to exterminate the Fallen Valkyries.
All the top guilds had completed this quest, yet not one had obtained this World Item.
That was because it had a twisted hidden requirement: single combat.
If that were all, some big-spending players might have been able to manage it.
But there was an even more outrageous requirement: you had to use the same weapon as the Valkyries.
For example, if the Valkyries were Gunners, you also had to be a Gunner.
There was no restriction on gender, at least.
The Valkyries class came in several varieties.
Valkyries (Gunner), Valkyries (Lancer), Valkyries (Swordsman), Valkyries (Archer), Valkyries (Axeman), and so on, as well as the most unusual variety, Valkyries (All-Rounder).
The final Valkyries boss wielded an all-purpose weapon, so there was no restriction on what weapon players could use against her.
Come on, then. Fight me one-on-one.
That was the Valkyries' insistence. Only by meeting all these conditions on the first completion of the quest could a player obtain the Hall of the Valkyries.
Any other guild would genuinely have had no way to complete it.
Roy alone had nothing to worry about.
His World City had plenty of powerful NPCs, and he could switch them over to top-tier AI to fight the monsters, outfitted in god-tier equipment.
Even if they still could not win, that was fine. Cash Shop Items were plentiful.
Normally, nobody would think to impose such strict one-on-one battles on themselves.
Especially since the dungeon contained thirteen Valkyries in total, with the final three-Brunhilde, Hervor, and Thrud-approaching the level of world-class monsters.
Even a World Champion would not consider fighting them alone.
Unfortunately for them, Roy had an information cheat, along with an absurd Cash Shop Item—the Shooting Star Ring.
One use weakened the enemy.
Another strengthened the user.
He also burned through money on other paid items.
In the end, the NPCs defeated the first twelve Valkyries with a few scares but no mishaps.
Roy successfully unlocked the thirteenth Valkyrie: Brunhilde, the proudest and strongest All-Rounder Valkyrie.
"What a thoroughly exhilarating battle."
"Thank you for freeing us from the abyss of corruption, great warrior."
"Yes, you've earned my respect, Brunhilde."
Roy replied with a perfectly straight face, though he could barely keep it together.
As soon as the battle began, he had used the Super-Tier Magic Wish Upon a Star to control the Valkyries.
Then he had spammed Silver Bullets of Allure to send her to her grave.
Whenever she broke free of his control, he had used spatial teleportation to dart around.
By the end of the battle, Roy had used Silver Bullets of Allure a hundred times.
If the designers had not temporarily lifted the skill restrictions, he would not have been able to kill her successfully.
That demonstrated just how powerful the Valkyries were: under normal circumstances, thirty max-level players would be needed for a chance to defeat one.
Requiring single combat to obtain the item was simply inhuman.
Unfortunately, Roy had not lost a single point of health.
The battle had been utterly ridiculous, yet Brunhilde spoke so solemnly.
Don't laugh. Hold it in.
Sensing Roy's respect, Brunhilde nodded and said:
"You have treated us with the dignity of honored spirits. We are willing to follow you!"
"Congratulations on winning the Valkyries' affection and freeing them from the abyss of corruption." "World Item awarded: Hall of the Valkyries." [World Item: Hall of the Valkyries] [Effect: The thirteen Valkyries you rescued are willing to serve you. They will become NPCs with stats equivalent to thirteen level-100 players and can be summoned for use. Guild players may also each enter into a contract with one Valkyrie to summon her.]
A guild-type World Item-a powerful asset for group battles!
The thirteen Valkyries' stats would drop to the level of level-100 players.
But their strength still could not be underestimated. It effectively allowed thirteen guild players to each obtain a Valkyrie avatar.
During guild battles, they could all be deployed at once.
If the Valkyries were killed, no gold payment was required. There was only a one-day wait.
What a powerful item. Even among World Items, it was top-tier.
Whether it qualified as one of the supreme Twenty was another matter, but it was at least stronger than most items.
That was not a judgment based on destructive power.
Rather, in terms of a player's long-term development, free, powerful fighters like these had far more lasting value than things like demon summons.
Thirteen players, each gaining a skill that summoned a level-100 fighter-their combat strength would double outright.
A smile appeared on Roy's face.
With the complete information at his disposal, he could farm a World Item in roughly half an hour.
Seven days was enough to obtain a hundred World Items.
The third World Item was Mimir's Well of Wisdom.
Its difficulty rating was a little lower than that of the Hall of Heroes.
But it had an extremely sneaky trigger condition.
You first had to obtain the Hall of the Valkyries, and your guild also had to have a spring.
Under those conditions, you had to summon a Valkyrie and invite her to drink the spring water with you.
Brunhilde would then say:
"This spring water is quite good. If only we had the Well of Wisdom."
Because of the Valkyries' fall, most players completed the quest after exterminating the Fallen Valkyries and could not trigger the hidden quest.
Only those who liberated the Valkyries could trigger the expansion's hidden boss-Cursed Odin.
In Norse mythology, Odin offered one of his eyes to Mimir in exchange for a drink from the Well of Wisdom.
After drinking from the Well of Wisdom, Odin acquired all the wisdom in the world, but lost his smile as a result.
To regain his smile and recover his lost eye, Odin used his wisdom to plot against Mimir.
Mimir was consequently killed and beheaded.
Although Odin had not been the one to do it, he kept speaking with the Head of Mimir for the sole purpose of reclaiming his eye.
Mimir saw through all of this and returned the eye to Odin.
But Odin did not know that the eye he had lost was the price he had to pay for the Well of Wisdom.
By demanding his eye back, he lost his command over the wisdom of the world and descended into madness.
Mimir had exacted his revenge and destroyed Odin's divine throne.
That was the story behind the major expansion, "Valkyrie's Downfall."
Only through the valkyrie Brunhilde's lament could Roy accept the follow-up quest.
This quest had serious consequences. If a player failed to truly solve it, they would lose the [Hall of the Valkyries].
Thus, Brunhilde would solemnly warn them:
"Even if it means losing the Hall of Heroes, are you still willing to help us save Odin?"
"Of course I am."
Roy agreed just as solemnly, and then the thirteen valkyries opened the gates to challenge Cursed Odin.
If the challenge ended in failure, he would lose the Hall of the Valkyries.
At the same time, there was another requirement for obtaining the World Item.
While fighting Cursed Odin, he could not hit the [Head of Mimir]. Only then would Mimir let go of his resentment.
No wonder no players had discovered these World Items.
Were these trigger conditions even meant for human beings?
By comparison, the Bone King's group had obtained the World Item [Throne of Kings] simply by clearing a level-80 labyrinth on their first attempt. It was practically a free gift with a phone credit top-up.
But Roy had a way.
He summoned ninety-nine NPCs, all max-level warriors.
Then he used ninety-nine Shooting Star Rings to boost their combat strength as much as possible.
Even then, he burned through two hundred resurrection items before finally killing Odin without harming the head.
No wonder players could not find it.
Without looking at the backend editor, even Roy would never have known this game could be so absurd.
Odin died, and he spoke in a deep voice:
"Young man, wisdom comes at a price."
"Thank you for freeing this old man. From now on, I leave the Hall of Heroes in your hands."
The valkyries performed their farewell ceremony for Odin, and only then did the expansion's hidden cutscene officially come to an end.
Seeing that Odin had regained his sanity, and having been protected by Roy throughout without being provoked himself, Mimir finally decided to bestow the Well of Wisdom.
Without advance information, you would certainly miss out on the Well of Wisdom forever.
[World Item: Well of Wisdom] [The water of this well contains all the magical knowledge in the world, but those who drink it must sacrifice a part of themselves to offset the curse.] [Effect: Thirteen people may drink from the well each day. The water has two effects: if MP is not full, it restores MP to full; if MP is already full, it temporarily doubles MP.]
In Yggdrasil, there were no MP potions. Players could only recover MP over time.
This was meant to keep combat in the game from becoming too frequent.
If you exhausted your MP, you would have to wait a long time.
Thus, the Well of Wisdom's effect made it a godsend for PvP.
With twice as much MP at your disposal, you could outmaneuver an enemy to their death, with at least double the total damage output.
Some might think the Well of Wisdom was not even as good as the Hall of Heroes.
Why would it be the final item?
Because it had a special use.
The daily limit of thirteen drinkers was actually intended for the valkyries.
If all thirteen valkyries drank from the Well of Wisdom together, they could jointly unleash the special skill [Valkyries' Bloom].
The thirteen valkyries would then shift from player templates to boss templates, and their combat strength would skyrocket.
They alone could keep the Bone King trapped inside the Great Tomb of Nazarick, unable to leave.
Yet even that was not the full extent of the Well of Wisdom's uses.
Roy had thought to take the Well of Wisdom because it was connected to an extremely important World Item.
And that was-
The World Tree Sapling.
Before you continue