My family runs an adventurer's guild.

I don't know anyone like this Ainz Ooal Gown, who's so hot-tempered and belligerent, and starts fighting at the drop of a hat!

What about that [Forced Calm] skill that's forcibly bound to this guy and can instantly calm him down with just a "flash of green light"?

Uh, I almost forgot, Ainz Ooal Gown hasn't transmigrated yet; the skeleton in front of him is just a virtual image made up of a bunch of data.

Therefore, the passive skill "Forced Calm" that is forcibly bound to him probably hasn't actually taken effect yet.

After all, even a fully immersive VR online game can't directly interfere with the player's thoughts, right?

In other words, this half-finished version of Ainz Ooal Gown in front of us really has the potential to act rashly when in doubt and start a fight at the slightest disagreement.

At this moment, Phil finally realized that he might actually be at risk of being killed by the giant skeleton in front of him.

But... as the saying goes, if you're going to put on a show, you have to finish it, even if you're crying.

Since he volunteered to fool this Ainz Ooal Gown, he'll keep fooling him until his last breath, even if he gets beaten up or killed.

Fortunately, the person who has logged into Ainz Ooal Gown is just a game account. Even if he gets killed, he can log back in immediately... But if things turn out like this, wouldn't he become like Subaru Natsuki, the miserable protagonist of "Re:Zero -Starting Life in Another World-" who only has the ability to load saves and keeps relentlessly courting death in endless cycles of death?

If things really turn out like that, then my ability to be a human being—no, right now, a cat—is a complete failure.

So, despite feeling a little uneasy being pointed at by the wand, Phil still displayed the unwavering dedication of an insurance salesman, undeterred even by being pushed down the stairs by a customer. He typed a "smiling emoji" on the chat interface and continued his convincing scheme:

"...Please don't be nervous, Mr. Suzuki Satoru! Calm down! I have no ill intentions towards you! On the contrary, I have good news for you."

—When Phil spoke to Ainz Ooal Gown, his mouth didn't open. Even the most popular online game of this era, YGGDRASIL, couldn't technically make the player character's expressions change according to the dialogue. It was like early 21st-century WeChat users manually sending emojis to express their feelings through a pop-up interface next to the player character…

"...Don't you want to find a more relaxed, fun, and leisurely job? Don't you want this Great Tomb of Nazarick, which embodies the years of hard work you and your friends have put in, to continue to be preserved in another form after the [YGGDRASIL] game shuts down?"

—A powerful blow, striking the vital point!

Faced with Firi, whose entire body was radiating "spoiler power," Suzuki Satoru's hostility began to diminish.

"...Uh, this...Nyanko-san? Could you tell me more specifically what happened?"

Seeing that the future Ainz Ooal Gown had finally put away his wand and could communicate normally again, Phil couldn't help but secretly breathe a sigh of relief...

※※※※※※※※※※※※※※※※※

"...Totoro Town Adventurers Game Company? Human Resources Manager? Oh, so you got in through the game company's back office?"

Looking at the golden electronic business card floating before them, the future Overlord, the current corporate slave Suzuki Satoru, and the gamer Ainz Ooal Gown suddenly realized, "...No wonder they were able to sneak into the Great Tomb of Nazarick without a sound..."

As a corporate slave, Suzuki Satoru knew perfectly well that no matter how tight the security measures were in the Great Tomb of Nazarick, it was nothing more than a pile of data to the game company's programmers. If he could pull strings with the game company, not only would infiltrating the Great Tomb of Nazarick be no problem, but he could also uncover every single thing he and his companions did in the game.

So, this guy's purpose in coming here was... to poach talent on behalf of some little-known game company?

— Suzuki Satoru carefully recalled the name "Totoro Town Adventurers Game Company" in his mind, but he seemed to have never heard of it before.

Moreover, it seems that the company intends to replicate its entire Nazarick Great Tomb there to serve as a starting area for its new online game.

Even more outrageous, this company is planning to hire him as the village chief of the newbie village? Sounds like a professional live-action NPC?

Hmm, so if what this guy said is true, then this Great Tomb of Nazarick, which holds countless beautiful memories of his past, will not only be preserved after the YGGDRASIL game shuts down, but it will also become widely known in another form?

Suzuki Satoru, understanding Ferry's words in his own way, couldn't help but become excited.

"...Hmm, that sounds pretty good. But, will the company that operates the [YGGDRASIL] game object to this idea? There might be copyright issues, right?" he asked somewhat uneasily.

Hearing Suzuki Satoru's worried words, Firi silently gave herself a thumbs up in her heart.

—The fact that Ainz Ooal Gown could say that means he's already starting to be fooled.

Now, let me continue my efforts and demonstrate the power of spoilers even more fully!

—Yeah, I successfully showed off in front of the "King of Show-offs," and the sense of accomplishment is really overwhelming! It's practically overflowing!

Author's message

PS: To celebrate reaching 1,000 subscribers, here's an extra chapter today.

Chapter 108, Start Deceiving Early! (Bonus Chapter for Bounty)

"...Mr. Suzuki, you don't need to worry about the protest from the operators of the game [YGGDRASIL]. With [YGGDRASIL] about to shut down, they won't mind this kind of waste utilization at all; it might even help maintain their brand awareness!"

Faced with Ainz Ooal Gown's future skepticism, Phil continued to make up a story with a straight face, "...If the operators of the [YGGDRASIL] game strongly oppose our company's approach, how could we possibly replicate the buildings and skill system in that game? Besides, even if any legal disputes arise, it will be a matter between our company and the [YGGDRASIL] game operators, and it won't have much impact on you."

In fact, right now, several other small companies are doing something similar to what I'm doing—acting as recyclers for [YGGDRASIL]. Specifically, they're recruiting real-life professional NPCs and replica bases from [YGGDRASIL] and moving them into their new game…”

—Yes, that's how the legends of the "Six Great Gods," "Eight Desire Kings," and "Thirteen Heroes" in that other world are all explained.

Firi silently gave herself another mental pat, then adopted a feignedly composed demeanor and continued, "...If we weren't so considerate of your feelings, we could have waited until [YGGDRASIL] shut down before copying the Great Tomb of Nazarick—however, by then, the Great Tomb of Nazarick appearing in our company's new game would have absolutely nothing to do with you, the guild master, meow..."

After hearing Phil's words, Suzuki Satoru felt... no, he should be described as a skeleton, and something was wrong with him.

Holy crap! It seems there really are cases of people taking things without asking!

After all, even if this small company moved the Great Tomb of Nazarick exactly as it was, they would be trying to poach players from the YGGDRASIL game's operators, not from him, an ordinary player like Suzuki Satoru.

With [YGGDRASIL] already shutting down, it's unlikely the operators will place much importance on things destined to be abandoned. However, for small companies, they can easily salvage some content from the discontinued [YGGDRASIL], add some original material, and cobble together a game—just like when a large company goes bankrupt, many scrap dealers and secondhand goods collectors will immediately come knocking.

Then, if the insignificant little company behind this cat-like "player" has really succeeded in getting through to the operators of the [YGGDRASIL] game, then is there anything in the entire [YGGDRASIL] game that they can't take away?

—Judging from the fact that the other party called him by his real name "Suzuki Satoru" instead of his online name "Animoji" right from the start, many of his and the guild's private and confidential information must have been leaked by the despicable [YGGDRASIL] game operators.

No one would believe it if you said there wasn't some shady dealing between them and the operators of the game [YGGDRASIL].

In this way, an ordinary player like myself would be completely powerless against the opponent.

Ultimately, no matter how beautiful and dazzling everything in a game may be, it's really just a bunch of data!

Therefore, the fact that they were able to send someone to discuss things with me before [YGGDRASIL] shut down was already a great favor to me.

Or perhaps they were afraid that if they saw this situation afterward, they would be furious and complain and protest everywhere, causing trouble for their small company?

Alas, no matter what, the shutdown of [YGGDRASIL] is a done deal, and no matter how grief-stricken I am, there's nothing I can do about it.

In any case, the Great Tomb of Nazarick, which he painstakingly built in [YGGDRASIL], is destined to disappear at midnight tonight.

The fact that the other party was interested in his Great Tomb of Nazarick, wanted to preserve it as a starting village for another game, and even planned to hire him as a starting village guide or a real-life NPC village chief to continue managing the Great Tomb of Nazarick... For someone who had completely given up hope and could only say goodbye to this place forever, it was no exaggeration to say that this was a lifeline handed to him in his desperate situation.

Although the Great Tomb of Nazarick will no longer be under its own control, but will be manipulated by others. Moreover, such a poorly made online game, a cheap imitation by a small company, will likely not have a long lifespan. It would be quite good if it could last a year or two, and then it would have to leave the guild headquarters again... But, in any case, it's better than the Great Tomb of Nazarick disappearing completely tonight, right?

So, after taking another careful look at the electronic business card that Ferry had sent, Suzuki Satoru, the reclusive office worker who had reverted to his corporate slave mentality, silently pondered this in his mind, while his attitude softened even more.

"...Alright, I understand. Anyway, even if you want to create a Nazarick Great Tomb in your game, there's nothing I can do to stop you. So, I'll just cooperate with you! Although I don't think Nazarick would be a good starting area, it's still a good thing that makes me happy to be able to keep it after [YGGDRASIL] shuts down."

Suzuki Satoru spoke up, "...But what's with you guys saying I should be the village chief of the beginner village? Shouldn't we be using a highly intelligent AI?"

"...Well, while highly intelligent AI is good, it's expensive and the cost is too high. Moreover, it can't adapt to changing circumstances like a real person and it's difficult to deal with players' unreasonable demands. Therefore, our company prefers to use real people to play some important NPCs in online games."

Ferry casually boasted with a straight face, "...And as the manager of the Great Tomb of Nazarick, or rather, the village chief of the starting village, is a very important NPC position. But if you just randomly find a few laymen who are unfamiliar with the game to play the village chief NPC, they might even get lost in the Great Tomb of Nazarick themselves, let alone guide new players. How can they compare to you, the old master who has been in charge of the Great Tomb of Nazarick for many years, personally built the entire base, and knows every secret detail inside like the back of your hand?"

What you said seems to make a lot of sense, and I was speechless for a moment.

Suzuki Satoru fell silent for a moment, seemingly deep in thought, before asking again, "...So, if I agree to play this village chief NPC, how much salary will your company offer me? What are the working hours and benefits like? Is it part-time or full-time?"

"...Ah, of course it's full-time. As long as you agree, the salary and benefits are negotiable. The general manager will come to talk to you personally..."

When it comes to crucial issues, Firi could only give a vague answer for the time being, "...However, there is one thing that needs to be done urgently. If you agree to work for my company, it would be best to make some modifications to the Great Tomb of Nazarick before [YGGDRASIL] shuts down, to make it suitable for the newbie village. So, could you please add me to your guild list and grant me guild weapons and modification privileges?"

He pointed to the guild weapon "Ainz Ooal Gown's Staff" in Suzuki Satoru's hand and made his demand for it without any politeness.

Author's message

PS: To celebrate reaching 1,000 blades, here's an extra chapter.

Some readers expressed a desire to read Lao Lao Wang's political commentary, but there seems to be really nothing to comment on in recent current events.

Britain's ties with the EU, though seemingly severed, have finally been severed completely. What the EU will look like in the future, given the influx of refugees and the rise of far-right political forces, is anyone's guess. In any case, the safety situation in major cities will only worsen, not improve.

Then, the impact of the US reinstating sanctions on Iran is likely to be more severe than imagined. This is because Iran today is no longer the united, anti-American force it once was. The chaos at the end of last year and the beginning of this year demonstrates the intensity of infighting among Iranian political factions, reaching the point of frequent citizen protests. Furthermore, the strain of the Syrian war has severely strained Iran's finances, forcing widespread layoffs and subsidy cuts, resulting in a youth unemployment rate as high as 40%. The situation is similar to the massive layoffs in my country during the 1990s, with widespread public discontent. The ruling group is also divided, and the most prestigious leader is nearing death. It all looks a bit like Russia and Germany at the end of World War I, exhausted and weakened!

Chapter 109, The Advantage of Information Asymmetry (Bonus Chapter for a Million Clicks)

"...Uh, that's possible, but why would you want to modify the settings of the Great Tomb of Nazarick in [YGGDRASIL]?"

Faced with Firi's abrupt request, Suzuki Satoru hesitated for a moment, not immediately handing over the "Staff of Ainz Ooal Gown," but instead asked, "...You could simply copy the Great Tomb of Nazarick into the new game and then make the modifications!"

"...Well, that's not impossible, but our company has just opened and is still operating on a small scale. It's tough to get started, and the equipment and manpower we can allocate to the new game can't compare to [YGGDRASIL]. So the boss always tells us to save money wherever we can and to take advantage of whatever we can."

Phil continued his fabrication with a "sincere" expression, "...Since modifying the settings of the Great Tomb of Nazarick now allows us to use [YGGDRASIL]'s computing resources for free, why not take advantage of it instead of consuming our own computing resources? Mr. Suzuki, don't you think that makes sense?"

"...Uh, I see, that's definitely right..."

After hearing Firi's seemingly reasonable explanation, Suzuki Satoru finally stopped hesitating. He first moved his skeletal hand on the floating system interface to add Firi to the [Ainz Ooal Gown] guild, making him the guild's forty-second member.

Then, he handed the radiant "Ainz Ooal Gown Staff" to Firi, adding, "...This place holds many memories for me, so I hope it won't be altered too much. If there are any major changes, please let me know beforehand."

"...There won't be any major changes, Mr. Suzuki. The main issue is that your guild's guardian NPCs are too hostile towards human players, so they need to be modified to prevent new human players from being killed as soon as they log in. Also, some NPCs look too ugly; to better suit mainstream aesthetics, they might need some adjustments. As for the specific changes, I'll consult you..."

Firi nodded repeatedly as she took the "Staff of Ainz Ooal Gown," a huge weight finally lifted from her heart.

—This attempt to get something for nothing has finally succeeded!

Although there's a saying, "Showing off is fun for a moment, but your whole family will be cremated," and many timid time travelers regard it as a cardinal rule (like Zhang Jie in Infinite Terror), believing that if they change the plot, they will lose their greatest advantage as time travelers... As a result, they live a very unpleasant life after time travel, wanting to show off and become a prophet, but also afraid that the plot will be changed because of it, so they hide their true intentions and cover up their secrets, which makes people furious.

Because they know the plot, they think they are prophets, but because they are prophets, they are afraid of plot changes. Is this an advantage or a constraint?

Are you pathetic, loser time travelers who are actually prophets of the plot, or slaves to it?

If someone knows the plot in advance but is instead bound by it, hesitant to step out of line, that would be utterly ridiculous!

Phil, on the other hand, simply flipped the table right at the beginning, grabbing the biggest chip in his hand.

In this way, even if the subsequent plot is completely distorted, one can remain calm and unconcerned.

Anyway, no matter how the plot changes, the background environment and objective conditions are still similar, so just treat it as playing an open-world online game.

Of course, overturning the table isn't so easy. If he wanted to forcibly seize the Great Tomb of Nazarick, he most likely wouldn't be able to take it.

Therefore, Phil's strategy was to make the most of his "prophetic" abilities.

The essence of it all boils down to one sentence: You have to start conning people early!

—In the previous conversation, the reason why Firi was able to fool Ainz Ooal Gown so easily with just words, even handing over the guild weapon "Ainz Ooal Gown's Staff", was that Firi took full advantage of "information asymmetry": Firi knew that Ainz Ooal Gown was about to take the Great Tomb of Nazarick to another world to show off and become king, but Ainz Ooal Gown thought that the Great Tomb of Nazarick would disappear when the game shut down.

In Ainz Ooal Gown's eyes after his transmigration, the Great Tomb of Nazarick was not only his home but also his only memorial to the past. Forget about plotting to take it away; even the slightest interference with the affairs within the Great Tomb could trigger his fury and drive him into a rage.

But in Ainz Ooal Gown's eyes before his transmigration, the Great Tomb of Nazarick, though holding his most cherished youthful memories, was destined to disappear with the game's shutdown. If someone could preserve it, paying a price would be worthwhile.

It's like someone discovering that their favorite pet is about to die. No matter how extreme the treatment the veterinarian proposes, such as hair removal, amputation, or tail cutting, as long as the cost isn't too high and unaffordable, most people will agree to it first.

Even if the rescue is terrible, it's still better than death!

Ainz Ooal Gown handed the "Staff of Ainz Ooal Gown" to Firi, whom he had just met, not because he trusted Firi so much, but because he felt that his game guild, which was on the verge of disappearing, had nothing worth plotting against, so he might as well try anything as a last resort!

If the other party can really keep the Great Tomb of Nazarick intact, then what's wrong with handing over the position of Grand Master to him?

If the other party is just bluffing, it seems like I won't suffer any losses—at worst, it will just mean that the Great Tomb of Nazarick will be destroyed a little earlier.

—In Ainz Ooal Gown's eyes at this moment, the Great Tomb of Nazarick was an old, dilapidated car past its service life, ordered to be scrapped, and heading towards the junkyard. Or, to put it another way, a family member on their deathbed. Even if a lousy mechanic or doctor ruined it, he might feel some regret and heartache, but not much resentment…

Thus, Firi easily tricked her into handing over the "Staff of Ainz Ooal Gown" and the highest administrative authority over the entire Great Tomb of Nazarick.

However, such authorization is very unreliable and can be revoked at any time. For example, it is probably like Loki, the evil god who temporarily sat on the throne of the god king because the crown prince Thor was exiled and the god king Odin was "on sick leave" in the Marvel Cinematic Universe "Thor".

Furthermore, because this is a game world, players are often more ruthless and decisive than they are in real life, frequently turning on you without warning. In the real world, if someone inexplicably barges into your home or relentlessly tries to sell you something you don't want, your first reaction might be to warn and stop them. But in the game world, you might just snap your sword in frustration!

Therefore, theoretically speaking, the seemingly easy-going giant skeleton on the other side could change its mind at any time and suddenly, with the blessing of its full set of divine equipment, kill Firi in one blow, or use the authority of the game guild leader to kick Firi out of the guild again.

Author's message

P.S.: To celebrate reaching one million views, let me give a big thumbs up and then add another chapter.

Then, here's an anecdote from World War I: Malinowski, a Polish-born British anthropologist, went to explore the Papuan rainforest during the height of World War I. One evening, he chatted with a cannibalistic leader, telling him that Europe was engulfed in war, with corpses strewn everywhere. The leader asked in astonishment: "How can you eat so much human flesh?" Malinowski explained with a wry smile that Europeans don't eat human flesh. The leader was even more puzzled, saying, "Europeans are so barbaric! Why kill so many people if they don't eat them?"

Chapter 110, Suddenly Discovering I'm an Old-Fashioned Person