My family runs an adventurer's guild.

But now, he seems to have a new second world, and a more realistic one at that!

—Unpolluted, pristine air, breathtaking natural scenery, a luxurious base, and a group of loyal subordinates…

Compared to that, the desperate and dreary life of a corporate slave on Earth is really not very appealing.

Although he was inevitably subject to the "gods'" commands in this "god's online game," for Ainz, who had been a corporate slave for so many years, obeying orders and doing work every day had almost become instinctive, and he felt little resistance. On the contrary, being the big boss and planning everything made him feel fearful and uncomfortable, with a sense of emptiness about what to do—this is also why Ainz in the original work was portrayed as timid and hesitant, making one blunder after another, and often unable to control his subordinates (Ainz didn't know about Demiurge's human skin scrolls and the two-legged sheep farm for almost a year, which felt like Hitler being suddenly informed that the SS had executed all the Jews in the concentration camps a year earlier without his knowledge), and he was often either being pushed around by his self-righteous subordinates or fighting against thin air.

If the Great Tomb of Nazarick hadn't been so powerful that it could crush the world, and if its NPCs hadn't consistently maintained near-maximum loyalty, his almost out-of-control leadership style would likely have led to his overthrow by conspirators and political enemies long ago.

So, should I just accept their offer and live as a game developer in this beautiful new world?

However… Ainz Ooal Gown looked down at his body, which was now just bones, and felt as if he was about to lose his composure again.

—Even though he's played the Lich in the game for so many years, it doesn't mean he's really willing to become a skeleton!

"...If you do not like your current dead body, Lord Sleep God is happy to provide you with a living body—in the main world where our original self lives, of course, but you must first sign a contract and become my servant."

Seemingly sensing Ainz's thoughts, the silver dragon Lulutia offered him another temptation that was hard for him to refuse.

Thus, Ainz finally let down his guard and decided to switch companies and continue being a corporate slave.

—He wasn't one of those born with good fortune; his violent and god-slaying nature, which he developed from a young age, had long made him accustomed to working for others to make a living.

Moreover, compared to the unscrupulous companies that used to serve people to the point of exhaustion, the benefits and prospects offered by this woman seem much better.

"...Thank you so much for your generosity, Miss Silver Dragon. I would love to join your organization and work together to make this game better."

"...Very well, then, please open your mind and do not resist in any way. From this moment on, I bestow upon you the true name of Ainz Ooal Gown..." Facing the bowed Ainz Ooal Gown, the silver dragon lady stretched out her finger and drew a suspended magic circle, speaking in a majestic tone.

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Dragons typically have three ways to recruit followers.

The first step is to inject one's own dragon blood into the other person's body, connecting them by blood and thus signing a soul-binding contract.

As Lulutia's magical pet, Firi was turned into a familiar in this way. The advantage is that she can share her master's magic, knowledge and skills, but the disadvantage is that she must obey her master's every word and not disobey in the slightest. Even her thoughts and memories must be open to her master.

Secondly, it involves bestowing a "true name" upon the recipient—in the magical world, a name itself is a special entity. Any creature given a name by the dragon race according to certain special rules will possess a magical true name, which will be held by the dragon that bestowed the name.

Dragons have less control over their followers; they can't guarantee that the followers won't have ulterior motives, but they can ensure that the followers won't betray them.

Since this is another world that Ainz came to "sleepwalk," and the Silver Dragon Lady Lulutia's current body is also formed from magic, there is no dragon blood to give to Ainz. Therefore, the only way to bring Ainz under his command is to "bestow his true name."

Thirdly, it's similar to hiring servants as ordinary people. You sign a regular contract without magical binding force and hire them to do your bidding. However, these so-called "familiars" are actually no different from ordinary servants; you can't expect much from their loyalty or abilities.

In short, with a flash of magical inspiration, under the mysterious will of the universe, [Ainz Ooal Gown] became the only true name of the overlord before them. The former salaryman [Suzuki Satoru] and gamer [Momonga] became relics of the past, sealed away.

Seeing Ainz Ooal Gown obediently being taken under her mistress's command, Phil couldn't help but secretly breathe a sigh of relief.

Although a lot of deception, fabrication, and trickery were used, even for Ainz himself, this should be a good change.

—In the original OVERLORD story, Ainz, as the Undead King, descended upon this pitiful starting village, turning humans and demi-humans into two-legged sheep, skinning them to make magic scrolls; using tricked adventurers as experimental subjects, subjecting them to inhuman torture every day; creating one depraved deception after another, and insanely launching one brutal massacre after another; posing the choice of "submit or be destroyed," crushing honor, kindness, and all the good things in humanity, forcing everyone to wag their tails and beg for mercy before him like dogs…

However, the question is, does doing so many evil and crazy things without restraint really make Ainz happy?

The answer is obviously no.

From the very beginning, Ainz was just an ordinary person, not a pleasure-seeking killer like Ryunosuke Uryu, nor the kind of ambitious person who would risk everything for power. The reason he ended up like this was largely due to the constant pushing and shoving by his self-righteous subordinates.

But even if he became the King of the Undead, feared by all, would Ainz feel any pleasure about it?

No, he was just forcing himself to do his job as "King of the Undead" out of a sense of duty.

In fact, Ainz didn't have much of a desire for power. If he had a choice, he would prefer to travel freely, taste the fine wines and delicacies of different places, pursue all sorts of new and interesting things, make a few like-minded friends, and even find ordinary love.

Just like when he initially used the false identity of "Feifei" to travel around with the four silver-ranked adventurers of the "Black Sword" adventure group.

However, his identity as a lich and his group of wicked minions who liked to act on their own meant that he was destined to never enjoy such an ordinary life.

He can't enjoy fine wine and food, can't have fun with pretty girls, has to wear a mask to communicate normally with outsiders, and has a bunch of troublesome subordinates. The "forced calmness" binding him makes it difficult for him to even feel excited or thrilled for a moment.

—If his "tools of the trade" hadn't been confiscated, given Ainz's nature, after obtaining the power of the Great Tomb and so much wealth, plus a harem of girls who, regardless of their inner qualities, were at least pleasing to the eye, he probably would have been busy indulging in debauchery and revelry as soon as he transmigrated.

The result is that they can only live such boring and miserable days. What good is wearing a crown and having a bed full of beauties?

It's no wonder that Ainz Ooal Gown became increasingly twisted in his later years, more and more accustomed to taking revenge on society, and gradually became indifferent to killing and torture.

Compared to that, working with the Adventurers' Guild in Totoro Town on online games would be a brighter option for him personally.

At least, it's somewhat easier than the path of the demon king who gradually lost his humanity!

Chapter 120, Novice Adventurers Should Go to the Forest

"...Mr. Ainz, welcome to the Adventurer Game Company under the Totoro Town Adventurer's Guild. From now on, we'll be colleagues working together! Although our online game company has just opened, it has the advantage of monopolizing the market, with virtually no competitors."

Firi clapped his hands with a broad smile and said to Ainz, "...I believe that as long as we work together with our hearts and souls, we will definitely be able to make this long-abandoned game, OVERLORD, bigger and stronger! Now, let me give you a brief overview of the game's history..."

According to Firi's account to Ainz, approximately six hundred years have passed since the creation of the game "OVERLORD"—which made Ainz mutter to himself, "The game of God is indeed incredibly slow." Three expansion packs have been released, but it has not yet been officially launched.

Six hundred years ago, this land was an "ordinary" fantasy world, but it was not dominated by humans. Instead, powerful dragons ruled most of the civilized city-states, elves held bureaucratic positions, and orcs were the henchmen of the dragon kings.

At that time, humans were oppressed at the very bottom of civilized society. They were not only exploited to the bone, but sometimes they were even food for orcs, ogres, and other aliens. They were at the very bottom of the food chain and lived a miserable life.

Then, on the whim of a certain god, the game OVERLORD began.

The first expansion pack for this game was "Rise of Mankind". A certain god seemed to be interested in the game [YGGDRASIL], but didn't know how to make a successful online game. So, he rashly grabbed six human players from the game [YGGDRASIL] when it was shut down and sent them to this world, intending to use them as stepping stones to turn this world into a game.

Unfortunately, due to the conflict of world rules, the magic and skills of the game [YGGDRASIL] could not be reproduced in this world, and it was even unclear how to get players to log in and create characters... So after a short while, the god lost interest and gave up on the game.

However, the six [YGGDRASIL] players he brought to this world did not give up on themselves. Instead, they led the suffering humans in an uprising and established a human kingdom amidst powerful enemies. This kingdom is the Slane Theocracy, which upholds the principle of human supremacy.

Because of their remarkable achievements, these six players were revered as the "Six Gods" by the humans of the OVERLORD world.

The second expansion pack for this game is "Rampage of Conquest"—about a hundred years after the "Six Great Gods" descended and established the Slane Theocracy, the second god took over this abandoned game. In order to make this world a virtual game, he specially selected eight players belonging to the same guild from the game [YGGDRASIL] when it was shut down, and had them bring their guild headquarters with them to this world.

Because of their impulsive nature and formidable strength, they were known as the "Eight Desire Kings".

A century had passed since the era of the "Six Great Gods," and all of them, except for the necromancer "Death God" Sirshana, had died of old age. As a result, the "Eight Desire Kings" had just arrived when they clashed with the "Death God" Sirshana and killed him.

Despite this, the "Eight Desires Kings" still consider themselves to be in the camp of humanity, relatively friendly to the humans of this world, and ruthless towards other intelligent races. They conquered the continent with iron-fisted tyranny, turning cities into ruins and fertile fields into deserts.

After a devastating war that ravaged the world, the "Eight Greed Kings" slaughtered the Dragon King who originally ruled the world, killed countless demi-humans, briefly conquered the entire continent, and modified the power rules of the entire world to be consistent with the [YGGDRASIL] game.

However, just as the basic framework of the OVERLORD online game was completed and the open beta was imminent, the "Eight Greed Kings" were wiped out in a bloody internal conflict. Only the abandoned capital city of Elune, lost in the southern desert, remained, said to hold countless riches and artifacts, but also powerful guardians and treacherous traps. To this day, it remains a treasure trove for many adventurers.

Thus, the construction of the live-action online game "OVERLORD" failed once again, and the deity in charge of this attempt also chose to give up.

The third expansion pack for this game is "Demons and Heroes"—about two hundred years ago, the construction of the live-action MMORPG "OVERLORD" was launched for the third time, but it turned out to be an even bigger failure than the one for the Eight Greed Kings. The NPCs brought from the game "YGGDRASIL" went out of control and became "Demons," only knowing how to destroy everything in sight without any reason, bringing profound disasters to all the civilized races on the continent.

Meanwhile, the Earth players who were brought along seemed to be too weak to deal with the "Demon God".

Seeing the situation was turning sour, the deity in charge simply abandoned the project. Meanwhile, the players from Earth managed to acquire the "artifact" left behind by the "Eight Greed Kings," gathered a group of local natives as companions, and ultimately, after countless hardships, defeated the "Demon God," becoming heroes widely celebrated by all races—the "Thirteen Heroes." In reality, this team that vanquished the Demon God consisted of far more than thirteen members. However, when humans sang their praises, they deliberately ignored the warriors from other races, praising only the thirteen human warriors.

Shortly after defeating the demon god, the "Thirteen Heroes" vanished. Although players possess the ability to resurrect, it is said that the leader, heartbroken from killing his own men, refused to revive, and the others scattered. Two hundred years later, they are presumably mostly dead.

Next, we arrive at the present moment, where Ainz Ooal Gown has transmigrated...

"...Now, since our company took over the OVERLORD game, the fourth expansion pack that is about to be launched is what we are currently experiencing. The planned name is 'Return of the King'... Of course, everything is still in the early stages, and we haven't even made a promotional video yet."

Firi said to Ainz, "...So, in order to integrate the beta testing team and achieve some results as soon as possible so that the investors won't complain, we plan to immediately organize an experimental adventure, film the exciting moments, and use them for publicity, advertising, and to persuade the investors..."

"...Going on an adventure...Where to go? There seem to be quite a few places around the Great Tomb of Nazarick that are suitable for adventures!"

Looking at the OVERLORD map spread out in front of him, Ainz Ooal Gown asked with great interest.

"...Following the usual formula of adventure games, novice players' adventures typically begin in the forest!"

Phil pointed lightly to the center of the map, “...So, we’re going here—the Great Forest of Touwu!”

Chapter 121, the Kahn Village storyline begins!

At the foot of the snow-capped Angelia Mountains on the eastern border of the Kingdom of Ri Yesteje, lies a remote village called Carne Village.

Although the village of Kahn has a history of one hundred years, it has only about one hundred and twenty permanent residents, consisting of twenty-five families.

To the north of the village lies the vast, dark Duwu Forest, to the south are farmlands and vegetable gardens cultivated by the villagers, and further out stretches a pristine grassland. The nearest major city in the kingdom, the fortress city of Ye Lantier, is a distance equivalent to two days' walking distance for a traveler.

Therefore, the village's access to the outside world was inconvenient, but this also fortunately spared it from the many wars between the Bahars Empire and the Kingdom of Ri Yestize. Not only did neither side's armies ever set up battle lines here, but even scattered defeated soldiers rarely fled to the area around Karn village.

Besides farmland, the village's economy mainly relies on forest products. Apart from the occasional merchant coming to collect or buy herbs, the royal tax collector only visits once a year. The village is almost entirely free of outsiders, and time seems to stand still here.

However, at dusk that day, the remote mountain village of Kahn received a rare visit from out of town.

A small group of weary travelers, armed with swords, crossed the southern grasslands and entered the village of Kahn as the sun was setting.

The arrival of this group of strangers caused a huge uproar in the long-isolated village of Kahn, as if a bucket of cold water had been poured into boiling oil.

The villagers of Carne initially assumed these weary travelers were adventurers on a quest in the nearby forest, and weren't particularly afraid. They even gathered around with interest to watch the spectacle. However, when two of the travelers removed the hoods of their cloaks, it caused a stir and panic among the villagers—beneath their hoods were furry animal ears and the faces of orcs!

Although Karn Village is very far from where the orcs live, and the villagers have almost never actually seen an orc, they have heard many terrifying legends about orcs from myths and songs: brutal, bloodthirsty, cannibalistic... and so on. In short, they have almost no good reputation.

Among the remaining outsiders, one traveler was not human, but a fearsome-looking lizardman (actually a dog-headed quark).

The women and children in Kahn village immediately screamed and scattered, hiding in their houses, trembling and afraid to come out. The able-bodied villagers, however, had no choice but to steel themselves and, led by the village chief, take up farm tools and machetes, and stand tremblingly against these seemingly intimidating outsiders.

Fortunately, this group of travelers was not entirely composed of orcs—their leader was a beautiful human woman with gorgeous silver hair and a noble demeanor. Seeing the villagers' alarmed state, this silver-haired female mage, who appeared to be the leader, stepped forward to reassure them.

It must be said that a beautiful face is a significant advantage in communication. After explaining that these orcs were her followers, the female mage finally managed to largely dispel the villagers' fear and hostility.

Then, when the silver-haired beauty magician generously took out two exotic gold coins (game coins from the game 【YGGDRASIL】, which she had cleverly obtained before the game shut down) to pay for their lodging, she completely dispelled the hostility of the entire village.

The saying "money can move mountains" means, on the one hand, that with enough money, greedy villagers can be made to grovel and serve like slaves. On the other hand, how could a wealthy person who can so readily spend so much money on rewards possibly be interested in the village's meager possessions?

So, the old village chief, who had been wary just moments before, immediately fawned over these wealthy guests, treating them like honored guests. He quickly cleared out the best house in the village—his own residence—for these generous travelers. He then ordered the villagers to kill a chicken and cook soup, bring out the homemade fruit wine treasured in the cellar, and all the wild delicacies they could find in the village, to entertain these unapproachable guests…

* * * * * * * * * * * * *

"...What's wrong with these country folk?! They all treat me like some kind of demon... Everyone in Totoro Town knows that I, old Kunka, have always been the kindest person, and all the human kids in town love to play with me..."

As night fell in the village of Kahn, in the village chief's mansion where travelers were temporarily staying, a two-meter-tall, muscular "giant cat-man" was gnawing on a roasted chicken brought to him by the villagers, complaining indignantly, "...Why do the humans here tremble at the sight of me?"

—He is the game character "Uncastrated Old Cat" Cuenca, specifically, a strong and fierce tiger-man with Cuenca's face on him...

Firi, who was also wolfing down her food, couldn't help but roll her eyes at old Cuenca's complaints.

Hey, Grandpa Cuenca, do you even realize you've changed bodies?

In Totoro Town, you, a short and chubby cat-man who is less than 70 centimeters tall, are basically seen as a large, living plush toy by human children. You're the kind of person who's very nice and can be rubbed or even ridden around. Everyone knows you well, so naturally, they like to play with you.

But here, you're a strange beast! It's a miracle if a little kid doesn't cry when they see such a huge tiger-man!

Of course, Phil didn't directly expose his thoughts, but simply continued to focus on the food on his plate.

Unlike Cuenca, who was gnawing on roast chicken, the picky Phil preferred to sample the local produce of this small village: a plate of deep-fried, unidentified objects about the thickness of a little finger, with rings of black patterns on them. They looked rather ordinary, but they smelled quite delicious.

Enticed by the aroma, Phil picked up a fried, unidentified object from the plate and put it in her mouth. Once she started eating, she couldn't stop—the texture was soft and thick, with a hint of sweetness. If you ignored the appearance, it tasted like shrimp meat in some parts, and like a sweet omelet in others.

It wasn't until he had devoured most of the plate of fried, unidentified objects that Phil learned that the sweet, fried, unidentified objects he had just eaten were actually bee larvae and pupae. The hunters of Carne Village had just found a large beehive in the forest that day, so the village chief had asked for the bee pupae and larvae inside, fried them in the finest butter, and sprinkled them with precious fine salt, serving them as a rare and high-class delicacy to entertain the distinguished guests who had paid a high price...

Admittedly, although it might sound a bit daunting at first, once you taste it, you know it's really delicious. So Phil only hesitated for a moment before stuffing the rest of the fried bee pupae into his mouth, making his cheeks bulge out, looking like a hamster that had just had a big meal.

After they had eaten and drunk their fill, the kobold warlock Quark, the fake dragon boss Ernest, along with Firi, Kunkka, and Lulutia, began to discuss their next course of action—how to complete their first adventure (and show off) in the world of OVERLORD in the most stylish way.

Chapter 122, The Deviation of the Plot

In fact, when Ferry first planned this "advertising-style" adventure, she seriously considered whether it was necessary to follow the original plot of "OVERLORD" and go to Carne Village, a place that had already been visited by countless fan writers.

However, he soon discovered that if he wanted to develop Nazarick into a starting village, he couldn't bypass the hurdle of Karn Village.

Because Karn Village, located southwest of the Great Tomb of Nazarick, is the closest human settlement to the Great Tomb of Nazarick, and it is also the only way to reach monster-hunting locations such as the Great Forest of Duwu, the lizardman tribe in the Great Forest, and the dwarven city-state in the Angelia Mountains from the Great Tomb of Nazarick.

The distance between the Great Tomb of Nazarick and the village of Kahn is only about ten kilometers, which can be reached by an average person in half a day.

If such a stronghold, so close to one's bedside, cannot be controlled, it would truly make it impossible to sleep soundly.

Of course, Phil could also follow the original plot of "OVERLORD" and ignore the series of battles that are about to take place here, letting the village of Carne be slaughtered by the Slan Theocracy spy force disguised as Bahars Empire knights, and then watching as the royalist general of the Kingdom of Ry-Estize, Gazef Storonov, is lured into the ambush position in Carne and dies in a conspiracy between his own country's nobles and the Theocracy.

The problem is that, given the Slane Theocracy's style of operation in this harassment campaign, since they are disguised as Imperial Knights, they never massacre every single person in a village. Instead, they deliberately leave many survivors to confuse the situation.

In other words, even if the time travelers do nothing, some of the residents of Carne Village will still survive the war, and Carne Village will not be completely abandoned and disappear. This nail driven into the door of the Great Tomb of Nazarick will probably continue to exist.

Moreover, if Carne Village, the closest supply point to the Great Forest of Tobu, is lost, it will become very inconvenient for players who come to the world of OVERLORD to venture into this great forest for adventure.

In conclusion, it seems that saving this village is the best course of action, as it would be good to establish a good relationship and make things easier in the future.

So, Phil and his group arrived at the village of Kahn.

However, even among the five adventurers here, only Firi and his mistress, the silver dragon Lulutia, had watched the entire OVERLORD anime. The other three were kept in the dark, believing this to be a truly unknown otherworld.

Therefore, Phil couldn't directly tell the old cat-man Kunka, the kobold slave warlock Quark, and the fake dragon boss Ernest that this unfortunate village would be attacked by two powerful waves of enemies tomorrow, and that they didn't need to worry about missing out on opportunities to show off their skills and fight monsters.

In short, it means stealing the first bit of bravado from the arrogant king, leaving him temporarily without anything to brag about.

However, on the eve of a battle, if you can't explain why you can foresee the future, it's best to improvise a story on the spot.

Fortunately, this seemed to be no problem at all for Phil, whose deception skills had recently improved significantly.

With just a slight twitch of his eyes, he devised a whole set of seemingly serious "adventure plans".