You are very strong, but my painting style is better than yours!

"Really? That's great!"

Suzuki Satoru smiled happily, though he wasn't the lucky one, he was still very excited.

Then I thought, since we're looking for veteran players to be advisors, why not ask our old friends? You know, our guild has gotten a lot of first kills and is quite well-known throughout the server. The Great Tomb of Nazarick has never been breached.

When it comes to understanding game mechanics, few people are better than us.

So I thought I'd try to gather our guild members to participate in this closed beta project. Maybe we can even switch to a new game later and rebuild a "Ainz Ooal Gown"!

"—!"

Suzuki Satoru's eyes widened, and he heard his heart pounding in his ears. For a moment, he forgot to breathe.

"Um... so, Mr. Helo, do you want to go back to the game?"

"After all, I'm considered an industry insider now. I never imagined that my past hobbies would become the catalyst for a promotion and a raise. Fate is truly amazing... By the way, can you get in touch with Bubble Teapot and Tachini?"

"I try my best!"

Suzuki Satoru agreed without hesitation. For him, who longed for friendship, receiving such good news at a time when YGGDRASIL was about to shut down was an overwhelming surprise!

However, he quickly calmed down and realized that his own happiness was far from enough. It wouldn't be easy to bring back people who had quit the game, since most of their guild members were working professionals who, as they got older, were destined to have less time to play games—the pull of reality was too strong.

He said somewhat uncertainly, "It should be no problem to contact everyone, but if we were to meet up in real life... everyone has a job, and many of them are married with children, so they might not be willing to put any more effort into the game."

Yes, that's generally true, but the really good news is that the group doesn't seem to be short of money.

Then, Heiro mentioned the reward for doing this, leaving Suzuki Satoru speechless for a long time before he gradually recovered.

"...It's not a scam, is it? As far as I know, while it's true that some people pay experts to do evaluations, this price..."

How could it be a scam? This is a subsidiary of the renowned Far East Heavy Industries Group!

Moreover, to be honest, the reason I was selected to take over the beta test project was because I formed the 'Ainz Ooal Gown' group in the game and farmed world-class achievements with everyone, which convinced the leaders that I was a top-notch player.

The higher-ups seemed to have also played *YGGDRASIL* and were quite impressed with us. They thought our "unorthodox guild" had a lot of character and suited their tastes, so they praised us a bit... That's why my boss was willing to promote me despite the odds.

Hei Luo paused after speaking, seemingly embarrassed about having concealed these things at the beginning.

[You hardly ever go online anymore, but now you're coming to talk to me about this... How pathetic am I?]

"What are you saying, Helo Helosan... Aren't we the two who understand each other's situation the most?"

Suzuki Satoru gave a bitter laugh. "As a slave to the company, you didn't really have a choice, did you?"

[Those kinds of words... As expected, Momonga-san understands me best.]

"I believe this level of compensation would be enough to entice many guild members, but it would be presumptuous of me to approach them with just empty words."

Suzuki Satoru gradually gained motivation. "These next few days I'll find out how to contact them, talk to them one by one in detail, explain the situation clearly, and then invite them."

This shows more sincerity, as expected of Momonga-san~

But won't this affect your work?

"Ah, please don't worry about that."

I'd like to request a compensation payment, or perhaps some public relations funds, from my supervisor.

"Hey, Hey, I didn't do this for the money—"

[How about ten million? The leader said it's important to win over the guild leader, so he gave a very generous limit.]

"..."

Suzuki Satoru remained silent for a long time before cautiously asking, "Hey, is your company really that well-funded?"

You're surprised, aren't you? I'm surprised too. Sometimes I can't help but wonder, how could a prestigious company like Far East Heavy Industries possibly take a liking to a small company like ours!

"One more question... are you still hiring?"

Over the next few days, Suzuki Satoru tried to contact his friends who had quit the fandom, and to his relief, he found that they were all doing quite well.

His older brother, Mr. Tapchimi, a policeman, had just been promoted and had an enviable happy family life.

When the voice actress Bubble Teapot transferred to a large company with a very strong background, she took on the lead role in a long-running anime series.

Some who practiced freestyle fighting were signed as spokespeople by sports brands. Some who had been involved in organized crime successfully went legit. Some who were civil servants were transferred to suitable locations, ending their long-distance relationship with their wives…

Many of the members of Ainz Ooal Gown had previously struggled with unfulfilled ambitions, a common occurrence in today's society. Suzuki Satoru had often felt saddened by this, but now, having mustered the courage to reconnect, he discovered that the reality was far better than he had imagined. These past few days have been filled with pleasant surprises.

Many old friends expressed interest in the rewards—no, the new game—and signed up for the project as a high-paying part-time job. The previously disorganized guild regrouped at a visible speed—Suzuki Satoru suddenly felt that life was full of hope again!

……

“My Lord.”

The big boss of Far East Heavy Industries knelt on one knee on the soft Persian carpet, bowing his noble head to the figure by the window.

"As you instructed, we have acquired the entire operating company of YGGDRASIL."

"understood."

Iori swirled the vodka in her glass and said nonchalantly, "Go down."

~~~~~

Chapter 332 Iori's Custom-Made Another World.

"I should have read more light novels"—this is Iori's biggest takeaway these past few days.

He's a pretty eclectic otaku, dabbling in anime, light novels, web novels, and games, but he's not an expert in any of them. Aside from anime series he's really interested in, he rarely reads novels on his own initiative.

The last work that met his standards for adapting the original work was "Kara no Kyoukai" (The Garden of Sinners)...

Well, I enjoyed watching the anime "Overlord," but at most I just browsed the forums to collect some erotic, cough, informational images; I didn't spend any time reading the novel.

As a result, he didn't have much intelligence at his disposal.

The reasons why Ainz Ooal Gown (Satoru Suzuki) traveled to another world, the specific settings of the Eight Greed Kings, the Six Gods, and the Thirteen Heroes, the hidden forces in the other world...

The author should have filled in these plot holes in the later part of the novel, but as an anime viewer who has only watched the first two seasons, Iori was completely clueless.

Of course, even though Iori had been to completely unfamiliar worlds, he wasn't afraid, just slightly regretful. Furthermore, to maximize his profits, he had to think things through carefully before taking any action.

"Suzuki Satoru... It seems there's nothing special about him, he was just coincidentally pulled to another world by some force... No, wait."

Strictly speaking, it was the Great Tomb of Nazarick that was transported to another world, and Suzuki, along with many NPCs, was part of that world.

Iori clicked on the light screen to view the player's profile, whose real name was Suzuki Satoru, and nodded slightly.

Although I didn't directly travel to another world, this cyber society still has its advantages. As long as you can control capital, you can mobilize almost unlimited resources and do anything you want.

Putting aside something as simple as opening a box, which any ordinary person could do, Iori's command could change the fate of many members of the [Ainz Ooal Gown] who were in dire straits, allowing them to live a much happier and more stable life than before.

And this doesn't even require Iori to step in or pay much attention; as long as the task is assigned to the lower levels, the huge machine called "capitalist society" will automatically arrange everything!

Out of habit, Iori had been paying close attention to Suzuki Satoru, but after these past few days, he suddenly realized that he didn't need to, and had no reason to, contact Suzuki Satoru. After finishing all his tasks, he hadn't encountered any situations where he needed to communicate with him personally.

If he were ruthless, after buying the game company, how he dealt with the Great Tomb of Ainz Ooal Gown would be a simple matter of a word. Whether he banned the Ainz Ooal Gown guild or took it over, Suzuki and the others would be powerless to resist.

However, he certainly wouldn't stoop to that level, so he chose a method that would satisfy everyone.

Suzuki Satoru has feelings for the guild, but it's essentially about being reluctant to part with the memories he created with his comrades. Now that the guild can be rebuilt, this account and the Great Tomb have become mere keepsakes.

In a few days, someone will find all members of Ainz Ooal Gown and ask them to sell their game accounts and guild buildings (Great Tomb of Nazarick). The price will be enough to establish a fund for all of them. Even if some individuals disagree, they cannot overcome the power of democracy.

—They were all players who had quit the game anyway, so I don't think anyone would be unhappy about it.

Iori effortlessly took control of the main characters from the original work, bringing all their account data under her control. It was so easy that she felt no sense of accomplishment.

However, he hasn't been focusing solely on this one thing these past few days:

Swipe away from Suzuki Satoru's screen, open another player's profile, Iori nods, and then sends a message to her puppet to buy this person's game account at a high price.

This person was not a member of the "Great Tomb of Nazarick," but Iori was certain that he was also a time traveler!

Just like Suzuki Satoru in the original work, he is also a player who traveled to another world from a game!

As for why Iori made this judgment, it was based on a deduction from a memory he had.

Although he had only watched the anime, he clearly remembered that the summoned creatures and items from the game appeared in the other world!

The protagonist, Suzuki Satoru, was surprised by this and deduced that there were other players in the world besides him.

One of the items charmed a high-ranking NPC in the main characters' group, causing him to become an enemy of the protagonist. That was Suzuki's first evenly matched battle after arriving in the other world—a highlight of the battle at the end of the anime, and it contributed several memorable scenes. Iori had a deep impression of it.

As a member of the main group, her high-level NP level, whose one-on-one combat ability even surpasses that of Suzuki Satoru himself, is naturally impossible to be controlled by ordinary items. It is very likely that she is a rare item or even a unique artifact.

Based on this, Iori searched for items in *YGGDRASIL* that fit this description. She found quite a few items, but the only one capable of turning a "True Vampire Ancestor" into a puppet was the artifact that could unconditionally control a single monster—

World-class props, absolutely stunning!

World-class items are extremely difficult to obtain, and it's almost impossible for multiple items to exist simultaneously. Knowing this, we could easily follow the trail and obtain the account owner's information.

By this time, Iori had clearly figured out one thing:

The player who traveled through time wasn't just Ainz Ooal Gown Suzuki Satoru. The legendary Six Gods and Eight Desire Kings were probably also time travelers, except that they arrived hundreds or thousands of years earlier than Ainz Ooal Gown!

However, understanding this doesn't seem to make much sense. Iori's immediate priority is still planning her time travel and figuring out how to meet her needs without getting into trouble.

The core principle is "seeking advantage and avoiding harm"!

In the original work, Ainz Ooal Gown's humanity and emotions gradually faded due to the characteristics of the undead race, serving as a constant warning to others. Iori was naturally extra vigilant about this.

But besides game characters, skills and equipment can also cause huge problems!

Iori also watched another anime with a similar setting to Overlord, called Log Horizon, which discussed and researched this issue.

As we all know, the cooler the design and the more complex the design of a weapon in a game, the more popular it is. If you add a suffix like "dark" or "cursed," it will be a must-have for those with a penchant for chuunibyou (middle school syndrome).

However, once things from games come into reality, those settings that were originally added just to look cool can very likely lead to unpredictable consequences.

If there were a "Frostmourne" weapon here, the game's setting would be that it brings great power but also inflicts a curse on the undead. It wouldn't matter if the player character equipped it, because the curse is just a textual description and it's impossible for it to actually turn the character's race into an undead—how could an item that automatically changes factions be given to you for free!

But in reality, that would truly be a story of an extremely filial son...

There are also skills, such as the Ghost Swordsman in the dungeon being possessed by a ghost hand, going berserk at the drop of a hat, or having to gouge out his eyes when changing jobs... Of course, in the game he's just background scenery, but that wouldn't work in real life!

Iori now wants to acquire powerful game items, but doesn't want to be bothered by those hidden dangers...

"Forget it, why worry? I'll just design it myself!"

Chapter 333 It's time to enrich the harem with talented people.

When it comes to item design, how to balance numerical values ​​and mechanics is a major issue.

As we all know, the plot setting of weapons and items is not the same as their actual stats, and the amount of stats and their performance are also two different things.

Games are essentially entertainment products. To cater to players (who spend money), various DLCs that forcibly extend the game's life can be released. They are not something with strong logic.

In the backstory, there could be a fully-leveled, fully-equipped demon who could slaughter entire cities and destroy entire nations, only to be killed by a passing homeless old orc with a single axe blow!

When you look at the levels and attributes of the two people, you can't figure out how they did it even if you rack your brains—that's what's called a plot-driven kill.

The story is the story, and the game is the game. The divine artifacts that dominate the world in the background setting and are destined by fate may just be common items that everyone has in the hands of the players.

The legendary holy sword obtained at level 30 is no longer as powerful as the dagger crafted by a common blacksmith in the new map by level 60...

This is a common occurrence in any game, and YGGDRASIL is no exception.

Iori doesn't plan to equip herself with a bunch of overpowered artifacts, since it's hard to say what the effects of game stats would be in reality—the super-level magic in anime is just so-so.

In games, numerical values ​​are essentially used for calculation, not for measuring the extent of destruction. Things like "EA can't break through the floor of Ryudouji Temple" are quite common.

What truly captivated him wasn't the damage numbers that seemed to have a lot of zeros, but rather the "mechanics"!

If the destructive power of the game is relatively weakened when it becomes reality, then some special mechanisms are actually strengthened!

For example, time-space abilities are extremely rare in every world, but they are commonplace in games.

There are also things like guaranteed hits, instant death, resurrection, time reversal... These would be incredibly overpowered in the real world and could easily disrupt the balance of the world, but they're nothing special in the game.

For example, in the lore of World of Warcraft, resurrection is equivalent to a miracle, requiring a huge price to pay. However, in the game, to balance the different classes, healing classes such as Shamans, Paladins, Druids, and Priests were given resurrection skills, only with different names.

—This is exactly what Iori wanted!

Honestly, he really doesn't lack damage output. Looking at the battle between the protagonist and Shalltear in the anime, the battle scene between a max-level player and a max-level NPC wasn't that outrageous. Iori is confident that he can create an even more exaggerated scene when he gets serious.

He didn't intend to go for numerical overload or design cheat items that didn't fit the game's framework... Regardless of whether they would be useful, what if his changes were too drastic and caused something to go wrong with the "transmigration to another world" thing?

It's still unclear what criteria were used to select people for transmigration. If YGGDRASIL underwent a lot of data changes and a guild outside of the Great Tomb of Nazarick was randomly chosen to transmigrate, wouldn't Iori be shooting himself in the foot?

The prerequisite for obtaining powerful items is to make "time travel" a reality. This is the top priority. Make sure this is done before considering anything else!