Overlord: Reborn as an NPC

Chapter 2: The Passage of Time

(A/N: This is a future note by me as of chapter 25. This story was inspired by "Yellowness" on fanfiction.net by MidasMan. At the time of writing, I used his fic as a baseline for mine. This is why the first 6 chapters are pretty much copy/paste and not something I'm not proud of as I didn't put my own spin on things. If you can bear those chapters and push through, I really do thank you from the bottom of my heart. It does get better and the plot begins to change once you get past it. With that in mind, I hope you enjoy the fanfic!)

[Ajax's POV]

I raged for an unknown amount of time, being forced to transmute different materials for hours after Tabula left. Time seemed to blur for me as my awareness ebbed and flowed. I was only 'awake' when I was being used for some task or edited by one of the guild members, or simply summoned.

After a short while away from them, and given nothing to do, I would 'sleep' until the next interaction happened. Being 'awake' or 'sleep' had both its advantages and drawbacks. On one hand, I need information about myself and the outside world.

Stuff such as my classes, lore and the other NPC's of Nazarick would be important to know. My mere existence changes how things play out. Nazarick never had an alchemist NPC which is the reason why Ainz, currently Momonga, kept Nfirea Bareare under his protection. That's what I believe anyway.

However, being in 'sleep' mode lets time pass faster. What could be days of inactivity would be the blink of an eye for me. The closer I am until the game shut down, the closer I'll be to finally having free will.

For a time, I went through the stages of grief. Not in any particular order: Denial of my situation. Anger as to why this happened to me. Sadness at the futility of it all. Bargaining, with any higher power that would deliver me from this, living hell. And eventually, acceptance that I was stuck here.

There is only so long a person can repeat 'just wake up' before reality sets in.

'Reality? What a joke.'

This was Overlord. The light novel/anime from the 'real world' is about a gamer otaku who gets transported to a new world with his guild base full of NPC's. They find themselves in a world wholly unprepared for them. After a series of goofy, from the audience's perspective, series of events, Ainz embarks on a campaign of world conquest.

It was funny. It was serious. It was entertaining.

And now, it was real.

This is Nazarick, the home base of Ainz Ooal Gown. Ainz is still just 'plain' old Momonga, the guild master of Ainz Ooal Gown and its forty other members. Naturally, I couldn't show any of this. My new form was that of a puppet on tight strings. I could take no action without prompting from any player.

I have no control over myself in any way. These ... people had taken everything from me. Knowingly or otherwise. My entire existence twisted beyond anything I could ever imagine. I was no longer human. Hell, I was no longer a living being. Just a bunch of 1's and 0's in a program.

All that being said, there is still a glimmer of hope for me. The new world. This tomb and all of its inhabitants would be taken to a new world and given sentience. That was my lifeline if there ever was one.

But seeing how the whole guild is together now, and that the story began with Ainz, now Momonga, being the last member of Ainz Ooal Gown, I fear I might have to wait for quite some time. I have no idea how long I'll last. For now, all I could do was wait. Forced into the role of a glorified vending machine.

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"So Tabula stopped talking to you for a while?"

Item created [Titan Bane]