YGGDRASIL: The Undead King

Chapter 2 ~Final Countdown~

Momonga left what was known as the Round Table Room.Guild members had a ring reserved for their use. Anyone who wore that ring would automatically appear in this place when they logged into the game, barring special circumstances. If any guild members returned, they would do so in this room. However, Momonga knew that the other members of the guild would not be coming back here. In the last few minutes of the game, the only player who remained in the gigantic Great Underground Tomb of Nazarick was Momonga himself.Momonga suppressed the emotions that were rising like a tide, and walked through the halls.This place was like a castle built of alabaster, a magnificent world suffused with a regal atmosphere.If one raised their head to look to the ceiling, they would see crystal chandeliers hanging from the ceiling at fixed intervals, radiating a warm light.The broad hallways had brilliantly-polished stone floors, which reflected the light from the chandeliers in a way that made it seem like twinkling stars were embedded in its surface.If a visitor opened the doors on both sides of him, his attention would be captivated by the decadent furnishings within.A third party observing this scene would probably be staring in awe.The much-hated Great Underground Tomb of Nazarick had once been attacked by the largest invading force ever assembled in the game's history. Eight guilds banded together with their allies to bring a force of over 1500 players, mercenaries and NPCs to bear on Nazarick, but in the end, they had been miserably defeated. That legendary dungeon was now reduced to this.

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The Great Underground Tomb of Nazarick had once been a six-floor dungeon, but it had been dramatically altered after Ainz Ooal Gown took control of it. Currently, it was a ten-floor dungeon, and each floor had its own unique theme.The first to third floors were modelled after a tomb. The fourth floor was an underground lake. The fifth floor was a frozen glacier. The sixth floor was a rainforest. The seventh floor was a sea of magma. The eighth floor was a wasteland. And the ninth and tenth floors were the realm of the gods — in other words, the home base of Ainz Ooal Gown, which had ranked among the top ten of YGGDRASIL's thousands of guilds.

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The sound of Momonga's footsteps and the tapping of his staff rang through this holy sanctuary. After turning several corners in this vast hallways, Momonga saw a woman in the distance, heading in his direction.She was a sensual beauty, whose lush, golden hair grazed her shoulders.She was dressed in a long, elegant maid's outfit, with a large apron.She was roughly 170 cm tall, with a slender build. Her ample bosom looked like it would burst out of her bodice at any time. Her overall appearance was attractive and gave the impression of being graceful and kind.As the two slowly approached each other, the maid darted to the side of the hallways and bowed deeply to Momonga.In return, Momonga raised his hand in acknowledgement.The maid's expression remained as it was, and she kept the same smile on her face from just now. In YGGDRASIL, facial expressions did not change, but this girl was slightly different from player characters with their unchanging expressions. This maid was a Non-Player Character. She was not controlled by the game, but by a set of AI routines. Simply put, she was a mobile doll. Even if her design was incredibly realistic, her bow was nothing more than a programmed action.Momonga's acknowledgement of her bow was nothing more than a foolish gesture, because she was nothing more than a doll. However, Momonga had reasons for not treating her coldly.There were 41 maid NPCs in the Great Underground Tomb of Nazarick, each with their own unique design.Their creator was a mangaka who had broken into the industry with his maid illustrations, and who was currently serialized in a monthly magazine. Momonga studied the maid carefully. Apart from her looks, he also scrutinized her uniform.The intricacy of the design, especially the fine embroidery that speckled her apron, was enough to make people gasp in awe.Their design had been exceptionally detailed because of the declaration, "Maid uniforms are their secret weapons!" Momonga couldn't help but feel nostalgic as he remembered the complaints from the other guild members who had helped with the design."Ah... that's right. I think it was from then that he started saying that 'Maid uniforms are justice!' Come to think of it, I think the manga he's drawing now has a maid as a main character. Do his assistants cry when he goes overboard on the designs? Ah, Whitebrim-san."The maids' AI routines had been programmed by Herohero-san and five others.In other words, this maid was the personification of his past friends' hard work. He could not simply ignore her without feeling bad about it. After all, this maid was also a part of the glorious history of Ainz Ooal Gown.Just as Momonga was contemplating these matters, the maid raised her head, as though she had spotted something, and tilted her head in surprise.The maids would do this if anyone lingered around them for longer than a certain period of time.As Momonga searched through his memories, he could not help but be impressed by Herohero's elaborate programming. There should have been other hidden poses programmed into them as well. Momonga wanted to see them all, but time was very tight.Momonga glanced at the translucent watch on his left wrist and checked the time.As he thought, there was no time for him to spend waffling around."Thank you for your hard work."Momonga walked past the maid after that painful farewell. As he passed the maid, there was no response, but that was only to be expected. Still, even if she did not reply to him, Momonga still felt that it had to be said, because it was the last day of YGGDRASIL.Momonga continued forward, leaving the maid behind.After a while, a gigantic staircase appeared before Momonga's eyes. It was wide enough that over 10 people could walk down it side by side, arms outstretched, with no problems. A luxurious red carpet lay on the steps. Momonga slowly descended the stairs, until he reached the lowest floor — the 10th floor of the Great Underground Tomb of Nazarick.The place where he had arrived was a large receiving room, with several figures within.The first to enter Momonga's line of sight was a distinguished old gentleman in a butler's outfit.His hair was pure white, even the beard and moustache near his mouth. However, the old man's back was ramrod-straight, like a sword forged of steel. His face was deeply wrinkled and gave onlookers the impression that he was a kind and gentle person, but his keen eyes were like those of an eagle sizing up its prey.There were six maids standing behind the butler. However, these maids were different from the one Momonga had met earlier, in looks and equipment.The maids wore gauntlets and greaves of gold, silver, black and other colored metals. Their armor was designed to look like the outfits of maids in manga. They did not wear helmets, but instead white headpieces. In addition, every girl was armed with a different weapon. They were the picture of battle maids. Their hairstyles were also varied, with bunned-up hair, ponytails, long, straight hair, French curls, and so on. The one thing they had in common was that every single one of them was attractive. The exact way in which they were attractive also varied within them; one was sporty and athletic, one resembled a demure Japanese maiden, one of them had a seductive allure, and so on.These girls were NPCs, but they were strikingly different from the other maids, who had simply been designed for entertainment. Their purpose was to defend against invaders.