Chapter 37 : No Turning Back

A/N : Aht here!

Here is a double length chap for not posting earlier in the week. Not many left in Yggdrasil Arc. Enjoy!

Don't forget to keep dropping those power stones and leave comments below!

*

Nao had finally slain Helheim's first World Enemy. It had also granted him Helheim's first World Item. As a reward for these two feats, it rewarded Nao with a hidden class change scroll and a second World Item!

It was said that a single World Item was so powerful that they could bring a non-existent guild into the top ranks. Now, his party had two, while no one else in Helheim had any. In total there were 200 of them. It wasn't known how many were scattered into Helheim, but splitting them evenly, it would be about 22 per realm.

This had brought the party's power to another level already!

The four were directly teleported out of the sealed realm not long after they slayed the giant serpent. The two World Items plopped directly in the open space in front of the four. An ancient looking tan parchment rolled up into a scroll also could be seen next to the obsidian staff and the giant red scroll.

Isabella went to pick up the giant red scroll while Nao picked up the staff and the smaller scroll. Tabula and Bukubukuchagama gathered around the two, appearing very interested in their new loot.

"So these are World Items, hmm? Aren't they known to have the ability to break the balance of Yggdrasil? Who would even create such absurd items...", Tabula said as he started to utter to himself. His voice was loud enough to trigger a smiley emote from Isabella and Bukubukuchagama responded to him.

"It's obvious the developers created them, duh! I bet to offset them breaking Yggdrasil's balance, each one of them has a specific function. Moreover we got two at once! That was such an exhilarating boss. World Enemies sure are something else.", Bukubukuchagama replied happily with a smile emote.

"Haha, you're right about that, Buku. Each one of these World Items is specifically designed to do something, and a lot of them can cause different types of destruction on large scales. Honestly speaking, the main target from this battle was Ouroboros. Getting the extra loot was a bonus I wasn't expecting."

"So you were expecting a drop like this? Well, we did cause us go through a lot of loops and turns with those quests to reach this destination. I say this is rightful reward."

"Right? I can detail you two on what these two do later, and I'm not planning to use Ouroboros until we conquer a lv3000 Guild Base. A more pressing matter is at hand, the hidden class change scroll here. The question is, who is going to use it?"

"What does that hidden class change scroll do anyway? Does it upgrade our class to another tier?", Bukubukuchagama asked curiously.

"I believe so. It likely checks to see if our Racial Class can be upgraded once more. High is the end for most players but many don't know that these scrolls exist. As to whether it replaces our existing High class, I do not know."

Nao really wasn't sure on this point. Ainz's endgame class was Overlord, and that was a hidden Racial Class unique to that of the Skeleton Mage. It only revealed 3 of his Racial Classes, he probably had his High class hidden. What was known was Skeleton Mage, Elder Lich and Overlord.

As for Nao, he started out as an Angel. Rising up he upgraded into High Angel and True Angel. True Angel worked similarly to True Vampires as its name suggested. But Vampires only belonged to a two upgrade Racial Class. Meaning that once a player became a True Vampire, they couldn't upgrade anymore.

However for Angels, it had many possibilities and the likelihood of it being a four upgrade Racial Class was high. it was said in the Angel hierarchy, Seraphs were known to be the highest rank of them all. A group of Seraphs are known as Seraphim and they belonged to the top of the Highest Order.

On top of that, Seraphim were granted six sets of angel wings, one on each side of their back, totaling twelve. Michael, who was also an Angel, had these same features whenever she revealed her true form. She was indeed a Seraph!

And if the scroll upgraded his Racial Class to a Seraph, he too would have twelve wings and would become the second Seraph of his family. But going back to his earlier question, was Nao going to be the one to use this scroll?

Thinking this, Nao let a smile emote after he finished speaking that.

"So we don't even know if we can be upgraded or not?"

"Nope. We can only test the waters. Belle, you are at your second upgrade. Tabula, you are at your second. Buku, you are at your third, like me, right guys?"

"Yup!", Isabella responded with a smile emote.

"Indeed.", Tabula replied calmly.

"Yeah!", Bukubukuchagama replied excitedly.

"Hmm...Belle and Tabula, you two try it first. You two may be at your final upgrade already."

Hearing Nao say that, he passed the scroll to Isabella first. She tried to activate it, yet it didn't react, causing her to let out a frown emote. She then passed it to Tabula, and it ended up the same result. He let out a sigh but didn't complain. He then passed it to Bukubukuchagama.

She stretched out part of her slime goo into a hand to catch it. It shone a blue light for a brief moment, only for a system notification to sound off on her screen. She bobbed up and down in excitement.

"Oooh, it definitely reacted to me! It says I can change to a True Metallurgic Slime! See if it works on you, Nao!", Bukubukuchagama replied excitedly.

Hearing Bukubukuchagama say that, Nao turned quiet as she tossed the scroll to him. Sure enough he too received a system notification.

<<Ding! Player Metatron has a Hidden Class Change scroll. Hidden Class found. Would player like to upgrade into a Seraph?>>

Seeing this appear on his screen, Nao let out a smile emote.

"Looks like it reacted to me as well. I can upgrade into a Seraph, the highest order of Angels."

"So only two of us four then, huh? Are you two going to roll for it or something? We've typically distributed our loot based on who can use what up to this point and then give them out if we could increase our stats."

"That is true. But this isn't something we need to do that for. Nao, you take it. My defenses have proven fine up till now. Just make sure the second one we get goes to me, okay?"

"Are you sure, Buku? This is a one time use scroll. We don't know when we would get a second one."

Hearing that, Bukubukuchagama bobbed up and down in acknowledgment.

"I'm sure. Besides, you're going to be our Guild Leader, right? It makes sense for you to use it first!"

"And how does that make sense...?", Nao uttered to himself with a retort.

"Did you say something?"

"No. I will gladly accept this scroll. I'm going to use it now, I don't see anyone around us."

After Nao said that the three nodded. He threw the scroll up into the air, letting it unravel. It had unique runes written on it that lit up, before the scroll started burn a blue flame. It vanished in a couple seconds and a yellow glow soon covered Nao's body.

A moment passed in silence as the three watched on in anticipation.

Sure enough, once the light died down, there were some noticeable changes. To start it off, Nao was taller! He stood about 8 feet now, even taller than Isabella. Six gorgeous white wings sprouted out from his back. If one looked closely, a second pair could be seen sprouted underneath them, totaling twelve wings. His feathers were tipped in silver.

His hair mostly remained the same, medium length and white. Some bangs went down the sides of his face. If he combed his hair he could tie it up into a small ponytail.

His shoulders were now covered in silver shoulder guards. He wore a dark violet robe that had silver lining around its hem and edges leading out of his arms and legs. As for his skin, it turned from pale white to a metallic silver as well. To finish it off, a majestic wooden wand could be seen equipped in his left hand.

To get a feeling of his upgraded class, Nao let out a small chant.

"Fly.", Nao chanted. His wings unfolded and fluttered about. He created gusts of winds before lifting off into the sky. He left behind the three as they watched him with stunned eyes.

Soaring higher and higher, Nao soon approached Hel's Winds in the sky. He couldn't help but let out a sigh seeing his new look. He could see all of Helheim from this point, and reaching here was effortless!

"Why am I getting such a familiar feeling by doing this...?", Nao said, thinking to himself.

"Perhaps you are experiencing a similar feeling to when Ainz saw the clear sky and the vast ocean of stars for the first time in ages, Brother.", a voice suddenly echoed beside him as if it was replying to Nao.

"Is that you, Miya?"

"Hehehe, your little fairy is at your service, Brother. Your new look is quite stunning.", a fiery red sylph said, appearing next to Nao, letting out a giggle.

"You really know when to show up at good times, don't you?"

"You know it."

"You've got something to report in, yeah?"

"I do. Preparations to transfer to the New World are complete."

Hearing that caused Nao to stare at Miya for a good moment in silence.

"So fast?"

"Yup! Not only that, we found a lv3000 Guild Base we can finally assimilate into! You guys haven't found any besides the Great Tomb of Nazarick in Helheim, right?"

"Unfortunately we haven't. We plan to head into Hel's Palace next but I have a feeling that won't be a lv3000 Guild Base. Where is the one you guys secured?"

"In Asgard!"

"Hoh? Asgard, huh? Chelsea must be having the time of her life in that place full of roaming gods."

"Sister Chelsea definitely seems to be enjoying herself last time I spoke with her. In fact she is the one who played the main role in securing that Guild Base!"

"Great. Where exactly is it located?"

"The Asgardian Palace!", Miya replied to Nao bluntly.

"...Hah?"

"You heard me the first time! Chelsea slayed all the gods in that Palace, rightfully claiming it as hers. The All Father, Odin, his two sons Thor and Loki. Even the Valkyries, all gone! It rewarded Sister Chelsea with a lv3000 Guild Base!"

"That's quite a shocker to hear."

"Right? Once Rising Phoenix is created we can head on over! Are you planning to create it soon?"

"In fact I am. I was going to let the three know I was going to establish Rising Phoenix once we returned to Helheim City, which is our next destination before we head off to Hel's Palace. You arrived at a good time. Can you and Elsa round up the girls?"

"Ooh, it's finally happening huh? I definitely can let our Sisters know!"

"Great. I'm planning to invite Tabula and Bukubukuchagama as well. It's going to be a bit special for them, as this will be a decision that will affect their future. We're soon reaching the point of no turning back. I've no plans to return to this Earth once the transfer begins."

"Got it. I think we have a good chance of bringing those two into our family. They've deeply rooted themselves in your party in these four in a half years. But the decision ultimately depends on them. As you said, Brother, we're in a unique position. It's quite literally reaching the point of no return."

"Yeah. I will be inviting the two to our White Palace offline if they choose to accept. Once the Guild is created, we will begin phase two."

"Phase two?"

"Yup! Amass loot and gold. And lots of it! Wage wars against other Guilds. Take their World Items and try to get as many World Items as we can. I don't care what others will say about this, the more we have before the transfer, the better. We will continue to slay World Enemies and loot Dungeons too. And of course, we mustn't forget about the 500 yen gacha system either. That hides away some pretty good items."

"Looks like you know what to do then in these last seven and a half years then, Brother. When should we assimilate the White Palace into Yggdrasil? At the moment we're planning to assimilate it into the lv3000 Guild Base Sister Chelsea acquired for us."

"Ahh, about that. It's probably best to wait till the last one to two years after everyone loses interest in this game. That way we won't have many eyes on us."

"Got it. I won't keep you here much longer, you should return to your party. I can't wait for our new family members! I'll go round up our Sisters!"

"Heh, looks like you're looking forward to this."

"Of course! Oh, take these too. It's best for them to meet us before venturing into Hel's Palace."

After Miya said that, she took out four leather scrolls bigger than her body, and passed them over to Nao. They were four scrolls of teleportation with a point directly at the Asgardian Palace.

"Thank you. I'll send you a private message once we're ready to port."

"Okay!", Miya acknowledged him. She then threw up another scroll of her own and vanished from sight, heading back to Elsa's location in Alfheim.

As for Nao, he took in the sights while in the sky one last time before flapping his wings and headed back down. He found the three looking at him with smile emotes. Bukubukuchagama constantly bobbed up and down seeing Nao's new look.

"Now you're looking like a Heteromorph, Nao! Hidden Classes really are something special. I can't wait for what mine will look like!"

"Haha, we'll get there eventually. I promise you that, Buku. Let's head on back to Helheim City. We've an important matter there."

"Is it to to create our Guild?" Tabula said, tilting his head to the side.

"You know it. Just remember, there will be no turning back once you two join. We treat each other as family, and we will treat you two as such too."

"Nao's right you know. We've many Sisters in our family. I'm getting excited to introduce you two to them!"

"Aww...that sounds rather lovely. Speaking of which, what exactly is your relationship to Nao? You two always speak on casual terms with each other.", Bukubukuchagama said, turning toward Isabella.

"Color me interested, but I would also like to know. There are talks of other players in the other realms who take after player Metatron's name, each one of them quite strong too. This can't be a mere coincidence."

After Tabula said that, a moment of silence spread among the four before Isabella turned to Nao and spoke out to him.

"I know we shouldn't say much yet before formally introducing the others. But I can at least say who I am, right, Nao?"

"We've reached this point, so I don't see why not."

"Hehe, good to hear that. To put it simply, I'm Isabella, but many people call me Belle. I'm Nao's wife."

As if she dropped a hammer, another wave of silence spread out before Bukubukuchagama exclaimed.

"E-Eh!? You're Nao's wife!?", Bukubukuchagama exclaimed loudly.

"Somehow, I figured it would turn out like this. But why am I gritting a sudden feeling like I'm selling my life away here? Not that I've had much family since my parents' passing...", Tabula uttered to himself in a low voice.

Hearing that, Nao let out a light laugh and a smile emote.

"Haha, Belle here is indeed my wife. But that's all we'll say for now. After we enter Helheim City and create our Guild, I'll send you two to a specific location in the Residential District. Is it safe to assume both of you live at Neo Tokyo?"

"I-I do!", Bukubukuchagama replied to Nao with a stutter, still dazed from learning about Isabella.

"So am I. Looks like we are all in the same city after all. Shall we depart to Helheim City?"

"Yes. Let's go. Take these as well you three. Almost forgot to mention one of our members secured a lv3000 Guild Base for us in Asgard."

"Really!?", Bukubukuchagama yelled out in excitement once again.

"No kidding? Are we going to abandon Helheim then?"

"Not yet. We will raid Hel's Castle first before we relocate to Asgard and pick up any World or Divine Items along the way. I also want to see if taming the goddess of death herself is possible."

"I see. I almost forgot you are a tamer. Looks like you are quite selective with who you tame."

"Yup. A part of me wanted to tame that giant serpent we slayed but we needed its loot. But enough of that, from here on you will join our family and there will be no going back. If there is any tine to speak up, now will be it. Otherwise I will take silence as your resolve to join.", Nao said seriously as he looked at the two.

After Nao said that, silence soon spread out among them. Bukubukuchagama and Tabula didn't say anything, and looked at Nao with seriousness in their eyes. Nao could sense their resolve clear from this, and nodded his head. Everyone let out smile emotes.

They then casted Fly, heading straight back to Helheim City. Nao received many surprised stares seeing his new look, but also cheers after realizing it was Nao and his party.

The four saw Helheim City bustling with many Heteromorphic players and they greeted some as they walked to the Guild Hall. Seeing the four walk toward it incited the people even more, they knew Nao and his party hadn't joined a Guild. Rumors started to fly around like crazy, but they ignored them.

After walking into the Guild Hall, they were greeted by its receptionist. Not only that, they spotted Momonga and his group of nine leaving a meeting room further behind in the Guild Hall.

No one said anything during this moment as Momonga's group walked toward the receptionist. The moment Momonga crossed Nao's path, he stopped. A good moment passed in silence as Nao and Momonga observed each other. Nao then saw Momonga raise his hand and let out a smile emote.

"Haha, out of all places, I never would have thought of you stepping into the Guild Hall. Looks like I've misjudged you."

"I could say the same for you. You look like you've had some fruitful encounters. You no longer appear that weak skeleton mage Touch Me saved you a while ago."

"Indeed. You seem to have had some yourself."

After Momonga and Ainz exchanged some words with each other, they both let out some laughs, causing the tension in the air to die down.

Nao's party members then started to mingle with the future members of the forty one Supreme Beings while Nao saw Momonga extend his bony arm, offering him to sit down at a nearby table, of which Nao accepted.

"Looks like you've got something to talk about, Momonga?"

"Just one topic. It's likely going to be the highlight of what's to come. Apparently the developers have been talking about hosting their first World Champion Tournament. I know you've been pretty busy as of late."

"Thank you for letting me know. It's true we've been quite busy as of late but keeping up on news is crucial. It looks like its going to be held across the nine realms."

"So you know about it then?"

"Yup! Why bring it up, though? Don't tell me you're actually planning on participating?"

"I wasn't going to originally. But Touch Me has persuaded me enough to join, hahaha!", Momonga replied, letting out another laugh while placing his hand on his robe.

"Well, if that's the case, can't say I'm not interested. Though I will say it up front we won't be participating in Helheim, so you'll have to be one of nine finalists if you're to go up against me."

"Oh? Does this relate to you being here in the Guild Hall? You sound quite confident too if you think you can make it all the way."

"It does, and I am. We've secured our Guild Base and I was about to create our Guild, actually. And once we challenge Hel's Castle we will migrate to Asgard."

"Hmm...Asgard? Don't they persecute Heteromorphic players there? Will you be alright?"

"Don't you worry about that. We've got our plans to deal with that. Our members are quite strong too, heh.", Nao replied with a chuckle.

"Haha, there's no doubt about that. Your latest performance was splendid. Since you've told us a bit of what you're going to do next then I shall do my part too. We plan to conquer Grenbera Swamps next."

"Is that so? I hear that place is swarming with many different types of monsters. I think that place will pose a good challenge to you guys. Don't forget to check every nook and cranny too."

"Of course. Thank you for the reminders. Us Heteromorphic players mustn't fall behind on the level grinding either. We need to reach lv100 to trigger this tournament."

"That we must. I'll wish you best of luck to reach that end. It was a pleasure chatting with you again, Momonga. But we must get going and establish our Guild. I fear it will become quite busy for us so I'm not sure we'll get a chance to talk like this again for a while."

"I'm getting the same feeling, Metatron. I'll wish you luck with your endeavors too. Let us bid farewell for now. The next time, we meet may even be as enemies if we face each other in the tournament."

After Momonga said that, Nao let out a smile emote. The two then got up from their table. Each party then said their goodbyes, and Momonga's group soon left the Guild Hall, fading away into Helheim City.

As for Nao and his party, they made their way to the receptionist charge of Guild creation. They had to pay a hefty amount of gold but thankfully Nao had plenty stored away, already amassing in the millions.

Turns out Guilds started with 10 slots for its members and could be upgraded depending on the Guild Level, tied to the level of one's Guild Base!

And thus the Rising Phoenix Guild was officially formed!

It was no turning back from here on! The rest of Yggdrasil's time will blow by before they realized it!