Guild Wars and the End of an Era

7000 - Words

Took me 5 days to write and edit it all. I've cut almost a third of the content because I felt it would become too long.

Hope you guy's enjoy.

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"Lucian, I've got the information you wanted!" Suzune walked cheerfully over to the couch in the living room, where Lucian was engrossed in watching a massive ongoing live event on TV. This event was a part of a new collaboration involving the Evans Corporation and was being broadcast worldwide across various Arcologies.

"Lucian, look, look." With a cheerful tone, Suzune approached him and obstructed his view with the tablet she held up in front of his face, successfully pulling his attention away from the TV.

"What is it?" Lucian asked, gently nudging her aside. She promptly settled next to him on the couch, making herself comfortable and ensuring she utilized every bit of available space. Suzune inched closer, ensuring that their bodies were as close together as possible on the couch.

"I've found the information you were looking for. The player you were searching for, I've found him," she said with a smile, her joy obviously visible through her simple smile and jumpy attitude.

"I see," Lucian replied, his hand in his chin, his gaze briefly clouding over for a second as he contemplated various thoughts before asking.

"Tell me the details," Lucian asked, this time wearing a beautiful smile that caused Suzune's cheeks to turn bright red. Something Suzune could never get used to was Lucian's radiant smile. The toothy grin he displayed always brightened her day and made her eagerly anticipate every moment in life.

"Yes," she said with the same enthusiasm, proceeding to explain the details of the player.

"Oh, so he's the guild leader of The Father. How interesting... And to think a holy guild would commit such a heinous act as stealing, I never imagined that," Lucian commented, the same grin on his face, but now with a fire of revenge burning in his eyes.

"That's not all," Suzune added as she took Lucian's hand and typed on the tablet, revealing an image of a 13-year-old child. The child appeared overweight and looked half-asleep, on the verge of tears.

"What, who is this kid?" Lucian inquired, taking the tablet from Suzune's hand and examining the image.

"Man, he's got a face that only a mother could love," Lucian remarked with a smirk, his lips twitching as he gazed at the young man's rather unattractive face.

"He is the GreatPope69," Suzune explained as she scrolled the screen on Lucian's hand, revealing all of the information about the boy, including his IP, real name, age, educational status, parents' names, nationality, and other pertinent details.

"Oh, so you're telling me it's been a 13-year-old kid trolling me all this time?" Lucian asked, his veins popping on his forehead. Normally, he wouldn't get so angry at a troll, being one himself, but learning that one of his most despised trolls was a mere 13-year-old child left him feeling even more frustrated and enraged.

The GreatPope69 had been a player who trolled Lucian incessantly, using various methods. In fact, he trolled many players, including all of Nine's Own Goal. Because of Touch Me's influence, no one dared to confront the player, given that he was the guild leader of The Father, one of the highest-ranking guilds. And now, it turned out that he was the one responsible for the theft of Lucian's item, and, to top it off, he was a 13-year-old kid. It was only natural for Lucian to be consumed by anger.

"What are you getting angry at?" Suzune laughed as she saw the twitching face of Lucian, who looked as if he'd just swallowed a bug. He'd recently turned 22, and it was understandable for him to become annoyed after being mocked by a kid more than a decade his junior.

"What's so funny?" Lucian appeared slightly annoyed at Suzune's laughter which seems to continue. He turned off the TV and gently pinned her on the couch, inadvertently making her more exposed and revealing her panties as her t-shirt slipped up. She usually wears an oversized t-shirt for comfort since only Lucian and the other girls were allowed in the room, and Suzune rarely left it. However, she quickly became embarrassed, not wanting Lucian to see her in an awkward situation.

"Wah! What are you doing!" Suzune exclaimed with a red face as she tried to cover her legs, but before she could do so, Lucian held her hands and lifted them up. This left her unable to use her hands, locking her in place.

"I've already seen everything. There's nothing left. Why are you getting so embarrassed now? Oh, that's right. I forgot I had to give you your rewards." Lucian smiled, his usual grin covering his face as his eyes locked onto Suzune's lips. Her eyes became blurry and her face became more and more red, and her breathing grew more labored.

"Allow me to bestow your well-deserved reward, my dear Suzune," Lucian whispered, leaning closer to her ear, sending a gentle shiver down her spine as his breath caressed her ear. Her vision blurred as Lucian's lips drew nearer to her own.

Just as their lips were on the brink of touching, and Suzune was on the verge of reaching a blissful climax, a cheerful voice, which in at this moment felt strangely demonic to her, echoed from the hallway leading to the living room.

"We're back!" A voice, both cheerful and cute, reverberated through the exit hall, interrupting the moment.

"I'm back, Master," followed a monotonous voice, a stark contrast to the cheerful tone from before.

"Come on, Mei-chan, at least you can greet your Master more cheerfully," Mizuki suggested, and their footsteps echoed through the house as they approached the main hall. Just as Suzune was on the cusp of receiving her reward, Lucian pulled back, his body and face retreating as he softly whispered.

"Forget about it. No rewards for you." With those words, he left the living room, heading straight to his room while taking the tablet with him, ready to track down the brat who had been messing around with him all this time.

Suzune, still reclining on the couch, gritted her teeth and muttered in a low voice.

"Catblockers!" she exclaimed, expressing her frustration at not getting what she wanted.

She got up from her place, determined to get properly dressed and focus on her work since she had clearings to do. Recently, the game's servers had seen an influx of players. Additionally, several guild alliances were forming in the hopes of surpassing the massive 2ch Guild Alliance. This huge alliance had gained prominence and had attempted to sabotage many players and their items. Consequently, many players had requested the removal of this guild alliance. A meeting was scheduled to address this issue, and Suzune was a part of it. As one of the main officials in the game, her decisions held considerable weight.

****

When you think of time as an unceasing river, forever flowing at a constant pace, it becomes evident how insignificant one can feel in the face of this relentless current, which cannot be halted nor slowed, unless you resort to magic – but that's a topic for the 'New World'.

Seven years... It has been over seven years since the game Yggdrasil was first released, a game that took Japan by storm upon its release, and it currently stands at the peak of its popularity.

Every day, hundreds of thousands of players log in, engaging in constant gameplay, grinding, and trying to reach the pinnacle of this game, which has been gaining even more popularity recently. It's becoming a global phenomenon, extending its influence overseas too.

Today, in Yggdrasil, a unique event was going on. No, it wasn't a typical in-game event organized by the developers; instead, it was an event initiated and created by the players themselves.

It was midnight, a time when servers were typically less active due to the late hour. However, on this occasion, the servers were overflowing, to the extent that their activity exceeded even the most bustling times during the day.

A big event was unfolding, and the entire server was growing progressively more active as the major invasion drew near.

When Yggdrasil began its journey towards becoming a mainstream sensation, a collective of players, or to be more precise, numerous guilds, ranging in the rankings from 70 to 300, joined forces to establish an alliance. Their intention was to model their alliance after the 2Ch alliance, which continued to increase in numbers with each passing day, amassing nearly 2,807 members at the moment.

The eight guilds within the former alliance exclusively consisted of humanoid and demi-humanoid members. Their perception of heteromorphs was akin to the antagonists within the game, thinking of them as the embodiment of all evil in the game.

This guild alliance trying to mirror the 2Ch alliance, was composed of eight guilds. These were:

Strawberry Shorts: Ranked - 231

AAA: Ranked - 174

Lol Cows of Yggdrasil: Ranked - 286

Bad Luck : Ranked - 111

Thot Slayers : Ranked - 98

Mercenary Monks : Ranked - 105

Nyarulolithotops: Ranked - 89

Star Busters: Ranked - 75

The leadership of this alliance rested in the hands of the Star Busters guild, the highest-ranked at 75 among its members. Originally, this guild was founded with a singular purpose: to retrieve their stolen World Item from the 2Ch alliance. However, the incredible growth of the 2Ch alliance was staggering, and they found themselves unable to reclaim their item. As a result, they formed an alliance with lower-ranked guilds in the hopes of realizing this goal.

But today, the alliance's objective shifted suddenly. They made a collective decision to utilize the alliance to launch an invasion on the guild base of another powerful guild. The leader of the eight-guild alliance had received insider information regarding the whereabouts of the Ainz Ooal Gown's base.

Ainz Ooal Gown, a guild that currently held a position in the top 20 rankings, was also one that every heteromorph player aspired to join. Yet, due to the guild's highly secretive and selective nature, no new players had been admitted in years, leaving their member count at a constant 41, a stark contrast to other guilds with memberships soaring up to 100. Nevertheless, their guild maintained its high rank, thanks to the unparalleled skills of their players in their respective fields.

Today, the eight-guild alliance had made the huge decision to launch an invasion on the Great Tomb of Nazarick. This lair was known to be the dwelling place of Undead and, according to the majority of players in Yggdrasil, the most evil location within the game.

The motive behind invading Nazarick was relatively straightforward. They had their sights set on acquiring World Items, and they had credible information suggesting that Nazarick possessed more than five of these powerful world items. Although the eight-guild alliance initially desired to retrieve their own World Item from the 2Ch alliance, they were outnumbered and outmatched, rendering any such attempt futile. Hence, they turned their attention to another powerful guild with World Items, which was Nazarick.

The choice of Nazarick as the target was influenced by various factors. Firstly, Nazarick was an evil-aligned guild, embodying a demonic and evil aspect within the game. The players of the eight-guild alliance sought to gain notoriety and recognition; by conquering Nazarick, they aimed to be celebrated as heroes. Such an accomplishment could also substantially get their rankings up in the game.

Standing on the grounds of Helheim, where darkness reigned supreme, a player stood some distance from a forest that led to a swamp, also known as the Grenbera Swamps, the very swamp that housed the base of Ainz Ooal Gown.

The player floated even farther from the forest that led to the swamps as they gazed at the view ahead.

On the dark, murky grounds, multiple other players dressed in clergy-like attire, complete with white-light armor and priestly outfits. They engaged in cheerful conversation. All of them were guild members belonging to the same guild as the floating player.

"What a bunch of losers," snorted the player floating above the others. He looked down at the gathering of over 1500 figures assembled above the murky Grenbara Swamps, with a disdainful look, thinking of them as nothing but mobs. He was a humanoid, to be precise, a Frost Elf, with bluish-gray skin. His small white beard and white hair framed his head, which was adorned by a mitre adorned with white, blue, and gold details. He wore a clergy-like robe that covered his entire body. As the guild master of The Father, one of the guilds forming The Trinity alliance, he was a key player in one of the most powerful alliances and a rival to the 2ch alliance.

Floating beside him was another player holding a massive staff, clad in gold and red armor adorned with numerous crosses. A crusader's helmet concealed his entire face.

He shared his thoughts, "I think this is, like, the perfect chance to score some loot from Ainz Ooal Gown. If they mess it up, we can totally swipe in and invade their guild base." He said it, all proud and edging closer to the Elf player.

"Yeah, man, 2ch alliance is getting way too cocky. They're full of themselves! If we can score another world item, our chances against them would be way better, and we might be able to take 'em down," declared the Elf player, floating around like a boss.

His staff-holding friend wondered, "Dude, how many peeps logged in after we sent out the invite?"

The blue Elf wasted no time and quickly checked his menu and screen, "A total of 653 are online now, 200 more said they're finishing up work and hopping on, and 322 are probably knocked out. So, we got 1,175 peeps ready to roll."

Concerned, the staff guy asked, "But seriously, Pope, you think we can handle the madness beyond Grenbara Swamps? Ainz Ooal Gown is like legendary, and that World Champion Touch Me is there!"

The Pope chuckled nervously, "I've got faith, dude. We can totally own this if we use [Star's Blessing on Mortals], like a boss." He looked at the massive group of players and NPCs in Grenbara Swamps as they began the march towards the base of Ainz Ooal Gown.

"Heheheheh, I can't wait to loot Ainz Ooal Gown," Pope said, laughing like a maniac and trying to appear menacing. He added an evil smiley emoji to his words.

"Let's move over. We should watch it from up close," he suggested as he and the other player immediately flew away, appearing near the huge mausoleum, which was the starting point of the raid.

"Hahahahahahah... Look at the Livestream. So many of them are streaming it live," he commented, watching a video in the menu of players exploring the burial tombs, the first floor of Nazarick.

"It'll be easy to clear the first few floors," the other player agreed.

"Yeah, these are the times I wish we still had [Atlas], but too bad, we needed to exchange it for other world items," he added with a disappointed sigh.

"By the way, have you watched the new episode of AI Dream SMP?!" Suddenly, the Pope said, moving over to the other player and grabbing his shoulders, his voice becoming much more childish.

"Yeah! I love it! He's so puppy coded. I hope someone sponsors the series, and they make it to television!" The other player responded in the same childish voice, filled with excitement. (This was a real interaction I saw.)

"I can't wait to watch the next epis--" Just as the other Elf player was about to continue, a small whisper landed on his ear.

"Found you, you fucking brat!" A sweet yet angry voice cut through, and before he could react, something hurtled towards him like a comet. It grabbed the Elf player by his face and sent him hurtling into the deep and endless nightmarish grooves at an incredible speed, nearly impossible to catch up to.

****

"What the hell, let me go! Release me, you coward! I'll kill you, you bitch!" The Elf player's furious words were drowned out as he struggled relentlessly to break free from the vice-like grip that held him, sending him hurtling through the forest. With each passing moment, his HP dwindled as he scraped against the unforgiving terrain.

After nine seconds of chaotically travelling through the forest, destroying the terrain along the way, they finally emerged into a clearing. The unknown player finally released his grip and hurled the Elf player forward, who promptly regained the control of his avatar mid-air. His expertise shone through as he immediately summoned his weapon, a floating golden cross. And with a determined gaze, he scanned the area in front of him, finally laying eyes on his mysterious assailant.

He was greeted by an extremely beautiful young man, the player was standing before him, adorned in noble garb with exquisite gold and silver garments. An earring adorned his left ear, while his eyes shone with a striking blood-red hue. His silver hair floated wildly with a green and red glow, and two black wings with neon swirling patterns emitted from his back, resembling burning flames.

"Wtf! Who are you? I'm one of the leaders of the Trinity alliance. Kill me, and we'll hunt you to the ends of the world," he said, adopting a defensive posture while attempting to threaten the other player. Dying wasn't a big concern, but losing his rare class was.

"Well well, you have quite the sharp tongue for a fourteen-year-old," Lucian remarked as his black wings vanished in a swirl of flames, and he landed on the ground with a thump.

"[Dimensional Cage]," Lucian immediately tapped on his console, casting a special 10th-tier spell. The space around them immediately began to distort and crack, as if separating them from their dimension, turning it into a mirror-like space.

"You're gonna pay for this. I suggest you back off before my guild mates arrive. I swear we'll hunt you down until you stop playing Yggdrasil," he threatened. He attempted to use his floating cross to cast a spell, but Lucian held his hand forward and snapped his fingers.

"[Adict of Azathoth: Arcane Nullification]"

The player's entire hotkey became greyed out, and he looked at Lucian with shock.

"You—what kind of world item did you use?" he asked, looking at all his spells that were now unusable. As a mage, and a holy mage at that, it would be impossible for him to even have a chance to escape if he couldn't access his spells.

"Tsk, tsk, tsk. You're so wrong. First and foremost, you need to answer my question," Lucian said as he immediately vanished, reappearing in front of the other player. He gripped the player's throat, lifting him into the air.

"Where are you hiding [Atlas]?" Lucian demanded. "Is it in the Trinity Alliance's base, or do you have it, Guild Leader of The Father?"

"What are you talking ab-", The pope player was about to respond, but before he could, Lucian slammed him to the ground and fixed his gaze on him. His eyes now emitted an eerie neon green glow.

"I know everything. A member of your guild cheated the payment system at Nines Own Goal's temporary base to steal [Atlas]. You're the guild leader of that guild, and I'm 90% certain the world item is in your possession. So, you'd better return [Atlas] to me, considering I was the one who initially found it," Lucian said in a single breath.

"What... are you? No way! LuciLuci?!" The player asked in shock, realization dawning on him.

"Bingo. I didn't know you were just a kid," Lucian replied as he once again held the player and glanced at the avatar representing the player's pope-like status in his guild. The gear he was wearing clearly signified his authority and was undoubtedly very high divine class armour.

"I had to go through a lot to get you to come out of your little rat hole," Lucian continued.

"What... do you mean?" the player asked, still struggling to break free from Lucian's grasp, but with no success.

He wouldn't typically leave the guild base, normally that is. The leader Pope of the Father Guild, and one of the prominent leaders of Trinity, was exceedingly secretive and preferred to remain within his guild base, because he was afraid of losing his rare class, which he would lose as soon as he gets killed. Inside the base, he found convenience and the opportunity to flirt with many female alliance members, despite their evident lack of interest. Deprived of female attention from birth, except for his mother's care, he was clearly making an effort to connect with women. That was his usual routine.

But that wasn't all there was to him. He had a very high ego, he often trolled every and any player he could find, including World Champions. He tried to hole up in the guild and command from the inside because outside, many players including the world champions were hunting for him. He only came out today because he had heard of the invasion of Nazarick and a chance to get his hands on a potential World Item. And even then, he had an entire group of players with him, along with his friend, but the player before him snatched him away like a dog does a treat.

"You're like the worst mole I've ever had to track down," Lucian said, shaking his head. "I've been searching for seven months, but couldn't locate you. Yet, the moment there's an invasion and a chance for some loot, here you are. As expected from a greedy pope."

"You seem to enjoy role-playing, Mayano Hirotaka. I've come across your pictures on Twinstagram. Honestly, your real face is something I wouldn't want to see on my Twinsta feed, and I'm being generous," Lucian remarked as he casually threw the player back to the ground.

"I don't have [Atlas]!" the player shouted, angered by the insults. However, he was determined to avoid getting killed and attempted to prolong the conversation.

"How do you even know my real name?" He asked, growing perplexed as he heard his own real name escape lucians lips.

Lucian responded with a sly grin, "I know everything about you, including your IP address. I even know the secret you keep - using fake accounts to like and comment on your own posts." His laughter carried a mocking tone.

Anger welled up in the player, and he exclaimed, "You damned son of a bitch! Do you have any idea who my mother is? She works for Evans Corporation!" In his rage, he attempted to land a punch on Lucian's face, not considering his own lackluster physical stats.

Lucian's voice remained stern as he retorted, "My father owns Evans Corporation, you little brat!" With a powerful motion, he slammed the player back onto the ground, this time clutching the player's face.

In a menacing tone, Lucian said to him, "I'll end your Yggdrasil journey, and then I'll also claim your rare [Ametrine Pope] Job class." He clenched his hand and once more brought the player's head crashing down onto the murky, dark ground, cause a huge crater to form.

[-30]

"Wait, wait... don't do that! I don't have Atlas. I swear on my mom's life. I traded it for another world item," the player desperately spewed out as his HP neared rock bottom.

"I see... and what did you trade it for, and with whom?" Lucian inquired.

"[Star's Blessing on Mortals]. It's a useless world-class item, and I don't know the player I traded with. We used anonymous accounts," came the reply.

"And where is this world item now?" Lucian probed.

"It's in the Trinity base, but you won't be able to find it. Our treasury is unreachable," the player claimed.

"Oh, I will find it. Now, say goodbye," Lucian declared with a playful tone.

With a swift motion, he launched the player high into the air and, with a snap of his fingers, he casted a 10th-tier spell, summoning a blazing, flaming spear. The flaming spear streaked through the sky, homing in on the player and violently tearing him apart. In the wake of Lucian's flaming spell, the player's data disintegrated, and his avatar vanished without a trace.

"Goodbye," Lucian added, his voice resonating with playfulness and a hint of mocking laughter.

Lucian sighed with a hint of frustration. "To think I'd have to make such elaborate schemes to get a world item I know nothing about," he mumbled to himself. And with a sudden burst of green light, he disappeared, leaving the place in its former state. The spatial distortion dissipated, returning everything to normal.

As Lucian disappeared from the scene, the raid on Ainz Ooal Gown's base continued, and the results were nothing short of catastrophic.

However, this devastation wasn't felt on the side of Ainz Ooal Gown guild, but rather by the alliance of eight guilds that had dared to invade it's base. They met absolute annihilation, leaving not a single player or NPC alive.

The server echoed with shock and uproar as they received news of the complete obliteration. Over 1,500 players and NPCs perished, including more than 700 level 100 players and over 300 Mercenary NPCs. In this massacre, even lower-level players found themselves meeting their doom at the hands of a single guild base.

What made this event all the more shocking was that the attackers hadn't even penetrated to the deepest layers of the guild; their defeat happened on the 8th floor. It was a shocking turn of events that sent waves of disbelief throughout the Yggdrasil community.

*****

A few days have passed since the raid on Ainz Ooal Gown. Today, Lucian sat at the corner of an icy mountain cliff. His feet dangled over the precipice, swinging lightly as his attention was focused on a video playing before him on the game screen. The footage displayed a player attacking a blurred entity, only to be swiftly cut by a golden light, after which the screen returned to black.

"I didn't expect Ainz Ooal Gown's guild base to withstand that raid. I was honestly this close to coming to help you guys out. After all, it was my selfish prank," Lucian said as he turned around and looked at the floating angel, who was also fiddling with his game screen above the cliff.

"Nah, no! It's already as I said, 1500 is just rookie numbers; you would need more than that..." said the doll-like angelic player in a jittery manner. He floated with a small golden halo above his head, and his faceless black body looked as if it was decaying with no redeeming features standing out. He wore white robes with golden holy symbols.

"You're having trouble again?" Lucian asked, observing the player fiddling with his screen.

"Yeah, y-yeah, can't help it. It's been three years since I've seen you or talked to you," said the player, his voice sounding a little jittery and uncomfortable.

"Well, it's at least better than the first time we met. And you didn't have any trouble talking to me in the chat. Well, anyway, here's your reward," Lucian said as he held his hand forward and tapped on his inventory options, immediately summoning a large number of golden, shining crystalline blocks to the ground. They all emitted a brilliant golden glow, clearly peak-tier data crystals.

"There you go... 570 Peak Golem Construction Data Crystals - Type: Demon, Flame, Water, Earth, Lust, and Rune," Lucian explained as he retrieved another item from his inventory. He planned to throw it towards the floating angel who was inspecting his spoils, or should we say rewards, and returning them to his inventory.

This time, he held a red, flaming crystal that appeared different from the data crystals, resembling a piece of metal with a glowing red core that swirled in an eerie circle.

"Infernal Necronium!" The angelic player immediately flew near Lucian the moment his gaze landed on the red crystal-like metal. He eagerly took the item in his hand and started examining it, clearly excited.

"It's really Infernal Necronium!! Thanks, Lucian!" He expressed his gratitude while floating around in the sky near Lucian, his decaying body leaving black oozes behind him. A smiling emoji floated before his face.

"What are you even going to use it for? Create some Decaying Flame Hand? It's Infernal Metal, and of the Dead type at that," Lucian inquired, leaning against a solid mound of snow behind his back.

"No! I'm going to use it to create a golem! I've found the Amorosian Spherule necessary for the creation of my golem, along with Elder Exalt wood. All I needed was the Infernal Necronium for the core of the base. With these, I'll be able to start working on it. I'll also need some Overt Choler Dragon bones and the first heart of a Nephilim. I'm going to combine them to create the base, and then move on to the core, which will consist of the Amorosian Spherule. The initial processes will be completed through Metallic Transmutation-," the decaying angel rambled enthusiastically as he floated around Lucian, his demeanor far from the jittery one he had previously displayed.

"All you needed was a little push, and look at you, you're back to being your normal self, Luci★Fer," Lucian said, giggling. Luci★Fer immediately fell silent and halted in his flight.

"Lucian, you haven't changed. You still know how to change a conversation, don't you..." Luci★Fer replied with a smiling emoji floating before his face. His previous stuttering was gone, replaced by a mischievous tone.

"What do you expect from a perfect human?" Lucian retorted, his narcissistic tone clearly a joke, which Luci★Fer understood.

"Obviously, but now tell me, what was that?" Luci★Fer asked as he moved closer to Lucian with a serious expression.

"Well, I wanted to lure some rats out from their holes, and didn't you have fun? You were looking forward to it, right? I know you too well," Lucian replied, fully aware of Luci★Fer's love for fun and pranks, as well as his eagerness for the invasion to happen.

"You bet I did! The entire guild felt so alive when all those players were attacking us. They made it so enjoyable because we didn't even have to lift a finger, and they all perished. Hahahah," Luci★Fer chuckled, his voice filled with pride and a hint of mockery for the players who dared to attack their guild.

"Heheh, but you know they are just a bunch of weak, half-assed guilds combined. You won't be able to maintain the same confidence if the guild alliance attacking Ainz Ooal Gown were from the top 20," Lucian said, laughing and clearly trying to tease Luci★Fer a little.

"I don't know about that, bud. I wouldn't say that before seeing the 8th-floor hierarchy," Luci★Fer responded with a chuckle. Lucian nodded, respecting his friend's point of view, and got up from where he was sitting, moving to the edge of the cliff.

"You've got what you wanted, Luci★Fer. Until we meet again," Lucian said, giving his friend a wave with his right hand before he stepped backward, disappearing from the cliff's edge. With a whoosh, he began to descend from the cliff, which was one of the highest points in all of Yggdrasil, located at the center of Niflheim.

Lucian descended from the cliff, and the parting clouds allowed him to glimpse the mountain's peak as he fell backward. His long silver hair billowed wildly in the wind, and his eerie red eyes glowed amid Niflheim's dark, blizzard-like atmosphere. Lucian's gaze remained fixed on the mountaintop as he casted a spell during his descent.

"[Gate]."

A round, distorted purple space materialized further down along his fall. Lucian fell into this mysterious portal as it expanded to accommodate him, and he vanished within it. The purple space swiftly distorted and sealed itself, leaving only silence in its wake.

***

When you want time to slow down, it only seems to hasten its flow.

It has been a year... A year since the last meeting between Lucian and Luci★Fer. And the game Yggdrasil has started to lose some of its popularity. Once the top DMMO-RPG in Japan, it now ranked 10th, with a player base that had decreased by a staggering 30%. However, the more dedicated players still showered the game with their love, playing and enjoying it. Lucian was definitely one of them.

"Why would you change her settings, and how did you even do that? If you visited the guild, was it necessary to only talk with Chagama-san? Why wouldn't you visit the other members? Ulbert would've loved to see you," asked the player with a distorted squid-like face, a slimy, tentacled body, and eerie grey tentacles moving from his mouth.

"What are you talking about? I don't know anything. Fuhh, fuhhh..." Lucian tried to shrug it off and act ignorant, whistling as he shook his head and pretended to be innocent.

"Mah, it doesn't matter anyway," Tabula said as he leaned back in the white chair he was sitting on.

"I'm quitting Yggdrasil," he declared, his voice determined.

"What!?" Lucian asked, shocked, getting up and looking at Tabula with an exasperated expression that his avatar didn't show.

"Is it because I messed with your NPCs' settings?" Lucian asked, concerned and feeling guilty.

"Nah, nah, that's fine. Actually, she's better that way, now that I think about it," Tabula said as he used his long squid-like hands to retrieve a key-like object from his inventory.

"I actually got a job at the Evans Corporation," Tabula said, pride and a glimmer of hope evident in his voice.

"Finally, I can slack off a little," he said with a chuckle.

"My earlier job was a real pain in the ass, man..." Tabula continued to share various aspects of his life, just like he often did. After discovering that Lucian was still faithfully playing the game, they had conversations regularly, and Tabula even asked for help with some tasks, like creating occult type items, and even asking for advice in choosing classes for some work around classes for his NPCs.

"My coworker seems to really value me. She has a 15-year-old kid, but she's still quite attractive. I think I might have a shot with her. We even went to watch 'The King In Yellow III' just a few days ago," he said, reminiscing.

Suddenly, he glanced at the side of his vision and realized the time had flown by. He had been talking non-stop, completely losing track of time.

"Oh crap, I also have to meet with other guild members," Tabula exclaimed in shock as he promptly got up.

"I understand that. Have a good time at your last meeting. By the way, I heard that Nishikienrai and Warrior Takemikazuchi have also stopped playing the game. Have they left the guild or something?" Lucian asked, his curiosity piqued as he couldn't find them in Ainz Ooal Gown's guild associates.

Tabula nodded in response. "Yeah, they left their items in the treasury and deleted their avatars."

As Tabula casted the [Gate] spell, causing a distorted purple space to appear in front of him, he suggested, "If you have some time, we can chat on Twinsta. You already know my account." With that, he stepped into the purple space, which promptly closed behind him, vanishing along with him.

Lucian sighed as Tabula departed. "It's hard to see everyone leaving the game... How much worse can it get?" He mumbled as he leaned limply on the table.

Luci★Fer, one of his best friends, had also quit the game. He had found other interests and was moving on with his life. Many of the friends he had made in the game were following suit, including Erika or should he say by her real name, Asuna, who had been offline for months and hadn't returned.

"Life is monotonous..." Lucian grumbled as he brought up his menu, prepared to log out. With a simple tap on the logout option, his vision turned black. The sensation of having a physical body soon followed, and he opened his eyes to a room with a clean white ceiling and dim, gentle lights.

Sitting up from the reclining chair, he removed his headgear and took a moment to observe the other three VR setups in the room, barely used these days.

Afterward, he got up and left the VR room, walking down the hallway toward the main hall.

Approaching the main hall, he could already hear the voices and chatter of the girls.

"Stop it, Mizuki, your angry girlfriend voice is too funny." Suzune's laughter filled the room.

"Hahaha, I think my cute loli voice is way better, though. After all, even Lucian likes it," Mizuki added, laughing along.

"Master likes it because he has a penchant for every character you voice," Mei Mei's usual monotonous voice chimed in.

Lucian halted in his steps as he stood near the entrance of the living room, reminiscing about the countless cherished moments he had shared with these three individuals.

They were perhaps the closest people in his life. He had spent his entire life with Mei Mei, going back to their shared childhood. He had met her when she was just ten years old, and he might have been around seven, though the specifics were lost to his memory. Despite the hazy memories, what remained vivid was her unwavering care, even when she was so young. They had spent countless hours together, creating a deep connection between them.

Back then, Mei Mei received training from other maids in the household, but she always managed to find time to play with him. Lucian, ever eager to help her, often ended up causing more chaos than help, creating more mess. Despite this, Mei Mei had never raised her voice or scolded him for his antics. Every moment from their shared past danced before his mind's eye, brief yet cherished.

Mei Mei was a substantial part of his life, and he regarded her as the person closest to what one might consider a lover, even though Lucian couldn't truly grasp the concept of love. Perhaps because of some unknown condition, but his heart had never skipped a beat in a romantic sense. Nevertheless, he cherished Mei Mei deeply, even if he couldn't express it through words.

And then there was Suzune. When they first crossed paths, Suzune had played the role of an antagonist in Lucian's story, but this enmity didn't endure for long as Lucian and Suzune began collaborating. The bond he shared with Suzune was something truly special. She made efforts to help him, even while cursing him, and attempted to resist falling in love with him. It was an impossible task, but she persisted for a while. Suzune had the personality of a mischievous tsundere, always acting as if she didn't care for him, yet her heart invariably gave in, leading her to help him. Initially, she claimed not to care, but Lucian could tell that she was always looking out for him.

Lucian could still vividly recall Suzune's blissful moans, which seemed to reverberate in his memory despite it being her first time. Their relationship was undeniably complex, but it was something that Lucian cherished just as much as his relationship with Mei Mei.

As for the last one, Mizuki – when Lucian met her in the game of Yggdrasil, just like with Suzune – Lucian honestly wasn't one to care much about those he encountered in the virtual world. His innate pride and self-assured nature kept him from being overly concerned with what others thought of him. However, the members of Nine's Own Goal were a notable exception; Lucian held them in high regard. He had spent a lot of time with them and thoroughly enjoyed every moment of it.

Mizuki, or rather, Bukubukuchagama in the game, was undoubtedly his favorite member. Her affection for him was quite evident, even to a toddler. Lucian was well aware of her feelings, but he chose to ignore them, valuing her friendship as he would with any other close friend. Her kind and cheerful personality often mirrored his own, providing comfort during moments of despondency. While their relationship held its complexities, Lucian firmly believed that it would evolve into something more. He treasured this connection just as much as the others, if not more.

"Lucian would be really angry if he saw you guys going through his doujin library," Mizuki said as she looked at the tablet in Suzune's hands. Suzune had managed to open a hidden doujin library on Lucian's tablet.

"Hahah, he wouldn't be able to find it if he logged in. I'm a programmer for a reason, girl," Suzune retorted with a laugh as both Mizuki and Suzune sat down on the sofa, continuing to browse through Lucian's doujin collection.

"Looks like you two are forgetting that I'm still here. Master would definitely not like it if he saw you two browsing through the bunch of incest doujins he has hidden in his doujin library," Mei Mei chimed in as she used a whisk to whip the cream in a bowl.

A nerve bulged on Lucian's forehead as he overheard their conversation.

"Wait! Mei-chan, have you already checked his library?" Mizuki asked, her surprise evident as she turned around to look at Mei Mei in the kitchen.

"Don't ask her. She's a fucking machine, and for some reason, she knows everything," Suzune said with a bitter expression, having learned that the hard way.

"It's only natural that, as a perfect maid, I know everything for the convenience of my master," Mei Mei replied as she skillfully whipped the cream and added chocolate. She did it slowly and carefully, matching the precision of a professional pastrey chef.

Lucian couldn't help but find this scene very entertaining. Even though they rarely played Yggdrasil now, except when Lucian asked them to, their interactions were just as good.

"Maybe life isn't that monotonous after all," Lucian muttered to himself in a voice only he could hear. But suddenly, Mei Mei sensed a disturbance in force and looked towards the entrance. Just then, Lucian walked in with his silent footsteps.

"Welcome back, Master," Mei Mei greeted him. Her facial expression remained mostly the same, but her lips curved slightly, a not-so-visible smile that always appeared when Lucian was around.

"Ah, hurry up, how do I og out?," Mizuki panicked as she tried to log out from the tab she had been holding and browsing.

"I'm taking a dip," Suzune announced as she rushed towards Lucian to hug him.

"Wait, help me out, Suzu-chan," Mizuki looked like a frightened cat as she accidentally turned to Lucian, who was talking to Mei Mei and Suzune.

"Let me help you," Lucian said with a devilish smile as he approached Mizuki, knowing exactly what she was up to.

Another moment that would be etched in everyone's memory was about to be created, just like every day. It was these days that humans treasured.

But what about a vampire? What about a god? What about a supreme being? Would these moments still be just as valuable if they were immortal gods?

________________________________________________________

Firstly, I sincerely apologize for leaving you all hanging. I was dealing with some family issues and underlying health concerns that made writing impossible. Thankfully, things are looking up now, at least better than before, and I've finally resumed writing.

Once again, I genuinely apologize to all of you. (I truly am deeply sorry.)

To all of you who are still subscribed to my Patreon, thank you very much.

If my writing feels stiff or you find any grammar mistakes, please bear with me. I'll improve again.

Also, I'll be releasing only one chapter a week until I'm fully recovered.

Once again, Thank you very much for reading.

The next chapter would mark the beginning of a New World.