Chapter 44 : Gathering!

Year 2134, Yggdrasil, Helheim City, February.

3 years and 11 months until Yggdrasil shuts down.

It was now the beginning of February, Sunday. A very auspicious day. The World Champion 512 Tournament was decided to be held on the first Sunday of February.

And the nine winners of these tournaments held in each realm will advance onward to the true World Champion Tournament! The developers decided these nine players will be given another week to prepare, and it will officially start on the second Sunday of February.

At present, each main city of the nine realms that serves as trading and gathering hubs for players, could currently be seen with bustling activities. Players and npcs were doing business alike, and the players were trying to gather last minute items, equipment, skills, etc to make sure they were ready.

It was now one hour till noon, which was the starting hour of the tournament. Crowds upon crowds of players swarmed each of the nine main cities. Yet a certain scene soon took place that disturbed the rapid pace of players.

From the south gate, one player stood out in front from the endless stretch of wooden forests behind him. This one figure up front soon became three, and started to multiply backwards. That's because there were two lines of players walking behind player in front. If one counted the players closely, they totaled up to forty one people!

As for the player leading this group, he actually wasn't that tall, only sporting high about 5 foot 6 inches. Yet that didn't ruin his majestic demeanor. He walked calmly and slowly, causing the players behind him to match his speed.

The player in front would swerve his hips each step he took, like how he normally walked in the original story, befitting that of the future ruler of the Sorcerous Kingdom. This player was indeed none other than the current leader of the now famous Ainz Oowl Gown guild, Player Momonga!

He was dressed in his large black robe that had purple lining around his front, and golden lining on the hems that covered his arms. He was currently wielding a pitch black staff that had a shiny red gem floating at its tip. While it was not the Staff of Ainz Oowl Gown as it had not been created yet, it still appeared very powerful, worthy to be called a Divine Item.

Like Nao and the Rising Phoenix, Ainz Oowl Gown also started to do their own item hunts as their influence spread in Helheim, earning more Divine Items and other such goodies. A blood red orb could now be seen in in the bottom of Momonga's ribcage, located behind one singular bone shaped like a diamond.

Ainz Oowl Gown now have a couple of World Items in their possession too. This orb of Momonga's was also a World Item, granted to them after successfully raiding the Great Tomb of Nazarick and making it theirs, becoming the one Lv3000 base inside Helheim. They secured another World Item, Divine Items and other goodies during their item hunts after they claimed that base.

The name of this orb was never revealed in the original story, but if one had a close inspection, it was aptly named, Descend Into Darkness! A foreboding name for such a blood-red orb.

Momonga had also never taken it off ever since he read what this World Item did. It had a growth effect! Meaning as long as it was equipped, it would grow stronger over time, and that meant it also had its own Level function. It worked similarly to how players level, and it granted its wielder bonus stats. Perhaps this was one of Momonga's equipment that allowed him to reach such a high MP stat later on.

Not only that, it granted Momonga the ability to apply certain effectiveness to his attacks, like dealing bonus damage to dragons, woodland creatures, beastkin, humans etc, including angels.

It was also rumored that it had the ability to revive Momonga upon certain death, once at a cost of five levels. It did have a daily restriction but this itself was powerful. This was something to keep watch out for, and if Nao met Momonga in the tournament and saw this orb he would be in for a long fight.

But there was one thing about the orb that trumped all of its other abilities. It was extremely durable! To the point where even other World Items struggle breaking it!

In the New World, the later enemies Ainz fought like the Frost Dragons, those in the Holy War and in the all out war against the Re-Estize Kingdom, his enemies often thought this orb was Ainz's main weak point. That couldn't be farther from the truth. Descend Into Darkness was probably the most durable item to date among his equipment!

But with all that said, Ainz could be seen in his full glory, walking with the other members of the Ainz Oowl Gown Guild, the future 41 Supreme Beings of Nazarick.

Lots of players stared at the incoming group of people in shock while others let out a shocked face emote. Momonga did not stop his advance into the city either, the players were smart enough to move aside and allowed 41 players to continue advancing.

"Hey, that's THE Ainz Oowl Gown Guild, isn't it? That skeleton Magic Caster in front is their Guild Leader, Momonga!", one of players off to the side exclaimed with a shocked face emote.

"Just look at all of their equipment! Don't tell me his whole Guild is now Level 100!?", another player exclaimed in disbelief.

"That seems to be the case. It's good we never got on their bad side. Their fame has been increasing far and wide in our realm. It hadn't even been that long since the first player in our realm achieved Level 100 too! Who was the player that did that again?", another player questioned, unable to remember who the first person to achieve Level 100 in Helheim was. Of course this player was Nao, but during this last year he and his Guild has been slowly being forgotten over time. His name did appear once for conquering Hela's Castle, but even then the players started to forget him after that achievement. This effect was what Nao aimed for, and as a result, Ainz Oowl Gown is now taking the spotlight in Helheim.

Another moment didn't even pass before another player yelled out in excitement.

'Bah, forget about who did that. I bet these guys are here for the tournament! Don't tell me all forty one players are going to participate in it?"

"...If that's the case we may as well kiss our sorry asses goodbye right here and now."

"You're such a pessimist man. The tournament will have five hundred and twelve players partake in it. On top of that this is happening in the other realms too! I wonder how the selection will go?"

"Didn't the devs already say they put in an algorithm for that and selected the players already?"

"Did they? If that's the case, this tournament is pure rng ain't it?", one of the players asked the other player who asked that.

"That's how it should be. The devs can't favor one player over another. They have yet to explain the rules though."

Conversations spread like wildfire as Momonga and his Guild walked through one of the four main streets of Helheim City. Everyone was talking about the upcoming tournament. After all, it was set due in less than an hour.

Behind Momonga was his Guild, and the two players closest to him were Touch Me, and another long black haired Heteromorph. This player hid his face behind a golden mask in the shape if a beak, but perhaps that was their actual face? Not a single speck of skin could be seen either, what replaced it were white fluffy feathers. His hands and feet were in the shape of talons, hidden away inside golden gauntlet and leg guards. His gauntlets also had a singular blade curving outward from their center.

He wore a partial robe that draped downward around his legs, and golden plated greaves covered his waist. To top his look off, four orange-white wings protruded outward from his back. This player belonged to the Birdman Heteromorphic racial class, and he was in his final class for them, a Garuda!

That's right, this was none other than Peroroncino, Bukubukuchagama's little brother, and the creator of Shaltear Bloodfallen! A fancy bow could be seen hoisted over his back as well. This was the second of two World Items Momonga and his Guild successfully acquired. The infamous Houyi's Bow! He was proud to wear it on his back and didn't shy away.

Peroroncino actually met up with Momonga earlier than the other Supreme Beings, back when they were still Nine's Own Goal. That happened while he and another Supreme Being, Ulbert, who was the creator of Demiurge, were still part of the No Cash Item Alliance. That Alliance met an unfortunate end however, when Peroroncino decided to buy a cash item to customize his player avatar.

Yet thankfully Momonga still extended the two a welcome to join Ainz Oowl Gown after Nine's Own Goal was disbanded. Bukubukuchagama would have also been included as the 3rd, but she was already part of Nao's party who was bent on joining Nao's Guild.

He was one of few archers in Ainz Oowl Gown, and became the lucky winner to receive Houyi's Bow.

Moving back to present, Peroroncino led the right line of their Guild, while Touch Me led the left line. He felt giddy seeing player after player move aside to not obstruct their path. Touch Ne couldn't help but laugh seeing Peroroncino's avatar constantly shifting his body around to look at the ongoing scene.

"Haha, being in the spotlight is still a new feeling to you, right Peroroncino?", Touch Me asked with a smile emote.

"It is. It's normally my stupid sister who is in the spotlight."

"Mmm. You did day you had a sister. You're already a hardworking man despite being in college still. That's why I didn't hesitate to invite you into our Guild, since you fit both of our requirements already.", Momonga also said with a firm voice.

"Guild Leader Momonga?", Peroroncino responded back to him with a question mark.

"Ahhh, don't mind me, just relishing on the past a bit. Speaking of which, it's a shame we couldn't invite your sister."

"It's probably best you didn't Leader Momonga. Last I heard from her is she found a man and ran off with him. While I still find that difficult to believe, perhaps that bastard is a blessing in disguise for me. Now I can play all the eroge I want without my sister breathing down the back of my neck, hahaha!"

"...You shouldn't say something like that in public, is what would normally say, but didn't you find out recently that your sister voices eroge, besides popular anime?"

"Ugh, don't remind me of that. I was really looking forward to playing that one...But if you find out your own sister voices the main girl, it's such a turn off."

"Haha...", Momonga replied with a dry cough, forming a fist over his mouth. He then spoke out calmly to Peroroncino once more. "Enough about that. Did your sister ever say who she was seeing? Do they play Yggdrasil?"

As if Peroroncino remembered something, he let out a light bulb emote. He quickly nodded his head causing his wings to flutter a bit.

"Ah! Thank you for reminding me, Leader Momonga. My sister did indeed say that. Apparently he goes by the name Metatron in Yggdrasil. Why do I find that name familiar?"

"Eh?", Momonga replied with a report. He almost tripped over himself hearing him mention Metatron's name. Even Touch Me almost collapsed hearing the name. "Did you just say the guy your sister is seeing is a player named Metatron?", Momonga asked Peroroncino.

"Yes. Why? Do you know him?"

"Of course I know him. I don't know why he has fallen off the grid lately but he was in the limelight here in Helheim a couple years back. We even had a meeting together in the Guild Hall back then, though you joined up after that. You know the False Angel don't you?"

Hearing Momonga ask that, Peroroncino tilted his head a bit, letting out a surprised face emote.

"Are you shitting me? Are you telling me my sister is seeing THE False Angel?", he replied, letting out a rare curse. "Of course I know damn well who that guy is. He brought Helheim to peace during that PKing era."

"Hahaha, so you know him then. I was hoping to catch up with Metatron some time soon. Looks like your sister is indeed that amber slime we met back then. Such a twist of fate isn't it? Perhaps you two siblings will tie our Guilds together."

"Who knows. But if that's true at least the guy she is seeing isn't a wimp. Do you think he'll participate in the upcoming tournament?"

"He did mention that last time we met. But since the entry for this tournament is all luck, let's hope luck will be in his favor. Who knows even you might face him in battle too, Peroroncino."

"Hmm...", he replied back, letting out a curious look emote.

As their conversation happened between the three, it didn't take long for them to join the players in Helheim City's main plaza, where the giant screen stood floating overhead over the many run down buildings. It was a really dreadful picturesque scene to match that of a city of the dead. It made sense after all, since Helheim was literally Hell in Norse myth.

Meanwhile a similar scene could be seen happening in Alfheim City, the main hub for the Alfheim Realm. Yet this place was almost the opposite of Helheim City, it was full of life and vibrancy. Different types of trees and aqueducts laid out throughout the gorgeous buildings. The plaza even had a giant crystalline structure in its center surrounded by a giant fountain.

Way out in the far distance past the different colored forests and icy mountain ranges, one could see a beautiful golden palace near the clouds. Many attempted to reach this place but only one Guild managed to conquer it, and that was Rising Phoenix. This was the Asgardian Palace! Despite receiving notifications that the place was conquered, players still attempted to reach it for the challenge.

But what the players didn't know was that it was conquered by a Guild that consisted of all three class types, Heteromorphs, Humans and Demihumans!

The moment Nao's Guild stepped into the main city of Alfheim, it caused the players to erupt. They thought the city was about to be overrun by monsters at one of the four entrance points, but as soon as they saw there were Heteromorphs among the 18 players, they cursed Nao's guild for housing Inhumans. But it didn't take long for them to realize who Nao was, and that caused the eruption to become even greater.

The False Angel was back in action, and he was ready to partake in the World Champion 512 tournament! The last hour soon passed and everyone in the nine realms saw space distort near their giant floating screen, bringing out the same npc that announces every seasonal event in Yggdrasil. It was a cute violet little dragon that Nao found reminiscent of an npc in a certain female shield hero's VRMMO.

The little dragon npc soon started to speak out to all players in the nine realms, welcoming the start of the tournament!

A/N : Aht here. Here is the next chapter!

I fixed Peroroncino's name. there was indeed a missing N.

The battling starts next chapter! I may try to condense it, and Momonga won't be the only fight so look forward to it~