Prologue II

It had been a year since Raizel received the new racial class, and he spent most of the time leveling it up to its maximum level while also debating about what job classes he should choose.

The racial class integrated most of the skills from his prior racial classes, consolidating them into a single ability or enhancing their capabilities.

However, the Vampiric Mage racial class did not have its skills integrated, and specific skills from the True Vampire racial were also omitted.

In addition to the racial class, he finished a quest requiring him to protect a town for 15 in-game days, which awarded him the Noble racial class, and after months of non-stop grinding, he was able to get his dream racial classes, which included;

...

Origin Vampire (5), Noble (15), Noble Lord (10), Noblesse (5)

...

Surprisingly, most skills were magic-inclined, meaning they were unique spells rather than skills. What's special about them was that they didn't have a tier assigned to them, meaning they could affect other Players with high-tier magical attack nullification.

Raizel could activate these skills multiple times within a specific timeframe, though most consumed significant amounts of MP. Fortunately, particular skills also granted him the ability to acquire warrior-based skills.

One noteworthy skill in this regard was the Soul Weapon skill, accessible after reaching level 10 in the Noble Lord racial class. This skill allowed Raizel to designate a specific weapon as his soul weapon, ensuring that the weapon wouldn't be dropped even if he were killed.

With all that said, Raizel's primary limitation revolved around his MP pool. In an ideal scenario, he would have opted for mage-type job classes and allocated all his stat points to Mag. Atk. and MP stats.

However, this wasn't feasible due to his pursuit of a mixed-build approach. Opting for a mage-centric specialization would cause his other stats, such as Phy. Atk., to fall behind. Consequently, this imbalance would hinder him from fully maximizing the efficiency of the warrior-type skills he aimed to acquire.

'I need to find a way to buff my MP without pumping all my stats points into it.'

"YEEEEEESSSSSSSS! I GOT IT FIRST TRY!"

Raizel's contemplation was abruptly interrupted by a booming voice. He stood in the clan's meeting hall, a space adorned with a central table surrounded by 25 seats. 

The hall exuded elegance, featuring a stunning glass chandelier, a rich red carpet underfoot, marble accents gracing the walls, and various items seemingly suspended in the recessed wall compartments.

He turned his head toward a group of Players seated on the seats at the far end of the table. He saw an Elder Lich in an expensive gown, a Nephilim with massive red hands, and a birdman with golden yellow feathers.

"Congratulations, Yamaiko-san," The elder lich congratulated the Nephilim by sending a partying emoji.

"Momo-kun, how often have I told you not to call me that? Just call me Yamaiko as everybody else."

"Hahahaha," The elder lich nervously laughed and didn't answer.

Intrigued by the commotion, Raizel moved toward the group.

"Yo yo, what have you so worked up, Yamaiko-chan?"

This brought the entire group's attention to him.

"Rai-kun, I got it! I won the Shooting Star on my first try! Can you believe it?"

Raizel was shocked because the odds of winning it on the first try were millions to one.

"That's... lucky."

"It's beyond lucky; Momo-kun here spent most of his end-year bonus and has yet to win it once. I feel bad for him," Yamaiko, the Nephilim, replied in the same friendly tone while she sent a sad emoji.

"How many tries have you left, Momo?" Raizel asked Momonga, the elder lich.

"Not many; I can only do this 5 more times. Wish me luck, Rai-san."

Saying this, he again began spending his money on Gacha. Yggdrasil released this feature about a year ago; here, Players could spend real-life money to win in-game prizes, which included items, materials, classes, etc.

Some of these prizes were OP, like the {The Ring of Shooting Star}. It allowed its user to sacrifice their EXP in exchange for wishes. The greater the amount of EXP sacrificed, the greater the wishes would be.

'Maybe I could use this to get some OP classes.'

Raizel hadn't spent much money on the Gacha; however, money wasn't his concern at this point. 

'Yes, I would die in a few years. Better spend all my money in a game rather than leaving it for those hungry bastards.'

~Flashback~

Raizel stood in a plain biome with knee-length grass, a clear blue sky, and a distant forest. A gentle breeze was blowing, ruffling his clothes. He wore a simple t-shirt and shorts, and his skin didn't look pale; on the contrary, it had a healthy glow.

Opposite him stood an elderly man with ashen-grey hair, a wrinkly face, and a warm look on his face. He wore a traditional doctor's robe. His name was Katsuro Suzuki, the doctor responsible for Raizel's treatment.

They were both standing in Raizel's Virtual Space. They both remained silent for a while before Raizel decided to break the silence.

"How have you been, doc?"

"I'm good; how about you, Yuki?" Katsuro spoke in a gentle, fatherly tone.

"Oh, you know. Just gaming, not that I could do anything else." 

Raizel replied with a sad undertone. Although he had accepted his disability, he still longed for the ability to walk around, the ability to eat food, etc.

In his current state, he was injected with the nutritional serum that fulfilled his body's sustenance requirements.

Katsuro was acutely aware of Yuki's thought process and spoke.

"~Sigh~ I wish I could've helped. Back then, if your cousin hadn't stopped me, maybe you would still have some movement capability."

"Let's not dwell on the past. I am alive because you took care of me. If I was left to those bastards, they would've injected poison into my medicines and killed me."

Even though Yuki's parents died in an accident, it was a ploy done by his uncle, who coveted the wealth of Yuki's father. He was also supposed to die the day his parents died, but miraculously he survived. 

This threw a hinge into his uncle's ploy. His uncle and cousin- the son of Yuki's uncle- tried their hardest to stall for time so that Yuki could die. However, because of Katsuro Suzuki's intervention- who was a close friend of Yuki's father- he survived.

After his life was out of danger, Katsuro took the responsibility of looking after him. From then on, Yuki stayed in the hospital under security; even relatives were not allowed to meet him alone. Katsuro took this step because he knew about Yuki's uncle's plans.

"Well, the past is in the past. Your uncle contacted me yesterday; he wanted to throw a birthday party in your room." 

"Right, so you told them off, right?"

"Yes, I did. I just wanted to tell you he might contact you in the Virtual Space for a virtual party."

Raizel was shocked; even though his uncle had been desperate for money before, this desperation was new. In previous years, he never tried to throw a birthday party before.

'What is that man thinking now.'

He contemplated this but was unable to reach a conclusion. In the end, he decided to ask Katsuro.

"Do you know why they are trying to throw a party?"

"I do have a suspicion, but I don't know for sure. It has to do with his daughter; she recently came back after her graduation. You can guess the rest."

Their desperation stemmed from the dire economic situation plaguing the country. They relied on Yuki's father's wealth to sustain their extravagant lifestyle. Despite Yuki's uncle having sufficient funds for a modest living, human nature knows no bounds when it comes to envy and greed.

"Well, I'll be damned."

After this short conversation, silence returned, and neither spoke before Raizel decided to break the silence.

"So, was that all? Or do you have something else to discuss, doc?"

With a heavy sigh, Katsuro replied.

"I know you don't like to beat around the bush, so I'll be frank."

He continued while looking Raizel dead in the eyes.

"Yuki, you need to stop gaming 24/7. It is destroying your brain."

Silence returned before Raizel replied after a bit of time.

"So? What do you want me to do then? It's not like I can take off NNI and walk around."

"I understand, but you are playing games 24/7, which is way longer than the recommended time. If you continue at that pace, there is a high chance your mind will collapse."

Instead of freaking out, Raizel was silent.

'That's for the best. I am already sick of this life.'

"How long, doc? How long till my mind collapses?"

Katsuro was shocked at his manner of speaking, which was calm and collected, with a hint of resignation.

"How can you behave like this?!"

"What am I supposed to do then? I can't just stare at the room's ceiling for 16 hours a day. I'll be blunt with you, doc. I don't like it. I don't like how I am living. If gaming collapses my mind, then so be it; at least I would be alleviated of this pathetic life- where I can't even move my body."

His manner of speaking was in direct contrast to the ever-energetic persona he had built in the different games, especially in Yggdrasil, where he had many people he called friends.

He had constructed a false persona of a cheerful and energetic young man to divert his mind from his medical condition. However, this facade would sometimes shatter, revealing his despondent personality.

"You mustn't speak in that manner!" Katsuro lashed out at him.

"Then how am I supposed to speak." He retorted.

"You don't know how it feels to be tied down to a bed- where you can't even move."

"~Sigh~ There isn't anything I can do to change your mind? There are some solutions that may give you the ability to walk, but they are still prototypes. If you stop gaming 24/7- and I am not saying you need to stop it entirely- you might be able to walk in a few years. Isn't that what you want?"

"Doc, I respect you more than anyone. But, I can't, I can't do this. As you said, all the solutions are prototypes. I have many friends online, and interacting with them helps me forget my grim condition. If it kills me, so be it."

~Flashback Ends~

 "Rai-san? You there? Are you ok?"

Raizel was taken out of his thoughts by Yamaiko.

"Yeah, I'm fine. I was just thinking about whether I should also try out this Gacha."

Saying this, Raizel opened his console and went to the Gacha section. Once there, the console showed a large wheel with many portions. Each of them was labeled with different metal names.

'Hmm, so first it chooses a rarity, then a type of reward, and then a reward of that type and rarity. Let's try doing 50 spins first.'

Raizel selected the number of tries and paid the appropriate amount.

'This is so slow!'

Each try took 10 seconds to complete; not wanting to wait here forever, he chose to skip to the end and look at his rewards.

'So 25 out of 50 are trash items, 10 are elixirs, 5 are gold rewards, 3 are single-use items, and 7 are low-quality Data Crystals.'

He contemplated while inspecting his rewards. The elixirs were useless to him because he was an undead, and elixirs healed using positive energy. He still decided to keep them for his friends.

"Man, this is a scam."

Raizel spoke, and Momonga and Peroroncino nodded.

"Well, I am also not stopping until I also get the ring," Raizel decided to do 100 spins.

After a few more 100 tries, Raizel finally won {The Ring of Shooting Star}. Despite its rarity and effect, its appearance was simple: a silver ring with no decorations; engraved upon it were three shooting stars that emitted a silver light.

"So, what are you wishing for?" Peroroncino asked Raizel. They were still in the meeting hall.

"Well, it depends on what wishes I get."

{The Ring of Shooting Star} invoked a super-tier spell known as <Wish Upon a Star>. Super-tier spells were even higher than 10th-tier spells, and although they were considered spells, they were more like skills because they didn't cost any MP.

However, their user couldn't activate them again until their cooldown was over. The ring, however, allowed its user to cast 3 instances of <Wish Upon a Star> with no cooldown, after which it would vanish.

Every time the spell was used, its user had to sacrifice their EXP. Then, the user could select from a list of available wishes, which were random every time.

Raizel used the ring, and a massive blue circle manifested under him. Once prompted to specify how much EXP he wanted to sacrifice, he chose to sacrifice 5 levels worth of EXP.

'This better be worth it.'

After the spell's activation was over, Raizel was presented with 10 different wishes.

[

1. Increase the maximum number of learnable spells to 500.

2. Unlock super-tier magic <Yog-Sothoth's Domain>.

3. Increase Karma value by 100.

4. Decrease Karma value by 100.

5. Unlock the Agility Buff Aura Technique.

6. ....

7. ....

8. ....

9. Grant job class Martial Mage.

10. Unlock the 10th-tier spell <Dracula's Blessings>.

]

'The only ones worth considering are options 1, 2, 5, and 9. The rest don't pique my interest.'

After much contemplation, he decided to go with option 2. 

"So, what you get?"

"I just unlocked a super-tier spell." 

Raizel replied while sending a smirking emoji.

"What!"

The whole meeting room erupted into chaos. Typically, Players needed to complete quests to unlock super-tier spells, and at this point in time, only a few quests were known. Not to mention, a Player was required to have a magic-focused build, and their level should be higher than 95. So, winning a new super-tier spell was a huge deal.

"What does it do, Rai-san?" Momonga asked.

"Well, it creates a domain around the user, in which the time spells of the enemy are negated while the caster's and their party's ones are enhanced, even affecting those who have countermeasures."

Everyone was shocked yet again. Time spells were very potent and could guarantee someone's victory; however, after level 70, most Players had countermeasures against time spells.

After his friends were calmed, Raizel used the ring again and sacrificed 5 more levels. This time, the available wishes were different.

From 10 available wishes, Raizel increased his maximum learnable spells to 600. Typically, a level 100 Player could only learn 300 spells; however, some exceptions, like Momonga, could use the Player's corpses to increase the number. He also had a skill that increased the number to 400.

"I will save the last use for later."

Saying this, Raizel threw the ring into his Item Box.

"Now, why don't you try it, Yamaiko-chan."

"Nope! I will save it for later."

"Alright, so are you guys ready for the raid?" Raizel asked the group. They had gathered here to go on a raid; they needed some materials for their gear.

"Yeah, we are just waiting for Touch-san."

"Now that you mentioned it, he hasn't been online much. The last time I saw him was 5 days ago." 

~Time Skip~

Raizel was standing in the guild's new meeting hall. It had been a year since the original Nine's Own Goal was dissolved, and a new guild called Ainz Oola Gown was formed.

The reason for dissolving the clan was a little dispute between Ulbert and Touch-Me. The details were simple: due to Touch's self-righteous personality, he had lashed out at one of the clan members, who was a close friend of Ulbert.

Due to this, that member deleted his account and stopped playing Yggdrasil altogether. This has soured the mood of the clan. After minor disputes among its members, Touch- as the clan leader- decided to dissolve it and form a new guild, Ainz Ooal Gown, and Momonga was chosen as the new leader.

After creating the new guild, Nishikienrai mentioned a dungeon that could be used as the new guild base. It was called The Great Underground Tomb of Nazarick in Helheim. Because the last clan base was cramped, the new guild's unanimous decision was to challenge the dungeon. 

The dungeon had multiple floors with mini-bosses, while the last floor had the final boss. The guild was able to conquer the dungeon on the first try and was awarded a World Item called {The Throne of Kings} due to this achievement.

'Finally, after searching for nearly a year, I found it.'

Raizel mused while observing the gauntlets on both his hands. The left gauntlet had an ominous appearance resembling a demon's hand. It appeared crafted from a dark metal adorned with twisted thorns, and sharp points adorned its fingertips.

In contrast, the right gauntlet resembled a maiden's pure, immaculate hand. It was white, with slender proportions adorned in elaborate gold embroidery, accentuating its exquisite beauty.

These gauntlets were part of the World Item known as {Avarice and Generosity}. It could absorb EXP. It could store it for later use whenever the wielder was ready to consume the EXP.

This was one of the best ways for a Player to lose levels without dying. When a Player was killed, they would lose 5 levels and one random item.

Raizel had already spent quite a bit of time filling this World Item with an absurd amount of EXP, all in preparation for this moment. 

Underneath the World Item, he wore 2 {Rings of Shooting Star}, one on either hand. During the year, he had spent an absurd amount of money on Gacha and won 6 such rings.

He planned to use all of them, hoping to find one wish he needed. According to some leaked information, the wish he needed did exist. However, it was hard to get that in the available list.

"Let's get started, {Ring of Shooting Star} activate."

A blue circle manifested under him, and he chose to sacrifice 10 levels worth of EXP- which was stored in the World Item.

After the spell's activation was over, Raizel was presented with 10 different wishes.

'Trash, every single one of these is trash.'

Raizel vented.

'However, I have to choose one wish.'

After contemplating the wishes, he chose an item that would allow him to combine the effects of two spells lower than the 6th-tier.

"Again, {Ring of Shooting Star} activate."

After 2 more trash runs, he got one of the wishes he hoped for. It allowed him to put an absurd amount of Data Crystals into a type of item. This meant Raizel could put excessive Data Crystals into jewelry-type items.

The greater the amount of Data Crystals used to make an item, the better it would be. However, every item had a limit on how many Data Crystals could be used. This wish basically nullified this limit.

However, this wish had some shortcomings, like when a type of item was selected, it couldn't be changed; when this wish was chosen, the Player wouldn't get this wish again; when crafting an item, the Player would need 10 times more materials.

However, despite these shortcomings, Raizel still chose it but didn't choose a type of item.

"Let's move on," He continued activating the ring in search of his next wish.

After 3 more tries, he got the next wish.

"Finally!"

Regarding equipment in Yggdrasil, Players could equip magic items in various slots, including the head, face, body, three pieces of jewelry other than rings, underclothing, arms, hands, left and right rings, waist, legs, and feet. Players were limited to one ring per hand.

Essentially, he desired an additional equipment slot. After making the wish, he designated each wrist as a usable slot. However, since he was the only player with this slot, blacksmiths couldn't craft items meant for wrists because, for other players, that slot didn't exist.

Moving forward, he required a blueprint for the newly created item type. He could obtain it through another wish or embark on a quest to find one. Following the recent wish, he could acquire a blueprint for the new item type from monster drops or loot.

However, because he didn't know the drop rates of such a blueprint, he decided to gamble and use the remaining rings to get one.

After 5 runs, he finally won the blueprint for the new item type called wristband.

'Finally! Now I only need some materials and give them to Amanomahitotsu to create it.'

He heaved a relieved sigh and moved teleported outside the tomb to grind and get some materials for the new item. Because he wanted it to be of the highest item class, Divine Class, he needed a lot of high-quality materials.

~Time Skip~

Raizel was sitting on one of the seats of the Colosseum, which was situated on the 6th floor of the tomb of Nazarick. It was a Roman-style Colosseum where guild members engaged in friendly spars.

A few months had passed since he acquired his new items, proudly adorning both wrists. These were a pair of wristbands crafted from black material, embellished with gold accents, and featuring a red gem as the centerpiece.

He had also used one of his wishes to increase the number of Data Crystals they could take and spent the last month trying to reach their upper limit.

'I could have done it with the rings, which would've been more practical, but I was apprehensive that the devs would have surely put some kind of restriction on me.'

Raizel's original plan was to increase the limit of ring-type items because there was an item that allowed Players to wear rings on all fingers.

However, because Yggdrasil was a balanced game, devs would have surely put some type of restriction on him because if he had 10 rings with an absurd limit for Data Crystals, they would be like a cheat item. 

Which would break the balance of the game. Because of this reason, he decided to go with the revised plan.

After 15 more minutes, the upper limit of the wristbands was reached.

"Nice, now let's see how much I can edit them!" Raizel was excited at this prospect and eagerly opened his console to check the details of the wristbands.

He was shocked after reading the details of the wristbands.

"Damn, son!"

According to the details, each wristband could accommodate up to 9 abilities. In comparison, Ainz Ooal Gown's guild weapon comprised several individual Divine Class artifacts, each limited to 5 abilities.

Artifacts were items with a set amount of data value, meaning the limit couldn't be increased using Data Crystals.

Despite utilizing high-quality materials and wishes for his wristbands, Ainz Ooal Gown's guild weapon surpassed them, primarily due to its status as a guild weapon. Guild weapons were designed to be of a higher tier and more potent than individual Divine Class items.

Some guild weapons even rivaled the power of World Items, with Ainz Ooal Gown's guild weapon serving as a notable example. While not classified as a World Item and lacking the ability to shield its wielder from the effects of other World Items, its power was comparable to some of the weaker World Items.

'Now, I need to think of the abilities I want to put in these bad boys,' Raizel contemplated while looking at his wrists. He had 18 free ability slots.

'Or maybe I should wait until my build is complete.'

Even though he was a level 100 Player, only his racial classes were to his liking. His job classes were temporary, and he sought more powerful classes.

'I have a few Shooting Star rings; I could use them to win some classes.'

He had already won some OP classes from the rings, but none were magic-inclined. Most were good for a warrior or someone pursuing the Light element.

Unfortunately, because he was a type of undead, he couldn't practice the Light element, so those classes were also useless to him. So, he gave them all to his friends on their birthdays. Even though he couldn't use them, his friends could use them for their NPCs. 

As one of the founding members of the clan and the guild, Raizel was allowed to create a single level 100 Floor Guardian, NPCs responsible for looking after an entire floor, or a few Area Guardians, NPCs responsible for looking after an area of the floor.

He still hadn't yet decided what he wanted to do. However, he was more inclined toward creating a Floor Guardian.

After a bit of contemplation, he decided to use the remaining rings of Shooting Star. He got up from his seat and teleported to the guild's treasury.

Because World Items were the pride and joy of the guild, they were safely stored in the treasury. Raizel needed the {Avarice and Generosity} for apparent reasons. 

After getting them, he teleported back to the Colosseum and started using the remaining rings. In total, he had 3 rings remaining and could cast the super-tier spell <Wish Upon A Star> every 50 hours.

The spell also had the same effect as the rings; the only detrimental thing was a long cooldown.

Raizel equipped the ring and started using it. The first 2 uses yielded trash wishes. However, the 3rd one had a few wishes that piqued his interest.

[

1. Reset Karma to zero.

2. ....

3. ....

4. ....

5. ....

6. Grant job class Warlock

7. Grant job class Cursed Wizard

8. ....

9. ....

10. ....

]

Raizel chose wish number 7 without hesitation because the job class Cursed Wizard was a cash shop exclusive class. And from what he had read about it, it allowed its user to amplify the effects of the spells by using negative energy.

And because he was an undead, he had a surplus amount of negative energy. It also gave him the ability to learn some rather unique spells.

'There goes my first ring.' He mused while equipping the second ring and continued. Fortunately, he got another wish on the subsequent use that granted him a job class. 

The job class this time was Arch Wizard, which Raizel selected immediately. However, the rest of the rings' uses didn't go favorably, and he didn't win any job classes worth mentioning. 

"~Sigh~"

He heaved a heavy sigh and stored the World Item in his Item Box before teleporting to the tomb's entrance. He had to replenish it because he had used a lot of EXP stored in the World Item.

'If only I had the Ouroboros, getting an OP class would've been easy.' 

Raizel knew about a World Item superior to the {Ring of Shooting Star}. It allowed its holder to contact the devs of Yggdrasil, and then the user could ask for anything they wanted.

Contemplating this, Raizel began his journey in the hellish landscape of Helheim.

~Scene Change~

Raizel and some guild members were seated around the round table in the guild meeting hall. It had been 10 years since the release of Yggdrasil, and the guild Ainz Ooal Gown had most of its members exiting the game.

Touch-Me left the game a few months back because of his job and other matters. Seeing the departure of his rival and guild mate, Ulbert also stopped playing.

Before signing off, he gave Raizel his World Item because, according to him, he wouldn't be able to spar with him. Warrior Takemikazuchi also stopped playing the game once his rival Touch-Me stopped.

Other than them, Luci★Fer, Peroroncino, Bukubukuchagama, Wish III, and many others also stopped playing. With this, the number of members fell from 41 to 20.

'Today, 3 more are leaving me.'

Motionless, Raizel observed as three other members handed over their gear. Following Momonga's departure from the game, the guild selected Raizel as their new leader, and the departing member entrusted him with their equipment.

Despite observing them through emotionless eyes, Yggdrasil couldn't replicate genuine expressions. His heart, however, was crumbling, consumed by a sense of despair.

'Even though they know of my condition, they are leaving me.'

"I am sorry, Rai-san. I wish I could have stayed with you, but..."

After a touching farewell, all the members except Raizel logged off, and he was left alone in the meeting hall. Once alone, he punched the table, and a zero appeared before him, indicating that the table took zero damage.

"CURSE THEM!"

He shouted and remained seated for a long time.

'No, I shouldn't blame them. I am the only one with free time on my hands. The rest have actual lives to lead.'

Reflecting on this, he stood up and teleported to the treasury to store his friends' gear. After completing the task, he teleported back to the meeting hall, where he lingered, gazing at the magnificent ceiling while reminiscing about the guild's adventures.

Several years ago, Nazarick faced an onslaught of 1,500 Players. Most were demi-humans and heteromorphs like Angels, making it one of the largest raids on a guild. Yet, he and his friends emerged victorious, defeating all invaders.

They eliminated the Players, looted their gear, and reset their characters to level 1. During the raid, Momonga employed a World Item that revived the Players inside the tomb after each defeat. Though the number of such Players was in the hundreds, he and his friends persistently triumphed, leading some to delete their accounts.

The story didn't conclude there. In retaliation, Ainz Ooal Gown rallied other major heteromorphic guilds and launched a raid on Asgard. Ulbert and Raizel unleashed their trump cards, annihilating tens of Players in a single attack. 

The United Guild Alliance dismantled prominent guilds like Trinity and World Searcher, looting their World Items and possessions in the process.

'Yes, that was the peak of our guild.'

He was feeling very sentimental.

'Maybe I should ask Doc to euthanasia me.'

His mind wasn't working correctly, but who could blame him. This wasn't the only game he had played where his friends left him. In fact, it was 4th one.

'My mind is not working correctly.'

He shook his head and teleported away from the hall; only he knew what was going through his head.

To be continued...