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His gaze first fell upon a book floating before the flag of **Ainz Ooal Gown**.
The book emitted a hazy light, appearing ancient and profoundly mysterious.
This was a World-Class Item!
World-Class Items were the most powerful artifacts in the entire game. Each World-Class Item possessed a unique ability.
Among the two hundred World-Class Items, the top twenty ranked ones were specially referred to as '**The Twenty**'.
'The Twenty' were so powerful they could severely disrupt game balance, even to the point of forcing the game developers to alter the game system.
Simply possessing a World-Class Item would instantly elevate a player's fame in Yggdrasil to unimaginable heights.
And this book floating before the guild flag was one such World-Class Item – specifically, the **Number One Ranked World-Class Item**.
Its name was 『Avatāra』. Theoretically, it belonged to the guild, but in practice, this World-Class Item belonged to an individual: the guild member 'Zarathustra'.
Thinking of this friend, **Momonga** once again fell into reminiscence.
Due to Momonga's personality, he got along well with all guild members.
Zarathustra could be said to be the most famous member within the guild, and perhaps even the most famous player in the entire game of Yggdrasil.
He was one of the initial nine members of the **Ainz Ooal Gown** guild, one of the founding pillars.
No one knew Zarathustra's real name.
No one knew what he did in real life, but guild members could tell he was likely a highly successful individual.
Though it felt bad to say this about a friend, in Momonga's eyes, Zarathustra was a very shrewd and calculating person.
Many of the guild's development strategies, even strategies for conquering dungeons, were formulated by him and **Touch Me**.
Moreover, Zarathustra also had good relationships with all guild members.
Whether it was the highly righteous **Touch Me**, or **Ulbert Alain Odle**, who had a strange obsession with 'evil', he could get along smoothly with everyone.
Of course, relatively speaking, Zarathustra was closer to Ulbert.
Initially, everyone had nominated him to be the guild leader, a proposal endorsed by all guild members, including Momonga.
Whether it was ability or relationships within the guild, Zarathustra could handle it better.
But managing the guild involved too many tedious tasks. Zarathustra used his dislike for handling such chores as an excuse to decline the suggestion.
Though, in the eyes of the guild members, he just wanted to slack off.
The reason Zarathustra was so famous in the game was that he was the undisputed World's Strongest, a title universally acknowledged by all players in Yggdrasil.
The Yggdrasil developers held an annual World Tournament. Zarathustra won the World Championship five times consecutively, starting from the very first tournament.
It was only after he found it boring and stopped participating that other world champions emerged.
Among all tournament participants, he was even nicknamed the 'Great Demon King'.
Like most games, getting stronger in Yggdrasil boiled down to just two paths: grinding (甘) and crafting (刻).
The only fairness existed in the official tournaments, where everyone had identical stats and equipment, competing purely on skill and technique.
Winning five consecutive World Championships under such conditions made Zarathustra's title of 'World's Strongest' truly well-deserved.
As a reward for his five consecutive victories, the game developers personally intervened.
After consulting with Zarathustra, the developers specially crafted this Number One Ranked World-Class Item for him – 『Avatāra』!
No one knew this World-Class Item's ability or specific function, not even the members of **Ainz Ooal Gown**.
After obtaining it, Zarathustra placed 『Avatāra』 in the Throne Room.
According to him, 『Avatāra』 would be the guild's final safeguard.
If players ever breached **Nazarick** and reached the Throne Room, this world's strongest artifact would surely turn the tide.
What exactly did the Number One Ranked World-Class Item do? What was its power?
Curiosity compelled Momonga to step closer to 『Avatāra』.
"Hmm, since today is the game's last day anyway, why not take a look at this item's description?"
Momonga extended his skeletal hand, hesitantly reaching towards 『Avatāra』.
Just as his fingertip was about to touch 『Avatāra』, Momonga froze.
He quickly shook his head, withdrawing his finger, and muttered to himself, "...No, this is an item Zarathustra obtained through untold hardship and effort."
"...It embodies the very essence of **Ainz Ooal Gown**."
"Even as the Guild Leader, even on the game's final day... I cannot betray the bonds of friendship!"
Holding onto this thought, Momonga gave up on touching the artifact.
Just as Momonga was murmuring to himself, a low yet cheerful male voice suddenly sounded behind him: "...It's been a long time, Momonga!"
Hearing that voice, Momonga stiffened. He swiftly turned around. Appearing before him was a demon of utterly terrifying aspect!
**Chapter 4 The Elder Demon**
A demon radiating infinite, sublime terror appeared within the Throne Room of **Ainz Ooal Gown**.
The Great Demon was draped in robes of breathtaking beauty, pitch-black and embroidered with intricate golden patterns that concealed its enigmatic form.
Momonga's race was 'Overlord of Death'; his appearance was that of a skeleton.
The Great Demon before him also had a humanoid shape, but it was completely inhuman.
Its body seemed formed of near-solid black flames – less a living creature, more an anthropomorphic manifestation of dark fire.
But this perfectly fit the 'heteromorphic races' favored by the members of **Ainz Ooal Gown**.
Momonga's mind instantly recalled the profile of this World's Strongest player.
As the 'Great Demon King' who won five consecutive world championships, besides receiving the Number One Ranked World-Class Item for his final victory, Zarathustra had also earned unique developer rewards for his earlier wins – such as a unique race and unique classes.
Momonga recalled Zarathustra's race was 'Elder Demon', and his classes were Demon God LV.10 and Humanity's Final Trial LV.10.
Though what exactly the 'Humanity's Final Trial' class entailed, Momonga had no idea.
True to its race name, many of Zarathustra's abilities were related to 'Aging'.
However, this power, while strong, had a flaw.
It was significantly less effective against Undead races. After all, dead things shouldn't age – that made sense.
Momonga, as an 'Overlord of Death', was a standard Undead race. Even so, Momonga didn't believe he stood any chance against Zarathustra in combat.
Mastering numerous 'Aging'-related abilities might make one assume he was a mage. However, Zarathustra was actually an extremely formidable warrior.
Or rather, he was proficient in both physical and magical combat. Setting aside group battles, in a one-on-one fight, there was absolutely no one in Yggdrasil who could defeat him.
The title of five-time consecutive world champion was no joke.
What was slightly strange was that Zarathustra's race was 'Elder Demon', but it wasn't classified as a Demon race; instead, it was categorized as Undead.
Guild members had jokingly speculated that perhaps the Yggdrasil system considered Zarathustra's abilities effective even on himself.
To prevent the embarrassing scenario of him dying from his own skill before killing his opponent, the system classified him as Undead.
**Orion Vesper** watched the dazed skeleton with a hint of helplessness and couldn't help but speak up:
"...Momonga, have you finally succumbed to senility? Is Alzheimer's hitting the young now? What are you thinking about over there?"
As Orion finished speaking, Momonga finally snapped out of it.
The skeleton, whose first impression was one of dread, now rubbed its bald skull, appearing rather simple-minded as it said, "...Ah, ah, sorry, sorry! I was lost in thought just now."
Hearing Orion's familiar voice and teasing words again gave Momonga a momentary illusion, as if he was back in the days when everyone in **Ainz Ooal Gown** was still around.
Back then, laughter and joy constantly filled **Nazarick**. Every day, everyone would quest together, level up together, and develop the guild together.
That period was also the happiest time of Momonga's life.
Only, such times would never come again.
However, Momonga also felt a bit guilty now. He didn't know if Orion had seen his earlier attempt to secretly reach for 『Avatāra』.
Orion didn't pay attention to Momonga's reaction at that moment. He *had* noticed Momonga's little action when he logged in, but he didn't particularly care.
Having known each other for nearly twelve years, Orion understood Momonga quite well.
Simply put, Momonga was a good-natured person, diligent and enduring, who placed immense value on relationships and loved to play the peacemaker.
It was precisely because of this personality that the members of **Ainz Ooal Gown** had elected him as Guild Leader.
Although initially, everyone had wanted Orion to be the leader, he found the position involved too many headaches and trivial matters to resolve.
Therefore, he declined and nominated the ever-diligent Momonga instead.
Orion's eyes, like crystallized black flames beneath his hood, scanned the surroundings. Everything in the Throne Room entered his vision.
As one of the founding pillars of **Ainz Ooal Gown**, having fought in this game for nearly twelve years, Orion felt no unfamiliarity with **Nazarick**.
He knew everything here intimately, as this Great Tomb had been built brick by brick by him and his guildmates.
His gaze swept around, passing over the **Ainz Ooal Gown** guild flag hanging prominently on the center of the north wall, over the forty-two unique flags representing the members encircling it.
It swept over the opulent carpet woven in gold and silver hues, over the towering Romanesque pillars lining the Throne Hall, over the dazzling chandelier hanging from the ceiling.
Then, Orion's gaze settled on a corner of the hall.
There stood a pure white, beautiful demoness.
She wore an exquisite white gown like silk, which hugged her voluptuous, curvaceous figure.
The demoness's features were delicate and soft, graced with a faint smile, resembling a Venus statue. Her lustrous, raven-black hair cascaded to her waist. Her irises shone gold, and her elliptical pupils were distinctly non-human.
If not for the pair of goat-like demon horns atop her head and the black angelic wings extending from her waist, anyone would mistake her for a flawless, peerless beauty.
No, she *was* a peerless femme fatale, the perfect embodiment of a demon who could seduce mortals, conjured from human imagination.
Albedo, an NPC created by **Touch Me**, Orion's closest friend within the game, held the position of Overseer Guardian of **Nazarick**.
In the real world, a society bordering on 'Cyberpunk', many lived numb lives. Fewer and fewer people held an interest in history and mythology.
**Touch Me** happened to be a mythology enthusiast, well-versed in the myths of the world.
Sharing this passion, Orion naturally became good friends with him.
Orion's gaze withdrew from Albedo. An NPC without a soul wasn't particularly interesting to look at.
No matter how beautiful, it was just a sculpture, a doll without a soul.
Finally, Orion's gaze returned to Momonga.
The dark flames beneath his hood seemed to ripple, as if forming a smile. His voice, steady yet clear, rang out: "...It's been a while, Momonga."
"...I logged in before the servers shut down to take a look. As expected, even when everyone else is gone, you would still be here, guarding everything we created together."
"From that perspective, electing you as Guild Leader might have been the single best decision everyone in this guild ever made."
In that moment, Momonga's emotions surged violently. Grievance and sorrow assaulted his heart, nearly bringing him to tears.
Regrettably, he was in the game now. This skeletal body had no tears.
Even so, he was deeply moved and grateful for Orion's words.
Momonga wiped his tearless skeletal face. His voice trembled, choked with emotion:
"...Thank you, Zarathustra. Hearing you say that... makes everything I've done feel worthwhile."
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