The wind carries the seeds of stories, allowing them to take root in the river of time and bloom into brilliant flowers of memory.
Naohara had always liked that saying.
When the wind blew, every leaf told a story of its own.
When the wind faded, those stories became the dust of memory, scattering to every corner of the world.
"Albedo, has anything happened recently?"
Beside a heavy, ancient coffin, Naohara casually rested one foot firmly on the coffin lid while keeping the other planted on the solid floor.
He tilted his head slightly and glanced at the Succubus standing respectfully nearby, Albedo.
Her distinctive golden eyes had vertical pupils, two curved goat-like horns protruded from her head, and a pair of pitch-black angel wings grew from her waist.
Time seemed to have left no trace whatsoever on Albedo's beautiful face or graceful figure.
She still possessed the same innate poise and elegance, every movement carrying an alluring charm.
The fundamental reason for this lay in one of the game's core settings.
In the world known as YGGDRASIL, races were clearly divided into three major categories:
Humanoid Races, Demihumans, and Heteromorphic Races.
The first category, Humanoid Races, included many familiar races such as Humans, Dwarfs, Elves, and others.
Humanoid Races did not possess racial levels.
Therefore, if they wanted to improve their stats and continue growing stronger, they could only rely on the class levels they chose to acquire.
Although Humanoid Races gained slightly fewer stats per level than Demihumans and Heteromorphic Races, the sheer variety of available classes gave them nearly limitless possibilities when it came to skill combinations.
By cleverly combining different classes, Humanoid Races could create an enormous variety of skill sets, allowing for unique combat styles and strategies.
Furthermore, the game contained certain classes with extremely demanding Class Change requirements.
Such classes usually required Players to complete a series of complicated and challenging quests or achieve specific accomplishments before they could be unlocked.
One example was hunting a certain number of Heteromorphic Races.
Once the Class Change was successfully completed, however, the resulting increase in stats could be considerable.
Some of these powerful classes were even exclusive to Humanoid Races.
Humanoid Races enjoyed considerable advantages within the game world.
They could freely explore almost anywhere without facing too many restrictions.
They could also equip a wide variety of items, making them the preferred choice of most Players.
The second category was Demihumans, whose appearances were generally intimidating and could even be described as ugly.
But one should never be fooled by their unpleasant appearances, because these races possessed abilities far beyond those of ordinary people.
This category included Goblins, Beastmen, Orcs, and others.
Demihumans were essentially a combination of beasts and humans.
Compared to ordinary Humanoid Races, they possessed significant advantages in their stats.
Whether in strength, speed, endurance, or other physical attributes, they were far beyond what ordinary humans could match.
At the same time, their racial weaknesses were not nearly as pronounced as those of Heteromorphic Races.
Demihumans occupied a relatively balanced middle ground.
They were an average type, neither particularly exceptional nor especially lacking, with no overwhelmingly obvious strengths or weaknesses.
The third category consisted of Heteromorphic Races, beings endowed with monstrous abilities.
This included races such as the Undead, Angels, Demons, and Dragonoids.
The stats granted to Heteromorphic Races were on an entirely different level compared to those of ordinary Humanoid Races and Demihumans.
However, every advantage came with a drawback, and their racial weaknesses were equally pronounced.
If an enemy specifically targeted those weaknesses, they could quickly find themselves in extreme danger.
Their racial characteristics also imposed many other inconveniences.
For example, some classes were unavailable to them, certain items could not be equipped, some cities could not be entered, and killing them did not even count as PK.
However, some Heteromorphic Races possessed multiple forms.
Creating such complicated and versatile characters was admittedly troublesome.
Even so, Heteromorphic Races with multiple forms, much like final bosses in games, remained extremely popular among Players.
In particular, while in humanoid or semi-humanoid forms, they often suffered reduced stats or had certain abilities sealed.
Only by fully revealing their true forms could they unleash all of the power hidden within them.
Shalltear's True Vampire form and Sebas's Dragonoid form were examples of this.
Within Nazarick, aside from beings such as Aura and the Head Chef who belonged to the Humanoid and Demihuman categories, the overwhelming majority of NPCs were Heteromorphic Races.
That was precisely why their appearances had essentially become fixed.
Within their settings, Heteromorphic Races were generally immortal.
Even those that were not truly immortal still possessed extraordinarily long lifespans.
Once they reached a certain stage of maturity, unless they deliberately altered their forms, their bodies would naturally cease growing.
Albedo was currently in exactly that state.
"While you and Momonga-sama were occupied with various matters, all work was entrusted to Herohero-sama for handling and review. Nothing particularly noteworthy has happened during this period."
Albedo answered with a smile.
Judging from her relaxed and cheerful expression, she was in quite a good mood.
After that unusual experience three years ago, her mentality had undergone some subtle changes.
One obvious sign was the gentle warmth that unconsciously appeared in her eyes whenever she looked at Naohara.
After all, in her heart, Naohara-sama had now become someone who could fill a role similar to that of a father.
Unfortunately, she had no particularly valuable intelligence to report.
If there was anything of some significance, it would probably be the World-Class Item they had happened to obtain during an expedition a year ago.
But Naohara-sama already knew all about that.
"Really? Not even one interesting piece of news or anything unusual? Think about it again."
Naohara sounded somewhat bored as he asked once more.
Just as Keno had said, waiting always seemed unbearably long. If they did not find something to talk about, were they supposed to sit here staring blankly into space the whole time?
"Hmm... If I had to choose something, I suppose there is one matter."
Albedo furrowed her brows slightly and fell into thought.
Quite a lot had happened over the past three years, but most of it had been trivial.
For example, the Bloody Emperor was currently pursuing the mayor of the city-state [Bebard], Re-Kista Cabelia.
(PS: According to the setting, the Bloody Emperor is in love with this woman.)
There was also the Dragon Princess, who, with the help of Tia and Tina from Blue Roses, had used the reputation of the Brightness Dragon Lord to bring an assassination organization known as Ijaniya under her control.
(PS: The ninjas are actually triplets rather than twins. The leader of the assassination organization is their older sister.)
Or, faced with the continent's increasingly complicated situation, the Wyvern Rider Tribe had emerged from isolation and begun establishing and strengthening trade relations with the Dragon Kingdom and various other nations across the continent.
(PS: According to the setting, Gagaran is suspected to have come from the Wyvern Rider Tribe.)
Of course, in Albedo's view, such minor matters were hardly worth troubling a Supreme One over.
After thinking for a moment, she seemed to remember something and spoke softly.
"You should still remember Olasird'arc Hailialar."
Hearing the name, Naohara's thoughts stirred.
The image of a rather unusual giant dragon immediately surfaced in his mind.
The White Dragon Lord?
"That guy? What happened to him?"
Naohara returned his attention to Albedo and asked with interest.
The mention of the White Dragon Lord naturally reminded Naohara of another True Dragon Lord, the Deep Darkness Dragon Lord.
Come to think of it, if the Deep Darkness Dragon Lord had paid even a little more attention to intelligence concerning the Sorcerer Kingdom back then, he might have noticed something unusual about the White Dragon Lord.
After all, the White Dragon Lord had personally pulled the carriage carrying the three of them during their coronation ceremony.
Such an eye-catching event had practically become common knowledge. Anyone could have learned about it simply by asking around.
Yet the Deep Darkness Dragon Lord had been too disdainful to investigate such seemingly insignificant details.
Even when they knew they were facing Players, the innate arrogance ingrained in True Dragon Lords caused them to instinctively look down on everything around them.
Arrogance inevitably led to defeat.
Unless they were beaten senseless in a one-on-one fight and had their pride thoroughly crushed, those creatures would never behave themselves.
And even then, they would still harbor their own little schemes.
The Brightness Dragon Lord secretly keeping a Guild Weapon was one example.
If the fellow had not spent every day running himself ragged, working tirelessly and practically exhausting himself for Nazarick, that particular stunt alone would have earned him a hard slap across the face.
Having selfish motives was perfectly normal and could be forgiven.
Naohara was actually quite tolerant when handling such matters, provided that those selfish desires did not interfere with Nazarick.
Fortunately, although the Brightness Dragon Lord had made a mistake, his contributions were enough to balance it out, and nothing disastrous had resulted from his actions.
Naohara had originally considered giving him the World-Class Item [Ring of Elemental Spirit] to use.
Unfortunately, that opportunity was gone now.
"Through continuous effort, Olasird'arc entered the realm of a True Dragon Lord half a year ago. With the assistance of his Talent, he also learned how to use Lower-Tier Wild Magic."
"At the time, he requested an audience with you, Naohara-sama. He apparently wanted to receive a few assignments and prove himself, but since you had already gone to the Great River of Souls, he was unable to do so."
"At present, he is probably still in the snowy mountains of the Fourth Floor, researching how to add information to inherited memories."
Albedo explained slowly.
The White Dragon Lord's success could not have happened without Nazarick's assistance.
Although his LV46 racial level allowed him to level quickly, without the help of his Talent, he most likely would have been stopped at the threshold of Wild Magic.
The barrier imposed by the world was not something easily overcome.
"He succeeded? That's considerably faster than I expected. Looks like he's been taking this pretty seriously."
"But asking for a mission... he certainly is greedy."
No one ever complained about having too much food, nor would anyone complain that their house was too large.
Someone with a small house would want a larger one. Once they had a large house, they would want an entire estate.
Desire was like a boulder rolling down a mountain. Once it started moving, there was no stopping it.
Having tasted the pleasure of power, the White Dragon Lord had become completely addicted to it and desperately wanted to grow stronger.
"Send him to the Holy Kingdom. Have him bring that Sea Dragon back."
Naohara thought briefly before casually giving the order.
Since the White Dragon Lord wanted a mission, he could have one.
Naohara also happened to be somewhat interested in the Sea Dragon of the Holy Kingdom.
"Understood. I will relay the order."
Albedo nodded, the smile on her face never changing as she maintained the composed demeanor of a capable lady.
[She really is much more normal now.]
There was no denying that Albedo was extremely capable.
It was simply that her settings had caused her personality to become somewhat extreme.
Naohara pondered this silently.
He continued chatting with Albedo for a while longer until Herohero finally arrived.
Seeing that, Albedo tactfully excused herself.
The time that followed belonged to the Three Supreme Beings.
Although she very much wanted to see Momonga-sama, as the Guardian Overseer, she knew she needed to give them privacy.
"You took your time."
Naohara lightly jumped down from the coffin lid and looked directly at the companion he had not seen for a year.
"If the two of you are going to dump all the work on me, then don't complain that I'm slow. Handling all those matters has taken quite a lot out of me."
By the time Herohero finished speaking, he had already reached Naohara's side.
Floating in the air nearby was a golden staff radiating a mysterious glow, immediately drawing the eye.
Strangely, however, the dazzling jewel that had originally been embedded within the serpent's mouth was nowhere to be seen.
Not only that, the entire staff was densely covered with ancient Rune Characters bearing the traces of age.
At the very center of its upper portion, a conspicuous groove-like opening had also appeared.
"Fortunately, we were able to test everything on the Eight Greed Kings' Guild Weapon first, and we also had the Super-Tier Magic [Wish Upon a Star] as a safeguard."
"Although converting the Staff of Ainz Ooal Gown with Rune Characters and carrying out the subsequent modifications was extremely dangerous, the process went relatively smoothly overall. But... the problem we have to deal with next probably won't be so simple."
Neither of them wasted time exchanging pleasantries.
They went straight to the point.
Herohero raised a finger and pointed at the Guild Weapon, his tone turning serious.
[Transforming the Guild Weapon into a World-Class Item]
This was the bold experiment Naohara had proposed from the very beginning.
By embedding multiple World-Class Items, [Caloric Stones], into it, they intended to raise its quality beyond the Divine-class Item tier and transform the Staff of Ainz Ooal Gown into an alternative form of World-Class Item.
To be frank, the idea was an enormous gamble.
Without several safeguards in place, they never would have dared attempt it.
"The seven Divine-class jewels have already been fused with Caloric Stones. Now we only need to embed one into the staff itself, then return those jewels to their original positions."
The Guild Weapon was constructed from a complete set of seven Divine-class jewels and high-grade metal.
Disassembling the staff itself was not a problem. As long as none of its components were damaged, the Guild would remain unaffected.
The jewels were relatively easy to deal with.
The real problem was the body of the staff.
The high-grade metal was somewhat fragile.
Considering the immense amount of data contained within the Guild Weapon, even the smallest mistake during the embedding process could very well cause the entire thing to collapse.
"So we really do have to use the [Ring of Ouroboros]..."
Naohara looked down at his finger.
Since this involved the World-Class Item [Caloric Stone], the Super-Tier Magic [Wish Upon a Star] would have no effect.
At this point, they would have to rely on one of the precious Twenty.
"Ahem... Regarding that, I think we could deal with it together with the problem of Demon production."
"If we do, we might also be able to take the opportunity to verify several theories we've had for some time."
A cough suddenly sounded, drawing both of their attention.
Immediately afterward, the immensely heavy coffin lid began to slide aside with a spine-chilling scraping sound.
Eventually, the lid opened completely, and a skeletal figure slowly climbed out from within.
It was none other than Momonga.
His entire body consisted of deathly pale bones, while an eerie red light flickered deep within his hollow eye sockets.
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