—Silence.
It was not the silence where everything returns to nothingness, nor the silence that was supposed to arrive at the exact moment of the server shutdown.
It was a living silence, much denser and accompanied by an overwhelming sense of presence.
I had my eyes closed.
Lowering hundreds of eyeballs in unison was an action that, during my time as an NPC, could only be performed when permitted by the system.
But now, my will commanded it, and my body executed it.
Thump.
I could hear a heartbeat.
An organ like a heart shouldn't exist in this body made of black fog.
Yet, a distinct pulsation of life was carved into the core of my consciousness.
Breathing.
Even though it shouldn't be necessary, I was drawing in air deeply and slowly.
My five senses were functioning more vividly and realistically than ever before.
...It hasn't ended.
The words I muttered in my mind did not float in the air as the runic text of a system message.
They simply echoed within my brain as a definitive thought.
I slowly opened my eyes.
Purple, blue. Hundreds of pupils emitted light simultaneously.
My field of vision was decisively different from before. It wasn't just on the level of the game screen's resolution got higher.
Every object flowed directly into my brain as a torrent of information, accompanied by its texture, weight, and presence.
The wood grain of the massive bookshelves, the fibers of the parchment dancing in the air, the fluctuations of magic power cloaking the divine statues of Ra and Apep—.
I could perceive all of them not just as mere data, but as things that truly existed in this world.
This sensation... There's no mistaking it. It's the exact development I saw in the anime.
At the exact moment YGGDRASIL's service ended, the Great Tomb of Nazarick had been transported to an unseen New World.
If that's the case, right about now in the Throne Room, Momonga-san should be taking the name Ainz Ooal Gown and declaring world domination... And the Guardians of the other floors—Albedo, Demiurge, Shalltear—must have gained egos just like I have.
My knowledge of the anime unfurled in my brain as a roadmap for the future.
I am different from them.
A human who existed on the outside of the anime reincarnated as an in-universe NPC and gained an ego.
This advantage is immeasurable.
First, I need to master the control of this body. That takes priority.
Using my own will, I tried manipulating the flow of magic power that composed my body of black fog.
The idle animation that the system had previously executed automatically.
I consciously stopped it, compressing the fog to make it denser and more rigid.
My body transitioned into a state of perfect stillness, floating a few inches above the floor without a single fraction of a waver.
"...I can move."
A voice came out from my mouth (or whatever part functioned as one).
It wasn't the emotionless, inorganic voice of my game days, the one that sounded like a speech synthesizer.
It was a voice pregnant with profound magic power; low, deep, echoing as if from the bottom of an abyss.
It was my own, true voice.
"I am Tawil Balah. Guardian of the Vault of Wisdom on Nazarick's 8th Floor."
By speaking my own name, I felt as though the contours of my existence were firmly driven into this world.
Next was the sense of touch.
Out of the hundreds of pages revolving around me like planets, I fixed my eyes on a single piece of parchment.
Written on it was a copy of a powerful grimoire once collected by the Supreme Beings.
From my body of black fog, I smoothly extended a single, long, thin tentacle that seemed to drip with ink.
Previously, the system would automatically execute the hand over item animation.
But now, my will completely dominated the tentacle's movement, speed, and angle.
The tip of the tentacle touched the parchment.
"——"
An intense sensation, as if electricity had run through me.
The rough texture of the parchment, the slight unevenness of the old ink, and the faint warmth of the magic power imbued within it.
Everything was transmitted directly to my brain through my fingertip.
The sense of touch.
To think that this sensation, which I had taken so completely for granted in my previous life that I didn't even consciously register it, could be this precious and empowering.
I physically grabbed the parchment with my tentacle.
It wasn't stored in a game's item box; a part of my body was undeniably supporting its mass.
I pulled the page right in front of my face (the point where hundreds of eyes focused) and stared at it intently.
The runes written upon it were instantly cross-referenced with the database of my [Omniscient Flesh]. Its meaning, its magical effects, and all accompanying information—such as when and by whom this page was recorded—surfaced in the sea of my thoughts.
"Perfect..."
A voice of admiration escaped me.
With the acquisition of an ego, the true value of my ability, [Omniscient Flesh], had begun to show itself.
Up until now, it merely passively searched for and presented information, triggered by the voice commands of the Supreme Beings.
But now, the moment I "want to know" something, my thought itself becomes the query, instantaneously pulling the perfect answer from the massive database within my brain.
Every item in YGGDRASIL, every spell, every monster, the guild's history, the conversation logs of the Supreme Beings—.
Everything had become a part of my absolute "Knowledge," able to be freely browsed, edited, and output solely by my will.
With this ability, I can be of use to Momonga-san... to Lord Ainz.
He must be facing the "unknown" of this New World right now and feeling anxious.
By becoming his knowledge and his eyes, I can guide Nazarick toward the best possible future.
Precisely because I have knowledge from the anime, I understand Ainz's true desires (his loneliness as Satoru Suzuki, his feelings for his comrades, and the safety of Nazarick), and I can optimally utilize this ability to achieve them.
"Next is magic."
I let go of the parchment, returning it to its orbit around me.
Then, feeling the torrent of immense magic power sleeping within me, I tried guiding a portion of it into the activation process of a specific spell.
1st Tier—[Magic Detection]
There was no need to click an icon or run a macro like in the game days.
I simply loaded the corresponding spell's structural formula from the magic database in my brain and poured my magic power into it.
Naturally and perfectly, just like walking down a familiar road.
—For a brief moment, my vision sparkled with iridescent colors.
I could see the flow of the immense magic power filling the vault.
The faint magic cloaking each and every bookshelf, the magical trajectories drawn by the parchment dancing in the air, and—.
The overwhelming pressure of magic power radiating from the divine statues of Ra and Apep, resting silently at the back of the room.
Their strength, which I could only understand as numerical stats during the game era, could now be visually recognized by the sheer "thickness" of their magic power.
This is just the 1st Tier... My 10th Tier spells, Super-Tier magic, and the Cthulhu-esque Eldritch magic... When these are cast in 'reality,' just how much destructive power will they unleash...?
I felt no terror toward the mighty, potentially world-destroying power sleeping within me—only a profound sense of power.
I am no longer a helpless salaryman who can only be protected by others.
I am a Level 100 Guardian who can move by his own will, think with his own knowledge, and protect Nazarick with his own power.
I slowly retracted my black fog tentacles and returned to a state of perfect stillness. Body control, sensory perception, and magic activation. Everything was functioning flawlessly.
Now I want to test this knowledge retrieval further.