Momonga, watched the timer tick down in the Great Tomb of Nazarick, the final seconds of YGGDRASIL slipping away. His guildmates were gone, the voices of his friends silent. He had stayed until the end, as he always intended.
3… 2… 1…
The world should have faded to black. He should have been kicked back to his dingy apartment, his VR helmet disconnecting, the real world reclaiming him.
Instead, he felt wind.
His skeletal fingers twitched. His feet—bones, not flesh—pressed against soft grass. The scent of earth and leaves filled the air, something impossible in YGGDRASIL.
'What...is this?'
He raised a hand, pointing at the air where his menu should have been. Nothing happened. He swiped again. Again. Nothing.
"What the hell is happening?!" His voice echoed unnaturally, deep and resonant, yet undeniably his.
Then, as if some unseen force intervened, his panic was smothered. A strange calm settled over him, his mind clearing.
"This is too real."
He flexed his skeletal fingers, feeling the magic within him. Not as a game mechanic, but as something innate. He knew his mana, his spells, his abilities—they were part of him now.
Experimentally, he reached into the air, and his hand vanished into a dark void. From it, he withdrew a massive mirror—the Mirror of Remote Viewing.
Holding it up, he focused, observing the surrounding landscape. Lush forests, distant mountains, a small village nestled in the distance.
This was not YGGDRASIL.
The realization hit him. He was no longer in a game. He was in a new world. And he was alone. No Nazarick. No guildmatws. He was truly alone. Just him.
Momonga let out a sigh—a habit from his human life, though his undead body had no need for breath—and slumped against a nearby tree.
"What do I do now?"
******
The Great Forest of Tob was never a safe place, but Enri Emmot had no choice. Her village needed medicine, and the rare herbs and mushrooms that grew deep within these woods couldn't be found anywhere else.
She moved carefully, her breath shallow, her ears straining for any sign of danger. The forest was usually alive with the sounds of rustling leaves, distant growls, or the skittering of small creatures. But today… it was silent. Too silent.
Her fingers trembled as she plucked a cluster of bluecap mushrooms from the base of a tree. She tucked them into her basket, her eyes darting around nervously.
Then she saw it.
A massive skeletal figure, sprawled against a tree like a discarded puppet. Its bones were unnaturally white, as if polished by some unnatural force. It wore robes are so dark, it is like it swallows light, intricate and regal, adorned with rings that glinted even in the dim forest light.
Enri's breath hitched. "
'What...is that?'
Her first thought was absurd—maybe I could sell those robes, those rings…—but she immediately shook her head, disgusted with herself. No! That's a corpse! A dead person!
Except…
She crept closer, curiosity overriding caution. The skeleton's structure was wrong—too large, the skull too elongated, the fingers too claw-like. This isn't human.
Then—
"AAAAAH!"
She screamed, stumbling backward and landing hard on the ground as two crimson flames ignited in the skeleton's hollow eye sockets. Its jaw moved, and a deep, echoing voice spoke:
"Could you… back up a little?"
Enri's heart pounded so hard she thought it would burst. The skeleton—alive, undead, whatever it was—was looking at her. And it just spoken to her.
Ainz sat up slowly, his bones shifting with an eerie, dry sound. The girl—a human, young, with wide, terrified eyes—was still sprawled on the ground, her basket of herbs spilled beside her.
"Are you… okay?" he asked, his voice deep and resonant, yet oddly calm.
Enri's breath came in short, panicked gasps. Her mind screamed at her to run, but her legs refused to obey.
"Y-You—! Y-You're—!" she stammered, unable to form a coherent sentence.
Ainz tilted his skull slightly. "Alive? Undead? Yes. That seems to be the case." He exhaled—a habit, despite having no lungs—and rubbed his temple. "Look, do you want something, or are you just going to stare?"
Enri flinched. "I—I didn't mean to disturb you! I was just—just gathering herbs!" She scrambled to grab her basket, her hands shaking.
Ainz watched her for a moment, then sighed. "I see." He hesitated. 'Should I give her my name?' 'Momonga' sounded ridiculous for a creature like him now. Better to use the guild's name.
"I am Ainz Ooal Gown," he said, the title rolling off his tongue with practiced ease. "And you are?"
Enri blinked. 'He's… introducing himself? Like a normal person?'
"E-Enri… Enri Emmot," she managed, still tense.
"Enri, huh?" Ainz nodded. "Well, Enri, unless you plan on attacking me or screaming again, I suggest you either say what you want or leave me be."
Enri swallowed hard. "I… I wasn't going to attack you!"
"Good. That would have been unfortunate."
"Unfortunate… for who?" she dared to ask.
Ainz's crimson eyes flickered. "For you, probably."
A heavy silence fell between them. Enri fidgeted, then, against her better judgment, asked:
"S-so you're a monster?" As soon as that left her mouth, she wanted so slap herself.
Ainz chuckled—a hollow, bone-rattling sound. "Something like that."
Enri bit her lip. "Then… why haven't you killed me yet?"
Ainz paused. 'Why haven't I?'
"Because," he said at last, "I don't have a reason to."
Enri stared at him, her fear slowly giving way to confusion. 'This skeleton… he's not acting like a monster. He's just… tired.'
"Oh," was all she could say.
Ainz leaned back against the tree. "You should go home, Enri. The forest isn't safe."
"I know," she admitted. "But my village needs these herbs."
Ainz studied her for a long moment. Then, with a wave of his hand, a small black portal opened beside him. He reached in and pulled out a small pouch.
"Here." He tossed it to her.
Enri caught it—barely—and peeked inside. Her eyes widened. "This is—!"
"A healing herb. Higher quality than whatever you were picking."
"B-But why—?"
"Consider it an apology for scaring you."
Enri clutched the pouch, stunned. "Th-Thank you… Ainz Ooal Gown."
Ainz gave a slow nod. "Now go. Before something actually dangerous finds you."
Enri hesitated, then bowed slightly before turning and hurrying away.
As she disappeared into the trees, Ainz sighed again.
'…What am I even doing?'
But for the first time since arriving in this world, he didn't feel quite so alone.