End-Tier Dungeon
At the very outer edge of the grand map where "Six Heavens of Desire" was located.
Within one of the rare safe zones where there was no "Brahma Chant," Ainz Ooal Gown's party was making their final preparations.
In this game, which boasted maximum freedom, they were nothing short of outliers. The surroundings teemed with players who had come from all corners, some merely to marvel at this bizarre group, but most hoping to find a way to clear the dungeon.
After all, this dungeon was the deciding factor for whether the game could continue operating. It was the sworn enemy of every player who loved the game.
Before this hurdle was overcome, all personal grudges were set aside. So although the members of Ainz Ooal Gown were mostly far below average in justice values, they nonetheless arrived here safely.
Of course, as in any setting, the standard background chatterers were present.
"Look! Isn't that the pervy King of Critical Hits, Peroroncino? That dashing figure and balanced build—he's every fat otaku's dream."
"You've got no taste~ Look at that one on his head squirming like pink O-fluid, ID Bukubukuchagama . I heard that one's a girl player, you know~"
"Seriously? A race based on O-fluid? No wonder this game is shutting down. Maybe it attracted divine beasts?"
"You're overreacting. Look at that octopus-headed tentacle monster next to her—that's one of the top alchemists. Supposedly, their hobby is brain-eating."
"Whoa, sugoi~"
Two sweet-looking human moe girls chatted starry-eyed within the safe zone as Ainz Ooal Gown's group of bizarre heteromorphs passed by.
To those paying closer attention, however, the rare full mobilization of the guild Ainz Ooal Gown, all armed to the teeth, was a major event for the entire Alfheim.
The nonstop chime of mail notifications popped up in the system bars of Tabula Smaragdina and Punitto Moe. The collective movement of these strange-looking Supreme Beings sparked countless discussions. Among them were the infamous "World Disaster" Ulbert, with justice values so far below zero they couldn't be displayed, and the "World Champion" Takemikazuchi, who upheld righteousness with absolute conviction. To bear the prefix "World" was an extraordinary rarity, even among high-level players.
And at the very center of these heteromorphs, surrounded by them, was a skeletal mage clad in ornate scholar's robes and wielding an "extremely OP staff."
Frankly, brandishing a guild weapon so brazenly was reckless. Even though they were max-level players, in a game that had been running for eleven years, any random coin toss into a crowd could land on a level 100 player.
Normally, heteromorph players like them were either targeted and annihilated on sight or turned the tables and did the annihilating.
Thus, in front of hundreds or even thousands of humanoid players watching, Ainz Ooal Gown's group was nowhere near as calm as their characters appeared. As guildmaster, Momonga's mind had already exploded into chaos.
"Ahh~ I feel like I'm going to die. Aren't there already a hundred Paladins of Holy Banishment targeting me?"
Paladins of Holy Banishment were the highest-ranked anti-undead magic class, natural enemies of Momonga.
Before acquiring the world item XX Orb, he had been one-shotted countless times by their [Sanctuary], only to wake up repeatedly at the resurrection NPC.
That class had become his lifelong trauma.
Though he held the guild staff in hand, his heart was in turmoil. Rather than walking forward surrounded by his comrades, it was more like he was being pushed along. Alone, he never would have dared wave Ainz Ooal Gown's staff before so many humanoid players.
Undead may have immunity to negative status effects, but even so, the green light flickering across his body was happening far too frequently.
Even though the devs had promised that within the grand map of this dungeon, death would incur no loss of equipment or experience, that assurance did little to ease Momonga's unease.
Meanwhile, Ulbert, wearing his gentleman's hat, remained his usual toxic-tongued self. With a shocking vocabulary and speed, he cheerfully exchanged greetings with nearby players he had grudges with. Well, as the World Disaster, his class was the envy of every magic-user. If not for the special circumstances, he likely would have been ganged up on and corpse-camped many times already.
Ding-ling, ding-ling~
A special system notification chime rang from the "Message" bar of Ainz Ooal Gown's party. As players deeply familiar with the game, they instantly recognized that this distinctive tone meant the message's sender was a GM.
This was no small matter. Normally, GMs rarely initiated contact with players.
Unless under extraordinary circumstances, no GM would interfere in any interaction between players and the game itself. Yet the existence of this End-Tier dungeon clearly shattered that boundary.
As soon as all members of Ainz Ooal Gown connected to the GM's message, they were pulled into a special chatroom. There, a golden-colored ID appeared: GM007-1000256, and it sent the first message.
"Members of Ainz Ooal Gown, would you happen to have time to accept a commission from the GM side?"
A commission… from a GM?!
The very first line stunned every member of Ainz Ooal Gown.
"Dear GM, what kind of issue could trouble you—beings who transcend the scope of players themselves?"
As guildmaster, Momonga alone could represent Ainz Ooal Gown at this moment.
"To be frank, my purpose here concerns this End-Tier dungeon, Six Heavens of Desire." The GM typed rapidly. "In fact, not only your guild—across the other eight worlds as well—any player officially confirmed to possess a world-class item or to meet a certain standard has received this commission from us. The content of the commission is: clear the End-Tier dungeon—'Six Heavens of Desire.'"
"Nani?!"
The GM's words left the guild dumbfounded. What kind of situation was this—GMs asking players to clear a dungeon? Wasn't it easier for the GM to just step in and swat everything down like little children?
After all, in YGGDRASIL, there were plenty of GMs. Most acted as online customer support or emergency troubleshooters when players faced urgent problems. But that didn't mean GMs lacked combat power or standing within the game.
On the contrary, since the game contained two hundred balance-breaking world-class items, to maintain authority and control, every official GM was themselves equivalent to a walking world-class item.
Each GM carried an innate "WORLD"—a buff meaning they were protected by the world itself. This granted them complete immunity to any form of damage, while their power rivaled that of world-class items.
Their attributes were infinite, their very concept equal to the strongest world-class artifacts. And such beings now requested players to clear a dungeon? Just so the game could continue running smoothly? This company truly was ruthless…
Weren't they worried some South Asian investor "daddy" might pull funding?
"This is unbelievable! GM, are you sure your account hasn't been hacked?"
"Or is this some twisted world-class item that can impersonate a GM?"
The golden GM name quickly clarified: "Members of Ainz Ooal Gown, our actions are actually permitted by the rules. Our intervention is, from the very beginning, part of the dungeon's design."
"Then why not simply form a GM squad to raid the dungeon yourselves? Wouldn't that make clearing it trivial?"
"Indeed, some players once used the Eternal Snake Ring to petition the company to send GMs into the dungeon," the GM answered earnestly. "If that had succeeded, it would not have violated the rules, since it falls within the game's settings. The real question is whether the company approved such an action. In fact, previously, three GMs were already dispatched to aid players in the dungeon raid."
"Nani?!"
It was rare to see more than a dozen of the bizarre Supreme Beings all shocked at the same time.
But compared to what the GM had just said, this wasn't much at all.
"GMs can personally take action? Doesn't that go against the warrior's way?"
"For the first time, I think world-class items are truly game-breaking. I protest!"
"Tear apart, Calamity Descends! I wonder whose magic is stronger—mine with full MP, or the GM's?"
"No way, I finally managed to get permission from my boss to take the day off for this raid!" A poor corporate slave let out a wail.
The chatroom was filled with light-hearted banter. After all, if three GMs joined the raid, what monster or boss could possibly stand in their way?
But then, a line of bloody vine-shaped text instantly seized everyone's throats.
The lively atmosphere froze in an instant.
"Ufu, I guess the raid failed, didn't it, GM-san?"
Punitto Moe's words sent the temperature of the chatroom plummeting.
"As expected of Alfheim's foremost tactician—you guessed correctly."
"That wasn't hard to guess," Punitto Moe replied slowly. "What I'm more interested in is why the GM raid failed. I heard this dungeon was developed by that big South Asian country. In reality, I always thought they were overambitious and under-skilled. Turns out, without physical restrictions in the game, they created a dungeon even GMs can't clear."
"Well, that's what you'd expect from a country 'destined' to become a superpower." Yamaiko waved her teacher's iron fist. "The devs too—choosing such investors, aren't they afraid of digging their own graves?"
Beside her, Bukubukuchagama whispered, "Yamaiko-san, is it really okay to mock the officials like that? Careful they don't nerf your tank stats again."
Hearing his companions' complaints, Momonga felt a crushing pressure. Fortunately, his "passive skill" kicked in just in time, reminding him that as guildmaster of Ainz Ooal Gown, he had to maintain composure.
"GM-san, if even three official GMs couldn't break through this dungeon, doesn't that mean players have no chance at all?"
"Don't worry," the GM replied. "Afterward, we consulted our South Asian colleagues. They explained that this dungeon has a special detection mechanism. Whenever extremely abnormal data or variables appear, the dungeon undergoes drastic changes. So we suspect the raid's failure was related to such changes."
"That's all? No new revelation from an Outer God rock band? No interference from the Shadow Plane's Shar Net? At the very least, couldn't it be a yandere SCP with soft voice, pale skin, and calling everyone 'onii-chan'?" Tabula Smaragdina sighed. "Does this dev team lack imagination that badly? I'll have to send them a copy of Hymn to the Macro Worm and a Mind Flayer Memoir so they understand that no dungeon is complete without tentacles."
…Tabula-san, sounds like you want to help them expand their minds.
Momonga broke into a cold sweat watching his occult-obsessed companion. Before the GM's sanity value dropped any lower, he hurried to steer the conversation back on track.
"GM-san, while you say the detection mechanism targets abnormal factors, during this time three other raid groups from different worlds have already entered the End-Tier dungeon."
He rubbed his bony jaw. "But so far, there's been no information about them on forums like 2CH or the boards—only that they're still stuck on the first layer. I doubt players alone can clear this dungeon."
"As expected of Ainz Ooal Gown's guildmaster—you've seen through our preparations."
Eh? Preparations? Weren't you just here to commission us to raid the dungeon? Weird as it may be, considering this dungeon determines the life or death of the game itself, maybe it isn't that unreasonable… right?
Though inwardly ranting, Momonga's skeletal face remained "expressionless." Then again, all avatars had expressionless faces.
"After these attempts, we've concluded that neither GMs alone nor players alone can conquer this dungeon. So we've decided to unite all players with world-class items and sufficient strength…"
"Group raid, is it?"
Clad in his World Champion armor, Takemikazuchi suddenly cracked his knuckles with excitement, throwing back his cape to reveal the paid-effect background of Justice Descends.
Momonga's heart jolted. Takemikazuchi was truly the strongest man in all of Ainz Ooal Gown—this wasn't an exaggeration. His shining silver Champion armor was proof of his power. His companion, Warrior Takemikazuchi-no-Kami, had long honed his own martial path with him as a goal.
And with that strength came firm principles. Takemikazuchi was one of the few in Nazarick with a karma value of +500. He was deeply righteous, believing firmly: "One who does not save the weak has no right to call himself strong." Would someone like him really participate in a group raid? Without his participation, this attempt would be extremely difficult.
Striking a dramatic pose with his meaningless explosion effect and pre-set Justice Descends background, Takemikazuchi spoke with fervor: "It's been so long since I've done something so just. I can hardly wait."
Ah, as expected of Takemikazuchi-san. A group raid really is…
Nani?????
Takemikazuchi-san, since when did group raids become acts of justice? And why are you so eager about it? Weren't you always an advocate of one-on-one duels? Just because you recently bought Dark Souls IX doesn't mean you can warp your values so easily!!!
It wasn't just Momonga ranting internally—Peroroncino and Bukubukuchagama, normally at odds, simultaneously sent "shocked" stickers in perfect sync.
Meanwhile, Ulbert, Takemikazuchi's eternal rival, stroked the magic ring on his hand. Suddenly, his entire body flared with the circles of a super-tier magic array.
The evil-looking ram's head fixed its gaze sharply on Takemikazuchi. "Tell me, where did you hide that tin can?"
"Calm down, calm down! Ulbert-san, even in a safe zone, casting super-tier magic will still drain your mana. Your Catastrophe spell is crucial for the raid—we can't waste MP now. Once the dungeon is cleared, you'll have plenty of time to… 'exchange ideas,' won't you?"
Punitto Moe's intervention let Momonga breathe a sigh of relief, though he still wiped away cold sweat.
Punitto Moe-san, do you actually want them to fight again after the raid so you can sell another 'hundred-battles-hundred-victories' strategy?
"Ulbert-san, justice never refuses a challenge, nor does it flee." Takemikazuchi raised his sword, pointing straight at Ulbert. "But Punitto Moe-san is right. Clearing this dungeon is what matters most now. I propose postponing our duel."
Ulbert's eyes grew dark. After glaring at Takemikazuchi for a long moment, he let out a cold snort and dismissed his super-tier array.
"Cough… cough." The GM awkwardly cleared his throat twice. "Actually, aside from those Twenty, the company has decided to lift the restrictions on all other world-class items for players. Of course, this only applies to players who accept the commission and enter the 'Six Heavens of Desire' dungeon. The effects will only function inside the dungeon. To prevent abuse, however, all players who accept will have their IDs and data recorded. If anyone refuses, we will not force them."
Restrictions on world-class items lifted!!!!
The news instantly silenced the entire chatroom.
The GM glanced at Momonga with admiration.
"Since you already saw through our plan, and as guildmaster of Ainz Ooal Gown, I, GM007-1000256, officially commission you on behalf of the company: Clear the End-Tier Dungeon—'Six Heavens of Desire.' The reward will be an upgrade of Nazarick's dungeon level by 500."
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