"Body data scan complete, consciousness uploading…"
An emotionless female robotic voice entered Sigris Helausvaerger's mind through the game helmet. The omnidirectional sound gave him an immersive feeling, which was the essence of virtual reality experience-based games.
After the progress bar reached 100%, the game prompt sounded again.
"Player Sigris Helausvaerger, welcome back to the world of YGGDRASIL! Wish you a pleasant gaming experience!"
As the AI vanished, a countdown appeared at the bottom of his view, and only the cold wind howled in his ears, while the sky was obscured by heavy black clouds.
This was Hralsvelgr's eternal night and cold world, also the location of the Great Tomb of Nazarick, the main activity area of the Ainz Ooal Gown guild.
It looked desolate, but it was actually a very lively place.
Some players, as if possessed, always liked to treat Nazarick as a demon's den to be conquered.
He remembered that the largest scale of conquest reached over a thousand people, and the result, naturally, was the complete annihilation of the invaders, with Ainz Ooal Gown once again achieving a glorious victory.
Sig's thoughts gradually drifted, recalling scenes from three years ago.
(The following is a flashback)
Many people had already gathered in Nazarick's conference room, and intense quarrels could be heard from time to time.
"Ulbert, we should prioritize dealing with Fire Surtur; this was decided days ago!" Touch Me, clad in silver-white armor, argued righteously.
Ulbert looked relaxed, "That's why I say Touch Me always likes to be willful. If we don't hunt the Frost Dragon, we won't be able to meet the special class change requirements for certain members."
"You're the one being willful. We can't just focus on efficiency…"
"I didn't…"
Here we go again, everyone around thought. Their quarrels were commonplace. If they weren't in the game, their faces would probably show helpless expressions.
Unfortunately, even the most advanced DMM games at the time were still unable to make character expressions change according to emotions.
Even the currently most popular YGGDRASIL was no exception.
YGGDRASIL, also known as the World Tree, garnered widespread attention upon its release, attracting countless players with its vast map and high degree of freedom.
There were hundreds of playable races in the game, mainly divided into three categories: Humanoid, Demi-human, and Heteromorphic.
Each race had different characteristics: Humans had no racial classes but the most selectable classes, offering more possibilities; Demi-humans were between Heteromorphic and Humanoid, with more balanced attributes and excellent talents in all aspects; among them, Heteromorphic races had the most advantages, not only possessing special racial abilities but also the highest attribute bonuses from leveling up.
To maintain game fairness, Heteromorphic races also had the most restrictions. Their ugly appearance was one aspect, and another was their obvious racial weaknesses, such as the Undead's fear of Holy attributes.
Among them, the most outrageous was that hunting Heteromorphic races was a class change requirement for some powerful classes. In the early stages of the game, this directly caused most Heteromorphic players to be bullied into quitting, with the remaining ones retreating to the three worlds favorable to Heteromorphic races.
Everyone present deeply understood this; most of them were victims at the time, and the guild only accepting Heteromorphic races was related to this, but that was all later history.
"Everyone, calm down~" Flying Squirrel, the guild master, was both helpless and secretly pleased by the commotion. He liked the current atmosphere, so he didn't immediately stop them, only trying to persuade the two from the side.
Ding!
A flash of light, and a figure covered in faint ethereal glow appeared in the conference room. It was completely wrapped, making it impossible to distinguish its race.
Only those equipped with the guild ring could freely teleport within Nazarick. The ring was an un-droppable item, so the newcomer was clearly not an outsider.
"Yo, Sig, long time no see." The speaker was a bird-man player glowing with golden light. His name was Peroroncino, and he was also Flying Squirrel's good friend.
"Long time no see, Peroroncino."
The player called Sig nodded, and the name Sigris Helausvaerger on the guild member list lit up.
Flying Squirrel asked with concern, "You haven't been online much lately, Sig-san."
"Yeah, I've been a bit busy. Touch Me should have mentioned it."
"Touch Me did mention it. Is it really because of work? If there's anything else, you must say it. Touch Me is a very reliable friend."
"I can't possibly say I'm frantically earning money to spend on the game; that would definitely make me seem crazy," Sig thought to himself.
Since the other party asked, he took the opportunity to explain, stating the specific reason was a new job, leaving no time for gaming. It wasn't a very original excuse.
As a fellow office worker, Flying Squirrel expressed understanding and gently comforted him, "You should get more rest."
Sig sent a smiley face, and his friendly laughter also came through the voice chat, "I'm fine, Guild Master. If I can live to the day the game shuts down, my life will be complete."
Almost no one took that seriously. Everyone had their own lives, and even Flying Squirrel, who cherished the game the most, thought it was a joke.
"I hope that day never comes."
"Guild Master, you're too kind." Sig didn't explain further, instead saying a teasing remark with a very serious tone. As for his true thoughts, no one could know.
Perhaps too focused on arguing, Ulbert only noticed Sig's presence after chatting for a while, and exclaimed in surprise, "You're finally online!"
Facing the demon constantly letting out strange laughs, Sig helplessly asked, "What happened?"
"We were discussing hunting Surtur first. I want to hunt the Dragon first, but Touch Me has a different idea. He always contradicts me."
Seeing his good friend Ulbert happy, he couldn't help but complain, "You've been online too little lately. I can't even find you."
Sig was certain that the one contradicting him wasn't Touch Me. Although they hadn't spent much time together, he and Ulbert were, in a sense, online friends for many years. Their chat history was hard to scroll through quickly, and even his current game name was given by Ulbert.
Although he wanted to be an outsider and just watch, one was a long-time online friend, and the other was a real-life friend, making it hard for him to stay out of it.
The only thing to be grateful for was that Touch Me was more reasonable, and Ulbert knew when to stop. If the two were truly irreconcilable, their friendship as a trio would have long been over.
"We are indeed arguing about this." Touch Me paused, "But since you're here, we can reconsider."
Herohero weakly said, "Sig is a Dragon Knight, so let's hunt the Dragon first."
There was almost no objection to this. Of course, they didn't mean to target Touch Me.
If Touch Me was the strongest in overall combat power, and Ulbert had the highest magical output, then Sig was the Dragon Slayer hexagonal warrior.
Just as Flying Squirrel was passionate about Undead mages, Sig had a deep obsession with Dragon Slaying, as if his only enemies were dragons.
His Dragon Knight class could grant a special attack buff against Dragon-type creatures and also activate many related skills, making it a very rare and special enhanced class.
Although he played for entertainment, Sig's strength in Ainz Ooal Gown was considered upper-tier.
Due to his complex class composition and significant racial advantage, he could fill most positions. With full equipment, he could even contend with Touch Me, and he also possessed large-scale annihilation magic.
What was the final result again? It seemed they dealt with the Dragon and then conquered Surtur. Everyone was very happy in the end.
It had been a while; Sig couldn't quite remember.
After all, three years had passed. Time really flies.
Almost all his companions had quit the game. The official developers continuously took measures to retain players, but it was ultimately useless. This once most popular game had reached the end of its life.
Finally, this day arrived, and Sig couldn't help but exclaim, "It's finally shutting down."