"[Great Ore of Mercury]"
Nishiki was the first to reach the boss and with a slash of his daggers, *ting~ bounced off his blades.
"What the!"
Seeing the damage reduced to as low as 1/10 of its original power scared them a bit. But relief came when someone gave an answer.
"Meteoric Turtle!" shouted Buku.
""I'm on Cooldown!!"" shouted Ulbert and Yamaiko. Meaning that their debilitating attacks were unavailable.
Nishiki instantly unfurled the giant scroll from his back. Its length reaching as far as twenty meters, littered with various markings of indeterminate meaning, coalescing into six giant kanji at the middle.
Momonga and the others rushed to the scroll and took their respective places on top of it. As if receiving an unknown signal, Asura launched itself to the sky.
The Meteoric Turtle was a boss that the guild had fought before. And in its last legs, it performs a special move that makes it near indestructible and suddenly launching itself into the sky and fall and like star.
As soon as an AOE indicator appears beneath them, slowly covering the coliseum from the center to the edges, they waited tensely as it grew and grew and grew closer to their party.
The key was timing, because the Shitty Devs had come up with a counter against invinsibility spells and those with enough skill to actually parry to the fucking explosion. And that is waiting till a valid player target was found, before the boss's skill takes its final dive for an unblockable, un parriable and inescapable explosion.
An update that had wiped them all out once.
The red AOE indicator touched on them and suddenly turned blue. In a split second, Nishiki activated his skill, [Seal] and instantly bringing them all into a separate plane. Their vision shifted, as if suddenly floating in underwater surrounded by darkness while watching a floating screen in front of them.
Less than a second later Asura came crashing down like a meteor, kicking out dust, debris and heavily damaging the summons and killing most of them. Five damage points appears on top of the scroll, -1 each. And on the sixth it is destroyed, scattering into pieces of torn paper and instantly returning them to the coliseum. Like a sudden rise in gravity pulling them forcefully through the shattered screen, they were thrown in various parts of the coliseum.
Eliza and Buku immediately got up and rushed forward supported by their allies.
"Damn it all..." Ulbert gritted out as he opened his Cash Shop not wanting to hold back when Nishiki himself had spent a small fortune.
His actions were followed by the rest of the team. Buku bought a scroll that when activated, shifted her defense stats into physical attacks. Yamaiko used an item that looked like a totem which serves as a healing ward, rapidly regenerating everyone within the vicinity including summons. Momonga remained observant of the enemy, waiting and hoping an opening would soon show itself while holding a glass hour glass.
Suddenly, the boss drew its bow and pointed it towards the sky, unleashing one arrow that was swallowed by the void.
"[SATURN METEOR]"
The void expanded in explosive rate covering the entire coliseum.
The party regathered quickly.
[Wall of Skeleton]
[Field of force]
[Sanctuary Protection]
Three levels of protection surged from Momonga, Buku and Yamaiko. And with a shrill sound, beams of light rained down. The first to fall was the wall, exploding into pieces, followed by the force field that shattered like glass till all that was left was the golden dome that cracked in several areas as more and more beams poured down but, to their relief, it endured till the end.
In an instant, Buku, Eliza and Nishiki was ready to rush forward again but the boss suddenly floated mod air. And its weapons begun orbiting around it while glowing furiously.
"Well done! To have come this far, it appears I have underestimated you! Now! Face me and my minions!"
The floating weapons arranged themselves into the five corners of a star and plunged into the dirt. And in their place rose five monsters.
Level 87: Primal Fire Elemental
Level 87: Primal Water Elemental
Level 87: Primal Air Elemental
Level 87: Primal Earth Elemental
Level 90: Primal Star Elemental
Each of them as big as Asura himself and at the same level as Momonga and his party.
They had not expected the boss to be this strong. Yet, Momonga laughed, and his members sporting an evil grin. With nothing need to be said, Ulbert acted.
"Roar! my secret Arcana!!! Descend o ultimate disaster! Flow, ye tears of despair and regret! [Grand Catastrophe]!"
His speech different each time, nothing less than the expression of his soul. Ulbert Allain Odle, The World Disaster casted his ultimate spell, one that outstrips even the most powerful of Super Tier Spells in pure destructive power. One which cost him, 60% of his MP.
The field was engulfed with the torrential storm of all the elements together falling in indeterminable order. It was a kill zone where not even the air was safe.
Before their very eyes, the monsters that should have been at full health vanished completely and the boss itself lose more and more of its HP. Their sizes were not helping as the bigger hit box swallowed more of the indiscriminate attack.
The catastrophe wavers and vanishes and in the end, the boss was left with nothing more than 1% of its HP. Momonga reached out his hand as he casted "Know despair, in the face of Ainz Ooal Gown.[Grasp Heart]!" and between his palm, a mechanical circle of glowing golden liquid appears and he crushed it.
The HP bar vanished and explosive cracks appeared around the boss's body. Light flowed out of eery gap and with a flashy boss death animation, it exploded with a loud and resounding roar.
A cry of jubilation echoed from Momonga and his party. No matter what or where, overcoming great difficulty was a universal truth that people drew strength from.
When they calmed, "Master." Eliza nodded towards an orb floating not far from them. The party gathered together and with resolute steps, they circled the orb and checked their items before Momonga received the ok and Eliza grabbed it.
Another flash of light took away their vision. By the time they could see again, they were in a wide-open space, surrounded by ruins, standing in a slightly-elevated place at the top of a flight of stone steps.
The ruins were located within a sprawling expanse of wilderness, but there seemed to be something glowing in the sky which cast enough light that they could not see beyond 200 to 300 meters away.
The sound of cheering came from below them.
Looking down, he saw his guildmates. And just like his party, they were also holding weapons and it would seem they had been fighting until just now.
"The auto-spawning enemies vanished, so I was pretty sure that you and the others defeated your boss, Momonga-san."
"Yoshaaaa! Damn we're good, beating an unknown dungeon in one try! How about that, you shitty devs?!"
"Oi oi oi, if you want to take a toilet break, you'd better go now! Don't miss out on what happens next!"
When he heard their shouts, Momonga suddenly understood what they had done, and he laughed. In truth, he had been holding his laughter since, but he could not help himself now.
Momonga and the others descended the stairs, bathed in everyone's praise. These were their accolades for beating the strongest boss.
"Then, Eliza-san. Put that in there."
They looked in the direction Touch Me was pointing and saw a stone plaque. Where four orbs like the one Eliza was holding were slotted with one slot empty. There were no clear directions but they knew exactly what she had to do.
But instead she turned to Momonga and held out the orb in her palms to him. "The honors master."
He stared at her for a time. Eyes that seem to pierce his avatar and into his. And with a nod of acceptance, he took the orb from her. A brief exchange, that would mean more for them down the line.
He headed straight for the plaque, and slotted his orb into the final depression. The orb fit into the indentation as though it had been sucked in, and then all the orbs glowed gently.
Momonga gulped as a scroll descended from the sky, landing beside Momonga. In its place, the plaque vanished, replaced by a throne made from a single gigantic crystal.
Momonga extended his hand, and grasped the scroll floating mid-air.
"Congratulations! For conquering the Great Tomb of Nazarick, you have earned the ownership rights to the Guild Homebase: Great Tomb of Nazarick."
And then they saw it. 2750 NPC levels.
"""""Yeah!!!!""""""
"Its fucking real!"
"...its true?"
"The second most powerful guild in Helheim..."
"The base amount is 2,250. With a five hundred bonus NPC levels by completing it at first try."
"Never heard of that before."
"Probably cause no one has done it before."
"Uooooohhh! You shitty developers! As though anyone could do that!"
"Damn shitty devs!"
"Is that what you mean by seeking knowledge with no fear of death, you bastards?!"
Momonga joined in as well to cover up the joy overflowing in his heart. The truth was, the people who had vented their emotions were now laughing.
In fact, everyone was laughing.
They slapped each other on the back, patted their shoulders and their heads, all to celebrate the achievement which they and their friends had won. From the corner of his eye, Momonga even noticed Ulbert and Touch Me patting each other on the back as well.
"So this is an artifact then?" Punitto Moe pointed at the throne.
"Nice of them to provide a throne for us. Come! Take a sit Guildmaster! Let's take a commemorative photo!"
Warrior Takemikazuchi's words were met with general approval. Not wanting to put it off, Momonga did as he was told and sat on the throne. In that moment, a voice which only Momonga could hear spoke to him:
[Congratulations on completing an 80+ Dungeon in one attempt! You have received World Class Item: The Throne of Kings!]
Receiving one of the greatest treasures of Yggdrasil was a shock that took his breath away. With shaky hands, he opened up his status screen and just as he had hoped. He had received a buff just the last time he had a World Item and lost it.
"What's wrong, Momonga-san?"
Even in a world without facial expressions, anyone would find it strange if someone suddenly froze and did not move.
"Is it a nanomachine depletion message?"
"No… This… this is a World-Class Item."
Silence fell across the guild members, who were lined up for the photo shoot. They could not understand what Momonga was saying.
"Hey, it's true. Seems to be a reward for clearing the dungeon on the first try."
It was a calm voice that startled the listener himself. Nor could Momonga properly express himself due to the magnitude of the shock he had just received.
A great commotion erupted from his friends. At first, it was only the phrase "World-Class Item" that fell from their lips — and then it was thunderous cheering.
Just like before, great shouts of "Shitty Devs!" rang out.
"I knew it from the start. Clearing this dungeon in one shot would give us a World-Class Item."
"As if you really knew that."
"Awesome! How about that?! You Seraph bastards!"
"Yahoo~"
As everyone began dancing strangely, Momonga decided to rise from the throne and vacate it, so anyone could sit down. He moved to a quieter, more distant place.
Soon, Touch Me and Ulbert came to stand before Momonga.
"Well, that was amazing, Momonga-san!"
"That's right! A guildmaster who gets us a World-Class Item in our first guild event — that's crazy, right? Seriously!"
As he mused about whether "crazy" should be used as a form of praise, Momonga nodded to Ulbert and Touch Me.
"What are you saying, all this was because everyone gave freely of their resources to help us clear this dungeon."
"No it wasn't." Tabula interjects. "This all because of two people. Don't cut yourself short Momonga. No one but you had the guts to actually attempt something like this. I knew I wouldn't. And the other... well, I can't seem to find anymore."
After his words was said, all noticed that their informant had suddenly vanished. Amidst the whispers and questions, Momonga receives a whisper from her. "I can't serve you as member of your guild. Not as things are. I must remain distanced for now."
"You had earned your place among us Eliza-san. Leaving now would put your effort into nothing."
"It will, but that's ok. We have time, time enough for me to actually create a proper character. And follow the rules set by those who made this. That way, we can be together... Unhindered and unafraid. Please, just tell them that I'll return one day. Just not right now."
"Eliza."
"The devs are monitoring me right now Suzuki-kun. If I stay, it would mean trouble for you and them."
"Then, I will wait."
"She will return. But not anytime soon. Now! Come on! We have a victory to celebrate!"
"""""YEAH!!!"""""
Momonga stood as the last of his friends went offline. Making sure that the coast was clear, he sat on the throne and waited as an onyx haired beauty manifested herself right next to him.
No words were exchanged. Only that he conveyed his feelings to her through his eyes, and with a soft smile, she allowed herself to be guided and sat herself at the armrest. Her legs cross and feet dangling out the edge of the throne with her arm wrapped around his shoulder while leaning herself close to him. And in his response, he wrapped his arm around her waist. His skeletal hands gripping her far hip.
And with a click of a camera. Momonga commemorated the day where his new life begun.