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+--- Thread: Bring me a Dream (/showthread.php?tid=7223)
Bring me a Dream - Crocodile - 02-08-2018
Quote:“My name is Omni. This is not the world you know. This is the Omniverse. You interest me, so I have made you part of it. The Omniverse is a place that reflects the wishes of those who are part of it. But! There are rules. I will explain them only once, so listen carefully.”
Omni hands you a glimmering orb in which all the colors of the rainbow coalesce. “This is Omnilium. It’s what ties the Omniverse together. Without it, you are nothing. With it, anything you desire can be yours. But you will need more than this. If you desire it enough, you will find it. You will find that using it comes naturally. Just think of what you desire most.
“You will not be alone in the Omniverse. There are others. Of course, they, too desire Omnilium. Do not fear death. For as long as you interest me, you will be reborn.
“That’s all you need to know right now. You’ll figure out the rest soon enough. I’ll be watching … and waiting.”
“Gotta say, Omni… I ain’t much impressed by your ‘Omniverse’…” Croc mutters softly, as his gaze takes in his alabaster surroundings. White sky and ivory earth meet at the horizon seamlessly, giving the impression of a snow-blasted wasteland despite the inarguably average temperature. In fact, the former Shichibukai tapped his heel on the ground just to be sure he wasn’t simply in some sort of formless void.
For a world that was supposed to reflect his wishes, it was quite disappointing. Did this Omni fellow just give up halfway through creating his realm? For that matter, what the hell was even going on? Sure, the guy gave some kinda half-assed explanation about Crocodile being interesting to him or whatever, but this was just too unbelievable to be true. If it was some sort of Devil Fruit Eater’s idea of a prank, they were gonna rue the day they thought Sir Crocodile a likely target for such foolishness.
The first order of business was, of course, to get a feel for exactly what sort of powers he was dealing with. If it was some sort of illusion ability, the user must not be very skilled considering that, aside from the bleached sky and earth, the only other thing Croc could see was a sort of fountain. Granted, there was something a bit off about it… something he couldn’t quite put his finger on, but if this really was some sort of magical world where people’s will could become manifest, then why was it so empty?
There was a lot to consider, and if it truly WERE an illusion it’d be dangerous to go anywhere without some sort of purpose, so for the moment Crocodile decided it’d be best to simply wait here and see if someone would wander by eventually. And with little else to do while he waited, the man simply watched the off-white fountain spray water into the air. Long moments passed before the former Shichibukai finally grasped exactly what had struck him as odd about the object before. When he’d initially arrived, he’d immediately looked about him to get a feel for his surroundings and look for enemies. Then, the fountain had been pure ivory in color, and the water cool and blue as it sprayed high into the air.
But... now the stone had taken on a distinctly brownish tint and the water had become murky with some sort of contaminant. Was this what Omni had meant by the world being malleable to those with Omnilium? Now THIS was fascinating indeed. Maybe the fool wasn’t quite the dullard Croc had taken him for. It was still idiotic to drag him into this world or illusion, but it seemed the ‘god’ was at least somewhat skilled, for the changes began to become more pronounced in the object before him. The marble-like stone had taken on a distinctly sandstone texture and color and the once-clear water had been replaced by a spray of golden sand cascading into the air to tumble into the large basin.
A grin tugged up at the pale-skinned man as a laugh flowed past them, his head thrown back to face the sky. “KUU AH AH AH AH AH! Well, this may be some sorta trap, but at least this thing knows how to show due respect!”
RE: Bring me a Dream - Ainz Ooal Gown - 02-22-2018
It was a dark and moon-less, yet mild summer night over the lands of New World. The people rested in their beds, peacefully sleeping while the less savoury individuals crawled out of their hiding places to conduct whatever shady business they wanted and the nocturnal animals awakened to go about their ‘day’. Guardsmen on night duty stood on their posts, overseeing the safety of their towns and cities, and once in a while an adventurer or two went to do work that could only be done in the absence of the sun.
Yet the Great Tomb of Nazarick was as active as ever. Most of its heteromorph - or Grotesque as was the popular name given to all intelligent races that were neither human nor sub-human - inhabitants needed no rest, either thanks to their race or due to the enchanted rings that they wore, and they were eager to work whatever projects they were on. Save of course for Shalltear Bloodfallen, who was drowning her depression and sorrow in alcohol distilled from fermented blood, and a handful that had been given nothing to do. Many of them were active outside the Tomb, assisting in the efforts of building the warehouses and other projects under the supervision of the Floor Guardians.
Down in the second-deepest level of this tomb, the ninth floor, was the office of the great Supreme Being, Ainz Ooal Gown. It was an ornately decorated room with two doors, one leading to the - unused - private quarters and the other leading to the rest of the floor. The room was dominated by a large wooden desk with a polished darkwood surface. Had it not been for the detailed engravings of demonic and angelic creatures in battle that were carved onto its massive legs - or rather, both that and the lack of potted plants flanking the left and right sides of the desk - it would have looked like it came straight out of a rich CEO’s office.
Sitting on an equally ornate chair that more resembled a throne, padded with red velvet cushions, was an elder lich, a skeleton-type undead, dressed in an elaborate black academic gown adorned with golden and violet edges. Rings glimmered on nine of its ten fingers which it held before its skull and tiny red flames flickered in its empty sockets, the only hint that it was not in fact the skeleton of some long-deceased mage. An aura of immense power inspiring fear and respect in all who came close surrounded it, wavering about its frame that showed how tall it really was, even when sitting. The aura was, however, so passive that onlookers would quickly understand that it was not something the elder lich intended to do, to intimidate someone. It did not even realize that it had this effect - it was as natural as breathing would be to a living being. That elder lich was the very same Ainz Ooal Gown, and at that time he was listening to the weekly report.
Besides him, far closer than a normal subordinate would to their boss, stood Albedo, the Overseer of the Floor Guardians and de facto second highest-ranked individual in the Tomb, as all those who had ranked above her besides Lord Ainz had vanished long ago. As a part-succubus Grotesque she was incredibly beautiful with long black hair, pale skin and curves befitting a member of her race. If her supernatural beauty did not tip an onlooker off, her vertically slit pupils and golden irises would, as well as her thick demon horns and the black angel wings growing from her waist surely would. She was wearing a white dress that showed off just enough of her figure to not appear indecent, and her lips were curled into an ever-present smile aven as she spoke, reading items off a list she held in her hands.
“... so, while the warehouses are making great progress, because the manufacturing process of magic scrolls appears to work differently we will need more time for that.”
Ainz stared intently at his fingertips as if an answer was written there, while Albedo waited. “I would prefer to begin using magic scrolls as soon as possible”, he said. Though he had no lungs, no trachea, no vocal cords or even a tongue and his jaw didn’t move his words sounded through the room, loud and clear. He turned his head to the side to look at Albedo and asked: “Would it accelerate the process if we captured someone with the necessary knowledge?”
Albedo’s blush, which she had had all that time giving the report, intensified a bit and she bowed her head. Due to a series of events she was completely infatuated with Ainz, which she openly displayed at every occasion. Especially now that he was constantly out, exploring the world and gathering information, which reduced the time they could see each other to a few hours a week. Like a dam that built up and was vented every so often, these moments were when she showered him with her affection. “As always, Lord Ainz, your thinking is flawless. Shall I notify Sebas to look for a suitable target?”
“No”, said Ainz, “Sebas and Solution are already preoccupied with their own mission, it would not be good to split their attention with a secondary assignment. Narberal and I are going to investigate E-Rantel tomorrow and come up with candidates for the position. It won't attract attention if an adventurer asks around for utilities like magic scrolls. ‘Nabe’ is not capable of casting every magic spell there is, after all.”
Under the respective aliases Momon and Nabe, Ainz and Narberal Gamma were acting as adventurers in the Re-Estize Kingdom, with Momon being a knight and Nabe a mage. This permitted them to explore the world and gather information much more easily. After they had recently been promoted to adamantine-level, the highest that there was, they had also gained extended access to the adventurer’s guild resources and were privy to much confidential information. As powerful as Ainz might be in this world, he was very careful and methodical about his approach. The incident with Shalltear had shown him that there were many factors in this world that could still pose a danger to him and his subordinates of Nazarick. He was not going to make rash decisions and risk everything because of his impatience or pride.
Besides, it was not like his time was limited. He, like almost all inhabitants of Nazarick, was immortal. The ones who weren’t, like Aura and Mare, were incredibly long-lived. It would be hundreds of years before age became a matter, if they even aged that was. That was one of the many things Ainz intended to discover about this New World - what things had changed and which ones had remained the same ever since that day where he had mysteriously been transformed into what had once just been his avatar in an MMORPG and found himself stranded in an unknown world, New World as he called it, along with all the NPCs of the Guild he was the leader of - NPCs such as Albedo.
“Narberal will be in touch with you soon, regarding the matter of a scroll manufacturer”, he concluded.
“Very well”, said Albedo with a nod. “That concludes the weekly report from my end, Lord Ainz.”
“I see. In that case I should depart again. The night will be over soon, I should be back in the inn before that.” He pushed back the chair and stood. “I leave Nazarick in your capable hands, Albedo. Take care of everything while I’m gone.”
“Ohh, I will be sure to, Lord Ainz”, she replied with a happier blush and a wide smile. As his self-proclaimed wife she had taken it upon herself to care for his personal quarters, even though he’d never used them since his arrival. As an undead he had no use for a bed, requiring no sleep.
“Gate”, he said and opened a black portal to the inn he was staying at. For some reason it seemed darker around the edges today than it was normally, but Ainz paid it no mind. A spell of this tier was barely influencable with even high-tier magic, let alone with the ludicrously weak spells that the people of New World used. It likely was a side-effect of using it from within the Great Tomb of Nazarick. He wrapped himself into his suit of armor, covered his head with his helmet, conjured the twinswords onto his back and stepped through the portal. It was time to pretend he’d been sleeping and was now ready to embark on new adventures.
---
Darkness enveloped him. In a heartbeat Ainz knew that something was wrong. The Gate Spell should have brought him straight to his destination, into the darkened inn room. However as an undead, one of his skills was Dark Vision, so the room should have appeared to him bright as day.
Had Gate gone wrong? No, it had a 0% mishap chance, that was precisely why he used it. He could not imagine it having been countered in some manner, no caster could have come close enough to the tomb to inhibit the spell without setting off numerous alarms. Perhaps at its destination then? But if that was it, where was he now? That was what he needed to find out.
Just as he found that his limbs were completely stiff, a figure manifested from the darkness. A curious white, featureless humanoid whose only defining feature was the enormous grin plastered on his face. His. For some reason Ainz instinctively knew that this being who began to address him was a man, before the first words came from his mouth.
Quote:“My name is Omni. This is not the world you know. This is the Omniverse. You interest me, so I have made you part of it. The Omniverse is a place that reflects the wishes of those who are part of it. But! There are rules. I will explain them only once, so listen carefully.”
Ainz wanted to interrupt him, to ask questions, but he could not get a word out either. His body acted on its own though, raising its hands as if it held a large salad bowl. Into these outheld hands this being who had introduced himself as Omni just now placed a basketball-sized orb that glimmered in all colors of the rainbow.
Quote:“This is Omnilium. It’s what ties the Omniverse together. Without it, you are nothing. With it, anything you desire can be yours. But you will need more than this. If you desire it enough, you will find it. You will find that using it comes naturally. Just think of what you desire most.
You will not be alone in the Omniverse. There are others. Of course, they, too desire Omnilium. Do not fear death. For as long as you interest me, you will be reborn.
That’s all you need to know right now. You’ll figure out the rest soon enough. I’ll be watching… and waiting.”
So many questions left unanswered, but Ainz could not get a word in edgewise. He felt panic welling up inside him, but as usual the undead aura he had since he had turned undead suppressed it and calmed him again. In a strangely catatonic state he watched as the darkness cleared around him and he found himself facing complete white.
Just as quickly as his body had stiffened during that meeting with the one called Omni, so did it relax again and he was able to move his limbs again. His sense of balance and gravity was distorted after that strange trip, but he quickly realized that what the white in front of him was the ground. He was laying down.
“Ugh. What on Earth…” he murmured as he pushed himself to his knees and raised his head. A world he didn’t know… the Omniverse… this was weirdly familiar. It was the second time in about a month that he had been taken from his old world and thrown into a new one. The only difference was that this time had come with an introduction. And that he was somewhere he did not recognize at all.
Unlike when Yggdrasil had become reality there was no Great Tomb of Nazarick around this time. There was no NPC to greet him… no, that wasn’t right. There was someone standing there… a human man, by the looks of it. Slowly Ainz stood up, all without saying a word, and eyed him. It was not someone he recognized, either from Yggdrasil or from New World. He had a weird pirate theme going on with a hook for a hand, but the rest of his attire was too high-class for that. It seemed that he was paying him no mind at the moment, instead his attention was focused on a sandstone-colored water fountain.
Unsure of who this person was - perhaps one of the ‘others’ that Omni had mentioned? - Ainz brought a gloved hand to where his mouth was beneath the helmet and cleared his nonexistant throat. “Good day”, he spoke as indifferently as possible, to grab the stranger’s attention.
RE: Bring me a Dream - Drake Oneir - 03-03-2018
So that whole meeting with Omni happened, which was great.
It was great because the last thing Drake knew, he had been falling out of a third-story window after sampling a treacherous swig of some stupid health drink. The one-armed bandit splashed down, face first into the Fountain of Infinity with all the divine grace of a clam-fritter into a deep fryer. Except no, it wasn't a splash, because some asshole had made the water sand. Regardless, Drake's own personal touch was added to this most august of Omniverse landmarks. A crude speaker system slowly rose out of the central obelisk, Teletubbies style, and began to blast the opening of 'Final Countdown'. It was to the keening strains of Joey Tempest that the dark-skinned smuggler took his first shaky steps as a Prime.
He wasn't complaining. Not at all. He was just confused. Being chosen by Omni to be a Prime was a bit like winning the lottery on the first try, or your mom saying your shitty childhood paintings suck. It just...these things don't actually happen. Drake turned his hand over a few times, brushing sand off of his nylon jacket, as if double checking to be sure that he was actually a Prime, and not just dead and in the afterlife.
No, no it seemed as though he was definitely an immortal demigod now. He could feel the Omnilium skittering around, just at his fingertips and in his belly. If he focused on it too long, it began to give Drake the same sort of sensation he got when the hot girl in science class offered to give him a blowie to help her with the science lab. Not that he had taken the lying slut up on it, but...whatever, that allegory got a bit away from me. Anyway, it was an odd feeling. Good things weren't supposed to happen to him.
As Drake approached two of the other newly anointed Primes that were milling around the fountain, Drake suddenly remembered he had to do something important. The career criminal dialed up Madge on his UNI device and waited for her to pick up.
"Madge? Hi, yeah it's me. Yeah...listen...just..." Drake said, scrunching his face up as the hysterical woman made sure that the voice she was hearing was real. Drake rolled his eyes knowingly at the tall guy and skeleton thing. Women.
"MADGE. Madge. Your kombucha sucks. Don't let anyone else drink it. I have to go now; I'm out here in the Nexus with two other...charming, handsome gentlemen."
There was a pause.
"Okay, I'm out here with two other clueless dipshits. Fuck off." Drake said, snapping the stylish phone shut and tucking it back into his satchel. Taking a breath, Drake plucked a cigarette out of a pocket along with a crappy, pink Bic lighter. He puffed up the cig and noticed that the pale, scarecrow fucker had a fat stogie plugged between his lips. The smuggler blinked and held out his light, letting the towering man ignite the immense cubano.
"Wassup?" Drake murmured, tucking the lighter back into his chest pocket. Crocodile took a long pull on the cigar before responding in a haze of noxious and also his hand was a giant buttplug pirate hook combo what? Okay. Moving on.
"Seems like you know a bit about what's going on here." the pirate mobster rumbled. Drake nodded his head to the side.
"Sort of. Is it just you and fat Demi Lovato here?" the shorter human said, gesturing over at Ainz. The skeletal prime shifted slightly in his robes.
"We were just getting through introductions." Ainz said in his low, raspy voice. The smuggler nodded softly before exhaling his own cloud.
"Aight. I'm Drake Oneir. I uh...do lots of things. I guess you could say I'm a native?"
"Crocodile. Remember it." the tall guy grunted. Okay. That guy doesn't fuck around. Drake made a note to suck up to him later.
"Ainz Ooal Gown, the Elder Lich." said skelebro.
...what.
"What." Drake repeated. Before the undead wizard could repeat the name, Drake interrupted, as per usual.
"Are you a boy skeleton or a girl skeleton? I can't tell from your voice." Drake chirped. Ainz's jaw ground slightly.
"I am Lord of–"
"Lord. So. Boy? Are you sure? You're wearing a dress. C'mon then, hike up your skirt. Let's see your pelvis and I can tell. I passed science class with a final grade of blowjob-plus." Drake chortled. That joke had sounded much more creepy in hindsight, but when writing as Drake, it's important to just say whatever crude bullshit comes to mind. Omni made a mistake.
"I shall do no such thing." the lich huffed, glad that he was incapable of blushing. Drake was unphased.
"Sure, yeah that's cool. Why The Elder Lich though? I mean you could call yourself anything now that you're dead. Ainz the Tetris Wizard. Ainz the Milf Spelunker. Ainz the-"
"That will be QUITE enough." the robed skeleton snapped, a green aura flickering to life around his shoulders. Drake smiled. This skeleton was mad. Meanwhile, Crocodile had lost just a tad of his composure and was chuckling softly. That died out pretty quickly, however, and was followed by several minutes of standing around in awkward silence.
OMNI MADE A MISTAKE.
RE: Bring me a Dream - Ainz Ooal Gown - 03-04-2018
Ainz was silently cursing himself for two reasons: first, because he'd allowed his identity-concealing armor to dissolve. Whether in Yggdrasil or in New World, spells of that sort couldn't just be casted once and then forgotten about, they had to be maintained, and that seemed to hold true in this case as well. And second, because he'd lost his temper at the african-american human that'd introduced himself as Drake. Thankfully his emotions were forced back and the subsequent calmness of his mind let him analyze the situation from a more logical viewpoint.
First of, the man called Crocodile. He seemed almost as clueless as Ainz was, but wasn't letting that get to his head. He seemed like someone who was used to being in control of things... maybe he had been a company manager or director before being brought here? Or a pirate ship captain if he went by his looks? Of course, he could be a player too, who went for that sort of style. He wasn't familiar with the clothing options for human characters, as he'd never played one... wasn't "crocodile" the name of an animal of some kind? He vaguely remembered something from an old trip with his school class to a zoo, but that was long past now. Blue Planet would have known, he was an animal enthusiast like that, but Ainz hadn't seen him for ages. Pity, it might have given him an edge knowing that sort of thing.
Second, the one called Drake who'd appeared more recently. This one, as infuriating and crude as he was, was... interesting. He said that he was a native, yet he'd shown no hint of understanding when Ainz had brought up his real name. In other words he was someone with some amount of knowledge about this world, and he'd never heard of Ainz Ooal Gown... so he had been brought to an entirely new world altogether, huh? Somewhere that was neither Yggdrasil nor New World. In his wonderment he brought his hand up to his pointed chin to think.
Hm?
His rings were gone?
Another wave of fear and anger rose in him and was promptly forced back. No, he couldn't have lost or stolen them, and they hadn't been made invisible either, he would've detected that. Had they not come along when he'd been brought to this world? Then why had he been allowed to keep his academic gown? Maybe that Omni creature hadn't wanted him to appear naked...
Back to the matter at hand. He needed more information. Reaching out as if to extend his hands in a greeting gesture to both Drake and Crocodile, he tried to put on a friendlier face. "I've a question for you two... are you 'players', by any chance?"
Drake's grin behind that stick he was smoking broadened, as did Crocodile's, but the other man was first to respond. "Well, I wouldn't call myself a player, but if you want to compliment me that way..."
Had Ainz had skin on his skull it would have formed a frown. That had to be some misstep, but he took it as a no. "Primes then?"
"You've just arrived, huh? Met the Omni-man, heard his little intro speech and all?"
"So have I", Crocodile pointed out. "Do you know more about it?" That question was directed at Drake.
"Maybe." He shrugged. "What's it to you, Captain Hook?"
"You're one to talk", Crocodile retaliated.
"Well, the Elderly Lich still trumps us both, doesn't he."
Ainz would have rolled his eyes if he had any. "It's Elder Lich. You can think of me as a skeleton, if you prefer."
Crocodile crossed his arms. The cigar between his teeth bounced up and down. "Did you eat a Devil Fruit or something?"
Drake interjected a question before Ainz could answer. "Does that mean you're a skeleton head to toe? All skin and bones, you don't even have a- damn man, that sucks. Well not literally, but you know."
"... yes. It'd make little sense to show you what's under my robe." Don't dredge that subject up anymore, man. I was just starting to get habituated to the thought that I'd remain a virgin forever. "But I was about to say, if you're native to this world, perhaps you could explain where we are? I can't speak for the both of us, but I imagine that Mr. Crocodile is as curious about this as I am."
RE: Bring me a Dream - Drake Oneir - 03-26-2018
"Yeah I guess..." Drake said, pulling a cigarette out of his bag and sucking it thoughtfully. No need to light it up; it was more of an oral habit than anything else.
Then there was an awkward silence for a reaaaally long time.
"Welp. I gotta take a leak. See y'all around." Drake chirpped before turning on his heel and walking in the other direction. He should probably try summoning something soon, but he wanted to see if any other chumps were around who he could potentially suck up to...
RE: Bring me a Dream - Crocodile - 03-28-2018
And so, Crocodile was left alone with Ainz; the short man who had called himself Drake having excused himself after a lengthy, awkward pause. Anticipation hung on the air as time seemed to drag on slowly, with little more to punctuate the passage of time than the soft gurgle of the fountain and the regular clouds of noxious smoke released by Croc as he enjoyed his cigar. Honestly, as annoyed as the large Pirate was over Drake’s worthless excuse to escape his presence, he was relieved by the newfound silence in the area. That is, until it was broken.
“So… he’s not coming back, is he?” spoke Croc’s skeletal companion.
“Nah,” came the Shichibukai’s curt response.
“And he didn’t tell us anything, did he?”
“Nope.”
“Should we go after him?”
“Nah. Fuck that guy,” Crocodile growled, chewing the end of his stogie. “Even if he wasn’t as annoying as a newborn baby crying for its mother, I doubt he even knew anything we didn’t.”
If the corpse had eyebrows, Croc imagined one would have quirked itself at his assumption. The large man sighed, put out his cigar on the edge of the fountain, crossed his arms, and explained.
“Listen. That guy popped up here just the same as us, right? Since we don’t know shit about what’s going on, I’d put good Berries down on that Drake guy not knowing nothing either. He was playing us for fools. Good riddance to that worthless trash, I say.”
RE: Bring me a Dream - Ainz Ooal Gown - 06-14-2018
For a short while Crocodile and Ainz just awkwardly stood around. Perhaps the hook-handed Pirate was thinking about what he himself should do next, but Ainz had no way of telling. Not that he hadn’t tried, of course, but neither Examine nor Inspect were working - spells that in Yggdrasil had been used to determine a character’s equipment and stats and in the New World had allowed him to read the superficial thoughts of others.
“I believe that I should take off too”, he finally said. “I wish you good luck on your adventures.”
“Hm. You too”, Crocodile replied, which caused the cigar between his lips to bob up and down. Ainz turned away from him and aimed his staff forward.
“Gate.”
“...”
“...”
Nothing. Not even the slightest flicker in the air. Ainz frowned, or he would have if he had skin on his skull to form frown wrinkles with, and retried to cast the spell without the staff as his catalyst. Still no effect.
“Summon Primal Fire Elemental. Summon Middle Tier Moonlight Wolf. Create Lesser Magic Item. Body of Effulgent Beryl. Magelight.” He tested out a variety of skills both belonging to the Staff of Ainz Ooal Gown’s and his own repertoires, but the result was always the same. No effect. Nothing happened where he was aiming to cast the spells, his stamina and mana reserves did not decrease, nothing at all.
“You recitin’ some sort of weird prayer?” Crocodile interrupted him after a bit. “I thought you were gonna take off.”
“It would appear that this place blocks my attempts at teleportation magic”, Ainz replied. “That is... rather inconvenient.” Of course, he withholding just how ‘inconvenient’ this was for him. He was unable to return to the New World, he had no way of knowing if the Great Tomb of Nazarick and his NPC subordinates were still around, let alone contacting them, and his magic wasn’t working. Body of Effulgent Beryl was a 10th tier spell different from the others, in that it did not perform any sort of teleportation magic but was a self-buff, and Create Lesser Magic Item did exactly that, convert magic energy into items. And Magelight was a 1st tier spell that functioned yet differently to all the others. Four spells of entirely different workings, and none of them worked. This was far more than inconvenient… it was a large problem.
Summing up his situation: he was alone in an unknown world with his powers and magic inhibited, possibly blocked completely. He did not know if Nazarick and his Guardian NPCs existed in this world, and if they did he had no way of contacting them. His only potential ally was the pirate who’d introduced himself as Crocodile, and it didn’t take a psychologist to figure out that he wasn’t an altruistic hero. Could he be trusted? In the right circumstances, perhaps. But Ainz didn’t see himself having the time to figure things out, and even if he did he doubted that he would draw much benefit from it. They were both newcomers to a stranger world, neither knew more than the other. Had it been Drake, then yeah. Maybe it would have been beneficial to stick with him until he knew more. But in these circumstances it was better to search for the Floor Guardians and other NPCs, and test out - in secret - what powers he had lost or gained, and which ones remained. To travel with someone else would hold him back.
“Magic, eh. You sure you didn’t eat any Devil Fruit? A bitter-tasting fruit with a spiral pattern on it?” asked Crocodile while Ainz was spinning these thoughts.
“My body doesn’t have the organs necessary for digestion, so eating one would be pointless, even if any such ‘Devil Fruit’ existed where I come from. But it matters little now that we are here… it’s possible that no magic exists in this place at all, or in a different form.”
“What with that Omnilium thing we were told about, eh?”
“Yes… in either case, I should depart, on foot this time. It’s been a pleasure meeting you, Mr. Crocodile.”
The pirate tapped the ash off the tip of his cigar. “Sure.”
This time Ainz departed on foot, rather than reattempting teleportation. What direction to, though? There was no way to tell what dangers were out there and he didn’t know where to even begin looking for his friends. He could follow Drake, the other Prime had likely departed towards somewhere not dangerous.
Ahh… and I don’t even know what happens if I die. Omni’s introductory words had been vague enough that he couldn’t rely on them. How did he know if he “interested” him? What would Omni even consider interesting? He still was Satoru Suzuki deep in there, working as the manager of a group of people in his company, someone who was boring. He wasn’t some sort of Shonen anime protagonist to whom interesting things were the norm. Of course, now as Ainz Ooal Gown things were different, but if he’d lost his powers, his magic, everything that made Ainz Ooal Gown exceptional other than his knowledge, maybe, was he still “interesting”?
And even if he was, who was to say how long this rebirth took? And would there be penalties? In Yggdrasil death meant five level-downs, which weren’t too difficult to recover, and a loss of some gear, which could be far more problematic, especially if the staff in his hand was the Guild Weapon and not the fake one.
The green aura flared to life and his rising panic was suppressed once more. No, there was no point in worrying about the details right now. He needed to keep a level head not just for himself but for his friends and subordinates as well, if they were here. He needed to find a settlement, perhaps. Ask around a bit. Oh, and disguise.
Strangely, that worked. Though Create Magic Item did not have any effect, as he focused on his “Momon” persona he felt his academic gown and even the staff disappear, only to be replaced by heavy armor and the twin swords on his back. It felt strangely comforting, though he was weirded out that this worked. Why could he summon his armor, and where did his items disappear to?
He tried focusing on his gown, and the process happened in reverse: the armor vanished, the light robes were draped over his body and his fingers wrapped around the staff. So it appears to be stored away somewhere… I see. He summoned his armor once more and inspected its integrity, then, feeling satisfied, he began to move. I could just risk going through one of those things… they look like big portals.
It took him a while to get to the one he'd picked as his destination, and he wandered through.