"Uh, speaking of which, Deloris, take this ring." Momonga sat in his seat, staring at the Staff of Ainz Ooal Gown. Then, as if he had suddenly remembered something, he extended his hand, and a golden ring inlaid with a ruby appeared in his palm.
"This is... the Ring of Ainz Ooal Gown? Please, brother, take it back. Deloris is not qualified to wear such an item." Seeing the ring, Chu Lian instantly knew what it was. She took several steps back and bowed respectfully, firmly refusing the gift.
"Deloris." However, Momonga said nothing more—he simply called her name with a serious tone. The meaning was clear.
Knowing she could not refuse, Chu Lian sighed softly. Straightening up, she took a few steps forward and reached out her small hand to take the ring from between his large bony fingers, then slipped it onto the pinky of her right hand.
The large ring instantly shrank to fit perfectly around her slender finger. Feeling the faint power flowing within it, Chu Lian lowered her hand and bowed. "Thank you for your gift, Lord Momonga."
"Good. Then come with me to the arena." Seeing that she had finally accepted the Ring of Ainz Ooal Gown, Momonga let out a quiet breath of relief.
If Deloris had truly refused, there would have been nothing he could do.
Fortunately, the authority of the guild leader still held weight. Even though the NPCs once belonging to their guild had now gained independent thought and physical form, they still obeyed his words.
Even for such a special NPC as Deloris, the rules set by the old system could not be completely overturned. That realization reassured him.
Rising to his feet, Momonga took the Staff of Ainz Ooal Gown and walked a few steps forward. Chu Lian immediately followed closely behind. Then, activating the teleportation ability of his Ring of Ainz Ooal Gown, he disappeared from sight, arriving on the sixth floor.
Following his lead, Chu Lian also activated the ring's power. Her vision blurred for a moment before she found herself in a completely new place—with Momonga standing right in front of her.
"Success. The ring's teleportation still works, and even the one I gave away can use it. It seems this function remains identical to the game." Momonga, noticing Chu Lian appear behind him, glanced down at his own ring and began walking forward slowly.
Chu Lian followed quietly, her nine tails swaying gently behind her, her fox ears twitching faintly now and then. She didn't interrupt his thoughts.
"Whether it's Albedo or Deloris, both still follow my commands as before. Though Deloris wasn't designed by our guild, her loyalty to it remains. What I say, they still do. Then... what about the others?" he murmured as they approached the exit leading to the arena.
The moment they stepped out, the view suddenly opened wide. The massive arena before them was lined with torches, illuminating every corner.
Holding the Staff of Ainz Ooal Gown, Momonga descended the passageway and walked straight toward the arena's center, glancing around as he went. "This should have been created by Bukubukuchagama, guarded by the twin dark elf siblings."
Just as he thought that, a small figure appeared above the arena. With cheerful laughter, it flipped several times in the air before landing on one knee not far in front of Momonga, kicking up a cloud of dust.
Then, the long-eared, golden-haired boy stood, raised both hands beside his head in a victory pose, clearly proud of himself. Lifting his feet, he ran swiftly toward Momonga.
Seeing the golden-haired youth, Momonga called out, "Aura?" The overly energetic boy came to a stop, a trail of dust swirling around him. He saluted, speaking loudly in a neutral-sounding voice, "Welcome, Lord Momonga! Welcome to the floor under our protection!"
Lowering his skull slightly, Momonga looked at the boy and said, "I'll be troubling you for a bit."
To that, Aura lifted his head, smiling brightly. "Not at all! Lord Momonga is the master of the Great Tomb of Nazarick—the absolute ruler! Wherever you go, it could never be considered a bother!"
Apparently satisfied with the response, Momonga let out a low "Hmm," then raised his head to glance behind Aura, a trace of confusion in his tone. "By the way..."
Seeing this, Aura froze for a moment, immediately realizing whom he was looking for. Turning toward where she had come from, she shouted loudly, "Mare! You're being disrespectful to Lord Momonga—get down here right now!"
"I can't, sis," came a soft, timid voice from afar—sweet and delicate, with a hint of shyness.
"Mare!" Aura clenched her fist and called again, clearly ready to resort to force if her sibling didn't obey.
"I got it already..." Forced by her sister's pressure, the reluctant Mare finally climbed over the railing and jumped down. The dust she kicked up was far less than Aura's earlier display, showing just how gentle her movements were.
The girl wobbled slightly as she landed, then tugged at her skirt to make sure she hadn't revealed anything before nervously clutching her staff and hurrying over.
"Hurry up~" Aura sighed and spread her hands helplessly, clearly at a loss for words.
Watching the scene, Chu Lian couldn't help but let out a quiet pfft of laughter. She had known from the anime that the two were quite the pair, but seeing it in person made it even funnier. These twin siblings were truly something else.
Her soft laugh didn't go unnoticed—Aura immediately spotted her. Until now, Chu Lian had been standing silently behind Momonga, her small frame almost hidden by the towering undead overlord. It was no wonder Aura hadn't noticed her before.
"Deloris, you're here too?" The one who spoke wasn't Aura but Mare, who had just arrived in front of Momonga and was still catching her breath.
Chu Lian nodded and bowed politely. "Lady Aura, Lady Mare, greetings to you both."
"Please, don't be so formal! We know your relationship with the Supreme One. If anyone should bow first, it should be us." Mare's face flushed red as she panicked at the sight of Chu Lian's courtesy.
"Mare, you should be greeting Lord Momonga first," Chu Lian reminded her gently.
"Ah—my apologies, Lord Momonga! Forgive me for keeping you waiting!" Mare instantly grew more flustered, unsure what to do with her hands as she quickly bowed to him.
Standing before him now, the twin dark elves had the same striking trait—one violet eye and one green. The difference lay only in their arrangement: Aura's were left green and right violet, while Mare's were left violet and right green. Their mirrored eyes made them easy to tell apart.
"I have something I need the two of you to help with today." Momonga paid no mind to Mare's nervousness. Looking at the twins seriously, he raised the Staff of Ainz Ooal Gown and tapped it lightly against the ground.
Their gazes immediately fixed upon the ornate staff radiating immense power. Eyes wide with wonder, they exclaimed, "Could it be... the legendary staff that only Lord Momonga is allowed to wield?"
Hearing Mare's question, Momonga lifted the staff proudly. "Indeed. This is the highest-tier guild weapon crafted by all the members of Ainz Ooal Gown—the Staff of Ainz Ooal Gown. The seven gems held by the serpents are all artifact-class items. The magic infused within the staff even surpasses the divine tier..."
At that moment, Chu Lian activated her system's virtual analysis ability to scan the staff, but only the most basic data appeared.
[Staff of Ainz Ooal Gown — crafted by all members of the Ainz Ooal Gown guild. A weapon comparable to a world item, containing a vast, ocean-like reservoir of magic power. Its full abilities have never been unleashed, and their exact effects remain unknown. As the guild's symbolic weapon, its destruction would cause all NPCs to vanish. Thus, its symbolic value exceeds its practical use. Item Rating: SSS.]
"An SSS-tier item... it's my first time seeing one. Pity it doesn't belong to me—and probably never will. Still, a weapon comparable to a world item can't be anything less than extraordinary."
Chu Lian thought to herself, though she held little personal interest in the staff. Her fighting style differed vastly from that of magic casters who used such weapons. Even if she possessed it, it would serve only as decoration at best.
Besides, the items obtainable from the Dream Points exchange system and those stored in her inventory from the second floor were all roughly stronger than this weapon. If she wanted something of similar caliber, she could always exchange for it later—there was no need to covet this particular one.
After all, compared to this weapon with still-unknown effects, it was the people of this guild that Chu Lian valued more. Weapons could be created, but people could not. Even if most of the guild's residents weren't technically "human," Chu Lian still preferred to refer to all intelligent beings collectively as people.
While she was quietly lost in thought, the unaware Momonga continued speaking. "Even so, the most powerful feature is still the automatic counterattack system..." He suddenly realized he had been talking too much and quickly raised his right hand, pretending to cough. "Ahem, well, that's about it."
His explanation only made the twins lift their heads in awe. "Amazing..." "Truly amazing, Lord Momonga."
Hearing their praise, Momonga seemed rather pleased. Raising the staff slightly, he declared, "That's right. I want to test this staff."
Aura immediately turned to the side and said, "Yes, I'll make the preparations right away."
Momonga added, "By the way, Aura, I've summoned all the floor guardians. They'll gather here within the hour."
Aura's tone fell noticeably. "So... Shalltear will be coming too?"
Momonga nodded silently. He knew Aura wasn't particularly fond of Shalltear, but as the Supreme Being, he couldn't afford to show favoritism. He could only remain quiet.
Not long after, two massive bipedal dragons arrived carrying the items Momonga had requested. He wanted to test whether casting magic here differed from simply clicking icons in the game.
After all, this was now a real world—there was no way things would work exactly as they had in YGGDRASIL. If he couldn't find a proper way to cast spells, he might soon find himself in real danger.
That was why he had asked Aura to prepare the materials, using the excuse of testing the Staff of Ainz Ooal Gown to experiment with spellcasting itself.
"Typical bonehead—tough on the outside, hollow within," Chu Lian muttered under her breath. Standing beside Aura and Mare, the guardians of the sixth floor, she quietly watched Momonga at work without saying another word. Yet the two standing next to her couldn't help but look at her curiously, intrigued by this mysterious charming maid who always stayed so calm.