Watching Albedo, Sebas, and the other NPCs leave, the doors finally closing behind them, Momonga spoke up at last.
"Did we really… transmigrate?"
Even now, it still felt unreal. Transmigrating while playing a game was something he'd never heard of. Weren't people usually sent off by a truck or something? Why did his case have to be so different?
"Isn't it obvious?" Naohara said with a shrug. "Everything that's happened so far shows we're no longer just playing a game."
"That's true. Based on the games and novels I've seen, this looks like a genuine transmigration," Herohero added.
His body rippled and shifted, eventually forming into a humanoid slime standing before the other two.
"Being able to transform like this convinces me even more. In the game, I couldn't control my body's shape so freely," Herohero said, looking down at his slime-formed hands.
"Not bad, Blackie. This form looks a lot easier on the eyes," Naohara said, giving him a thumbs-up. It really was more presentable than his previous slime shape.
"Well, you two were always looking down at me before. It felt awkward. This form makes it easier to talk," Herohero explained.
Back in the game, it hadn't been an issue, but in reality it was pretty uncomfortable. When the three of them had surrounded Albedo earlier, he'd barely reached her thigh. That had been embarrassing.
"It's still hard to believe. Those novels were just—"
"Just fiction made up by people, right?" Naohara cut Momonga off and continued.
"But the evidence is right in front of us. This sense of touch, these voices, and most importantly…"
Naohara placed one hand on Momonga and the other on Herohero.
"You can feel it, can't you? The magic surging inside your body."
"That overwhelming magic flowing through us like a raging river is the clearest proof."
Momonga fell silent.
Herohero looked down at his own body, deep in thought.
The changes inside their bodies, their altered voices, the behavior of the NPCs. Every sign pointed to a single conclusion.
They had truly transmigrated.
As unbelievable as it felt, under Naohara's guidance, Momonga finally accepted it.
"I'm really glad you're here, Naohara, Herohero. If I were alone, I honestly wouldn't know what to do."
Having calmed himself down, Momonga spoke with genuine gratitude.
Being able to regain composure so quickly in a situation like this, analyze it, and immediately identify the key points wasn't something just anyone could manage.
Not being alone in this was truly a blessing. So this was the value of having companions.
Momonga looked at the two of them with emotion.
Seeing that Momonga had mostly come to terms with things, Naohara continued his analysis.
"Now that we know this is real, there's still one most important issue we need to address."
"What is it?" Momonga asked.
"The NPCs," Herohero interjected.
"Exactly," Naohara nodded. "From what we saw with Albedo, Sebas, and the others, they now have intelligence no different from ordinary people. That's what worries me."
"You're concerned their loyalty might not be guaranteed?" Momonga said, immediately understanding. "That's a serious issue. Even though NPCs can't use Super-Tier Magic, their combat strength is no joke. Some of them would give even me trouble."
His mind, which had been foggy since the transmigration, cleared as he fell into thought.
If the NPCs really did rebel, he would have to calculate whether they could withstand such an assault.
"And there's another problem," Herohero added. "We can feel that enormous magic inside us, but whether we can actually use it the way we did in the game is still unknown. Back then, we just clicked skills. After transmigrating, it's not guaranteed we can still cast spells properly."
He'd been examining his own body earlier and realized that while he could sense magic flowing through him, successfully releasing magic wasn't a given.
"That's an easy problem to solve," Naohara said after thinking for a moment. "Let's test it. Try to feel the magic inside and see if we can cast spells. A first-tier spell should be enough. This isn't the place to test anything too large-scale."
He was curious as well. He wanted to see what magic was really like in this world, and how it differed from the game.
"Then I'll go first."
[First-Tier Magic: Undead Flame]
Following the instinctive surge rising from within him, accompanied by a silent incantation, a small magic circle appeared on Momonga's originally pure-white skeletal hand. A sapphire-blue flame flickered into existence, quietly floating above his palm as it burned steadily.
Momonga calmly stared at the flame before him. Within his pitch-black eye sockets, the two red lights flickered faintly.
"It's even simpler than I imagined. It feels like as long as I think about what I want to do, the spells just surface on their own, ready to be used."
He shared his sensations with the other two. Compared to the game, this felt far more convenient. Casting magic now came with an almost effortless, free-flowing sense of control.
"Then let's try it too. Herohero, we can't let Momonga laugh at us."
[First-Tier Magic: Catastrophe Claw]
[First-Tier Magic: Corrosive Tentacle]
As the two focused on the magic within their bodies, two magic circles instantly formed before them. From one emerged an illusory dragon's claw, while pitch-black tentacles unfurled from the other.
"Yeah, no problems here. I can feel that as long as I want to, I can cast any spell at any time."
Naohara studied the magic circles in front of him and spoke after a brief moment of thought.
"I don't have any issues either. Looks like magic still works. That means there's only one question left."
"What about the NPCs? How should we deal with them? Kill them?" Herohero said bluntly. "With me, Momonga, and Naohara, it shouldn't be too hard. Plus, Momonga still has those seven World-Class Items."
"Even if they come at us in numbers, we can activate the Fusion Heart ability of the World-Class Items. If the three of us fuse, wiping them all out should be doable."
After finishing the test, Herohero immediately shifted the discussion to the NPCs. To him, instead of endless speculation, killing them all outright seemed simpler, and he quickly began analyzing the feasibility of that plan.
"Uh… Herohero, don't you think that's a bit extreme?" Momonga said, staring at him in disbelief. "Some of those NPCs were created by us, you know."
Both Momonga and Naohara had created NPCs themselves, and Herohero wasn't an exception either.
"Momonga's right," Naohara added. "And we've only just transmigrated. Jumping straight into combat isn't a good idea. We still know very little about this world. It'd be better to observe their loyalty first before deciding anything. Their strength could be very useful when exploring a new world."
Naohara began persuading Herohero. The idea was far too dangerous. While the plan itself had a high chance of success, Naohara estimated around an eighty percent probability of killing all NPCs if they really went through with it. Still, that was sheer madness.
At most, he had only intended to stay cautious toward the NPCs, thinking like a normal person would. Knowing the story, the last thing he wanted was to start a life-or-death struggle with his own subordinates right after transmigrating.
"Well, if you two don't agree, then forget it," Herohero said after a pause. "I was only thinking about the possibility that they might threaten your lives. Still, Momonga, take out the World-Class Items. Naohara, you, and I should each equip at least two, just in case."
"We finally transmigrated. I don't want to end up dying for no reason someday."
Though he abandoned the earlier idea, Herohero still insisted that each of them equip two World-Class Items to ensure their safety.
"That's fine," Momonga said. "We have seven World-Class Items total. Two for each of us, with one left over."
Momonga had no objections to Herohero's caution. If anything, he felt reassured by it. The three of them were what mattered most. Anything that could pose a threat had to be taken seriously, and having two World-Class Items each put him at ease.
Watching the two of them start discussing how to divide the items, Naohara let out a helpless sigh. One cautious person was bad enough. Two of them made life hard for someone as straightforward as him.
"Naohara, come get your items."
"Coming, coming!"
Hearing Herohero call out, Naohara hurried over without hesitation.
World-Class Items. Absolutely irresistible.