For Players living in the New World, meeting a fellow countryman was something truly special.
Since they shared similar experiences and backgrounds, a natural sense of kinship existed between them.
Yet that very closeness could also lead to complicated conflicts.
On one hand, their shared familiarity could allow them to quickly forge deep friendships and become each other's support in the New World. (See the Six Great Gods.)
On the other hand, various circumstances could cause them to become suspicious or hostile toward one another, or even drive them to inflict harm. (See the Eight Greed Kings.)
After all, as the old saying went, "The person who knows you best often makes the most troublesome enemy."
Of course, Samirth had no such concerns.
To him, encountering another Player in the New World was exciting in itself.
What was more, this Player had not only helped him, but was also someone he knew!
In this completely unfamiliar New World, having an acquaintance he could confide in and share his joys and sorrows with was an incredible stroke of luck.
Although he could also confide in his pet, it was still fundamentally a game character and could only discuss subjects related to the game.
That placed many restrictions on their conversations and prevented Samirth from speaking freely or fully expressing his thoughts.
That was why the moment he saw Naohara and the others, the joy in his heart was written all over his face.
"Hmm... I never imagined we would meet again even after being transmigrated to another world."
"Haha, maybe this is what people call a strange twist of fate."
Samirth sat at the dining table with all kinds of meat piled before him, devouring it ravenously as he spoke through a mouthful of food.
His eyes burned with frenzy and excitement. He tore into each piece of meat with almost vengeful force, biting down so hard that it crunched between his teeth.
His facial muscles twisted into a savage, terrifying grimace, as though he were releasing all the emotions he had suppressed for hundreds of years.
He kept stuffing food into his mouth, piece after piece, as if he could never eat enough.
His pet magical beast, affectionately called "Fivey," watched its Lord with concern but made no attempt to stop him.
It knew that its Lord needed to vent his long-suppressed emotions this way.
The sounds of frantic swallowing continued until Samirth had eaten the last piece of meat.
Only then did an expression of satisfaction finally appear on his face.
"Sorry. I got a little carried away."
Samirth took a deep breath and forced himself to calm down.
Although he repeatedly reminded himself to remain composed, the thought of Naohara telling him that the meat had come from the Deep Darkness Dragon Lord made it impossible to control his emotions.
"It's fine. We can bring out more if that wasn't enough. We have plenty of Dragon Meat, so eat as much as you like," Momonga said kindly.
To welcome their old friend, they had spent the past two days frantically carving off meat and had stockpiled several hundred tons of it.
Momonga had always been generous with his friends. He certainly would not be stingy now.
"Devouring an enemy's flesh is one way to take revenge, but I think I've had enough. I shouldn't waste what little time I have left on this."
Samirth shook his head and gave a bitter smile.
His condition was already dire.
Both his body and Soul resembled battered sieves, riddled with holes and liable to collapse at any moment.
"I don't have anything else with which to repay you. Once I die, refine this body into a Golem."
"My classes aren't particularly powerful, but I'm still Level 100, so the Golem should be of some use to you. Fivey is very strong. I hope you'll take good care of him. And also..."
Samirth spoke in a low voice, determination and resolve flashing in his eyes.
He was about to die, and this was the only thing he could still do.
He knew that his own strength was nothing exceptional, so he had decided to have this battle-ready body refined into a Golem in the hope that it would be of some help to Naohara and the others.
As far as he was concerned, in a world filled with danger, even the slightest increase in strength could prove vital to survival.
Faced with his endless final requests, however, Naohara and the other two merely exchanged exasperated looks.
They had barely spoken, and he was already making arrangements for his death!
What was even going on with him?
When Samirth suddenly embraced his pet and the two began wailing together, none of them knew what to say.
Like master, like pet.
"Hey, who told you that you were going to die? If you were doomed anyway, wouldn't rescuing you have been pointless?"
Naohara rose to his feet, grabbed Samirth and his pet while they clung to each other, and lifted them like a pair of chicks.
"Wait, I can still be saved?!"
"My Lord doesn't have to die?!"
Their wailing stopped abruptly, and the man and beast stared blankly at each other.
They had already worked themselves up for a tragic farewell, and now he was telling them Samirth was not going to die?
Naohara shook his head speechlessly. This guy's way of thinking had not changed at all.
He looked at Samirth and his pet, then let out a helpless sigh.
"What were you two thinking? How could you give up hope that easily?"
"But... in my condition, even resurrection magic would be useless."
Samirth blinked in confusion, tears still clinging to his face.
His pet nodded along, looking thoroughly aggrieved.
"That still doesn't mean you should give up so quickly. Besides, since we rescued you from the enemy, of course we have ways to keep you alive."
Naohara rolled his eyes.
"Really? You can actually save me?"
Samirth's eyes immediately lit up.
"Of course. We have several options. Can we have a normal conversation now? I still have some things to ask you."
"Yes, yes! As long as I get to live, I'll do anything!"
"Godfather, I don't want to die!"
Samirth nodded so vigorously that his head resembled a pounding pestle.
Since he had a chance to live, why would he want to die?
Woohoo! Naohara-sama is the absolute best!
"It's a shame I'm not a woman. Otherwise, I'd definitely let the three of you have a good time with me to repay this favor."
Samirth sounded genuinely regretful, and even his pet wore a disappointed expression.
Damn it. What a pair of perverts.
The corner of Naohara's mouth twitched, and he set the two fools back in their seats.
They might have been unreliable, but at least their personalities had returned to the way he remembered them.
"So tell us. How did you get transmigrated, and what's the story behind that item from the Twenty belonging to the Deep Darkness Dragon Lord?"
"I remember your Guild only had one World-Class Item called [Graeae], right?"
Naohara returned to his seat and voiced the question that had been troubling him.
[Graeae]
According to their background, the Graeae were born as white-haired old women. Their name, [Greek: ραῖαι, meaning "old women" or "gray witches"], refers to figures from Greek mythology.
They were the three daughters of Phorcys and Ceto, and the sisters of the Gorgons.
It was said that the three of them shared a single eye and a single mouth, taking turns using them.
The three sisters were named:
Pefredo (Πεφρηδώ), meaning [Vicious]; Enyo (Ενυώ), meaning [Fierce]; and Deno (δύο), meaning [Terrifying].
The Graeae were said to possess knowledge of both the past and the future.
In the game, [Graeae] was held by the top-tier Guild [World Searcher].
It was a detection-type World-Class Item and the Guild's only World-Class Item.
"How did I get transmigrated? Well, how should I put it..."
"The game was about to undergo a Server Shutdown, right? I hadn't planned on logging in, but then I thought about Fivey. I also knew that you and Momonga would definitely stay until the very end, so I decided to log in and take one last look as a memento."
"But work held me up, so I logged in quite late. I think it was already around 11:40. I was in such a hurry that I grabbed Fivey and rushed off to find the two of you. I wanted to watch the Server Shutdown fireworks together and take a commemorative picture."
"Then something went wrong along the way. I got trapped in a standalone dungeon, and this World-Class Item was inside."
"I originally planned to spend some in-game currency to send you two a private message, but messages couldn't be sent from inside the dungeon. With no other choice, I went to retrieve the World-Class Item. Then I closed my eyes, opened them again, and found that my surroundings had completely changed."
(P.S.: This is based on the scene in the original novel where three Guild members sent private messages to Momonga about making him Guildmaster. Private messages really did require an in-game purchase.)
Samirth recalled what had happened.
His transmigration had been remarkably haphazard, with no sense of wonder or excitement whatsoever. Thinking about it now left him struggling to contain his frustration.
Had he logged in earlier, or had that World-Class Item not delayed him, he might have reached Nazarick in time and been transmigrated alongside Naohara and the others.
If only he had managed to send them a message!
Then, after Naohara and the others were transmigrated, they might have considered the possibility that he had been transmigrated as well. Perhaps he could have been rescued much sooner.
"...So you didn't have your Guild's World-Class Item with you, but you happened to pick up another World-Class Item on the way, and it was even one of the Twenty?"
"That's some incredible luck."
Naohara had obtained one of the Twenty by defeating a monster, while Samirth had found another while traveling.
What was going on? Had the developers suddenly developed a conscience and decided to reward the Players who stayed until the end?
Had Momonga gone out for a walk back then, would he have picked up one of the Twenty as well?
"Luck? Look at how unlucky I've been! How can you possibly call this lucky?!"
Samirth nearly lost his composure. If not for that World-Class Item, there was no way he would have ended up in such a miserable state!
"Actually, regarding the truth behind our transmigration..."
Seeing his reaction, Momonga quickly began explaining.
He told Samirth the truth behind their transmigration, along with everything they knew about the Players who had arrived before them, including the Six Great Gods, the Eight Greed Kings, and the others.
In a sense, their old friend truly had been fortunate. Judging by his story, there was no guarantee he would have reached Nazarick before the Server Shutdown.
Without that World-Class Item, Samirth would never have been transmigrated at all.
"Fortune and misfortune really do come hand in hand."
Herohero did not know what else to say.
The story also served as a warning to him. Transmigrators were not chosen protagonists. They had to remain vigilant at all times.
"...So we aren't the only ones? A whole bunch of other bastards got transmigrated too?"
"Damn it! So I really am the unluckiest transmigrator of them all!"
He had once dreamed of roaming the world with a sword in hand, seeing all its wonders. His youthful heart had been wild and reckless, longing to make the whole world his home.
That was how his story was supposed to go.
Instead, he had practically died the moment he stepped outside.
It was bad enough that his own life had been miserable, but why had every other fellow countryman fared better than him?
The Six Great Gods had saved humanity. The Eight Greed Kings had declared war on the world. The Captain of the Thirteen Heroes had ended the Demon God War...
Samirth ground his teeth. The more he thought about it, the harder it became to contain himself, and his expression twisted as though he had swallowed something vile.
"My Lord! My Lord, calm down!"
Seeing its master on the verge of exploding, the pet magical beast he called Fivey hurriedly tried to soothe him.
His Soul was already fragile. He could not afford to become so furious that it shattered on the spot.
"Control yourself. Look on the bright side. At least you're still alive, right?"
Naohara moved a finger and activated time magic, rewinding Samirth's emotions to their state ten seconds earlier while leaving his memories intact.
The effect was roughly equivalent to [Emotional Suppression].
"That's right! As long as I'm alive, I've won!"
Samirth looked at Naohara, astonishment flashing through his eyes as though he were wondering how another Player could be so extraordinary.
He had no intention of looking deeper into it, however. Instead, he seized the opportunity and asked, "So, my three godfathers, how exactly am I supposed to survive?"
As the saying went, obedient children got treats.
There was no shame in wanting to live.
"There are three ways."
Samirth stared at him so eagerly that he seemed ready to press his entire body against him. Naohara reached out, pushed him away, and continued.
"Ugh... Please go on, Godfather..."
Samirth muttered after being shoved aside.
"The first method is to excise the corrupted portion of your Soul, then prepare a new vessel to house the undamaged portion. However, your condition has been left untreated for far too long. Even with your full cooperation, the risk would still be considerable."
"But with the Wild Magic [Self-Reincarnation], as long as nothing goes wrong during the separation process, you can be perfectly resurrected in the new vessel almost immediately."
Once a person's soul completely dissipated, there was no possibility of rebirth.
The rules of the world allowed a soul to seek out a new vessel, but they never allowed a vessel to gather a soul that had already dispersed.
Resurrection magic, in essence, used the soul as its medium.
That was precisely why the Elder Coffin Dragon Lord's Wild Magic, [Soulbreaker Breath], could erase a Player from existence entirely.
Given Samirth's current condition, his chances of success were vanishingly small.
However, that assessment did not account for the aid of a World-Class Item or Wild Magic. Now that they possessed the Wild Magic [Self-Reincarnation], the dangers that followed the separation could be resolved.
The only remaining difficulty was separating the Soul itself.
The corrupted and uncorrupted portions had to be perfectly divided into two independent entities. Otherwise, even if Samirth were resurrected, the corrupted portion would return with him.
"Uh... That sounds pretty difficult."
Samirth scratched his head. Merely hearing the explanation was enough to make the process sound extremely dangerous. He certainly did not dare try it lightly.
"Then there's the second method. We discard the Soul entirely, copy your memories, and resurrect you by alternative means."
Compared to preserving his Soul, directly copying his memories would be much simpler. However, it was fundamentally no different from the Deep Darkness Dragon Lord's method of resurrecting himself, which raised the question of whether the result would truly be the same person.
"What's the final option?"
Just as Naohara expected, Samirth abandoned the second proposal after considering it for only a second.
His greatest fear was becoming someone other than himself, so there was no possibility of him accepting that method.
To him, preserving his true self was more important than anything else.
"As for the last method..."
"It would involve reincarnation to renew your bond."
Naohara paused. The three of them had only recently devised this method.
"We would still separate your Soul, but only the pure portion would be preserved. We would extract your memories as well."
"We would place that pure Soul inside a womb where a child is still developing. Then we would extract your magical power and seal it inside the fetus along with your memories."
"That way, the pure Soul would develop from its most primal state. Since magical power is an extension of mental energy, its influence, combined with your memories, would ensure that you remained yourself. As you grew older, you would gradually remember everything from your previous life."
"You could think of it as experiencing the process of growing up all over again."
After explaining, Naohara looked at Samirth and waited for his decision.
"Starting over through reincarnation..."
Samirth murmured, a glimmer appearing in his eyes.
It was unquestionably an ideal solution.
Not only would it resolve the problems afflicting his current existence, but it would also give him a chance to start over and plan his class build more effectively.
As he recalled his battle against the Deep Darkness Dragon Lord, unwillingness welled up in Samirth's heart.
Although his opponent had launched a surprise attack, there was no denying that his own classes had serious limitations.
As an exploration-focused Player, his PvP abilities had always been relatively weak, barely placing him in the lower-middle ranks.
Had he been stronger at the time, the outcome might have been completely different.
Now that he had the chance to choose again, should he take the gamble?
After carefully considering his options, Samirth finally reached a decision.
"I choose the third option."
He took a deep breath and spoke with conviction.
He would take the chance. Every option was a gamble anyway, so there was nothing left for him to hesitate over.
He did not mention the snake ring Naohara was wearing.
Some things would only embarrass everyone if spoken aloud.
He was already fortunate enough to have a chance at survival, wasn't he?
"Then let's begin preparing."
"Mm. My Soul should last another half month or so. Let's use that time to catch up properly, and I'll introduce you to my companions."
"Oh, right. I almost forgot. You can come in now, Hamsuke."
As Naohara spoke, he opened the nearby doors, and a figure immediately charged inside.
"My Lord!"
At the sound of her voice, a gigantic hamster appeared before everyone.
Her eyes shone brightly like two dazzling gemstones, making it difficult to look away.
"Is that... a Giant Djungarian Hamster?"
After thinking for a moment, Samirth recognized the species of the magical beast before him. However, when he saw the Dragon Scale-covered tail behind the hamster, confusion entered his eyes.
Why did that tail look so familiar?
Following the hamster's gaze, he discovered that she was staring intently at his pet, a complicated look in her eyes.
Suddenly, Samirth seemed to understand. A gratified smile appeared on his face.
"As expected of my son. He really is handsome."
Samirth could not help voicing his admiration.
He completely failed to notice the teasing looks from the three beside him until he felt someone gently tugging at his hand.
"Um... My Lord, she is actually my child."
The pet named "Walking Jackpot" spoke.
Back then, it had conceived a child so that it could leave behind a descendant before seeking revenge against the Deep Darkness Dragon Lord without any lingering concerns.
It had never expected that, two hundred years later, the two of them would meet under such circumstances. The situation was rather awkward.
"What? Your child? Fivey, you lost your virginity?!"
Samirth froze briefly before realizing a serious problem.
His pet had already lost its virginity, yet he himself was apparently still a virgin. Worse, in another half month, he would become a child again, making any change to that situation seem impossibly far away.
Damn it. His mood had instantly taken a nosedive!
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