"I've seen your kind, time and time again. Every fleeing man must be
caught. Every secret must be unearthed. Such is the conceit of the
self-proclaimed seeker of truth. But in the end, you lack the stomach.
For the agony you'll bring upon yourself..."
Weird how years later this really describes me...
Anywho, how you've been? Me, absolutely miserable. I don't think I'll ever finish my 'Inspirations Behind Overlord' book... since I keep finding new potential inspirations in this endless grind. Anyway, this is a new series I'm trying out to vent and also make notes for myself (I make lots of personal notes too though). I thought though, why not illustrate the process though? This is mainly notes for me. But I've been doing this since Summer 2018 (uguuuu).
First off, you got to find the thing you want to research. That's easier said than done. For me I have a running list of every item, spell, and ability in Overlord with notes on what I believe I've already tracked down. So I try to investigate the things I'm not sure of where they could have come from.Often times you run into reoccurring ideas as you follow the path I did. That's fine. I'm pretty Confident Maru did it on purpose.
The most famous 'reoccurring' idea is the famed Fireball trope. Jesus, it's easier to name a series that inspired Maru without Fireball, not even as an exaggeration. It's quantifiably true.
For context, I've just finished tracking down one series where many Wild Magic ideas came from. So I was pursuing other leads in this area I've neglected in my research. Mainly, there were many loose ends in Overlord I wanted to investigate.
A long time ago, I thought I knew where Wild Magic came from. This other source had lots of little details that matched Overlord's game system as well. The problem is, if Wild Magic came from this other series... it could have been a coincidence. So I decided to redouble my efforts on ideas I didn't think were undeniable.
So Ziggy asked himself, "What's another reoccurring thing in Overlord I am still shaky on Maruyama brings up repeatedly?"
There's a few spells that have been an ass and a half to track down. Some of items were gay too since they come from non English sources. But Ziggy's list for reevaluation (before I made this post on my blog at least) was:
A - Fluder/Arche/Ninya's Talent Vision vs Ninya's universal description of aura sense (why did Maru make it pop up so much post WN where Fluder's talent was an after thought before barely mentioned along with Talents in the WN pre LN release?)
B - The NPC Loyalty Presence System (a notable retcon from the WN to LN)
C- Mana Overuse (Is there some greater implication of this than the other source I found???)
D- Multi System Fusion Magic and Fluder's Acquisition of It
E - Keno's Talent (it deviates from the Talent norms - broad utility powers. Why?)
F - Magical Aptitude (Maru used to say anyone could learn spell crafting , but he seemed to have retconned it now... Why?)
G - Contract/Connect with the World for Magic Use (another retconned form WN to LN idea)
*Maru used to have magic work on this really poorly explained system. It involved spell books and buying spells or some shit with mediums?
H - Awakening (I found the level origin but not the fluff reason could be going for?)
I - Monster Genesis (where do undead or random Hamusuke's come from?)
J - What's with Talent acquisition rates?
These were a bunch of little ideas that cropped up from WN Part 1 to WN Part 2 post LN. It was strange given Maru's other inspirations being far older. It was different from usual mysteries in Overlord. Someone had to have recommended something to Maruyama. Then I remembered, Maruyama as extremely receptive to things he experiences (his love comedy binge pre Volume 12 for example and it's influence on Volume 13) . And so Ziggy binged any possible series with even a faint passing connection to any of the above.
After all that effort, I believe I found it. The origin of his WN to LN changes. It's pretty unexpected, but the protagonist is exactly what Maru favors. In this source Ziggy found possible origins for magic caster auras, world connecting and magic, Player NPC presence detection, Albedo's inspiration, mana exhaustion, Talents, Awakening, magical aptitude, monster genesis, magic combining, the world's questionable awareness, and even Player isekaing. The actual dates are iffy but here's my reconstruction:
Maru was making the WN, but he found some fluff lacking. Enter Inspiration. Some similar ideas crop up in this source to his own fic. And so Maru does what Maru does. He rips it the fuck off.
If Maru confirms more about other stuff on the list, I might create a follow up.
Citations:
A and G
“You are always watching, is it interesting?”
“Yes. I want to become like Ninya-san and use magic.”
“Oi oi. Magic is not a thing that you
can learn in a day or two, Firstly it seems that a guy that does not
have a connection to the world can’t do it, and those guys have latent
geniuses hidden inside them.
Lukeluther raised his head from the trap and commented. Ninya wiped off his smile, and faced Momon with a serious face.
“Is that so?”
“Ah, Momon-san. Please do not be that
disappointed. I think that Momon-san has the ability. Something that
feels different from a normal person.”
“……Is that so?”
“Mah, he easily lifted that impossible baggage.”
“It’s something different. Mah, if it
is a magic caster better than me he may be able to understand something.
The highest magic casters are able to detect their opponent’s magic
ability better.”
“……What does that mean?”
“Ah, we magic casters have something
like a magic aura made by our magic power, and it surrounds our body.
The better one becomes at magic, the ability to sense it also increases.
That and controlling the amount of magic power.”
“……Heh”
Restraining his deepening voice,
Momon replied with a not suspicious normal voice. It seemed that Momon
did not have that ability. He could not feel anything of the sort from
Ninya. No, was it possible to even feel it?
“And so. Using this magic power
detection ability, it is not rare for magic casters to turn people with
high magic power into their disciples.”
That was how I was picked up. Ninya continued.
“Is that so? Then if I want to use magic, what should I do first?”
“Let’s see. Firstly you need to find a good teacher?”
“After?”
“Afterwards? Mah, you cannot proceed without a teacher, but afterwards you should carve a contracted medium.”
“A contracted medium?”
“Eh. A special medium which you have
contracted with, and engraved with special magic equations. You can use
the magic from the your force of will.”
“Is Ninya holding one?”
“Eh. Mine is a grimoire.”
He pointed at the bag he was carrying.
“……Can that grimoire be used by anyone?”
“Ahaha. It’s impossible, Momon-san.
The person that can extract power from the medium, is only the one who
has formed a contract. And so Momon-san holding my grimoire cannot use
it.”
“Is that so, a pity.”
Momon resisted the desire to click his tongue.
“Mah, there are many people that steal the magic inside the medium though.”
“Is that so?”
“Eh.”
“……If that is the case then I have no choice but to steal magic?”
“That is not true.” Ninya replied to
Momon’s dangerous words with a smile on his face. “You can buy scrolls
with magic inside the Guild. And you can use them to transfer mediums.
And if you search, you can find adventurers that would sell them at
reasonable prices. Occasionally, adventurers have a chance of holding
onto rare or recently made magic rather than the Guild.”
[WN]
[Don’t look down on me, lizardman! <Silent Magic Arrow>!]
Three arrows of light suddenly flew
towards Zaryusu from the Lich’s body. The arrows of light that appeared
without any preparatory actions or signs made Zaryusu block them with
his sword on reflex, but the magic arrows went through the weapon and
hit Zaryusu’s body, inflicting dull pain.
Silent Magic didn’t require any preparatory actions, so it could not be disrupted from being casted.
[WN]
B (I don't remember it in the WN at least)
Momonga had no idea of knowing this, but the denizens of the Great Tomb
of Nazarick, or rather, all of Ainz Ooal Gown’s servants radiated a certain aura
that the servants could sense in order to determine whether a stranger was
friend or foe. Within the guild, the aura of the Forty One Supreme Beings that
ruled Nazarick — now reduced to Momonga alone — was enough to tell them
that the one before them was their absolute ruler. They could sense his mighty
presence from a distance and they could not have mistaken Momonga for
anyone else, even through his full plate armor. They would have seen through
Momonga’s disguise immediately, regardless of how he arrived.
[V1]
Shalltear knew what that meant. Despite herself, she looked over to the
distance, but she could not sense a presence.
“Is that the effect of the Master’s ring?”
One of the rings that Ainz wore would completely conceal him from all kinds
of divination-type magic. It was normally issued to all the guardians, but it
could also erase the presence of the ruler of the Great Tomb of Nazarick.
With a sense of regret for not being able to sense her master, Shalltear
turned her head back, and found that the human with a screw loose in his head
had vanished.
[V6]
D
Fluder Paradyne: The Chairman Magic
Caster of the Empire. Age is 268. He can use quite a high level of
magic, and has power at the class of the 13 Heros.
As Fluder does not have a skill to amplify magic, he cannot conduct a large ritual.
[WN]
Firstly, Fluder could command an
undead equal in strength to Gazef. Of course, one was his limit. However
he could not command this Death Knight. Then the simple answer was that
this undead was stronger than Gazef.
However that was just a simple approximation, actually controlling an undead being with magic involved more complex mechanisms.
Fundamentally speaking, controlling
or destroying the undead was the domain of the priests, who borrowed the
power of the gods. Magic casters used arcane power to emulate divine
might, so various discrepancies were only to be expected.
[WN]
The method that Fluder Paradyne used
to live his long life. This conversation elicited a high level of
curiosity in the minds of everyone. Even Jet forgot about the pain of
his stomach.
However, he felt it. That the secret would not actually be revealed.
And—-
“One would have to be able to use a Sixth Tier spell of my own creation….”
—Audible gasps could be heard.
[WN]
“Is that so…. Then if one is able to use the sixth tier, anyone can become immortal?”
“In theory. But a prerequisite is that
they need a large amount of mana. Even I need to drain every drop in my
body. And afterwards, I am unable to use any magic for several days.”
[WN]
F
“Oi oi. Magic is not a thing that you
can learn in a day or two, Firstly it seems that a guy that does not
have a connection to the world can’t do it, and those guys have latent
geniuses hidden inside them.
[WN]
Magic casters that want to make themselves appear special will claim that
magic is not possible if one does not have talent/ability, however magic tends
to be thought of like that, when in fact it takes time to study and before very
long they can reach the 1st Tier.
[Blog]
“Magic doesn’t seem like the sort of thing you can learn in one or two days.
Well, you need to connect to the world, but only people with the appropriate
talent can do it. If not, you’ll need to take a long time to experience it.”
[V2]
“You have no talent. Work hard somewhere else.”
She did not allow him any room to respond, as though there was nothing else to be said.
Climb knew her meaning very well.
He was not talented in magic. No, that was not all.
No matter how hard he practiced his
swordplay, how many times he bled and blistered and callused his hands,
he could not reach the level he longed for. Low walls which a talented
individual might soar over were like insurmountable barriers to Climb.
[V5]
The existence of divine magic casters proved the existence of the gods’ powers.
Therefore, Keno had done research to borrow, seize or steal the power
of the gods, in order to try and restore everyone to normal. However, nothing
she tried had any effect – perhaps she was not talented in that field – and
so she had halted her research into the topic.
[V'14']
However, learning magic required talent and everybody’s aptitude was different. Some people could
learn magic and others could not.
[V'14']
G
Fluder looked at them. Inside the eyes of those people, a bright flame of ambition burned.
Despite having multiple disciples,
Fluder had no clear successor. Since the position of Head Magic Caster
was given by the Emperor, many tried to win his favour by doing notable
jobs. However what his disciples truly wanted was Fluder’s spellbook and
equipment. Those would earn them the title of the best magic caster.
Thus they stood next to Fluder and tried to steal everything they could.
—It felt good.
[WN]
C
She surveyed the battle, regulating her breathing with deep breaths.
She had been casting defence buffs and healing magic on Rororo when they charged here.
In addition, with the summoning
magic, Crusch’s body wavered. She could no longer stand due to excessive
mana exhaustion. She could not heal her wounds due to this. She had no
breathing room to do so.
“Huff, huff…”
Crusch panted hard.
But her breathing was still rugged, she felt the air wasn’t coming in even though she was breathing so hard.
This was probably the symptoms of
mana exhaustion. She felt tremors of violent headache. Even so, Crusch
worked hard to open her eyes.
They had sacrificed so much for this battle, how could she be the first to retire from the field.
Crusch used all her effort to open her eyes and chanted.
“<Middle Cure Wounds>!”
[WN]
The priests in the water slowly began to fall.
Losing consciousness due to lack of
magic power was possible. However, large rituals did not cause such a
loss of magic. This was as the members assembled were calculated to have
ample magic power. And at worst, they were people that understood the
point where they should stop. It was impossible for so many of them to
lose consciousness.
[WN]
“Is that so…. Then if one is able to use the sixth tier, anyone can become immortal?”
“In theory. But a prerequisite is that
they need a large amount of mana. Even I need to drain every drop in my
body. And afterwards, I am unable to use any magic for several days.”
[WN]
“Just to confirm, if I bring that I will be immune to mental manipulation right?”
What Jircniv was speaking of was instantly understood to be the magic item that was the most precious heirloom in the Empire.
“Of course. That is an item that protects one from all mental effects. Magic cannot break through it.”
“What if I was affected by magic and then equip that item?”
“It will break the mental effect and you will return to normal.”
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