[Repost][Miscellany] Magical Natural Philosophy Mega PDF

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[Article] The World's Favor (The DM/World's Girlfriends) - Magical Natural Philosophy

"I Survive Bad Rolls and Have Extra Powers Just Because I'm Blessed By The World(read:I am the DM's Girlfriend), You Survive Bad Rolls Only With Ingenuity and Saving Throws, We Are Not the Same"

 

 Look up, it's ....!

Ah.......It's actually just  Ziggy. 

Bump Bump Ba Buuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuump. 

Ahoy hoy. 

Do you know the trope of the DM's Girlfriend? 

If you don't get ready to learn!

It's a pretty simple concept - It's someone that has the DM biased toward them and they make decisions in their favor all the time. It's like having a bad boss favor a bad coworker who doesn't do their job competently, is a bad team player, and rationally doesn't deserve special treatment. But they get it anyway.... because they are the DM's girlfriend. 

Today the joke here is people with Talents are sort of like the DM's Girlfriend, in this case the World's Girlfriend. 

Funny right?!?!??!?!?!!?

....Maybe not.... Well anyway did you expect Ziggy to be witty and clever? Shame on you. SHAME!

Anyway....... Talents are not exactly the DM Girlfriend effect. HOWEVER.

HOWEVER!

HOWEVER?

Hmmmmmmmmmm. There are rules to it. it's not just extra cheats. Genius bonuses have rules and limitations as well after all. Does that make sense? Ziggy knows it's hard to make sense of Talents with how vague the series treats them as after thoughts up until someone pulls off some deus ex machina bullshit just because 'Muh Talent'.

So previously we talked about Blood Bought Miracles (patent pending). If you can come up with a better name for that go ahead, Ziggy is a pretty muh namer of stuff. Anyway, the curious thing about Blood Bought Miracles (minor rule breaking using a price paid in blood) is unlike Mana Oversaturation, which breaks rules on the condition of continual payment of mana (Decem's OVERSummoning, OVER meta magic, rituals, etc) is that Blood Bought Miracles are performed by casters AND non-casters to break the rules of the world in limited ways so long as a price is paid. 

It's something between a universal mechanic and just a feat with certain status condition requirements... Our next focus is on something you might have noticed thanks to the last volume, though it existed before. Do you recall the strange reaction Ainz had to Antilene surviving Petit Catastrophe?

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In return for consuming enormous mana, its damage surpassed even the super tier magic that Ainz could use. Of course, still it was not as powerful as the [Grand Catastrophe]. But the raging torrent of energy born from it was enough to blow away everything in an instant. The very next moment, Zesshi was hit by tremendous energy. Bad, gonna die Zesshi immediately realized. The fierce currents of energy blew away the earth elemental in an instant. She finally realized at that moment, that the earth elemental was neither a countermeasure for Einherjar nor a wall to let the girl escape. It was nothing more than a decoy, to keep Zesshi and her clone from escaping that single tyrannical attack. And in reality, her Einherjar also disappeared just a moment after the elemental did. Following that — – —–not yet! I will not die! I WILL NOT DIE! In the eye of the destruction raging around her sweetly whispering to her to give up and take it easy, Zesshi brought all her vitality to the fore to bear through it. But — ——her consciousness weakened. She could no longer sense the pain that had been stinging all over the body before. She could no longer even sense if she was still standing or where she was. So this was how death felt like. What the heck is this

[V16]

“You did good, taking her down without killing her, didn’t you?” “Y-yes. I also thought that I ended up killing her with [Petit-Catastrophe], but, it looks like she had a lot of vitality, so luckily she didn’t die.” “You used [Petit-catastrophe]!? . . . . . . . . . to think she didn’t die from that. . . . . . ..that human is certainly strong. Mare had been really fortunate. . . . . . ..So what happened to the elf king?”

[V16]

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HAX

Or is it? Think back a bit to a few other times this has happened, people surviving things when they shouldn't have:

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“Could it be those people I killed in that store were your friends? Are you mad because I killed your buddies~?” Clementine continued in a mocking tone: “Ufufufu, that magic caster was soooo funny. Until the end he believed that someone would save him~ but how could he hold out that long against my attacks with just that little bit of health… Or could it be he was hoping you would save him? Sor~ry, I killed him.”

[V2]

 ―He had to buy time for Enri. That thought was what drove Nfirea to move. Making note of the Troll’s upraised left arm, he ran forward and to the left. Seeking life in death, he plunged head-first into danger to reach the safety beyond it. The Troll’s fist followed him, and the wind of its passing ruffled his hair. And in front of Nfirea, a mighty foot kicked out at him like a moving wall. Nfirea’s vision spun wildly as he flew through the air, his body making cracking sounds like shattered tree branches. He hit the ground hard and rolled several times, like a piece of discarded rubbish. Pain coursed through Nfirea’s body, which was still rolling over the ground. This was the most pain he had experienced in his life. “But, but I somehow managed to survive. That’s amazing. I’m amazing…” He had hung on to life was because of the effects of his defensive spell and the fact that the Troll’s footing had been poor when it had kicked him. Ignoring the pain that shot through him with every breath he took, Nfirea stood, and loosed another spell.

[V8]

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You may or may not able to add Keno to this list though when she was 'dying' and outlasted everyone else that might be because she was using her Talent so it's iffy.

But whoops. Cat's out of the bag now. For some reason, these people with talents all sort of 'survived' stuff or for longer than they should of. What gives?

Ninya still died but Clementine, an experienced murderer, didn't quite understand why she could take so much damage. Likewise, Nfirea was amazed he survived though he rationalized it as circumstances. But Antilene proves something - she had no business surviving Petit Catastrophe. 

Maybe Brain not dropping dead right away after using Soul Ignition / LEsser Soul Ignition and being able to live for a minute was thanks to his Talent as well? Hard to say, given he's the only one we've seen do that. Brain however did pull off another miracle... one not paid for in Blood!

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Right now, if someone had converted their ability into data and compared them, he would undoubtedly be cheering for Brain. Indeed, it was a miracle, like the sun rising from the west, a sight that would fill people with awe and respect

[V6]

Brain Unglaus had yet again, achieved something impossible. He did not know this himself. The true nature of his Talent was an increase in his focus capacity, only with this and the addition of his higher levels was he able to activate the martial arts required by [True Nail Clipper]. But, even so, Brain had his limits. He could not use any more martial arts than that, a limit imposed upon him by the world. But, in that moment — Brain broke the rules of this world once more. A second miracle of this kind. The first was when he cut Shalltear’s nail. The second, was made in this moment.  

The consequence of breaking the rules was that his body began to deteriorate. His body probably couldn’t last for even one more minute

[V14]

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NANI!?!?!??!!!?

Yeah, strange to see Maruyama openly declare both are 'miracles'(magical bullshit no one can explain rationally). But clearly the Nail Clipper was not a  Blood Bought Miracle.

Now for whatever reason people with Talents not only have special powers with no apparent cost, they can just perform miracles and have DM Fiat! HAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAX.

Why though? How does that work? Why would having a Talent mean you can survive stuff you shouldn't have... how does it let you perform miracles without a price paid in blood unlike others? Maybe this is the conceit of the world, the World's Blessing, it's favor. 

Or perhaps, Talents are something different... What even determines what Talent you get in the first place? Why do they vary in potency too? There is a plausible answer, though it might not be readily apparent to you all. But that is a discussion for another day, another time.

Clearly people with Talents are more 'magical' than others. one thing many people do not account for how do they power their Talents or use them without classes or levels?

One thought is Talents are sort of like what Base Ten Bonus Feats - just it's a Bonus Feat you can only get at birth. Think like an Inherited Template (eg Crush, Beebeezee's inherited lordship, etc). If we apply the idea of Bonus Feats it's an Inherited Bonus Feat, meanwhile Base Ten bonuses are Acquired Bonus Feats, requiring at minimum ten levels to acquire. 

Still, Acquired Bonus Feats require an investment of levels to get... Talents do not....Strange....

one thing to consider however is how Base Ten Bonus Feats do not give you new ultimate powers - they merely augment or access pre existing powers, they are ancillary things like OVERsummoning, summon range extension, using multiple magic systems at once.

Talents are somewhat similar, many Talents do things like let  you walk weird, see weird, or use powers on certain conditions. Though apparently some Talents exist to copy Tier magic effects to an extent?

The distinction here is Talents augment basic functionality or core rules of the world, Base Ten Bonus Feats augment features of classes, bypass usage restrictions, or allow stacking of stuff in weird ways. 

Nfirea is the best example - he can just ignore core rules about magic items and scrolls. Likewise Antilene ignores class requirements all together, just like Keno's talent does. Stats can still affect the potency of the Talent but not the usage of it. Keno's talent is so strong it lets her even use Super Tier magic, something only Players should have. Draudillon's talent lets her use Wild magic by the same logic.

So what's with this universal mechanic for Talent Bearers (hur hur) to survive shit they shouldn't?

One thought is whatever powers talents tangentially lets you perform this 'feat'. Something has to power Talents just like how classes and levels seem to be needed to power skills. Whatever this 'power source' is, it's not Blood, and it's not tier mana. 

But what is it? Is it Olde Mana? But then wouldn't Draudillion be able to use her talent but then lock herself out of it if Talents and Wild magic shared the same power source?

Something's strange... 

It's quite the rabbit hole isn't it?

What could it be.......................?

Here's a hint from Ziggy if you look closer, really ponder the meaning of Talents- REDACTED.

 

(250 pages of Overlord theoretical magical rambling are torn out here)

 

-and that's why Brain can perform miracles without a price paid in Blood!

IT ALL MAKES SENSE!!!

Who knew the anime hinted at this too! Maruyama's such a nerd. But let's keep that a secret between you and Ziggy!

Still, that doesn't address our core mystery of WHAT fuels these processes... mana, souls, blood, so long as you have 'fuel' you can bend reality to a certain extent. Then what the hell is fueling talents? Talent Slot theory suggests every being has a 'Talent slot', that's why you only ever see people with ONE Talent. But that doesn't answer what fuels the ability in this slot. Something worth noting is how Maruyama differentiates between EVOLUTION(levling up) and how Classes grant power instead of seeing them as the same thing.

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Ah, one can also train[tanren] their body[nikutai] in addition to this. This may seem like a game explanation yet, there is foundational physical strength [su no kinryoku] (which can be trained) + Level Up Physical Strength (evolution [shinka]) + and various corrections from classes etc (power that comes from unfathomable magical power [maryoku tekina fukashigi no ryoku]) should be the plan.

[V5+6AT]

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"That's stupid!"

Is it?

Think for a moment, can't Climb use Limit Break Mind to gain temporary levels? Meanwhile Renner can use Genius to copy certain class skills but with no stat bonuses?

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Then next Climb’s Martial Art [bugi] “nouryoku kaihou” (Limit Break -Mind) (a temporary + 1D3 Warrior Level increase [senshi reberu]?)

[V5+6AT]

“…Say, that, this, umm.” The sounds coming out of Renner’s mouth did not match the atmosphere of the room just then at all. “Can I hold the sword for a moment?” “Eh? Okay, yes!” After he handed over the sword, Renner drew it out. “It is quite heavy.” Renner handed the sheath to Climb. The blade of the Razor Edge was honed and could cut through armor like paper. Before Climb could say “It’s dangerous,” Renner began to wave the sword around in the air. Climb was a little shocked. Indeed, because of the weight, her movements were wobbly, causing the tip of the blade to nick the floorboard. That was purely because she did not have enough strength to wield it, because her training still shone through her stance and movements. He could feel the sharpness of the blade from afar. If a man without experience were to swing this sword around, he would not have been able to make the sword gleam the way it did in her hands. “Uuugh — Hmmm. I’m not too suited for this.” “N-no, not at all. I believe that if you trained more, you should be able to win against me in a duel.” “You jest. Plus, it is unlikely that I will ever hold a sword again.”

[V14]

It hasn’t been very long but many people seem confused, Genius is a potential substitute for all Normal job classes, it can even be modified into Prostitute and carry out it’s function. And it improves the technique (Gijutsu) Level to that of a Pro..... Without question it’s amazing.

[TWTR]

Therefore, he wanted to teach Climb something else. He felt that there was a limit to one’s abilities, but not limit to one’s experience.

[V5]

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On the topic of Geniuses... Genius modified classes don't have bonus levels yet they confer bonuses as well... They also let you cheat without paying a price...... Hmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm

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Q: Can you elaborate on (Genius) modifiers? Do they get more skills, unique skills, or more skill points? 

A: A Genius differs in various ways. For example, the number of magic spells learned increases slightly. However there is never a time when they become incredibly strong. 

Q: How did Nfirea and Remedios get the Genius modifier? Was it present in Yggdrasil? Does it apply only to Job classes only? Say can it be applied to (General)/Monster/ Racial levels? 

A: It’s a natural born talent. No [it wasn’t in Yggdrasil]. Only Job classes [have the Genius modifier].  

[TWTR]

“Martial Art! [Ability Boost]! [Greater Ability Boost]!” These martial arts were his pride and joy. [Greater Ability Boost], in particular, was a martial art that someone of Eruya’s level should never have been able to learn. But I learned it, so I’m a genius! I really am very strong!

[V7]

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Brain was a GENIUS and had a Talent so these things are distinct. Just like how Level Bonuses do not correlate with whatever Renner's Genius class grants. The simplest explanation is plain level bonuses (growth potential or POWER LEVEL) is a different power source than Skills, that's where Gazef says you can cap out on LEVEL limits but not on SKILL limits. It's not a mind blowing differentiation of course, but it explains why Renner can impress Climb but stat wise it doesn't make her better. Conversely it shows how Climb can get STRONKER but it doesn't magically make him better. 

This is a tangent but Ainz's Perfect Warrior for example doesn't grant him skills at all nor does it let him instantly be a better warrior. He has to train himself to get better. In this case this is the infinite potential of YGGDRASIL beings to an extent - they can improve at things with practice even if they cannot get more levels doing it. 

Weird to think of these as distinct topics though right? 

So then where do CLASS(Genius) users fall in? Brain was like uber skilled and Eruya was supposedly quite talented as well, but they also get cheat bonuses (even if minor)... just.... like Talents....

But Brain was a Genius AND had a Talent.....

Hmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm

Clearly these people are just dating the World! It's the only explanation!

REEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!

Why are there now two bonuses we cannot explain that fuels them?

Well there IS an explanation for Geniuses having bonuses, though in the story it's not explained or easily defended. You have to basically rely on external rule explanations to understand it's both a joke and a reference... And it does sort of have a basis in the mechanics as something that does exist that could be used as fuel or to power things... But that might require a lengthy article on what MANA or FUEL can be and how it works beyond just spell casting.... Basically think about what Focus really is in Martial Arts and how that seems to power bending of reality too. If Fighters can do that, like a janky magic casting system, you might see a basis for that with Geniuses.

But what of Talents? Mechanically in the story you CAN explain how they work and vary in power. But what powers them seems almost phantasmal.... There does seem to be a correlation between how good your Talent is and your Growth Potential however. There is one hint... it's so often forgotten that it's amazing no one bothered to explore it further. Once you analyze the significance of it however you see that Talents and Geniuses may be more closely related than you think. Though the distinction is Genius are tied to specific classes, meanwhile Talents are tied to something else (like a Talent slot).

Sorry Ziggy is being so vague... 

There just isn't a lot in the main text to substantiate this without copious amounts of number crunching and an entire dissertation on a specific subset of Magical Natural Philosophy. 

Remember though, Ziggy is always wrong and you are always right! Maybe you can discover the truth inside all this rambling and beating around the bush. BUSHWHACKING!

Think of it like this though to return back to the original mystery here - why Talent users are so tanky. If Geniuses can get bonus power ups AND be uber skilled at their classes... we can sort of frame this as each conferring bonuses in different ways.

Geniuses 

    MLG pro at their classes

    Get minor bonus cheats

Talent Bearers

    uber tanky and have minor plot armor protection 

    Get bad to Plot Hax bonus cheats

One is a clear 'cheat' or basically a super power beyond what the rules would normally allow. Hell, Nigun's Talent gave him a power up just like if he was a Genius Summoner.... ie a stat bonus beyond what his classes should of given. For the Geniuses, they also are like have some sort of relation to SKILLs and what makes someone GUD at a class. So if Talent Bearers have cheats maybe the SKILL they have related to being CHEATERS is.... whatever this plot armor cockroach power is?

Both are New World only things so its at least worth exploring them with the same framework right?

In a sense they are both 'cheat' powers, though which is better really depends on context and situations. Ziggy's goal here isn't to answer that question but rather introduce the very idea that Genius classes and Talent Bearers might be operating on a similar framework distinct from the PRICE MIRACLES.

Price Miracles - Miracles you can manifest at a cost (Blood Paid Miracles, Soul Ignition, Mana Oversaturation like Decem's Over summoning or OVER meta magic or Arcane Acolyte class bonuses)

Basically both Talents and Geniues are Intrinsic Miracles, blessing you are born with. It's not that different from how there are Inherited and Acquired Templates for example. Price Miracles are ACQUIRED MIRACLES. Talents and Geniuses are INHERITED MIRACLES. 

Does that make this topic bouncing around make more sense?

Talent Bearers are filthy cheaters! Fuq this cruel, biased World!

But Ziggy digresses. It would do well to reevaulate your own work and head canon with this new context. Of why different magical founts or sources produce different miracles in different contexts, and why there is a distinction between ACQUIRED and INHERITED MIRACLES. 

Bye bye for now my smol children. May you get into pointless bickering with people about mechanics fondly together! Or maybe not so fondly.... Back to the great air jail kennel in the sky Ziggy goes!

Autism-Man, Away! 

/(o_o)/

[Article] What's that smell? It's...The 'Miracles' That Sold The World! - Magical Natural Philosophy

Ahoy hoy, Ziggy-desu. 

How has your head canon been going recently, lads and ladettes? Good? Poor? Middling?

Today, let's talk about a very strange peculiarity that cropped up in the latest volume: you might recall a certain mystery about everyone's favorite Elf King Lord chad -

 

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It hurts. Even so, Decem started to run. The blood he left behind was a sign of his declining health. The fear of death welled up in his heart. Even though he had equipped magic items that resisted fear, it couldn’t eliminate what was born from inside him. That was why — because he was being urged onward by his fear — his body followed exactly what his mind demanded of it. He kicked the floor with a speed he had never reached until now. His vision of his surroundings blurred as he picked up speed, instantly reducing the distance between him and the undead.

 He ignored the undead’s warning as he passed by him, hearing a tongue click and then a spell being cast. “[Time Stop].” He expected more pain from the spell but didn’t feel any. No, maybe there was. Perhaps the pain from his deep wound had taken a turn for the worse from him running, to the point where he couldn’t even notice any other source of pain even if there was such a thing. So — Decem continued to run. The stairs were very close. The pain in his chest was surprisingly strong, but there was no hesitation in his legs.
[V16]

So, he finally chose [Time stop]. This could be resisted as well if he had measures against it, but it should be harder to deal with unless he used a magic item. “[Time Stop]!” He didn’t stop. Decem didn’t stop. Ainz didn’t click his tongue. He had already thought about this possibility in a corner of his mind. I

[V16] 

“Sorry for letting him escape!” Upon hearing Aura’s apology, Ainz turned his gaze from the stairs that Decem had disappeared under to her. “No... No, you are right...that skill was a poor choice, Aura. You saw that he had countermeasures against time stop and instant death during that fight. You should have also assumed that he had some countermeasures against crowd control.” Ainz lifted a hand to stop Aura, who was trying to apologize again. “But, I am also at fault for not warning you about it. In fact, I didn’t expect him to have measures for crowd control either. That aside...what do you think we should do now?” 

[V16] 

“You used [Petit-catastrophe]!? . . . . . . . . . to think she didn’t die from that. . . . . . ..that human is certainly strong. Mare had been really fortunate. . . . . . ..So what happened to the elf king?” Hearing the end of the elf king from Mare, Ainz wrinkled his non-existent brows. [Time stop] didn’t work on him so it’s highly likely that he was equipped with an item to nullify it. He wanted to retrieve the equipment. But he also wanted to gather intelligence from that woman at the same time. Retrieving the equipment should be prioritized here as that human wouldn’t be escaping from Nazarick anytime soon.

[V16]

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Ainz logically deduces Decem probably had anti-Time Stop equipment. But consider for a moment - Decem didn't know about the Time Stop spell. And recall - Dragon Lords are also unaffected by Time Stop. Also Ainz never mentions him having powerful equipment and seemed surprised Time Stop didn't work.

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Certainly, he could have cast [Time Stop]. However, [Time Stop] had been ineffective against the Brightness Dragon Lord which he had fought before, which meant that it was very likely that it would also be useless against the Dragon Lord Cure Elim’s original body

[KBA]

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So how did Decem ignore Time Stop? He's no Dragon Lord. And he was a Summoner. One thought is Decem accidentally discovered a new spell in desperation - if you pay attention you can see how he asserts he was moving faster than he ever did before.

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It hurts. Even so, Decem started to run. The blood he left behind was a sign of his declining health. The fear of death welled up in his heart. Even though he had equipped magic items that resisted fear, it couldn’t eliminate what was born from inside him. That was why — because he was being urged onward by his fear — his body followed exactly what his mind demanded of it. He kicked the floor with a speed he had never reached until now. His vision of his surroundings blurred as he picked up speed

[V16]

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One thought is he's using some sort of speed enhancement buff, like whatever Clementine used, and this might be what Zy'tl and Brightness Dragon Lord used as well which somehow counters Time Stop. Ziggy has talked about that before, but the idea is the agility bonus is messing with time somehow, even if minutely, and alters the person's frequency and YGGDRASIL Time Stop cannot account for this. Your head canon might vary, but whatever works!

Anyway Ziggy already talked about that in a different article before if you want an elaboration. For now back to the main topic!

This isn't the first time we have seen someone activate abilities in desperation however even if it's just a buff- both Climb and Brain also achieved this. 

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He moved his finger, tracing a line down his chest. That must have been the path Climb’s sword traveled when it had hit him. “Huhhh. Huhhhh. Huhhh. Huhhhhh…” Climb panted and gasped. He could feel the blood pouring out of his abdomen, drenching his clothes and his chain shirt. —I’m going to die. Climb scrabbled for the pieces of his consciousness which had been rent asunder by the pain.

—That was not the attack of a dying man. Those words raced through Succulent’s increasingly frantic mind. No, it was not just that. The speed of Climb’s blade had been even faster than when he was unhurt. “How the hell did you do that, you bastard!” This was someone who became stronger through battle. It was not impossible, but Succulent had never witnessed anyone like that before. He even began to feel that the young man had thrown off some kind of limitation. “What the hell did you do? Was it a magic item? A martial art?!” From his tone, one would be unable to tell who had come out victorious in their battle just now.

[V5]

There was nothing he could do about it. After all, it was impossible for an ant to prevail against a Dragon. A fact that was hard to swallow, but he had to nonetheless. Still, he did not wish to lose. What should he do? It would be good to reduce the overwhelming gap in strength between them even if by a little, but how should he go about accomplishing that? —I am a warrior, so I must do as a warrior would! “—[Ability Boost]!” Brain activated a martial art. He had expended all his reserves for [True Nail Clipper], there should not have been anything left for other martial arts. However — Brain’s eyes began to fill with blood and blood began to stream down his nostrils. His capillaries had just burst. A shing sound rang out as if to signify a transition. His physical capabilities were boosted to the next level. He activated another martial art. His physical capabilities were boosted once more. But — Not… yet… He was still unable to do it. So what should he do? There was only one answer. Brain activated yet another martial art. “—[Greater Ability Boost]!” Brain Unglaus had yet again, achieved something impossible. He did not know this himself. The true nature of his Talent was an increase in his focus capacity, only with this and the addition of his higher levels was he able to activate the martial arts required by [True Nail Clipper]. But, even so, Brain had his limits. He could not use any more martial arts than that, a limit imposed upon him by the world. But, in that moment — Brain broke the rules of this world once more. A second miracle of this kind. The first was when he cut Shalltear’s nail. The second, was made in this moment. 

The consequence of breaking the rules was that his body began to deteriorate. His body probably couldn’t last for even one more minute. However, to those who were strong, a minute was a long time.

[V14]

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It might not be apparent it's relevancy, but recall another mystery from the very first volume - how did Ainz hear Enri's father plead for help if the language he speaks wasn't Japanese? After all, the Mirror of Remote Viewing cannot transmit sound!

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 He waved his hand again, showing a scene from another part of the village. It seemed like two knights were trying to pull a violently struggling villager off another knight. The man was pulled away, his arms were held, and he was rendered motionless where he stood. Before Momonga’s eyes, the man was stabbed with a sword. The blade entered his body and exited from the other side of him. It should have been a fatal blow, but the longsword did not stop. One, two, three strikes — the knight seemed to be taking out his anger on the villager as he hacked at the man’s body. In the end, the knight kicked away the villager, who collapsed to the ground while spurting his blood into the air. —The villager looked straight at Momonga. No, this might have just been a coincidence. It was definitely a coincidence. There was no way for anyone to detect the mirror’s surveillance apart from anti-divination spells. Frothy blood leaked from the villager’s mouth as he tried to open his mouth. His eyes were unfocused, and Momonga could not tell where he was looking. Even so, with what may have been his dying breaths, he gasped his last words: —Please, save my daughter—

[V1]

While the Chief’s words were helpful, there were still many unclear details. Therefore, it would be better to send someone over there to find out, rather than ask the Chief questions. Finally, there was the matter of language. It was truly surprising that they understood Japanese in this new world. As a result, Ainz looked carefully at the Village Chief’s mouth, and discovered that he was not, in fact, speaking Japanese. Neither their words of the movements of their mouths matched up with the Japanese language.

[V1]

“Understood!” “Now then, Pandora’s Actor, you spoke with him, correct? What did you talk about, what attitude did he adopt, and what emotions could you feel from him? Do tell us in detail. After all, this mirror cannot transmit sound.” “Understood!” Pandora’s Actor began re-enacting his conversations with Riku. Their conversations weren’t long, so it was pretty easy to act out. He even injected some of his own interpretations mid-dialogue: the emotions he felt through Riku’s tone and the respective explanations.

[V14]
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Have you ever pondered that mystery before? A few have and they chalk it up to bad writing. But what if... it wasn't? In Volume 1 that might be plausible, but think about all these events again. There's actually one common feature these people all have when breaking common sense and making the impossible possible. Did you notice it?

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In the end, the knight kicked away the villager, who collapsed to the ground while spurting his blood into the air. —The villager looked straight at Momonga.  

[V1]

Climb panted and gasped. He could feel the blood pouring out of his abdomen, drenching his clothes and his chain shirt.

[V5]

However — Brain’s eyes began to fill with blood and blood began to stream down his nostrils. His capillaries had just burst.

[V14] 

It hurts. Even so, Decem started to run. The blood he left behind was a sign of his declining health.

[V16]

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At least in this situations, all these people were either bleeding out or suffering from blood loss to a minor extent. 

If you recall the digression on Savage Magic, one thought was it was powered either by ENERGY or consumed life force. But an new interpretations opens up now: what if it was powered by using the blood of your prey?

Blood is, after all, sometimes thought to be the essence of life. And in the past Ziggy compared Brain's usage of the miracle version of True Nail Clipper as Soul Ignition, that power Dragon Lords can use to sacrifice themselves to use a powerful ability. 

What if for the people of this world, they can access Lesser Soul Ignition via blood loss, a Blood Bought Miracle? Dun Dun Duuuuuuuuun.

It sounds a bit strange but consider again when Crusch was over exerting herself and seemed to pass out from mana over use but then kept casting additional spells: 

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Crusch smiled, despite the circumstances. However, she immediately wiped it off her face and focused on the battle. At the same time, she breathed hard, to get her panting under control. She had cast warding spells on Rororo and healed him before coming here, and she had also been casting support spells on Zenberu. She had been overexerting herself. In addition, she had cast a summon spell on top of that. Her body was in an exhausted state and she was having trouble standing. She even lacked the strength to heal herself. In addition, Crusch had also calmly decided that the mana would have been wasted on doing so, given that she was slowly losing the ability to fight. However, if she fell here, it would demoralize Zenberu and Zaryusu, who were fighting on the frontlines. Blood flowed from the corner of Crusch’s mouth as she bit at the inside of her cheek to keep herself conscious. “[Middle Cure Wounds]!” She cast healing magic on Zaryusu, who was engaged in a melee with Iguva. Her legs felt powerless and her vision was shaky. She felt a liquid sensation all over her body. For a moment, Crusch had no idea why she had ended up like that. When had she fallen into the mud? However, she immediately realized the reason why. She had not taken additional wounds, so she must have passed out for a moment and collapsed. Crusch breathed a sigh of relief, not because she was still alive, but because she could still fight. She did not plan to force herself to stand. Rather, she had no strength left to stand, and she felt it would be a waste of energy to do so. She saw the forms of Zaryusu and Zenberu fighting hard in her blurred vision; the forms of the companions she had traveled with for a brief period. Zenberu had taken on four Skeleton Warriors at once, and Zaryusu had endured Iguva’s onslaught of magical attacks. Both of them were covered in wounds. Crusch got her breathing under control, and cast a spell. “[Middle Cure Wounds]!” And in addition to healing Zenberu’s wounds… “[Middle Cure Wounds]!” She healed Zaryusu’s injuries. “Huu…” Crusch was panting. Her breathing felt strange. She was breathless, no matter how hard she tried to take in air. This must be a symptom of magic overuse. Her head ached like she had been clubbed. Even so, Crusch tried her hardest to force her eyes open. So many people had died so far — how could she be the first to leave the battlefield? As she forcefully opened her heavy-lidded eyes, she continued casting: “[Middle Cure Wounds]!”

[V4]

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Did you notice?

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Blood flowed from the corner of Crusch’s mouth as she bit at the inside of her cheek to keep herself conscious.

[V4]

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Crazy ain't it? Was this always around? Or is this something that only appeared after the world was FUBARed by the Greed Kings like Fragmentation Hypothesis believes? Is it as strong as what Dragon Lords can do with True Soul Ignition?

Well Soul Ignition is a bit different - it's the destruction of yourself. This is like a weaker form of that, where it doesn't require your death to use. Our Sus Lord, Ankloursus Lord might be able to use magic by using others to fuel his magic - ie his prey's blood. That's not strange if you consider Dragon Lords can use the souls or life force of others (ie OLDE MANA) and not their own. 

The strange part is New Worlders seem to only be able to use these powers in conjunction with blood either theirs (or someone else's via Our Sus Lord's Savage Magic). How strange. Dragon Lords never appeared to need blood, but we haven't seen one fight in person that wasn't undead or acting through a proxy (Cure Elim was technically able to marionette his own undead mindless, zombie body meanwhile Tsa was able to marionette an empty armor). 

Let's go through this piece by piece. 

Crusch was basically out of mana but somehow was able to cast spells without it after bleeding and passing (Our Sus Lord can cast without mana as well)

Climb acquired Limit Break Mind likely due  to his training with Sebas, his dedication to training, and this 'blood' power was the catalyst to manifest it something Maruyama said was too strong for his level. 

Brain, having hit his Focus Capacity limit, was able to use more martial arts beyond that and his talent facilitated by blood loss. This was something he could do without killing himself as the text describes it, but this should of been against the rules. 

Then we have Decem - who seems to have used an Agility buff that operated like Clementine's ability buffs to ignore Time Stop by whatever principles New World agility works under. 

That's not a lot to go on, however, it does give us a framework that New Worlders who are wounded can access greater power or self harm themselves to tap into more power. It's like a Lesser Wild Magic, though formally it's some sort of universal 'magic'. Both tier magic users AND martial art users can use it after all. And this power does have limits - Climb's buff is still only so strong, as is Brain's power up. Decem wasn't running at the speed of light either nor did Crusch get infinite mana. 

Wild Magic's Soul Ignition was limited too, Maruyama suggests Cure Elim who is alive may or may not have been able to use Soul Breaker by killing himself. So that implies it's not a guarantee and proves a limitation of SUDOKU Soul Ignition. 

The strange thing is all these powers are basically fueled by a loss of life force in different forms - in the case of New Worlders that are not PRIMITIVE CASTERS, it's done via blood, a cruder medium. Was this power always present? Is this something Dragon Lord's noticed and trained with before acquiring Primitive Caster as a job class? Or was it something that only existed after the Greed Kings?

It's tough to say, theoretically, if Dragon Lords exploited this, they would of continued to use blood as a medium in Ziggy's opinion but we haven't seen one fight in person so we cannot say for certain. Satoru however never comments on Cure Elim using wild magic without blood loss so that implies Brightness Dragon Lord could use wild magic without bleeding. Draudilion never describes blood in her use of wild magic either.

It's an interesting thing to ponder right? It's limited and it doesn't seem related to any specific class as far as we can tell - maybe it's a Druid only thing for job casters, but Our Sus Lord shows it might not be related to any. Fighters however also have access to it. But few people seem aware that this even works. And remember - Enri's father somehow defied common sense and sent a message to Ainz without using the same lip movements or Ainz hearing him via audio. 

Therein lies the fly in the ointment - Enri's father should of just been a Farmer. Yet when he was bleeding to death he performed... some sort of miracle. It's not great but he basically used auto translate on his lips to beg for help even if he didn't know Ainz.

Are these miracles paid for with blood? Does it manifest your heart's truest desires so long as a price is paid in life blood?

How strange...

Still, it does explain that mystery no one else had an answer for in Volume 1. It also explains why Climb got a shonen power up or Decem's lack of powerful equipment yet resisting Time Stop without seeming to know about it.

Is this really a mechanic? But then why is it tied to no class in particular?

That may not be true however - one theory is Crusch's Dragon Adept is the class you can get once you abuse this power enough given how much she over used casting with what seems like no mana. But that could just be because of her heritage and Lizardman culture having ties to Dragon Lords.

Maybe you can only get the class if you have the heritage like Draudillion seems to have needed heritage to access Wild Magic via her Talent? Keno can use Wild magic without heritage however but Talents ignore lots of rules...

Hmmmmmmmmmmm..................................

It's tough to say. It's clear this power is sort of like a way to access 'SOFT' magic via blood loss. It even lets you cast magic without mana apparently. The SOFTness is limited - it's not omnipotent and is bounded. But it doesn't just let you use magic - Crush was actively using magic while using this power, but Climb and Brain were not. Decem didn't even seem to understand what he was doing like Climb didn't seem to know at the time. Brain however was consciously trying to use more martial arts while Crush was consciously casting despite having severely low mana. Enri's father likely didn't know what he was doing either... That or it's normal to beg for help from skeletons you cannot see that you don't know are watching you...

Clearly this system or whatever this mechanic is limited... But the allure is how SOFT it is...... That's the allure of all magic. This is TRUE magic though - it doesn't seem to require vocal components, ignores systems restrictions, and even works for casters and non casters so far as YGGDRASIL defined them. It's not strong, it's certainly bounded by what it can do.

Still is this a vestige of what 'magic' used to be like before YGGDRASIL polluted it? A power anyone can use? Or is this the precursor to Wild magic dragon Lords discovered and mastered? Or is this just something everyone can do like how theoretically anyone can have a Talent no matter their classes and access that power?

It seems like no one in the setting noticed this at all... Even Dragon Lords don't seem to teach it but we do know some dragons teach about magic from Ninya so that might just be in this region and it doesn't spread far? Or it's a secret technique no one passes around openly?

It's certainly a bigger pickle than even how Enri's father defied logic and Ainz understood him. Well no, that still seems like a mistake, but this 'mechanic' with blood presents an interesting argument for addressing that plot hole.

Ziggy's perspective is thus - just as Our Sus Lord can cast magic with seemingly no mana and Dragon Lords can cast magic without new mana, just OLDE MANA, maybe blood meets the requirement of 'mana' as far as the New World is concerned? The problem is do we even consider this Blood Magic a system of magic? It's closer to a universal mechanic.

Skill? Feat? Magic? Talents? What really differentiates these to begin with in terms of how we categorize them? Clearly Talents don't require classes, magic requires spell casting, feats just sort of exist with classes, and skills are right there as well.

But then what is Blood Magic? It's clearly closer to Martial Arts and Talents, where anyone can tap into it like anyone can have a Talent but it's way more free styling like Martial Arts tend to be. What gives?

Ziggy doesn't think we should call it Blood Magic though it does bend reality. The reasoning is thus - it is closer to a catalyst - so long as blood is spilled you can then achieve things you shouldn't normally be able to. In this case it's closer to a Bloodied Status bonus or feat. Likewise, this "ability" seems universal and doesn't have it's own powers it only acts in service of other powers or skill checks or so on. But what do you think? Also it requires altruism or DETERMINATION to tap into it. That or you're so scared you want to just GTFO of somewhere dangerous... Cowards can be determined right?

This is why Ziggy sees it closer to Talents - talents let you just 'cheat' a little bit or a lot, and do things you normally shouldn't be able to, like walk on water for five steps or use the ultimate skill of your God just by touching stuff they touched. The only difference is no one in the story or reads it knows how Talents work or are fueled by, but this power at least is powered by blood loss. Martial Arts in contrast are more limited in what they can do.

Ziggy isn't sure, do you want to categorize this as Quasi magic? System magic? Natural magical tomfoolery? IT JUST WORKS?

Mechanically however, it doesn't seem reliant on classes, it complements the other classes, and it's usable by all sorts of people ignoring builds to an extent. That's why Ziggy suggests viewing it as a universal mechanic of some sort. That might be why Our Sus Lord didn't have any classes YGGDRASIL knew how to categorize...

Crush just ignored mana requirements (or offset mana requirements)

Climb used a new martial art he never used before and should of been beyond him

Brain just ignored his focus capacity

Decem ran a bit faster without casting a spell (closer to accessing whatever Martial Arts or wild magic buffs that interact strangely with YGGDRASIL time magic).

Who knows, maybe if you specialize in this, you can get classes YGGDRASIL didn't have that don't increase stats at all or even show up on character sheets? No one really seems aware of it. Though you might be able to argue Crush's Dragon Adept class is what you get if you have the heritage AND you accidentally discover this power? Maybe Dragon Adept is just casting magic using alternate sources of fuel or mana. IE you are casting without using any of YGGDRASIL's classes or mana. Who knows, most people don't even bother to think about what Dragon Adept does....

eg:
In bloodied state
Bend reality slightly in minute ways or manifest powers based off your desires

Using Maruyama logic and naming schemes however....

If Soul Ignition is the Brain and Dragon Lord YEEEEET yourself to perform a miracle, ie a true Soul Bought Miracle, then is this a Blood Bought Miracle?

Again, where do Miracles end and Magic begins in a world of magic anyway? Maruyama makes it very clear what Brain did at least was a 'miracle' based on data common sense. But then we see Decem break YGGDRASIL rules and it's due to his specific classes. Talents in contrast can break the rules too, so maybe we can start to classify powers like these as Magic AND Skill Adjacent?

Ziggy isn't sure... Maybe one of you children can figure it out in your fan fics or in discussions! Ziggy is getting too old... That or maybe Ziggy is a dum dum......... Why not both?!

Dun Dun Duuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuun

Sorry there isn't much else to go on with this given how vague and difficult it is even to conceptualize it as part of the game logic. Not as bad as trying to make sense of Talents (oooffff that is a convoluted topic that requires a lot of groundwork to begin to elaborate on).

Anyway, have fun playing with this idea of Blood Bought Miracle Magic Skill Feats! Remember, Ziggy and Maruayma are always wrong. If nothing else you surprise people with the mystery of how in the world Ainz understood Enri's father in Volume 1 because it seems like no one paid attention to the fact the mirror has no audio and the man is speaking with lip movements Ainz doesn't know!

Ziggy's answer: Enri's father used a Blood Bought Miracle to apply auto translate to his lip movements, conveying the meaning to anyone in anyway he could from his heartfelt desire to save his family. This implies even Normal or Civilian classes can use Blood Bought Miracles.

In your Overlord however, whatever answer you want to be right is right! Anyway it's time to say good bye once again lads and ladettes.

[Tin Foil Rambling] Reoccuring Symbolism - Triple Diamond

 

[Tin Foil Rambling] The Alah Alaf Theory Revisited

 [Tin Foil Rambling] The Alah Alaf Theory Revisited

 

Ahoy hoy. It’s Ziggy!

How are you all my smol lads and ladettes?

Today Ziggy wants to revisit and update an older theory he’s talked about before. Now the reason this theory existed so long ago was at first just idle speculation. But it became reinforced over time as volumes came out. 

That theory is the Alah Alaf God of Light theory. 

Originally Alah Alaf was read literally to mean GOD ALF or GOD ELF. Coincidentally this is stylized like Decem’s title - ELF KING. Could just Maruyama’s naming sense however.

That’s the origin of the idea but it became strange why Slaine, a pro human nation would have an Elven God. But then again they also had an undead God. Anyway, there was very little lore back then. The main distinction is how they likely saw them as just Gods not as humans, undead, etc just like how they see angels as special. 

With the Light Novels came new lore, things like Antilene created new mysteries. Then we learned about the Elven King, the Elf King Decem Hougan. The idea behind why Antilene was so much stronger than other Godkin stemmed in part also with the possibility she was the scion of two bloodlines awakening at the same time - her mother and her father’s. 

The core idea was why or how did Decem even meet Antilene’s mother? How come World class items were never used to assassinate him? One thought was he was a Player descendant and just had a World class item. 

These questions provoked new mysteries. Mistranslations did not help but they were valid questions. One possible answer at the time was Decem’s family was related to Alah Alaf(based on the Elf God theory), and so the Theocracy gave them special treatment and interactions with other Godkin. They even could plausibly explain the Elf King having a World class item if he was related to a Player. 

Basically it made more sense given his boasts and these strange mysteries to assume he was a Player descendant of some sort. Few people expected him to be a Greed King descendant however. A few people however did point out the Sunlight Scripture uniforms did vaguely resemble suits with colors and color schemes, salaryman suits to be precise. Of note the Captain, Nigun, has a scarf that resembles a tie actually. 

Of the Scriptures, the Sunlight Scripture culls demihumans using summons. That is the main specialization of their forces. They are basically the Scripture reinforcing racial bias. 

As the anime came out we saw more and more Slaine outfits but that core motif of Alah Alaf and business suits stuck around a bit. 

So how does that relate to the Alah Alaf elf theory? 

The idea is if Decem’s father was a Greed King and southern culture had suits of various kinds, it was possible Decem’s father wore an outfit similar to a suit though not likely. If you factor in how he seemed to possibly give Decem advice to be a summoner and how to fight ‘elegantly’ (hands off), you can postulate he may have been an upper management sort of some company. Yet his son had a very racially biased view and a ethnic agenda. This came at the cost of him not desiring breeding with humans and also having an aversion to breed with Dark Elves. 

That created an interesting connection though - Alah Alaf is thought to be an Elf in some theories strangely connected to summoners and business suits that are black and white, meanwhile Decem Hougan’s father also trained him to be a Summoner and as a Greed King he’s related to business suits and katanas. Decem and Antilene’s eyes are black and white and so likely the Greed King Elf had black and white eyes too. This is based on the idea royalty in Elven culture is related to heterochromia due to that being the outward expression of Awakening of the Elven Greed King’s lineage. 

Things get stranger if you factor in Decem’s father was a Fencer. And among the Black Scripture that uses YGGDRASIL items, Time Turbulence the Second Seat uses a Black and White rapier. Decem also was strangely racially motivated though in a world with many races that isn’t very strange. He also seemed to cherish his bloodline. 

Do you start to see the connection now? 

That begged the question though - how in the world did one of the Six Great Gods become one of the Eight Greed Kings? A flaw of the Alah Alaf is an Elf theory was the Six Great Gods were said to all have perished, and an Elf would of outlived the human Players. 

So how did history forget one of the Gods was an Elf? Well we learned also that the Theocracy didn’t used to be so militant against Elves, this was mainly due to Decem desecrating their bloodline of the Gods. What that proved was that Slaine’s history was subject to revision. And we also learn the Elven Greed King did in fact die from Decem. 

=====================================================================

Even Decem himself would inevitably die if he turned Behemoth into his opponent. His father was probably the only one who could defeat Behemoth, but he was already dead. That meant that there was no one left who could. 

[V16]

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The oral tradition is Surshana was slain by the Greed Kings. The circumstances are unknown and Maruyama teased it was a secret as to what happened. 

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“I can’t deny what she’s seen any more. This is magic of the gods. Eleventhtier magic, I believe? That should be it.” “The advent of the gods.” “What’s written here is similar to the description of that god… is it possible he has descended from the heavens once more?” “Impossible. The oral traditions state that the God of Death, Surshana-sama, was slain by the damnable Eight Greed Kings. This must be something else. And if Surshana-sama had actually descended once more, that person would surely have told us. After all, that person is Surshana-sama’s first follower.”

[V10]

By the way, I will tell people that read the concluding part. The oral tradition he is talking about is quite convenient. Due to the passage of time, one part of history has been distorted or viewed as convenient stories in Overlord. In reality it is not expulsion but ’killed/beat to death’. Therefore it is assuredly a Grave Sin. Ah, to Tsa and the Theocracy the meaning of the Grave Sin differs slightly. Tsa had a deal with the 6 Great Gods, to strike the 8 Greed Kings together. Oh it’s dangerous if you catch that guy and extract information! For that reason, could you please vaguely understand things about The Six Great Gods and The Eight Greed Kings and The Theocracy. 500 years ago, some sort of thing happened.

[TWTR]

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Something to consider however is the strange similarities between Alah Alaf and Decem’s father. First is the obvious Elf connection (in theory), but both figures seemed to advocate for summoning specialization. Likewise, Decem’s father was a Fencer with black and white eyes likely, and Slaine possesses a black and white rapier that belonged to one of the Gods. 

The details about business suits are circumstantial alone. But together, you might start to see another picture. Like how Decem seems to be able to use his summon at longer ranges like the Sunlight Scripture does. Or how they all do not fight alongside their summons and resort to spell casting situationally. 

That might be the end all be all of the details, yet there is one very strange detail in Slaine’s narrative of the Greed Kings. Do you recall it?

=====================================================================

“In ancient myths — little more than legends — there was mention of beings known as the Eight Greed Kings. They were known as gods, and the tales speak of how they once ruled this world with that absolute power.”

　

　Climb had heard the story of the Eight Greed Kings. While they were not too popular, given that they were only children’s tales, anyone with a little bit of knowledge would know of them.

　

　In summary, the beings known as the Eight Greed Kings appeared 500 years ago. Some said that they stood as tall as the heavens, some said they looked like Dragons, but in any case, the Eight Greed Kings devastated the nations in an instant, dominating the world with their power which could move mountains and part the seas. However, their desires ran deep, and they fought each other for their possessions, resulting in their mutual extinction.

　This story was not popular for obvious reasons, but debate raged over whether or not it was merely a children’s fairytale. Climb personally felt that it had been greatly embellished. However, a small group of people among the adventurers believed that the Eight Greed Kings existed — and that they commanded powers beyond those of any in this modern age.

　The proof of that was a city within the deserts far to the south. Rumors said that it was the capital built when the Eight Greed Kings conquered the continent.

[WN]

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“In ancient myths — little more than legends — there was mention of beings known as the Eight Greed Kings. They were known as people who had stolen the power of gods, and the tales speak of how they once ruled this world with that absolute power.” Climb had heard the story of the Eight Greed Kings. While they were not too popular, given that they were only children’s tales, anyone with a little bit of knowledge would know of them. In summary, the beings known as the Eight Greed Kings appeared 500 years ago. Some said that they stood as tall as the heavens, some said they looked like Dragons, but in any case, the Eight Greed Kings devastated the nations in an instant, dominating the world with their power which could move mountains and part the seas. However, their desires ran deep, and they fought each other for their possessions, resulting in their mutual extinction. This story was not popular for obvious reasons, but debate raged over whether or not it was merely a children’s fairytale. Climb personally felt that it had been greatly embellished. However, a small group of people among the adventurers believed that the Eight Greed Kings existed — and that they commanded powers beyond those of any in this modern age. The proof of that was a city within the deserts far to the south. Rumors said that it was the capital built when the Eight Greed Kings conquered the continent.

[V5]

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Pay special attention to how the Web Novel and Light Novel still have this distinction: in the Web Novel the Greed Kings were thought of as Gods but in the Light Novel they STOLE the power of the Gods. 

Why did even Slaine begrudgingly say the Greed King’s stole some power from their Gods while also demeaning them? Was it just to legitimize their own power by saying the Gods could of done what the Greed Kings did? But then why did the Greed Kings kill Surshana anyway? Maruyama suggests there was a pact of some sort. The common thinking is this pact was Slaine abides by the Dragon Lord’s belief that they must unite against those who pollute the world. 

=====================================================================

Six hundred years ago, there were gods that saved humanity when it was on the verge of becoming extinct due to a war of existence between powerful races. Those Six Great Gods had passed down the scripture their teachings, causing them to believe that they were the strongest of humanity, and even now they were still training to reach the peak.

　For example, Gazef Stronoff. The reason why he was called the strongest was that the Black Scripture has never ever shown itself in public. If they did, the seat of the strongest would easily be stolen by them. This was the truth.

　Although they did not have a magic caster that could rival Fluder, they did have priests that could also use the 6th Tier of magic.

“….Could she also be a god?”

“I cannot say that it is impossible…. But she might be a True Dragon King.”

“Are you saying that they broke the 500-year-old World Pact? No, under these cases, the Pact has yet to be broken.”

　

　Edgar frowned. It was an alliance against the poison that stained the world. The strongest contract that protected the Slane Theocracy. It would not break even under the worst circumstances.

[WN]

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But suppose, in theory, Alah Alaf was in fact an Elf. And suppose this pact did exist. What if he disagreed with the pact and the rule of the Dragon Lords? After all, Decem brags that Dragon Lords were only massive but not too powerful as prey for Elves ( like his father). Given how arrogant Decem can be, that isn’t telling much, but if he idealized his father likely he would mirror his father’s attitude to some capacity right? 

Think of the phrase ‘borrowing your power’ in Japanese. You likely have seen it before. 

That presents an interesting twist  in the Slaine narrative - what if the power the Greed Kings ‘stole’(taking without giving back) wasn’t some item of Surshana’s but in fact they got Alah Alaf to betray Surshana for whatever reasons, forsaking his role as a Great God?  ’

Dun. Dun. Duuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuun.

Rampossa considered his vassals as treasures. Likewise, Gazef was compared to a treasure by Raeven. If Decem can consider himself a treasure (an object), why can’t a person be ‘stolen’ from a group? Don’t people often accuse those who end up with their exes as ‘stealing’ their ex?

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“Now that you’re fully equipped with all these treasures, you are the Kingdom’s greatest treasure. I heard once that the Kingdom actually had five treasures, but it seems they had all been gathered from the start.” Gazef blushed as he was compared to those treasures, even though he knew it was just flattery.

[V9]

It was only now that Ramposa III realized why they had urged the nobles to mount up and flee in groups just now. “So all we can do is run on foot.” Some of the warriors began removing and discarding their armor. “These men will carry your Majesty and flee.” “And what about you?” Not everyone had removed their armor. For instance, the vice-captain was still wearing his. “I’ll act as a mounted distraction and flee in the opposite direction.” Ramposa III saw the bright smiles on the warriors’ faces, and realized that they had made their peace with death. “Impossible. You are the treasures of our Kingdom! No matter what, you must survive! I still need you to serve my descendants!” “Of course. Although we intend to be bait, we do not intend to die!” That was a lie. They were planning to die. Or rather, they had accepted that death was their destiny. Ramposa III tried to think of something to convince them, but he could not speak. In the face of the warriors’ smiles, everything he came up with sounded insincere and shallow.

[V9]

“From a certain point of view, it’s probably better to save them considering that they could awaken their blood in the later generations like those two, but there are Elves elsewhere too. Plus, I have more expectations for those who could escape by themselves. In a gist, there is no need to save those who are weak enough to get killed by something like humans.” 

“Onto the next question then. I heard there is a hidden treasure of the Elves?” 

“A hidden treasure of the Elves? Are they talking about me? Or is it about this thing here?”

[V16]

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Maybe if Alah Alaf was really there, he disagreed with the terms of the pact Slaine may have been in (perhaps having disdain for Dragon Lords), didn’t fit in with human society after a century (growing distant like Antilene), and possibly wanted some item of Surshana’s as well(like a world class item). If we know the Greed Kings betrayed each other for possessions, what if one of the Greed Kings who was a Great God betrayed the Great Gods for possessions? 

After Volume 14 one thought was Tsa betrayed Surshana just like he contemplated betraying Azuth (this potentially being the Player he killed as he is naturally the enemy to undead from YGGDRASIL). This is reinforced by his words of having committed some sin. 

===================================================================

But… Tsaindorcus sighed. If he was of a similar level to the vampire from last time, this armor would probably struggle in serious combat. However, if he were to not use the armor but face the Sorcerer King in person, he could not lose. That would be true even if he was as strong as the vampire. As long as he fought using his real body, there would be no issues at all.

[V14]

“I don’t think so myself. There are many out there who are stronger than I am. Hmmm… I can win against the Sorcerer King because I happen to counter him.” Tsa’s abilities were more effective against the undead. He had also confirmed in the battle just then that his abilities did work on the Sorcerer King. That was why Tsa had judged the Sorcerer King to be an opponent that did not warrant too much caution.

[V14]

“I have a question, why not tell them that I heard it from you directly?” “Simple, if they had no clue on where the information source was, they would try to investigate it. There is a chance that it could cause some friction among the upper echelons of the Theocracy.” Other than that, there was another reason. Should an emergency arise, he could kill off Azuth without leaving any loose ends.

—Should he just kill Azuth and take the Powered Suit? This was not too bad of an idea to Tsa. If he gave the Powered Suit to someone who was powerful enough to bend it to their will, it would definitely be more useful than letting Azuth keep it. He could also gain a stronger card for his hand then. Personally, Tsa felt no disdain for Azuth, nor did he want to kill him himself; but of what worth were emotions in this world? —Riku… What was I reminiscing for, now that things have turned out that way? Tsa laughed at himself internally. These two hands of his were already besmirched with filth. It was better to do it now than later.

[V14]

He killed a Player in the past.

[V14]

Ah, this is a completely different matter, the natural enemy to Ainz and Shalltear (as of those named so far inside [the story?]) is Tsa. 

[TWTR]

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One more outlandish idea was Tsa betrayed Surshana and sided with the Greed Kings (before they did what they did) possibly because he was undead. This Grave Sin for Tsa then would be partially responsible for setting in motion the events that polluted the world by breaking a pact with people who uphold it and siding with people who ‘polluted’ the world far worse. 

So the betrayal here would be a triple cross - Surshana was betrayed by Alah Alaf and Tsa, Tsa was betrayed by Alah Alaf and the Greed Kings and the Greed Kings all betrayed each other. 

Not a very strong theory but it does answer a few questions (Tsa’s past, the Grave Sin, Alah Alaf’s name, etc). Ziggy likes how it uses designs made by so-bin (which Maruyama gives some input on sometimes). It’s a bit ironic to think Decem’s family is filled with traitors though. 

Anyway maybe we will learn the truth behind the Grave Sin in the next volumes! 

Whatever you believe is canon in your Overlord!

Ziggy must now depart. 

Autism-man, away!

/(o_o)/