My laboratory was stormed several times, but in the end no one managed to destroy it completely. The monsters that came out from under my hands for defense are distinguished not by strength, but by unpredictability. Take, for example, an ordinary wolf of level fifteen. Almost every player at least once encountered it in the beginner's zone, taking it on one tooth, and considering the frequency and periodicity of fights, the players managed to learn the habits of these creatures inside and out. But what if the wolf suddenly acquires the internal organs of a dragon? Then the player will be in for a surprise, sometimes ending in his death.
— Even more amazing, — looking at the beginning of the laboratory section, I involuntarily wanted to applaud. Earlier I did not dare to think how beautiful it is. Its architecture is amazing, even if it is disfigured by the branching of paths to different warehouses and research areas, which is why I have to use sketches of the construction plan instead of a game map, but this is what makes my abode special!
The scary decorations didn't disappoint either. It was like I bought my own haunted house, only because of the huge investment and the desire to suck the soul out of all the invading players within the game's censorship... I clearly didn't have to skimp on purchasing items from the "it's scary, take it away" series.
Initially, they wanted to launch insects into empty catacombs, but this is a waste of the potential of the sinister crypt. Many players don't care about small monsters, but empty tunnels will make guests bored. Another thing is the unique atmosphere, capable of breaking the fighting spirit of all visitors - this is what you should be afraid of, breaking enemies even more, right up to the pleasant crunch of their spine.
Scattered vials with the blood of dangerous monsters, reservoirs with organs of elite bosses covered in green liquid, unfinished humanoid creatures on operating tables. Flickering neon lights, floors stained with blood. And in contrast, painfully ordinary metal pipes, perhaps covered in corrosion. There is also a ceiling, in some places mutilated mummies can fall out of it, which is why many members of my guild did not go here under pain of death. And this is only one section out of three, the other two have a much more sinister atmosphere.
The area of this laboratory section takes up about forty percent of the third underground floor. If we clean it up a bit, let's say, throw a couple of unsuccessful experiments out into the cold, then there is an option to bring in more materials. Otherwise, there will soon be no room to swing an apple here.
Although it's not completely junk...
As I progressed, I often came across boxes of decorative tools lying around. Previously, there were no suitable animations for using them. Not to mention, even censorship did not allow me to use many of them. Now, the game boundaries have blurred, and I can use every scattered screw for its intended purpose.
Stop... I started to get carried away again, and no longer because of the desire to play a role.
I don't have such a desire at all because of the stressful situation, it just came out on its own. And the stress itself moved to the third or even fourth place. The feeling is similar to how a person wants to drink some water after five minutes of the gym. It seems like there is a thirst, but you can safely ignore it, doing a couple more approaches. Yes, probably such a comparison is appropriate, and panic will suffer.
A minute later, I reached the active development zone where the Hands of Umbra were working.
— Sample 4L and 11X have passed the test. Let's move on to examining numbers 5L and 12X.
— The iron pipes need to be improved, they can no longer withstand the heat of the furnace.
— Black anthill, males have become more aggressive due to gas spraying. We continue to observe.
— Section of the kraken's tentacle. Study of the structure of the nerve endings. The operation is ready to begin.
The Umbra Hands decided to work responsibly, performing their role down to the last byte. I created them in the image of Bondrewd's subordinates, but I could not imagine that one day they would come to life and stop being just a living decoration. Instead, they took on the responsibility of conducting various studies, as well as maintaining the safety of the laboratory. I think if I had not appeared in this world, these guys would have taken over my developments.
Their playing level varies from forty to sixty.
Not the strongest NPCs, but they weren't made for combat. And now, with intelligence and unique personalities, they pose a danger to all victims of this place.
I know each of them for a good reason. The right to create each of them had to be fought for with all our might, because the limit on NPCs seriously put pressure on the Ainz Ooal Gown guild, and donation slots for expanding fighters are not endless.
- I dropped by to visit, how are the studies going? At first glance, you are having a great time, - in a slight gesture, spreading your arms to the side, it was decided to conduct conversations with all the researchers exclusively in a friendly manner.
— We apologize for the unsuccessful experience of creating the Sphinx. There were problems during the head transplant. We ourselves did not understand why, but the 1M specimen began to devour itself, which is why it had to be disposed of. But! But we promise to get to the bottom of the matter, — Gueira, a chimeric creature with a good mask on his head, whose design is made in the style of a square cut in half, decided to report first.
The only problem is that the facts voiced were previously unknown to me.
I mean, what other Sphinx experiment? As far as I know, such a creature has the body of a lion and the head of a man... Where did they find a human head? In Yggdrasil, because of censorship, there were no firebrands lying on the road, and after the transfer of consciousness and the revival of the world... perhaps those dead players at the entrance to the above-ground floor could have been used... No, they should have respawned a long time ago.
Questions again.
- Failures in the search for truth are a natural phenomenon. You should be proud of yourself and your methods of gaining knowledge. A couple of unsuccessful experiments should not break your spirit, but on the contrary, you are obliged to draw experience from failure for new creations, - approaching a member of the Hands of Umbra, I gently patted him on the shoulder, expressing friendly sympathy for his failure. Indeed, one unsuccessful experiment is nothing.
Hmm... am I doing the right thing? That is, is it right to think like that, since parts of a real person could have been used in that experiment... I need to personally participate in such crossbreeding in the future, so that the material doesn't get lost and thrown into the trash. Once it comes to using a person, failure will weigh heavily on my heart. Only success is important.
Here we go again...
What's wrong? As soon as you relax for a second, your consciousness seems to acquire its own will and desire.
- We have good news! - Joho, another close associate with an inferiority complex. Most likely wants to brag to get praise.
Interestingly, healthy competition is good. Subordinates should strive to do their job well in order to receive rewards commensurate with their efforts. Failure, if it has brought a great loss, will bring an instructive punishment for the guilty. The main thing in the latter case is not to overdo it.
- We have made great progress in creating a biological bomb! We will need targets for testing very soon, but I assure you, the result will be fantastic! - Like a small child, the researcher tried to retreat into servility.
"Success is amazing, but it's dangerous to let it go to your head. Research must be done with a cool head. We are on the road to truth, not a reward," I gently scolded my subordinate, remembering that I needed Kurume here - a personally created level 100 NPC.
"Thank you, I will try even harder," said the funny, childlike subordinate, folding his hands in a pleading gesture.
- Decompose and combine!
- Decompose and combine!
- Decompose and combine!
All the unoccupied and assembled Hands of Umbra shouted in chorus "The Alchemists' Motto".
I wanted to scare them off, but some of them felt it was their duty to accompany me to the storage room, where Kurumi was supposed to prepare some of my artifact weapons for use.
As we walked through the relatively clutter-free corridors, my subordinates asked me various uncomfortable questions about the methods of creating particularly dangerous chimeras.
As I answered them, I considered the situation of my "daughter." She is a capable combat subordinate who can destroy this laboratory in a matter of minutes. Kurumi is a duel-oriented person with a legendary long-range weapon, and she excels against a small elite group of enemies with her World-Class Time Control Item.
Now that the Staff of Ainz Ooal Gown has been left unattended in the throne room, I need to give the floor guards, the beings closest in rank to me, time. An hour to think about whether to take up this staff and go against me, or leave everything as is.
Kurumi is one of the few who does not have a point about loyalty to Nazarick in the settings. She was created by me and especially for me - albeit an overly wayward creature of the Material Spirit race.
In my opinion, the most loyal beings must have their own values and beliefs. Therefore, her only duty is to protect and guard exclusively the laboratory sections on three floors. For example, in the game character settings, I specified: "if Nazarick burns, protect the laboratory and its values more than ever, ignoring the rest."
All in all, she's my loyal NPC, surpassing my new "fangirl". Shalltear might also be loyal, since she has certain fetishes for the undead, which I am due to using parts of various dead monsters. I don't have much competition in that regard, huh...
The rest have loyalty to the guild, are obliged to obey the leader, but so far I have not been recognized as such. The probability of betrayal is about five, m-m-m-m, ten percent.
If any of the guards wanted to take the defenseless Staff of Ainz Ooal Gown in front of the others, then the situation would be interesting to say the least. I don't care about the NPCs rebelling, after all, high-level materials for creating chimeras are hard to come by. For now, the only thing separating all of Nazarick's inhabitants from this laboratory is their loyalty.
Yes, and I think there is an option to resurrect the guilty NPC by sacrificing gold. For now, using something like this for free is dangerous, since the treasury is not infinite, but if the chance comes up, we will try. As far as I know, resurrection resets the character to factory settings, so you can take a different vector of control from the reincarnated traitor.
Anyway…
Is there loyalty? Good.
No loyalty? That's good too.
I will benefit from either option; in different ways.
But still, deep down I want to believe in loyalty and "mutual friendship", because each NPC was created by former and current members of the guild. They put a lot of effort, resources, and even a piece of their soul into them. I know from my own experience, because I spent an unimaginable amount of time and resources on my favorite. I would be offended if someone ruined my efforts by destroying my creation. Therefore, I will try to preserve the life and integrity of every intelligent NPC in this crypt. In the end, we can all be called one big family.
It's especially ironic to think about this, knowing my "Father of the Year" personality, but I have minimal influence on it, so it's in my power to prevent something sinister from happening. For now, everything depends on the decisions of others.
- Oh, we forgot, but if we add acidic omega frog veins to a flying harpy, how will their diet change? - a couple of researchers discussed something behind my back, and then asked a tricky question.
- Harpies are the thieves of other people's dreams. They replace them with nightmares through a kiss. The only difference is that the victims will have to endure an acid nightmare not only in their sleep, but also in reality, - shrugging my shoulders, I tried to give the most plausible answer, from which in the real world I could turn pale.
"Brilliant, a harpy's kiss could never be so alluring. We must try it," one of the Umbra Hands exclaimed enthusiastically.
These guys make even me wary...
Having finished giving advice and guidance to the Hands
More chapters on my P@treon: https://patreon.com/OOOTEN