Overlord: A Warrior's Return

Intro

Kazuchi Takemi waved goodbye to his coworkers as they left the bar. He looked at his watch which read 10:42PM, a bit late to end the day he thought. Not much he could do about it however, it was company policy to spend after work hours with your coworkers to foster team building.

Kazuchi walked over to the nearest train stop to catch the 11:05 back home. Cars were too expensive for someone in his position and he enjoyed the ability to play some games on his phone during the trip anyhow.

Only another 7 hours before going back to work again he thought. His shoulders slumped and he sighed. It was a never ending 6 days of work grind for peanuts. At least when he grinded in video games there was a sense of accomplishment.

He missed those days when he lived with his parents still and was able to only work 35 hours a week. There was so much he could do in the games he loved to play. Nostalgia is a powerful feeling, sometimes distorting our perception of how good something was but he had built something wonderful with his friends.

It all changed when his rival stopped playing however. Most of his fun was trying to think up ways of beating him. The beauty of the game quickly faded for him afterwards since there was not much else to do, their group having accomplished so much already. He took a step back from the game and focused on other hobbies.

A few months later his parents died in that car accident however. He started needing to work longer hours to be able to afford rent and living expenses. This was also how he had ended up with a roommate.

(Ahh, I hope he didn't leave a mess. Would be nice if he made supper. Bah, I better stop dreaming.)

Trying to take his mind off things he began browsing the net on his phone. The newest character for the gacha game he's currently playing doesn't look too promising compared to this week's current banner.

Kazuchi: "Ahh, guess I'll wait for the next banner then. Although that character is really cute..."

Realizing he was talking out loud, he looked around and thankfully noticed no one was paying attention to him. The train arrived on time as always, 11:04 on the dot and would depart at 11:05. He'd missed the train a few times when too engrossed in his phone and learnt to always peak up from it every so often. The next train only comes at 11:35, which would really cut down on his sleeping.

Kazuchi stepped aboard the train as soon as the door opened, thankfully at this hour the amount of passengers is much lower than early in the morning. After an uneventful short trip, Kazuchi stepped off at the station near his apartment. A quick five minute walk brings him to his apartment where he pauses outside the door for a moment.

He checked the time on his phone once more, 11:17PM.

(Just enough time to eat, wash and go to bed after I do all my daily quests in game.)

A strange smell worms it's way up his nose from inside.

(It can't be...did he actually cook?)

Kazuchi took out his keys and opened the door.

Kazuchi: "Hey, I'm home."

Shorun: "Hey, I'm busy. Food is in the oven, might still be warm."

(Well I'll be damned, he actually cooked something and there's leftovers.)

Fetching what was in the oven and placing it on the table, Kazuchi sat down to eat.

Some kind of mixed vegetables and ham was grilled and seasoned with some kind of teriyaki sauce.

Kazuchi(In a murmur): "Well...it's the intention that counts. It doesn't look too appetizing but it's not like I want to cook something from scratch either at this hour."

Digging in, he ate his fill, albeit a bit reluctantly. The sweetness of the sauce overpowered the dish but it was still edible.

Kazuchi: "Hey, thanks for the meal. I'm off to shower and then I'll go to sleep. Try not to make too much noise if you can."

Shorun: "Sure sure. Oh, did you hear by the way? That game you used to play, it's shutting down tonight."

Kazuchi: "Oh? Yggdrasil is finally closing down eh. It was to be expected. Still...I could log in one last time perhaps. If it's not done by the time I shower."

As Kazuchi washed, he thought back on all the good adventures and moments he had in the game with his friends. That time they cleared the great tomb for one or even when they helped him get those special materials he needed to craft his swords. Nostalgia was knocking at the door and it was hard to ignore her.

Out of the shower, he checked his phone one last time, 11:54PM.

Kazuchi: "Ahhh, I might as well log on even if rather briefly. I'll try to say goodbye to Momonga, maybe even Touch-me will log in for the last day."

Kazuchi sat down at his computer in his room and started up the DMMO Yggdrasil.He put on his virtual headset and waited for his computer to start up and launch up the game.

(Ahh, this login screen, it brings back so many memories. I must have seen it thousands of times.)

Kazuchi entered his login credentials and hit enter, waiting for the system to process it.

He looked at the bottom right corner for the time, 11:57. It would be a close finish if he managed it.

(I wonder how many stayed behind after I left. Did Nazarick get overthrown perhaps? That would be a shame if all our hard work has perished.)

The game was processing his login request, the loading symbol circling round and round.

Kazuchi: "Tsk. It's never taken this long before."

He began drumming his fingers on his desk, waiting impatiently. Finally, the screen changed to black, signifying it had accepted his login and started processing the information.

After some moments of nothing happening, Kazuchi looked to the right again, 12:01AM.

(Ahhh, I missed it. Unfortunate. I suppose it's too late and I'll just log off, I have to get up in 6 hours.)

Reaching for the console did nothing however.

(This is odd...I guess the game didn't load at all?)

Reaching for his dive equipment, Kazuchi grabbed the back of his head with his hands.

(...What? This action is supposed to disengage the Dive mode so we can physically take ourselves out when the system bugs out.)

Kazuchi: "Anyone here? GM? Anyone can hear me at all?"

Pure silence answered him. His heart sank down to the bottom of his stomach.

(At this rate I'm going to miss work tomorrow, at least until Shorun comes into my room. Damnit.)

Suddenly without warning, black faded away and intense light blinded him.The intensity of the light faded gradually until he regained sight and he found himself on a frozen landscape.

Kazuchi: "Ahhh, this is...yes, the fifth floor of Nazarick. It was here that I last logged out all that time ago. This is odd though, there doesn't seem to be anyone around. Was I perhaps mistaken on the server shutdown date? We're well past midnight now, the servers should be shut down."

Kazuchi reached for the console but to no avail.

Kazuchi: "What!? My game must really be bugged then. It seems I can't even access basic functions. A guild ring would be awfully convenient right about now but I don't have any equipment on me, I left everything to Momonga-san. Looks like my avatar's the same as before though, nothing's changed as far as I remember. If anyone's still here, they'll be in the royal suites."

With no other option available to him, Warrior Takemikazuchi decided to take a walk up to the 9th floor.