The Pitiful Yet Adorable Girl

Eriri appeared with Antilene and Kohina Hiruko in a bustling city. The urban layout was no different from a modern metropolis, except for the faintly visible haze that lingered in the air.

The three stood silently on a street, devoid of any protective measures, a stark contrast to the pedestrians around them, all wearing gas masks. Despite their conspicuousness, the trio did not draw any attention, as they remained in an invisible state.

This trip was solely meant to give Antilene a glimpse into the world from which the "players" originated. Eriri had no intention of causing a stir. As for whether she would overhaul the planet's condition before leaving, that depended entirely on her mood.

"Is this the homeland of the Six Great Gods? Why are there only powerless ordinary people here?" Antilene frowned with confusion after they strolled through several streets.

Before entering the planet, she had assumed the people here must possess comparable strength to those in her world; otherwise, how could they have ascended to godlike status upon crossing over?

Reality, however, was vastly different from her expectations.

These people weren't just weak—most of them weren't even in good health.

"Actually, 'YGGDRASIL' is a fully immersive game, and the 'players' who crossed over to your world weren't their real bodies but the avatars they used in the game," Eriri explained nonchalantly.

The concept of a fully immersive game was foreign to Antilene. Her idea of games was limited to simple pastimes, akin to how she occasionally solved Rubik's Cubes to pass the time.

Noticing the confusion in her eyes, Eriri briefly explained the principles behind fully immersive gaming.

"How could a game's virtual characters become real in our world?" Antilene asked, her tone laden with skepticism.

She couldn't wrap her head around the idea. If game-created entities could manifest physically in another world, wouldn't that mean the game developers were akin to gods themselves?

She voiced all her questions at once, realizing how unusual it felt for her to act so inquisitively.

"I've already noticed something peculiar," Eriri began, her tone calm and measured. "There's a special connection between your world and this one. The reason why 'YGGDRASIL' items and avatars became real when crossing over is due to a phenomenon triggered by the worlds establishing a link.

This connection was formed at the exact moment when 'YGGDRASIL' servers shut down. Moreover, the so-called World Items served as the bridge for this traversal.

Thus, the players who possessed World Items and remained logged into 'YGGDRASIL' until the final moment became the ones who crossed over.

However, they arrived in different timelines. The Six Great Gods were part of the first wave, and the Eight Greed Kings formed the second. While their departures happened simultaneously, they emerged at different points in history.

Each group arrived approximately a hundred years apart. There might even be new 'players' arriving in the future."

After this lengthy explanation, Antilene gained a rough understanding of the situation, though she still found it difficult to believe.

As Eriri spoke, they continued their stroll through the city streets. A few moments after she finished, Antilene asked another question.

"So, is the recent appearance of a 'player' related to the pit in Katz Plains?"

The mention of Katz Plains brought back memories of the vampire sighting her Black Scripture captain had reported. Coupled with the massive crater, Antilene couldn't help but suspect a connection to the 'players.'

Initially, she thought the vampire was merely a high-level native entity—far from a match for her—but now it seemed the captain had underestimated the situation.

"That's correct," Eriri affirmed. "This wave of 'players' included only one individual—a being of the undead. However, he brought his entire guild with him. Like the Eight Greed Kings' floating Sky City, the guild included numerous level 100 NPCs, making them an unstoppable force in your world."

Eriri's words made Antilene uneasy. As humanity's strongest guardian, she couldn't stand the idea of her world being invaded by monstrous entities.

If the incoming 'player' had been human, she might have felt reassured. But as far as non-human invaders were concerned, the Slane Theocracy's stance aligned with that of the Dragon Lords: they were to be eliminated.

"The incident at Katz Plains was their doing, wasn't it?" Antilene asked, her face grim.

"You don't need to worry," Eriri reassured her. "The player, along with his guild, has already been dealt with by Arche. The pit you investigated was merely the remnants of their guild base."

"I see..." Antilene nodded, and the flickering worry in her heart dissipated.

She didn't probe further into Arche. Over the past few hours, her worldview had expanded so drastically that she accepted she might only be at the bottom rung of extraordinary beings across the multiverse.

Eriri's overwhelming power left her awestruck and oddly captivated. If she had previously regretted that Eriri wasn't male, she now found herself caring little for such trivial details. As long as it was Eriri, nothing else mattered.

Having scanned the planet when she arrived, Eriri had also delved into the intricacies of 'YGGDRASIL.' She discovered several minor details, including the fates of players who failed to cross over.

Though only a week had passed since the game servers shut down, she identified dozens of lifeless bodies in cramped apartments—players who had no one to check on them. Their corpses might only be discovered when landlords came to collect rent.

These individuals represented only a fraction of the unlucky ones. Many players had families who discovered their bodies shortly after death. None of them would ever know their loved ones had briefly lived as rulers in another world—a fleeting privilege for those accustomed to being downtrodden.

Of course, this excluded the unfortunate first wave from three hundred years ago and Ainz, whose demise was expedited by Eriri's intervention.

As Eriri led Antilene and Kohina Hiruko toward the city's outskirts, they approached the closest exit to an eco-city.

From a distance of about 400 to 500 meters, they noticed a crowd gathered around a red sports car, blocking its path.

Eriri narrowed her eyes, sensing something intriguing about the situation.

"Let's take a look," she said, her tone carrying a hint of curiosity.

Antilene gently squeezed Eriri's hand, glancing toward the commotion in the distance. "Something seems to be happening over there."

Eriri smiled softly at her, causing Antilene to avert her gaze with a slight blush. Her heartbeat quickened almost imperceptibly. "Let's go take a look."

Within moments, the trio hovered invisibly over the gathered crowd of masked pedestrians.

With a cursory glance, Eriri immediately grasped the situation.

It was a tragic car accident. A frail young girl, wearing a black gas mask, lay motionless in front of a bright red sports car. Fresh blood pooled beneath her, her life signs extinguished.

Fortunately, her body hadn't been mangled despite the severity of the crash.

From beneath the gas mask, Eriri could discern that the girl appeared to be about fifteen or sixteen years old. Although malnourished and pallid, her features hinted at latent beauty. In a normal world, she might have grown into a charming young woman.

But living in this desperate, polluted society, devoid of privileges or resources, she was resigned to a life of hardship. Her tattered clothing made it evident that she came from the poorest strata of the impoverished. Concerns of beauty or self-care were luxuries she couldn't afford.

By listening to the murmured conversations of the crowd, Eriri quickly pieced together the sequence of events leading to the accident.

The sports car had barreled recklessly down the street after exiting the eco-city. A small girl, no more than five or six years old, had wandered onto the road, momentarily straying from her parents. Just as the car was about to collide with the child, the deceased young woman, passing by at the time, had pushed the child out of harm's way, sacrificing her own life in the process.

A classic case of selfless heroism.

Though Eriri wasn't particularly moved by such altruistic acts, she couldn't help but feel a strong sense of goodwill toward the brave, now lifeless girl.

She decided then and there to intervene on behalf of this pitiable yet endearing individual.

The crash site was abuzz with noise. The rescued girl's parents were angrily confronting the driver of the sports car. However, their lack of education left their arguments floundering.

Fortunately, the support of nearby bystanders lent some weight to their confrontation, resulting in a fairly balanced standoff.

The driver of the red sports car was a long-haired woman wearing a gas mask, dressed in an elegant red dress.

Even though she was from the affluent class, she still had to wear a gas mask upon leaving the eco-city; the toxic atmosphere didn't discriminate by status.

Her attitude, however, was abominable. She displayed not the slightest remorse for killing someone, instead focusing on the damage to her car and demanding compensation from the deceased girl's family.

Unfortunately, the girl's parents found no means of identifying her family. Not even a basic cellphone was found on her.

"Ugh, what rotten luck," the long-haired woman muttered, her voice muffled by the gas mask. "Fine, I won't pursue the matter further. Everyone move aside. Do you have any idea who I am? You're delaying me—can you afford to take responsibility? Bunch of lowly scum."

Her disdainful tone made it easy to imagine her sneering expression beneath the mask.

"You can't leave! You must be held accountable for this!" Despite his fear of the upper class, the rescued child's father mustered his courage and stood in front of the car, blocking its path.

He and his wife were deeply grateful to the girl who had saved their child and couldn't bear the thought of letting the incident go unresolved.

"That's right! Even we poor people have rights!" shouted a few men in the crowd, quickly rallying behind the child's parents. Their synchronized efforts suggested they were part of an organized group.

Hovering a few meters above the scene, Eriri, Antilene, and Kohina Hiruko silently observed the unfolding chaos.

With Eriri's intervention, it didn't matter how the dispute would be settled legally. The arrogant driver wouldn't escape retribution.

"Ha! You dare talk to me about rights? Do you even know who I am?" the long-haired woman sneered, pointing to herself with haughty arrogance. "I'm with the Yamada Zaibatsu."

At the mention of Yamada Zaibatsu, most of the onlookers hesitated and began to back away, including the organized protesters.

Even the child's parents faltered. Despite their desire to seek justice, their familial responsibilities outweighed their indignation.

The Yamada Zaibatsu was one of the most powerful conglomerates ruling this dystopian world.

Even members of the wealthy class avoided antagonizing someone associated with them—let alone impoverished individuals.

The organized group was part of the resistance—a coalition of impoverished people striving to overthrow the conglomerates and fight for equal rights. However, they operated in secrecy. Any exposure would bring catastrophic retribution from the corporate overlords.

At that moment, law enforcement arrived at the scene. Unsurprisingly, no ambulances showed up.

In this world, healthcare, like education, was entirely monopolized by the mega-corporations. Treatment costs were exorbitant, particularly for major injuries like those from car accidents. For the poor, death was often the only outcome.

The crowd expressed no relief at the arrival of the police. After all, the justice system had long since devolved into a tool for serving corporate interests.

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