Watching Overlord from the perspective of the Great Tomb of Nazarick, the show had always been a power fantasy—an overwhelming force steamrolling everything in its path.
But from the perspective of the people of this world?It was unending despair.The denizens of Nazarick weren't just powerful—they were demons. Monsters. Harbingers of annihilation.
Of course, Minori didn't feel any loyalty to either side.What kept gnawing at him was the thought of what would happen if he ever ended up in the Sorcerous Kingdom—and worse, if his identity as a time traveler were exposed.
In the end, the Sorcerous Kingdom was just a tool. A means to an end for Ainz Ooal Gown.Neither he nor the Guardians of Nazarick cared about anything beyond the preservation and glory of the Great Tomb itself.
Especially Ainz—who wouldn't hesitate to obliterate anything, or anyone, that posed even the slightest threat to Nazarick.
Even if Minori wasn't dangerous...Even if he posed no threat at all...Just the fact that he was a time traveler could be reason enough for the Bone King to act.
In his eyes, Minori's very existence might qualify as a potential anomaly—something unpredictable.Something that needed to be erased.
And knowing Ainz...
Minori was sure he wouldn't be given a clean, swift death.More likely, he'd be subjected to a full battery of memory-searching magic, turned into a drooling husk, and then executed.
The mere thought made him shudder.
"I'm just a regular office drone," he muttered bitterly. "I wouldn't even last through a few minutes of torture, let alone a full 'dark lord interrogation.'"
His hands trembled slightly as he brought them to his face. He rubbed his cheeks hard—trying to shake himself awake, to convince himself this was all just a nightmare.
But the world around him didn't flicker. The chill in the air didn't fade.And the ache in his gut didn't lie.
"I'm such a miserable person."
Blending into the crowd, Minori followed the flow of people until he found a quiet spot at the edge of a shop. He slumped down against the wall, settling into a corner seat.
It wasn't fatigue that made him sit.
In fact, he didn't feel tired at all.
His energy and physical condition were vastly improved compared to his sub-healthy state back in the real world. Even his arms showed visible muscle definition—something he'd never had before.
Minori had already confirmed it:This was his body—but not quite as he remembered it.It had reverted to what looked like his sixteen or seventeen-year-old self, despite the fact that he'd been twenty-five before crossing over.
And the reason for this strange regression?
It likely had something to do with his "cheat"—Or more precisely, his innate power.
Minori narrowed his eyes, and immediately, a translucent panel appeared in front of him—visible only to him.
It was an interface. A status screen.
Split into two sections, cleanly displayed.
[Attribute Table]
Player: Takano MinoriJustice Value: 0 (Neutral)
HP: 13 (1%)
MP: 13 (1%)
Physical Attack: 13 (1%)
Physical Defense: 13 (1%)
Agility: 13 (1%)
Magic Attack: 13 (1%)
Magical Defense: 13 (1%)
Comprehensive Resistance: 0 (0%)
Specificity: 0 (0%)
Total Performance Rating: 7%
[Capability Table]
Innate Ability: [Player]
Overall Level: 0 (No Occupation)
Experience: 0 / 100
Occupation: None
Skill Points: 0
Passive Skill: Item Box
Active Skills: None
Minori focused his attention on the innate abilities listed on his ability screen.
[Innate Ability: Player – Gain player characteristics. (Unobservable, unseizable)]
There was very little information provided.
The attribute panel floating before him was likely a result of these player characteristics.
As the saying goes, "the fewer the words, the greater the power."
Minori was an experienced player, after all, and could make an educated guess about the abilities hidden within the "Player" trait.
The so-called "innate supernatural powers" didn't exist in the game Overlord. They were special abilities possessed by people who came from another world.
Moreover, the chances of being born with such powers were surprisingly high—roughly one in every 200 people. However, most of these abilities were so weak they were useless in combat.
In game terms, they were simply special skills humans in this world were born with.
But putting all that aside for now—
The "Player" trait granted the ability to level up, freeing one from the racial and talent limitations of ordinary humans.
However!
Even knowing he had this kind of natural ability, Minori's confusion didn't fade.
This was another world—not the game Overlord.
Even if he used his abilities to reach level 100 before the arrival of the Great Tomb, there was no way he could match Bone King and the others.
How could a blank-slate level 100 character defeat the fully equipped Bone King, who wielded artifact-tier equipment, paid items, and world items in the Great Tomb?
Let alone—
There were more level 100 beings than just Bone King in that place!
Minori understood the terrifying power of the Great Tomb better than anyone else in this world. That's why he knew just how vast the gap between them truly was.
"All basic attributes are set to 13 points? Even without a class yet, I've already surpassed the average person in this world, at least in terms of raw stats."
Minori studied the numbers on his stat sheet, quietly taking in the strength and energy surging through his body.
These weren't just numbers like in the game—here, they directly reflected his physical capabilities.
He could even sense a unique energy flowing inside him—likely magic.
According to the logic of this world, he had the talent of a "magic chanter."
Then there was the percentage shown after each stat—
That was a calculation method unique to the game Overlord.
If he remembered correctly, Bone King's total value was something like "683.6% + ?%". The question mark indicated that his magic power had surpassed measurable limits.
According to the lore, the average MP stat for a level 100 magic caster was around 1,300 points. Bone King's magic power was 1.5 times that.
Yeah… that's the power of krypton gold.
Minori had once studied the mechanics of YGGDRASIL, the game world behind Overlord, in great detail.
Based on his understanding, if you stripped away equipment bonuses, the base stat caps for all player races should be the same.
After all, you needed that kind of balance to maintain fairness in the game.
(PS: The maximum percentage for any attribute is set at 1300. This is a personal setting to make character stat comparisons easier and to avoid confusion when referencing data from the novel and companion materials.)
So!
Theoretically, every level added 13 points to each stat. By level 100, each attribute would sit at 1,300.
But that's just theory.
In practice, it didn't work like that at all.
Different classes increased different stats. For example, warriors gained HP, physical attack, defense, and agility, while spellcasters focused on MP, magic attack, magic defense, and uniqueness.
Also—
Among the various races players could choose from, only humans lacked racial classes. Sub-humans and heteromorphs had their own racial class trees.
Take dragons, for example—one of the strongest races in this world. They had six racial classes: Child, Juvenile, Young Adult, Adult, Elder, and Ancient Dragon.
It took 50 levels to fully upgrade all six racial classes, leaving only 50 levels for job progression.
Humans didn't have that limitation. All 100 levels could be devoted to job classes.
That was both a weakness and a strength—ultimately allowing humans to catch up with, or even surpass, the other races by level 100.
That's why—
Even Bone King had only maxed out his MP and Specialness stats to 100%.
Minori raised his head and glanced around the street. No one was paying him any attention.
He reached into the pocket of his rough clothes and pulled out a small piece of rye bread.
Despite being called "black bread," it was more of a dark brown.
Hard and coarse, but edible.
Two pieces for a copper coin. Judging from that, basic goods in this world weren't too expensive.
With money tight, every bit of savings counted.
This piece of black bread hadn't come from his pocket, though—it had come from his Item Box. That's where he kept his original clothes and the gold coins he'd started with.
The "Item Box" was like an in-game inventory—an interdimensional space for storage.
Based on his observation, it was fairly spacious but did have a limit. Otherwise, the game wouldn't have included magic items like the "Infinite Backpack."
Of course, even the so-called "infinite" backpack had its limits—it was just a backup when the standard item box ran out of room.
Minori stuffed the bread into his mouth and bit off a piece with effort, cheeks puffed out as he chewed noisily.
Dinner last night had been just a piece of brown bread too. Unsurprisingly, he was getting hungry again.
That hunger brought a fresh wave of reality crashing over him.
"Player" might be his innate ability—but this was the real world.
He could get hungry. He could get tired. And yes—
He could even die.