All Of The Worlds Will Be Mine

Aline didn't answer.

Instead, the android silently raised her hand, and with a soft hum, a translucent hologram unfolded in mid-air. Lines of digital code and organized data flowed like a waterfall, then froze neatly into a tiled interface.

"Do I transfer it to your quantum chip, sir?" she asked, her voice as smooth and sweet as ever.

Elric shook his head.

"No. Just show me."

The moment he had stepped out of that space—he had immediately severed all connections to the external network. He couldn't afford to be traced or monitored. Not now.

Not when his departure was finally within reach, he really doesn't want any trouble now.

This information—this preparation—was his last step.

And yet…

The instant the wall of dense, hyper-organized data appeared before his eyes, he felt his resolve wobble.

"Ugh…"

His head throbbed just from looking at it.Rows and rows of text. Symbols. Graphs. Citations. Server IDs. Code strings.

Even with the help of nanobots functioning like a quantum supercomputer inside his body, parsing it all manually felt like a slow death. Reading had never been his favorite activity.

"Alina… just give me a summary," he said, rubbing his temple. "Only the important parts."

"Absolutely, sir."

Aline's sweet, expressionless voice filled the room as she began her report.

"YGGDRASIL," she began, "was once the most popular full-dive virtual reality game among the outer population."

Elric narrowed his eyes slightly. In fact… it was the reason all of this had started.

That's right—before his memory returned, he hadn't even known such a game existed. YGGDRASIL.

A full-dive DMMORPG.

These kinds of virtual games were primarily enjoyed by the lower class, those who lived outside the Arcology. Due to environmental devastation, pollution, and acidic rain, real-life outdoor activities had become nearly impossible. Tourism was extinct. Sports were confined to the domes or abandoned entirely.

For the poor, virtual reality was a rare escape.A sanctuary.

Just put on a headset, log in, and the world outside—gray and dying—disappeared.

But for people like him, the wealthy born into Arcological nobility, real-world activities were still common: swimming, sports, private amusement parks. A lifestyle the outside world had long forgotten, now just a memory in VR.

Still…

"People only realize what they've lost after it's gone," Elric murmured.

About a month ago—around the time his past life memories reawakened—he'd started feeling strangely disconnected from the usual outdoor entertainments.

It was a creeping boredom, not born of dissatisfaction, but of familiarity.

Back in his previous life, he had grown up playing outside every day. The virtual world had never been part of his experience.

So, on a whim, he had browsed a few game archives online.

And that's when he saw it.

A name. A title. A game—all so painfully familiar.

YGGDRASIL.

And with it… Nazarick.

That was the moment he had realized what world he was in.

Aline continued her briefing, her voice devoid of emotion yet oddly comforting.

"The game is currently owned by Galaxy Enterprise. However, in recent years its popularity has sharply declined. Although not yet publicly announced, internal reports confirm the server is scheduled to shut down in approximately six months."

"Huh… six, huh?"

He leaned back slightly.

That was a bit of a surprise. According to online forums, it was supposed to close in four months. Clearly, even after a hundred years, you can't trust people in internet.

"They are currently working on a new project," Aline added, "a replacement game called—"

"Don't bother," Elric cut her off, waving one hand dismissively. "I don't care about anything else. Just tell me about YGGDRASIL."

"Understood, sir," Aline said, nodding with machine-like precision. "YGGDRASIL is a massively multiplayer online role-playing game utilizing full-dive technology. It was first launched—"

"That's enough," Elric interrupted again. "I'm not writing a thesis."

A moment of silence passed.

Then he asked, more sharply, "Did you investigate the guild… Nazarick?"

"Yes, sir," Aline responded, pulling up a side panel of scrolling data. "The guild was created five years ago by a group of non-human players. According to player data, the game environment is heavily biased in favor of human characters. As a result, non-human players were often hunted by others, creating a hostile environment."

"So they formed their own group…" Elric muttered.

"Yes, sir," Aline confirmed. "The guild was a response to this bias—a resistance of sorts."

Elric folded his arms.

"What's their current status?"

"Inactive. Only six members logged in during the past month. And only one user appears consistently. The rest have likely retired or abandoned the game."

"…Only one, huh?"

There was a pause.

Then came Elric's command.

"Contact him. I want to speak with him personally."

At that moment, something unexpected happened.

Aline blinked.

Just once.

It was subtle. Barely noticeable. But Elric caught it. His eyes narrowed.

"...Did she just... flinch?"

For a brief second, he had almost seen something like surprise flash across her face.

He reached up and rubbed his temple again, half-annoyed, half-curious.

"She shouldn't be capable of emotion. No facial variation. No instinctive response. And yet…"

He let the thought drift.

"Whatever," he muttered. "Even if there's an AI revolution brewing… it's not my problem. I'll be long gone by then."

But suddenly a bright idea came to his mind, an evolving AI don't seem to be a bad thing.