Hey, so I've finally hit writers block with my other story, so don't expect an update anytime soon, but as luck would have it, I've come up with a new story idea. With this in my head, I can't write anything else, so here it is.

XXX

It is amazing how much a small change in the present can alter the future. A single, seemingly inconsequential decision can have far-reaching effects.

Now, let us see what a major change does.

XXX

23:22

"HAAAAH"

A warrior wearing shining silver armor charged towards a monstrosity made of flesh stitched together. The Flesh Juggernaut was busy fighting a two-headed dragon, leaving him wide open for an attack. Behind the warrior, an elf wearing an intricate golden robe and holding a large book called out.

[Divine Blade] [Heavenly Blessing]

The warrior started to glow, and with strength enhanced with magic, stuck the Flesh Juggernaut. The warrior quickly backed away as a spherical blue dome surrounding a blonde man next to the elf shattered.

Super-tier spell: [Fallen Down]

A bright white light engulfed the area, killing both the Flesh Juggernaut and the two-headed dragon. Once the light disappeared, the man who cast the spell spoke first.

"And that's all, folks."

"Yeah, but did you have to kill my dragon as well?"

Another man with black hair wearing fancy clothing walked out from behind a wall that quickly disappeared responded.

"Oh, come on does it really matter? We finished the boss and your summon was almost out of both time and health."

"It's the principle that matters!"

"Come on, stop fighting, you two, this is the last day."

The elf interrupted the argument between the two magic casters.

"Sorry, about that, El, got a little excited here."

"Yeah, sorry"

The warrior in silver armor chose this moment to speak up.

"Well, this is a touching moment and all, but I have to get up early tomorrow, so I can't stay. Thanks, for the invite and I hope to see you guys again somewhere."

"Thanks, man"

"See you, rock"

"Goodbye, my friend."

[Rick the Rock has logged out]

With that notification, the warrior in silver armor disappeared.

"Well, I better get going too. I start work next week and I want to be prepared. It was nice seeing you one last time, Mike and Cow."

"Eh, won't we see each other in Ultimax as well?"

"Ah, sorry, Mike, but I'm quitting that game. I don't think I'll have time once I start work."

"Ah, I see, take care then."

"Yeah, good luck with that new job."

[Elle has logged out]

Another notification appeared as the elf disappeared.

"And then there were two."

"Yeah, so what are you planning on doing Cow?"

"Eh, I'll probably head back to the guild base and wait till the end. It's only about half an hour more. What about you?"

"I'll go tour Alfheim for a few minutes, but I've got to leave soon too."

"You're not going to wait till the end?"

"Nah, I really don't see the point in it. Take care of yourself man."

"Yeah, maybe we'll see each other again. Thanks for coming today, Mike."

"No problem, thanks for the invite. [Gate]"

A black portal appeared in front of the two and the blonde stepped through it.

"Well, I'd better be going as well. [Gate]"

Another portal appeared and the black haired man sent through it.

XXX

23:40

ACE was one of the oldest and was until recently one of the most powerful guilds in YGGDRASIL. It had gone through many different guild leaders and had seen its share of highs and lows. At several points, the guild was almost disbanded, but several dedicated members kept it going. Although it was one of the strongest guilds in YDDGRASIL the average strength of a member wasn't very impressive. The guild was strong because it had so many members. While there were a few strong players in it, most were casuals who just wanted to have fun.

There was also a lot of speculation about the guild name. Most people thought it was an acronym for something but the truth was different. The original founders of the guild had no creativity and the minimum size for a guild name was three letters.

The current guild master of ACE was Cowgomoo. He joined the guild a few years ago after spending some time in casual guilds and soloing for a while and had held his position for a little over two months, when the previous leader quit once it was announced that YDDGRASIL was ending. Cowgomoo walked through his portal and arrived in front of his guild's base. The Fortress City of Galahall was located in Jotunheim and appeared to be a small two-story fortress from the outside. However, the fortress itself, called forward base, was just the entrance and the guild base itself was underground. The base originally had four levels, but the members of ACE had increased it to six levels. The members of ACE had 2600 levels of custom NPCs to create with this base. The base itself had 1600 levels and for some reason they received a bonus of 1000 levels. No one knew how they got this bonus, but from what was publicly known, it was the highest bonus that any base had. The Fortress City of Galahall also had the distinction of being one of only 14 bases that had never been conquered in YDDGRASIL once a guild had occupied it, although thanks to their good reputation, they did not have to fend off any organized assaults. The base got its name from the large underground city inhabited by NPCs that lived on the fourth floor. These NPCs were technically not under the guild's control, but a feature of the base that gave certain bonuses. The first three floors and the fortress on top were devoted to defense, while the fifth floor was designed as the final line of defense and the sixth floor housed rooms of the guild members and other miscellaneous rooms. They also had their treasury on the sixth floor, but like many other guilds, it was separated from the rest of the base and only accessible with a guild ring.

Cowgomoo walked pass the gate of the fortress and activated his guild ring to teleport to the throne room on the sixth floor. The room itself was empty except for a single female NPC with blonde hair dressed like a young secretary standing next to the throne. The NPC's name was Jasmine and she was one of the few NPCs still in the guild base created by the original founders.

Cowgomoo looked at her for a moment. For some reason, the original founders of ACE decided it was a good idea to use 100 of their custom NPC levels on an NPC that would almost certainly not see combat. From what her description said, she was in charge of the administration of the guild base. She was also designated as one of the last lines of defense for ACE and had good combat potential. However, as the administration of the base couldn't be controlled by an NPC and she was placed at a point far past where the guild weapon was stored, there was basically no way she would ever be used for her stated purpose. He understood that there were a few hardcore role-players among the founders, but this seemed like too much. Still, it wasn't like they desperately needed the extra NPC levels and at least they weren't like that one guild that made several hundred level 1 NPCs.

Cowgomoo sat on the throne at the end of the room. Part of him wanted to get the guild weapon from the conference room, The Bow of ACE, just to look cool, but he felt that it would be more trouble than it was worth. At that moment, a notification appeared in front of him.

[Michelangelo has logged out]

Cowgomoo looked at his time display.

23:48

"He couldn't wait for twelve more minutes, huh? Oh, well."

Cowgomoo felt a little sad that he would be the only one from his guild to stay until the end, but was still glad that three of his friends had come back today to go on one last adventure. He had sent an invitation to all 306 registered members of the guild, but most of them hadn't logged in in over a year. He was actually surprised that anyone had bothered to show up at all. As the seconds ticked down to the shutdown, he allowed his mind to wander.

Cowgomoo started as casual player, but got more and more invested in YDDGRASIL as time passed. He made friends, fought battles, and explored the world. He had been quite depressed when he heard about its shutdown, but didn't let it consume him. He would eventually find another game to play.

Cowgomoo was primarily a summoner with several support abilities. While not the strongest in the guild, he was one of the strongest players, probably one of the strongest in the game when it came to PVE, but only in the middle of the upper tier for PVP. He had a full set of Divine-class equipment specialized for his character build. He was specialized in combat and exploration, with almost no non-combat abilities such as crafting and gathering.

23:59

As the seconds ticked down to the inevitable shutdown, Cowgomoo was filled with both regret and happiness. Regret that the game was coming to an end, but happiness of all the memories that he had made in it. He decided to watch the countdown and count with it.

Ten more seconds left.

9

8

7

6

5

4

3

2

1

0

As soon as the time expired, something amazing happened. Call it divine intervention, an act of god, destiny, or fate, but for some inexplicable reason it just happened. The instant Cowgomoo was sent into the new world, a huge amount of information was forced into his mind. It was both images and text, information that would undoubtedly change his future.

Cowgomoo, in that brief instant, for some inexplicable reason, had both the first season of the Overlord anime series and the light novels up to volume 11 sent directly into his mind.

The feeling of having so much information being sent directly into your mind was indescribable, somehow both uncomfortable and pleasant at the same time. In addition to this information, Cowgomoo was given a few other facts, including that ACE had been sent here instead of Ainz Ooal Gown, no other players were sent with them, and the events that he now knew could be changed.

It took Cowgomoo a few seconds to reorient himself, calm his mind, and briefly go over the information that he received. He felt panic slowly rising in him, but managed to keep it under control as he confirmed that the game's command console was missing. At that moment, he heard a voice call out to him.

"Is everything alright, master Cowgomoo?"

Cowgomoo slowly turned his head to the person who addressed him, the NPC Jasmine. As he saw her worried expression, he said the first thing that came to his mind.

"You've gotta be shitting me."

XXX

A/N

So, that's the first chapter. Just to let you know, don't expect my update speed to be anything like it was for my other story. I've got some stuff to do in life, so the best I can expect is a chapter a week or so.