The moment his friends left his office, Momonga teleported to the Throne of Kings, leaned back in his seat and closed his eyes. Although he could work on skills anywhere, the throne room felt as the best place to do it. Of course, he had to work on distributing the ultimate skills in his office, but that was a problem for tomorrow. With the plan to give out the ultimate skills the next morning, he had a single night to figure out how to get rid of any possible negative side effects from his skill.
From his previous explorations, Momonga already had a decent knowledge on how skills were built and that each subskill consisted of a core that was connected with similar cores. It seemed that the name itself was separate with no clear way of telling how it even benefited the skill itself. If anything, it felt more like a remote control mechanism.
Now armed with |Omniscience|, Momonga could observe skills with almost no effort. He quickly located |Uriel, the Lord of Vows|, and started inspecting the skill's cores.
The shield part of it gave no surprise. With |Infinite Imprisonment| incorporated within it he could easily create various magical shields, barriers, and prisons. The next core lets him manipulate natural and magical laws.
The third one, |Spatial Domination|, gave pretty much unlimited ability to teleport and move objects around, which previously could only be accomplished with magic.
What immediately raised his concern was the |Uriel| core itself. It had a dormant sentience that seemingly could be activated remotely. At least, using |Omniscience| gave him such an impression.
And it meant only one thing: It needed to be removed posthaste.
'Don't fail me on this.' Momonga urged his skill and grabbed |Uriel's| core.
Acting more on instinct, he started to cut off cords from |Uriel| and left them hanging for now. Once the last cord was cut off, he pushed |Uriel's| core aside, and for a moment tried to figure out what to do next.
Omniscience| sure as hell didn't work as its name implied. The infinite amount of knowledge felt like it was always just outside his grasp. Even if the skill didn't actually let him know everything, at least it gave instinctual knowledge on how to proceed.
With some concentration, he managed to make a fresh core and then connect all the loose threads to it. 'Now I should copy some of the control mechanisms of Uriel but leave the sentience part out.' He mused and proceeded with the task.
Once the job was finished, he thoroughly inspected the entire skill once again, and by the looks of it, the skill functioned just like before, only without the possibility of a rogue sentience being activated.
The only thing that remained was to decide what to do with |Uriel.| 'I guess I don't need it anymore; just leaving it be would be dangerous.' Resolved to get rid of the core, he took it in an imaginary hand and crushed it.
The feeling that filled him was hard to describe. As if some fundamental part of the world was changed by him, and someone somewhere wept, grieving the death of Uriel.
A moment later, the Voice of the World spoke in his head. < |Uriel, the Lord of Vows, has been destroyed!| > For the first time, it didn't sound as impartial as it always had been but sounded remorseful at the loss.
After that, it switched back to its neutral voice and continued. < |Ultimate skill 'Lord of Vows' now belongs to entity Momonga.| >
'I killed a skill!' The revelation was both disturbing and uplifting. It meant that the entities inside the skills could be removed, leaving the skill pretty much intact.
No matter what sort of ultimate skills his friends and guardians would receive, he could just remove the named entities and not worry about anything taking over their minds.
After another quick examination of Albedo's |Ginnungagap|, it was obvious that the skill didn't have sentience and the name was the void itself; A mindless destructive energy that could be wielded but could not control its wielder. For now, it could be left alone with the intention that he could look over the skill in the future, when he had a better grasp on how to rebuild the skills and do adjustments.
Finally, Momonga sent Veldora all the relevant information in case he wanted to deal with |Faust|. In response, the dragon messaged him back.
{ Chief, I'm not sure if we should meddle in things like this. Even I don't know what would happen if someone messes with the systems my brother made. }
{ I already tested it. } Momonga messaged back, unsure if he should tell the dragon what he just did.
{ What do you mean you already tested it? Momonga, what did you do? } Veldora responded with a worried tone.
{ I just changed one of my skills and removed the name from it. I don't see any real differences. }
{ By removing, you mean… you erased the name just as you instructed me to do? }
{ Yes. }
{ And what happened? }
{ Voice of the world informed that I… I destroyed |Uriel| and now own the skill completely. }
After a moment of silence, Veldora responded. { I'm still not sure if it's a good idea, but if nothing else happened, it's probably fine. Just be careful with further experimentation. }
'He, of all people, warns me to be careful? I better heed his advice and be careful when I do additional experimentation. I'm sure changing skills doesn't have any consequences, but by the looks of it, |Omniscience| can give me knowledge on how to do even more permanent changes to the systems that are in place.'
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Just after sunrise, Momonga called for Pero And Buku to come to his office so he could start distributing the ultimate skills.
About ten minutes later, Pero entered the room, "Good morning." he said in a chipper tone.
Buku walked in right after him with a big mug of coffee in her hands, followed by a homunculus maid carrying a huge coffee.
The slime sat down on the sofa with a quiet grumble. "Mornin'."
"Don't mind sis, she is not a morning person," Pero said with a chuckle. "She'll get out of it in a few hours."
"I see." Momonga responded, "I thought both of you didn't need to sleep as well."
"Oh, fuck off. Just because I don't need to doesn't mean I like to wake up this early." Buku groaned, before taking a big gulp of her coffee. "Just start doing your thing."
"There is no point in trying to communicate with her right now." Pero remarked and sat down beside her.
The homunculus maid trailing behind Buku took out a small cup from her |inventory| and filled it with coffee, offering it to Pero. Once the avian accepted the cup, she did the same for Momonga.
Momonga took a small sip of the delicious brew, then put the cup on the table and started to work.
Considering that Pero already had a connection with the Sun, he would receive the appropriate skill. That left Buku with the Moon.
Giving the skill to someone was quite easy. The moment he used the Moon on her, Buku snapped out of her morning grumpiness and sharply exhaled. Her |Lord of Fire| was consumed and integrated into the |Ultimate skill, Selene, the Goddess of the Moon|.
Same as he did with |Uriel|, Momonga quickly cut out |Selene| and replaced it with a generic Goddess core. Just in case, he also went over the rest of the cores to see Buku's new abilities and, if possible, transferred direct knowledge on how to use them to her.
The former |Lord of Fire| was transformed into |Cold Flames| and |Moon Rays|, both of which were area damage skills. The rest of the skill set gave reflection and absorption-based skills.
In essence, Buku could drain every kind of energy from a wide area and use it at her leisure, which meant that anyone unable to resist this devastating effect would be rendered helpless against her.
There was another sub-skill that came as a surprise. Buku had also gained |Titan Form|. After a quick search through the library, he found the reason for such a sub-skill. Selene was one of the titan Goddesses from Greek mythology. Momonga could only guess how his friend would look in this form.
Finally, the skill also gave her |Divine strength|, |Divine Invulnerability|, |Divine Regeneration|, and |Divine speed|, with the Invulnerability being somewhat redundant, as Buku already had it before. Although a quick inspection revealed that she now had high resistance to soul damaging abilities. What's more, |Divine Regeneration| also restored the soul, making her almost completely immortal. If even a smallest bit of her soul remained attached to the skill she would simply regenerate to her full self over time.
'I must find a way to give this to everyone I can. If we can be made immortal I don't have to worry about surprise attacks as much.'
Done with Buku, Momonga gave Pero the Sun. The avian didn't show any outward reaction to the changes within and just patiently sat on the sofa, waiting for the whole process to be done.
His |Purifier| was absorbed by the new |Ultimate skill, Helios, the God of the Sun|, and vastly expanded, giving Pero devastating sun-based offensive abilities.
Same as his sister, he also gained |Titan Form|, and the divine strength, speed, regeneration and defense boosts that seemingly came with all God skills.
Momonga's own |God of Death| didn't have one at the moment, but it seemed that cores could be copied so he could alter his skill later.
Lastly, |God of the Sun| had the opposite effect to the |Goddess of the Moon|, with Pero now having the ability to generate power and empower others.
Same as with other skills, Momonga removed |Helios| and left only |God of the Sun|. While performing the probably cruel but necessary task, he noticed that Buku's and Pero's skills shared a connection.
How this connection worked was beyond him, but |Omniscience| gave the vague sense that if they fought side by side, they would be much stronger together than if they fought on their own.
The whole process took just a few minutes but the moment the process was done, Buku stood up and said, "I'll go test things out. Can you call me back when you are giving skills to Aura and Mare?"
"Sure. I'll notify you the moment I'm giving skills to your children." Momonga replied.
"Great, see you later then." Buku smiled and teleported away.
"You know, I think you will have to give her skills every morning. This is the fastest I have seen her snap out of her morning grumpiness." Pero said and then asked, "So, who is next?"
"Since you are here, I think I could give a skill to Shalltear next." Momonga said, looking away from his friend. Knowing how she would act, and that there might be no help from his friend and that Pero more than likely would add even more fuel to the fire, he couldn't help but get nervous.
Pero chuckled, "She will be here in a minute."
The avian hadn't even finished the sentence when Shalltear teleported in and beelined straight to Momonga. She pressed her body against his side and said in a high-pitched voice. "Lord Momonga, you chose me first."
{ Sweety, he didn't call you for some fun time. Remember the plan. } Pero came to his friend's rescue after all.
Shalltear continued clinging to Momonga's side with a dreamy smile as she replied to her father. { Daddy, but I can't miss the chance. If I play things right, I could… }
{ Shalltear, don't be impatient. Momonga called you to give you a skill. If you don't show any restraint now, then the whole plan might fall apart. You know how he is when it comes to women. }
{ But… but… my chance… } Shalltear reluctantly let Momonga go and bowed. "You called me, Lord Momonga?"
"Yes." the Overlord's voice half-cracked. However, with an inevitable emotional suppression going off, he calmly continued on, "I plan to give you and the other guardians ultimate skills to better protect Nazarick and Tempest."
"I am honored to receive a gift." Shalltear replied with a curtsy.
Momonga finally looked at her, "Then let's begin. Please sit down." he instructed. Shalltear had grown noticeably taller as of late, with more profound curves, although her figure still was rather petite. Her Victorian-style dress had been modified as well.
Instead of the high neckline, she had now had a deep cut.
'Huh, she looks older than I remember. It has been only weeks since I last saw her, but she surely couldn't have grown up that fast.'
Pero noticed his friend staring at his daughter and could easily guess the reason. { She is pushing her growth to catch up with Albedo and Shion. All for you, buddy. }
{ I see. Is it safe? I don't think she should do that. }
{ It's too late already. Just get on with giving her a skill. }
There was no point arguing, especially considering that he likely would lose an argument with the father-daughter combo.
Once Shalltear sat down, Momonga retrieved one of the world items now turned ultimate skill. Once a chalice filled with blood, now the skill only bore its name: the Unholy Grail.
The moment this new skill connected with Shalltear, the new |Ultimate-skill Ker, the Goddess of Blood and Violence|, was created. Her unique skills |Household| and |Blood Frenzy| were absorbed into it.
Just as with the previous skills, Momonga cut off the name of the entity, leaving only the |Goddess of Blood and Violence|.
Same as her father's, Shalltear's skill boosted her physical attributes even more. It was only a vague sensation, but Momonga felt her physical prowess exceeding even that of Pero and Buku. Additionally, Household let her summon untold amounts of creatures under her command.
Finally, she had two abilities that would affect every individual who was unable to resist her skill.
The First was |Bloodrage|, an ability that could put anyone into an unstoppable blind rage. And the second one, |Marked for Death|, sealed the target's fate. Even if they managed to escape Shalltear, her household would hunt the target down and kill them, no matter where they chose to hide.
Maybe he just didn't notice the first few times, but the moment he crushed the |Ker| core, he felt a presence watching. A presence that was not particularly happy with his actions. Startled, Momonga tried to sense who was watching him and quickly realized that there was more than one vague presence. Some curious, some amused, some indifferent.
Most didn't seem hostile but this last one, likely belonging to the source of the skill Shalltear received, was furious with his actions.
'These entities know I'm cutting them off before they can take root. This is not good, but I can't let them take control of anyone in my care.' Whatever they were, he was not about to give in and stop. Five more skills needed to be given out, and he had no intention of stopping.
Returning to the present, Momonga observed Shalltear's new skill once more, just in case there was something he might have overlooked.
To his relief, there was nothing out of order. However, as he was inspecting the skill, a notification from |Nazarick| entered his awareness. All vampire brides under Shalltear had evolved into beings called kerai.
Curious about their new properties, he opened his eyes and addressed Shalltear. "Did you sense your vampire brides evolving?"
"I did, Lord Momonga. They are a lot stronger now, and I can summon as many as I like with my skill." Shalltear responded eagerly.
"Can you bring one here?"
Shalltear nodded, and a moment later a winged creature was teleported in. The woman had the same pitch black hair and red eyes as the vampire brides, but there the resemblance ended.
She was wearing a long blood-red dress with two slits that went all up to her hips. Her feet were bare, with long, claw-like nails. Her hands had the same long sharp nails, and she was holding a long scythe in her right hand. Yet her most monstrous trait was her mouth. Two lines extended far beyond her lips, giving the impression that she could open her mouth to impossible widths.
The creature instantly kneeled and partly lowered her head. It was impossible to tell if she was smirking or snarling, but this kerai exuded pure bloodlust.
'How curious. This is the first evolution where I see someone turning less humanoid. Maybe it's because of my tampering?' Momonga mused. Then a thought popped into his mind. 'I wonder what would happen if the creature got a name?'
"Shalltear, could you name her?" Momonga pointed at kerai.
"Of course, Lord Momonga." Shalltear said as she got up from the sofa and approached the kerai, who was still in a kneeling position. She lifted her hand, pointed at the creature, and said. "I will call you Helle."
The only outward change that happened was the creature sprouting an extra pair of wings. As usual, the naming also boosted her power greatly, putting her above even the strongest of kijin.
Done with Shalltear, Momonga decided to take a little break before tackling the rest of the guardians. Altering skills was starting to mentally take a toll on him.
Reluctantly, Shalltear followed her father as both left the Overlord's office, leaving him on his own. Once alone, he leaned back in his chair and closed his eyes, trying to sense if the presences observing him were still there.
Although the feeling of being watched was still there, he couldn't sense anyone. Whatever those entities were, they had most likely left him alone for now.
The tiredness of working with skills quickly got the better of him and before calling in the next recipient he leaned back in the chair and immediately fell into a deep slumber.
Proofreading by Sad_Smiles, Abbysalidiot, Somnium Hypnos, and alassandro.
AN: Thank you for reading the story, and if you have caught up to the latest chapter, you can check out my other work or join my discord server (Link is in my profile) where additional chapters are available.