Table Game to Understand Humans

Table Game to Understand Humans is a CD drama story of the Overlord series. It was released alongside Overlord Volume 10.

Main Summary
Ainz Ooal Gown tries to play a tabletop game with the Floor Guardians to help them understand humans better.

Full Summary
Ainz Ooal Gown sneaks into the library to return his borrowed business books. He complains that all this sneaking around is stressing him and that he should be relaxing. Ainz knows he can’t do that as Nazarick will be engaging more actively in the New World. The fact that many in Nazarick look down on humans doesn’t help. The majority of his subjects hold the image that humans are weak, while Ainz believes It is dangerous to underestimate them.

Ainz hopes he can change their views and stumbles upon an old rulebook to a table game. Reading it, the Overlord gets an idea.

Later, Ainz summons Albedo, Demiurge, Shalltear Bloodfallen, Aura Bella Fiora and Mare Bello Fioreella to his chambers. On the pretense as an exercise to understand humans, Ainz has the four play the table game: Hack And Slash Adventure. Some of the Floor Guardians query why it would be necessary to understand humans as they believe them to be nothing special. Ainz explains it would allow the Guardians to understand their temperament and special features, and their strengths and weaknesses. He further points to the existence of various powers which Nazarick knew nothing about that humans in the world possess, such as Martial Arts and Talents. In addition, he also referenced Shalltear's own unfortunate experience.

Demiurge understood his master's intentions to provide the Guardians a way to ascertain humanity's abilities so that in the future, the Floor Guardians will not expose any weaknesses for them to exploit. Realizing wisdom in his words, the Guardians agreed to play.

The game is set so that each Floor Guardian took a role as a human adventurer with a specific class. Aura becomes a Rogue. Mare becomes a Priest. Shalltear becomes a Mystic Warrior. Demiurge becomes a Magic Caster. Albedo becomes a Warrior.

In the first map, the Guardians' characters find themselves in a small village at twilight. Demiurge suggests that they find a place to rest, taking into consideration that they lack magic items, and abilities to eliminate sleep. The group comes to a large house in the center of the village. They knock on the door, and an old man appears, Albedo then has her character kill the villager. Her actions cause Ainz to momentarily halt the game and ask for her reasons as to why she did that. Albedo states that she did so to secure a safe place for the party. Mare interjects, stating that killing a villager will bring unneeded trouble since the villagers would come for retribution and outnumber the adventurers. Albedo refuses to allow begging for charity from a human. Demiurge suggests that the old man be controlled by Ainz and allow them to be taken in. The action satisfies Shalltear and Albedo allowing the game to proceed.

Ainz, playing the role as an old village chief, tells the adventurers that the village is being harassed by goblins. He offers a deal, the adventurers destroy the goblins, and the villagers will offer them a reward, as well as a place to sleep. The group accepts the quest from the village, clearing the first map.

The second map takes place in a path leading to the goblin caves. At first, there is nothing strange, until several bandits jump out and surround the adventurers. They defeat the bandits whilst they complaining about their limits. As they strip the human bandits of valuables, the Guardians wonder why humans would even live a life of banditry.

The third map has a lake with fairies They are mistrustful of the human adventurers, prompting Mare to use his charisma to befriend them. They then learn that the fairies were recently robbed by human bandits, the very same ones the Guardians encountered earlier. As a reward, the fairies tell the group of their quarries and suggest they use it as a secret shortcut to reach the Goblin Caves.

The Guardians’ characters reach the caves and spot two goblins guarding the entrance, they quickly eliminate them and proceed further on. Entering the cave, they narrowly avoid a trap and encounter more goblins. Along the way the Guardians' pick at the holes in the plot of the game and how fragile the humans are.

As they clear the caves, they discover a chamber containing five potions. Mare drinks one, and he has his gender switched to a girl. Aura drinks her potion and her character ages ten years. Shalltear's potion turns out to be a bomb, that damages not only the drinker but the entire group. Demiurge, however, uses his magic to heal Shalltear and the group sustained minor injuries. Albedo, after seeing the negative effects of the other potions, takes a chance and drinks one of the other potions. It turns out to be a Love Potion and Albedo receives minor fire resistance and the title "Warrior of Love." Seeing the various effects of the potions, Demiurge opts not to drink the last one and the party moves on.

The characters encounter the last boss of the Goblin Caves: The Goblin King. The group initially faces difficulty in defeating the goblin, however, they manage to overwhelm him using teamwork. The goblin is slain and they are victorious, however, Demiurge raises several questions. The goblins possessed high-level gear, very atypical of their kind. Demiurge realizes that the village chief was secretly in league with the goblins, and originally sent the adventurers to their deaths when he made the request. A messenger to the goblins would have been sent by the chief, however, the bandits that the group killed must have intercepted the messenger, thus why the goblins were unprepared of the adventurers.
 * 1) Why did the village want the adventurers to slay the goblins?
 * 2) Why not ask the local lord?
 * 3) Better why did the village seem untouched even under the threat of the goblins?

Ainz sees that the Guardians have overthought the game hastily agrees with their assessment to maintain control. He then adapts the game accordingly having the Goblin King confess that the village chief sold his brethren out leading the adventurers to return to the village for retribution.

Though the Guardians’ technically completes the game, he extends the plot to their benefit. The characters proceed to burn the village with villagers inside. They then encounter the village chief who Ainz plays and turns into a demon. The adventurers engage the Village Chief Demon. Shalltear sacrifices herself to use her weapon to critically injured. Demiurge then lands the killing blow of his Flame Arrow, ending the game.

Ainz praises the group for ‘solving’ the main plot of the game. The Guardians experience as playing humans however, only reinforced their belief that humans are scum. Despite that, their characters that were mere humans, they only attributed their victory because the Guardians were controlling them. They pity the humans as they were not created by the Supreme Beings and thus were without purpose.

Ainz sadly laughs to himself wishing that he had another player to play the game with.

Trivia

 * Given that Ainz returned the business books he got from the library, it can be assumed that the time period of the CD Drama takes place after Overlord Blu-ray 01 Special and Overlord Volume 03.
 * The CD Drama script was written by Kei Shito (紫藤ケイ) according to Twitter.

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