User blog:Da Daimyo/Ainz is Smarter Than He Lets On

In the New World, Ainz's human conscience is trapped within a skeletal form. Without needing food, water, rest, or other mediums of sustenance, Suzuki Satoru is completely alien to his new body, that of an Undead of the highest echolons. Even now in volume 14, Suzuki Satoru manages to break through his Overlord persona, which is always suppressed by his Undead state. It is my claim that as time goes on, not only will Momonga become smarter and more intelligent, he will also lose his humanity.

IMPORTANT NOTE: Suzuki Satoru refers to his human psyche, Momonga refers to his in-game persona. Ainz Ooal Gown refers to Momonga in the New World, and his ongoing shift from a salaryman to an Undead ruler. Thus, Momonga (his Overlord persona) and Satoru (his salaryman persona) make up Ainz Ooal Gown, who seeks to fulfill the dreams of Satoru as Momonga (hope I didn't lose you yet!). Momon the Adventurer is simply a false identity.

Mental Stress of Suzuki Satoru
Being a ruler of a country is not an easy task, especially for the salaryman Suzuki Satoru. Given only an education up to the elementary level, he was simply a cog in the machine known as society that could be easily replaced with a fresher one. He lived in borderline poverty, holed up in his apartment. To add on to this, he lived in a world where Earth's pollution had reached a critical point where citizens were required to breathe through gas masks. All of the planet's flora and fauna had dissappeared, with black smog hiding the sun and the rain tinged with acid. Food prices were outrageously high, and the governments were run under corporations that couldn't and wouldn't improve the situation for the dregs of society.

Suzuki's retreat from his problems in reality was Yggdrasil, and the guild known as Ainz Ooal Gown where he could chat with friends who all had similar problems with family and the workplace. This was therapeutic for Satoru, to the point where even after his friends had completely abandoned him, he clung onto the hope that his friends would some day return. Such hopes were in vain, as when Yggdrasil was about to shut down, he dreaded having to go back into reality, his heart "filled with regret and reluctance".

Now as Overlord of the Great Tomb of Nazarick and ruler of the Sorcerer Kingdom, his stress levels were only exacerbated. Now having to put up a facade as an omnipotent, all-knowing supreme being who never does wrong and always has a plan, this has left him fearing the day his subordinates would see through him, and subsequently turn against him. With all his guildmates gone, Ainz has no one to relate to that will act as a sort of therapy. His attempts at making friends have only led to them questioning his dark ulterior motives. People expect him to be an all mighty, god-like entity that governs over life and death. and this only adds to his stress.

Whenever Momonga looks at the creations of Nazarick, he is only sorely reminded of the trials and efforts that he and his guildmates had put into creating Nazarick and the NPCs. He can't find it within himself to let the NPCs know why their creators had left them behind, and goes at great lengths to provide for them. Truly, Suzuki Satoru is stuck within the body of an Overlord.

Abilities as Momonga
Now being an Overlord, Momonga is immune to disease, death, mind control, and did not suffer any of the biological penalties that mortals do (consumption, libido, rest, etc.). This means that as an Overlord, he cannot be depressed, suffer mental disorders, or experience trauma. Such things that exist now are from Suzuki Satoru, not Momonga. Additionally, Momonga has abilities that add to his intelligence, such as the ability to speak with demonic and evil-aligned entities (from [Speak Evil Tongues]), and has knowledge of over 700 spells, higher than the average for a 100-level Player. Momonga has no qualms with killing others for the sake of his and his subordinates' happiness, but does not engage in such acts for the mere fun of it (Lawful Evil), even if his alignment is Extremely Evil.

Momonga possesses a multitude of classes related to necromancy, each with their own flavor text. This could mean that Momonga possesses extensive, even secret knowledge of necromancy, as he has one of the highest job classes for an Undead necromancer, which is rare even among Players. In effect, Ainz is a true lord over death.

However, Ainz's true potential, in my opinion, is being held back by Suzuki Satoru. His human emotions that overcome his Undead suppressions, and his human feeling of tiredness, keeps the Sorcerer King from becoming himself. His intrinsic knowledge as Satoru collides with his eldritch knowledge over death itself. His ability to govern is affected by the limited knowledge of Suzuki Satoru, as he is not able to keep up with the most intelligent of Nazarick and the rest of his subordinates.

However, that is not to say that Suzuki Satoru is completely useless. As Satoru, Momonga was able to use experience gained as a PKer and the knowledge learned from Punitto Moe to help offer tactics and strategies to the Holy Kingdom during Jaldabaoth's invasion. Though he was not considered to be among the highest tier of Players even in his own guild, he was still able to hold his own against opponents that relied only on their strength, such as the Elder Coffin Dragon Lord. His memorization of Yggdrasil spells, which took him a year to remember, greatly aided him in PKing and now allows him to fight very well against even the most formidable opponents.

Ainz Ooal Gown
Ainz Ooal Gown is a mixture of Momonga and Suzuki Satoru. His indifference to the suffering of others and his aching stress as the supreme ruler of a massive kingdom amalgated into a Undead Supreme Being, nerfed by human emotions. These different personas, however, are in complete contrast to one another. Ainz experiences nervous breakdowns whenever he fears that his secret will be exposed to the NPCs, but suddenly becomes a scheming ruler that rules over both the Demon Emperor and Momon of Darkness. He claims to not be as smart as Demiurge and Albedo and wants to spend time on a vacation, but has knowledge over 700+ spells and can brutally murder others for the sake of knowledge and power. Perhaps these two personas will, one day, blend together. Suzuki's interests and greatest aspects would only remain: his bastion of PKing knowledge, curiosity of the unknown, and gentle persona (once you get to know him of course). The bad virtues, however, will disappear over time as he becomes used to his new body. His anxiety and stress will be gone, as such things do not align with his Undead traits. What will remain is his cruelty, loyalty, and wisdom. His kindness would of course be limited to those he rules over.

The Ainz as I am writing this is inquisitive, resourceful, and loyal to his subjects. However, he is discriminately cruel, indifferent, and paranoid. While I do not think these traits will change over time, Ainz's experience will of course grow, to the point where he is able to plan effectively and maybe even rival Demiurge in critical thinking.