As a city known as the Fortress City, E-Rantel had an appearance that fully matched the term 'fortress'.
It had three layers of walls, each separated by areas with different purposes.
While the outermost area served as the garrison base for the Re-Estize Kingdom, equipped with comprehensive military facilities, the innermost area was the central administrative district of the city, which also housed warehouses for storing supplies and was heavily guarded.
As for the middle area, it was located between these two areas and served as the living area for the citizens, where they carried out their daily activities.
At this moment, Riezel walked along the streets of this middle area, frowning at the road conditions.
Not only were the narrow roads unpaved and uneven, with mud and sand mixed together, creating streets that resembled rural dirt paths, but there were also potholes and wheel tracks here and there, making it quite difficult to walk.
'So... this so-called Fortress City is basically just a remote town in the countryside, right?'
As Riezel couldn't help but think this way, he suddenly recalled the challenge he had just faced in front of the Adventurer's Guild, remembering those so-called powerful adventurers.
'Too weak...'
Riezel mercilessly gave such an evaluation.
Silver Adventurers, while not among the best in this world, were no longer beginners, possessing a certain level of strength, and were somewhat well-known.
In Riezel's eyes, however, these somewhat well-known individuals were incredibly weak.
'They're around middle Level 1... no, maybe even below?'
Such was the reality of Silver Adventurers.
In the world of Danmachi, they couldn't even be considered High-Class Adventurers, only ranking among the lower strata of Low-Class Adventurers.
With ranks like Adamantite, Orichalcum, Mithril, Platinum, Gold, Silver, Iron, and Copper, the Silver Adventurer's power, in sixth place, didn't even reach upper Level 1.
Considering this, how strong could the highest-ranked Adamantite Adventurers be?
'Well, it's normal for the natives of this world to be weak, since the powerful ones aren't really among them in the first place...'
Riezel started to recall the original work.
At first glance, this world seemed like a medieval fantasy world similar to the Akasha Continent but populated by many races and monsters aside from humans.
In reality, this world had long since intersected with a game called 'YGGDRASIL'—a game with Norse mythology as its backdrop, offering an unusually wide range of freedom.
In that game, there were over seven hundred races, two thousand job classes, and six thousand magic spells, along with numerous unique items.
About every few hundred years, an event occurred where 'Players' from YGGDRASIL crossed over to this world, possessing strength, magic, and items that far surpassed those of the natives.
Moreover, each time they crossed over, they had a profoundly far-reaching impact on this world. Compared to the players of YGGDRASIL, most natives of this world were incredibly weak and powerless.
For instance, in YGGDRASIL, players could easily level up to Level 100, while in this world, someone around Level 30 was already considered a hero among humans, with few contenders.
As for magic, the magic in this world was divided into ten tiers, just like in YGGDRASIL.
Generally, this world's natives could only use up to 2nd-Tier Magic through training, with those able to use 3rd-Tier Magic considered geniuses. 5th-Tier Magic could only be used by those who had entered the Realm of Heroes, and 6th-Tier Magic was the highest tier of magic they could use.
However, in YGGDRASIL, not only would max-level players typically seldom use magic below the 7th Tier, but they even had magic that exceeded the 10th Tier, known as Super-Tier Magic.
Needless to say, this highlighted just how weak the natives of this world were compared to the players of YGGDRASIL. Compared to max-level players, even the highest-ranked Adamantite Adventurers were fragile beings.
Given this, the adventurers who had just challenged Riezel were as weak as weeds by the roadside, not even worth mentioning.
Perhaps beings like players were what Riezel should challenge.
'Well, there's also Tier Magic, which is worth trying to learn.'
From what the original work portrayed, 'Tier Magic' from the world of Overlord had many merits.
It was not due to its overwhelming power but due to its diversity.
Based on the original work, even the strongest Super-Tier Magic seemed unable to destroy a large city or a small nation with a single blow.
Considering this, if only destructive power was being discussed, Super-Tier Magic was probably on par with Tactical-Class Magic.
However, among the more than six thousand types of Tier Magic, many of them didn't rely on destructive power to make their reputations known.
Some of them could slice through space.
Some of them could crush a creature's heart from afar.
Some of them could cause instant death without conditions.
Additionally, there were also magic spells for teleportation, resurrection, strengthening, and others that granted complete immunity to physical or magical attacks, making the so-called Tier Magic extremely diverse and unique.
If these magic spells were placed on the Akasha Continent, they would only be considered Combat-Class Magic, barely qualifying as Tactical-Class Magic. Yet, these Combat-Class Magic could bring about miraculous effects in battle, and even outside of combat, they could yield extraordinary results—definitely a magic system not to be overlooked.
For Riezel, who possessed a unique magic known as Almighty, not learning Tier Magic would have been a significant loss.
After all, as long as he met the conditions, he could easily learn Tier Magic directly. If he fully unleashed the effects of Almighty, regardless of which tier or how many magic spells, he could master them effortlessly.
In fact, after realizing he was about to travel to the world of Overlord, Riezel's first goal was no longer to enhance his status but to learn as many magic spells as possible.
Back in the world of Danmachi, he received Falna, which served as the foundation for his growth.
In the world of Demon Slayer, he gained swordsmanship that solidified his strength as a swordsman.
And in this world, what he could clearly gain was a significant advancement in magic as a magician.
Originally, when Riezel had planned to improve his magic expertise in the future but then suddenly found the world of Overlord as his next destination for dimensional travel, one could only call it fate.
If he could learn Tier Magic, it wouldn't be unacceptable to delay his status growth for a bit.
Naturally, he hoped to progress in both simultaneously if he could. Otherwise, he wouldn't bother becoming an adventurer to get the monster location map.
'Speaking of which, this world has a power system called Martial Arts, right?'
'Martial Arts' was a unique power that only 'Warriors' of this world could use, a power that did not even exist in YGGDRASIL.
In this world, 'Martial Arts' for a 'Warrior' was like 'Tier Magic' for a 'Magic Caster'—a crucial part of their abilities.
A warrior could use Martial Arts to enhance their own capabilities, launch wide-ranging attacks, enhance the power of their weapons, or unleash devastating ultimate moves, among other things.
Nevertheless, compared to Tier Magic, the effects of Martial Arts and the effort needed to learn them seemed underwhelming to Riezel, so he didn't think it was necessary to learn them specifically.
It couldn't be helped.
If he really wanted to learn Martial Arts, he had no choice but to learn on his own.
Unlike Tier Magic, where, with the help of Almighty, he could directly learn any magic after seeing it in action once and confirming its specific effect, Martial Arts was not magic, so it required more personal effort to learn.
Given this, along with the lackluster performance of Martial Arts in the original work, he naturally leaned toward learning Tier Magic.
Of course, if he wanted to learn Tier Magic, his best choice was clearly to learn from the best of the best—the protagonist of the original work.
He was, after all, not only a Level 100 player who crossed over from YGGDRASIL, but his primary job class was also a magic caster, boasting over seven hundred magic spells, from 1st-Tier Magic to Super-Tier Magic, unlike the natives of this world, who might struggle to use even 3rd-Tier Magic.
Moreover, he also had numerous NPCs around him, all of whom were Level 100 powerhouses, almost all of them wielding powerful magic.
Knowing the protagonist existed, Riezel didn't have to think too hard about where to learn Tier Magic.
Unfortunately, there was one problem.
'I wonder if he has already come to this world...'
Riezel spread out the map in his hands and began to examine it.
It was a standard map that included the surrounding neighboring human countries, depicting a relatively vast region.
Meanwhile, the three main human countries featured on the map were the Re-Estize Kingdom, the Baharuth Empire, and the Slane Theocracy, located in different positions.
Re-Estize Kingdom was on the left side of the map.
Baharuth Empire was on the right side.
Slane Theocracy was at the bottom.
Among them, a massive mountain range separated the Re-Estize Kingdom from the Baharuth Empire, with a large, expansive forest spreading to the south. At the edge of the forest lay E-Rantel, which belonged to the Re-Estize Kingdom, with the Slane Theocracy beyond it.
From this, it was clear that E-Rantel was not only on the border of the Re-Estize Kingdom but also the closest city to the two neighboring countries.
However, the relationship between the three countries could hardly be described as good. It could even be said that they were completely hostile, leading to annual battles in the fields surrounding E-Rantel.
At this moment, Riezel was looking for the junction of these three human countries.
It was not without reason.
He remembered that when the protagonist was transported to this world, he arrived with his entire guild base, landing in the northeast of E-Rantel, near the point where the kingdom, empire, and theocracy met.
He also remembered that when the protagonist first arrived and scouted the area, the terrain had been an endless expanse of grasslands.
'Is this it?'
Riezel had successfully found the vast grasslands at the junction of the three countries, not far from E-Rantel.
As he observed further, the closest things to it were scattered villages, and in one of these villages, his gaze immediately settled on a particular one.
Its name was Carne Village.
'Let's go check it out.'
Recalling some information from the original work, Riezel put away the map and headed toward the city gate.
Before long, Riezel left E-Rantel and made his way toward the forest.
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After leaving E-Rantel, the first thing visible was a vast forest in the distance.
It was a dense, ancient-looking forest, showcasing dark green hues.
Within the forest, countless sturdy giant trees stood tall, and their lush branches and leaves grew so wide that even sunlight seemed unable to penetrate.
It gave off a sense that visibility inside was definitely poor, making the gaps between those giant trees appear as if a giant beast was opening its mouth wide, waiting for prey to wander in, creating a sense of both unease and fear.
According to the monster location map provided by the Adventurer's Guild, the forest not only covered an extensive area but also housed numerous monsters that would be extremely difficult for an average adventurer to handle.
There were leeches that could jump between trees, suddenly dropping down to latch onto people's bodies, capable of sucking a large amount of blood in an instant.
There were gigantic insects comparable in size to elephants.
There were vicious spiders that could spit out strong, sticky silk, directly dragging people up into the trees.
And there were forest longworms that could open their wide mouths from the ground, ambushing anyone who passed through the grass and rotting wood.
Although these monsters might not have been powerful, they were undoubtedly troublesome to handle, making adventurers hesitant to confront them.
At least Riezel didn't want to be walking along the road when suddenly a leech fell from the sky, latching onto his neck, or be ambushed by a longworm while passing through the grass.
It wasn't that he couldn't deal with them; it was just that they were simply disgusting.
According to the monster location map, it pointed out that some high-ranking female adventurers wouldn't choose to enter the forest simply because some of the monsters in the forest were far too disgusting.
Additionally, the map also provided a special warning in red letters, stating that the forest was the territory of a powerful monster that had survived for hundreds of years, known as the 'Wise King of the Forest', which not only could use magic but also possessed incredible strength.
Since even the highest-ranked Adamantite Adventurers couldn't defeat the Wise King of the Forest, adventurers were strongly advised against entering, especially deep into the forest, where it made its home.
"Wise King of the Forest…"
When Riezel saw this warning, his expression became somewhat strange.
If it had been any other monster, he might have felt intrigued and even sought it out after reading how the guild warned adventurers to avoid it.
However, this one?
"Forget it."
Riezel felt that he wasn't cold-hearted enough to take action against a monster that looked like a pet. Furthermore, with the presence of jumping leeches and forest longworms, he instinctively avoided the option of entering the forest.
However, if he didn't go into the forest, there were roughly two routes to take from E-Rantel to Carne Village, located to the northeast.
The first route was to head north, where, when he reached the edge of the forest, he could proceed east along its edge.
The second route was to head east and then go straight north to reach Carne Village.
Generally, unless there was another purpose, most people who wanted to go to Carne Village chose the second route.
After all, the first route required traveling along the forest's edge, which still had a high chance of encountering monsters coming out of the forest.
Although staying at the forest's edge shouldn't lead to encountering strong monsters, if someone wanted to avoid a monster encounter altogether, the second route would naturally be the more sensible choice.
Riezel actually didn't mind, even wanting to test the strength of the monsters in this world a bit, as long as they weren't disgusting monsters like jumping leeches or forest longworms.
In the end, he chose the first route, heading north toward the forest and then walking east along its edge.
When taking this route, one generally wouldn't be able to reach Carne Village in a day by carriage, but with his pace, when he sprinted at full speed, he could easily outpace a carriage.
Moreover, with his highest-ranked development ability, Healing Power, he rarely felt fatigued, and his stamina was never exhausted.
Because of this, Riezel decided to run at full speed toward Carne Village.
Thanks to this, if anyone happened to be nearby, they would see a cloud of dust rolling across the plains between E-Rantel and the forest, moving at an astonishing speed from the direction of E-Rantel toward the forest.
Such a sight would be something even a carriage couldn't achieve while sprinting across the plains.
Riezel had initially intended to continue sprinting straight toward Carne Village, but when he passed by a village, he came to a halt.
===
"..."
Standing in a relatively open square, Riezel looked around and fell into silence.
At this moment, he had entered a village and arrived at its central square.
However, what he saw was not the hardworking villagers going about their chores but a horrific scene straight out of hell.
Buildings were engulfed in flames, burning slowly as plumes of black smoke billowed into the air, while the ground was covered in fresh blood, still bright red and vividly glaring.
On top of that, the smell of burning mixed with the stench of blood filled the air, constantly irritating his nostrils.
In this gradually charred ruin of a village, over a hundred villagers, dressed in rough clothing, had all turned into corpses, lying in pools of blood, having lost their lives.
Among these corpses were not just strong men but also women, children, and even infants.
Needless to say, a massacre had taken place—an inhumane, one-sided massacre.
"It has already started?"
Recalling the storyline of the original work, Riezel finally understood the time period he had arrived in.
"No, I can't be sure yet..." Riezel muttered, lightly shaking his head. "Maybe some monsters broke into this village and did the slaughter..."
Monster attacks in this area weren't uncommon.
Due to its proximity to the forest, this area occasionally saw monsters appearing.
For example, goblins and ogres—these humanoid monsters sometimes emerged from the forest to attack travelers passing by, and if they found a human village, it was common for them to storm in and slaughter everyone.
Especially goblins, as countless tales from his previous life spoke of these detestable creatures not only attacking humans but also taking women to breed.
Snapping out of his thoughts, Riezel approached a nearby corpse, crouched down, and began to examine it closely.
"Hmm... this wound doesn't look like it was caused by a monster's claws or fangs... it looks very neat, clearly pierced by a very sharp weapon."
He could only find one wound, indicating a single, fatal blow.
If it was caused by a weapon, the likelihood of the killer being human was over ninety percent.
"Looks like I can't just hang around here anymore..."
Riezel immediately stood up.
Needless to say, the current situation told him that soon, Carne Village, his destination, would likely face a massacre just like this one.
At that time, in that ordinary little village, there would be not only a tragedy but also three factions clashing and engaging in fierce battles involving the protagonist from the original work.
However, Riezel had to meet the protagonist before that happened.
Otherwise, once the protagonist got his hands on first-hand information about this world, trying to learn Tier Magic from him, a magic system that held great status and influence in this world, would become several times more difficult.
Only by taking advantage of the fact that the protagonist had yet to interact with this world's natives and hadn't fully grasped this world could Riezel make the most of his gains.
"No choice..."
Riezel suppressed the thought of burying the unfortunate villagers and gently bowed to them.
"Someone will come here later. At that time, they will give you a proper funeral."
With that, Riezel turned and left.
As soon as he stepped out of the village, a surge of energy coursed through his body before his body was suddenly engulfed in a wild burst of lightning.
*BOOM!*
In the next moment, a flash of lightning shot up like a thunderclap, soaring into the sky, flying directly over the forest, bypassing Carne Village, and heading toward the grasslands where the protagonist would appear.
===
Night fell quickly.
As the moon rose, the stars twinkled in the night sky, lighting up the entire scene.
The bluish-white moonlight, along with the starlight, chased away the darkness on the ground, bathing the grasslands below in a glow as the gentle breeze swayed the countless wild grasses, creating a refreshing rustling sound.
In the sky were countless stars and a bright moon.
On the ground lay endless grasslands, caressed by a gentle breeze.
At this moment, it felt as if heaven and earth were connected, making the scenery complement each other beautifully.
Such a scene was incredibly picturesque.
*BOOM!*
Suddenly, a flash of lightning struck the vast grasslands with a thunderous roar, accompanied by a loud crash as it hit the ground.
As if it had been struck by lightning, the ground shattered instantly, leaving a charred circle and sending debris and dust flying.
*Crackle—*
Riezel's figure appeared amid it, crackling with several tiny, snake-like lightning bolts around his body like a god of thunder descending.
"Hahh..."
He let out a long, deep breath, expelling a large amount of air that turned murky, causing the temperature in the nearby area to rise slightly.
"Mm... this should be the place, right?"
Riezel scanned his surroundings and saw the seemingly endless grasslands with no hills or buildings—just boundless wild grasses and several trees, all laid bare under the moonlight and starlight.
In the next moment, a transparent gleam appeared in his eyes as he surveyed the area until he felt a sudden sensation and turned his gaze upward.
"Is he there?"
A faint smile crept onto Riezel's lips as he whispered.
"Let's say hello first, shall we?"
Riezel raised his hand and began chanting.
"Unleashed streak of light, bow limbs of the holy tree. You are an expert of the bow."
"Shoot, sniper of the fairies."
"Penetrate, arrow of absolute accuracy."
"Arcs Ray."
*WHOOSH—!*
In the next second, a beam of light shot up into the sky, piercing the night.
Before the beam of light, two figures emerged in the cloud layer, appearing and disappearing like mirages.
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