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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Time rewound for a moment, back to just a few minutes ago.
As the view shifted from the ground to the sky, beneath the high-hanging moon and the twinkling stars, a figure quietly appeared among the clouds.
'Wow… it's just… so beautiful…'
Accompanied by this sigh of awe, the figure slightly lifted his head, fully exposing his appearance to the moonlight and starlight.
He was a very burly warrior.
As for why he was described as a warrior, it was simply because he wore a complete set of armor with a red cape draped over it.
The armor was pitch black, resembling something forged from obsidian, adorned with golden and purple markings that made it look both extravagant and expensive.
Such extravagant and expensive armor covered him completely, from his upper body to his lower body; even his feet were encased in it, leaving only his head exposed to the air.
Yet this single exposed head, if someone were to catch sight of it, would surely elicit screams of terror.
Mainly because it wasn't a human head, but a skull.
Yes, a skull.
No flesh, no features—just a white, bony structure, with two red lights shining in the dark eye sockets, signaling to anyone that this skull was alive.
Such an imposing warrior, wearing full black armor with a skull for a head, was actually a player who had recently crossed over from YGGDRASIL to this world, the protagonist from the original work named 'Ainz Ooal Gown'.
No, this wasn't right, as he wasn't called Ainz Ooal Gown just yet.
Ainz Ooal Gown was actually the name of his guild, while his actual in-game name was 'Momonga', which he still went by at the moment.
It would be after he stepped into this world and started interacting with its natives that he would take on the name Ainz Ooal Gown.
Of course, to others, this was rather pointless and held no meaning.
Whether he was called Momonga or Ainz Ooal Gown didn't change one fact—he was a player who had crossed over from YGGDRASIL, a max-level player capable of using over seven hundred magic spells.
Originally, he should have been human, but in YGGDRASIL, instead of choosing the human race for his character, he had opted for the heteromorphic race, becoming undead.
One of the high-tier heteromorphic races that players were able to pick in YGGDRASIL, a powerful undead magic caster who pursued ultimate magic known as 'Overlord'—this was him, the man now called Momonga, soon to be known as Ainz Ooal Gown.
'Another world, huh...'
Momonga floated high above, admiring the beautiful night view before him, constantly sighing in wonder.
'Neither my world nor YGGDRASIL has such a sight, especially in my world, where the environment has suffered severe pollution, making it impossible to see such beautiful scenery...'
'If Blue Planet were here, he'd be so happy, right?'
'He loves this kind of beautiful, unpolluted nature, after all...'
As Momonga remembered his guild companion, his mood suddenly turned low and dejected.
'Where is everyone now?'
'Are they, like me, in this world?'
'Or…'
Even though Momonga had nothing but a skeletal face without flesh, his somber and downcast sigh, combined with his forlorn demeanor, still allowed one to catch a glimpse of his expression, which seemed profoundly melancholic.
It was perfectly normal for someone to feel this way after being transported alone as a game character into such a world.
However, to say that he was the only one who was transported to this world was somewhat inaccurate.
Indeed, the player who had crossed over was only Momonga, but along with him, he brought not only his in-game character's power, status, and various items but also the base of his guild and a group of NPCs who had once been merely data.
"Lord Momonga."
A voice suddenly rang out from below, pulling Momonga from his melancholy.
The speaker was a man, about 180 centimeters tall, dressed in a sharp British-style suit with a tie, giving off the vibe of a competent businessman or lawyer.
However, while his voice was steady and extremely pleasant, evoking an image of a 'gentleman,' he exuded an evil aura.
He had a tail covered in silver metal plates that ended in six sharp spikes, along with massive, damp, greenish-black, leathery wings on his back, indicating to anyone who saw them that he was undoubtedly a monster.
Especially his face, which wasn't human at all but resembled that of a frog.
Undoubtedly, he was not human but one of the heteromorphic races, an extraordinary existence.
"Demiurge..."
Momonga called out the name of the newcomer.
Demiurge was one of the NPCs who had crossed over with Momonga to this world, the 7th Floor Guardian of the Great Tomb of Nazarick, belonging to Ainz Ooal Gown, and the highest-tier demon at Level 100.
"You're flying too high, Lord Momonga."
Demiurge, with his enormous leathery wings spread wide, respectfully flew behind Momonga.
"If you were to leave my sight, it would trouble me greatly."
Demiurge's respectful tone didn't come across as an attempt to restrict freedom but rather as a concern for the safety of his lord.
"Is that so...? I'm truly sorry then."
Momonga changed from his previous melancholy and disappointment, adopting a commanding voice to apologize to his subordinate.
"No, it's just my one-sided worry, so there's no need for Lord Momonga to apologize."
Demiurge bent slightly mid-air as if bowing, still maintaining his respect.
"Now that I think about it, how could a world-defying existence like Lord Momonga need to worry about safety? In the end, it's just my unfounded thought. Only by seeing Lord Momonga safe and sound can I feel at ease."
"That's why there's absolutely no need for Lord Momonga to apologize. Rather, I should be the one to apologize for making you, a Supreme Being, consider my trivial concerns, which is truly unacceptable."
Demiurge spoke incessantly, his tone filled with respect and admiration that he could not hide.
"...R-Really?"
Momonga found it hard to cope, and his words became slow and stuttered.
Nonetheless, he forced himself to hold it together, not wanting to show any weakness in front of his subordinates.
As the guild master of Ainz Ooal Gown and the ruler of the Great Tomb of Nazarick, he had strict expectations of himself to present a formidable presence at all times in front of his subordinates.
Knowing that he had just been transported into this world and that the NPCs, which had previously been nothing more than data, where they weren't alive and didn't even possess intelligence, had suddenly come to life, he realized that if they sensed he wasn't fit to be their ruler, they might unite and rebel against him.
Such an incident was something he wanted to avoid at all costs.
Moreover, the Great Tomb of Nazarick was not only home to his forty guild companions but also a crystallization of their blood and efforts.
Because of this, including the NPCs designed by his guild companions, he hoped to cherish and protect them, ensuring they would last forever. If he caused them to doubt his abilities and sparked chaos in the Great Tomb of Nazarick, it would be a huge problem.
With no other choice, Momonga, an ordinary office worker in reality, had to keep displaying the image of a competent ruler to prove his worth, even if it was exhausting.
Suppressing the urge to sigh, Momonga waved his hand at Demiurge.
"Speaking of which, don't call me Momonga in public. We don't know the situation in this world yet, so we need to avoid accidentally revealing our identity. Understood?"
Momonga's words did not raise any suspicion in Demiurge.
"Understood. In that case, how should I address you?"
"...Dark Warrior."
"Hmm?"
"Call me Dark Warrior."
"...Understood. From this moment on, I will call you Dark Warrior."
"Umu, I appreciate it."
Satisfied for a moment with his chuuni-like impulse, Momonga prepared to return to the Great Tomb of Nazarick.
However—
"Lord Momonga!"
Demiurge suddenly shouted at Momonga.
"?!"
Momonga froze in place.
Below him, a burst of light suddenly erupted, transforming into a beam that pierced the night sky, shooting upward at breakneck speed.
*WHOOSH!*
Before long, the beam zipped past Momonga, continuing its ascent without losing momentum.
"Lord Momonga!"
Demiurge rushed to Momonga's side, exuding a terrifying aura that completely blew away the cloud layer around them.
In contrast, Momonga remained calm.
"Calm down, Demiurge. It isn't directed at us—no, it's more like they aren't aiming for us in the first place but merely want to get our attention."
Saying this, Momonga understood what was happening.
"Who is it? Enemies?" Demiurge asked with a deep voice, his face darkening as he suppressed his anger.
"I'm not sure..."
Momonga's empty eye sockets flickered with a red glow.
'From the looks of it, they seem to want to talk to us...'
He pondered while glancing at the ground beneath him.
'Should we try to make contact?'
'No, we're not ready yet... Recklessly approaching someone from this world could cause problems...'
'Still... it seems like a good opportunity...'
A flurry of thoughts raced through Momonga's mind as he brainstormed, and before long, he made a decision.
"Demiurge, use Message to inform Albedo and all the Guardians to raise the alert level to the highest."
"We'll go meet them."
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