The Great City of Verastin

"Look, I can see the city walls! It's Verastin!"

"Alright! Let's push through to the end, everyone!"

After walking diligently since dawn, our destination finally began to appear in the distance.

Perhaps because they had been thoroughly tormented by monsters and bandits over the past few days, the mercenaries cheered and quickened their pace.

I, too, walked leisurely behind the wagon loaded with the captured bandits and severed heads, and spoke.

"Malton, I have something to say..."

"...I know, Doran. You want me to keep it a secret that you can wield the power of an evil god. An unprecedented ability to freely transition between undead and human states is..."

"No, I was just wondering if you had any leftover jerky to share."

"...You've grown rather shameless. And your speech has gotten quite casual."

Malton grumbled but handed over a pouch of jerky anyway.

The commotion from yesterday had been handily swept under the rug as the work of a passing skeleton.

Since the ability to transform into an undead or a monster was rare even in Velheim, someone might easily connect the dots to the Rune of Antagon.

Since Antagon, the god who governed madness and deception, was classified as an evil god, it was wiser to keep it hidden, no matter how much religious freedom Velheim supposedly guaranteed.

"By the way, Doran, did you pack that?"

"Huh? Pack what?"

"The belongings inside the mercenary captain's backpack. Surely there was something in there that lured the monsters."

"Ah, this?"

I pulled a metal canister out of Richman's backpack, which I was wearing on my back.

Inside the canister was a gruesome lump of flesh.

This was the reason Richman had been able to summon the monsters and orchestrate the raids.

Malton frowned when he saw the object in my hand.

"...Didn't I tell you to throw that away already?"

"Why throw away something so valuable? It's incredibly useful if you use it right."

"It is far too dangerous. A horde of monsters swarmed us just yesterday because of that very thing."

"It's fine, I sealed it back up tightly. With this, I can level up incredibly fast, you know?"

"...Are you saying you intend to deliberately drive monsters into a frenzy just to hunt them? Truly a brilliant idea."

"Right?"

"That was sarcasm."

Malton muttered bluntly, but I stubbornly tucked the Naga's Heart back into the backpack.

Since I would die if I didn't reach level 30 within two months, I was in no position to be picky.

If push came to shove, I could use this item to summon monsters and rake in massive amounts of experience.

After passing through the city gates following a brief inspection, the mercenaries headed straight for a tavern.

I waved goodbye to the mercenaries, who friendly shouted for me to call on them again if I ever needed an escort, and turned to see the merchants busily organizing their cargo.

"Everyone looks busy."

"Haha. For us merchants, the real work begins now! You worked incredibly hard as well, Sir Doran. If you hadn't woken the mercenaries and alerted them to the danger, we wouldn't be standing here today."

"I only did what had to be done. ...What do you plan to do with the captured bandits and their gear?"

"Ah, we plan to hand the bandits over to the Adventurers' Guild, report the incident, and claim the bounty! As for the plundered gear, we'll put it up for auction to ensure we get a fair price. Once the paperwork is sorted, a share of the profits will be sent to you, Sir Doran."

"That's good news."

It was especially welcome news that they were handling the tedious paperwork on my behalf.

In a world where administrative systems were practically medieval, I couldn't even begin to guess how many days it would take to explain the whole situation to the guild and wrap things up myself.

"Please visit the Ophelia Merchant Group! I, Amour, will surely repay this debt!!"

After parting ways with the caravan members, only Malton and I remained on the main street.

Malton let out a sigh and spoke.

"I have a mountain of questions I wish to ask you... but today is not the time. Do you still intend to become an adventurer?"

"Of course."

"Then register as an adventurer at the Achaia Guild, the one that issued this escort mission. It will be much easier if you tell them Malton sent you."

"Sure. Take care."

"...Ah, I almost forgot to give you this."

Just as we were about to part, Malton pulled a spare hooded robe from his backpack and handed it to me.

"It would be wise to wear this hood while you are in the city. The people here harbor a certain prejudice against black hair."

"Prejudice...?"

"Some might pick a fight with you for no reason. It might be a bit stifling, but it is better than nothing."

Malton waved and walked away.

I stood there in a daze for a moment, watching his retreating figure.

There was no such lore in the game...?

Well, there's no harm in being careful...

I threw on the robe he gave me and began walking down the main street.

The fantasy-style streets reminiscent of the Middle Ages or the Renaissance.

Standing in a place I had only ever seen through the degraded graphics of a capsule machine gave me a surreal feeling.

I used to use this place as my base of operations for quite a while...

I looked around the city, my eyes darting busily beneath the shadow of my hood.

And not long after I started walking, I felt a sensation similar to when I first arrived at the harbor town.

This place is incredibly lively too...

In my memories, Verastin was an utterly desolate place.

The citizens' faces were always clouded with dark anxiety, and monsters constantly breached the collapsed city walls, triggering alarms at all hours of the day and night.

Yet, looking around this peaceful city now, I couldn't find a single trace of that former gloom, no matter how hard I searched.

Vibrant flowers bloomed in the roadside flowerbeds, and the city walls—which had once been hideously collapsed, letting in the biting wind—were pristine, without a single crack.

Shops were thriving, alleys were packed with people, and children ran around the park's fountain.

Even the guardhouse is standing perfectly intact.

I had seen it with my own two eyes, crushed and pulverized under the foot of a Cyclops...

Just then, a commotion broke out.

"A massive monster has been spotted outside the West Gate! Everyone, hurry!!"

"Hey, fellas! Take it easy!"

Watching the knights rushing past in neat formation and the merchants cheering while tossing them oranges, I began to doubt if this was truly the Velheim I had played.

...It's definitely different.

It was gradually sinking in. The Velheim of this era was still a world worth living in.

However, over the next two to three years, Velheim would suffer multiple cataclysms on par with Ragnarok, causing the human population to plummet to a mere twenty to thirty percent.

And having ended up living in this world, I would inevitably be swept up in all of those crises.

Archdemons would invade the surface, several gods would betray humanity to wage war, ancient beasts would awaken from the oceans, and all manner of monsters would launch ferocious assaults.

If I wasted time ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠basking in this superficial peace, I would only end up dying, swept away by the impending storm.

Therefore, I had to become strong by any means necessary before the next crisis arrived.

Perhaps... the appearance of the Lich's fleet on the coast was a harbinger of the major incidents soon to unfold.

At least I had managed to recruit Malton, one of my most reliable potential allies, early on.

Unaware of the impending doom, pretty beastmen strolled leisurely down the street. I watched them for a moment, leaning my back against a stall as I pondered.

Arriving in the city and assessing the situation was all well and good, but what exactly did I need to do to prepare for the coming crises?

I can look for information on reincarnators later... and the timing is a bit awkward to register as an adventurer right now...

"...I should head near the city walls to hunt some monsters and raise my level."

Since I had traveled to the past, there might be changes in the types of monsters appearing in this area.

Besides, hunting monsters was one of the most direct ways to physically gauge any anomalies in Velheim.

Furthermore, I still had loot that I hadn't properly inspected yet. If I laid it all out on the street like this, petty thieves or pickpockets would snatch it in the blink of an eye.

Having made up my mind, I quickly headed out of the city.

Passing by the street vendors aggressively calling out to customers and the vast farmlands stretching around the city walls, a cool ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠breeze brushed against me as I entered the forest.

A refreshing, gentle breeze blew through the green vegetation and bushes.

"This should be far enough."

Once the city walls were hidden behind the trees, I put down my backpack, sat on a boulder, and checked my status.

"First, my level is 15... It shot up quite a bit in the meantime..."

I was barely level 13 before fighting the bandits, but it had jumped significantly.

I distributed the stat points I gained between Strength and Agility.

I would have to invest in Luck and Intelligence eventually, but I would worry about that when the time came.

"Let's see... The useful things from the backpack I secretly swiped from Richman are a fire steel, portable utensils, a skinning dagger... I threw away the rest because they just took up space. I changed into spare clothes, but it's a bit of a shame I couldn't salvage much of the bandits' gear..."

If I had revealed that I was the skeleton from back then, I would have received recognition and made a handsome profit. However, risking exposure just to get a few pieces of cheap gear would have been foolish.

Still, I had secretly pickpocketed a few silver coins from the bandits' pockets, so that would be enough to sustain me for the time being.

I could draw water from wells, and if I went to the temple early in the morning, I could get free bread. If I tightened my belt, I could minimize my expenses to the absolute limit.

And there was still the most important matter left unchecked.

The Disguise skill...

Back in my gaming days, transforming using the Rune of Antagon would occasionally cause the character to suffer status ailments or fall under bizarre compulsions.

The log window never detailed the actual cause, so back then I just thought it was some nonsense mechanic, but now I could say for sure.

Damn it... They should have named the skill properly...

I was almost fooled by the name Disguise, but this skill was closer to transforming one's very existence rather than just changing appearances.

Mind, body, mindset, and even minor habits—everything.

Recalling how I was when I transformed into the Skeleton Warrior, I had been incomparably more aggressive than I was now.

Otherwise, there was no way I would have slaughtered people while laughing like a maniac.

On top of that, I had absorbed not only the evil god's Rune of Antagon but also another evil god's artifact, the Orb of Andira...

...Isn't my build a bit too heavily weighted toward evil gods?

"I'll have to be careful not to let my ego get swallowed up by transforming recklessly... And since it'll be trouble ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠if anyone finds out I possess the Rune of Antagon, it's best to keep the transformation ability hidden as much as possible. ...Wait, what is this smell?"

I raised my head toward the direction ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠from which a foul stench was wafting.