The forest was enveloped in an eerie calm.
Then suddenly—
A terrible fire blossomed.
As if the sun had appeared on earth, burning a large part of the forest away within a fraction of a second.
And in the middle of that burning hell of flame stood a young man, looking calmly at the woman before him.
9th-tier magic: Prominence Annihilation.
Even after taking the spell head-on, she looked relatively unharmed, with just some burns here and there.
"That hurt a lot," Aurora said with a smile, then clicked her fingers, making countless blood drops suddenly rush out from the ground, heading straight toward Lioro.
Unfortunately, they stopped in the air before hitting him—blocked by Infinity.
Aurora narrowed her eyes at the familiar scene, then controlled her blood to accelerate her healing.
Seeing her recovering from the attack, Lioro raised his hand.
"9th-tier magic: Absolute Zero Camellia."
A frozen flower appeared above his hand.
With a wave of his hand, the flower floated toward Aurora.
She stared at the beautiful flower with curious eyes.
It appeared so harmless, yet after sensing the mana hidden inside it, she quickly kicked the ground to create distance.
And in the very next moment, the frozen flower cracked.
Boom.
An explosion of frost spread out in every direction, turning the burned land into a frozen desert.
Lioro looked calmly at the dense layer of ice surrounding him. With a wave of his hand, he cracked the ice, jumped out, and looked around.
Unable to find his target, he used Six Eyes to trace the path of mana and looked up.
Aurora was flying in the air with wings of blood, holding a pitch-black flower in her hands...
Looking at Lioro's confused face, Aurora grinned and threw the flower toward him.
[Tier 5 magic spell "Flower of Death" detected. Would you like to learn it?]
'Yes.'
Lioro said calmly in his mind while staring at the Flower of Death, which appeared right before his face—then exploded, spreading black mucus-like mana filled with various negative status effects.
Seeing the effect of her newly created spell, Aurora furrowed her brows.
Because it did not affect Lioro, who stood still in place, completely fine.
While she was wondering how to breach his defense, Lioro smiled faintly and quickly used his skill points.
[Tier 5 "Flower Of Death" → Tier 6 "Death Orchid" → Tier 7 "Death And Decay Bloom" → Tier 8 "Withering Garden" → Tier 9 "Eternal Graveyard Blossom" → Tier 10 "Final Oblivion"]
Dark mana gathered quickly in his hands, taking the shape of a flower.
Witnessing the scene, Aurora stopped in place, dumbfounded.
"Tier 9 magic: Eternal Graveyard Blossom."
With a complicated look in her eyes, Aurora smiled wryly and complained loudly.
"That's unfair! Young man!"
"Everything's fair in love, life, and—"
Before he could finish his sentence, Lioro suddenly disappeared.
Aurora's pupils contracted. With quick movement she hurriedly turned her head, only to be met with a familiar dark flower right in her face.
Teleportation.
"—war."
Boom.
A dark energy much stronger and more vicious than before spread everywhere, enveloping Aurora.
Lioro calmly hovered in the air, looking down at the ground of death created by the residue of his tier 9 spell.
Just then, multiple sharp streams of death energy filled with blood rushed out, trying to catch him by surprise.
Alas, they were all blocked by Infinity.
From the middle of the mucus-filled ground, a curvy figure slowly stood up, showing her perfect body in full view.
"It seems dark magic is completely ineffective against you. It even healed you," Lioro concluded, seeing all the damage caused by his flame and ice series spells disappear.
"I liked that dress, you know," Aurora said as she manipulated magic and enveloped herself in a dress made of blood.
Seeing the scene, Lioro wasn't surprised.
Instead, he turned his gaze to the settling sun on the horizon and said,
"It's getting late. How about we stop?"
"Hmm? But I'm feeling perfectly fine. Don't tell me you're feeling scared, my knight~" Aurora curled up her lip and spoke in a challenging tone.
"Oh? You think I'm scared?" Lioro asked as a light flashed through his eyes.
"Of course. Why else would you—"
The entire forest, including Aurora, suddenly lost its colors and turned grey.
"Tier 10 magic: Time Stop."
Lioro calmly descended before Aurora. Looking at her open-mouth, smiling expression, he walked around her back and hugged her waist with both arms.
Due to the effect of the time spell, she felt like a stone statue in his arms.
After a few more seconds, the spell ended and colors returned to the forest.
"—say tha—huh?"
Aurora let out a stupid voice, feeling the strong grip around her waist.
Shakily turning her head, she saw Lioro's grinning face.
W-what did he do??
Aurora's head was filled with endless questions.
"You—"
"Holy Body Slam!"
"W-wAiT—kya!"
Boom.
With a loud sound, Aurora's upper body was slammed into the ground, creating a crater.
After doing his special move, Lioro let go of her waist and took a few steps back.
Seeing Aurora stuck in the ground with only her legs sticking out, he couldn't help but feel a vague sense of satisfaction.
What the hell was this?
Why did body-slamming someone feel more fulfilling than casting a tier 10 time stop spell?
While Lioro was busy processing this new feeling, Aurora's white legs twitched unconsciously.
----
"That is not how you treat a lady, young man!" Aurora said with a pout as she kept hitting Lioro's arm.
"I was helping you experience the power of a Player…"
A player had far more diverse methods than a contracted spirit.
Take the Time Stop spell, for example.
Even though Aurora was level 90, she had no time-related resistances to block the spell's effect.
"Hmph!"
Aurora gave him a dissatisfied look before releasing a sigh.
'I always thought I was a genius, but compared to him…'
Her gaze softened, remembering how he copied the new spell she created and even vastly increased its power.
How could the difference between people be so big?
Along with helplessness, a deep admiration filled her heart.
No matter the place, no matter the world—intelligent people are appreciated everywhere.
"Come, let's head back."
"Ok!"
Before Lioro could offer his hand, Aurora suddenly hugged his waist.
"Let's go!"
Looking at her mischievous smile, Lioro felt something was wrong, but still used teleportation.
----
Back at the dorm.
Thump.
Blankly staring at the ceiling, Lioro muttered,
"I didn't know you were so petty."
"Hehe, I finally managed to hit you!" Aurora said with a smile while lying on top of him.
Right as they were mid-teleportation, she tightened her grip around his waist and threw him down.
And when the teleportation ended, he was dropped on the wooden floor.
"I never thought Infinity could be breached like this," Lioro commented with interest, looking down at Aurora.
Aurora smiled, brought her face above his, and said,
"My knight, never underestimate your opponent. Throughout the battle, you never fought seriously, taking it easy. I understand—because I was once like you. Strong, with no equal…"
She gently grabbed his face, her thumb brushing his cheek.
"But then, because of my arrogance, I was caught, chained, and experimented on for hundreds of years."
Bringing her lips closer to his ear, she whispered,
"My knight… do you understand?"
'I understand! So please stop acting so slutty!'
Lioro barely kept the twitch off his lips before saying,
"I will keep what you said in mind. So can you get off? Or I might not be able to control myself…"
Her act was going a bit too far.
"Control yourself?"
Aurora tilted her head in confusion, then placed her chin on his chest and said innocently,
"My knight, I'm your pet. You don't need to control yourself. Do with me as you please."
"You… are you serious?" Lioro's eyes widened, unsure whether she was joking.
Aurora blinked innocently and opened her mouth—
But before she could speak, a foreign voice cut in.
"Um… I don't want to interrupt you guys, but I think I'll get into bigger trouble if I don't say anything."
Almost instantly, Aurora jumped off Lioro, her expression turning cold as she aimed a blade of blood and darkness at the intruder.
'I didn't even notice his presence…'
Aurora thought, her expression hardened.
"Who are you?" she demanded.
"Me? I'm Lioro's friend!" Cid said innocently, looking harmless like a sheep.
But discreetly, his eyes were fixed on Aurora's weapons, ready to fight if needed.
In his mind, he had already acknowledged her as a strong opponent.
Aurora, on the other hand, was confused.
"Friend?"
She glanced at Lioro for confirmation.
Instead of answering, Lioro stood up, sat beside Cid, placed an arm over his shoulder, and asked in an utterly calm voice—
"How would you like to die?"
Cid: ….
Lioro grabbed his neck.
"W-wait! We're friends! Fellow earthlings! C-companions!"
"Die!"
----
After some time—
Lioro finally calmed down and released Cid.
Then he helped introduce them to each other.
"Cid? Shadow? Fighting against the Diabolos Cult?" Aurora said with interest.
"Aurora? Witch of Calamity? Demon Diabolos? Cool!" Cid gave her a thumbs-up.
After their greetings, Lioro asked Cid with a dark look,
"Why are you in my room?"
"Hey, don't look at me like that! I was worried after you disappeared from the festival! I looked everywhere but couldn't find you, so I rushed back to the dorms to see if you returned. I was worried, you know!"
Cid said with a righteous expression, while on the inside—
'Hell nah! How can I let my world-travel ticket run away? Nope! Never!'
Lioro scratched his chin, doubtful, but eventually accepted the answer.
Pushing aside unnecessary thoughts, he looked at Cid and asked,
"Hey, wanna fight?"
"I already said I'm sorry! Don't kill me!" Cid instantly activated his mob act, bringing his hands together and begging like a pathetic weakling.
Aurora watched with interest.
She couldn't understand why Shadow, who was obviously strong, acted like this.
"Shadow, I'm serious," Lioro suddenly said in a calm voice.
"Oh?"
Cid stopped crying instantly, his face becoming emotionless.
"You really want to fight?"
His voice was unusually calm.
"Yes."
It was the fastest way to copy all of Shadow's spells and magic—and at the same time, it would help Shadow understand the power of a Yggdrasil player.
A black mass sprang out from Cid's feet, changing his entire attire, transforming him into the infamous cultist of the Midgar Kingdom.
Shadow crossed his arms and said,
"Alright."
"Dude, can you be less dramatic?"
"I am Shadow! He who lurks in the shadow to hunt the shadows!—"
----
Overlord World.
"P-please let us go, sir! W-we promise to never cross y-you again…"
A huge bald man with a muscular build knelt on the ground, shaking in fear.
He was Zero, a member of the 8 Fingers—the biggest underground organization in the Re-Estize Kingdom.
Behind him, other members of the 8 Fingers kneeled as well.
Without hesitation, all of them were kneeling like dogs.
Kneeling before one man.
Kiyotaka Ayanokoji.
"Do you believe that is what I want?" Ayanokoji asked calmly, looking down at Zero.
The members of 8 Fingers trembled even harder.
Seeing they couldn't speak, Ayanokoji asked without turning his head,
"Is the seal done?"
His words were directed at the undead wearing a magic robe, standing behind him.
[8th-tier undead summon: Night Lich.]
"I have placed several curses on their bodies. The moment they attempt to deny your order or even think of betraying you, their very souls will tremble in horror unknown to the living."
The Night Lich's empty eye sockets glowed with a terrifying light.
"H-hieeekk!"
Hilma Cygnaeus—one of the 8 Fingers—pissed herself from sheer terror.
Ayanokoji calmly observed them before saying,
"From now on, all of you will work for me, obeying my every order."
Zero gritted his teeth, slowly raised his head, and asked in a trembling voice,
"S-sir… w-what will you have us do…?"
"Build a Burger Empire," Ayanokoji replied.
"!… A-an empire…?"
Zero muttered, confused.
He didn't know what a burger was, but building an empire sounded appropriately domineering.