It was a peaceful afternoon. Sunlight spilled across the ancient rooftops, leaving patches of warm light behind.
Naohara flew up to the roof, found a comfortable spot, and lay down.
He closed his eyes and basked in the warmth of the sunlight.
His body gradually relaxed, and his thoughts began to wander.
A gentle breeze brushed across his cheeks, its coolness mingling with the sun's warmth and leaving him completely at ease.
His draconic hearing allowed him to make out every sound around him with perfect clarity.
Birds singing, leaves whispering, the distant laughter and cheerful voices of the townspeople, and...
"Hey, are you finished with your work?"
A voice broke the silence.
Naohara opened his eyes and found a petite Vampire already sitting beside him, leafing through the magic tome in her hands.
"Maybe. At least, I think I'm finished."
Naohara chuckled.
What counted as "work" depended entirely on his mood.
When he felt like it, he would deal with a few matters to pass the time while reminiscing about his previous life as a corporate drone.
When he did not, he simply left everything to Renner.
After all, wasn't that exactly why he had recruited her as the Prime Minister of the Sorcerer Kingdom?~
"With rulers like you, I'm not sure whether this country is fortunate or doomed."
Keno could not help but complain.
There were three rulers, yet somehow each one seemed lazier than the last.
Aside from occasionally offering suggestions or organizing an event, none of them showed the slightest concern for governing.
It was as though they had founded the country purely for their own amusement.
"That's hardly fair. You could always help manage it yourself."
"Me...? No, I think I'll pass."
Keno knew her own abilities well enough.
She could manage being an adventurer, but governing a country...
Ugh. Just thinking about it made her stomach hurt.
"Hmph!"
At that thought, Keno huffed and returned to the magic tome, ignoring Naohara.
"You've been reading that for quite a while. How is your magic coming along?"
Growing bored, Naohara struck up another conversation.
Yggdrasil: Vampire Branch: Primary Race Edition: Beginner's Guide to Tier Magic.
That was the title of the book Keno was holding.
Its author was a veteran Player in Yggdrasil who had an extreme fondness for the Vampire race.
He paid little attention to job classes and focused entirely on planning and selecting racial levels, eventually developing his own unique style of play.
He had even spent real money on special Cash Shop Items, then promoted the guide through the world Chat channel and official announcements before distributing it free of charge to every Player on the server.
His goal was to encourage more Players to choose the Vampire race.
(P.S. The game contains Class Change items that allow Humanoid races to transform into Undead.)
"It's going well enough. Some parts are just obscure and difficult to understand."
In truth, the written language of Yggdrasil was completely different from that of the New World.
Naohara could not actually read the New World's writing either, but a passive magical effect allowed him to understand its meaning.
As for Keno, the captain of the 13 Heroes, the Player known as "Riku," had once taught his companions about such matters.
"You find it difficult because you aren't strong enough."
"Once your level rises, learning magic will become much easier."
Naohara offered her a reminder.
Higher-tier magic was certainly more powerful, but that principle only held true within the same general level range.
Ultimately, character level was the deciding factor.
Take Yggdrasil as an example.
A Level 70 Player who had only just learned Super-Tier Magic would still be unable to inflict much damage on a max-level Player, even with Super-Tier Magic, simply because of the difference in their levels.
Conversely, a max-level Player could deal considerable damage to a Level 70 Player with nothing more than first-tier magic.
"I understand all of that, but I enjoy studying magic. The more obscure and difficult it is, the more challenging it becomes. You could call it a personal hobby of mine."
Keno pouted as she spoke.
Stories of high-tier magic were widespread throughout this world, yet many people still believed such magic did not exist.
As a seasoned Magic Caster, Keno might not have been quite as fanatical as Fluder, but she was not far behind.
Now that she finally had the chance to study the higher-tier magic she had always dreamed of, how could she possibly resist?
Levels were important, but magic was even more important!
Fluder had not been seen in ages, had he?
Rumor had it that he had shut himself away in his laboratory and was studying magic without rest.
Were it not for the occasional report confirming that he was still alive, the outside world might have assumed he had already passed away.
"All right, then. Take this. It should help."
Since Keno felt that strongly about it, Naohara could hardly continue trying to persuade her otherwise.
Besides, his blood could take care of the problem of her strength, so there was no real harm in it.
With that thought, Naohara took out a pair of glasses and handed them to her.
"What are these?"
Keno accepted the glasses and put them on.
She did not know what they did, but judging by the powerful magical energy radiating from them, they had to be a rare magical item.
"Huh?"
When Keno looked back at the book, the once obscure and incomprehensible text had suddenly become clear and easy to understand.
"This is a Legendary-class item called the [Eyes of the Platinum Dragon]."
"It has several effects, including enhanced vision, X-ray vision, resistance to illusions, and accelerated magic learning."
Naohara explained.
With an unlimited supply of materials, Cocytus produced new batches of equipment and items at regular intervals.
These glasses were merely one of the less significant pieces.
Their primary material was one of the Platinum Dragon Lord's eyes, while the Platinum Dragon Lord's nerves served as a secondary material. The Talent [Accelerated Magic Learning] had also been sealed within them.
It was quite an impressive item.
Incidentally, Naohara and his two companions each possessed a similar item, though theirs were Divine-class Items.
"Th... thank you."
Keno thanked him awkwardly.
Still, she handled it much better than she had the last time. This was not the first time he had given her something, and after spending so much time together, she felt as though she had almost grown used to it without realizing.
"Let's forget about verbal thanks..."
As he spoke, Naohara slowly leaned closer until his face was almost touching Keno's. Then he lowered his voice.
"I think you could thank me another way. What do you say?~"
His sudden closeness made Keno tremble, and she hurriedly shook her head.
"No, not here! Someone might...!"
Before she could finish, their eyes met, and time seemed to stop.
Keno could clearly smell the scent coming from him.
It was pleasant, though she could not explain exactly what made it so appealing. Even so, it drew her in completely...
The intimate atmosphere deepened, and she found herself unconsciously raising her head.
Their lips met.
Naohara wrapped his left arm around her soft, slender waist and pressed his right hand against the back of her head.
Keno was startled by the sudden movement.
Before she could react, she felt something trying to part her lips. To respond to him, she could only open her mouth slightly.
"Haah..."
When their lips finally parted, Keno was breathing heavily, her face as red as a ripe apple.
They had kissed before, but this was the first time their tongues had been involved.
For her, that was still far too intense.
After all, she was merely a young girl of two hundred years.
"Mm, thank you for the treat~"
Naohara chuckled and licked his lips.
Small and cool. Not bad at all.
"Was that supposed to be a punishment?"
"That's right. A sweet punishment~"
"Are all you Players this shameless?"
After straightening her disheveled clothes, Keno complained before voicing a question that had been on her mind for a long time.
Every hundred years, unusual beings known as Players descended upon this world.
Some protected it, such as the Six Great Gods and the captain of the 13 Heroes.
Others became enemies of the world, such as the Eight Greed Kings and the Demon God King, whom Naohara had revealed to be a Player.
Then there were those who stood somewhere between good and evil, such as Naohara and his two companions.
Yet without exception, all of them seemed remarkably lecherous.
Most of the Theocracy's population consisted of descendants of the Six Great Gods. The Eight Greed Kings had also maintained enormous harems and lived in extravagant debauchery.
Even the captain of the 13 Heroes had been extremely fond of throwing himself into the arms of all sorts of older women.
"Well, I wouldn't put it that way."
"Let's just say they were repressed for too long, so after coming to this world, they finally let their true nature loose."
Naohara did not really know how to answer.
Considering how awful the world from his previous life had been, he honestly thought the Players who had descended here were already remarkably decent.
At least none of them were extremists bent on destroying the world. People like that were more common than one might think.
"Repressed?"
"With power like yours, what could possibly make you feel repressed?"
Keno tilted her head in confusion and muttered under her breath.
In her eyes, and in the eyes of everyone in the New World, every Player who descended possessed power beyond imagination.
They brought both miracles and disasters. They were extraordinary beings far beyond the comprehension of this world's inhabitants.
"You don't understand. In our world, the Six Great Gods, the Eight Greed Kings, and even my companions were nothing more than insignificant insects."
"The only difference between us and everyone else was probably that we were luckier~"
Naohara chuckled softly.
"Luck?"
"But isn't luck also part of one's strength?"
Keno still looked confused.
As expected, she could never quite understand the things Players said, whether it was Naohara now or her former captain in the past.
Still, she did not dislike the feeling.
"By the way, who would be stronger if you fought the Six Great Gods?"
Keno suddenly asked.
There were differences in strength even among Players, and she was deeply curious about them.
"The Six Great Gods would probably be a little troublesome..."
"Would you lose?"
"No. I'd win~"
Naohara answered with a confident smile.
With his current strength, he had nothing to fear from fighting all six at once. The only thing he needed to be wary of was the so-called Power of Faith.
After all, six hundred years of accumulated power could not be underestimated.
"Huh?"
Just as Naohara was about to continue, he suddenly froze.
Then, under Keno's puzzled gaze, he swept her into his arms and leaped backward off the roof.
The next instant, dust exploded into the air.
A deafening crash rang out as the previously intact rooftop collapsed into rubble.
"Tch. That troublesome one is here."
Naohara's mouth twitched in exasperation.
Did the Six Great Gods have mush for brains? How could they have let this one out?
Moments after he spoke, a young girl slowly emerged from the dust.
Both her hair and her eyes were divided into contrasting halves, one side black and the other white.
Following close behind her was a massive scythe that towered far above her.