The real world, evening.
Ilya Einzbern was known as the cold "iceberg" beauty of her school. She sat comfortably in a soft armchair in her room. Her long, bright golden hair fell over her shoulders. A few strands brushed against her lips as she focused. She wore a matching school uniform—a light pink top with a ribbon, a plaid skirt, and black stockings. She sat with her legs crossed in a relaxed but graceful way.
But she wasn't thinking about her looks. Over her eyes was a sleek virtual reality headset. Its faint blue light blinked in time with her brainwaves. The logo on the side said: *YGGDRASIL*.
Only three minutes remained until the game servers shut down forever.
Her mind had already merged with her character. This was the avatar she had spent countless hours building: the server's only hidden class—[Valkyrie].
In the game world, her character, "Valkyria," stood on a high cliff. The character looked almost exactly like her real self: the same golden hair, blue eyes, and a face as beautiful as a doll's. She stood 176cm tall. However, instead of a school uniform, she wore silver-white armor that shone with a cold light—[Valkyrie's Aegis]. The armor looked both fancy and powerful. A white cloak moved behind her in the wind. At her waist was an ancient sword, [Gram]. Even in its sheath, it felt sharp enough to cut through anything.
She was a [Valkyrie], a class so rare that even the game's wiki only knew its name. No one knew how to get it or what it could do. Most players didn't even know it existed.
Also, she had a shocking number of items in her bag: ninety-nine [Holy Covenant High Precision] World Items.
This broke the game's basic rules. The developers had said there were only twenty [Holy Covenant High Precision] World Items in total. Each one was powerful enough to change the entire game. However, the developers had canceled that plan early on. No one knew how she got so many, or how she found that mysterious hidden class. It was a great mystery of the game's final days.
She also had a huge amount of gold. She was much richer than any other "whale" player. She was the complete opposite of the famous, greedy *World Searcher* guild.
One minute remained until the countdown reached zero.
Ilya—or Valkyria—took one last look at the virtual world. She didn't join the other players in their final celebrations. She simply waited for the end in silence. But in the final seconds, her sharp senses noticed a strange glitch in the data. It didn't look like a normal shutdown.
"Hm?" She felt a moment of doubt.
Zero!
The game didn't turn off. Instead, she felt a burning pain, as if her soul were being ripped away. Then, there was only darkness! Her mind was pulled into a black vortex by a strong, unstoppable force. She felt like she was spinning and about to be torn apart.
"Ah...!" In the real world, she let out a short cry of pain. Her body jerked upright in her chair. Then, all her senses changed!
Cold! Damp! The smell of grass!
She could feel gravity again!
Ilya opened her eyes. Her stomach felt sick from the dizziness. She saw a strange night sky with stars that looked very close.
She was lying on a vast grassland. The night dew was making her... armor wet?
She became fully alert and sat up quickly. She looked down at herself.
The silver-white [Valkyrie's Aegis] armor fit her slim body perfectly. The cold, hard metal felt incredibly real. She touched her face. Her fingers felt the metal guards and the soft skin underneath. She grabbed a lock of her hair. It was still golden, but it was much longer now, just like her character's hair.
Her heart tightened.
"Transmigrated...?"
The shock almost made her stop thinking. Shouldn't she be in her room, taking off her headset? How could she be wearing her game armor in the middle of a field?
She forced herself to calm down. The cold logic of the [Valkyrie] class stopped her panic. She tried to open the game menu.
With a single thought, a glowing screen with golden symbols appeared in her mind.
Character status, skills, inventory... everything was there!
She looked at her inventory. Those ninety-nine items glowing with scary power—the [Holy Covenant High Precision] World Items—were all there! Her massive pile of gold was there too. It made her feel a bit safer.
"They... they all came with me..." she whispered. Her voice shook a little, but she was mostly confused.
She stood up. At 176cm tall, she could see far. She saw an endless field, a forest in the distance, and strange energy in the air...
She realized this was definitely not Earth.
To be safe, she turned on her perception skill, [Divine Realm Insight]. At the same time, she used a high-level invisibility spell to hide.
Waves of energy spread out from her. Soon, she "saw" a dirt road a few kilometers away. A small group of carriages was traveling on it. They were guarded by people wearing simple leather armor and carrying weapons.
She looked closely at the guards.
The information from her skill made her freeze again.
[Race: Human]
[Level: 5]
[Class: Guard (Low-tier)]
[Threat Level: Extremely Low]
[Race: Human]
[Level: 7]
[Class: Guard Captain (Low-tier)]
[Threat Level: Low]
She looked further away and saw a leopard-like creature hiding in the bushes.
[Race: Shadow Leopard]
[Level: 14]
[Class: Magic Beast]
[Threat Level: Medium-Low]
Every creature she found was below Level 20! The strongest was only Level 14!
And she, the [Valkyrie] Valkyria, was Level 119!
This level was much higher than the limit for normal players in YGGDRASIL. It was a special prize she got for finishing an "impossible" hidden quest. Like her ninety-nine World Items, she was "forbidden" data that even the developers might not have known about.
In this strange land, her Level 119 status, her items, and her wealth were far too powerful. She was way beyond anything in this world.
When Ainz Ooal Gown arrived in this world, he had to be careful, hide his power, and worry about money.
But she...
Ilya felt the terrifying power inside her. It was as vast as the sea. She was many times stronger than everything around her combined. She looked at her gold, which was enough to buy several kingdoms. She looked at her ninety-nine World Items that could cause miracles or disasters.
She felt a mix of emotions. She was still confused, but her fear of the unknown was replaced by a feeling of total control.
She turned off her invisibility and showed herself. Her silver armor shone under the stars. Her white cloak moved in the breeze. She looked toward the small group of carriages. Then she raised her hand and looked at her palm. She had the power to shake this world.
"No players, no beings of the same level..."
"In other words, in this world,"
She closed her fist, feeling the power in her fingers. She smiled. She was so beautiful that even the stars seemed dim.
"I am the sole myth."
***
Her powerful senses acted like a net, searching in all directions. She soon found a path—a road where many weak people had traveled.
"First, I need information," she whispered. Her voice carried in the wind. She knew from the game that towns or villages were the best places to find news.
She chose not to fly or use flashy skills. That would draw too much attention. She wanted to watch first. She began to walk. Her [Valkyrie's Aegis] boots hit the grass with a steady sound. She didn't look like she was running, but with every step, she moved forward many meters. This was a basic [Valkyrie] move called [Shrink Earth]. It was perfect for travel.
Soon, she reached the dirt road. In the distance, she could see the back of the slow merchant carriages. She ignored them and walked toward the place where she felt the most people.
About half an hour later, she saw a town on the horizon. It had stone walls but wasn't very big. It looked like a small fort or a large village. Guards in simple leather armor stood at the gate. There weren't many people walking around.
Ilya watched from a distance for a moment. Then, she used her mind to change her look. Her bright silver armor, [Valkyrie's Aegis], disappeared like liquid silver. It turned into energy inside her body. This was a skill of the armor: [Equip/Unequip].
Instead, she wore high-quality white-and-gold traveling clothes. She looked like a mix between a noble lady and an adventurer. The clothes showed off her tall, graceful body. Her golden hair was loose, and her face was visible. She hid most of her power. Now, she looked like a very beautiful traveler instead of a dangerous monster.
Then, she walked calmly toward the city gate.
The guards noticed her immediately. She looked too impressive for this small town. The guards looked at her with both respect and fear. However, Ilya pulled a local gold coin out of thin air using a tiny bit of magic and tossed it to them. All their questions stopped. They bowed low and said, "Welcome, noble lady."
Inside the town, it felt like the middle ages. She smelled animals, dirt, food, and sweat. The streets were made of dirt and rocks. There were wooden and stone houses. Most people looked tired and wore simple clothes.
Ilya's blue eyes looked around. Her [Divine Realm Insight] skill gathered information automatically: the language, the writing, the quiet talks of the people, and how magic worked here. Her brain processed data so fast that she learned the local language in minutes. She confirmed this place was part of a kingdom called "Re-Estize."
Then, something else caught her attention.
A smell.
The smell of roasted meat, stew, and bread came from a busy tavern.
In the real world, Ilya loved food, even though she usually acted cold and serious. Now, in a new world, she really wanted to eat to feel "real" again.
*Gurgle...* Her stomach made a loud noise.
She walked toward the noisy tavern.
She pushed open the wooden door. She was surrounded by noise, the smell of beer, and the smell of food. The tavern was full of mercenaries, adventurers, and locals. They were laughing and eating. When Ilya walked in, everyone stopped and looked at her.
The room became quiet.
She ignored the shocked and mean looks. She walked to an empty table and sat down. A waitress stared at her, then ran over, looking nervous.
"What... what can I get for you, milady?" The waitress looked at Ilya's expensive clothes and her amazing beauty. Her voice shook.
Ilya didn't look at the menu. She spoke in a cold but pretty voice. Her words made the tavern go silent again:
"Ten servings of every item on the menu. To start."
"..." The waitress was shocked.
A big mercenary with a scar on his face laughed. "Little girl, do you know how big the meat is here? One serving can fill a grown man. Ten of everything? Are you joking?"
Ilya didn't blink. With a thought, a heavy gold coin appeared. It hit the table with a loud *clink*. It was so bright it almost blinded everyone.
The whole tavern gasped. That one coin was worth more than all the food in the building.
"Go," Ilya said simply.
The waitress and the owner became very respectful and scared. They ran into the kitchen.
Soon, food started coming out. There was black bread, big pieces of roasted meat, stews, grilled fish, and vegetables. The plates covered the whole table.
Then, while everyone watched in horror, Ilya began to eat.
She ate very gracefully. Her movements were perfect, like a princess. She cut the meat, lifted it to her mouth, and chewed perfectly.
But... she was so fast!
The pile of food disappeared quickly! It looked like her stomach was a magic hole. Plate after plate was emptied and taken away. New food took its place immediately.
The cooks in the kitchen were almost falling over from exhaustion. Except for the sound of the fire and Ilya eating, the tavern was silent. Everyone watched with their mouths open.
"Owner, keep going," Ilya said quietly during a short break. She didn't look up. Another gold coin hit the table.
By the time the fifth gold coin appeared, the tavern had run out of food. Ilya gracefully finished the last bowl of soup.
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