The gate that Maerytha escorted them to - the southern gate - was much, much more massive than the ones Rhemurus noticed in the yuan-ti town he was previously in, big enough to allow that massive golem platform he saw before pass through without having to use shrinking spells.

And waiting for them just outside was the one he assumes must be the merchant, and quite an unusual merchant it was - unusual from Tanaka's perspective, at least - an individual resembling a bipedal praying mantis, its body's exoskeleton was sandy yellow in color, of its six limbs the lower two were used for walking and the upper four ended in four-fingered, clawlike hands. Its head had large and dangerous-looking mandibles, compound eyes, and two small antennae sprouting from the top.

If he was allowed to guess, Tanaka would say that the merchant was a thri-keen, an insectoid race whose racial levels acted as substitute [Ranger] class levels and had a few spell-like racial abilities on top.

The thri-keen was seating on a specialized wooden carriage designed to also hold two giant centipedes together, centipedes that had leather leads tied to their head segments which were being held by the merchant riding them.

Likewise, the rest of the giant centipedes' long bodies were also tied to wooden structures on top of them, most likely segmented carts considering how they were covered in protective thick silk and some of them were still filled with miscellaneous items, most likely stuff that didn't sell this day.

"Thank you for your patience mister Drik-chkit. Here is the refugee, he needs to be transported to Breizen for asylum. I believe you once told me that you usually frequent that city?"

"Aye, officer. I occasionally trade with the inhabitants of that particular city, so I know my way very well."

"Wonderful. If you make this favor for us, we would be grateful. And you will be properly rewarded as well."

The dragon officer gently took the oversized scroll from Sleyvo's hands with her talons and unfolded it in front of the merchant so he could read the contents in it.

"Oh? I will have tax-free sales for my next three visits to Guraxus? That is quite a great reward indeed! Consider it done!"

As the thri-keen was speaking, Rhemurus noted something that caught his eye; the mouth of the merchant was moving in a way that under any circumstance wouldn't make sounds a human like him would be able to understand considering the fact that said merchant had insect mandibles. Yet despite such a thing, Rhemurus was hearing words he could perfectly understand, just like it was the case with pretty much any non-human individual he has come across so far.

- Now that I think back to it, the worg that almost killed me was also speaking to me in a language I could understand. According to Yggdrasil lore, worgs had humanoid throat organs which explained their ability to speak, but looking at the merchant's physiognomy, I doubt that would be the case with all races in this world.

"Here, make sure to bring this scroll with you next time you come to the capital, that way the officers who will be on duty that day will know of the special request from the great sage."

"Alright then, I definitely will." Said the thri-keen merchant as he accepted the oversized scroll from Maerytha and placed it in the carriage segment that was just behind him.

"So I guess this is it for now. I wish you luck, Rhemurus."

"Thank you again for everything mister, uh...I apologize, I think I forgot to ask mister Hakuun the name of his teammates."

"It's okay. My name is Sleyvo, but you can catch up with the rest of us if and when you return to the capital someday."

With nothing else to be said, the two simply waived each other goodbye before Sleyvo turned back and went his way, his home had been waiting for him for quite a while now. And after verifying that everything was in order, Maerytha spread her wings and also went her way, her shift wasn't over after all.

Now that there were no more adventurers accompanying him, Rhemurus steeled his resolve for he knew that he would have to be looking after his own back from now on. His journey in this world was just beginning.

"So you are the refugee then...I'm afraid this cart was made for only one person, so you will have to find a place to sit in one of the carriages."

"That's alright. Would it be okay if I sit on the last one at the back? I find the imagery of the road quite relaxing."

"Yeah sure. On my way back to Ikbrid there are no stops, so if you see me stopping is because we arrived at the destination. Also, the journey to Breizen will be roughly five hours long so you will have to bear it for a bit. Come hop in."

With a youthful vigor on his step, Rhemurus ran to the last carriage segment all the way back, near the tail ends of the giant centipedes, where he took a seat and placed the bag containing the fragments of his armor beside him.

Now granted, these carriages were made to store objects, not for people to sit in, so it wasn't the most comfortable place. But Rhemurus didn't mind at all, mainly because these five hours will be the mental respite he needed to finally process everything he has been through and learned.

Five hours to meditate and think things through, to think about this world, about himself, and more importantly, to think about Ainz Ooal Gown...

- So a sorcerer emperor? Mmm...

[Curia Court in Guraxus - 10 minutes ago]

The teleportation spell took Hakuun to the place where his direct superiors were expecting him; an immeasurably huge room with an open roof to allow the dragon councilors to come and go, but there were also paths for those who didn't have the natural ability to fly, obviously.

Doors of varying sizes pointing at the eight cardinal directions could be seen, in the very middle of the room there was a huge circular tapestry made of fabric that was enchanted in a way to ensure it never gets dirty with the flag of the council state weaved into it, and surrounding said tapestry were nearly countless wooden tables - one for every race that lives in the country - arranged in a circular shape around the tapestry, each table also having a seat that would be filled when the councilors were summoned for matters of great importance.

Today, however, not all seats were filled. The only councilors that were present in the court were the only five permanent seats in the country; the grand dragon councilors.

But Hakuun will have to wait a little more before being able to give his full report to his superiors considering how they were currently in conversation with someone else, one of the few types of individuals who would make the leader of the most powerful adamantite team wait in line to talk with the grand councilors.

"Are you certain then, Lord Tsaindorcus? I need not remind you of the agreement you personally signed with the sorcerer emperor in exchange of clemency for the nations you rule, do I?"

"No, you do not, revered sage."

"Is that the same case with the other lords of this country? Lord Suveria?"

"My circles have actively looked in our realms and beyond, we haven't found anything like what you seek."

"Mmm. Lord Omnaadsence?"

"Our temples have mustered spiritual power beyond anything we've ever taped before, but we've spotted no signs of anything resembling what you have described to us."

"Lord Gessenvult? Better luck?"

"I commanded our armies' scouts to search far and wide, they're equipped with our latest divination technology. If what you seek is in our country, we will definitely find it."

"That's good to know. And Lord Zalazilkalia?"

"Well, my dragons and I have been soaring the skies of our lands as we usually do, so we would know if something of the magnitude you're looking for were to suddenly manifest."

"I see, we're all putting in the effort after all, aren't we?"

After a brief moment of silence, the Platinum Dragon Lord spoke to reassure the individual that he and his fellow dragons were speaking with.

"You can be certain that I have full intention of honoring the agreement I made with the emperor, I know very well how dangerous those beings can be, and also how unwise it would be to face them alone. You can be certain that Ainz Ooal Gown has my full support, revered sage Fluder."

The individual currently having an audience with the grand councilors was none other than the creature known as Fluder Paradyne, an apprentice of the sorcerer emperor who currently acted as an ambassador of sorts.

He was wearing a pure white robe which was baggy and loose, made of a very soft fabric. Since Hakuun was currently looking at him from behind he could only look at his long hair which was white as snow.

"I'm glad to know you're willing to cooperate with us, Lord Tsaindorcus. After all, how can we be certain that this upcoming wave will bring someone as benevolent and merciful as my master? Or more than one? Better to be safe than sorry, and cut any potential violent uprising before it can even begin."

Hearing this, the Platinum Dragon Lord simply nodded to Fluder's words. It appears there was nothing left to be said.

"Very well then, I shall take my leave. Thank you for your allowing me to have an audience, honorable grand councilors. Farewell."

It was at that moment when Hakuun was about to allow himself to relax, the disgusting creature was finally about to leave. Except that just before teleporting away, Fluder turned around to look at Hakuun, with the ogre mage using all his willpower to stop himself from making a disgusted expression on his face.

"It was also an honor seeing you, honorable Hakuun."

Fluder's long beard was about half as long as his height and was the same snow white as his hair, but what disgusted Hakuun so much was the face just behind said long beard, or rather, the lack of a face.

What Hakuun was looking at was an undead creature; a skull devoid of any skin or flesh, empty eye sockets flickering with a reddish flame full of hatred for the living, and bony hands whose fingers were decorated with simple-looking but powerful rings that were magic items bestowed upon Fluder by his master.

In fact, the entirety of Fluder's body was covered in powerful magic items that don't belong to this world, from a necklace to a pair of boots, a belt, a headband, and even a shirt he was wearing under his robe, none of those wondrous items were made in this world.

Hakuun had to muster even more willpower to both prevent himself from spitting on the floor and to give a reply to the foreign sage.

"...it's also an honor to see you, sage Fluder."

The skeletal sage from the Sorcerer Empire simply stroked his beard before finally using [Teleportation] to go back to his own lands, leaving Hakuun with the five dragon councilors, at last.

Now that the ambassador was gone, Hakuun allowed the emotional dam inside him to break loose.

"How many times will I have to endure the presence of that...thing!? Of all the ambassadors at his disposal, the undead emperor sends that to our lands?"

The dragon councilors didn't rebuke the ogre mage for talking that way about a foreign ambassador - partly because they understand the innate dislike that living beings have for the undead - but mostly because they can respect the core ideological disparities between Hakuun and Fluder Paradyne.

As an adventurer who always strives to protect the people of the Argland Council State, Hakuun was convinced that magic exists to be used for noble purposes, that magic was just a means to an end, no different from weapons or combat ability.

Meanwhile, Fluder Paradyne was an individual that was so incredibly obsessed with accumulating magical knowledge, that he wasn't above willingly transforming himself into the anathema of all living creatures everywhere, the baleful lich variant that he called a [Lesser Overlord].

Or at least, that's how Fluder addressed himself as. If 'lesser overlord' was an actual variant of lich unique to him, or if Fluder merely called himself that to give himself airs, Hakuun couldn't tell, and honesty, he really didn't care.

"Even so-" The Diamond Dragon Lord decided to speak his mind as well. "-we can't deny that sage's magical expertise. Even after 300 years, our council state has been unable to create a tri-caster of Fluder's caliber, not even our mystic theurges, psychic theurges, nor eldritch theurges have been able to reach the level of Fluder Paradyne."

Mystic Theurges were the ones that combined arcane power with the divine might of the priests.

Psychic Theurges instead combined priestly magic with the relatively rare power - rare in this part of the continent, at least - called spiritual magic.

And Eldritch Theurges combined said rare spiritual disciplines with arcane knowledge.

Spellcasters were already quite rare in this world, those who could use two magical systems simultaneously were rarer still, and the number of tri-casters in recorded history could be counted with the fingers of one hand.

"If enduring his presence could mean the potential of advancing our own mystical theories, then I personally think that it might be worth it."

The Diamond Dragon Lord in particular was a spiritual spellcaster capable of using spells up to the 4th-tier, and he was confident that his continued progress in his field will allow him to reach 5th-tier soon, hence why he was granted the title of 'Dragon Lord' despite still being some centuries away from reaching the [Ancient] age category, and also why he was one of the leading figures in the council state's magical research.

But even someone like him had no choice but to recognize the exceptional abilities of the empire's sage.

"And what could we possibly learn from a walking corpse, Omnaadsence? Would you have our students turn themselves into undead beings as well?" Said the Blue Sky Dragon Lord in objection.

As the council state's archdruid, he was ideologically opposed not only to the sage Fluder just like Hakuun was, but pretty much to all the methods the Sorcerer Empire used to raise spellcasters, methods that he considered to be 'antinatural'.

"You only say that because you're already capable of using 6th-tier spells of your own, Suveria. Think about how the rest of us feel, do you think it should be okay for dragons to feel envy?" Said the Obsidian Dragon with a bitter tone that conveyed mixed feelings of frustration and sadness.

Of the five grand councilors of Argland, he was one of the two who didn't have the 'Dragon Lord' title granted to him, which meant that Gessenvult had neither reached his [Ancient] age category, possessed no special powers to speak of, nor could use exotic magic of any sort.

He could only flaunt his ability to use 3rd-tier arcane magic without relying too much on his innate racial spellcasting, and also his fearsome combat ability that was supplemented by advanced warrior-type job classes as well, making the Obsidian Dragon a draconic magic knight.

But as terrifying as that sounds, dragons that combine arcane magic with physical combat aren't unheard of because any dragon that lives long enough to reach the [Old] age category will eventually add arcane spells to their arsenal, Gessenvult was simply a better-trained and more refined version of that, hence why no dragon would truly recognize the Obsidian Dragon as a Lord.

"And you feel envy because you rely too much on your flashy spells. They do help, that's true, but a dragon's true might is their physical body, something that you lot have totally forgotten about." Said the Wyrm Dragon with an obvious condescending tint in his words.

Zalazilkalia, just like his comrade Gessenvult, wasn't recognized as a Lord by his fellow dragons mainly because the power he honed - while impressive - wasn't really unique to him and thus, not worth being recognized as a Lord for.

To be specific, the Wyrm Dragon was someone who trained his body to use martial arts. Something that might sound impressive from a regular human's perspective, but if you're an individual that is aware of the world's power balance, someone who is in the known about the fact that all sapient creatures can train their bodies to learn martial arts regardless if they're humanoid, demi-human, heteromorph, or even monster, then Zalazilkalia isn't that impressive.

In fact, he's not even the only dragon in the council state who can use martial arts considering how he personally trained the dragon officers of the capital watch and the dragon soldiers of the standing army in the development and use of martial arts.

The only spells he could use were the ones he obtained from the racial levels of his [Old] and [Elder] age categories, and even then the most he could use were arcane buffing spells of the 2nd-tier.

"Regardless, while it's true that we must honor the truce with the empire and I appreciate your tolerance of whoever the sorcerer emperor sends as an ambassador-" The Platinum Dragon Lord finally began to speak, most likely getting tired of his fellow grand councilors arguing over petty matters. "-we still shouldn't allow them to pollute our culture, least we appear as mere vassals to the empire."

To that, everyone gave an assertive nod.

"So now that foreign matters are taken care of, we can focus on domestic matters. Hakuun, thank you very much for your patience."

"I should be the one thanking you, grand councilor Tsaindorcus, for allowing me the honor to speak directly with you."

While Hakuun may not be an adherent of the Sovereign Host that considers the five dragon councilors to be living Gods, he still recognized the Platinum Dragon Lord as one of the few beings in this world worthy of awe and absolute respect.

"If it is alright, I will give you the report of my team's latest mission."

"Yes, please do."

The ogre mage proceeded to give a detailed report to the grand councilors, from the moment his team was deployed, to when they used the transportation platform of the capital to teleport to the nearest settlement to Dethford that also had a platform, to when they rushed to the countryside town and helped push back the monster horde that nearly crushed the town's walls, and finally when they located and successfully exterminated the gnoll cleric who was the one responsible for such havoc.

"This gnoll, I assume he babbled the same thing all previous doom priests did? About 'sleeping horrors'?"

"Yes, grand councilor. He said that the sleeping horrors will awaken from their deep dark slumber and drown the world of land in our blood, right before Zagdher delivered the finishing blow, that is."

After hearing that, all five councilors showed clear expressions of worry and concern on their reptilian faces. A small argument was made between them shortly afterward.

"Tsaindorcus, you really don't believe that-"

"No."

"Are you certai-"

"Yes. I am."

"You always say that, as if you were there when she died."

"My father exterminated them all. I saw it with my own eyes, the queen's corpse in his maw, there was no mistake."

"And what were you back then? A dragonling? You sure your infantile mind wasn't exaggerating what you saw? You sure that your father simply didn't kill a-"

"Enough! We always run around in endless circles whenever this topic comes up, and we need not tire hard-working Hakuun with our useless debates." Said the platinum dragon to end their argument, at least for now.

"Before we dismiss you, was there anything noteworthy afterward?"

"Yes, it's related to this petition that sage Seliaxhala asked me to give you." Said Hakuun as he offered the large scroll he was holding to the Platinum Dragon Lord who gently took it from the ogre mage's hands. "There was a stray individual that almost got killed by a particular creature of the monster horde that escaped our grasp with its last dying breath, but we managed to pursue and kill the beast before successfully healing the individual who is currently on his way to asylum in a city. The only thing that remains would be for that city's leader to receive the notification from a grand councilor."

"I see, and this was the most noteworthy thing, how?"

Stray individuals getting caught in the middle of warfare was quite a common thing in such a violent world. So much so that something like that occurring wasn't worth adding even to detailed reports.

"Because the stray individual was a human, in a particular zone of the country where only reptilian people live in."

Tsaindorcus showed a curious expression on his face and opened up the scroll Seliaxhala wrote to read the contents within.

"So...a poor fellow from Breizen somehow got himself near a yuan-ti town at the worst time possible?" Said the Blue Sky Dragon Lord for the first time addressing Hakuun since he arrived.

"That's the thing, grand councilor." Hakuun said with the most serious expression on his face. "This human wasn't from Breizen. He's not even a citizen of the council state if what he told me is true, and apparently, he was taken to our lands without his knowledge nor consent."

"So he's a foreigner? Taken to our council state against his will? From where? Why did Seliaxhala send him into asylum instead of attempting to contact the human's country?"

"Because from what he told me, it appears that his homeland is nowhere near the lands bordering ours."

"So from a land beyond even the Sorcerer Empire?"

"How did a human from the other side of the continent arrive here?" Asked the Obsidian Dragon.

"Could he be from the Sarrukh Theocracy? Tsaindorcus has told us that the inhabitants of those lands use an alien form of magic that doesn't exist anywhere else, maybe they were trying some new form of teleportation spell and something went wrong?" Added the Diamond Dragon Lord, giving his educated guess.

"Actually, the human did tell me the name of his homeland..."

Before continuing, Hakuun made a brief pause for a few seconds and asked a question in the most respectful tone he could.

"You are all the wisest, grand councilors, so perhaps you may have indeed heard the name of the place the human told me was his homeland?"

"We aren't omniscient, Hakuun." Stated the Wyrm Dragon plain and simple. "There are many things we still don't know, too many to count. But there is still a chance we may know something of use."

"Very well. The human told me that the name of his homeland is Midgard. Have you heard of it before?"

"Midgard?" The first one to comment was the Diamond Dragon Lord. "Would that be the name of the country itself, or just his native city or town? Perhaps a municipality? But in any case, I'm afraid I haven't heard of a place called Midgard before."

"Me neither." The next one who spoke was the Blue Sky Dragon Lord. "The nomenclature of that place however does sound a little...primal. Attuned to the natural world in a way."

"Huh, what a coincidence you would say that grand councilor Suveria, considering how the human told me that he's a druid apprentice."

Hearing that made the dragon druid raise his scaly eyebrows.

"Oh, is he? Now I'm a little curious about what type of circle does that particular human belongs to."

The one who spoke next was the Obsidian Dragon.

"If even our dedicated spellcasters don't know, then I'm not sure we would have much luck figuring out where is this Midgard place. What do you say, Zalazilkalia?"

However, the Wyrm Dragon didn't respond to his comrade's question, he was too busy staring at the weird expression that the Platinum Dragon Lord began to make after hearing the word 'Midgard'.

"So, what is that look on your face, Tsaindorcus? Anything you want to tell us?"

The platinum dragon remained silent for a few seconds before addressing the adventurer.

"Midgard...forgive me for asking this, Hakuun, but are you completely certain that's what the human told you? Can you swear without a trace of doubt that the human said that he comes from Midgard?"

Hakuun was taken aback by those questions coming out of nowhere all of a sudden, but he retained his composure and gave a clear answer.

"Yes, grand councilor Tsaindorcus. I can swear in the name of everything that's precious to me, the human told me that he comes from Midgard."

The weird expression on Tsaindorcus' face was replaced by an even weirder one, and after even more seconds of dead silence, the platinum dragon made even more strange questions.

"And this human, you tell me that he almost got killed by a stray beast, as Seliaxhala wrote here?"

"A worg, to be precise. That creature wasn't that strong, it merely got lucky at barely dodging our attacks and the trap Vak-Mak made, and to tell you the truth, by the time we were making the remaining clean-up after the doom priest's death my team and I were a bit exhausted, even though am aware that's no excuse."

"It's alright Hakuun, what matters is that you and your team succeeded in your mission. Now if you would just answer a few more questions for me."

"Of course! Anything I can answer, I will answer."

"The human told you he was an apprentice druid, does that mean the spells he can cast are low-level?"

"I used all the appraisal spells I know on the human's body, and I found out that his limit was merely 1st-tier spells. Something that he human himself confirmed to me as well."

"And his panoply, was the human using any weapons or armor that were notoriously enchanted?"

"We found no weapons neither on his person nor around the area where we found him, and the armor he was wearing was mainly composed of hardened pieces of leather with close-set stone rivets protruding from it. I believe the human said that armor is called-"

"Studded leather..."

"Huh, yes. That's correct grand councilor Tsaindorcus. And seeing how his armor was broken by the beast in their battle, I doubt that the leather used to make it was from a particularly strong creature, and I appraised the armor pieces as well, but no traces of any enchantment could be found."

Hearing the mention of weapons and armor made the Wyrm Dragon take some personal interest in the current line of questioning. He was the grand councilor who was the most involved in military affairs after all, even more so than the Obsidian Dragon.

"This, studded leather, was it? You said it was hardened leather with stone rivets protruding from it? Not a single piece of actual alchemical stone anywhere? That seems like an unnecessarily difficult armor-making process for something that doesn't sound that useful."

"That's also the conclusion my team reached, grand councilor Zalazilkalia. We never got the chance to ask the human why he was wearing such a thing."

"Was that a unique piece of armor that the human was given, or would that be standard equipment from his native land?" The Obsidian Dragon gave his own two cents as well. "Does make me wonder what type of druid circle he was an apprentice from, though I still doubt that type of armor would really benefit any race or combat style from our council state."

After all, even if dragons don't use armor themselves - an aspect of draconic culture that has several reasons behind it - their allies and underlings that aren't dragons more often than not do need armor to protect themselves, lest they become burdens in any battle they fight alongside dragons. So it isn't surprising that the Obsidian Dragon and Wyrm Dragon both encourage their dragon generals, captains, sergeants, and soldiers to learn as much as they can about the intricacies and functions of the weapons and armor that other races use.

"That type of armor does sound ridiculous when you stop and think about it, even he agreed with that notion, despite coming from that same world." Said the Platinum Dragon Lord with traces of sorrow in his voice, and it seemed as if his stare was looking somewhere else, somewhere far beyond his reach, like the distant past.

"Coming from that same world? Grand councilor Tsaindorcus, does that mean that you-"

"Yes it does, Hakuun. Long ago I once met another human who came from the same lands that the human your team encountered came from."

"So, Midgard is a human nation, I reckon?"

"From what he had told me, not quite."

The platinum dragon was deep in thought for a couple of seconds before asking Hakuun one final question before being dismissed.

"The place that Seliaxhala sent the human for asylum, I assume it's Breizen?"

"You assume correct, grand councilor."

"Alright. Thank you for your report, Hakuun. Your mission is completed, your team shall receive the appropriate payment through the typical method. Only one last thing, would you be able to keep the part about the human's homeland a secret? You didn't tell about Midgard to anyone before you informed us, not even to Seliaxhala, I hope?"

"I didn't speak of Midgard to anyone else, you can be certain grand councilor. And I definitely will keep it a secret if that's what you command."

"That's perfect. You're dismissed for today."

After finally hearing that, the ogre mage gave a respectful bow to the grand councilors and used [Teleportation] to go back home, his wife and son were quite looking forward to seeing him again.

Now only the five grand councilors remained in the curia court, and the first one to break the ice between the uncomfortable silence was Suveria.

"I know that face, what are you thinking?"

"There's something I have to do, it's urgent."

"I'm going to go ahead and make a wild guess. Is it related to this 'Yggdrasil' mess that the Sorcerer Empire is trying to drag us into?"

Rather than giving a clear answer, Tsaindorcus simply gave his comrade a very serious look.

"Yeah yeah, we know. The less we know the better."

"I thank you for your trust in me. You knowing as little as possible is truly for the safety of both yourselves and the council state."

"We do understand that, you don't need to explain anything to us."

"So I take it that you will go back to that base that belonged to our progenitors' butchers?"

"No, right now I have to make contact with the chieftain of Breizen. If you will excuse me."

Tsaindorcus used a wild magic spell called [World Teleportation] to instantly move to his desired destination; the human city of Breizen.

While his fellow dragon councilors may not have all the details of all the schemes that Tsaindorcus makes and carries out, they know that he's someone they can trust with their lives. He has never let them down before, neither the people of Argland nor the people of the other countries he rules over, and they have no reason to believe that he will ever let them down.

[One hour later, in the middle of the road]

- So if this isn't my original body anymore, then does that mean that I no longer have the cranial CPU that was installed in my brain?

Rhemurus gently touched the back of his head even though he knew that he had no way to actually confirm the presence or absence of the personal supercomputer he had back on Earth by doing that.

The first thing that he did since the trip started was to learn everything he could about his new body, he even got the chance to see how his body looked like below the clothes he was wearing and, even though he already knew beforehand that he customized his avatar to have a toned physique, he was still amazed at how jacked this body was, the complete opposite of the flaccid and unhealthy body he had back on his original world.

- Alright, the physical check-up is done for now. So what about my abilities? I retained the use of my spells, and I'm pretty sure I got three more spells that are arcane instead of divine after I leveled-up.

That said, he still hadn't actually cast any of the new spells he got, so in order to eliminate any lingering doubt he may still have, he decided to cast at least one of his new spells in a discreet manner.

He took a quick peek behind him and could see the thri-keen merchant in the distance, the giant centipede mounts were quite long after all, so hoping that the merchant was far enough to not listen anything, Rhemurus extended his hand with his fingers pointing forward, but when he realized that the centipedes' tails may get caught in the spell he was about to cast he instead extended his hand and pointed his fingers upward, then said the verbal component of his arcane spell as silently as he could.

"[Burning Hands]"

Searing flames shoot out from his fingertips in the shape of a cone burst up to 15 feet - roughly 4.5 meters - above him.

This confirms it, Rhemurus became a multi-class druid mage when he gained a level for the first time in this world.

- But why? Why did I got a level in [Mage] instead of a second level in [Druid]? Did something particular happen at the exact moment I leveled-up? Or, perhaps...was it something that happened before I leveled-up, instead?

Now that he could calmly think about it, Tanaka was trying to figure out if there was something he or the worg did to influence the process of his build progression.

- Let's see, I do remember feeling frustrated about the fact that none of the starter druid spells I picked were useful against the worg, and I was wishing to had picked a few mage...spells...instead...

It finally clicked.

The reason he not only got a level in [Mage], but also obtained the three specific arcane spells he had now, was because right before Rhemurus leveled-up he was desiring the power of an arcane mage he was so familiar with, the type of spells he knew how to use perfectly well and was the most comfortable with.

- It seems that my body recognized my desire, and when it got enough EXP to gain a level my body answered to my desire and gave me what I wanted, the class that I wanted, the spells that I wanted.

It's a good thing he discovered such a thing early on, lest he accidentally screws up his build in the future by picking a class that's useless to him.

- However, I also remember regretting not having picked a melee class instead, but that was mainly for the starter equipment I would've got, rather than any actual ability that said class would give at level 1.

Taking a peek at the bag beside him, where the pieces of his studded leather armor were, he began to think about how great it would've been to have instead received a scale mail or a chainmail. Or heck, even chain shirts offer better protection than studded leather.

- I didn't actually got my second level in a martial class, though, so I reckon that the reason was that the desire for a martial class came before the desire for arcane spells. This means, the latest desire before leveling up takes priority over any desires I had before.

Tanaka made this a mental note, bookmarking it in his brain to make sure he never ever forgets.

- I don't want to take a level in a magicless melee class, such a thing would be useless to me in the long run, regardless of the armor and weapon proficiencies I would get.

Besides, he couldn't wear metal armor as a druid, not without losing his ability to cast divine spells and use druidic skills for 24 hours, that is. And as a mage, armor was even more useless since he wouldn't be able to cast any arcane spell while wearing armor of any sort, not without the appropriate advanced classes, and said classes needed at least 1 level in a class like [Fighter] anyways, so that was a no from him.

- Wait. You only need to dip in a melee class to get magic knight class levels, but magic knights aren't the only ones who can cast arcane spells while wearing armor.

Magic knights were indeed quite popular armored casters, but they were far from the only ones as Tanaka just remembered. The other ones were none other than the users of arcane magic + another system, twin-casters like mystic theurges - mage and cleric multi-class - and eldritch theurges - mage and spiritual caster multi-class - gained the ability to cast arcane spells while wearing armor once they qualified for the appropriate prerequisites and took the first level in their hybrid prestige class.

And the twin-caster that combined druidic and arcane magic was known as [Arcane Hierophant], a job class whose nature and advancements were still notably different from [Mystic Theurge] despite both druids and clerics being divine spellcasters.

- Arcane hierophant...yeah, yeah that's not a bad idea at all! That way I can make the most of the accidental mage level I got and still progress as a druid. I just hope I can remember the prerequisites...

Mercenary Magicians still was an arcane mage-only guild, so twin-casters weren't allowed entry, which meant that Tanaka never got the chance to properly interact with an arcane hierophant back in Yggdrasil anymore than he could interact with a druid, so he has to rely on the little information he obtained from secondhand accounts regarding the way to become one.

- It will definitely be a hard journey, even if and after I succeed in becoming an arcane hierophant. But it will be worth it, I can't wait to cast arcane spells while wearing armor and shield, for the first time ever...

Rhemurus was basking in his imagined future self for a while before said imagery made him remember yet another super important thing that he had kept in the back of his mind.

- ...armor and shield. Wait, shield, shield!

Ever since he arrived in this new world until now, Rhemurus had all but forgotten about the shield that was stored inside his item box, alongside a weapon, a healing potion, and some fruit from the crimson forest back in Midgard.

- My item box...do I even have one in this world? How can I even test it out?

He recalled how he had opened his personal inventory in the past, and reached his hand forward into the air as though searching for something. It felt as if he was reaching his hand past the surface of a lake, and an observer would think that Rhemurus' hand and part of his arm had vanished into nothingness.

Then, as if he was opening a window, Rhemurus swept his hand to one side and then a hole appeared out of nowhere, and within it, he could see a scimitar, a light wooden shield, and a minor healing potion. It was exactly like the inventory in Yggdrasil.

He moved his hand in a scrolling notion, and in the space revealed he could see several red-colored fruits and lots of empty room left for more things that could be stored in the future.

- So my items came with me, or rather, my entire inventory system came with me to this world. This is huge, it means that I will be able to take plenty of things with me wherever I go, money, supplies, food...traveling will be a breeze!

For a moment he was also regretting the fact that he didn't use his weapon or shield during his battle against the worg, but after thinking it through, Rhemurus realized that the beast may have been strong enough to also shatter his weapon and shield alongside his armor, so he reached the conclusion that not using them in the death match was for the best in the end.

- Mmm, should I put this bag containing my armor inside the item box? That way I won't have to carry it around.

After all, a player's item box could hold several metric tons worth of items of all sorts, so adding his broken armor to his inventory won't even make the item box's weight limit feel a thing.

- ...no. The thri-keen merchant saw me hold the bag when he allowed me to jump into his carriage, so if he sees me leave without the bag, that's sure to make some awkward questions I would be hard-pressed to answer.

Instead, he came up with a convenient way to have not only his armor, but also his weapon and shield ready at hand as well. And that was to take out his scimitar and wooden shield from his item box and discreetly put them inside the bag with the armor, always making sure that the merchant wouldn't hear a thing and taking a peek every two seconds to make sure that the merchant wasn't looking.

Nobody else besides him and the adventurers of Blade Cyclone knew what was inside his bag, so nobody will be questioning the presence of his full equipment inside the bag that was originally holding only the pieces of his armor.

- Okay. This takes care of my panoply issue. Let's see, I already processed what I learned about this world, my new body, my abilities, and my items. I guess there's only one thing left to process now.

He was saving this topic for last because it was the one that stressed him out the most, but he couldn't avoid the topic any longer. There should be four or so hours left until he arrives at the human city, so he has plenty of time, there's no excuse to postpone it, he has to think about the implications of what Hakuun told him, about this so-called sorcerer emperor; Ainz Ooal Gown.

- I doubt Hakuun was lying to me, and chief Isak'nag didn't call him out either, so that should mean that what I heard was the truth. Ainz Ooal Gown is a single individual in this world, so...could it be possible that this is another cosmic coincidence? That this world's Ainz Ooal Gown is totally unrelated to the Ainz Ooal Gown from Yggdrasil?

Rhemurus recalled what he heard about this sorcerer emperor, how he's one of the undead, and how he can cast 'magic beyond even 10th-tier'.

- Now that I think back, those two things were the only aspects I heard about this emperor, his racial nature and his magical abilities. Hakuun did say that he's an arrogant individual that sees others as lesser beings, but he also told me that he has never actually traveled to Ainz Ooal Gown's domain, so I doubt he has met the emperor in person.

And even if the emperor's arrogance was true, Rhemurus never personally came across a single member of that infamous guild from Yggdrasil that had the same name as the emperor, so he has no grounds to compare nobody with nobody.

- So setting the actual identity of the emperor aside, it seems that his country is a place that doesn't puts that much value on spellcasters considering how powerful their emperor already is. But would the emperor value arcane hierophants? I wonder.

Hakuun also did say that both the empire and the council state where he was currently in has spellcasters much more powerful than him, so maybe Rhemurus would be able to show his value by becoming a proficient twin-caster? Are twin-casters rare enough in this world for that to be a solid idea?

- Mmm, it seems I keep dodging the topic, eh?

Even if it actually is a cosmic coincidence, he still can't fully discard the possibility that this world's Ainz Ooal Gown may indeed have some relation to that heteromorphic guild from Yggdrasil.

- Alright. Focus, Tanaka. Let's say this sorcerer emperor is indeed related to that guild. How? How come a single individual got to have the name of an entire guild? Did all members of that guild coalesce into a single being or something?

No, that sounded ridiculous, but seeing how this seemed to be a world filled with magic, that may not be an impossible thing.

- However, I was told that the emperor was an undead creature, specifically. An amalgam of many heteromorphs wouldn't make one of the undead, it would make something akin to a mass chimera of tremendous power.

All members of the Ainz Ooal Gown guild combining into a single being couldn't be it.

- Wait, wait wait wait. Who was Ainz Ooal Gown's guildmaster? I believe his name was...Mon...Momonga, yeah. And if my memory serves right, he was a lich that specced into necromancy, right? Boy, talk about redundancies.

Lich racial classes already gave you a good amount of necromancy bonuses, combining that with necromancy job classes on top was considered a waste of levels by a majority of the playerbase, that's why necromancer liches weren't near as numerous as evoker liches, or conjurer and even abjurer liches.