[Great Underground Tomb of Nazarick - 10th Floor]

The sorcerer emperor Ainz Ooal Gown was currently walking towards his room after yet another long and arduous day.

A lot was currently hanging on his mind, chief among them was the issue regarding the northern invasions from the Crown of the World, something that he, the Platinum Dragon Lord, and even the ba'al to some extent have had to be taking care of as of late.

- These xixecals...if only they didn't have this strange native magic at their disposal, a magic that they can somehow share with their followers, we wouldn't have such a hard time dealing with their invasions.

As it turns out, the xixecals have their unique magic called [Whiteout]; a type of magic to which the protection granted by the world-class items can do absolutely nothing against.

Nazarick found out the hard way that wild magic is the only type of new world magic that they have immunity against as long as they have a world-class item equipped. Every other form of native magic that didn't exist in Yggdrasil and has no relationship of any sort with the magic of the dragon lords simply ignores and bypasses all forms of Damage Reduction - DR - including the protection of the world.

Is quite annoying, to say the least.

- Luckily, our forces are generally of a higher level so we always have the edge, but it's quite the tedious grind.

Not to mention that the native soldiers of the Sorcerer Empire - that is, the ones who were born and raised in this world - are also having a hard time keeping their morale up. If it weren't for the Nazarick NPCs among the army who are constantly encouraging the lowly mortals to give it their all for the Supreme God of Stars, the invading forces of the xixecals may have already conquered some portions of empire land, a hypothetical scenario in which Ainz may feel forced to send a high-level Nazarick being to retake any land lost to the xixecals.

- I just want to go to bed and clear my mind...

As one of the undead, the sorcerer emperor never felt physically tired, but as someone with the mind and soul of a human who has existed for more than a century, Satoru Suzuki was definitely feeling the weight of expectations, responsibility, and time wearing him heavily.

And after what felt like an eternity of walking to him, Ainz was finally back in his room.

He opened the door expecting to perhaps see Albedo, Shalltear, or one of the homunculus maids waiting for him, but the one who was in his room took him by surprise. But it was a pleasant surprise still.

"Oh...Shura, what are you doing here?"

The individual who was inside his room and had even taken Ainz's chair - the one he just addressed as Shura - was sitting in quite a lax manner.

"Hey, old man-" Said Shura in the most casual way imaginable without even bothering to look in Ainz's direction.

Anyone calling the sorcerer emperor an "old man" would immediately be ripped apart into tiny little pieces by the eight-edge assassins who are usually stationed in this room. Such insolence has no reason to be tolerated, but Shura...he was an exception.

"-I finished today's work early, so I came here to see how the new guy you told me about doing. And I also wanted to say hi to you, of course."

At first glance, Shura appeared somewhat like an adult humanoid male figure who was neither gaunt nor overly muscular. He was wearing quite exquisite clothing that only the most prestigious cloth-makers of the Sorcerer Empire could make - quite fitting for someone of Shura's position and heritage - but his actual physical appearance was an enormous contrast to that; his skin was light gray and almost corpse-like, the entirety of his eyes was pitch black except for his vividly red pupils, his messy short hair was somehow even darker than his eyes were, and his face appeared to be covered with a skull-shaped bone mask that covered everything except for his eyes and his lower jaw.

Except that such "mask" wasn't a mask at all, it was his actual face.

Nobody would be blamed for assuming that the being known as Shura was one of the undead, although he wasn't one.

In front of the sitting Shura, there was a roughly one-meter wide mirror that wasn't reflecting his appearance, but rather, it was showing what was currently transpiring several miles away, in a particular place of a country that lies at the northwestern end of the supercontinent.

"What's the name of this country again? The one where the new guy you've told me about is currently in? Agrande?"

This Shura individual was one of the precious few that Ainz decided to trust with the knowledge of the low-level player that arrived on this side of the supercontinent.

"It's Argland, actually." Said Ainz to Shura as a correction. "The Argland Council State, one of the co-"

"Countries that the Tsaindorcus guy rules over, yeah that part I'm aware of."

Shura not only called Ainz an "old man" moments before, but he also dared to interrupt the sorcerer emperor just now as well. Anyone else would already be on their way to the chambers of Neuronist Painkill for such behavior, but again, Shura is the ultimate exception.

"Have you been using the mirror for this a lot as of late?"

"Several times throughout this week, yeah."

"Remember what I told you before? I have no intention of spying on my fellow player."

"Yeah, I get it. That way when you two finally meet, you won't have to lie to him when you tell him that you weren't keeping tabs on him as if you were some sort of final anime villain." Shura allowed himself to chuckle after saying that. "That is why I made myself sure to be alone when using the mirror. I doubt he would ask me such a thing if we ever meet, so I won't have to lie."

So Shura will be the one keeping tabs on Rhemurus, that way if Ainz is curious about something regarding the human player he can ask Shura about it. This way Ainz can be up to date about what his fellow player has been doing and still be honest when saying that he in particular never spied on him.

Very shrewd, just like always. That is Shura's nature after all.

"Tell me then, has Rhemurus grown stronger?"

"As of late, he has been hanging around with some humans that actively look for beef with native monsters stronger than them. He has been holding by himself alright, considering how weak he's supposed to be at this point."

"So, he's still weak, then?"

"His limit still seems to be 3rd-tier spells, so yes, pretty weak."

Weak by Nazarick standards, obviously.

- Of course, I had no expectations that Rhemurus would miraculously reach very high levels in such a short amount of time.

But as curious as Ainz was, he still wanted to avoid interfering too much unless the human of interest was in great peril. Speaking of which-

"Have you spotted anything else? Is Tsaindorcus also trailing his movements?"

"Nah, that overgrown lizard hasn't been anywhere near this guy. Rather, he's being secretly trailed by some other humans."

"Oh? Have those other humans discovered his true nature?"

"Mmm, maybe? I doubt they know what a player is, but they do have their eye on him."

"Do you think they pose a threat to Rhemurus? These other humans who are spying on him, I mean."

"Hard to tell, but the particular human that is currently trailing him is quite a small fry, I know because his invisibility spell is easily bypassed by my own [See the Unseen] invocation after I cast it on the mirror, but it appears that Rhemurus himself is not aware of it yet."

An invocation is a skill that works somewhat like an arcane spell-like ability that requires the user to focus the dark energies that suffuse their soul into either an attack, defense or some other miscellaneous ability. [See the Unseen] in particular, is a least-grade invocation that allows the user to see through magical invisibility.

- So the nearby natives of this world are already showing interest in him. This is something I anticipated.

But if he was honest with himself, Ainz only cares about the human player. What the other people of the council state think of or do about him means absolutely nothing.

- Am I being too distant? Should I be more proactive about this?

With his bony fingers rubbing his spiky chin, Ainz began to reconsider his decision to not interfere in Rhemurus' life in this world for the time being.

There was absolutely NOTHING stopping Ainz from simply ordering a hanzo to discreetly bring the human player to him and explain to Rhemurus his situation to try to earn his trust. And the more he waits, the greater the chances of the human player growing attached to the culture and people of a rival country.

What if by the time both he and the human officially meet without any charades, Rhemurus already decided that the sorcerer emperor is someone who should never be trusted? Would he be right with the thought of using high-level charm spells to simply brainwash a fellow player into obeying him?

"This Rhemurus guy is really taking up space in your head, eh old man?" Said Shura as he took notice of how pensive the emperor was.

"Ah...you see Shura, I don't want to make the same mistakes I did when I first came into contact with another player."

"But this puny human is nothing like the ba'al, you have like no reason to be wary of him or any alliances he might make in this world."

"It's not about wariness, it's about what has been plaguing me ever since I came to this world."

"Oh, you mean..." Shura remembers the tales he heard from the emperor way back when he was a little kid, tales about a player who was alone, then found himself in a family of trusted comrades, and then was alone again. "...you, are you really considering the possibility of seeing this other player as an equal to you? If the ba'al is not your equal, if Keno is definitely not your equal, then how can this new guy be?"

"It's not about...forget it. It's my fault for constantly forgetting that you were born in this world."

Shura wanted to say something, but he immediately sewed his mouth shut for he knew very well that there was no point in arguing against the sorcerer emperor when it came to this particular topic.

- Are you still beating yourself up for that? Come on old man, how am I going to understand if you never tell me?

Both still had things that they wanted to tell each other, but at this point, both knew better than to go around in endless circles.

"In any case, I think there's nothing new that will happen today, so I will turn off this mirror and leave your room."

Shura could feel the tension rising, and both he and the emperor were quite exhausted, so it was better to call it a day.

"Take the mirror if you want, I think it's good that you are keeping tabs on Rhemurus for me so I would ask you to keep doing that. Assuming it won't interfere with the rest of your responsibilities."

"It doesn't interfere with my duties at all. And I already moved other mirrors of remote viewing into my castle, so I'm good."

With nothing left to say to each other, Shura used his rod of teleportation to leave the emperor's room, leaving Ainz alone to contemplate and put in order his swirling thoughts.

[A few days later, the Argland Council State]

- Mmm, I reckon this must be Breizen.

After some days of traveling through his assigned route, the likran recruiter Galor'arn finally reached the walled city his superior made a special request for him to visit.

"Alright, here goes."

The truth was that Galor'arn was a little bit nervous since this was his very first time interacting with a race he didn't even know existed until a few days ago.

Since throughout the history of the council state not a single human had either been invited to join the standing army before nor had shown any interest in joining the army either, Galor'arn will be the very first military face that has ever stepped anywhere near the city gates of the human city.

- Will I make a good impression? What if I scare them? Are they feeble of body and mind, hence why they had never joined the army before? Or, are they one of those races that are extremely aggressive by nature? So innately aggressive and violent that they're no fit for disciplined forces? Should I overpower them into submission if they attack me? Or should I flee?

These questions were swirling inside the likran's head, he genuinely didn't know what would happen. But he had his orders, and it was his duty to follow them.

Once he stepped right in front of the northeastern gate, Galor'arn spoke out in a loud voice.

"I am an army recruiter of the capital! May I come in!?"

He was always holding a large decorated pole with the flag of Argland as a symbol of his position during his recruiting journeys, that way the ones who look at him immediately know that he is who he claims to be.

It was most likely thanks to that that he only had to wait a few seconds before the gate opened to the sight of armored primates of the likes the likran had never seen before.

"Greetings." He told the human guards Ureste and Akorian.

"Hello. So, you say you're a...recruiter?"

"May we ask what for?"

- Ah, right. I guess they never imagined that an army recruiter would ever come knocking.

"Of course, I was sent from Guraxus. I'm looking to recruit a particular individual, perhaps you noble guards know of this person? I was informed that it's an odd-looking refugee from an unknown land."

Right after the likran said that the faces of the human guards displayed clear shock.

"Oh...that person..."

"Yes, we know who that is."

- Judging by their reactions, this refugee must be quite a noteworthy individual after all.

But...is this person someone they admire, or someone they fear?

"Would you give us a moment? I will use [World Message] to contact our leader."

"Gladly. Take your time, I'll wait here."

Akorian made contact with Lord Erodel and, while they all expected that it would take at least a few seconds to inform the chieftain of the current situation regarding the unexpected guest from the capital, the guard was taken aback by the fact that the human leader was eagerly waiting for Akorian to contact him.

So not long after that was when the guard dispelled [World Message] and informed the likran recruiter about what he heard from Erodel.

"It appears...our leader was expecting you today."

"Really...?"

"Yes, he will bring the person you're asking for here."

- So this human leader knew that I was going to arrive today in particular, huh.

Galor'arn assumed that this human leader must be some kind of powerful diviner - a wizard that specializes in the [Divination] school of arcane magic - or a seer - a priest that is granted glimpses of the future by whoever is its patron deity - which wouldn't be surprising since pretty much every single leader of every average-sized or bigger city in the Argland Council State is a capable spellcaster. Only extremely rural communities like small villages or towns don't have spellcasters as leading figures.

"Mmm, well that does help speed things up a bit."

Finishing things fast is good considering how dire the need for more soldiers is becoming.

- The grand councilor Gessenvult must likely have already spoken with the leader of this city beforehand. All things considered.

A logical assumption, despite being wrong.

Gessenvult didn't speak with Erodel, the human chieftain was simply following the instructions of the letter that the Platinum Dragon Lord had left behind for him so many days ago.

"Look, here they come." Said Ureste, pointing at the approaching individuals who were quite the exotic sight for the likran's eyes.

Galor'arn had seen primate races before - ogres and trolls, in particular, were among the most numerous primates in the army after the true giants - and he also saw the occasional bugbear recruit as well, so using his preexisting knowledge about the primate races he knew, he assumed that the human with the long beard was the older one - most likely the one they called Lord Erodel - while the other one walking alongside must be the refugee that the Obsidian Dragon told him about since his looks were nothing like the looks of the human guards nor the human elder.

Something that immediately caught the likran's attention was the sorry state of the broken armor the refugee was wearing, which made Galor'arn wonder why that strange human was wearing such a thing since the two gate guards right here had excellent armor in pristine condition.

Even more noteworthy, however, was the actual physical appearance of the human himself.

- Why is his skin so...pale? Those crimson eyes surrounded by black pigment...is that individual some sort of human variant?

If he were allowed to guess, Galor'arn would have even assumed that the person of interest was a [Deathtouched]; terrifying creatures of legend that were said to either be blood descendants of an undead - somehow - or were the result of a necromantic ritual that either by accident or on purpose transformed a mortal being into a half-undead creature.

- Regardless, he must be the one I was sent here to scout.

The moment that Erodel and the refugee got close enough to the likran, Galor'arn noticed that the pale human was quite surprised to look at him since his reddish eyes widened quite a bit.

Could it be that the human refugee, likewise, never saw a likran before? If so, then both he and Galor'arn were in a somewhat similar boat. But yet again he was wrong, Rhemurus - Tanaka Ito - definitely knew what dracotaurs were back in Yggdrasil, he simply had no idea that such a powerful race existed here in the new world.

And at that same moment, the pale-skinned human was telling himself how obvious it was the fact that; if dragons and dragonkin existed in this world, then why wouldn't dracotaurs exist as well?

- How many times will I keep failing to grasp the obvious without needing to have it shown right to my face? Let me guess...this world even have world-class enemies and world-class items too?

Rhemurus was half-right; there were indeed world-class items in this world since it was a world-class item that was responsible for bringing him to the new world in the first place, but if there were world-class enemies, nobody could know for sure. At least not yet.

"Greetings, my name is Galor'arn, I'm a wandering recruiter of the standing army of the Argland Council State."

The reptilian individual was holding a large flag pole on his left arm. His body was covered in what seemed to be brigandine custom-made to be worn by a dracotaur, on the upright section of his body was a tight belt where a somewhat large sheath was storing an equally large sword at the left, and there was a bag with miscellaneous items on the right. And on the large lizard section of his body, there was a big heavy-looking backpack with even more things and items stored inside it.

Said dracotaur spoke while making eye contact with the player, so Rhemurus instinctively knew that it was him who this recruiter was talking to.

"Um...hello. My name is Rhemurus, I'm a refugee from far away."

"Then you really are who I'm looking for."

"M-me?" He said as he pointed one of his fingers at his face.

"Yes."

"What did I tell you?" Said Erodel to the human player. "The winds of fate are blowing your way today."

"I...guess so."

Earlier that morning, when Rhemurus woke up and prepared to join the berserkers in their daily hunts, he saw Erodel waiting for him in the inn's dining area sitting at the same table he usually sat at, just like that time when he was invited to the hunting games.

He felt something was off. Before walking up to the chieftain he used [Message] to contact Solangus and inform him that he may not be able to join them today, something that the berserkers were fine with, then met with Erodel to ask him if everything was alright.

To his surprise, the only thing that Erodel did was chat with him. A mundane conversation about everyday life in the city that made the player wonder what was going on, and when he finally decided to straight up ask the chieftain why he was simply talking with him about if he liked it in Breizen and things like that, Erodel simply said that he "had a good feeling about today" or something like that.

And not even a minute ago Erodel was contacted and asked Rhemurus if he would humor his request of walking out to the closest city gate with him. And now here he is.

"If you need anything, you know where to find me. I wish you luck."

With nothing else to be said, Erodel waved goodbye and walked back to the central district. His role in Tsaindorcus' plan was almost over, only one small step remained, so he felt a huge weight starting to leave his aged shoulders.

"So, a recruiter for the army? Why were you looking for me?"

"You remember the hunting games of this year?"

"Yes! I do."

"Then you also remember who was overseeing it."

"High marshal Barakazmith, the Shield Dragon Lord...oh."

Of course, of course! Not only in the human city, pretty much all the people who saw him as the center of the terrible conclusion of the hunting games were bound to spread rumors about this human outsider who made the bulette lords act like rabid beasts.

Rhemurus himself didn't notice back during the closing ceremony, but some individuals from all other competing races approached some of the human participants to ask them about him, so pretty much every single person who attended the hunting games this year was also aware of the existence of this antinatural druid who went from a few 1st-tier spells to the 3rd-tier of divine magic in less than three days.

"So, the high marshal himself told you about me?"

"It was one of our grand councilors, actually."

"Ah, the other dragon lord who accompanied the high marshal during the third day of the games?"

"Oh no, that was grand councilor Suveria. The one who commanded me to look for you was the grand councilor Gessenvult."

- Gessenvult, I believe that one is the Obsidian Dragon, if I recall correctly.

"So if you don't mind, I would like to go through the initial application filters since being recommended is only the first step of many. IF you are interested in joining this country's army, of course."

Joining an army...this a decision that definitely shouldn't be taken lightly.

"Do I have to decide now?"

"I was expecting to receive an answer before the mid-day. I have several other settlements I must visit, you see."

"Of course, just give me five seconds."

- I clearly remember that I wanted to earn a living by adventuring in this world. Not that I could do anything else anyway, and hunting with the berserkers doesn't really pay that much nor give me enough EXP.

His rigid nature as a player considered, he should keep focusing on leveling-up for the time being, especially since he still hasn't leveled-up even once after he obtained his first level in [Arcane Hierophant]. The hunts with the berserkers during these past days just haven't been against any particularly dangerous game, at least not when compared to a froghemoth.

He believed that a surge could be close, but no matter how hard he tried nor how much he concentrated within, he simply could never tell how close he was to the next level-up. He can never tell without a console exactly how much EXP is needed.

This is yet another opportunity that he can't let pass by, so without any hesitation, after the five seconds were up he said-

"Yes! I'm interested!"

When he finally gave that assertive answer, the guards Ureste and Akorian who were standing nearby had strange expressions on their faces. It was a strange combination of confusion born from the fact that someone was so eager to risk his life for a country that wasn't his own mixed in with guilty relief for the idea that this strange and almost-terrifying individual was going to leave their city and perhaps never return, even though both of them knew that feeling that way wasn't a nice thing.

"Alright, I like the sound of determination in your voice."

This is the part when a recruiter would take out the notes that had all the appropriate questions one had to make at any potential future soldier, but someone as experienced as Galor'arn already knew every single question from memory; his brain was his notes.

"First question then. What is your current profession?"

"I, um, I guess you could say I'm a hunter with a local berserker group."

"What?" Interrupted one of the nearby guards. "You have been hanging out with those freaks!?"

The other guard didn't say anything, but the semi-disgusted expression on his face was evidence that he likewise felt the same. Any guilt they both felt about the fact that they were relieved at the idea of Rhemurus leaving forever was now gone.

"Uh, perhaps we could continue with the questions closer to the road?"

Galor'arn felt the awkwardness in the air so he offered to continue their business away from these two guards.

"S-sure, I'll follow you."

Both the likran and the human player walked away a fair distance from the city gates, and once they were far enough to be outside of the guards' line of sight, the likran buried the flag pole on the earth beneath and continued with the questions.

"Alright, so you say your current profession is a hunter, and with berserkers, no less?"

"Yes, though I don't have that much experience in that particular field, I've only been at it for a bit less than two weeks so far."

"Just to verify, you mean berserkers that use [Frenzy], and not the barbarians that use [Rage], right?"

"Um...huh...what...?"

- Berserkers and barbarians aren't the same thing in this world!?

"The physical enhancing ability that your hunting comrades use, is it [Frenzy] or [Rage]? I ask because those unfamiliar with both types of savage warriors usually mistake one for the other."

"Ah. In that case, they use [Frenzy]."

"Mmm, quite impressive. For you to be able to fight alongside users of [Frenzy] and don't die in the middle of their chaotic madness."

"More impressive than if they used [Rage]?"

"I imagine that wherever you come from didn't have barbarians?"

"Where I come from we had berserkers, but they were colloquially known as barbarians as well. Both words were used interchangeably."

"I see..." The likran began to rub his scaly chin with one of his clawed fingers. "What a strange land you come from."

"If I'm allowed to ask, is my lack of knowledge about barbarians something that would negatively affect my chances of joining the army?"

"You already know how to fight alongside berserkers, so if you do join us and are assigned to a unit with barbarians in it, then all the better. Barbarians are easier to fight alongside when you compare them to berserkers."

"That's...good to know."

"Also, since you're a hunter, you already have experience with prolonged walks without rest, tracking enemies, finding food in the wilderness, and group combat. All things in your favor."

"That's even better."

"Yes, it is. Next question. Would your fellow hunters be inconvenienced if you leave them for a considerable amount of time?"

The actual standard question that comes at this point is to know how many living relatives the potential recruit currently has that depend on him because no small amount of soldiers have elder parents, spouses, and/or children that depend on them.

However, this human was specifically stated to be a refugee from a faraway place that just recently arrived in the council state, so the chances of him starting a family in such a short amount of time were quite low. Galor'arn instead asked if his closest comrades as of now are individuals that depend on him.

"Oh, definitely not. They are excellent at what they do, I simply asked them to tag along and they let me! If anything, I'm the one that would be lost now without their aid, and I genuinely hope to be able to repay them in full one day."

"Ah, so you're someone with a loyal personality."

"Is that good?"

"That's very good indeed."

A selfish individual wouldn't feel the need to repay others. Selfish individuals are deluded into believing that everyone else exists only for their convenience, so they don't feel a need to repay anything they receive since - to them - it's only natural for them to receive everything and give nothing in return.

However, an ugly truth of the world is that exceptional individuals more often than not are prideful and selfish as a result of their talented nature that places them above their peers, while the ones with humble and loyal personalities fall into the unexceptional category since their relative weakness leaves no room for pride nor overbearing self-confidence.

There are indeed powerful beings that have humble personalities in the new world, but those are rare and far between.

- So is this refugee a loyal individual because he's quite weak?

The truth is that a prideful and selfish personality doesn't automatically exclude someone from joining the army, it simply means that the exceptional recruit has yet to be humbled by the even stronger giants and dragons that form part of the upper echelons of the army, who in turn are humbled by the might of the high marshal, who in turn is humbled by the dragon councilors, who in turn are humbled by the Platinum Dragon Lord.

Rather, someone with a loyal personality is simply less troublesome to deal with overall and saves a lot of effort for the high officers since there's no need to break down someone who's already humbled.

"Very well, next question. Do you suffer from a disability of any sort?"

Even if someone looks strong and healthy on the outside, no small amount of inborn ailments in the new world are capable of affecting someone without showing external symptoms. And even if divine spells that can cure diseases do exist in this world, for some mysterious reason, not even those spells can heal individuals who were born suffering from some genetic disability.

A potential recruit could indeed feel like lying to a recruiter, but it turns out that; carefully hidden behind Galor'arn's mithril brigandine there's a magic necklace that was enchanted with a modified and boosted version of the 2nd-tier divine priest spell [Zone of Truth], a spell that emanates an invisible 20-foot-radius dome that prevents anyone inside it from telling any deliberate lies.

Under normal circumstances this mind-affecting spell would also automatically alert those inside the dome that they are being enchanted with a constant magical effect that forces them to tell the truth, something liars can use to choose not to speak, hence why the necklace instead uses a modified version that doesn't alerts anyone of the enchantment.

"This body of mine does not suffer from any disability that I'm aware of." Said the human while under the effect of the [Zone of Truth] spell.

"Very good. Next question. Are you allergic to any specific form of grain, seed, produce, or animal protein?"

Soldiers during long marches and campaigns eat meals and rations that are prepared with standardized ingredients, so it would be quite troublesome if a recruit couldn't eat one or more of the things that said food is composed of, and it would be a logistical nightmare to try and accommodate for the diet of individuals with allergies.

"I don't think I'm allergic to anything in particular, though there are many foods that I haven't had the opportunity to try out yet."

"That's another good thing in your favor. Alright then, next question..."

Galor'arn continued asking Rhemurus a wide plethora of questions. Their conversation kept going on for several minutes until the final question finally came.

"Alright, things are looking good for you so far, but keep in mind that this final question is by far the most important. Whether you enter the army or not depends mostly on this last question I'm about to make."

"Yes, I understand."

"Very well. Final question. What are your abilities?"

This specific question was left for last because the army higher-ups didn't want the recruiters to skip any mundane-sounding but still important question in favor of speeding up the recruitment of a particularly amazing or talented individual who made a glowing impression on them because of some exceptional ability.

"My abilities..."

Rhemurus paused for a bit, then asked the recruiter something.

"Can I ask you a question of my own first, if that's okay? It's related to the one you just made me."

Galor'arn was now quite curious. This person was gladly answering every single question he made before, only now is he putting some sort of obstacle. But it didn't matter, as long as he was in the area-of-effect of [Zone of Truth] then the human wouldn't be able to lie, even if he wanted to.

"Yes, go ahead."

"Regardless if I'm accepted into the army or not, could you keep the true nature of my abilities a secret from the other humans in Breizen? Rather, if you would just not inform the other humans about it, would that be a selfish request?"

"That would depend. Is the true nature of your abilities hazardous to others? If so, then I'm afraid your application to join the army wouldn't only be rejected, but you would have to be taken to the capital for a full appraisal and, if deemed necessary, containment. For your security and that of those around you."

"No, nothing like that. I hid my true nature mainly to protect myself from the other humans."

The likran went from curious to confused, so much so that he instinctively crossed his arms before asking Rhemurus to elaborate.

"You may be aware that the leader of Breizen and his immediate family are the only arcane spellcasters in the human city, it's a mark of royalty for these people's culture."

Galor'arn actually wasn't aware. He was only sent here to scout the individual in front of him and wasn't told anything else, but it was an interesting fact nonetheless since arcane magic wasn't exactly rare in Argland, but wizards and sorcerers were still less common than clerics and druids in this particular country.

"Because of that, I made the personal decision of hiding the fact that I, too, can use the same type of magic that select members of the human royal family can use, mainly because I didn't want any unnecessary attention thrown my way."

"Ah, I see. So you're an arcane caster who hid his abilities because you feared the potential social repercussions that your abilities could cause."

"That's pretty much it."

"It's alright, I won't tell any other humans about it-"

Not like Galor'arn even interacts with other humans constantly in the first place.

"-though I'm a bit curious. How did you manage to participate in the hunting games if you were hiding your spellcasting abilities?"

Perhaps this human is a magic warrior who relied entirely on his physical prowess to hide his magic or something like that, is what Galor'arn assumed. Or perhaps this human is a practitioner of the strange ability known as Martial Spells? That would be an amazing ability to have if you are a soldier.

But he definitely wasn't expecting the answer he did receive.

"I was using my druid spells. I still do, while hunting with the berserkers."

"...what...?"

Did the likran hear that right? He doubts his ears would start failing all of a sudden.

"Excuse me, Rhemurus, but could you repeat that one more time?"

"Repeat what part?"

"What you just said right now, about how you managed to hide your arcane abilities."

"Uh...I managed to hide the fact I can use arcane magic by using druid magic instead. I can use both arcane and divine magic simultaneously. Those are my abilities"

Even if there was no [Zone of Truth] spell active right now, Rhemurus would still gladly reveal such a thing to the army recruiter without any hesitation now that the dracotaur promised to not tell the other humans.

If there was ever a time to show his worth to someone, it was now.

"You...you're a dual-caster, then!?"

"I believe that's the appropriate term, yes."

"A dual-caster...by Gromsh..."

Gromsh was one of the players remembered as the Eight Gods of Conquest - or Greed Kings, depending on who you ask - he was an orc berserker who used his massive two-handed weapon to ravage everything in his path.

He, alongside the dwarf fighter Duerro and the dragonoid paladin Hamutba were among the most revered Gods of Conquest on the council state army, and their names are usually invoked quite frequently by their adherents, even though the Obsidian Dragon and the Wyrm Dragon are the official patrons deities of the standing army.

"So...which is your primary system, then? Are you an arcane spellcaster that learned druid spells as a side, or the opposite?"

As seen with both the Blue Sky Dragon Lord and the Diamond Dragon Lord, dual-casters of the new world usually have one primary tier magic system that encompasses most of their levels - druid levels in the case of Suveria and spiritual levels in the case of Omnaadsence - and it's also the case with tri-casters like Fluder who is an arcane wizard first and foremost.

Only the exceptions among the exceptions of the dual-casters can use two systems with equal potency, exceptions that individuals like Galor'arn simply did not know about. Like the night lich Banezeri Anchas of Corpus of the Abyss, for example, who could use 7th-tier spells of the arcane system and 7th-tier spells of another system with equal proficiency.

"I don't have a primary system. Both my arcane magic and divine magic are perfectly balanced, I can use 3rd-tier spells of both systems and the amount of spells is the same in each, as well."

Rhemurus was such an exception among exceptions, it turns out.

The likran simply couldn't believe his ears. He even began to wonder if his [Zone of Truth] necklace was even working properly despite double checking with his appraisal spells plenty of times every single day of his recruitment journey as it's the standard maintenance protocol.

"Let's see then...the bare minimum of spells a 3rd-tier spellcaster can use is 45. Since you reached the 3rd-tier in two separate systems, then is it safe to say that you know more than 90 spells in total?"

"96 spells, that's the total amount I know. At least for now."

"For now? Your words make it sound like you're confident that you have even more room to grow."

"Because I'm certain I do! I know for a fact that I can keep learning even more spells and reach even higher tiers."

The human said all of that without stuttering, with eyes full of confidence, and solid certainty in his voice.

- Just...just what are you...? Are you an anomaly among the humans, or are individuals like you something that commonly appears among your kind from time to time?

Galor'arn didn't say those words aloud because it could give the impression that he was talking to an object, rather than to a person, which would both give a bad impression on the human and a bad name to the army he represents.

"Alright, I believe I have enough information to make a decision."

"Can I ask how I did?"

"In a minute, just let me communicate with my immediate superior. To be sure."

Rhemurus would be the very first human in history to join Argland's army, so Galor'arn couldn't make this decision lightly.

So without any ado, Galor'arn used [World Message] to communicate with his immediate superior the Obsidian Dragon. He informed the grand councilor everything he just learned about the human while Rhemurus just looked at the dracotaur with expectant eyes.

And after a few minutes which felt like an eternity to the player, the recruiter dispelled [World Message] to give Rhemurus the news.

"My superior told me that, since you're an extremely unusual case, I should apply just one more extra filter to this application. If you pass it, you will be accepted into our army."

Normally, being able to use 3rd-tier spells wouldn't justify accepting a human into the army since, in such a magically-inclined country like the council state, the amount of 3rd-tier spellcasters was relatively high, and many races that surpass humans in the physical department are also able to use 3rd-tier spells or even higher tiers.

However, being able to use 3rd-tier spells of two systems - and the potential of reaching even greater heights on said systems as well - does increase the chances of being accepted regardless of a race's physical aptitude, but just because one is a capable spellcaster doesn't exactly mean that one would be a good soldier as well, hence why this upcoming filter will be quite important.

"You and I will have a mock duel. If I conclude that you are a competent fighter, then your position in our armed forces will be guaranteed. Any objections?"

- A mock duel with a dracotaur, huh.

==Author's Note==

Hey! It has been a while!

I'm aware that some may be curious about where have I been all these months, and if I start to explain stuff in detail I feel like this section will drag on forever, but concerning this fic in particular all I can say for certain is that it was mainly about my journey for quality improvement.

You see, I already had this and the following chapters ready for a good while, but after I crossed paths online with a certain someone - a true master of the writing craft - I began to learn many things from this someone that I believe will help this story improve for the better.

What came after were plenty of revisions and improvements to the story both big and small, and before we knew it several months went by. There were times when I even felt like cleaning the board and starting this fic all over! lol

But after cringing at the 19 chapters of subpar quality I already published, I believe there is enough stuff I can salvage. And with a new year on the horizon, I decided to kick myself in the back to finally stop stagnating and publish something already.

That said, the main course and theme of the story have stayed the same, so hopefully the following chapters won't feel too out of place when compared to the ones that have already been published.

One last thing; as a way to ensure that I can go back to a consistent uploading schedule and not disappear again for almost a year when I need to polish some chapters, I felt it would be best if I upload once per week instead of twice per week. That way I will be able to somewhat guarantee that I will have something ready to upload.

I think this is all I have to say for now, so thanks a lot for sticking by this amateurish story of mine to this point, and I will see you in the next Author's Note.