Pshhk!
Aaron drove the tip of the sword in and gave it a slight twist. The boar's last breath left its body.
Blood seeped from the tough wound without spraying—exactly why Ler had told him to stab that spot.
[EXP +15!]
A line of text flashed on his status panel.
[Ability Sheet]
Innate Ability: [Player]
Overall Level: Lv2
EXP Bar: 95/100
Classes:
Basic Class: Genius Lv1 (Warrior, Priestess/Priest)
Intermediate Class: Sword Saint Lv1
Skill Points: 0
Passive Skills: Item Box, Slashing Boost (1%)
Active Skills:
Warrior – Instant Reflection, Fourfold Slash of Light, Quick Slash
Magic – Light Wounds Healing (1st Tier)
...
Aaron glanced at the status panel only he could see. Just 5 more EXP and he would level up. The speed was much faster than he had expected.
And all he had done was kill a few beasts.
That was only natural, though. His level was simply too low. As his level rose, it would surely become harder and harder to level up.
"Hmph." The satisfied look that had just been on Lizzie's face vanished.
She had thought Aaron had taken her words to heart. Clearly, he had not.
Aaron pretended not to hear.
In this other world, once a human reached level 29, they stepped into the hero realm and were counted among the top-tier powerhouses of human nations.
However—
No matter how gifted, and no matter how hard they worked, the human race's limit was around level 40, the level known as "Extraordinary."
That was no longer a matter of talent or effort, but of racial limits.
Even the four "Elderly" humans who had reached that level each had, to varying degrees, stopped acting fully human in some way in order to achieve it.
And for Aaron, level 40 or so was merely a starting point.
That alone meant
that when he eventually came into conflict with the Great Tomb of Nazarick, there would not be a single human capable of standing as his equal.
Back in the capital, right after transmigrating, he had agonized over whether to take a magic class first or a warrior class, instead of focusing on one branch. This had been part of the reason.
Without any companions, a pure caster build or a pure warrior build would be far too easy for people from the Great Tomb to hard-counter.
"You're a lot smoother than when you started."
"But let me remind you, monsters are different from ordinary beasts."
Ler grinned when he saw Aaron's neat, efficient movements. He hoisted the now-lifeless boar again and began dressing it quickly.
"There's always a process of getting used to things." Aaron smiled slightly, picked up the ceramic jar he had borrowed from Nfirea, and poured all the water from his waterskin into it.
Then
he set the jar over the campfire.
The jar had originally been meant for storing herbs, but it was free for the moment, so Aaron had asked to use it as a kettle.
"You really seem to like drinking hot water," Nfirea said, watching Aaron's actions. He could not help commenting when he remembered how, for several days in a row, Aaron had always boiled clear river water before drinking it.
"Oh, it's not that I'm particularly fond of it."
Faced with Nfirea's curious question, Aaron sat back down cross-legged and smiled. "It's more like… a tradition from back home."
Nfirea gave a small nod of understanding and did not ask further.
In this world, different regions had different beliefs and customs. It was best to avoid prying into someone's customs or faith.
At present,
the dominant religion in the various countries was belief in the Six Great Gods.
Humanity in this world truly did owe a debt to those first players to descend.
In the anime and light novels, most of the story unfolded within the territories of human nations.
To the eye, the human lands looked extensive, but in truth the continent was vast. Humanity was merely huddled in the northwest corner.
The center of the continent was occupied by demi-humans and heteromorphic races, where humans were nothing more than slaves—or food.
Whether demi-human or heteromorphic,
those races far surpassed humans in lifespan and level cap. Humans were a short-lived race with limited potential.
By rights,
a weak race like humanity should have gone extinct long ago as time rolled on, with no chance of ever holding a corner of the northwest or even surviving there.
And in fact, they nearly had. Six hundred years ago, humanity was on the brink of extinction.
Then, at that moment, the first wave of players known as the Six Great Gods descended.
With overwhelming, unmatched power, the Six Great Gods saved humanity and relocated them to the northwest corner of the continent.
That was why all the major human nations worshiped the Six Great Gods.
Unfortunately,
aside from the one called the God of Death, the other five had all been human. Their short lifespans meant they all died within a century.
The sole surviving God of Death was later killed in battle five hundred years ago, when the Eight Greed Kings descended and clashed with him.
Compared to the Six Great Gods,
the Eight Greed Kings fit the stereotype of players far better. Their very name spoke volumes about how they had ravaged the continent.
According to records from various races, even though most of the Eight Greed Kings were demi-humans and sometimes even heteromorphs, they had a strange fondness for humans.
As a result, even now,
there was surprisingly little in human societies that depicted the Eight Greed Kings as evil, despite their "villainous" nature.
"Six hundred years ago, the Six Great Gods descended. Five hundred years ago, the Eight Greed Kings appeared. Two hundred years ago, large numbers of Demon Gods showed up, and the Thirteen Heroes rose… plus other, lesser-known cases that likely involved players arriving on the central continent."
"And then, in the future, there's the Great Tomb of Nazarick."
A series of thoughts flashed through Aaron's mind.
Roughly every hundred years, players had appeared in this world.
Based on that pattern, the True Dragon Lords had probably realized that new players would be arriving soon as well.
"Compared to the earlier, sudden descents with limited information,"
"this time the True Dragon Lords should already be prepared. But unlike the Six Great Gods, the Eight Greed Kings, or the single player among the Thirteen Heroes,"
"the overall power of the Great Tomb of Nazarick will be far beyond that of the previous three waves."
Aaron fell into deep thought, and another idea surfaced in his mind.
"If I could get the True Dragon Lords to clash with Nazarick ahead of time, maybe I could reap the benefits as a bystander."
Even if the True Dragon Lords lost in the end, that would only be to Aaron's advantage, never his detriment, while also helping consume Nazarick's foundations and much of its strength.