Four Years Before the New Calendar.
Kingdom of Re-Estize.
Capital City.
This was the heart of the kingdom. Yet, aside from the main thoroughfares, the streets were paved with dull gray stone bricks, riddled with tiny cracks and signs of corrosion.
The surrounding buildings were predominantly one or two-story European-style structures, exuding an ancient atmosphere.
However, as one drew closer to the city center, both the streets and buildings became noticeably cleaner and more orderly. The air was fresh, but the surroundings and the bustling ambiance hinted to Lyle that this was no ordinary world.
Ding Ding Ding—
Clang—
The continuous sound of metal clashing echoed through the streets, caused by the weapons and armor carried by adventurers.
Street vendors called out to passersby from both sides of the road, while shop signs gleamed faintly under the sunlight, adding to the lively atmosphere.
Luxurious carriages moved with difficulty through the crowded streets, yet they never halted. Most people willingly made way for them. Among the crowd, many were clad in armor, some wore wizard robes that made them stand out, while a few donned colorful, eccentric attire that seemed odd.
Altogether, it created a vibrant and diverse scene.
Over the past few days, the capital of the Kingdom of Re-Estize had become packed with citizens from all corners of the realm. The bustling atmosphere raised the spirits of most people—though not everyone shared that sentiment.
Lyle Vaelcroft, dressed in a worn-out long-sleeved shirt and gray pants, blended into the crowd without drawing attention. His mood, however, mirrored the drab colors of his clothing: somber and anxious.
Besides confusion, a pervasive sense of fear clung to him. Unlike the cheerful citizens around him, Lyle felt far from at ease. After all, he had just arrived in this world yesterday.
Still, he had quickly pieced together the situation—this was the world of Overlord, the future site of Nazarick, the Great Tomb of the Undead.
And that terrified him.
He recalled stories of others who had supposedly crossed into a real-world version of Overlord during the era of the game Yggdrasil, where they could grind, spend money, and acquire numerous world items and rare classes. Then, with unmatched power, they descended into the new world, perhaps even joining Nazarick.
His case was different. Lyle had been directly thrown into the fantasy world itself. If he had been given a chance to build up power beforehand, he wouldn't have felt nearly as frightened.
The only slight comfort he found was the fact that the current timeline was still several years before the arrival of Nazarick. How could he be so sure?
Because of the Royal Tournament—the Imperial Trial.
According to future events, the strongest warrior of the kingdom, Gazef Stronoff, would win this tournament and be granted the title of Warrior Captain. And today marked the decisive duel between Gazef Stronoff and Brain Unglaus.
In other words, this tournament had drawn the attention of every adventurer and commoner in the kingdom, making the streets teeming with people.
Although Lyle had been an ordinary person before his arrival, his experience reading countless novels had helped him calm down quickly. After hearing about Gazef and Brain, along with learning of the Imperial Trial, he was able to deduce the current timeline.
The term "Four Years Before the New Calendar" wasn't a formal date used in this world. Rather, it was his own way of marking time based on theories proposed by content creators in his previous life. Since Nazarick was destined to dominate the world, the establishment of a new calendar was a given.
As for understanding the local language, the world had a universal translation system, a sort of world law. Regardless of the country or even the race, everyone could understand each other. According to Overlord, it was as if the entire world had consumed some magical translation plant.
Of course, while he could understand spoken language, reading was another matter entirely.
Lyle's clothes, made of coarse material, chafed against his skin, causing mild discomfort. But compared to his predicament, this was trivial. He didn't know why he had ended up here. One moment, he was lying in bed in his rented apartment, and the next, he was here.
It felt like one of those clichéd time-travel scenarios from novels he had read.
He couldn't help but complain inwardly and laugh at himself. After all, he had always been alone. An orphan with no family or friends—his sudden disappearance from the real world wouldn't matter to anyone.
Fortunately, the duel between Gazef and Brain had attracted such a large crowd that no one paid any attention to him. Compared to the adventurers in their bizarre, flamboyant attire, his modern sleepwear was hardly noticeable.
Realizing his situation, Lyle had gone to a shop to sell the only item he had brought with him from Earth: a gold enamel pendant around his neck. He managed to exchange it for three gold coins.
He had originally bought the pendant for his ex-girlfriend as a gift. However, before he could give it to her, they broke up, so he kept it. Now, it had become his ticket to survival.
The local currency was structured as follows:
169 copper coins = 13 silver coins = 1 gold coin
In addition to gold coins, there were also white gold coins, gem coins, and mithril coins.
The three gold coins he received were far more than the pendant's actual material value. The shopkeeper clearly valued the intricate enamel craftsmanship. In a world where craftsmanship was underdeveloped and heavily reliant on magic, such items were rare.
He knew that the shopkeeper could resell the pendant to some noble lady for dozens or even hundreds of times its price. But given his circumstances, Lyle wasn't in a position to haggle.
He spent five copper coins on a set of cheap clothes and one silver coin on a short sword. Afterward, he used five more copper coins to buy several pieces of black rye bread.
His remaining funds:
2 gold coins, 11 silver coins, 3 copper coins.
"Four years to go. Just relax… yeah, right!" he muttered bitterly.
Lyle pressed his left foot against the ground, trying to calm his nerves, but his heart remained uneasy.
Before his arrival, his main hobbies had been reading novels and watching anime, so he was well-acquainted with Overlord's storyline. He knew that four years might as well be four days—the destruction of the Kingdom of Re-Estize was inevitable.
Looking up at the grand, ancient castle built against the mountains in the distance, Lyle felt even more tense.
Would his identity as a transmigrator be enough to help him survive the coming storm?