Overlord: Welcome the Birth of the King

"Are you weaker than me?"

The unexpected tone of surprise in the black-haired boy's voice reached the thief's ears, filling him with both anger and astonishment.

Something was wrong with this boy.

He looked like a magic caster, but his strength was anything but weak.

His attack had been blocked effortlessly?

The thief's eyes widened in disbelief.

Bang!

Lyle stomped the ground and charged toward the thief without hesitation. There was no time for idle chatter.

"I'll Kill You, Boy!" the thief shouted in rage. Seeing Lyle rush toward him, he raised his left hand to his waist, pulling out a short dagger and hurling it toward his opponent.

Whoosh!

The sharp sound of the dagger slicing through the air echoed.

Lyle's sharp eyes quickly tracked the dagger's trajectory. With a swift swing of his short sword, he deflected the projectile.

However, the parry slowed his advance.

"Stealth!"

The thief uttered the spell in a low voice. In the dim environment, his figure began to blur, blending into the shadows.

Lyle immediately became vigilant, his eyes scanning his surroundings. But then, to his surprise, he noticed something.

'I see him.'

Instead of attacking, the thief was retreating—trying to flee.

'I can't let him escape!'

With that thought, Lyle raised his hand and shouted, "Magic Arrow!"

Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!

Three magical arrows formed mid-air and darted toward the fleeing thief with precision.

Hearing the whistling sound behind him, the thief had no choice but to stop and roll to the side to dodge the attack.

Taking advantage of the moment, Lyle closed the distance.

"Fourfold Slash!"

The short sword in Lyle's hand transformed into four streaks of light, slashing toward the thief.

Slash! Slash! Slash! Slash!

Four deep gashes opened across the thief's chest, and he let out a heart-wrenching scream.

But no sound traveled.

Due to the Silence spell, the scream was entirely suppressed.

"You... you..."

Bloodshot eyes filled with disbelief as the thief collapsed to the ground, drenched in blood. "How... impossible..."

Before he could finish, the thief's life ended.

[380 Experience Point Gained.]

"Hmm."

Breathing heavily, Lyle glanced at the lifeless body on the ground before letting out a sigh of relief.

Blood stained his clothes, and droplets ran down the blade of his sword. Lyle stood silently for a moment, staring at the scene.

'I've killed two people.'

He had anticipated the need to take lives in this world but didn't expect it to happen so soon.

'Do I feel disgusted?'

'No.'

'Guilty?'

'Not at all.'

Instead, it felt oddly natural.

"What a twisted and horrifying world," Lyle muttered under his breath.

He quickly scanned the empty street to ensure no witnesses were around.

These two really picked the perfect spot.

Wiping the blood off his face, Lyle swiftly stored the bodies in his item box. Even the blood-stained cobblestones were cleaned up and stored away.

This otherworldly item box, akin to a spatial storage backpack, had no restrictions other than being unable to store living beings.

After finishing the cleanup, Lyle hurried away toward the inn where he was staying.

On his way back, Lyle ducked into a narrow alley to change out of his bloodied clothes.

Fortunately, he had purchased plenty of spare clothing earlier.

At the inn, the owner—a plump middle-aged woman with freckles named Marisse—greeted him.

"Ah, welcome back, dear guest," Marisse said with a yawn.

"Good evening, Mrs. Marisse," Lyle replied politely with a warm smile before heading upstairs to his room.

"What a polite young man," Marisse muttered, watching him go before yawning again.

As the door closed behind him, Lyle's face revealed a trace of exhaustion.

With only thirteen points of mana, he had barely managed to cast two [Magic Arrows] during the fight. Any more, and he wouldn't have been able to use magic at all. If the thief had escaped, things could have gotten very troublesome.

Fortunately, the battle had ended with [Fourfold Slash].

Lyle hadn't had a chance to test out combat skills until now. The fight allowed him to understand the energy consumption involved—similar to the exhaustion of running a 200-meter sprint in his previous world. Not overly tiring, but definitely noticeable.

Most importantly, the battle gave Lyle a clearer understanding of his own strength.

The black-robed magic caster he fought earlier could use a Tier-2 spell like Shield Wall, which indicated a level above 7. The thief seemed to be on a similar level.

Under normal circumstances, Lyle's own level of 5 should have left him completely outmatched.

But the results told a different story.

The black-robed mage hadn't leveraged his full potential, and the thief—despite his agility—was slightly slower and weaker than Lyle.

The only explanation?

'My basic stats are higher than theirs.'

Lyle reflected on his attributes, particularly his 53 points in both physical attack and agility, understanding what set him apart.

"This is because I invested all my experience into my advanced class, Sword Saint, rather than spreading it across multiple base classes."

In this world, natives didn't have the same convenient player-like system he enjoyed. Most would only advance their base class, and many probably didn't even know advanced classes existed.

Lyle turned his attention to the bed, where four magical items lay: a dark brown magic wand, a white necklace, a short staff, and a dagger that glowed faintly with purple light.

Apart from these items, the two thieves carried no money or identification.

Is this part of Eight Fingers' standard practice, or just these two's way of operating?

If it were the former, then the organization was far more terrifying than the animated series suggested.

"Too bad I don't have the Item Appraisal spell," Lyle muttered, frowning.

The only thing he could confirm was that the short staff, likely enchanted with Silence, still radiated a noticeable magical aura, despite being heavily used.

Appraisal services were common among magic casters, but revealing these stolen items to an appraiser could draw the attention of Eight Fingers—a group notorious for their vengeful nature.

Lyle didn't have time for their games.

"Maybe I'll visit the Magic Guild tomorrow," Lyle thought.

With a wave of his hand, he stored the four magical items and retrieved three magic scrolls instead.

The scrolls contained three auxiliary spells: Paper Creation, Heating, and Odourless.

Using skill points, he quickly learned each spell.

Odourless would mask his smell, useful for avoiding trouble in the wild.

Paper Creation was self-explanatory.

Heating was a versatile spell, allowing for discreet food and water preparation without the need for fire—a vital tool for adventurers in dangerous environments.

Always prepared, Lyle thought, smiling faintly.