Overlord: Welcome the Birth of the King

Lyle tamped down his excitement as his eyes fell to the bottom of his status window the skills section. This was the part he cared about the most.

After all, the skill Dark Wave from his "Cursed Knight" class had already elevated his burst damage to a level that let him punch above his weight.

And now, with "Cursed Knight" maxed out at level 5, his attacks had even begun to carry a dreaded secondary effect: instant death curses.

As for the "Valkyrie" class, it came with three unique abilities. At level 1, he had unlocked the first.

[Skill: Sanctified Throwing Spear]

Uses: 3/day

Description: Conjures a divine javelin infused with holy energy and hurls it toward a target. Deals damage based on current Magic Attack. Costs 50 MP. Always hits.

"Always hits, huh…" Lyle clicked his tongue, impressed despite already knowing the basics.

He still remembered the iconic fight between Shalltear and the Boney Overlord himself. "Always hits" was one of those properties that, in any game, carried a ridiculous amount of value.

After rereading the skill description, Lyle quickly realized something.

This was a late-game monster of a skill. Unfortunately, his current Magic Attack stat was laughable, which made it feel a bit wasted. Like handing a rocket launcher to someone who couldn't lift it.

Still, with "Cursed Knight" now maxed and the addition of the special "Valkyrie" class, he could clearly feel the leap in his power. This wasn't just incremental growth it was a full-on breakthrough.

"Come here," Lyle said, turning toward a patrolling Flame Archangel nearby.

Whump!

With a metallic flutter of its gold-silver wings, the angel floated over and hovered obediently in front of him.

Then—

Boom!

Lyle casually threw a punch straight into its chest. The silver breastplate caved inward with a loud crunch, the raw force sending the angel flying backward until it slammed into a tree six meters away. Bark cracked. The tree groaned. One of the angel's wings snapped off at the joint and scattered into glowing particles in the air.

It shakily got back up, listing to one side, and limped back toward Lyle its wingless side dragging behind like a scolded dog.

Lyle glanced at the angel's armor.

A perfect fist-sized dent marred the chestplate, spiderwebbed with hairline fractures.

Shing!

A plain iron sword appeared in Lyle's hand.

He swung it lightly. The air split with a sharp whistle, the blade slicing down with effortless grace. As it struck the angel's chest, red sparks erupted then silence.

A second later, the Flame Archangel split cleanly in two.

It dissolved into a gentle shimmer of light and vanished from existence.

"…That was way more power than I expected." Lyle flexed his fingers and gave a couple of experimental hops. His body felt stronger, faster every move packed weight behind it. And more than that, it felt easy.

Flame Archangels were known for their tough defenses. They made perfect training dummies to measure real growth. The one he'd just cut down was even stronger than the one he had tested back in E-Rantel's inn room.

Back then, he had needed to go all out to crack its armor. Now?

One sword swing.

That was the difference.

He had a rough idea of where he stood now.

If he remembered correctly, even Gazef Stronoff the future Warrior Captain could one-shot a Flame Archangel. So this wasn't something to get too cocky about.

He opened his status screen.

[Status Window]

Innate Ability: [Player]

Composite Level: 28

EXP: 1201 / 30000

Class Levels:

Basic Class: Genius (Lv. 10)

Intermediate: Sword Saint (Lv. 10), Shamanic Adept (Lv. 1)

Advanced/Special: Magicswordsman (Lv. 1), Cursed Knight (Lv. 5), Valkyrie – Longsword Path (Lv. 1)

...

Player: Lyle Valecroft

Justice Point: 51 (Neutral)

HP: 233 (18%)

MP: 48 (4%)

Physical Attack: 233 (18%)

Physical Defense: 118 (9%)

Agility: 133 (10%)

Magic Attack: 78 (6%)

Magic Defense: 108 (8%)

General Resistances: 255 (20%)

Special Attributes: 230 (18%)

Total Stat Efficiency: 111%

....

The attribute changes were clear. His total efficiency had finally broken the 100% mark. The biggest gains had come in General Resistances and Special Attributes.

Last he remembered, his resistances had capped at 150. Now it was sitting at a solid 255. That was thanks to a combination of new traits: Blessed Body, Dark Resistance, and Holy Resistance.

Lyle mentally crunched the numbers.

"Cursed Knight's Full Curse Immunity must give 130… Blessed Body another 65… then 40 from Dark Resist, and 20 from Holy Resist. Yeah, that checks out."

As for the spike in Special Attributes, he suspected it came from high-tier class passives. He'd need more data to be sure.

"Ruff."

The low whine of his Barghest broke his train of thought. It scuttled up beside him, tail between its legs.

"You got back fast," Lyle muttered, glancing sideways at the sniveling creature. "Keep being useless, and I'll feed you to someone else."

"Whine…"

The creature jingled its bone-chain collar as it quickly straightened up, stiff as a board.

Lyle gave the area a once-over.

The surroundings were bleak dry, withered vegetation stretched in every direction. Every step crunched beneath his boots. The moment he touched a dead grass stalk, it crumbled into gray ash.

"Let's go. Time to pay this forest's owner a visit."

The Barghest yelped once and followed, along with a second Flame Archangel trailing behind like a bodyguard.

From above, the landscape looked like a tear in the forest, a scar of uneven hills and ruins in a sea of green. Grass was overgrown, trees had been snapped apart, and bones from various beasts lay strewn everywhere. Flies swarmed in thick clouds, blackening the air like living smoke.

Even from here, Lyle could already smell it.

An ungodly stench of decay, rot, and monster droppings, all blended into one indescribable nasal assault.

"Do trolls even have a sense of smell?" Lyle grumbled, forcing himself forward.

He soon spotted a cave about four or five meters tall carved into one of the hills. From its depths came deep, guttural roars distinctly troll-like.

"Lure them out," Lyle ordered, flicking his hand toward the Flame Archangel.

There was no way he was setting foot in that cave. If the outside reeked this bad, the inside must've been a biohazard.

Whump!

Wings spread, and the angel darted toward the cave.

A minute passed. Then—

[Ding!]

[Gained 312 EXP]

[Gained 310 EXP]

The angel must've taken out a few level 10-ish trolls. No big deal.

Seven or eight minutes later…

"INTRUDER!"

A thunderous roar exploded from the cave mouth. Lyle looked up.

Light burst from the shadows, and the Flame Archangel zipped back into the air beside him.

Thud. Thud. Thud.

Heavy, earth-shaking footsteps echoed outward.

First came three trolls, each bulkier and meaner-looking than any of the ogres he had seen before. Their skin was a patchy, mottled gray-green, with jagged tusks and long, greasy hair.

Behind them lumbered six more figures these were even bigger. Their skin was a tougher, slate gray, and their arms dragged like pendulums. They looked more evolved, more dangerous.

Then it came.

A final, thunderous footstep shook the earth. The lesser trolls hadn't even fully cleared the cave when two massive hands reached forward and shoved them aside like bowling pins.

CRASH!

Two trolls tumbled to the dirt, groaning.

The monster that stepped out made the rest look like toddlers. Over three meters tall, with stone-colored skin and a chiseled physique, this one was something else.

It resembled a troll only in silhouette. Up close, it was more like a walking mountain with tusks.

Eastern Territory Overlord — Troll Tyrant: Guu.

"Where's the shiny little trespasser?!" the brute bellowed, eyes blazing with fury.

"Never seen anything like that before!"

In his hands was a colossal greatsword nearly his own height, its blade carved with jagged purple runes. He swung it once.

BOOM!

A wave of pressure blasted out, kicking up a whirlwind of dust and debris.

Lyle's eye twitched.

That strength… it was comparable to Warlord Go Gin. Raw stats-wise, at least. Guu probably couldn't match Go Gin's technique, but in a straight-up slugfest?

Yeah. Definitely a problem.

"These trolls sure come in weird flavors," Lyle muttered, watching carefully.

He'd now encountered three distinct monster types: trolls, war trolls like Go Gin, and now this terrifying troll tyrant.

Honestly, were they even the same species?

"Human?"

"It's the shiny one!"

"I wanna eat the little squishy thing!"

"Too many bones. Not enough meat!"

"Never eaten something shiny before! Let's try!"

"Kill the intruder!"

The trolls erupted in chatter as they spotted Lyle and his floating angel. Their shouts echoed through the forest.