Chapter 1

4 B. C.

Re-Estize Kingdom.

The Royal Capital.

Despite being the center of the entire nation, every inch of ground outside the main street was dusty and gray, the gray stone bricks paved across the ground covered in tiny cracks and eroded gaps.

Most of the surrounding houses were one- or two-story European-style structures, exuding a sense of age.

Yet, the closer one got to the center of the capital, the neater and cleaner both the streets and the houses became.

The air was very fresh.

But the surrounding atmosphere told Tang Zheng, without a doubt, that this was an other world!

Ding-ding-ding—

Clang-clang—

The constant ringing sounds were the clashing of metal from the weapons and armor carried by the adventurers on the street.

The clamor of hawking from the shops on both sides and the various signs reflected slightly under the sunlight.

It added a bustling atmosphere.

Luxurious carriages wove through the streets with some difficulty, yet they never stopped, and most people would proactively yield the way for these carriages.

Among them, many people wearing armor and a small number wearing mage robes were quite eye-catching in the crowd, and there were others dressed in bright, peculiar attire.

In short, it gave one a sense of a motley composition.

The entire royal capital of the "Re-Estize" Kingdom had been flooded for the past few days by crowds rushing in from all over the country.

In such a lively atmosphere, most people's emotions would naturally rise.

But one person did not.

Tang Zheng wore a set of low-quality long sleeves and dusty pants, blending into the crowd without standing out at all.

His current mood was the same color as his clothes.

Beyond the bewilderment, there was more of a sense of fear coiled in his heart.

The liveliness belonged to them.

Tang Zheng had only transmigrated to this world yesterday, but he had basically figured out the situation.

This was the world of Overlord, or more precisely, the other world where the "Great Tomb of Nazarick" would descend in the future.

Therefore, Tang Zheng was very panicked right now.

Others transmigrated into the reality of "Overlord," constantly grinding and spending money on the game 【Yggdrasil】 to obtain massive amounts of World Items and special classes.

Then they descended into the world with invincible strength, or simply joined the Great Tomb.

Yet he had transmigrated directly into the other world; if he were like those above, Tang Zheng wouldn't be as panicked as he was now.

The only thing that gave him a slight sense of peace for the moment.

Was the current point in time: there were still over four years until the "Great Tomb of Nazarick" descended.

Why was he able to determine this time?

Because of the royal tournament—the Imperial Tournament!

The future strongest warrior of the kingdom, Gazef, was the one who won the championship in this very tournament and was subsequently granted the title of "Warrior Captain."

And today was the peak showdown between the future "Warrior Captain" Gazef and "Nail Clipper" Brain.

It could be said!

This match had attracted the attention of all the adventurers and commoners in the entire kingdom, which was why the streets were surging with people and exceptionally lively.

Although he was just an ordinary person before transmigrating, there were benefits to reading too many novels; at least he could calm down quickly.

After hearing information like Gazef, Brain, and the Imperial Tournament, Tang Zheng confirmed the world and the point in time he had transmigrated to.

"4 B. N. E." (Before New Era), this was naturally not the year-counting method of this world, but the setting Tang Zheng calculated based on the timelines of content creators from his previous life.

After all, according to the plot of Ainz, the Great Tomb would rule the world sooner or later, so the "New Era" calculation clearly had no issues.

As for being able to understand the language of this world?

It was because there existed a certain world law of "language translation" in this other world; never mind between different countries, even between different races, one could understand each other's words.

To use Ainz's internal monologue, it was as if the entire world had eaten a Translation Konjac.

Of course, understanding the language was one thing, but he clearly didn't recognize the text. The rough material of his clothes and the itching sensation from rubbing against his skin made Tang Zheng somewhat uncomfortable, but compared to his current situation, it was not worth mentioning.

He didn't know why he had transmigrated; he was just lying on the bed in his rented room, and in a daze, he arrived here.

What a cliché way to transmigrate.

Tang Zheng complained internally, while also feeling some self-mockery.

He was an orphan anyway, always alone, so even if he suddenly disappeared, he imagined no one would care.

Fortunately.

Because of this peak showdown between commoners, it had attracted a massive influx of adventurers and commoners.

The pajamas and shorts Tang Zheng was wearing didn't look too jarring compared to those adventurers who were dressed provocatively or even wearing equally strange outfits.

It seemed that due to the existence of various races, beliefs, and countries, the attire in this world was actually not very rigid.

After confirming the situation of this world and calming down.

=9+Book_Bar

Tang Zheng immediately found a shop selling items and sold the only thing he had brought to this world besides his clothes—the enamel gold pendant around his neck.

He obtained three gold coins.

That was something he had spent about two months' salary on, intending to give it to the girlfriend he had been dating, but they broke up before he could give it to her, so he just kept wearing it himself.

169 copper coins = 13 silver coins = 1 gold coin.

【PS: The currency ratio in the other world where Ainz resides should not be decimal; in the anime, Sebas once bought a magic scroll and spent 1 gold coin and 10 silver coins; if it were decimal, he should have paid two gold coins.】

【Some content creators have analyzed two calculation methods, one is base-13, the other is base-20; personally, I think base-13 is more appropriate.】

Above gold coins, there were platinum coins, gem coins, mithril coins, and so on.

The price of three gold coins was significantly higher in value compared to his gold pendant, which only weighed about 10 grams.

The shop owner was willing to pay this price, clearly not for the gold alone, but for the enamel craftsmanship on it.

In this other world where various craftsmanship levels were very backward and mostly relied on magic.

If the other party resold it to some noble lady, they could obtain dozens or even hundreds of times the profit in one transaction.

Tang Zheng understood this point, but he also knew his situation was not suitable for haggling.

Next, he spent 5 copper coins to change into a set of cheap clothes and spent one silver coin to buy a short sword.

Currently, he had 2 gold, 11 silver, and 3 copper coins left.

He spent five extra copper coins to buy a few loaves of rye bread.

"There's still over four years, relax... my ass!"

Tang Zheng's left leg stepped heavily onto the ground, his mouth twitched, and he cursed internally.

His only hobby before transmigrating was novels and anime, so he naturally had caught up on all the novels of the anime "Overlord."

So he understood very well: what was the difference between four years from now and the "Great Tomb of Nazarick" descending tomorrow?

Tang Zheng felt there was none.

The Re-Estize Kingdom before his eyes, and everyone including himself, were all destined to be destroyed.

There seemed to be only two paths to choose from in the future.

Either die in the aftermath of the war between the Sorcerer Kingdom and the Re-Estize Kingdom—if "war" could even be called that when it was a total crushing.

Or luckily survive and become one of the subjects of the Sorcerer Kingdom.

But...

Tang Zheng looked up and saw the magnificent, ancient royal city built on the hill in the distance, feeling even more panicked.

Could his identity as a transmigrator really deceive that group of people from the "Great Tomb of Nazarick"?

(End of chapter)