Overlord: Welcome the Birth of the King

The Hanging Spiders, aside from their web-spinning ability, possessed a small amount of venom. However, they could only inject this venom into their prey through their fangs, and the process was relatively slow.

Given Lyle's speed, the spiders couldn't get close to him at all!

The iron sword sliced through the air repeatedly, its blade slick with the spider's fluids. The intense heat from his previous attacks caused the liquid to evaporate quickly, thickening the already foul stench hanging in the air.

Time passed slowly.

The sounds of Lyle's sword cutting through the air and the hissing of the hanging spiders intertwined, filling the forest with a chilling atmosphere.

A while later...

Breathing heavily, Lyle stood with one hand braced on his knee, surrounded by the dismembered remains of nearly a hundred spiders. About two-thirds of them had been slain, while the rest had fled. Given the dense forest environment, it was impossible to chase them down.

"What a pity!"

Lyle let out a long breath, disappointed that he couldn't eliminate them all. The methods he currently had at his disposal didn't include any large-scale attack abilities.

He estimated that these hanging spiders were around levels 2 to 3.

"That may seem low-level…" Lyle thought. "But considering that an average soldier would also be at about the same level, each of these spiders is roughly as dangerous as a soldier."

If a company of soldiers were to face an equivalent number of these spiders in a forest, they would likely be slaughtered.

After all, in this forest environment, even Lyle couldn't outrun these spiders if they wanted to chase him down.

He speculated that this group of spiders was probably the strongest magical creatures in the outer perimeter of the forest. This area was likely the border between the territory of Hamsuke and the ogre tribes.

Now, Lyle finally understood why people reacted with such fear and dread whenever the Forest of Tob was mentioned.

This was merely the forest's outer region, yet deeper within were the three rulers of the forest, all of whom possessed "Heroic-tier" power. Of the three, only Hamsuke lived in relative isolation, while the other two had large groups of followers.

At this moment, Lyle didn't dare take deep breaths—the stench in the air was simply too overwhelming, making him nauseous. Though the heat of his sword had proven useful in combat, it had also made the odor from the burning spider blood and flesh nearly unbearable.

Checking his status screen, he saw:

'Experience: 2985/1000.'

Ignoring the foul smell, Lyle focused on the numbers.

"This should be enough for two levels." He thought with some excitement. "Level up!"

[Status Interface]

Innate Ability: [Player]

Level: 9

Experience Bar: 685/1500

Class:

Basic Class: Genius Level 1 (Warrior, Priestess/Cleric, Alchemist, Pharmacist, Magic Caster, Thief)

Intermediate Class: Sword Saint Level 8

Skill Points: 13

Passive Skills: Item Box, Slash Damage (+8%)

Active Skills:

Warrior: Instant Reflex, Fourfold Slash, Quick Slash, Stealth

Magic: Paper Creation (Lv1), Heating (Lv1), Minor Healing (Lv1), Magic Arrow (Lv1), Odorless Spell (Lv1)

Professional Skills: Pharmacy, Alchemy

"Finally, above level eight!" Lyle smiled as he looked at the updated information.

With his overall level at 9, he eagerly pulled out a Level 2 magic scroll, [Item Identification], which he had purchased from the Magician's Guild.

However, just as he was about to use the scroll, he noticed something odd—the two newly unlocked zero-level spells on his status screen didn't have the "↑" icon for further upgrading.

He paused in confusion before realization struck.

"Ah, I was so focused on leveling up that I forgot my caster level isn't high enough yet."

The excitement on his face faded, replaced by a hint of frustration as he reluctantly put away the scroll.

Most of his levels were concentrated in his warrior-based class Sword Saint, while his caster level remained at 1, the same as his Genius class.

"I'll focus on raising my warrior class for now," Lyle decided, exhaling deeply. His gaze turned toward the remains of the hanging spiders littering the ground.

He recalled that their abdomens contained venom sacs. Squatting down, he carefully dissected a few of the less-damaged spiders to extract intact venom sacs.

Unfortunately, most of the spiders were too damaged, and it took considerable effort to gather twenty relatively intact sacs.

With that done, Lyle left the area, reeking of the stench of spider blood. He didn't go too far, though—about seventeen or eighteen meters away, he found a large tree and decided to rest nearby.

Since this was the spiders' territory, the surviving ones had likely fled too far to return anytime soon. He could take a moment to recover without worrying about other creatures attacking him.

Additionally, according to his guess, he wasn't far from the ogres' territory.

Grabbing a handful of leaves from the ground, he used them as a makeshift cloth to clean his sword of the clinging spider blood.

The heating effect from his magic had long since worn off, but he made a mental note of how increasing his sword's temperature during battle had significantly enhanced its cutting power. Perhaps this was a technique he could develop further.

However, he also knew that constantly increasing the sword's temperature would eventually have drawbacks, as it could harm him too.

Holding the iron sword in one hand, Lyle easily lifted it and swung it a few times, noting how fluid his movements had become.

Each time he leveled up his Sword Saint class, his overall combat ability increased significantly. These weren't just superficial stat boosts—he genuinely felt like he was mastering new techniques naturally, as if he'd been training for years.

This change amazed him.

In the game YGGDRASIL, leveling a class merely increased its stats, but here in this world, leveling up felt more like truly learning the skills associated with the class.

For example, when he had been attacked by venomous insects earlier, he'd instinctively been able to counter them with precise strikes. He hadn't even needed to look directly at them.

Even when faced with the large dark-green snake earlier, he had subconsciously employed various blocking techniques to fend it off.

Before his arrival in this world, Lyle had been an ordinary person, with no combat training whatsoever. These newly acquired abilities were clearly a result of the Sword Saint class.

After resting for about half an hour, Lyle felt that his strength had fully returned. He grabbed his sword and continued heading eastward.

This time, he didn't encounter any more beasts, let alone magical creatures. Instead, he saw more and more birds appearing around him.

Strange-looking birds he had never seen before, with blacker feathers than he imagined possible, flew overhead or perched on the thick branches, occasionally emitting sharp cries.

Frowning slightly, Lyle slowed his pace as he proceeded cautiously through the unfamiliar terrain.