It has been a long time since Iss has experienced such a sense of peace.

In the past, while playing "Ragnarøk," she would always complain about the disorienting and floating feeling of "advanced teleportation" like other players, but in the current situation, this sense of emptiness only brings peace to Iss. She couldn't help but apologize to the game developers in her heart. The sensory setting of "advanced teleportation" is truly wonderful.

Without a doubt, she successfully used "advanced teleportation," which means she now has an escape skill. It also proves that the skills in the game can be used in real life. Although she doesn't know how high the average level of people in this world is, she at least has the ability to struggle.

However...

"Where is this...?" Iss turned her head and looked around. The small room with a wooden fence serving as a door was dimly lit, with only candles as a light source. Hay was scattered on the ground, and the faint smell of blood infiltrated the air, making it hard to ignore. In a corner near the wall, a thin and scared-looking girl was shrinking, avoiding Iss's gaze.

This is the dungeon from earlier.

Without much thought, Iss immediately made a judgment. The girl hiding in the corner is the one who was just tortured.

"Tsk... How did I end up teleporting here?" Iss clicked her tongue. Out of precaution, she looked at the girl and asked, "Where is this?"

Whether it was because of the lingering fear from Iss's power or the shock of the teleportation magic, the girl who was asked trembled and timidly responded.

"It's... it's the dungeon..."

If this were a manga, countless sweat drops would definitely appear above Iss's head. She forgot to set the teleportation destination when using "advanced teleportation," resulting in a random teleportation.

Well, at least she should be grateful that she wasn't teleported thousands of meters into the sky or underground.

In that case, she would be instantly killed without even having time to react.

Although she felt some sympathy for the girl who had just been tortured, escaping from captivity was the top priority now. Iss nodded at the girl and once again used her imagination to activate another kind of magic.

"All-Knowing Map."

Strictly speaking, "All-Knowing Map" is not a type of magic but rather a part of the game system. Any MMORPG would have a map function that allows players to explore the game conveniently. Additionally, the "All-Knowing Map" also displays nearby monsters and players.

With a gentle hum, a translucent blue screen unfolded in front of Iss, resembling a planet map from a sci-fi movie. The displayed range extended from Iss as the center to a location ten kilometers away, as set by the game.

Various things were shown on the map, including the city "Niru" where she currently is, several villages, and another smaller town nearby. After a quick check, Iss set the teleportation destination in a distant mountain forest.

There are still many questions that have not been answered, so it is better not to rashly make contact with others.

Once again, Iss used "advanced teleportation."

◇

"Phew... Finally alive."

The feeling of disorientation and floating ended, and Iss cautiously looked around, letting out a sigh of relief.

She had successfully teleported to the forest, her intended destination. The surroundings were filled with trees over twenty meters tall, and sunlight only managed to shine through the gaps between the leaves onto the ground. Although there were dense low shrubs, they were not impenetrable. By some coincidence or other reason, the spot where Iss stood happened to be a clearing, with only sparse and scatterings of weeds.

Feeling as if she had cheated death, Iss paid no regard to the slight dampness on the soil and directly sat down on the ground. The soothing earthy fragrance unique to forests calmed her tense nerves. After about five minutes, Iss regained her vigor and absentmindedly grabbed a handful of soil, feeling its cold touch.

"It is indeed reality... Oh well, let's focus on the future. First, I need to check my status."

Since it is a world that has magic, there should be something similar to magic levels. Using "advanced teleportation" consumes a large amount of magical power, and it would be troublesome if she encountered a situation where she had no magic power available.

"The Earl's daughter's level is 21, huh? If it were in 'Ragnarøk,' level 21 would just be a beginner starting out and would not be able to use the sixth-tier 'advanced teleportation.' Moreover, the Earl's daughter does not have the memory of the magic 'advanced teleportation,' which means I inherited my level from the game?"In order to confirm this, Iss attempted to use the "Status" skill.

"Status"

Name: Luo Issviel Edith Pesia

Race: Bloodline (Vampire)

Level: 427

Health Points (HP): 42700/42700

Magic Points (MP): 4270/4270

A faint blue screen appeared in front of Iss again, and this time it displayed her own status. Just as Iss had imagined, she inherited the level from the game.

"But I didn't inherit the race and gender, damn it."

The character she had created originally had a thin beard and the charm of a mature thirty-year-old man, but now she had transformed into a delicate and seemingly weak girl – a loli, to be precise. The contrast between the two made Iss feel a desire to curse God.

"Does this mean I have to live with this body from now on?"

Through the projection on the status bar, Iss could see her current appearance. She was a girl of about fourteen years old, with white hair that reached below her hips, clear sapphire-like pupils, long eyelashes and a petite nose, glossy cherry-colored lips, and she was dressed in a luxurious gown that mixed bright blue with white.

Taken separately, each of these features was exceptionally cute, but when combined, they emitted an aura of indifference, as if they didn't like to speak, be approached, or provoke. It felt as if one would face a deadly attack if they got too close. In fact, the Countess's eldest daughter was exactly like that. Once provoked, she would immediately retaliate.

Well, for now, these issues can be put aside. After all, it's better than being so ugly that it's unbearable. But the problem is that a girl's body will encounter all sorts of troubles – sitting, standing, bathing, eating, dressing, self-identification, and even physiological reactions are all different from those of a male.

Girls of this age are just about to enter puberty. If I were to encounter that... Iss quickly recalled how the Countess's eldest daughter dealt with it. Thankfully, as a vampire, the Countess's eldest daughter wouldn't experience menstruation until she turned twenty. Iss breathed a sigh of relief.

"I should be grateful that this body remembers the basic movements. It's great that I don't have to start learning how to walk from scratch. I don't even know how to find my original male body... But well, I'll deal with that later. The priority now is to find a suitable place to live."

Humans are ultimately social creatures. Iss doesn't want to hide in the mountains for the rest of her life. Although she doesn't want to return to the vampire clan due to the appearance of the Countess's eldest daughter – which could expose her identity – there should still be a place where she can be accommodated.

"But what about these wings... Although they don't feel in the way, is there no way to retract them?"

She reached out and touched the red wings that extended from her waist. These wings were not pure white angel wings, but rather demon wings that symbolized vampires. Iss had never noticed their existence before, but now that she had calmed down, she realized that her wings were constantly fluttering.

"Can I fly with these? They can be controlled like arms."

Iss focused her attention on the wings and tried flapping them a couple of times. She was indeed able to control the wings, but other than making them flap, there were no other effects. In other words, she couldn't fly with her wings. After searching through the Countess's eldest daughter's memories, Iss realized that most vampires couldn't fly with their wings. Besides representing their race, the main function of the wings for vampires was to accelerate the recovery of magic power.

"Not really useful, huh."

Pouting, Iss prepared to open the map of all knowledge and search the surrounding environment. However, a rustling sound suddenly came from the nearby bushes.

Instinctively, she turned her gaze towards the bushes.

A gigantic creature measuring at least ten meters in length appeared before Iss. With its red skin and the image of a lion's body and scorpion tail, Iss recognized it at first sight.

Scorpleon.

In Ragnarøk, although scorpleons were not boss-level monsters, they were mini-bosses guarding the World Tree's courtyard. Only those who reached level 800 were qualified to climb the World Tree. In other words, scorpleons were creatures that could only be challenged at around level 800, but Iss was only at level 427.

"This must be a dream, no doubt..."

If it weren't for her worry that any sudden movement might attract the scorpleon's attention, Iss would have screamed. The reality and the game were completely different. The imposing presence of the scorpleon due to its massive size and the stench that invaded her nostrils brought a sense of authenticity that couldn't be compared to game parameters.Noticing that he was being ignored, Iss silently prayed in his heart. He slowly lowered his upper body and took small steps backward. However, the Scorpion Lion had already spotted Iss and turned its gaze towards the empty space where Iss was standing. It was then that Iss realized that the reason why the area he was standing on was empty was not due to natural formation, but because it was the resting place of the Scorpion Lion.

"Damn it."

Realizing that he had been discovered, Iss no longer concealed his presence. He cursed under his breath and increased his speed as he continued to retreat, while desperately searching for the most powerful magic. In the face of the Scorpion Lion, he couldn't hold anything back. Even though the creature was several times smaller in the game, he couldn't rely on luck.

The problem was that Iss couldn't expose his back to the Scorpion Lion in this situation, which meant he couldn't fully escape. It was only a matter of time before he would be caught up.

Snap.

The Scorpion Lion, aware that Iss had noticed its presence, swung its tail with spikes and walked briskly towards Iss, without holding back. Unlike Iss's retreat speed, every step the Scorpion Lion took was equivalent to several steps of Iss's retreat. In the blink of an eye, the two were less than ten meters apart, and Iss could even smell the foul breath emanating from the Scorpion Lion's nostrils.

"Growl..."

Like a warning or a mocking gesture before catching its prey, the Scorpion Lion slowed down its approach but extended its scorpion tail, apparently intending to disarm Iss with it first.

What should I do? What should I do?

Feeling like ants on a hot pan, Iss couldn't concentrate on thinking of the appropriate magic at this moment. Being at level 427, she had indeed learned many magic spells, but reproducing them in this situation could only be done with a calm mind.

"Ice Seal?" The first-tier magic was just not powerful enough. How about "Flame Storm"? No, it required a charging time, which was useless in this most urgent situation.

"Yi-ah!"

Before Iss could come up with a solution, the Scorpion Lion suddenly thrust its tail hook towards his eyes. Almost instinctively, Iss turned his head, trying to avoid the attack. However, the speed of the tail hook was too fast, and even though Iss reacted in time, his cheek was still scratched by the sharp claw.

A burning sensation spread across his face, and Iss knew that he had probably been injured.

Am I poisoned? Will I die? No... worrying about these things now will really get me killed.

"If I hesitate any longer, I'll be done for!"

As if in a last-ditch counterattack before his death, or perhaps to focus his mind, Iss shouted loudly. In a situation where his life was threatened, he had to use any means necessary to save himself.

Summoning courage, Iss grabbed the Scorpion Lion's still-extended claw with one hand. A sharp pain instantly shot through his palm as the barbs on the claw pierced his skin, but he couldn't afford to care about that at the moment. His goal was to restrain the Scorpion Lion and prevent it from evading the upcoming magic.

While holding onto the claw, Iss aimed the palm of his other hand at the Scorpion Lion. He mobilized all the air in his lungs, squeezed the power of every cell in his body, and concentrated his entire mind, shouting loudly.

"E--eeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeexplosion!"

Unlike "Ice Seal" or "Flame Storm," "Explosion" was a very elementary and simplified magic spell. It could be cast without much imagination. The only drawback was its relatively weak power, making it difficult to deal effective damage to boss-level monsters.

In order to give "Explosion" the power that its name implied, the game developers later added an explanation: the louder the player shouted the skill name and the longer the skill name was dragged out, the more mana would be consumed. But as a result, the power would also exponentially increase with these two factors.

Now, Iss's voice nearly echoed throughout the entire forest. As compensation, a giant orange-red magic circle, slowly rotating and overlapping, covered the entire sky.

A tremendous surge of magic power filled the world in the blink of an eye. As the Scorpion Lion trembled, all the magic circles converged and focused their center on the mountain peak where Iss was located. The entire space seemed to be groaning, and in an instant, the burning light turned the entire world orange-red.

Boom, boom, boom, boom, boom!!!

Enveloping the entire forest, blinding columns of light descended from the sky. The cyclone of flames swept away the clouds, and the scorching wave instantly engulfed the earth. It was as if a calamity had descended, and everything was being purified by the flames.At this moment, all the evil beings presented bouquets to celebrate the birth of their new king.