Starting from Ainz Ooal Gown, simultaneously traveling through time

Chapter 163 [The Line of Ariadne]

Leylin's [Seed of the World Tree] is one of the unclaimed world-class items he collected over the past few decades while traveling across this continent.

Over the centuries, time travelers have come and gone, leaving behind countless legacies. Some were lost when their owners died, some were discovered and collected by later generations, and some simply gathered dust in some corner.

The Slane Theocracy has beauties who could topple kingdoms, but that's the foundation of their nation, so Leylin didn't touch them. But he happily accepted the others who were unclaimed.

The World Tree Seed is just one of them.

Now, this seed has come in handy.

Looking at the anxious minotaur player in front of him, Leylin offered his terms: "I can help you turn back into a human, but in return, you have to give me your world-class item."

Minos paused for a moment, then instinctively covered the inconspicuous ball of thread at his waist.

【The Line of Ariadne】.

This was a treasure he had finally managed to get in the game. Although it was a support item with little combat power, it was excellent at saving his life.

After transmigrating, it was thanks to it that he was able to escape from those pursuits time and time again.

I'm reluctant to part with it; I really am reluctant.

But after glancing at Leylin and then at the direction where the true dragon king had disappeared, he gritted his teeth and handed over the ball of yarn.

People have to bow their heads under the roof.

The other party seems easy to talk to now, but the way they invited him to "visit" was by sending a dragon to kidnap him. If he dares to refuse, you can imagine what will happen next.

"Here you go," he said in a muffled voice.

Lei Lin took the ball of yarn without saying anything more.

Right in front of Minos, he directly activated the laws and divine power to begin refining the item.

Minos couldn't comprehend that level of power, but even a faint sense of it made him tremble with fear.

A moment later, the ball of thread merged into Leylin's body.

At the same time, all the information about this world-class item also clearly appeared in Leylin's mind.

【The Line of Ariadne】.

Once activated, it can automatically generate a map in the mind and display the optimal path to the destination.

Simply put, it's the game's "auto-pathfinding" function, and the highest-spec version at that. It can not only navigate, but also automatically analyze the terrain in the maze, avoid dangers, and find the exit.

The prototype of this thing is the ball of thread that Princess Ariadne in Greek mythology gave to Theseus, which helped him kill the Minotaur in the labyrinth and then escape safely.

It's quite fitting that it's now in his hands; the previous owner happened to be a minotaur.

Lei Lin had a plan in mind.

It's a support item, not very offensive, but highly practical, especially when exploring unknown areas or complex mazes. Having this item can save you a lot of trouble.

He carefully put away the ball of yarn before handing the Seed of the World Tree to Minos.

"Use it, hold it, and think of what you used to be like."

Minos took the seed, took a deep breath, and held it tightly.

The luminous white seed began to glow.

He was enveloped in light.

Minos felt his whole body melting, being reassembled, and being reshaped into another form.

The feeling was peculiar; it didn't hurt at all, but there was an indescribable strangeness, like wearing an ill-fitting garment that slowly came into being.

A moment later, the light faded.

Minos looked down at his hands.

It's not a hairy cow hoof, it's a human's five fingers.

He touched his face again; he didn't have the long bull's nose, nor the pair of curved horns.

He's back to normal.

Minos was stunned for a long time, then his eyes started to sting.

"Thank you." His voice was a little hoarse.

Leylin extended his hand, and Minos tactfully returned the Seed of the World Tree.

"What are you planning to do next?" Lei Lin asked.

Minos took a deep breath and calmed himself down.

"Upgrade first," he said. "My current level is too low; I feel completely insecure."

From the moment he transmigrated to the present, he was first chased and killed, then captured by a dragon, and was constantly on the defensive. He had had enough of this feeling of weakness and helplessness.

Leilin nodded.

Even if Minos didn't want to level up, he would urge him to do so, as he wanted to study how the "leveling up" of players in this world actually worked.

He took out a map and handed it to Minos.

"These places are suitable for you."

Minos took it and saw that the map marked three locations, with simple diagrams drawn next to them.

First: Goblin Cave. It houses a large number of goblins, specifically for soldiers to hone their courage.

Second: Ogre Canyon. The artificially bred ogres are a level more difficult than goblins.

The third one: Troll Forest. The artificially bred trolls make this the highest-difficulty dungeon currently available to the public.

In reality, soldiers can improve their combat experience and correspondingly enhance their abilities by slaying these monsters.

In reality, there's no easy way to level up like in games; you can only rely on hard work.

The three locations that Leylin prepared were essentially pointing out the direction for the soldiers to strive for.

In addition to these simple dungeons in the early stages of the game, Leylin also created some challenging dungeons in the later stages of the game.

An undead copy composed of the [Abyssal Body] and a large number of undead under its command.

The Deadpool clones are composed of high-ranking Deadpools created by Leylin.

There are also dragon instances made up of the bronze dragons transformed from Leylin.

Finally, there is the True Dragon King instance, composed of those True Dragon Kings controlled by Leylin.

The difficulty levels increase progressively, ensuring a completely new experience every time.

However, most people in Leylinmor can't beat the high-difficulty dungeons and can only grind experience in the easy ones.

After all, they are not players and cannot level up quickly without obstacles.

Leylin is currently only sending Minos to the first three low-difficulty dungeons, without informing him about the medium-to-high difficulty dungeons that follow.

"The first three dungeons are arranged from easy to difficult," Leylin said, pointing to the map. "You can progress one level at a time."

Minos was stunned.

A copy? This is the real world, not a game!

"Do these monsters respawn after we kill them?" he asked.

Leylin shook his head: "No, this is the real world. Killing one means one less, so take it easy and don't kill them all. Leave some to reproduce naturally, and you can raise another batch in a few years."

He paused, then added, "However, I've noticed that players don't seem to level up just by killing monsters."

"Even just sparring with others to hone your skills can give you experience. Although it's not as much as killing people directly, it's more sustainable."

This information was obtained by Leylin through observing two other human players, who were able to level up even by sparring with others.

Minos nodded.

He also vaguely sensed that when he fought those goblins before, even if he didn't kill them, just by fighting, he seemed to be able to feel a little bit of progress.

In games, leveling up isn't just about fighting monsters. You can gain experience by doing quests, honing your skills, or even sparring with NPCs. And now that I've traveled to reality, these mechanisms are still there.

This is good news.

Leylin then picked up an axe and a leather armor from the side and handed them to him.

"Use your starting equipment for now, and you can get better equipment as you level up."

Minos took the equipment, his feelings complicated.

When he was captured by the dragon, he thought he was going to die, but he not only turned back into a human, but also got a dungeon map and equipment, and had a clear upgrade path.

What exactly is this person trying to do?

He couldn't help but ask, "Who exactly are you?"

Leylin smiled but did not answer.

He simply waved his hand, indicating that he could leave.

Minos wisely shut his mouth, took the map and equipment, and turned to leave.

He glanced back one last time, then took a deep breath, tucked the map into his pocket, and headed toward his first destination: the goblin cave.

In any case, he is a human being now.

They will no longer be hunted down.

This world doesn't seem so unbearable after all.