Overlord: The Last Player

Aron wasn't about to stand idly and wait.

Seated at the outermost area of the arena, he knew that if he waited his turn to leave, it might take ages. Even so, leaving the colossal ancient arena still took about twenty minutes.

The recently concluded match between Gazef and Brain had undoubtedly left the spectators in awe. Discussions about the duel remained fervent, growing even more animated as people exited the arena.

Aron thought that escaping the crowd inside would bring relief. However, stepping through the arena's grand gates, he found even more people gathered outside.

Clearly, these were citizens who couldn't afford tickets but eagerly awaited the results.

Whether it was Gazef or Brain, both had amassed substantial followings.

After all, this was a historic moment: the first time since the establishment of the Martial Tournament that two commoners, rather than nobles, faced each other in the final match.

To the nobles, this might have been a disgraceful duel, but to the commoners, it was the complete opposite—a moment of pride.

"Look! It's [Red Drop]!"

Suddenly, cries of excitement erupted from the crowd.

In an instant, the previously chaotic masses parted, creating a clear path.

[Red Drop]?

Aron raised an eyebrow and turned his gaze toward the source of the commotion. Leading the way was a figure with medium-length, golden-blonde hair and a striking lock of red at the front.

The man wore a black jacket over a red shirt resembling a noble's formal wear and silver-black trousers.

His attire exuded an air of aristocratic elegance and nonchalance. Every casual wave to the crowd earned him waves of cheers from the women, making his presence hard to ignore.

Azuth Aindra.

The name surfaced in Aron's mind as his eyes sharpened with interest.

Azuth was the leader of [Red Drop], one of the only two adamantite-ranked adventurer parties in the Kingdom of Re-Estize. A noble himself, Azuth also held the title of "Knight."

Aron's gaze shifted to the four figures walking behind Azuth—likely the other members of [Red Drop].

The first was a middle-aged man clad in silver armor, his face stern and emotionless, with a massive greatsword strapped to his back.

The second was a mage in a light-blue robe. Without a staff in hand and their face obscured, it was difficult to discern much beyond their male identity.

The third carried a glowing, ash-colored longbow, while the fourth was shorter, with ordinary features and attire that gave no hint of their class.

Oddly enough, the unassuming one was often the most dangerous.

Aron suspected they might be a rogue, though he wasn't sure if this was the entire party.

In both the anime and novels, [Red Drop] was shrouded in mystery. Apart from Azuth, the identities of its other members were rarely revealed.

It was unexpected to see them here in person.

More than the other members, Aron's attention was drawn to Azuth himself.

He didn't know the exact levels of the others, but none seemed to have reached the Hero Domain—level 29 or higher.

The real threat lay in Azuth Aindra.

Despite being the weakest member in terms of personal strength, Azuth was the heart and soul of [Red Drop]. The team existed because of him, and not merely due to his noble status.

Azuth Aindra possessed a powered armor set, approximately level 51.

This relic alone elevated Azuth's otherwise unremarkable strength to the top tier of human combatants.

"Powered armor like that couldn't possibly be created by this world's humans. It must be a player's legacy," Aron thought, his gaze narrowing.

"Was it a relic of the Six Great Gods, the Eight Greed Kings, or perhaps the leader of the Thirteen Heroes?"

Only Azuth himself would know the answer to this question.

Aside from Azuth, the only other individual known to possess powered armor was Platinum Dragon Lord, who owned a set around level 85—and possibly more than one.

Platinum Dragon Lord and the other True Dragon Lords knew of players and the existence of Yggdrasil.

The deeper Aron thought, the clearer it became just how dangerous this world was. Were it not for the overwhelming strength of the Great Tomb of Nazarick, several catastrophic mistakes could have occurred.

The leader of the Thirteen Heroes—a player named "Riku"—was a prime example.

Not only had Platinum Dragon Lord extracted all information about players and Yggdrasil from him, but he had also spun a tale that Riku had accidentally killed his comrades and succumbed to despair, refusing resurrection.

To the people of this world, that story might sound plausible.

But Aron, as a fellow transmigrator, knew the truth.

Refusing resurrection? What a joke.

Platinum Dragon Lord was clearly lying—an insidious creature to its core.

As [Red Drop] passed through the parted crowd, several other adventurer teams emerged, eliciting similar cheers from the onlookers.

Aron had expected to see [Blue Roses], the other adamantite-ranked party, but they were absent. Instead, unfamiliar teams appeared, likely ranked as mithril or orichalcum.

It was clear that the duel between Gazef and Brain had drawn in numerous strong individuals.

"It's time to leave. The next step is leveling up and refining my class build," Aron muttered, retracting his gaze and preparing to turn away.

But then—

From the corner of his eye, he caught sight of another adventurer team trailing at the end of the procession.

This group consisted of only four people, yet they immediately stood out.

Two men and two women.

What truly drew the crowd's attention were the two women at the front.

One had long black hair, blue eyes, and a cold, strikingly beautiful face. She wore full-body armor, exuding a formidable presence.

The other was a pink-haired woman dressed in cleric robes.

Despite her sacred attire, her lower garments were slit like a qipao, revealing black boots and thigh-high stockings beneath.

The moment they appeared, most of the men in the crowd couldn't look away.

Aron recognized this party.

"If I'm not mistaken, they're called [Four Armaments]. Took me a second to place them."

He glanced at the pink-haired cleric again, his eyes twitching slightly at her outfit, "The fashion sense of this world truly is… peculiar."

Still, it wasn't hard to guess.

"Anything tied to the Six Great Gods or the Eight Greed Kings must have influenced even the clothing. Players left their mark in more ways than one."

This party was destined to become a mithril-ranked team in the future, though at this moment, they likely hadn't achieved that status.

"The black-haired one—I didn't recognize her at first."

Aron focused on the armored woman with black hair and a stern demeanor.

In the future, her hair would be white.

It wasn't due to any special reason—she had simply dyed it.

A closer look revealed faint golden strands at her roots, betraying her natural hair color.

She was, in fact, a blonde.

The Re-Estize Kingdom had a majority blonde population. The black hair was a strategic choice to attract attention and boost their party's reputation.

In the future, her white hair would be connected to the Sorcerer King.

When the Sorcerer King formed the adventurer team [Darkness], she dyed her hair white to avoid confusion.

Aron couldn't help but suspect that their mithril rank had some… exaggerations to it.

Even so, they were capable of holding their own against a Death Knight in the future, proving they had at least some strength.

As for the two male members? Aron had no recollection of them whatsoever.