After Varen and I officially introduced ourselves, we gathered our things, which in my case was nothing, and in Varen's case was a few items that had been scattered around where his body had been hidden, and we started walking toward the city.
Along the way, Varen began to test his physical prowess, trying to understand how strong he had become now that he was a Devil.
"So, how would you rate your current strength?" I asked curiously, having no idea of the strength levels of humans in this world.
"From what I've tested so far, my strength is about twice what it was when I was still human, maybe around the level of a High D Rank or even a Low C Rank Adventurer, a level that's a little above my father's level," he said excitedly.
"Is that a good level for humans?" I asked.
That made him look at me in surprise. "You don't know the power levels of humans, master?"
"No, this will be my first time coming into contact with human civilization," I said without any shame.
"Really?!" Varen asked in shock, looking me up and down.
"The way you behave, it's as if you were a noble born with a silver spoon in your mouth!"
Laughing, I shook my head in denial, but my words didn't deny it that much as I made a joke. "Theoretically, I am a noble, the Demon King, but so far you are my only subject."
Varen laughed, slowly strumming his lute as he probably planned new songs. "The power level of humans is quite confusing, with no exact level to define a person's power, but the adventurers' guild has done a decent job of classifying it..."
Listening to his explanation, I began to hear the descriptions and group them based on the levels I knew so far.
The first group is even lower than Low-Class Devils, so I'll call them Base.
[Base -> E Rank Adventurers, Apprentice Knights, and Apprentice Mages.
This is the level of ordinary people, Adventurers with a power level that would be normal in my previous world.
Although apprentice mages have more varieties of attacks available, their attack and defense levels are so low that the threat they pose is the lowest of all, which is why they were called Base.
[Low-Class Devil -> D Rank and C Rank Adventurers, Experienced Knights, and Adept Mages.]
At this level, mages are already becoming substantial threats, while experienced knights are beginning to demonstrate superhuman strength compared to humans in my previous world, according to Varen's description.
This is a level where users can destroy a house with their raw power.
[Middle-Class Devil -> B Rank Adventurers, Heroic Knights, and Master Mages.]
At this level are only very powerful knights and mages who have been studying for decades, or even centuries.
This level of power is extremely valued by the country, with only a few factions in the kingdom possessing beings with this level of power.
Becoming a Master Mage or a Heroic Knight practically gives you as much power as a great noble in the kingdom, sure, as long as you are willing to reveal that strength and serve the kingdom with it, which many do not.
This is a level where users can destroy villages on their own with their raw power.
The next class of power is something that very few are known about here, and the vast majority of them are part of larger kingdoms.
Considering that the land of the kingdom we are in is quite small, it is understandable that the most powerful beings do not gather here.
[High-Class Devil -> A Rank Adventurers, Living Legends, and Archmages.
Living legends, which, according to Varen's description, are warriors so powerful that they could destroy cities and face armies alone.
Above that, Varen said he has never come into contact with them, not even through stories, so it is difficult to measure a level of strength beyond that.
This description of how great the destruction that the magicians and warriors of this world could cause is what helped me classify their level of strength in comparison to the Devils.
Being a Middle-Class Devil, I really had the potential to destroy a small village if I used my magic, or trained my physical attacks to cause large-scale damage.
But it's not like I had any intention of doing something like that.
As we walked toward the city, Varen continued strumming his lute, playing songs he knew, telling stories through music to help me better understand this world, which I greatly appreciated.
Without us noticing, mainly because our current bodies would hardly tire from a few hours' walk, we finally arrived in the town.
Looking at the town in front of us and climbing a small mound of earth, Varen's fingers finally couldn't control themselves anymore, and using a little Mana in his own voice, Varen began to play his lute louder and louder and sing with passion.
~🎼🎶🎼🎶
Feast your eyes, master Adam, on Ironvale…
A town of soot and steel where forges hum and hammers peal!
Picture smiths, their arms like oak, pounding iron till the air's a smoky cloak,
Crafting blades that sing with every swing.
~🎼🎶
Beyond the clang, the market thrives with creaking carts,
Where merchants dart with cunning hearts…
Trading grain for gold, whispers for control,
Their tongues as sharp as any sword!
~🎼🎶
Then there's the taverns, oh, the roar of cheer in there!
A brew-soaked song, a brawler's jeer…
It's where Old Thom, that legend bold,
Once gripped his axe with hands of old
And slew three wolves to guard this hold,
A tale still told when mugs are cold.
~🎼🎶
But Ironvale's got shadows too, a darker brew in stories true:
They speak of Gwen, with hair aflame, who played a witch's wicked game,
Betrayed her kin for power's claim…
Till her lover's blade, in treachery's name,
Pierced her spine, and now her chime
Haunts the well through endless time.
~🎼🎶
The folk here watch with eyes so tight,
Hands quick to fight in day or night,
A town alive, both rough and grand,
A stage to stand across this land.
So tread with care, my master rare,
For Ironvale's heart is fierce to bear…
Yet what a yarn we'll weave and share,
With every soul we draw in there!
~🎼🎶🎼🎶
As Varen sang, I could see everything he mentioned, and what caught my attention the most was the girl Gwen with her hair on fire.
That was the vaguest scene in the story, the blurriest image he tried to paint, probably due to his lack of knowledge of the subject to convey with magic, but still very interesting for my first glimpse of the city.
"It looks like an interesting city, Varen." I smiled as I climbed the small mound of earth he was using as a stage and looked out at the city.
It was a small city compared to what was called a city in the modern world I had lived in, but for a medieval city, it was already large enough.
"It'll be big enough for our starting point," I thought excitedly.
"But before we go in, Varen, you're going to need to fix that hole in your chest." I said as I pointed to his clothes, before shifting my focus to his face. "And since the people in this town already know you, you're going to have to change the color of your eyes from the current red back to their original color."
Hearing this, Varen was surprised and quickly grabbed the mirror I had given him earlier.
"Woah, I didn't realize my eyes had turned red like yours, master!" he said excitedly, before reaching his right hand to his face and starting to use magic to try to change the color of his eyes.
From his exhausted expression, it was apparently much more difficult than repairing the lute.
"Changing the color of my eyes is more complicated than I thought, master..." He said frustratedly.Realizing what he was doing, I quickly pulled his hand away and stopped him from continuing. "You weren't literally trying to change the color of your eyes, right?"
Varen was confused by my question, until he realized what I was saying. "Isn't that what I'm supposed to do?"
Shaking my head, I explained. "The Mana consumption to modify your own body is at a level that you would hardly be able to afford in the coming years, especially given the current condition of your body, with how much stronger and more resilient you are... Instead, just cast an illusion spell to make your eyes appear to be a different color... Or wait a second, what was the original color of your eyes?"
"Blue, why?" he asked, confused.
Letting go of his hand, I began to use my magic to do something very useful in my other world, used mainly by cosplayers or people who wanted to look more beautiful than they originally were.
Reaching out to him, I explained. "Take these, they're contact lenses. Open your eyes wide and place them in front of the colored part, and that's it, your eyes will appear to be a different color."
Varen looked at the blue contact lenses with a little apprehension, but with the resistance of a Low-Class Devil, it was much easier to put them in without hurting himself.
Even though these contact lenses didn't last very long, being a small and fragile object, they still lasted a few days, enough for Varen to learn to control his Mana better and make other contact lenses in the future.
So with Varen's new old blue eyes, we finally entered the city of Ironvale.