After packing his things, Rowan used the Golden Gate and finally arrived in the new world.
Logically speaking, he should have appeared in front of some girl or corpse.
After all, that was what had happened the last few times.
But this time, the pattern seemed to have changed again.
After crossing into the new world, Rowan saw neither a girl nor a corpse. Instead, he found himself deep inside a remote, primeval forest.
Well…
He had never encountered an opening like this before.
But it did not matter. With Rowan's current strength, a mere forest could hardly be considered dangerous.
He just had to start walking.
After choosing a direction, Rowan set off and began wandering through the forest.
Roar!!!
At that moment, a deafening roar came from the distance. It sounded like some kind of wild beast.
However, the sound was far too loud and powerful, giving the impression that it had come from some enormous creature.
A tiger, elephant, lion…
None of them sounded like that.
And none of those animals could possibly roar so loudly.
Driven by curiosity, Rowan headed toward the source of the noise.
Soon afterward, the ground began shaking violently with a series of thunderous crashes. Dead branches and withered leaves trembled and fell, while clouds of dust rose from a distant mountain hollow.
Rowan narrowed his eyes.
A massive black shadow smashed through several enormous trees and charged toward him, carrying a foul-smelling gale.
It was a monster unlike anything he had ever seen before. It somewhat resembled a dinosaur, but it was even larger.
More importantly, a horn several metres long grew from its head, presenting a terrifying sight.
The moment Rowan saw the creature, he immediately concluded that this place was definitely not Earth.
What kind of Earth had monsters even more ridiculous than a Triceratops?
The horned monster rampaged through the forest. Its blood-red eyes were filled with both savagery and panic. With its enormous body, it effortlessly smashed every tree blocking its path into pieces.
And the route it was taking led directly toward Rowan.
Seeing the monster charging at him like an out-of-control truck, Rowan was just about to act when a valiant female voice rang out.
"Requip: Heaven's Wheel Armour!"
Immediately afterward, a red-haired girl wearing steel armour and wielding two swords descended from the sky.
A sharp flash of sword light swept past.
The charging monster instantly collapsed like a toppling mountain. Its tremendous momentum carried it several metres across the ground before it finally stopped in front of Rowan.
Then its head rolled away from its body and came to rest beside Rowan's feet.
Crimson blood poured from the monster's corpse, staining the ground beneath it red. A pungent smell of blood immediately filled the air.
However, Rowan did not focus on the monster at his feet.
His attention fell upon the red-haired girl in steel armour who held a sword in each hand.
The girl stood heroically beside him and looked at Rowan with concern.
"Are you alright? Were you injured?"
The red-haired girl seemed somewhat uneasy, as though she believed Rowan had been endangered because of her.
Rowan shook his head.
"I'm fine, Miss Erza."
The red-haired girl froze slightly.
"You know me?"
"Miss Erza, the S-Class Mage of the Fairy Tail Guild, is famous. How could I possibly not know you?"
That was right.
The red-haired girl standing before Rowan was one of the main heroines of the world of Fairy Tail.
Because of her, Rowan confirmed which world he had entered.
The hot-blooded shōnen series—
Fairy Tail.
Although it was not as famous as the Big Three, it was still an enormously popular and renowned anime.
But speaking of which…
Whenever Rowan crossed into another world, he encountered either a young woman or a corpse.
He had originally thought this time would be an exception, but now it seemed he had celebrated too soon.
There they were.
A girl and a corpse.
He had encountered both.
Meanwhile, after recovering from her surprise, Erza also noticed that something was strange about the man before her.
To subjugate this monster, she had deliberately chosen an uninhabited forest.
She had repeatedly confirmed beforehand that no one was nearby, allowing her to fight without restraint.
Yet this man had suddenly appeared from nowhere.
More importantly, despite facing a nearly uncontrollable monster, the man had shown no fear whatsoever.
Such abnormal behaviour drew Erza's attention and made her somewhat wary.
"May I ask who you are?"
"I suppose I'm someone from another world," Rowan replied.
"Huh?"
Erza had expected him to conceal his origins or avoid answering the question.
She had never expected him to give her such an absurd response.
"What? You don't believe me?"
Rowan looked at her with a faint smile.
"How could anyone possibly believe that?"
Erza refused to believe that something so outrageous could happen.
Rowan smiled and pushed open an air door.
The door led through the crossover world and opened into Rowan's apartment.
It faced the apartment window.
Through it, Erza could see towering skyscrapers rising one after another, forming a forest of steel.
"Would you like to take a look?"
Rowan turned and walked into the apartment.
Erza remained standing at the doorway, her expression constantly changing.
A mysterious man had suddenly appeared, claimed to come from another world, and even presented evidence…
To be honest, the revelation was far too shocking.
For a moment, Erza did not even know what to do.
She stood at the entrance and hesitated for a long time, unable to make a decision.
She did not know who the man was, where that place was, or what he intended to do…
Far too many questions filled her mind, leaving her thoughts in complete chaos.
Fortunately, Rowan did not urge her.
He simply stood there and allowed Erza to think.
More than ten minutes later, Erza finally took a step forward and entered.
The moment she did, an entirely new world opened before her.
Rowan not only showed her the prosperity of modern society, but even specifically found a complete set of the Fairy Tail manga and gave it to her.
After finishing the manga, Erza was left in a daze.
Uh…
Her future had just been completely spoiled.
From the initial Eisenwald Arc to the later Galuna Island Arc, Phantom Lord Arc, Tower of Heaven Arc, Battle of Fairy Tail Arc, and many more…
One major incident after another left Erza wide-eyed and dumbfounded.
She truly had never expected her future to be so…
Exciting.
No, "exciting" was not the right word.
"Disaster-ridden" would be more accurate.
It was ridiculous.
Absolutely ridiculous.
"So my world is actually this dangerous?"
Erza murmured to herself.
Seeing this, Rowan could not help commenting, "That's nothing. The most dangerous being in your world is only Acnologia. Truly dangerous worlds are far more terrifying than you could ever imagine."
"Have you ever seen a world where someone can erase an entire species—or even a planet—with a casual wave of their hand?"
"Huh?"
Seeing Erza's shocked expression, Rowan showed her the Dragon Ball manga.
Erza then discovered that compared with the chaos of Dragon Ball, her own world perhaps, possibly, genuinely was not as dangerous as she had imagined.
Because Dragon Ball was truly absurd.
Whether it was the Saiyans, Frieza, the Androids, or Majin Uub, every one of them was more powerful than the last.
Compared with them, the Black Dragon Acnologia was practically a little brother.
He was nothing special at all.
Afterward, Rowan showed Erza the DC comics.
Erza completely lost the ability to comment.
From General Zod to Doomsday, from Steppenwolf to Darkseid, from the Batman Who Laughs to the Anti-Monitor, from the Great Evil Beast to the Presence—
one world-destroying villain after another appeared in succession.
Erza began questioning her entire life.
How could this world be so miserable?
The fact that its people managed to survive one crisis after another was simply unbelievable.
Compared with that, the dangers in her own world truly did not seem like much.
Batman, in particular, had to face the Riddler, the Roman, the Penguin, Mr. Freeze, Two-Face, Scarecrow, Black Mask, Bane, and even vicious villains like the Joker when fighting alone.
And after forming the Justice League, he still had to face all kinds of absurd monsters.
Yet he somehow endured everything.
He was practically Superman.
Even Superman was not as much of a superman as he was.
After seeing such an intense comparison, Erza suddenly realised that the minor crises occurring in her world were nothing.
No, they were less than nothing.
"Thank you."
Having broadened her perspective, Erza formally thanked Rowan.
Rowan poured her a glass of ice-cold cola and waved his hand.
"It was nothing. Just a small favour."
Erza accepted the cold cola and took a sip. Her spirits immediately lifted.
It tasted quite good.
"By the way, there's something I want to ask you."
She looked seriously at Rowan.
"Why did you show me all of that? Why did you reveal my future to me?"
Her underlying meaning was naturally to ask what Rowan's objective was.
"There's no particular reason. I wanted to. That's all."
Rowan poured himself a glass of cold cola as well. After taking a sip, he said with a smile, "Besides, don't you think this is more interesting?"
"I've already seen the original story, so naturally, I know everything you'll experience in the future."
"But after entering your world, what would be the point of simply watching all of you repeat the exact same story?"
"So I want to see what the Fairy Queen, who now knows how the future will unfold, chooses to do next."
"Will you maintain the original course of events, or will you actively change them?"
"Don't you think that would be far more interesting?"
Erza was rendered somewhat speechless and could not help commenting, "You truly have a twisted sense of amusement."
"Twisted amusement? No, no, no. I merely want to experience something different."
Rowan looked at Erza with a smile.
Erza remained silent for a moment before suddenly extending an invitation that Rowan had never expected.
"Lord Rowan, would you like to join Fairy Tail?"