12 Episode 1: Reset (1)

With the state of transcendence coming to an end—time had slowly turned nil. Shinto was now in a dark voided space, where his body flowed seamlessly through the emptiness of it.

"..."

He could not move nor open his eyes as his body ached while his mind was plagued with fatigue. However, his senses were still intact. With that, he could hear the continuous alerts coming from his system log.

[ Initialization completed. ]

[ Reset has been finalized. ]

[ Your level has dropped down to level 1. ]

[ All skills and stats unrelated to that of the (Shadow Diviner) will be removed. ]

"U-Ugh..." Shinto slightly grunted whilst slowly recovering from the blackout amidst his rising bar of notifications.

[ Wisdom stat has opened. ]

[ Passive Skill: (Divining Gauge) has been created. ]

[ Passive Skill: (Diviner's Will) has been created. ]

[ Passive Skill: (Split of Duality) has been created. ]

[ Passive Skill: (Shadow Markings) has been created. ]

[ Passive Skill: (Eyes of Altric) has been created. ]

[ Ability Skill: (Shadow Fields) has been created. ]

[ Ability Skill: (Divinity Point) has been created. ]

[ Ability Skill: (Mark of Umbra) has been created. ]

[ Ability Skill: (Shadow Calling) has been created. ]

[ Ability Skill: (Hollowed Crest) has been created. ]

[ You have obtained the title: (Altric's Discoverer). ]

[ You have obtained the title: (Blessing of Duality I). ]

[ Shadow stat has opened. ]

[ Divinity stat has opened. ]

"..." despite his eyes that were slid shut from exhaustion, his consciousness was still wide awake to read through the notifications.

[ The rankings have shifted with your level reset. Under the jurisdiction of the system, your first placing within the unified rankings will be marked under legacy. ]

[ You are now unranked. ]

"Aha..." A bitter smile could be seen on his face. But, not too long after, he sighed out a breath of relief. "So I'm no longer first, huh?"

The burden of being at the top, which he had kept bottled up within his heart and mind for far too long—all finally released.

The young man was now free of the shackles from the mountain he had created. He could now take a break without worry and recover his worn-out mind in a leisure manner.

"..." Still with that bittersweet smile, Shinto slowly began to open his eyes. Within the endless void around him, he was greeted by the vibrant blue colour of the notification window in front of him.

"...the Shadow Diviner," moments later, he muttered to himself upon reading through the messages more closely. "Just what kind of Support Archetype class is it?"

[ Due to the fatigue you have sustained from the state of transcendence, your stamina has been depleted. ]

[ As such, you will now be transported out of the dungeon and to your registered home residence. ]

[ Your previous registered home residence is no longer available for use. ]

[ Would you like to teleport to the nearest town by your location? ]

"Ah, right... I left my guild," Shinto's line of thought regarding the matter was quickly cut off as the notifications finally ended. "Hah... Let's see here... What's the town nearest to the Mountains of Gaveln again...? Hmm..."

Thinking to himself in the silent abyss around him, he recalled a certain kingdom nearby the west of Zemul.

"Ah. It's in the Kingdom of Hak's territory?" he mumbled to himself in uncertainty. "Hmm... With this reset, it's not too shabby to start there, huh?"

Having lost his place in the guild, Shinto's other option was to head towards the Kingdom of Hak, a country in which was as free as the wind. There were many sorts of ruins and greenery in the area, and the lands were filled with lavish forests, perfect for resource gathering.

As such, it was one of the best places for a player to start at. After all, to progress, one would need to level up. And to do that, they would need to head to the hunting grounds, which the kingdom's land provided plenty of, especially ones that had countless history within them.

"...it's a good place to take a leisure walk and take in the surroundings too." With the facts taken into account, Shinto nodded his head. "Yes. Teleport me to the nearest town from where I'm at."

[ Teleportation shall now commence. ]

Within the deep abyss, a light suddenly radiated around Shinto, quickly enveloping him whole. Then, as the illumination began to dissipate away, the void was left alone once again.

...

A white embodiment of light shot through the sky as it entered into the Temple of Viera—the holy sanctum for priests and respawn area for all players who reside within the peaceful town of Parm, located by the northeastern borders of Hak.

With the light dispersed away, a young man could be seen silently standing on the respawn pad alongside many players, similar in fashion to him. He did not stand out as his shining white armour set, Kurogane, his accessories and other equipment were all gone. There was nothing left on him except the ragged clothing of a new player.

"..."

Scanning around the area upon spawning into the temple, Shinto noted that there were many players here. Many of them were bustling around, chatting within the hallways while boasting about their achievements to other people.

"The town of Parm..." Shinto muttered out to himself as he turned to look at the equipment of the players. The majority of them were wearing low levelled gear. "...if I remember correctly, it's one of the famous starting locations for new players."

Despite the crowd of people everywhere, the young man was not worried that anyone would recognize him. After all, like everyone else, he was but a novice blending into the background of the talkative environment.

"Aha... It's kind of strange to see so many players wearing low levelled equipment here..." he slightly chuckled as he compared it to the scenes from before his reset. Since Shinto was always in high levelled hunting grounds or cities where it was majorly dominated by veteran players, he wasn't used to the sight. "...but, it's kind of refreshing in a way."

Feeling a sense of nostalgia, he gently smiled. He was free within the boundaries of the game. He did not need to fear players flocking to him like a needle in a haystack. He was allowed to be himself amongst other people, not needing to put up a public image. He could lie low and have an easy vacation.

"Hah..." taking a deep breath, Shinto's attention now fixated on his status window. "Now that my character has been reset... I guess the first order of business is to check out my status."

With a nod of his head, he soon scrutinized the screen in front of him.

[ Player Profile ]

Player Name: Shinto

Level: 1

Rank: <Unranked >

Class: Shadow Diviner

-Class Attribute-

You are the diviner of light and shadow. As such, you will receive certain bonuses when you are within certain environments.

•Under the night skies or in darkness, you will gain a 25% boost of mobility and sight. While under the sunlight or within bright lights, you will instead gain a 20% boost to defence and magic power.

•As a diviner between light and shadow, abnormal status conditions do not work well on you when the one who would inflict said condition is of a lower status than you.

-Titles-

[ Altric's Discoverer ]

•You are now eligible to find the meaning of (Truth).

[ Blessing of Duality I ]

•The Blessing of Duality has been bestowed upon you. As a diviner of light and shadow, your presence will give light and warmth to the people around you. In addition, an aura of luminescence will surround you.

-[ Protective Aura ]: Allies in your party will receive a 5% boost in all stats as long as they're in the vicinity of a 5m radius range near you.

-Stats-

HP: 18/18 | MP: 8/8

Strength: 1 | Stamina: 1

Intelligence: 1 | Agility: 1

Shadow: 1 | Divinity: 1

Wisdom: 1

Weight: 6500/150 (You have exceeded the weight limit!)

Stat Points: 0

...

"Hoh? These class attributes aren't too shabby, eh?" Shinto observed his newly acquired stats while reading through his attributes. "Depending on the environment, I'll gain a different buff, huh? Hmm..." nodding his head in thought, his eyes now moved towards his titles. "Altric's Discoverer and Blessing of Duality one... Hmm... There are no additional stat bonuses to them, huh? Well, except for that party buff."

Shinto was slightly dissatisfied with his titles. After all, as all of his hard-earned titles over the years in-game were either locked or removed, he expected something better as compensation. However, both were small in power. Though, he couldn't complain as overall, he had received a hidden class.

"Well... I guess since I'm only just starting out with this class, I shouldn't be getting too much imbalance of power at level one," he reasoned as he soon closed his status window. "Ahem... Now then, let's check out the new skills."