Log-in

"Okay then, let's do this," he resolved, pushing aside his fears as he once again reached for the device.

He put it on and pressed the power button, feeling a rush of anticipation. It took a few seconds before a message appeared on the screen, advising him to be in a comfortable and safe environment.

The 20-minute countdown began, One of the differences between the 3rd generation and the more recent ones was the awfully long waiting time 

each moment feeling like an eternity.

He laid there in silence, with different thoughts going through his mind further increasing his worry. But the one causing the most turmoil wasn't his possible death at the hands of this device.

Of course, he had doubts about the console but deep within he knew most of the faults had been repaired. What worried him the most was what was to come after. 

If he needed to achieve his goal there was one vital figure that was essential so he needed his former profile restored.

There wasn't much to look back on but this was the only way he could possibly level the playing field against these top players that had played the game for years and had years of experience.

'if only I had explored a little bit more I would have at least had a little information to go on but instead, I wasted all my time trying to become a craftsman… and in the end, I wasn't even any good'

The only advantage he got from his mundane life in Aetheria only came after his death and that was 'Blue' his AI assistant.

At first, it didn't seem like much but thinking back there were a lot of things that only made sense now that he was human. 

After being generated, blue had mentioned it shared the same server as the 'Eternal Blue' – that is the all-powerful super AI used in the creation of Aetheria and that was probably why it could alter his original codes and boost his intelligence. 

'Now that I think about it, If blue was generated by Eternal Blue it's possible that the super AI simply generated a copy of itself… but that doesn't matter now. What matters is that I could easily tell Blue to make me the most powerful player and within an instance, I'll become unstoppable'

'After I kill those monster humans, I'll torment all the other players until they leave my world alone… they'll call it the players pilgrimage' This thought brought a little piece of joy, causing him to smile a little.

'is this thing going to count forever?'

By now the countdown was in its final minutes, the anxiety slowly resurfacing. Each second felt even longer than the whole twenty minutes he had waited.

"Well, here goes," he whispered

>3<

>2<

>1<

It was finally time, the sound of the tiny cooling fans in the console being the only thing he could hear. It wasn't as smooth as normal, probably because he had tampered with the console. 

With the haphazard sounds slowly becoming a rhythm in his head he could feel his consciousness drift away, as he closed his eyes.

At this point, leaps of faith had become more of a normal happenstance in his life.

"Beginning the log-in process" He heard a synthetic voice say

When he opened his eyes, he found himself in a nostalgic abyss, his body being the only visible presence.

"It worked!" he exclaimed, relief washing over him. 

However, the journey was far from over. Without much time to celebrate his success, he heard another message.

"CREATING NEW CHARACTER PROFILE "

"No, don't create! Just restore my previous profile" 

He had doubts about this working, afterall who's to say Levi hadn't already created a profile before dying or if his profile as Cian ever made it to this console.

If that's the case he'll need to start leveling up from scratch and who knows just how long that would take.

Cian barely knew anything about the world he was returning to, even if he had lived his whole life in Aetheria. So his whole gaming success depended on this.

"RESTORING CHARACTER PROFILE"

«...»

"CHARACTER PROFILE RESTORED"

*Special message: gaming mode switched 

NPC>PLAYER.

"STATUS WINDOW"

<NAME: Cian>

<LEVEL: 1>EXP:O/50

<Class: Craftsman apprentice>

<Title: None>

*Able to perform measly tasks in the Craftshop. No perceivable talent for Crafting.

MP:3/3

HP:25/25

<STATS >

STR: 2

AGL: 2

VIT: 5

INT: 1

LUCK: 1

WIS: 8

Stats point (SP): 0

<SKILLS >

SKILL 1: INSPECT(1st grade);

-Active-

* As a craftsman apprentice you can identify in-game items and resources. No mana required

SKILL 2: OBSERVATION(1st grade);

-passive-

*As an apprentice you are able to carefully perceive and understand details in your surroundings, using all senses to gather information. No mana required

____

As a wry smile tugged at the corners of his lips, a joyous spark flickered in his eyes. 

A surge of adrenaline pulsed through his veins. Staring at the status window he hesitated for a moment, absorbing the reality of his success.

The subtle triumph in his gaze betrayed the earlier doubt, replaced by an electrifying sense of achievement that danced beneath the surface of his composed demeanor.

The status window was almost the same as before but this time it was met with a different reaction. Who would have thought the same sight that had once filled him with disgust and anger would bring him such a level of fulfilment.

"at least the 'fixed' status is gone," he said, noticing the difference. 

For newer players, the status window wouldn't normally come up until they had gone past the character edit point and had fully logged into the game. They also would have to start with no skills and all stats zero.

His physical form remained that of Levi's even after his original profile was reinstated.

Although he wasn't really happy about his class 'craftsman apprentice', he was certain it wouldn't matter once he logged in and Blue returned.

He was ready to dominate.

"CONTINUING LOG-IN PROCESS"