Sora woke up in a daze, his body cold and unsteady. For a moment, his thoughts were a jumble as the memory of his death repyed in his mind. Something incredibly powerful had erased him in an instant, and he had no idea how.

  'Was it a sp? A strike? A spit? I haven't eve ing.'

  It was over before he could prehend anything.

  His thoughts drifted to the studies ducted by Publiiversities, particurly their researonsters above level 80. Acc to estimates, such creatures had a power level of at least 150 billion. That kind of power was inceivable, and it oed because of the post-apocalypse rules of Earth. The tai of these monsters in specific high-level areas suggested something even more terrifying: whoever orchestrated these world ges had even more power.

  'If creatures like that are mere ants, then what am I?' he thought, a bitter smile on his face. Reality came crashing down—he was still weak.

  Sure, he had unlocked new skills, surpassed his former self, and grown tremendously. But in the grand scheme of things, his power was insignifit. His potential might be infinite, but potential meant nothing without knowledge, skill, and actual power.

  "Status," he muttered, almost on autopilot. The familiar notification for his prestige skill appeared in front of him, asking if he wao activate his innate ability.

  [Do you want to use your Prestige to revive ?]

  [Yes] [No]

  This time, he pressed yes without hesitation.

  The dark space that typically apanied his Prestige activation was repced by a bright, blinding space.

  [Choose ay for an immediate revival or create ay]

  [Sora Hashino]

  [Ralph Eden]

  [New identity (30 Days penalty)]

  He opted to keep his current identity, Ralph, without ging his appearance. Unlike before, the dy's voice was silent this time. He had growuiding words, but her absenow felt like a small step toward self-reliance.

  As soon as he chose to keep his identity, he reappeared as ahereal form above the area where he had died. A new notification popped up, indig that he could revive anywhere within 1,000 kilometers from his death point.

  "Maybe it's because I didn't ge my identity," he mused, intrigued by the added flexibility.

  He revived in a safe zone, within a level 1-9 area near Bara. As soon as he reappeared, mana swirled around him, ref his body. His familiar, Hiyoko, appeared as well. Their bond was still intact, but Hiyoko's face showed a mix of fusion, surprise, and happiness.

  Without warning, the tiny bird leapt onto Sora's belly, chirping and hoppiedly as if cheg that he was truly alive.

  Sora smiled, feeling an odd sense of fort from the little Piou's joy. "I'm fine, Hiyoko," he whispered, stroking the bird gently. "Let's go on."

  He quickly checked his status.

  [Status Update]

  Profile: Ralph Eden (Sora Hashino)Status: Alive (Prestige 2)Css: None (Level 1)Title: I

  Power Level: 20y Level: EBody Level: FTalent Level: 4

  His css was reset to none, and his titles, skills, and power were back to the familiar starting point. All css-based skills were either locked or reduced to level 1, but his cssless skills remained intact. His Supreme Skill, Mana Evolution, was still active and as powerful as ever.

  When he was around level 34 in his previous life, [Mana Evolution] had made him eight times strohan a regur pyer. But now, with his Prestige multiplier at 4, [Mana Evolution] made him ten times stronger.

  Doing the mental math, Sora smirked. "Forty times strohan average pyers of my level. It's insane."

  His base strength was only five, but with the bined effects of his two skills, it was multiplied to an astronomical degree. This time, however, Sora felt different. He didn't let it get to his head.

  "There are others like me out there. For now, I'm just a frog in a well. No use getting arrogant," he muttered to himself.

  He looked around the area and decided his first move was to retrieve his items from the bank. He didn't care about fighting monsters just yet. With Hiyoko perched on his shoulder, he strolled back to the city, quickly heading to the bank. Ohere, the clerk was surprised to see this experienced adventurer he has seen before return with level 1 clothes...

  "Did you lose all your levels ??" the clerk asked, but Sora didn't answer, asking for access to his vault.

  He retrieved all his stored equipment—level 1, 10, 20, 30, 40, and even 50 gear, as well as his training equipment. The items he put before resetting were still there, but he would sell them ter as he was not in the mood to do that.

  "Let's get strong quickly this time," he thought, a determined glint in his eyes. "It won't take 30 days to reset this time. I'll hit level 50 as fast as I ."

  He wasn't in the mood to rex or celebrate. The memory of his death still weighed heavily on him. All that power he'd accumuted—gone in a sed. He was nothing pared to the true monsters of the world.

  As he left the city, equipped with his level 1 sword, Sora prepared to head to the wilderness. But as he was about to move, shouting caught his attention. Curious, he approached the otion.

  A group of pyers was bullying someohe victim, a level 5 pyer, was desperately fighting a level 9 Giant Mosquito, while his tormentors—pyers ranging from levels 12 to 19—blocked his escape. They jeered and taunted him, cutting off his retreat and watg him suffer.

  The leader of the bullies, level 19, seemed to be motivated by personal hatred—the victim had apparently caught the eye of his sister, and he had followed him to these dangerous parts to make him "disappear."

  Sora was about to walk away, ued in their drama, when the leader of the group noticed him. "Just a level 1... he's not a threat," the leader muttered to an assassin in his party.

  "Take care of him," he whispered. The assassin nodded, his hand reag for a PK Token—a rare item that allowed pyers to attack others despite the protective rules of the world.

  The assassioward Sora, but before he could nd a hit, Sora turned and swung his sword. A fsh of mana surged through his bde as his [True Mana Strike] sliced the assassin in half. The assassin died instantly, his body falling to the ground before he could eveer what had happened.

  Sora felt a rush of energy as notifications filled his vision.

  [You have killed Ramen, a level 15 pyer.]

  Sora's level instantly shot up to 8, a powerful surge of mana c through him. He could feel more of his strength returning, his body swelling with the power he had lost.

  [Legitimate Defense System activated.]

  [You may now defend yourself against all members of the attag party.]

  Without hesitation, Sora rushed toward the remaining group of bullies. His body moved faster than they could react, though he missed the Speed Surge skill he'd been aced to. He made do with a swift dash, sending out a Mana Sweep that obliterated most of the bullies and the Giant Mosquito in one go.

  [Level up! You are now Level 13.]

  He hated PVP, but some pyers couldn't help but hunt other pyers.

  Only the level 19 leader remaianding, shaking in disbelief. He had just watched Sora—who was level 1 moments ago—wipe out his entire group with ease. The sho his eyes alpable.

  "What the hell are you?" he shouted, panic setting in as he tried to fight back.

  Sora didn't give him the ce to attack. With a fsh, the bully bcked out, dead before he even realized it.

  Without a word, Sora turned around, gave a few gold s and a shield to the bullied pyer and helped him get into a safer zone.

  These guys ruined his mood as he hated killing other pyers. However, seeing the experience gains, it seemed less real.

  Equipping his level 10 gear, Sora moved on to the zone. In just a few hours, he had leveled up to 20. By nightfall, he was level 24, cutting through monsters and threats in zones far above his level.

  He returo Bara, entering an inn to rest after a long day of grinding. The city was just another pit stop on his path to power.

  Sora stood in the small, dimly lit room he had re the inn, his mind rag with thoughts of the day's progress. He had torn through levels far faster than he'd expected, reag level 24 in just a single day.

  But even as the power rushed through his veins, he k was still just a fra of what he'd wielded the day before. The room was quiet, the only sound ing from the soft chirps of Hiyoko, who erched on the windowsill, watg the fading light of the setting sun.

  His power level had skyrocketed sihat first enter in the m—rising by leaps and bounds with each level-up. His stats, even without a css, were starting to approach those of pyers much higher in level. It felt exhirating, but there was a lingering feeling of unease gnawing at the back of his mind. It wasn't the fast progress that uled him—it was the knowledge of what still y ahead.

  As he stared at the walls of the room, his mind wandered back to his parents. He hadn't thought about them mu the chaos of leveling up, but now, the memories came flooding in.

  His heart ached as he remembered how they lost not just one son, but both.

  His brother Nathan—killed, most likely by Rachel.

  Sora ched his fist at the thought. Rachel, their childhood friend, the one who had betrayed him, had also taken Nathan away. His parents must have beeated by their deaths, not knowing the true reason. He had to make things right. He o fix this.

  Tomorrow m, he would choose a new css, then head home. The thought of returning to France filled him with a strange mix of dread and longing.

  His parents didn't know he was alive, and the idea of revealing himself to them after all this time was... plicated. But he had to see them. They deserved to know the truth, and he wao protect them, no matter what.

  With his mi on the road ahead, Sora turoward the bed. He g Hiyoko, who chirped softly before tug its tiny head us wing. He allowed himself a small smile before lying down, pulling the thin b over himself.

  "Goodnight Hiyoko"