Sora's mind buzzed with possibilities.
[Prestige] had been both his salvation and his new mystery.
The ability to reset my progress and retain a multiplier for experience and talent is insanely powerful, he thought.
'However, the skill's description was quite vague. I don't know how far this advantage can go. Is there a cap? Could I truly keep resetting and growing infinitely? There has to be a catch, but for now, let's hope there's none.' Sora tried to focus on what he could control.
As he reviewed his situation, he began breaking down his thoughts.
'My goal is to become strong enough not to worry about being betrayed again. Rachel has shown me the worst of human nature, and I'll make sure I'll show her the worst of what I can do.'
'For that, I need to be smarter in this life, in the next and so on. I need to be careful.'
The only tool he had was starting to obsess him, as he opened the skill description once more.
[Innate Skill: Prestige]
Description: Reset your training upon death or by choice after reaching Level 50. All levels and skills revert to zero. Growth Factor doubles with each reset. Talent Level doubles with each reset.
Death Activation: Can activate upon death with a 30-day cooldown.
Manual Activation: Can be activated manually after reaching Level 50 with no cooldown.
Click for more.
My talent level and growth factor rose to level two, which is double what I had in the past. If I rely on that, I can only be twice as strong, and in half the time, right? He started calculating, planning his next steps.
To maximize my growth, I can't just play like I did with my friends. His thoughts darkened slightly as memories of farming sessions with them resurfaced, but he shook his head and refocused on his goal.
I need to take advantage of XP-boosting zones. There are tons of them, but I don't even know where I am right now, so that'll have to wait.
But for grinding levels to even make sense, manual activation of [Prestige] would need to be faster than death activation…
Sora quickly narrowed down the core of the problem and understood what he had to do.
Level 50 in thirty days. That's when grinding resets will actually become worthwhile!
However, his excitement quickly faded into a long sigh.
A month to gain 50 levels? Easier said than done.
Sora thought back to his days as a level 49 swordsman.
Five years. That's how long it took me to reach level 49. I wasn't obsessed with growth, wasn't driven. I did quests and dungeons regularly, but it still took me five long years to get there.
He knew he had always been a casual player, but not a lazy one. He never took long breaks from leveling or playing with his friends — they had simply been slow and overly careful in the quests they chose. He had even spent months power-leveling friends who joined the 'game' late.
With my experience, knowledge, and new stats, I can cut that time drastically. Hunting a few hours every day and relaxing on weekends won't cut it anymore. If I dedicate everything to leveling, I should reach 50 in less than a year.
He began thinking out loud.
"However, reaching level 50 in a month would be amazing."
"From then on, I'd keep resetting every time I hit 50, raising my talent level and growth factor… potentially indefinitely. Resetting faster and faster."
"When would that become possible? Third reset? Fourth?"
He started calculating how long it would take to reach his goal before shaking his head sharply.
"No, no, there has to be a faster way… Hitting level 50 in a month is possible if I find the right leveling zones and get strong enough to kill monsters ten levels above me. That would give me a massive experience boost and save me one or two resets, depending on how fast I grow."
As if possessed, he paced back and forth, shaking his head.
"I'm stupid. I can't beat monsters that strong. Monsters scale exponentially in this shitty world. Something ten levels above me would be twenty times stronger! I'd need a method that doesn't rely only on resetting."
He realized he would need four more resets just to bridge such a gap in power if he depended solely on brute force.
The answer is to rely on Death Activation for now. I'll wait for my multipliers to increase before grinding [Prestige] levels. Four months—yeah, that would be perfect. He shrugged.
But as soon as he prepared himself to accept that answer, he shook his head yet again.
I can't just stay safe in a city and wait while doing nothing useful. Determined not to waste more time, he began thinking of ways to use the month effectively.
After several minutes, he finished forming his plan.
For the first step, I need to reach level ten. Without that, I'll have trouble going anywhere, or even reaching the nearest village. Once I do, I can get gear and unlock access to mana. As long as I'm an Innocent, I can't accept quests, so I'd better get rid of that status by hitting level 10. Finding a village or town is also essential, so I need to do both at once.
Next, I have to go home… I need to check if they're okay. Are my parents doing well? It has been a month already… How did they handle my death? Do they even know?
Forcing himself not to lose track of his goals, he continued planning:
I don't necessarily need to reveal the truth to them, but I have to see how they're doing.
After that, between each reset, I'll need a method to optimize XP gain up to level 50. I'll seek quests and opportunities with special rewards during those months, map out farming zones, and plan intense grinding sessions aligned with my growing strength.
Finally, once the four months are over, I'll get to work! I'll be able to reset on repeat.
Just thinking about exponentially increasing his talent level made Sora salivate.
If it takes me thirty days for the next reset, then thanks to doubled experience and doubled power, the following one should take a quarter of the time… barely seven days! Then four, then two, then one!
He chuckled, aware he was daydreaming.
No way I'll become the strongest player in the world that easily… There must be hidden rules I don't know about.
With a clear idea of what he wanted to do, Sora stopped pacing and began surveying the area. He searched for anything that might reveal where he had ended up.
Spotting low-level monsters in the distance, he let out a sigh of relief. He was in a zone appropriate for his current level. Still, nothing around him felt familiar.
Please don't tell me I spawned on the opposite side of the world…
Worried for his plans, he really didn't want to cross an entire continent just to go home.
Surrounded by trees, he picked a direction at random, hoping to find a higher vantage point.
If I can find a village or a town, I'll know which part of the kingdom I'm in. Since the update, it's easy to get lost, so I should buy a map as soon as I can.
Walking southeast for about an hour, he noticed tall hills in the distance and chose them as his next destination.
"Maybe I'll see something useful from up there," he told himself.
On the way, he encountered countless low-level beasts. While some weren't aggressive, most attacked any human on sight.
Sora gripped his Fiendish Fang and effortlessly sliced through a group of spiked rats. His [Critical Strike] triggered with every attack, and each beast died in a single hit.
As he prepared to attack another pack, the creatures scattered and ran for their lives.
To think I used to struggle with mobs like these back when Nathan took me to earn my first levels…
Sora smiled at the memory of those happier days with his older brother.
He ignored the fleeing monsters and continued heading south.
After nearly ten hours of walking and cutting down everything in his path, Sora finally reached the hilltop he had spotted earlier. Instead of admiring the new view, he checked his progress.
Individually, these monsters don't give much XP, but since I killed so many that were higher level than me, I'm already level 9. It'd be nice to hit level 10 today.
Looking at the monsters around him, Sora shook his head.
No level ten mobs here. I need another zone, or this will take too long. Unless I run into a miniboss…
Rather than stay and scrape for slow progress, he decided to postpone leveling for later. He scanned the horizon and quickly spotted what he was looking for.
A village… I'm basically done with the two goals of the first stage.