《Second Light》 Prologue - Humanitys Last He was the only one left. His body charred, blackened, and torn. Both his arms, gone. Looking around him, Erik only saw a grey wasteland. The ashes, either falling from the blackened sky or rising from the volcanic terrain, filled his vision. Yet Erik knew ¨C he was the only one left. He was the last human alive. Within a moment, he heard the familiar ring of a notification. A holographic screen popped up in his vision. [Congratulations! You and your party have defeated The Timeless: Emperor Ragnorok. As a reward, you have received 2,900,000,000 experience.] [You have obtained the Spear of Raging Flames - Legendary] [You have obtained the Goddess¡¯ Tear - Mythical] [Level Up!] [Level Up!] [Level Up!] [Level Up!] [Level Up!} [Level Up!] [Level Up!] Seven levels from a single battle. Erik knew, it was because the rest of his party had been wiped out, and he had been the sole living member of his party to receive the reward for the battle. In a rush of light, Erik¡¯s body healed as a result of the level-up. His arms were still gone, however. It was always like this. Whenever someone leveled, they would be healed to their body¡¯s original, maximum potential - but lost limbs would not heal. Although the Emperor Ragnorok was defeated, Erik felt no joy. In order to achieve this victory, his party had been nearly wiped. The only reason Erik was alive was due to his class, Archemage. As the sole mage of the party, he was stationed at the rear, the only reason he had not been slaughtered by Emperor Ragnorok. And as a result, Erik was the last living human. Erik breathed a rough sigh, and thought back to when it all started. 25 years. It felt so short, but that was how long humanity had lasted. 25 years ago, on a dark October night, the System first announced itself, and humanity faced the worst crisis of its history. Humanity, deemed by the System to be technologically and intellectually sufficient, was transferred to Minerva. To be precise, Minerva was a world in itself, and it could be described as a battlefield. Minerva was the place of gathering for 7 different intelligent races on a single world to fight amongst themselves, to determine the strongest.The tale has been illicitly lifted; should you spot it on Amazon, report the violation. It was a sick joke by the gods. For pure entertainment purposes, the gods pitted the 7 intelligent races under their jurisdiction under a cruel game of survival. Winning meant survival, while losing meant the eradication of the entire species. And only one species of the 7 could win. Humanity had survived the onslaught of the war for 25 short years. Within the first 7 years, the weakest species, the Ratteans, were eliminated. Nearly two decades later, humanity was the next to go, it seemed. With a glance, Erik checked the items he had received from the battle in his inventory. One was a legendary spear, a weapon Erik knew he would not use since he was a mage. The other, however, quickly grabbed his attention. It was the first mythical item he had seen, and its effects were indeed truly mythical. [Goddess¡¯ Tear ¨C Mythical Description: A lonely goddess¡¯ tear of sorrow, crystallized through the power of her sheer emotions. ¡®If only I could reverse time.¡¯ Effect: Invoke this item to reverse time to a period of the user¡¯s desire. A target may be selected. The target will retain his memories of this timeline.] It was an item befitting its mythical rating. With a shock, Erik realized. It¡­ could save humanity. If he reversed time, with his memories intact, he could change so much. He could become stronger than ever before! He would know the location of priceless treasures and eliminate humanity¡¯s worst disasters at its roots. But¡­ Erik shook his head. He should not be the one to go. Erik knew, he had already maximized his potential. As the Archemage of humanity¡¯s last surviving party, he was strong. Unbelievably strong. Strongest, in fact, than everyone else, including those in his party. But he was not the one with the most potential. Erik¡¯s closest friend, Isen, most definitely was. He was humanity¡¯s greatest swordsman, and also a member of humanity¡¯s final party that had defeated the Emperor Ragnarok. But he was woefully unlucky during the beginning, and had lost his right hand within the first month of coming to Minerva. Isen had once told him that it was his biggest regret. Despite losing his dominant hand, Isen still became the greatest swordsman of humanity, which was representative of his potential. And also, Erik didn¡¯t want to go back. It had been a ridiculously harrowing 25 years, and he was tired. Erik wanted to rest¡­ and so he would push the task of saving humanity to his longtime friend. ¡®When we meet, please take care of me. Good luck, Isen. I¡¯ll see you on the other side.¡¯ Erik activated the Goddess¡¯ Tear, and selected Isen¡¯s corpse as its target. In a brilliant flash of light, the Goddess¡¯ Tear activated. Erik closed his eyes, a tired smile plastered on his bloody face. When the light receded, 25 years earlier, Isen opened his eyes. Chapter 1 - The Calling When Isen opened his eyes, he couldn¡¯t help but blink in confusion. ¡®I¡­ I should be dead!¡¯ He could remember it so clearly. During his final battle, he had severed Ragnarok¡¯s head with the help of the dying priest¡¯s Empower buff and Erik¡¯s Superior Mana Shield protecting him. The mana shield however, was not enough to keep him alive. In exchange for Ragnarok¡¯s head, he had paid with his life ¨C Ragnarok had plunged a flaming spear into his chest, immediately shattering the mana shield and taking his life. He still remembered the searing pain as his body combusted in flames from that blow. It was impossible he could still be alive. But within a short moment, Isen realized something disturbing. His right hand¡­ it was back. It had been cut off years ago, but it there it was, firmly attached to his right arm. From a quick glance, he realized that his recovered palm had no calluses. And so did his other palm, which he was certain was enamored with numerous callouses from years of battle. Something was very, very wrong. Before he could investigate further, a familiar holographic screen appeared in his vision. [Player Erik Steele has activated the item: Goddess¡¯ Tear. You have been targeted! Due to the Goddess¡¯ Tear¡¯s active effect, a specified period of time has been reversed. Time has been reversed precisely 25 years and 14 days. As the specified target, you will retain your memories of the past timeline.] ¡®What¡­? There is no way in hell this is true.¡¯ Isen knew that when he was killed, Erik and the priest, Chen, were the only ones possible to survive. Isen could remember that Chen was near death, burning under Ragnarok¡¯s inextinguishable hell fire. Erik may have been humanity¡¯s last survivor. Had he acquired an item that could reverse time? And he had targeted Isen instead of himself? Isen breathed out a massive sigh. When he died, he had accepted his death. But now, he had been woken up, expected to relive the past 25 years of his life. The worst 25 years. He didn¡¯t know what to think. He also didn¡¯t have time to think. Within moments, another holographic notification appeared in his vision. [Congratulations! The Gods have invited humanity to prove themselves worthy in the world of Minerva. Great challenges lie ahead! Prove yourselves¡ªand your species¡ªwith unyielding strength, dexterity, constitution, intelligence, and luck. A tutorial has been constructed for your species. Ascend the Tower of Fortuna to its very peak. At its highest floor, you will be granted entrance into the world of Minerva. But challengers beware ¨C tribulations lie ahead, and only risks may guarantee rewards. You may not refuse this invitation. In 60 seconds, you will be transported to the Tower of Fortuna : Floor 1. Prepare yourself. ] Isen groaned. He was back. And Erik had been short-sighted enough to only send him back to when the system first initialized. Couldn¡¯t he have been sent back at least a month beforehand to prepare? Well, Erik had always been a dim lightbulb. Erik¡¯s overwhelming intelligence stat had brought him to great heights in terms of magic, but he had strangely always remained quite dim in the head. But regardless, Erik was an undoubtedly dependable and trustworthy ally. And he had truly sent Isen back in time, it seemed. It was a chance to correct his past mistakes. Isen clenched his teeth. He was prepared. Isen thought back to when the system first initialized. It was known as the Calling¡ªthe first time humanity had seen the holographic screens, and were consequently ¡®invited¡¯ into the tutorial. The tutorial itself was known as the Tower of Fortuna. The tower totaled only 10 floors, but was unbelievably deadly¡ªto the extent that it was estimated that only 0.1% of the human population survived the tutorial. But this time, things would be different. Isen would strive to become unbelievably powerful. By utilizing his knowledge of each floor and its hidden achievements, he would become a force to be reckoned with. Not only amongst the humans, but also the other races once he arrived at Minerva. In addition, he would save as many other humans as possible during the tutorial. He would do everything in his ability to change the future, and that started with maximizing humanity¡¯s potential from the beginning. Before long, Isen was engulfed in a blue light. The tutorial had started. -- [Tower of Fortuna : Floor 1] Floor 1. Known as the ¡°Dueling Arena¡±, it was by far the simplest floor. The system would pair each human with another in a one-on-one duel to the death. The winner would advance, while the loser¡­ well, the loser would be dead. Although this floor would boast a 50% mortality rate, as half of the challengers would perish, it was a relatively simple and safe floor. After all, by the 10th floor, only one out of one thousand original challengers would still be alive. A 50% mortality rate, in comparison, was a blessing. Within each floor, Isen knew that there were hidden rewards one could achieve for accomplishing certain achievements. For him, only one of those achievements in this particular floor of the tower truly mattered. It was a title, Fastest. Awarded to the quickest person to clear the first floor, the title would grant an absurd bonus to his dexterity stat. During his last life, the title was owned by one of the final thousand. But this time, it would be Isen¡¯s. When the light cleared, Isen found himself standing in a large arena. It looked akin to a coliseum, but the stands were completely empty. It was him, and a young boy¡ªunluckily matched up against Isen¡ªon the other side of the arena. Separated by approximately 100 meters, the boy was clearly startled by the teleportation. He was looking around the arena in shock.Did you know this story is from Royal Road? Read the official version for free and support the author. Soon, a familiar holographic screen appeared in Isen¡¯s vision. [Welcome to the Tower of Fortuna : Floor 1 (Dueling Arena)! A fellow challenger has been selected as your opponent. This is a duel to the death. Defeat your opponent to ascend to the next floor. Floor 1 Tip: Verbalize the word ¡°Status¡± to view your personal Status. As this is the first floor of the tutorial, you may select a beginner¡¯s weapon from the following choices:
  1. One-handed sword
  2. Two-handed sword
  3. Spear
  4. One-handed hammer
  5. Two-handed hammer
  6. Katana
  7. Bow
  8. Scimitar
¡­ ] The list went on and on. But Isen didn¡¯t finish reading the first sentence. He already knew what the notification would entail. Immediately, he muttered in a low voice. ¡°One-handed sword.¡± In an instant, a rusty, one-handed sword materialized in front of him in a flash of blue light. [Trashy One-handed Sword ¨C Poor Tier Description: Better fit for the trash can, this sword will bend when in contact with a strong force. + 2 Strength + 1 Dexterity] It was truly a trashy sword in both appearance and effects. But it would do. Isen reached out and grabbed the sword that had materialized in front of him. The handle felt rough, the leather coarse in his hands. He was once again reminded that his hands were no longer calloused. That he was back in the past. Isen¡¯s eyebrows narrowed as he looked ahead in determination. In an instant, he began sprinting towards the kid on the other side of the arena. He couldn¡¯t have been more than 12 years old. Isen, on the other hand, had returned to when he was 20¡ªduring his physical prime. 90 meters. 80 meters. 70 meters. 60 meters. At this point, the boy looked up from reading the system message. 50 meters. The boy began backpedaling, his eyes bulging, his mouth open in shock as Isen began closing the distance. 40 meters. ¡°Wait! Stop! What are you doing!¡± The boy shouted out in fear. 30 meters. ¡°Mister, please put down that weapon! This is not real!¡± The boy persisted, but Isen did not stop. 20 meters. Full speed, Isen drew the sword in an arc from his side to the front of his chest. He lobbed the sword, full force ahead of him. Before the boy could react, the blade had pierced his chest. The boy fell backward, hard. Blood splattered on the ground beneath him, and blood soon began pooling from the fatal cut. Within a moment, the boy was dead. Isen looked at the fallen boy, his eyes downcast. He remembered the boy. His name was Jason, only 11 years old. When Isen had come to the tutorial in the past, he and Jason had decided to wait it out. They were convinced it was all a prank ¨C that this could not be real. In the end, after two days peace, not only were they starving, they were dying of thirst. By the third day, they¡¯d gotten desperate, and eventually got into an argument. The contents of the argument were negligible, but it soon escalated into a fight. Due to Isen¡¯s advantage in age and size, he had come out on top¡ªafter killing his first human. Isen shook his head. This wasn¡¯t the time nor place to reminisce about the past. Instead, he took a closer look at the notification that had appeared soon after Jason¡¯s death. [Congratulations! You have cleared the Dueling Arena. You have been awarded 100 experience for clearing the first floor of the tutorial.] [Congratulations! For being the fastest clearer of the Dueling Arena amongst all challengers, you have received the title: Fastest Amongst All] ¡®Fastest Amongst All? I could¡¯ve sworn the title was just Fastest in the past¡­¡¯ In a moment, Isen opened his status window. [Isen Hilt] Level: 1 (50%) Title: None Selected Strength: 14 Dexterity: 12 Constitution: 10 Intelligence: 9 Luck: 14 Skills: None Isen skimmed over his simple status, which was identical to what he remembered from the past. With the average stat point for a human set at 10 points, his beginning stats were in all honesty, quite phenomenal. His above average strength and dexterity had likely been a result of working out several times a week in college. His intelligence was apparently below average, which wasn¡¯t too much of a surprise¡ªIsen had always been someone who achieved everything he did with hard work¡ªincluding academics. His luck, also, was quite high. Luck was a strange stat point. No one knew exactly how it worked, but it was possibly the most important stat of all. None of the final thousand humans had a low luck stat. In order to rank at the top of over seven billion humans, both luck and skill were necessary. Isen returned his focus to the task on hand, and selected ¡®Title¡¯. Titles were deceptively powerful. Although only one title could be equipped at a time, each earned but unselected title would still provide 50% of its benefits to the player. Thus, titles were game-changers to have, although exceedingly difficult to earn. In the past, Isen had amassed a total of seven titles, which was considered one of the most amongst humans. Only Erik had more, at eight. A new title this early on was thus, quite an achievement. After a quick inspection, Isen equipped his new title. [Title: Fastest Amongst All Description: Awarded to the fastest clearer amongst all races participating in the Tower of Minerva: Floor 1 (Dueling Arena). This title will be lost if another challenger clears the arena at a faster speed. Effect: Grants the skill Double Accel. Effects are halved if the title is unequipped. Double Accel | Active skill ¨C 0% Proficiency: The user¡¯s body and mind are accelerated for 5 seconds. Both movements and thoughts flow at double the speed while active.] ¡®This is the title¡­.?¡¯ Isen gawked at his screen. Active skills from titles were exceedingly rare, as most titles only granted passive bonuses. But beyond that, he remembered that the human from the past who had earned this title had only received a 25% bonus to dexterity. No¡­ that was wrong. That human had acquired the title Fastest, while Isen had acquired the title Fastest Amongst All. Perhaps, Isen¡¯s accomplishment of completing the challenge fastest amongst all races, not just the humans, had warranted a greater version of that title. In the process, he¡¯d probably stolen this title from the previous owner, who was most definitely not human. Isen grinned. It was a double whammy. But his happiness did not last for long, as his eyes soon sharpened. This was only the beginning. He was shouldering a heavy responsibility, and he needed to be much stronger to alter humanity¡¯s crash course. In the past, Isen had only survived the tutorial due to his good luck. Each new floor of the tutorial had filled him with dread. The first five floors of the tutorial were essentially solo stages, and relatively straightforward. From floor six, however, the tutorial would progress as group challenges with randomly selected group members. In the past, Isen had met Erik on the seventh floor and had quickly become comrades. However, that was an anomaly, and most group members by the late stages of the tutorial were vicious and cunning. The only way forwards, Isen decided, was with overwhelming strength. There would be no group strife if Isen was capable of overpowering the rest of his group, solo. With a confident stride, Isen proceeded to the nearest double gate exit to the arena. The gates, originally locked tight, had opened itself after the challenge had ended. Beyond the gate, Isen could see a seemingly endless stairway. It was the entrance to Floor 2 - the Goblin Hills.