《Re-Awakening: The Legendary Mage Ascends》 Beyond the Skies The sun was truly radiant today. Its bright, beaming light shone down on the valley below, caressing its inhabitants with divine warmth. Nature itself sang odes to this gift, a beautiful melody of rushing streams, chirping birds, and frolicking does. Cheers of the victors rang through the air as well, drowning out the last few choking breaths of the final dungeon boss. "Wow, we actually did it! Momma, we''ll be fine forever, right?" "Yes, my little Jack!" "Hey, I''m big now!" Tomorrow, they would be free to move on to the 4th realm of existence: Elysium. After a long, grueling 10 years of war, humanity would finally find its place amongst the gods and obtain the greatest gift: Immortality! At long last... it was no longer a dream, but reality. And it was all due to the only person who wasn''t celebrating¡ªRakael Haecillion. His raven-black hair seemed to absorb all the light surrounding him, accentuating the red highlights of his hair. A few dimples lined his otherwise fair face¡ªimperfections that, for some reason, women loved. Though he didn''t know why. Women were the hardest mysteries to solve. All he knew was they really liked to give him a peck on the cheek and... well, spots he''d never tell his parents about. After the latest victory, he knew his favor with them would be even higher than before. There was little doubt in his mind that even if he asked the finest girl to take him to bed, she would instantly revoke her marriage to a king just for that chance. The thing was... he didn''t really care. Not now, that he could finally see the future. Leaving the others to celebrate¡ªeven those who did not contribute much, if anything, to the battle¡ªhe merely stared at the sky. For the first time in 10 years, it was finally clear. No more dark clouds or rain could obfuscate his view of the realms beyond. He looked up, beyond the ethereal blue of the sky as he held his right arm just above his eyes to block out the stupid sun. Out to the lands that lay beyond... the lands that lay beyond Elysium... "It''s beautiful, isn''t it?" A calm and delicate voice asked from behind him. A voice that made him tense with anticipation and fear. Taking a quick glance at the fallen dungeon boss as if to make sure it wouldn''t suddenly rise and impale his sister, Rakael then turned to little Rhya Haecillion. "Yes, I suppose it is," Rakael responded with merely a whisper, eliciting a small chuckle from Rhya. She was as beautiful as ever. Not even the vicious cruelty of this new world had tarnished her youthful vigor. Whereas his raven-black hair seemed to absorb sunlight, her golden hair radiated it. Yet even that blinding light couldn''t compare to her eyes, which seemed to never dim in the slightest. Really, she was the symbol of innocence to Rakael, as well as his main motivation for fighting. Not that he''d say that, of course. If he did, he''d only embarrass them both. She was 17 and yet she still wouldn''t even let her big brother watch over her... Shaking her head as she walked forward, Rhya grabbed his arm with a knowing smile and said, "I''m not talking about the sky! Geez, lighten up once in a while. It''s not every day we gain fucking immortality!" Rakael''s eyes widened when he heard her swear, instantly looking to see if his father heard. Luckily, he was too busy chatting with some nobles. Still... If you stumble upon this narrative on Amazon, it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it. "Rhya, your language!" Rakael belted in a hushed voice, disbelief coating his harsh tongue. Instead of tidying up as she should, Rhya rolled her eyes before mocking their father, "Rhya, watch your fucking language! When you''re old enough to provide for the house, then you can swear all you want!!!" Kicking a rock towards the direction of her father, Rhya sneered as she finished, "Well, in case you didn''t notice, immortality technically means I''m like, infinity old! I can fucking swear all I want!" "Oh, is that so?" A booming voice called from the direction she had kicked the rock, though a slight tone of bemusement did betray his attempt at intimidation. Rakael couldn''t help but laugh as he felt Rhya slide behind him. Always getting into trouble and expecting him to help her out... ''Well, I guess that is what big brothers do.'' The looming shadow of their father would usually quiet any laughter Rakael had, but not today. Everything was too perfect and... well, he did suppose Rhya had a point. More than just the sky was beautiful today. Looking out at the celebrating humans, the 100,000 or so of them that had made it this far, he couldn''t help but feel pride. After all the dark years, they''d finally obtain the first promised gift. Immortality. Finally, the dragons would notice them. They''d see the humans as more than a race driving itself to extinction. In fact, they''d see the opposite. Humans didn''t just deserve immortality. They deserved a place as High Gods. They deserved a place amongst the dragons. Crack! [Quest Forcefully Received: ???] [Reward: ???] ''Quest?'' This had never happened before, him being forced to take a quest. Especially a quest that didn''t even give instructions! Also, what was that boom¡ª Rakael''s ears began humming as the smell of sulfur and burning flesh filled the air. All around him, all he heard were... screams. The delightful sounds of nature and kids were now silent, drowned by screams for mothers or sons. Within just seconds, the ample sounds of celebration had turned into wails of despair. "J-jack!! T-talk to me-e!" "Mom? Why- wake up! This isn''t funny!" The system''s interface had left just as soon as it appeared, although Rakael almost wished it hadn''t. All around him was nothing but carnage¡ªa harrowing sight he hadn''t seen since the first war, when humans learned that the VRMMORPG "Dragon Ascension" was an actual reality. Back then... ''Don''t think about that now!'' Rakael thought as he pushed the purge to the back of his mind, instead looking for his parents and sister. His father was behind him, holding Rhya close to his chest while activating a shield spell. Moments after, they were both surrounded by a soft purple light. A rather formidable spell, one that Rakael had gotten from a [Legendary] dungeon himself before giving it to his father. Against most enemies, it would probably keep them safe. However... Rakael looked to the sky again, but this time his wonder was replaced with fear. Now, he didn''t see the future of expansion. Instead, he saw a singular avatar of a low-god dragon. Or, in other words, death. Even to new immortals. The dragon seemed to be looking directly at Rakael, an amused look on its snout. ''This bastard is enjoying this! All the carnage, the screaming and the death, and for what?!'' Penance!! You humans do not deserve the mantle of a god, let alone one like you!! Now, I''ll end your entire race!!! Air itself cracked under the vindication of a dragon. Even a low-god one would be able to command all the lower realms to its wishes. The few who could disobey without shattering their minds would be killed in an instant. Rakael was one of those disobedient people, and so the dragon summoned another meteor. This time, no look of amusement could be found on the dragon. Instead, it just wanted to kill. ''There''s only one thing I can do...'' Rakael thought as he saw his father get his mom under the shield as well. Taking one small glimpse at the corpses littering the battlefield¡ªindiscriminate between man, woman, and child¡ªRakael knew that this wasn''t enough. Giving the meteor a resolute stare, Rakael knew there was only one chance for his family to survive, and it was the spell he had found in a recent [Mythical] dungeon. ''Activate: Divine Shield.'' Rakael thought as he turned his own health points into a kind of barrier. He knew this move would lead to his death... but as his sister screamed for him, his resolve only strengthened. Pouring the last bits of his lifeforce into the barrier surrounding the few humans left, he hoped that they''d find some way to survive without him. His body disintegrated from the bottom up, allowing him to take one last look at his family. Tears fell from his sister''s eyes like a torrential downpour, yet Rakael still felt some sort of comfort. That was because her tears meant she was still alive. They could still fight, like humans always did. "I love you. Take care of Mom and Dad for me, ok," Rakael offered one last smile, fighting through the pain of becoming nothing more than dust in the wind. [Forced Quest: Save Humanity successful] [Reward: Regression skill ¡ª one-time use] [Travel 10 years and a month into the past?] [Y/N] Rude Awakening [Quest Completed] [Reward: ??? Obtained] [Computing...] [Reward: Re-Awakening processed] ''Re-Awakening?'' Rakael thought as he stared at the system screen, momentarily confused. Then the memories hit him all at once; the screams, the tears... his sacrifice. But what did this re-awakening thing mean? Was he really not dead? Casting aside the system, Rakael took note of his surroundings and searched for one thing in specific¡ªthe sky. ''One moon. One moon, just like on Earth.'' Rakael marveled, now knowing that he had really found himself back in the first realm¡ªthe Mortal Realm. Rakael smacked his head as he tried to remember everything. Most of it was still fresh in his mind¡ªthe most prevalent being his sister''s dreadful cry. Shivering, Rakael tried to push his mind past that. What he was looking for was just beyond anyway. He wanted to remember exactly what the system had said after he died. Something about completing a quest and then... "Re-Awakening exactly 10 years and a month before my time of death." Rakael exclaimed triumphantly. That would mean the beta was still live then, right? As far as he could recall, the actual game wouldn''t release in another month. However, there was no point in fruitless speculation when he could just bring up the system screen. [Status] - Name: Rakael Haecillion - Age: 17 - Race: Human - Job: None - Class: Mage - Level: 1 - Experience: 0/15,000 ?¡ªBalance: 0 Bullions¡ª? ?¡ªInventory¡ª? Storage Space¡ª[0/100] ?¡ªTitles¡ª? Empty ?¡ªPerks¡ª? Empty ?¡ªStats¡ª? Health Points (HP): [470/470] Mana Points (MP): [300/300] Strength: 12 Agility: 17 If you discover this tale on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the violation. Constitution: 17 Defense: 0 Wisdom: 25 Intelligence: 25 Charisma: 100 Luck: 10 Attack Power (AP): [2x strength] Movement Speed Increase Rate [Agility/2] Critical Hit Rate: [15%] + [luck/10] Spell Crit Rate: [15%] + [Wisdom/10] ?¡ªSkills¡ª? Empty ?¡ªEquipment¡ª? Weapon: Off Hand: Helmet: Shoulder: Chest: Hands: Leggings: Boots: ?¡ªAccessories¡ª? Amulet: Ring: Ring: Wrist: ?¡ªSoul¡ª? Level: ?¡ªBeasts¡ª? Empty ?¡ªQuests¡ª? Empty ?¡ª###¡ª? Time until V1.0 Release: 30 Days ?¡ª¡ª¡ª? Multiple thoughts raced through his mind as he looked over the system. The first was a solemn acknowledgement that all of his progress had been reversed. Worse than that, he got the worst class with a mage. In "Dragon Ascension" spells weren''t limited to only mages. Additionally, it was much harder to gain gear as a mage, sonce spell drops often took the place of gear. They were supposed to be good due to damage, however both the assassin class with its high crit and the archer class with its stealth bonuses did much more damage. The only thing mages were good for was support. A role Rakael had never performed, and wasn''t entirely keen on doing so now. He had to get back to his family and make sure they were safe. Which brought him to his second problem. The log out button was missing entirely. Because he had been sent to the past, he figured his family would be back on earth. But what would it matter now if he couldn''t see them. ''At least there won''t be any distractions,'' Rakael thought as he scrolled through the menus, trying to see if he had any spells at least. If not, he would be as good as dead. [Re-Awakening package fully processed] [Divine rank Job received: Dragon Slayer] [Dragon Slayer¡ª Even amongst the best of your peers, you are an exceptional fighter. Due to your prowess, it is only natural that the only enemies who would challenge you are Bosses. With this job, you level up twice as fast but are also twice as likely to face a max level version of any monster you see, and each dungeon is guaranteed to contain an [Undaunted] or higher ranked boss. Additionally, every dungeon is guaranteed to drop at least a [Rare] or higher ranked gear.] ''I got a job already? What about a spell?'' Rakael grimaced, though as he reached the end of the description his eyes widened. ''I''m guaranteed at least a rare item every time I complete a dungeon? That basically eliminates the worst part of being a mage!'' He looked over the description once again, this time noticing the first part that said he''d basically always be fighting insanely powerful enemies. At first, he wasn''t too worried as he had a lot of experience with the game already. Then the system went silent. Which meant he didn''t get a single spell. Even if he fought low level beasts, a mage without even a simple fireball would basically be killing themselves. ''I''m fucked...'' Rakael instantly realized. Opening his system once again, he didn''t bother letting the screen load before swiping over to the map. It had been quite a while since he was in the Mortal Realm¡ªat least 8 years¡ªbut he felt that if he saw the names of various locations he''d remember the cheats that were found there. After all, that was one of the biggest advantages of basically starting a game over, already knowing all of the exploits and hidden OP spells or gear. "The Elder Shrine... I remember an OP spell being there. Whirlwind or something." Rakael murmured aloud as he pointed to a spot conveniently close to him. There was one problem that had kept many players from exploring it though: a level 100 boss¡ª25 levels higher than any player could achieve in this realm no matter how much they grinded. In fact, everyone was so scared of the place that the glitch had been found completely by accident. When some random noob had been running from a bear, he had jumped on a rock at an exact angle which somehow allowed him to fall through and enter the dungeon. Needless to say, this wasn''t a place he would be able to just casually enter. Hours could be spent searching for that rock and finding the exact angle to jump on it. However, if he could find his way into the shrine... "Jackpot!" Rakael yelled triumphantly as he overlooked the valley below. There were a few trees dotted here and there, but otherwise the landscape was only marked by short grass and batches of rock. Taking a deep breath as he set the system''s marker on the [Elder Shrine]. Rakael turned to follow the red marker overtop his head. Off in the distance he could already make out the giant grey blob, which he knew was a statue of some naked babe. Behind that statue was the shrine, perfectly cut off from the world except for 2 places: the entrance, which led to certain death, and the rock, which led to hopefully not certain death. [Tutorial started. Summoning [Sovereign] rank boss: Elder Treant; Level 75]