Part 2
It has been four hours since i started exploring the dungeon.
I can feel my fatigue acc.u.mulating as i venture deeper into the cave. My body starts to feel sluggish and my mind starts to shut down as i look at the unchanging scenery around me.
Originally, when a person"s field of vision is limited, battling becomes much more difficult as they have to raise their attentiveness to the surroundings. Not just the field of vision, with my battle capabilities hindered due to the torch, I am in an uncomfortable situation where I have to suffer multiple handicaps whereas the monsters which dwell in this area have the advantage as their battle capabilities weren"t hindered. Not to mention that the monsters would not require light to maneuver in combat and skills such as paralysis. Entering such a dungeon alone would be suicide.
This torch also served as a moving beacon, luring every monster in the vicinity to my location. It was as if I was serving myself to them on a silver platter. I knew this the moment i entered the cave, and my instincts were screaming at me not to lower my guard. This pressure pushed my mind into hyperdrive and consumed my stamina much faster than usual. However, thanks to this pressure, I have survived thus far and I have finally arrived at the third floor of the dungeon.
[This place looks exactly the same as the image back then] (Yuya)
If my memory is correct, the hidden room that contains the level reset function should be somewhere in this area.
As I investigated the area, I found a pure white stone monument standing in a corner. According to the image, this monument should be the entrance to the hidden room.
I walked to the side of the monument and leaned my body weight onto the monument to push it, revealing a secret door hidden in the wall. For some reason, I knew that it was a door that was sealed using magic, and that it required specific conditions before a person could open the door.
I placed my hand on the door.
*RUMBLE RUMBLE RUMBLE*
The sealed door started to rumble and opened itself, revealing a secret room.
Just how did i know, that i needed to be level 50 to open this door?
In the first place, it was impossible for anyone to discover this place, much less figure out how to open this door.
For an adventurer to coincidentally discover this dungeon, decide to enter the dungeon despite its difficulty and inefficiency compared to normal dungeons. After spending their energy and stamina travelling in the dungeon for over four hours, push aside a white monument that could possibly be a trap, revealing a door that can only be opened by a person who was level 50. There was too many variables and even if the person was blessed with the best luck, it was still unreasonable to expect a level 50 adventurer to enter a dungeon filled with monsters leveled 30 at best.
The person would need to know about the hidden room to actually find it.
Thinking about it calmly, it was even more unreasonable.
In the first place, resetting their levels was every adventurers" dream. If they had obtained unsatisfactory statuses like I did, they would had chosen to reset and start all over. If anyone knew about the level reset function, news about it would had spread all around the world. Which means that if it was still unknown, then the conditions was impossible to be discovered by mere coincidence.
[Could this really happen…??] (Yuya)
As I wondered to myself, I entered the hidden room. My heartbeat became harder and louder, and my expectation was growing more and more.
[What the h.e.l.l is this room?] (Yuya)
I turned off my torch as the room was illuminated by a magic stone called Photonic Crystal.
At the back of the room, there was a statue of a G.o.ddess made by chalk. It was the very same statue that appeared in my mind. The vision i saw turned out to be reality, I did find the room that contained the level reset function. However, I did not know what to do.
[How am I even supposed to activate the level reset function.] (Yuya)
I was clueless and afraid. I knew that this place existed and what it could do, but I did not know how to activate its function. When I thought that I might not be able to reset my level despite discovering this place, I couldn"t stop shivering in fear.
[Wait a minute, what the h.e.l.l is that?] (Yuya)
As i looked around the room, I noticed a large transparent crystal at the side of the room.
[A girl with animal ears… and a tail?] (Yuya)
The crystal contained a girl around the age of 14. Her eyes were closed and she had beautiful reddish golden hair with animal ears and a tail. If they were dog ears, she would be a dog-kin, however it was obvious that her ears and tail was much larger than a dog-kin.
For some reason, i felt myself being drawn to the crystal. I extended my hand and placed it on the surface of the crystal. As if I knew what would happen, I quickly extended both my hands. The crystal shatters as my hand touched the surface. In a hurry, I grabbed the girl in a princess carry. Any normal adventurer would never do this. It was a risk to expect the girl not to be a monster, especially when the person was alone. However, I knew that she wasn"t.
[Are you alright?] (Yuya)
As I carried the girl, she started to open her eyes. She sloppily turned her eyes and looked at me.
[I…Was…..Waiting…Forever…] (Girl)
[What do you mean by that?] (Yuya)
[It"s time to remember. The memory of your distant past.] (Girl)
The girl extended her hands, placing them on the back of my neck. She pulled my face towards hers, and I felt my lips connect with hers. After kissing me, the girl went back to sleep, and I laid her on the ground.
Information started flowing into my brain like an open dam. Information that felt like memories. A huge influx of memories starting swirling into my brain. Memories about a man, born into a country called j.a.pan. He grew up and became a typical salaryman. It was a normal life where the man worked everyday without any trouble, but he would not be successful in life. No matter how much he tried, his achievements would never be his. Other people would present the results he produced and gain the achievement. Even so he continued trying his best. That man felt strangely familiar, as if he was close to him. As if it was him himself.
[What the h.e.l.l is this?? What is going on?? This isn"t me. That CANT be me.] (Yuya)
No.. It definitely is me, but yet it isnt. That isn"t me.
[It"s my previous life…] (Yuya)
As I came to that conclusion, the memory about the man, spending all his leisure time into playing a game flowed into my brain. A game that looked exactly the same as this world.. My world.
[If that was truly my previous life, then according to the memory, I know how to activate the level reset function] (Yuya)
I took one of the light crystals that was set onto the walls of the room, and placed it into the necklace of the G.o.ddess"s chest. The light crystal fit perfectly into the necklace and starts to emit a soft light.
[Welcome, adventurer with power. Congratulations on your journey thus far. I am an artifact created with the goal of making adventurers stronger by sacrificing their levels. Are you willing to give up the levels you have built up thus far, in exchange for becoming stronger?] (G.o.ddess statue)
The dialogue is identical to the one in my memory. This statue allows a person to reset their level, in turn sacrificing all the experience gained. My journey has been a painful one. I had no choice but to stick with my weak status, fighting battles with a handicap. I wish to restart and be reborn, and be rewarded for all my hardwork.
[I do.] (Yuya)
[The ritual has been accepted. Adventurer Yuya. From now on, your level will be reset back to level one, and you will be reborn.] (G.o.ddess Statue)
The soft light starts to illuminate even further, becoming harsher and hotter. The light starts to overflow from the necklace and envelop my body. My body started heating up, as if i was being disintegrated. After a brief moment, the light starts to dissipate.
I was reborn.
[You have been reborn. You are now level one and every skill you have attained up to this point has been lost.] (G.o.ddess Statue)
A status card was displayed from the statue.
My status had reset back to how it was at level 1, and i was no longer a "Warrior" cla.s.s. I was released from the miserable status that gave me the worst stats ever possible.
[Exactly the same as my memory…] (Yuya)
In addition, i received a 10 point bonus for each stat and 20 skill points. Normally an average person"s stats increased by 2 points and gained one skill point per level. This meant that i had a five level and 20 level bonus respectively.
[With this, i will be able to aim for the top. To be the strongest again] (Yuya)
I walked to the fountain in the middle of the room, and looked my reflection.
I saw the same 36 years old middle-aged face.
However, this time it looked full of vitality, as if it was a young adult who had the face of an old man.
[I am convinced now. That the reincarnation was real.] (Yuya)
Apparently I was reincarnated into a world similar to the game that I had played, and lived without any memories of my past life. It was a blessing in disguise. If I had my memories right from the beginning, I wouldn"t had been able to adapt to this world. It would had been impossible to fight monsters and endure the rice in this world.
[Looks like I have finishing my first round in this world.]
Normally it would be a disaster to have your level reset back to one as an adventurer. It would be impossible to accomplish anything and death would come before you even hit level 50 again. Normally.
With my acc.u.mulated experience as an adventurer from round one, and my knowledge acc.u.mulated from my previous life. If they are used together, nothing is impossible. I will be able to become much stronger.
It is about time I was rewarded for my efforts.
There are many things i want to do, but for some reason, i know that i absolutely must not abandon this girl.
[I wasn"t planning to anyway] (Yuya)
I placed a mantle over the girl"s body.
This was the start of my second round in another world.