VRMMORPG masterpiece "Crest Online".

Commonly known as "Cleon", it's an action game where players use their chosen crest as weapons in character creation, battling various formidable enemies.

The game boasts high-quality story and graphics, featuring over 10 types of crests including the [Sword Crest], [Magic Crest], and [Bow Crest], each offering distinct skills and combat styles.

Its highly customizable combat system resonated with many players, making Cleon a wildly popular game that swept the world.

And I was one of those who fell deep into Cleon.

No, it's more accurate to say that Cleon became my life itself.

I devoted all my time and effort to Cleon, achieving the top spot in the world rankings.

I even excelled on the frontlines in raids against the colossal boss, the Evil God.

――Then, a few days after the battle with the Evil God ended, I received a message from the administrators.

"Huh? ...This is from the admins?"

Opening the email in my message box revealed the following:

"Thank you for playing our game regularly.

To Zeronity, the number one in the world rankings, we have additional content we would like you to experience.

Would you like to play the additional content? YES/NO"

"Additional content...?"

I tilted my head in surprise at the unexpected message.

I had never heard of players receiving such notifications from the admins before.

"Could it be that they want top-ranked players to test upcoming content?"

That's about all I could glean from the message.

Either way, I had already made up my mind.

"I can't pass up such an exciting opportunity. I can't let any gamer outshine me."

I wanted to enjoy every bit of content related to Cleon.

At this moment, that was all that mattered to me.

Therefore, without hesitation, I pressed YES.

Immediately after, my body began to be enveloped in a pure white light――

◇◆◇

"...Huh? Where on earth...?"

When I realized it, I was in a room with a sacred atmosphere.

A priest stood before me, surrounded by adults dressed in formal attire.

"Is this a church from the ambiance? I think the layout was similar to a church in some city..."

As I pondered this question, the priest shouted loudly.

"From now on, we will begin the 'Crest Bestowal' for Zelos Sylphid!"

"...Crest Bestowal?"

In Cleon, Crest Bestowal was an event that occurred at the start of the game during character creation.

According to the setting, the crest chosen during character creation would be bestowed as a gift from the goddess.

The Crest Bestowal would conclude with a crest being engraved on the back of the left hand according to its type.

As 'Zeronity', who achieved the top spot in the world rankings, I possessed the [Sword Crest], so naturally, my crest had a design resembling a sword.

"But why is this event happening all of a sudden? And who exactly is Zelos..."

Just then.

The moment I saw my face reflected in the stained glass, numerous scenes raced through my mind.

It was the memories of Zelos Sylphid――in other words, my own memories from this world.

"What on earth is happening...!?"

Memories from my time as a Japanese person and those from being raised as Zelos were mixing together.

Despite that, one thing was clear: both my past self and Zelos were undeniably me.

And now, without a doubt, I was in the world of "Crest Online".

"Could this be what they call reincarnation in another world...?"

To be more precise, could it be a reincarnation within the game world?

Well, either way, the important thing was the fact that I had been reincarnated into the game world like this.

Now that it had come to this, I had no choice but to temporarily accept reality and move forward.

That's the conclusion I reached, as I decided to focus on remembering Zelos's memories.

Zelos Sylphid, the second son of the Sylphid Marquis family.

With an older sister two years older and a half-brother of the same age.

Today, I turned 15, the age when I would receive a crest bestowed by the goddess, and that's why I had come to the church for the Crest Bestowal.

My family and relatives surrounded me. They looked at me with a mix of expectation and anxiety as I received the crest.

"For now, if I summarize the information around here. More importantly, it's about the crest that will be given to me."

The crest.

It's the most important element in "Crest Online", where compromise is not allowed when aiming high.

The crest I receive will determine my entire future from now on.

"If possible, I want the [Sword Crest] that I used with my main avatar. If not, at least give me something like the [Magic Crest]!"

I prayed with all my might.

Right before me, the priest finally declared.

"Crest Bestowal: Goddess's Blessing!"

Immediately after, a blue pattern appeared on the back of my left hand.

It wasn't a sword crest, let alone a magic crest.

I widened my eyes and uttered the name of that crest.

"Could this possibly be... the [Null Crest]!?"

The [Null Crest].

In Cleon, players couldn't choose it, and only specific NPCs had this ridiculously broken crest.

Why was this crest so broken?

The reason lies in the game's skill system.

There were three main ways to acquire skills in the game.

One was the initial skills given during Crest Bestowal.

Another was growth skills acquired as your level increased.

And the last one was inheritance skills that could be acquired by fulfilling specific conditions.

Among these, inheritance skills were the most important.

In this world, there were numerous locations called "Inheritance Shrine Grant Points".

They existed in dungeons conquered, or in specific unexplored areas, making them very difficult to reach.

However, the skills acquired from these points were incredibly powerful, and how many inheritance shrine grant points you could access determined your strength in Cleon.

In this regard, the [Null Crest] didn't have initial skills or growth skills, but instead, it possessed the ability to acquire all inheritance skills.

It was such an insanely broken crest that players couldn't use it.

Anyway, if I were to summarize the situation――

"What an incredible jackpot...!"

I made a triumphant pose.

I still couldn't fully digest the current situation, but I could definitely say that the crest was a jackpot.

In fact, with this crest, there was even a possibility of surpassing my strength during my player days.

Right after I thought that.

"Haha! I thought what kind of gift was given to my foolish brother, but could it be the [Null Crest]! What a joke!"

Laughter echoed throughout the church.

When I turned around, there stood a blond boy.

"I think this guy is..."

As I traced back my memories of Zelos, I immediately recalled.

Dion Sylphid, age 15.

He was the eldest son of the Sylphid family, my half-brother.

Originally, since we weren't close, he was probably trying to ridicule me during the Crest Bestowal timing...

"Why is this guy saying that? The [Null Crest] isn't useless at all; it holds the potential to become the strongest..."

I tried to convey this with amazement, but Dion promptly showed off his own crest.

"Unlike you, who's useless, I have the [All Crest]! That settles the grading!"

"...The All Crest?"

That was the name of a crest that could be chosen in the game.

It was a beginner's crest with a fatal flaw: despite initially acquiring a large number of skills, it had few growth skills and couldn't acquire any inheritance skills.

By the time a month had passed since release, no one was using this crest.

Why was he proudly boasting about such a crest?

While I wondered about this, I suddenly focused my gaze on a certain bronze statue.

It depicted a man brandishing a sword. I recognized that statue.

Or rather, this is――

Confused, I interrupted the conversation and asked Dion.

"Um, Dion, who exactly is the person in this bronze statue?"

Upon hearing my question, Dion furrowed his brows in confusion.

"What are you talking about? That's 'Zeronity-sama'. He was the great hero from 1000 years ago who made the greatest contribution to the defeat of the Evil God!"

"――――!"

It was such a shocking fact to me that it erased the fact that I had been given the [Null Crest].

The moment I heard Dion's words, all the vague memories became clear to me.

That's right, why did I forget?

This is a world I know, yet it's not the world I know.

Right now, in this era where I, Zelos Sylphid, live――

(――It's the world 1000 years after "Crest Online"!)