As Alex stepped out of the shimmering portal that led him back to the advancement trial, he immediately heard a familiar voice.
"Alex!" Alice's voice was unmistakable.
She rushed toward him, her face glowing with excitement and relief.
"Hey, how did it go?" Alex asked, already knowing the answer from the confident way she carried herself.
"Not too bad!" Alice replied with a grin. "I got an S rank overall, but I'm happy with it."
Alex smirked, "You did great, Alice. An S rank is still impressive, especially this early in the game."
He didn't know if she got the same score in his past life, but it didn't matter, for in exactly 12 days she was supposed to die.
As he spoke, a series of notifications suddenly appeared in front of his vision, almost blinding him with their rapid succession.
[Congratulations! You have completed the Mage Trial with an SSS-Rating.]
[Your level limit has been unlocked!]
[Level:] 10 (55081/1000)
Suddenly, the limit he had been put on was removed, and so he received the entirety of the EXP he got from killing Aris and the silver-skin chief!
Ding! Ding! Ding!
[You have leveled up to level 11, all attribute points have been raised by 5, and you have 4 free attribute points to assign as well as 1 skill point!]
[You have leveled up to level 12, all attribute points have been raised by 5, and you have 4 free attribute points to assign as well as 1 skill point!]
.
.
[You have leveled up to level 20, all attribute points have been raised by 5, and you have 4 free attribute points to assign as well as 1 skill point!]
The amount of experience you needed after the advancement trial obviously increased, now becoming a 1000 increase per level.
And also.
[Strength Evaluation:] 1 star/First Tier
His strength evaluation increased, meaning that he became a 1-star player or first-tier, it's the same thing.
As in the name, these stars could be used to evaluate a player, though there was no ranking related to them as it would be too general.
He placed all his attributes points in spirit, then closed the panels.
"Well, let's go," he pointed at the city before them, many players having already entered it while they were inside their trials.
Dawn City, the first major hub for players fresh out of the novice areas, stretched out before them in all its glory.
The city was bustling with activity, players exploring and trying to find secrets, and NPCs there to help
But it wasn't the city itself that caught Alice's eye—it was the enormous, foreboding structure at its center, that raised so high that you could see it from even outside of it.
"Wow…" Alice whispered, her eyes wide as she stared at the giant building, "Do you see that thing?"
Alex followed her gaze to the towering edifice in the middle of the city.
He quickly noticed that it was the Church of the Dawn.
It dominated the skyline, its spires reaching impossibly high into the sky.
The building radiated an eerie, almost ominous aura, far different from the usual warmth and light associated with temples.
It sat on an elevated platform, making sure that everyone who entered Dawn City could see it.
"Yeah, I do," Alex replied, his voice cold and detached.
The memories from his past life were already flooding back.
The Church of the Dawn seemed harmless at first, just another religious institution offering blessings and protection to players.
But Alex knew better.
This place wasn't just a church, it was hiding something far more sinister.
Alex recalled a conversation with one of his close friends from his previous life:
"I swear, it was crazy, those fanatics were blasting their holy magic everywhere, and right before they killed me, I caught a glimpse of something.
An ancient-looking door, surrounded by five chains, it looked like some kind of seal, they were defending it like their lives depended on it."
That memory stuck with Alex.
It was one of the many things he hadn't explored before his death.
He had always been focused on his personal strength, but now, armed with his knowledge of the future, he knew that whatever the Church of the Dawn was hiding, it was tied to something far greater than anyone realized.
Something so powerful that this door wasn't opened even 10 years in the future.
A door sealed by five circles, likely connected to an endgame event or a powerful artifact.
But accessing it wouldn't be easy.
The priests in the church were at least level 30 to 50, and even in his past life, players around level 60 barely stood a chance because of the sheer number.
And let us not talk about their leader, Aldrich, whose level was unknown.
All that Alex knew was that this church and its members would be part of the army of the gods, though from a different god than the silver-skins.
Most people, even humans, once the gods began to descend, abandoned everything to follow orders and not die.
The people that stuck with Alex were who he considered the true heroes of humanity, and soon enough he would be able to meet with some of them.
To enter the basement of the church and see the ancient door no one knew about, his options were limited.
He could either raise his reputation with the church to gain their trust and access their secrets through legitimate means, or he could break in and try to force his way through.
The latter option, however, was certain death at his current level.
For now, Alex pushed those thoughts aside.
He had plenty of time to deal with the church later.
First, he needed to get stronger.
"So, where do we go now?" Alice asked, pulling him out of his thoughts.
Alex scanned the city streets, noting the increasing number of players flooding into Dawn City.
He had already removed his mask, knowing that blending in with the growing population would make it easy to avoid attention.
But right as he was about to answer her question, already knowing what to do next, a notification sound chimed in his ear, catching his attention.
[You can now use your 'Potential Extraction' perk again, as it has been 24 hours in-game!]
"Oh..." Alex smiled as soon as he saw that.
Because he already knew which item he would upgrade.
Maybe his dagger, because he became an assassin? NOPE!
Try to upgrade his staff again in hopes it would work? Not at all!
Then what, you might ask.
Well, the [Novice Village Map], what else!
If [Potential Extraction] worked like it is supposed to work: extracting the full potential of an item to transform it into its best version.
Then the [Novice Village Map] would turn into one of the rarest items in this game: the [World Map].
In his past life, only two copies were reported, this was how rare it was, and people went at war to get it from another faction.
And there was no chance in hell it would be available here, only discovered by the [Phantom] guild after an entire year since the game dropped.
But if his skill truly worked how he thought it did, then maybe...
"Potential Extraction," he mumbled while thinking of the [Novice Village Map] since it wasn't a physical object.
Oh, and by the way, the only way to get the map from another player is to kill him, that is how it is transferred!
The air around the panel with the map began to shimmer, and a deep, golden light enveloped it.
Alex watched in awe as the map began to transform before his eyes.
The simple panel that only showed the village grew larger, and intricate details started to appear, expanding far beyond the boundaries of the novice village.
The light intensified for a moment before it faded, leaving behind a new notification.
[You have successfully enhanced "Novice Village Map."]
[New Artifact: "World Map."]
Alex opened the new World Map instantly, and as expected, it was a massive, detailed map of the entire game world.
Every major city, region, and hidden location was marked, though most of it was still unexplored., only displaying a small "???" text.
A percentage in the corner indicated how much of the map he had uncovered.
[0.3% completed.]
But that wasn't the most exciting part. The World Map had a unique ability.
Legendary items, events, and rare locations would automatically appear on the map as they were discovered by other players or triggered by in-game events.
It was like having a guide to every major secret in the game—something that was priceless for any player.
[Legendary items and events will appear on the map as they happen!]
This was it. This was the kind of advantage that could propel him far ahead of everyone else.
"Alex?" Alice's voice broke his concentration.
She was staring at him, clearly confused by his intense focus on something only he could see.
"Yeah," Alex said with a smile, his mind already racing with possibilities, "I know exactly where we're going next."
Alice's eyes lit up with excitement. "Really? Where?"
Alex grinned. His first objective after leaving the novice village was now crystal clear.
He would seek out the Awakener's Set, the best equipment set available to new players.
With the World Map in hand and his level skyrocketed, he knew exactly where to find it.
"Follow me," he said, heading deeper inside the city.