"I remember that the main story never specified the exact reason for Viscount Ainsworth's death."
Leo Ainsworth frowned, pondering the events of his past life. Newly reborn and aware of his impending doom, he sifted through every detail he could remember, determined to avoid the same fate in this dangerous storyline.
The events of the "God's Reign"
game unfold in the primary realm of Terra, a world floating amidst the endless cosmic seas. Terra is encircled by the Godlands, a distant constellation of divine realms. Beneath these heavens lies a vast and dark abyss, eternally swirling in blood and shadow.
Terra itself consists of six massive continents: Fanor, Isern, Kaet, Turlin, Genar, and Aros. Each continent is a different in-game region, with Fanor serving as the starting hub for players.
In his previous life, Leo's character had spent most of the early days in the Kingdom of Ves on Fanor. As a result, he knew the 1.0 version storyline for Fanor inside and out.
The continent of Fanor is massive, with fertile plains in the east, the sprawling Navorn forest to the south, and endless snowfields teeming with monsters in the north. The Ghar Mountains form a natural barrier across the continent, with deserts stretching beyond them to the west.
The Kingdom of Ves lies to the east, benefiting from the rich lands along the Gharon River. This fertile soil and the kingdom's advantageous location have made Ves a formidable force among the surrounding nations.
Each year, on October 10th, Ves celebrates the Holy Festival. It's the most joyous time of year, with lights, decorations, and prayers for prosperity.
The grandest celebrations take place at Victory Square in Brightfall, the kingdom's capital. Nobles and the king himself attend, and citizens gather to enjoy free food and drink, watching the ceremony unfold.
But during this year's celebration, disaster strikes. Just as King Mortus lights the sacred torch, a golden-clad assassin launches a brutal attack, taking the lives of several nobles before disappearing into the crowd. The vicious nature of this public assassination shakes the kingdom.
Among the slain is Viscount Ainsworth, the very man Lance has become. To contain the incident's fallout, the kingdom dubs it the "Ainsworth Assassination."
The players, however, had a different reaction. Leo remembers the scene vividly. Watching the attack in-game had set players buzzing with excitement, many of them eager to join the assassin's guild just to be part of the action.
Afterward, a statistical analysis even showed that assassin players were far more common in Ves than in neighboring nations—testament to the event's impact.
For the Kingdom of Ves, however, the assassination was a public humiliation. It not only cast a shadow over the Holy Festival but also marred the royal family's reputation. The outrage ultimately contributed to the kingdom's decision to go to war, sparking a massive storyline expansion in version 2.0.
But while Ves reaped spoils and territory from the conflict, no one ever looked deeper into the assassination. Even the kingdom's chroniclers and the story-driven players left the Ainsworth Assassination as a footnote.
"He didn't deserve this," Leo muttered, rubbing his temples. Now that he was the unfortunate viscount, the whole scenario felt very different.
Some players had speculated that the Ves royal family orchestrated the incident as a pretext for war. After all, they'd coveted Berdun's eastern seaport for ages. But without concrete evidence, the theory faded into obscurity.
"There's just too little information," Leo sighed. "And with three months until the assassination, there's no way to trace my assassin."
He felt the weight of his predicament. At the end of the day, the issue came down to strength. If he were powerful enough—a legendary mage, perhaps—no mere assassin would be a threat. One grand-level spell, and he could end any would-be attacker.
But for now, he was a level 30 mage, only at the entry level for his class. Most player classes capped at level 30 in the early version of "Divine Ascendance." Mage class levels ranged from 0 to 50 for bronze mages, then 51 to 100 for silver, 101 to 200 for gold, and beyond that, legendary.
Unfortunately, his only real advantage was his status as a court-appointed viscount, which came with its own dangers. He couldn't count on title alone to save him.
As he examined his system panel, he focused on one entry:
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Talent: The Omniscient
Rank: Legendary
Effect: Your talent shatters boundaries, allowing you to acquire and master abilities across classes. The more abilities you master (excluding core class abilities), the faster you gain experience (Current bonus experience: 0%).
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While incredibly powerful, he knew his Omniscient talent came with limitations. True, he could learn abilities from other classes, but doing so also posed a new problem.
Skills required leveling, and in "Divine Ascendance," leveling up a skill was essential to unlocking its full power. Only by increasing a skill's level could a player achieve its highest potential.
Take, for instance, the thief's [Stealth] skill. At its base level, any mid-tier character could still sense the thief. But with the skill leveled up, the ability's strength and duration increased significantly.
He understood the dilemma: if he recklessly learned every skill he could, he'd never have enough experience to level them all. Even with the bonus experience granted by his Omniscient talent, his resources would still fall short.
But there was an upside: talents also allowed him to acquire various "specializations"—passive boosts that required no leveling. Each specialization could enhance core attributes, resistance, and even bestow unique effects.
For example, mages naturally possessed the [Arcane Mind] specialization, doubling their intelligence attribute.
Each class had its own set of specializations, which significantly impacted their future development. Leo realized he could unlock any class specialization, granting him an unparalleled advantage. If he obtained a warrior specialization, his strength attribute would also double.
What kind of setup was this? He wouldn't just be powerful; he'd be an unstoppable tank.
"I've got it," he murmured. He'd found the key to unlocking his talent's full potential.
He would learn skills sparingly but focus heavily on gaining the specializations of each class.
And he was the perfect candidate for it—he'd once been one of the top players in the game, with every skill and specialization location memorized.
This was exactly the kind of power-leveling challenge he loved.
It was time to grind.