Dan hoped he was making the right decisions. Retraining his mind to his new reality would take some time.

He had thought about only gaining one level and stopping at 21. That would allow him to increase all his Orbments up to Second Rank and also summon Ashen Ruin at level 41.

But with Dan at level 41, Jade tier, Ashen Ruin would now be summoned at level 61, Silver tier.

Dan wouldn’t level up more until he attained a 7-Star Soul, then he’d ascend as much as he could.

He couldn’t help but feel that he lost out on 20 Stat points ascending to 41 now. But getting his main Stats closer to 100 was really important.

Last time, 20 Stat points was an extremely significant amount. Not really so much this time. Especially if he could save the 40 needed to increase his core to a ‘perfect’ rating.

He thought he could. He’d keep some Stat points in reserve in case he couldn’t.

The way he leveled up was supposed to raise it naturally. He had until level 300 to find out. He figured if leveling up in the new way 300 times didn’t do the trick, nothing would. He certainly hoped it worked. He wouldn’t know unless or until it happened.

Last time, he hadn’t found the book on self-cultivating until decades after he had hit his plateau. He couldn’t benefit all that much from what he had learned. Now he could.

Level 41 and the fourth tier also activated a third and fourth Orbment. SIXTH SENSE and Block.

Granted, Block only nullified two attacks now, but that wouldn’t always be the case. And Block would increase the charges of the Crown Orbment that would eventually go into the defensive slot without messing up his pathways.

The Trials were significantly easier at lower levels. Grinding them wasn’t just easier, it went a lot faster too. Every tier he increased would make the Trials and bosses much harder. And level 41 gave him a chance of completing a lot more Trials than he could at 21.

Dan couldn’t get stuck again. He needed to succeed. Everyone was counting on him, even if they didn’t know it.

He’d make his daughter proud of him. And his father. He knew they were watching. He’d make up for all the failing he had done. He was given the miracle of a second chance, and he wouldn’t waste it. He would win. And his brother would survive.

When he got back to Earth, Dan would make sure he became successful enough to put his mother in a nice place that took great care of her, and he’d visit her more than once a week too. Maybe she’d get better if he did.

He’d also ensure Nicky was successful. That’s what his father would do. His father would do anything to take care of his family, and his father was the best and most honorable man he knew.

Dan just wished he could get Nicky to try harder and take the Game and surviving it more seriously.

With a 7-Star Soul and a perfect-rated core, he’d be able to ascend to tier 15, Supreme Chief, according to Aphariel. He could level all the way up to 450.

He’d also need two Stats at SS++++ to ascend to tier 15, but he didn’t think Stats would be an issue this time. If he was smart about it.

Last time, he only had one Stat at SS++++, and that was after decades and decades of grinding.

He had no idea what he was doing last time. This time, he did. And he had the Gifted Trait now.

Stat gains slowed down the higher they got and the longer the Game went on, so he needed to grind and improve them as much as possible early on. He’d also get to increase a Stat by a step every time he ascended a tier.

He had to focus on not getting stuck. He knew he could eke out a little more of his revelation on his own. Then he’d enter the Sanctuary of Revelations. Last time he only got a step increase out of all his time in there. He needed to make it count for a lot more this time. If he couldn’t achieve a 7-Star Soul, nothing much would change.

With a 7-Star Class and tier 15, Dan would be able to slot six Crown Orbments. Even though he could, he wouldn’t. He’d slot at least three. Maybe four. It would depend on a few things.

With very few exceptions, Legendary Orbments couldn’t be included in Crown Orbments, and he was keeping STORM and SUMMON ASHEN RUIN.

SIXTH SENSE was questionable. Now that he was receiving five ranks of it, he didn’t want to go back down to three ranks. The larger circumference made it far more useful and would give him extra time to react in a lot of situations.

Since he didn’t want to lose any ranks, his plan for that slot might change.

But three ranks had worked pretty well for normal and boss fights. He didn’t think any number of ranks would’ve been much more help in the giant battle the demons had set up in the Boneyard. With so much danger all around, it had eventually quit on him too. But even when it was working, with so much danger everywhere, its helpfulness diminished.

If his Class kept going as it was, he wouldn’t lose Seismic Sense, so he’d have three ranks of SIXTH SENSE no matter what.

He hoped the Crown Orbment Bonus of his 7-Star Class benefited Ashen Ruin in some way. The new mirror effect of direct damage power Orbments was a great benefit. Or would be when he ascended to tier 10, Sovereign, and slotted his first Crown Orbment.

Dan was working on what Crown Orbments he’d use. He had worked out two, one for a power and another for a defensive slot.

Since void damage was the best way to damage demons and devils, his power Crown Orbment would definitely use Void Bolt. Having a low cooldown damaging invocation to spam was a necessity at higher tiers.

He knew he wouldn’t be offered a 7-Star Class upgrade with three power slots. That wasn’t how hybrid Classes worked. It’d be a different slot. He had plenty of plans for every slot, but there were slots he wanted more than others. He’d have to wait and see what he got offered.

Before that, he had to increase his Soul to 7-Stars. All his plans and focus had to go into not getting stuck again.

There’s no quitting. It’s all on you, Dan. You can’t fail again, he thought.

Did you know this text is from a different site? Read the official version to support the creator.

All in all, he was happy with his new Class, especially the changes Exemplar of Magma had made. Molten Armor now having a low mana cost and lasting until deactivated was huge.

The Second Rank Enrage effect wasn’t making Dan feel any different, but what had happened with Leena before and the book earlier proved the effect could and would take hold, and that was just the First Rank effect.

He felt bad about how he handled the book situation, but even now, just thinking about them losing it made him angry.

Dan had half a mind to go back and apologize for how he had behaved. He also had half a mind to go back and do something he’d regret. Enact some punishment for Dotty and Andrew losing his book.

I told them to be careful with it, how important it was, and that I needed it back, he thought.

He felt bad about stopping them from going to the new Luke’s tutorial area. He figured the people in it weren’t suffering all that much. Nothing that couldn’t be suffered through a little longer.

That stopped him up short. Having that thought.

Dan didn’t want to start thinking like those he truly disliked – those that couldn’t see regular people’s lives had value. That he could do a calculation and come to such a callous answer was something he hated.

But the knowledge contained within that book was far more beneficial to winning the Game than some weak people suffering in a tutorial area being saved sooner.

He didn’t want to be the type of person that saw people as numbers instead of actual people with dreams, feelings, worth, and loved ones that would be devastated if they died.

But in this case, he had to. The book was that important. Getting that information to the strongest people was critical to his plans. Winning the Game determined if eight billion people back on Earth lived or died.

I can’t lose more of my humanity. I reckon I already done lost too much of it.

The book stated a Spirit Nexus allowed for three revelations, and 99.9% of all mortals capable of self-cultivation never completed their second. About 50% never completed their first.

But that was outside the Game. Things worked differently inside it with its environment and rewards.

He would love to have an 8-Star Soul or higher. He couldn’t even get a 7-Star Soul after 60-odd years of trying last time.

The additional Slot Bonuses that improved Exemplar of Magma were fantastic. Having hotter lava was a great benefit. As he understood things, magma became lava as soon as it left the ground and wasn’t as hot as magma. His lava would be different now.

To test out Lava Flows and see what he could do with his mana, Dan tried making a sword. He was easily able to hold its shape. He was able to turn his whip into a lasso on the fly too. It wasn't easy, but it could be done.

I got to show Nicky my lasso trick. He’ll love it, thought Dan.

When he and Nick were kids, they both had wanted to turn their father’s farm into a ranch and be cowboys. Every day after they had finished their chores, they’d spend a couple hours doing rope tricks and lassoing their dairy cow and some of their sows, barrows, and their one boar.

And when they grew up and became cowboys, they’d lasso wild bucks and break them in. And they’d do that all day, just like in the movie ‘All the Pretty Horses.’

Thinking about the farm and knowing it was gone made Dan as angry as thinking about the lost book. He vowed to get his father’s land back when he won the Game.

He worked on advanced mana techniques for a while before he started moving around, slowly adjusting to his new Stats. He more than doubled the points in Agility and doubled the points in Reaction and Speed. It would take some time to get used to.

As Dan moved around the castle getting used to his Stats, he smelled the corpses before he saw them. Three men were lynched from a tree on the far side of the castle. It looked like the men were dead before they were strung up.

Dan shook his head. He hadn’t seen anyone since he entered the area, but he hadn’t seen many corpses near the entrance either.

Either someone was already working for the demons or people were running from the ghasts when they entered. Judging by the lynched corpses, someone was working for the demons.

Dan hoped to find some people capable of keeping the third area civilized, preferably people he knew from last time. He assumed if they didn’t work for the demons then, that wouldn’t change.

Things were going differently though. None of the people currently living from his tutorial area lasted through the second day last time. He thought Ace had made it to the second day, but if he did, he was the only one of those currently still alive to do so.

Last time, when the Game initiated, Dan had gone south instead of north. He helped an old lady with her goblin. She had taken significant injuries. After looking for help and seeing everyone killing each other, he spent most of the first and second day avoiding everyone and trying to keep the old woman alive.

She died during the second night. He didn’t find his brother’s corpse until the third day. Nicky had been stabbed in the back right near his starting point.

There were some things he’d never forget. Seeing Becky’s naked and abused corpse, and that of her daughter’s, was something he never could get out of his mind, no matter how hard he tried. And there was another young kid that had died besides Austin and Chet.

This time, Dan had to make a decision, though it wasn’t much of one. North or south. Going north meant he could save his brother, and on the way he could save Becky and her kid, Austin, Chet, and try to make it to about the three o’clock position and save the last kid.

He didn’t make it in time to save that kid. He wished he could’ve, but he didn’t. That was more guilt he had to carry around with him.

He hated to have the thought, but he didn’t think many of the eight still alive would make it very long. He hoped spending time in Sanctuary Town and hearing other people’s stories would help them understand and light a fire under their asses, especially Nicky’s.

Leena was showing she had the right attitude and mindset. Sometimes Chet did as well. The kid was small and weak, but he was smart and knew what needed to be done.

Ace was on track to do okay, but he was a leader first and foremost, and people like him and Dotty always fell behind in the Game. Spending so much time and energy planning for and taking care of others would ensure they never truly excelled themselves.

Becky was all smiles and cheer for everyone else. That was great for everyone around her, but it wouldn’t help her remain. Dan didn’t see much of a spark within Carlos and Luke either.

Unless Dotty was able to get through to Austin in time, the kid would end up mouthing off to the wrong person and getting killed.

Even in areas where people were imposing law and regulating order, there was never more than a thin veneer of civilization, and that thin veneer could easily blow away, no different than a cobweb. Things would get really violent really quickly.

Once the dust had settled and the thin veneer of civilization reimposed, the peace would last again. And it would last right up until it didn’t again.

When the waves of monsters started, no one could hide behind anyone else. Not for long. Everyone had to know how to fight. Everyone had to be tough.

At first, people would try to protect kids and the elderly. After enough time, there wouldn’t be any kids or elderly to protect.

He hoped it would go differently this time. He’d do his best to make it so. The last thing he wanted was for Becky to see Bonnie get eaten by some Hell-monster.

I hope I’m wrong about all of them, thought Dan. I hope they all got a spark within them, and they all do what needs doing. I hope they all prove me wrong.

The best thing for them right now is spending time in Sanctuary Town, seeing for themselves, hearing from others, and working on their Spirit Nexus.

After adjusting enough to his new Stats, Dan started thinking about his next moves.

Having a full revelation tattooed into his Spirit Nexus meant he couldn’t collect the remaining Soul step rewards. He’d eventually do those Trials, but he’d just get Orbment Fragments and XP as a reward.

He had done every Trial countless times. He had scoured every nook and cranny of each and found secrets hidden within many of them. He knew them all intimately. He knew all the tricks.

But he also knew the Trials with how his last build functioned, when he was level 300 and most of the creatures within the Trials were level 310 or so.

Already, some of the fights Dan had been in this time were like new fights he had to relearn, such as with Moloch.

As Dan had that thought, he was suddenly hit with severe exhaustion and had to lay himself down. He couldn’t keep his eyes open. He closed them for a second, just a long blink really, and the exhaustion completely went away.

He felt fine again. Rested. Instead of his cheek pressing into grass like it should’ve been, it pressed against cold marble. That was the only clue he needed.

He knew where he was and what was happening. He had been there before. And tricked in the same way before. He had been unconscious, and while he was, he had become used to her presence.

Dan lifted himself off the floor and turned to face Lilith.