"Hell-"

"Do you know what time it is?" I couldn't help but cut off the smiling young man. Perhaps I was a little louder than I should have been. It seemed more like I was yelling at him like this.

It didn't matter. He deserved it.

The young man's smile disappeared as he kept staring at me.

'What is he staring at? Do I have something on my face?'

I couldn't take it anymore "Wel-"

"3 hours, 21 minutes and 47 seconds past midnight." The young man smiled again.

This bastard. Did he wait just to cut me off? Also, what the hell was up with that accuracy? There's no way that could be correct!

I had to push down the anger boiling in my stomach "And? You remember what we talked about?"

Once again the young man's smile disappeared as he seemed to get lost in thought.

He wouldn't get me twice. This time I would wait for him to speak first.

Time passed slowly.

'Did he turn into a statue?'

There had been no movements in a while. I was actually getting worried he broke his brain trying to remember. "Hey, are you-"

"Oh, yes. Sorry. I remember now. 'Come during daytime', right?" The young man's smile rose again.

I was sure of it now. It was the only possible answer. This was no man. This was a test from Etia, Goddess of Life. I refused to believe a human being like this could exist.

While the carefully laid plans of the heavens revealed themselves before me, he spoke again.

"Can I come in?"

No matter how much I disliked the young man, I still had a duty as a priest to let him in.

I made sure my sigh was audible "Be quick."

The young man nodded and walked in.

He seemed to know the temple like the back of his hand as he headed straight for the altar.

Of course he knew. It would be strange if he didn't.

The young man sat down by the altar, closed his eyes and said a silent prayer. 10 seconds later, a thin streak of light slowly descended from the ceiling above him.

As the light neared his forehead, a star appeared and shone brightly. I couldn't help but feel it was all unfair. Why would a useless man like this be one of the blessed? Children of the Stars people called them. Every time death claimed them they would return. While this type of man would live forever, I would grow older and eventually die with no way to resist.

The young man named Rust had no idea about the thoughts of the old priest. The descending light finally connected with the star on his forehead, and notifications appeared in his vision.

[Your level has been set to 1.]

[Your class has been abandoned.]

[Skills and magic for which you longer meet the necessary requirement have been abandoned.]

[Remaining skills have lost proficiency.]

[Equipment  for which you no longer meet the necessary requirement have been stored in your warehouse.]

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A sudden feeling of powerlessness followed. It was now too late for any regrets.

After leaving the temple, Rust couldn't help but feel tired. The old priest had even not so subtly suggested he shouldn't come back.

He couldn't help it. It was only possible to do it during nighttime. It was probably one of the failsafes the creators had set up to keep players from mistakenly starting over.

How many times did this make? He couldn't be sure, but too many were probably the answer. The first time had been extremely embarrassing as his equipment was automatically removed and he was left almost completely nude. Luckily the NPC priest was kind enough to give him some clothes so he wouldn't have to walk around like that.

The priest was a good guy, and Rust actually felt bad for having to bother him late like this all the time.

The only way to change your class in 'Battleheart' was to visit one of the designated starter cities and pray at the temple at night. Then the light of the gods would descend and change your destiny. In other words, you would start back at level 1.

All remaining skills would also be set at 1 star. Luckily you could keep your titles and any hidden stats you unlocked. But they were hard to come by.

Rust was incredibly indecisive when it came to his class and playstyle. It was after all the very first life-like VRMMORPG. There were just too many options. He could be a deadly assassin sneaking around. A fire mage who could set blaze to the world. A stout paladin who defended justice with his shield. A mighty warrior destroying enemy ranks. Just the basic classes were endless. When taking hidden classes into account, the possibilities would make your head spin.

But here he was. Classless and level 1 once again. Having played the game for nearly one and a half year, made him hollow inside when he thought how little he had accomplished. Especially when keeping in mind that time in Battleheart passed 4 times faster. One hour in reality would be four hours in Battleheart. While he didn't play for 24 hours a day, he had still been an inhabitant of this world for nearly 6 years.

The average level for players was 150. 150! The highest he'd ever been was 70.

Rust let out a deep sigh. There was no use crying over spilled milk. He'd just have to deal with it.

'This will be the last time.'

Only 5 weeks ago, he had made the same promise.

There was little point in looking at his status. He'd done this so many times he knew exactly what it looked like, but he did so anyway out of habit.

RUST

80/80 hp

100/100 mana

150/50 stamina

Attack Power: 20

Magic Power: 0

Defense:25

Evasion: 0%

10 Strength

10 Agility

10 Dexterity

10 Endurance

10 Spirit

10 Vitality

0 Luck

Available stat points: 0

SKILLS

[Weapons Mastery ☆]

5% increased attack power with weapons.

5% increased attack speed with weapons.

[Magic Mastery ☆]

5% reduced casting time

5% increased magic power

[Crafting Mastery ☆]

5% increased work speed when crafting.

5% increased chance of getting a higher rarity outcome when crafting.

TITLES

[Master of None]

10% Increased experience gain.

10% increased skill experience gain.

[Jack of All]

At level up, 2 extra stat points are randomly allocated to your stats.

'Everything looks normal.'

It was amazing in its own way. All of this was made possible by his 'hard work'. The luck attribute, the mastery skills, and titles. They all came from starting over multiple times. Taking the 'Weapons Mastery' as an example. His other weapon masteries had combined into 'Weapons Mastery' after he had gone through countless weapon types. 'Master of None' and 'Jack of All' had been obtained after he changed classes many times.

As luck would have it, most of the quests in Battleheart were procedurally generated, which meant that running out, even in a beginner town, would be extremely hard. The world in Battleheart was alive. It was like an alternate reality more than anything else. And as such, NPCs always had things that needed to be done.

There were also multiple repeatable quests in beginner towns. There was one he had done the very first time he played, and every time afterward when visiting the temple.

Rust didn't even need to visit the alchemist to receive the quest, as he already knew exactly what he needed to do. The alchemist needed slime cores for alchemy If he collected 10, he would receive some exp and three, one-star health potions. He already had some better potions, but it would be a waste with his currently low max health.

Heading towards the place where he usually hunted slimes, he had some doubts.

'How should I play this time?'

It was a very important question. Sometimes new classes could be unlocked based on the way you played. If you constantly used a sword, the complex system wouldn't offer you magic or crafting based classes.

But it wasn't unheard of. There were stories of people receiving unrelated classes because they met some hidden requirement.

That was also one of his immediate goals. Getting to level 10 and receiving his class.

While walking in deep thought, he had an idea.

'No weapon?'

It was unconventional and scary, which is why he hadn't really given it much thought before. Fighting magic and weapons with bare fists. Only madmen would do such a thing. But it was possible. He had seen it before.

Was this the change he needed?

'I'll try it.'

With hope and excitement, he soon reached the hunting ground.