'First on the agenda: getting stronger.'
That was Leon's top priority, and for multiple reasons.
Put simply, Leon wanted to enjoy his life.
As Alex, his life had been cut short during what was likely a robbery, and as Leon, though he had been born into privilege, his mysterious illness had prevented him from experiencing much of that luxury.
Now that he was healed, he intended to make up for lost time, and the 'Alex' within him wanted to finally explore the world of Citera that he'd only ever seen through a screen.
'But I can't exactly do that if the world gets invaded by beings from another planet, can I?'
Wartime was most certainly not the time to explore. His parents wouldn't even let him out of their sight.
'Besides, even without a war, I'd still need to be strong if I want to explore. Strong enough to brush off whatever dangers are out there.'
Citera was a planet rich in resources that were coveted by others, which made it a prime target for interplanetary invasions.
The remnants of these invasions over the centuries had left Citera scattered with dangerous monsters and danger zones. Ruined nations, isolated islands, and even an entire continent teeming with monsters from other worlds.
There were also Dungeons, structures designed by the Olden Citeran Rulers to trap excess monsters and control their population.
"Dungeons would be perfect for levelling up… though that's easier said than done."
Just like the RPG game it inspired, Citerans could grow stronger by 'levelling up'—absorbing the residual energy, existential records, and soul power of slain opponents in the form of EXP.
It was a direct way to boost one's stats and overall power, but also the most dangerous.
"So, either you train slowly to raise your stats, or you risk your life and level up through battle.
Unsurprisingly, a lot of people choose the latter. And even less surprisingly, I'm gonna be one of them…"
Leon muttered this as he tossed a towel onto his bed after drying his hair, then dropped into a chair in his room, spinning around as he picked up his tablet from the desk opposite.
Citera's technology level was exactly what one would expect from a planet that had weathered multiple invasions and absorbed the tech of its vanquished invaders.
"A planet capable of producing things as advanced as Battlesuits certainly wouldn't be stuck in the age of horses and carriages like most fantasy games from Alex's world…"
Phones, computers, cars, trains, airships, and the like were all commonplace, so gathering information about dungeons and similar zones wasn't hard.
Organisations existed to regulate access to these dungeons and danger zones, understandably so, or else fools would be charging to their deaths every single day.
"Deity Rising's plot follows an invasion of Citera by another planet, one with power on par with those from the War of Ancients. But unlike back then, the current Citera doesn't have the strength it once did."
Leon searched up the War of Ancients online, cross-referencing what was publicly known about it with the information he remembered from Deity Rising.
"Years 988-1000 of the Citeran Calendar… simultaneous invasions from other planets… the greatest invasion since the first invasion of the Calendar Year 0… dead Ruler Classes… Yep, it all checks out."
The mention of the word, Ruler, reminded Leon of a group of particularly nasty World Bosses from Deity Rising called the 'Fallen Rulers', but he quickly pushed those thoughts aside.
"The Fallen Rulers are not a priority now. The real issue is figuring out how to use all the information of the future Deity Rising has given me to eliminate the obstacles keeping me from enjoying this life of mine…
I certainly don't wanna be doing the main character's job, that's for sure."
Using the information he had to start intercepting the efforts of the Invaders, whose scouts had already slipped into Citera, would basically amount to doing the protagonist's work, and that was a very stressful job.
"I just wanna explore and meet my favourite Heroines from the game! The Cool Archmage, the sickly 'lol' Princess, the Saintess… the list is endless…"
Leon set his tablet down and sighed, spinning in his chair as he continued thinking out loud.
"I don't want this world getting dragged into war, not when I live in it, but stopping that war is easier said than done.
I could use the Raviaz family's influence to handle a lot of future incidents, but that'll raise too many questions about how I know what's coming.
Though I can brush those off if they're from outsiders, I can't do that if my parents ask, especially since I'd be depending on their power and connections for some of these things.
What plausible excuse can I use to explain my memories from before my reincarnation…"
The moment the word 'Reincarnation' left Leon's lips, he was instantly reminded of something that had slipped his mind, as his thoughts had been all over the place.
"Am I the only one who got reincarnated?"
He thought back to that battle in the afterlife, and the pillar of light he'd fallen into.
"There were two other souls that fell in with me. No…they were the ones who pushed me into it in the first place…"
In other words, there were likely two other reincarnators… or maybe not.
What were the chances that those souls came from the same world Alex had lived in? What were the chances they ended up in Citera, too? What were the chances they knew about Deity Rising?
"…I don't know…"
There was also the major issue of preventing the event that turned Leon of Deity Rising into the game's Final Villain.
"That event was essentially a pre-emptive strike by the Invaders, executed through a chain of intermediaries and scapegoats."
June 8th, Year 2051.
"Exactly 9 months and 1 week from today, August 31st, 2050."
It was something both infinitely simple and infinitely difficult to stop.
'It's not just about dealing with the insider within the Raviaz family. I have to handle the scapegoats and middlemen, too.
Even if they were only tools in the plan, they weren't innocent. The nobles involved were fully aware they were targeting a member of the Raviaz family, yet they still went through with it.'
Leon tapped his fingers against the table in thought for a few seconds before deciding on a plan of action.
'I'm going to make use of the Raviaz Family's investigative team and have them look into everyone I remember being involved from the game. I can't tell them outright what to look for, but I can drop hints that'll lead them to the evidence.
I'll need to enlist Sir Manuel's help too.'
He picked up his tablet again and, with his stylus, started sketching a rough plan of action for dealing with that one event, spending several minutes writing and erasing repeatedly.
When he finally completed his draft, he locked the tablet's screen and picked up his phone, sending a message to the two heads of his guard detail to start preparing to leave.
He set both devices down afterwards, then looked up and muttered a single word.
"Status."
By his command, a violet-hued diaphanous board appeared in his field of vision, displaying a concise version of his compiled existential records.
|Name- Leon Raviaz
Race- Nephilim (Angel/Human)
Gender- Male
Age- 17
Level- 69
Titles- [...]
Class- Brawler
Health– D-
Energy– D+
Strength– D
Agility– D+
Durability– D-
Intelligence– D
Magic Tiers– Lightning Tier 2, Light Tier 2, Wind Tier 0.|
|Trait– Voltaic Instinct.
Core Skill– Bronto.
Extra Skills– Body Strengthening, Magic Manipulation.
|Zenith Art– None.|
"Level 69, huh?"
Leon muttered his Level under his breath with a soft sigh, shaking his head as his thoughts drifted to the years of effort he had put into raising that number.
One's Level represented the grade of their existence, and the higher the number, the higher the calibre of both one's body and soul.
It was only natural that Leon, whose soul had been damaged from birth, started with a low Level.
"Not just low, but down in the negatives."
Leon had to raise his Level from the negatives to zero, and eventually into the positives.
'Those were hard times. I remember crying when I realised other people didn't start with negative levels. Coupled with the fact that I was always sick, I might have grown into a depressed child if not for Mum and Dad…'
Leon moved his gaze down the status board as those thoughts passed through his mind, skipping the Title Tab, which he had minimised since its length always cluttered the display, and continuing down to the list of Stats.
Despite being Level 69, Leon used to lack the stats expected of someone at that Level, but after recovering, his status board now displayed stats that matched his level.
Leon's eyes moved further down to the Magic Tiers tab, scanning through the Tiers of the Light Magic he had inherited from his mother and his own innate Lightning Magic, before moving on to his Trait, Voltaic Instinct.
It was a passive ability that enhanced his lightning damage, granted him lightning resistance, and increased his reflexes and reaction speed.
"Final Boss Leon could absorb lightning to replenish his energy or stamina, but that's impossible for me now."
Leon concluded his inspection there and closed the status board, picking up his phone and checking the calendar again.
'My stats are lower than they were at the end of the DLC's prologue, which makes sense, since I'm still in the prologue.
It ends after my birthday next year, while the main story's prologue ends in around two months, right after the protagonist loses most of their memories in a certain incident and wakes up completely disoriented in a different country.'
"Now that I think about it, the game had a gender-selectable protagonist… I wonder which version it'll be in reality. Cameron or Camellya?
I really want it to be Camellya, though…"
The reason behind that preference was the same reason Alex had chosen Camellya over Cameron when playing Deity Rising.
A very simple one—he had a thing for redheads.
'Ahem… moving on… I need to swap out my generic Brawler Combat Class for something better, and I already have an idea of where to get one of the best combat classes for the early game.
The DLC's prologue includes a mission where that class can be obtained, and I'm currently in that part of the mission. It involves exploring ruins where former Citeran Heroes died, and the location of those ruins is on the outskirts of a city called Zeusea.
That city also happens to be in the protagonist's home country, Asteau, which is where I currently am.'
Since they'd lost their memories, the protagonist took a while to find out that Astea was their homeland.
'So, my list now goes: Get a Combat Class, decide whether or not I'll meet the protagonist, then head back to the Russell for the annual Noble Heirs meeting I skipped last year, since that's when that kidnapping event happens.
So much to do…'
Just then, a knock sounded on the door, and after Leon gave permission to enter, two men stepped into the room.
"Young master, the waypoint has been prepared for departure," one of them said, bowing lightly.
"So it's time to go, then?"
Leon rose from his chair as he spoke, sliding his phone into his pocket while he crossed the room and picked up the bags he had packed a few days earlier before he had become bedridden.
He infused a bit of magic power into the watch on his left wrist, and in a flash of light, the two bags disappeared into his spatial storage.
"Alright. Lead the way, Elidyr," Leon said as he turned around, calling out the name of the man who had just informed him about the waypoint.
He was a man with neatly kept dark brown hair that fell slightly past his ears, calm hazel eyes, a lean face defined by a straight nose and pronounced cheekbones, and a composed presence that made his age difficult to judge at a glance.
"Young master, don't you think you need to rest a bit? You only just got out of bed a few hours ago."
That question came from the angel knight accompanying Elidyr, a short, light blonde-haired man with bright blue eyes filled with concern toward Leon.
"Don't worry so much, Beriel," Leon replied, tapping the angel's shoulder. "I've got mother's seal of approval that I'm okay."
"If Her Grace said so, then it's okay, I suppose," Beriel responded, before glancing at Elidyr, who continued silently leading the way to the waypoint room.
'He's as quiet as ever.'
Beriel thought this to himself as he shrank the pair of folded wings behind his back, reducing their size enough to hide them under his clothes without hindering his movement through the doors of the mansion's left wing.
For the record, Leon didn't have any wings, at least not yet, since Nephilim like him generally took longer to develop them.
Elidyr and Beriel were the heads of his guard detail, whom he had messaged earlier, and they were the ones accompanying him on his quest to change his combat class.
Lucia had official business in Asteau, and Leon had travelled all the way from his home country, the Russell Empire, to Asteau along with her because he wanted to explore the ruins on Zeusea's outskirts.
He had already explained to her how he had discovered that the ruins held the legacy of Heroes from two planetary invasions ago, who had gone missing in that area after they were last seen fighting High-Ranking Mermen, and that there was a chance he could find something useful for fist fighters like himself.
Lucia had already granted him permission, so after stopping by her room to inform her he was leaving, he headed toward the teleportation waypoint with the two guards, disappearing in a flash of light.