Prestige Grinding : I Can Reset My Level

Sora had just read the notifications explaining the rules when he felt the gazes of several people on him, realizing he was the last one to join.

Scanning his surroundings, he noticed players organized in small groups of three to ten, clearly prepared for combat. He recognized a few faces—players whose familiars had been defeated by Netsu on the fourth floor—but saw no one he knew personally.

Kara, Rachel, Kim, Emily, and his other guildmates were nowhere to be seen.

As he continued scanning the crowd, his eyes finally landed on a familiar face—Klunor, the dark elf general.

"Why is this guy everywhere I go?" Sora thought, a bit annoyed. He didn’t dislike Klunor, but it was starting to feel like they were somehow fated to cross paths repeatedly.

Klunor was deep in conversation with a few other players, their wary eyes scanning the surrounding groups. Noticing Sora’s arrival, Klunor stepped forward, offering him a greeting.

"Hello, Ralph. I can’t decide if bumping into you again is luck or trouble at this point," Klunor said with a stiff smile, glancing around at the crowd. "Have you noticed the atmosphere here?" He nodded subtly toward the elite groups of high-level players.

"See how the top players have formed their own circles?" Klunor pointed out.

Sora looked around and noticed that high-level players had indeed grouped up with others of their race, often including one or two lower-level players from their own faction.

"They’re planning to let the lower-level players be eliminated first?," Sora said, quickly grasping the situation.

Klunor nodded. "Exactly. They’re setting us up to fall early, avoiding unnecessary battles themselves. Lower-level players might still rank high based on their performances on earlier floors. By taking us out here, they remove the competition and make this trial easier for themselves."

Sora sneered. ’What a bunch of cowards’, he thought.

Klunor caught his expression and added, "This so-called ’team-based’ trial isn’t fooling anyone. Every player here is out for themselves."

He paused, meeting Sora’s gaze. "That’s why we’ve grouped up." He gestured to the three players nearby, all between levels 135 and 140. "Would you consider joining us?"

Sora glanced over at Klunor’s group. Teaming up might improve his odds, but he preferred relying on himself rather than risking working with strangers—or players from an opposing faction.

"Thanks, but I’ll stick to playing solo," he replied, shaking his head. "Good luck."

Klunor looked disappointed but nodded in understanding. "Alright… I understand. Just be careful out there. If things get rough, remember that our offer still stands."

After watching Klunor return to his group, Sora summoned his now-infamous phoenix, ignoring the flinches from some of the other players’ familiars, and steadied himself for the trial.

Just then, a new notification appeared in front of everyone.

[The trial has started]

The barrier surrounding them vanished, and Sora finally took in his surroundings.

They were standing along the shore of a beach. Quickly, Sora leapt up to get a better view of the area, with Netsu following close behind.

Taking in the vast scene, he thought, ’We’re on an island…’

Sora scanned the island, trying to commit every detail to memory. The place was enormous, with traces of an ancient civilization.

To his left stood a dense, dark forest filled with giant trees, each towering a few hundred meters high—far taller than anything Earth had seen before the update. To his right, the ruins of an old city stretched across the landscape—broken stone pathways, crumbling archways, and staircases that led nowhere. A colossal statue lay half-buried in the earth, one hand reaching up toward the sky.

Ahead, in the distance, Sora spotted a massive, cube-shaped structure draped in vines and overgrown with plants.

Just as he was about to descend, his attention was drawn to a high-level player stepping forward, weapon in hand, positioning himself in front of a level 130 dwarf. The higher-level player raised his sword, ready to strike—but before the blade could fall, the level 158 player collapsed to the ground, clutching his chest in agony from an invisible, powerful force.

’Team killing is forbidden in this trial as well… Thank god,’ Sora thought, taking a deep breath in relief as he dropped back to the ground and opened the event panel. The rules and a map of the island appeared on his screen. He could see his position on the map, but his teammates weren’t marked on it.

On the map, Sora saw areas marked as [Fox Den], [Chicken Coop] and [Snake Pit]. Noticing that he was in the [Snake Pit] area, he understood that players from the Fox and Chicken groups had spawned on opposite sides of the island, forming a triangle with his own Viper group.

With his back to the sea, he considered which direction to take. The Fox players were positioned West, while the Chicken group was on his North.

Not planning on "feeding chickens," he leapt onto Netsu’s back and headed West, following the same path as many others who were moving deeper into the island. Sora knew hiding wasn’t an option—he’d need to hunt down enemies or risk elimination by the system for being unproductive.

’Most players are either rushing toward the center or targeting groups their team has an advantage against. Meanwhile, weaker players, knowing they’re likely to be hunted, are sticking close to stronger teammates for protection or hiding somewhere to avoid detection for as long as possible.’

Maintaining a steady pace, Sora moved with the flow of other Viper players around him. He noticed the strongest among them pulling ahead, eager to score early eliminations, likely hoping to catch some Fox players off guard.

As he neared the [Fox Den], the sounds of battle reached his ears. Picking up his pace, he arrived to find a group of about a dozen players surrounding three others who seemed to belong to the Rabbit species of the Beast race. A strange yellow glow surrounded the three players’ bodies.

The three players from the Fox group, all above level 140, were arguing heatedly.

"I told you it was stupid to dig a burrow between us and the damn Vipers!" a female player shouted at her teammate in the back.

"It is because it is stupid that we did! It would have been impossible to expect! We were perfectly hidden! My skill covered us completely! It’s this damn map—one of them mentioned seeing us on the map! They must’ve spotted us when they got close," her teammate argued back.

Opening the map, Sora noticed that, indeed, six yellow dots had appeared near him, including the trio and their familiars...

’So foxes appear as yellow on the map... good to know...’ Sora thought. ’I’m now level 133, and my talent increased by 7 since the fourth trial. I don’t need to team up with players from other regions or races. Today, I’ll be the hunter, not the prey.’

Confident in his own abilities after beating the last three trials, he ignored the battle in front of him and accelerated forward, looking for other players on the radar.

Next to the radar, he could also see a list of names appearing, showing battle history in the island.

[Clémence Berger (Chicken) has defeated Klunor (Viper)]...[Eloj (Viper) has defeated Bofin (Chicken)]

Eliminated Players TotalFox: 0Chicken: 0Viper: 0

’Wow, Klunor managed to get killed in the first five minutes... And this Eloj player eliminated someone from a stronger group.’ Noticing the surprising notifications, Sora was almost tempted to read through them all.

Trying to ignore the battle history, he accelerated, but every player he encountered was already locked in battle. Not wanting to involve himself in ongoing fights, he continued searching for Fox players. Refusing to give up, he headed toward the shore, focusing on the island’s extremities.

He soon found a party of Fox players composed of four individuals who had also noticed his appearance on the map.

Three of them were Dwarf players and the fourth seemed to be of the Spirit Race.

[Irene - Level 143]

[Thorek - Level 137]

[Bofin - Level 142]

[Duraz - Level 141]

One of the Dwarves looked visibly shocked. The human who had entered their range didn’t seem the least bit worried, even after seeing their levels and numbers. It was clear he intended to fight.

"We get that the buff gives you a boost," one of them said, narrowing his eyes at Sora. "But do you really think it is enough to make up for the gap between us? You’re only level 133. Even with that phoenix of yours at 155, you’re still outmatched." His gaze flicked around as he checked his panel. "Or are you just stalling, waiting for reinforcements to show up?"

Feeling his buff taking effect every time he encountered a Fox, Sora knew that the buff [Venomous] was indeed incredibly powerful, and was pleased to see that it applied to Netsu as well.

Understanding the risk of interference from others mid-fight, Sora activated [Earth Dome] to prevent such a situation.

This dome, however, looked vastly different from the version he’d used before. The Earth element particles were now densely packed, arranged in a way that made the barrier significantly sturdier.

During his training in the [Time Space] near the city of Nara, Sora had focused on perfecting a dozen skills, pushing them to their limits, and [Earth Dome] was one he had focused on.

’These players rank in the top 841 among the elites who joined the trial… I can’t let my guard down,’ Sora thought, channeling his full strength.

Summoning his hammer, he activated [Lava in My Veins], not planning on holding back.

The air around him changed as intense heat and pressure began to radiate from his body, making it clear to his opponents that he wasn’t here to make friends. His skin turned black, smoke leaked from his body, and his hair stood on end as he stared at them like a beast eyeing its prey.