"Rex… he was the strongest player in YGGDRASIL by a long shot." Back in the city, the group of 13 stood gathered across from Riku, who now recounted everything he knew about the man that had left them speechless.
"By a long shot?" one of them echoed in disbelief.
Riku nodded. "There were tournaments held in YGGDRASIL—competitions to determine the strongest player from each realm. The winners would receive a unique job class that many considered broken. That class was called World Champion." He paused, letting the weight of those words settle before continuing.
"But even before earning that title, Rex was already strong enough to defeat the winners. He only became more terrifying after claiming the class for himself." Riku's gaze dropped toward the ground, sifting through memories.
"He didn't stop at one. Rex became the World Champion of all nine realms, unlocking a hidden class known as Champion of the Nine Realms. But he never acquired it…" He hesitated for a moment. "He said the cost was too steep. Learning that job class would've forced him to sacrifice too much power—and Rex… he never settled for less than the peak."
"He was part of an infamous evil guild—a group so powerful it had another World Champion among its ranks," Riku said, exhaling deeply as memories surfaced.
"They were feared across the game. So feared, in fact, that the largest coalition in YGGDRASIL history—1,500 players, all level 100—joined forces to take them down." He looked up, a bitter edge to his voice. "And they failed."
"That guild only had 42 members, and not a single one of them needed to lift a finger. Their defenses, traps, and summoned forces wiped out every single attacker." Riku sighed, recalling the story he had read countless times. He'd saved for months just to join the game, only to log in a day before it ended. It still stung.
"That's… hard to believe," one of the others muttered. "How strong would you say Rex was, in his prime?" the Dragon Lord finally asked, his tone unusually serious.
"Powerful," Riku said quietly. "He could face a hundred level 100 players without breaking a sweat. He fought monsters that normally required entire guilds to defeat—and he did it alone."
He paused for a breath. "It's said he traveled to lands no one else dared enter, facing creatures that other players couldn't even survive encountering. And after seeing him in person… it all makes sense."
Riku shook his head slowly."Seeing how powerful he is—even after having his level reset… there's really nothing more to say. He's just—too overpowered."
"You said he was part of an evil guild?" the Black Knight asked, his tone low and cautious. Riku nodded.
"They were well known for their ambitions to take over the world," Riku said softly. "Feared by most major guilds, they were a force that rarely—if ever—lost." He paused. "There was one exception. A mine was stolen from them once. It was a major loss… but they responded by completely destroying the guild responsible. Rex led that attack himself."
He glanced at the others, his voice quieter now. "After that, no one dared to provoke them again."
While Riku continued recounting every detail he could remember about Rex, the man himself was far from the city. Now fully clothed, Rex walked calmly down a quiet road, a map in hand, eyes scanning its markings as he read and navigated without hurry.
Wild Magic and Rune Smith. These should be what Rex focused on, so he planned to head toward the Dragon Kingdom. If he remembered correctly, the Beastman Country would begin attacking them for some reason, making it a perfect source of XP.
He smiled at the plan… but the smile quickly faded. The Dragon Kingdom didn't exist at this point in time. Rex frowned heavily, his plans needing adjustment. He turned his attention to Rune Smith instead.
From what he recalled, Rune Smithing would begin to fade around the era of the Evil Gods, which meant this was the ideal time to try and learn it, while the knowledge and techniques still lived.
Wasting no time, Rex made his way toward the city near the land of the dwarfs, nestled deep within the mountains.
Along the way, he questioned those he encountered, asking specifically about the dwarves. Through these scattered conversations, he discovered something important: the dwarf who had been with Riku was none other than the King of the Dwarfs.
The Dwarf King had joined the battle against the Evil Gods after their kingdom had come under attack. One of the Evil Gods had launched a devastating assault, forcing the dwarves to flee for their survival.
Many members of the royal family had perished in that attack. But the Dwarf King had stepped forward, refusing to run any longer, determined to put an end to the rising threat of the Evil Gods.
Rex paused for a moment, lost in thought, before heading toward the ruins of the dwarves' former homeland.
When he arrived, he was met with the aftermath of destruction, chaos still lingering in the broken terrain. It couldn't have happened more than a few weeks ago. The damage was recent, the land still raw with the traces of battle and retreat.
'I guess I should stay low-key to avoid trouble,' Rex thought, forming a quick plan. Without hesitation, he held out his palm and activated one of his naturally acquired skills, wasting no time as he began to set his idea into motion.
"Hearken, O souls long fallen King! The divine summons you forth from the abyss. Rise anew as my unwavering disciples. Cast aside the shadows of your past, for your destiny lies in the light of your new deity. Embrace the benediction of the divine: God's Blessing!"
The words spilled from Rex's mouth before he even realized what he was saying. It wasn't planned—it simply flowed out, as though the chant had been buried somewhere deep within him all along.
The moment he finished, his HP began to drop, a steady drain that caught his attention immediately.
At the same time, the dust and scattered remains of the Former King of the Dwarves began to stir. Bit by bit, the fallen monarch's body reassembled—bones, flesh, armor—all reformed by divine force.
Even with the body in an incomplete state, the power of a god was absolute. The restoration was complete in mere seconds.
And the cost? 10 HP.
The cost should have been greater—far greater. But it seemed the Eye of Infinity played a role in lessening the burden. While its effect wasn't as potent on HP as it was on MP, it still managed to reduce the cost by one-tenth.
In other words, the resurrection should have cost Rex 100 HP. Not that it would've been fatal.
Rex regenerated 1% of his HP every second, meaning he could go from 1 HP back to full in just 100 seconds. He would have been fine regardless. Even more so if he used MP to enhance his passive recovery rate—something well within his ability. With that in play, not even a critical HP drop would be a concern.
The Fallen King wasn't just reformed—his entire Runesmith gear set was restored alongside his body. The intricate armor, forged by the ancient craft of his people, shimmered as if it had never been touched by death. The sight earned a nod of approval from Rex.
As the dwarf's body fully regenerated, he dropped to one knee without hesitation. "I greet my lord," the dwarf said solemnly.
Rex casually waved off the words. He had wanted loyalty. When he invoked God's Blessing, that was adding into the skill.
There were three reasons the revival had such a high cost—each tied to the weight of what had been done.
The first reason for the high cost was the condition of the body. The Dwarf King's remains had been reduced to nothing but dust—reforming a complete body from that state was far from a simple task.
The second reason was the dwarf's own rejection of the revival. He hadn't agreed to return under such unnatural circumstances, but Rex had overridden that, forcing him back to life through sheer divine authority.
The third reason was Rex's specific request—he wanted the dwarf to return in his prime, fully restored, and equipped with all of his Runesmith gear.
These three factors combined drove the cost to 100 HP. And the result? The resurrected dwarf stood at 100%, as strong as he was alive. Level 35.
"No need for the kneeling. I seek knowledge on the runes. So you'll be my rune teacher… but before we begin, I'll also need a martial arts instructor, a magic caster teacher, and even a dragon versed in Wild Magic," Rex said with a calm smile.
He wanted to deepen his understanding of magic, and that meant not relying on the system as much. It was his first step toward evolving beyond the game's limitations.
If he could learn spells independently, he wouldn't be bound by predefined spell slots. More than that, it opened the door to creating spells of his own—unique abilities not even YGGDRASIL's mechanics could restrict.
"Understood, my lord," the Dwarf King replied respectfully, lowering his head.
And so, they traveled. The first stop was a nearby city, where Rex made his way into a bar, looking for information. Inside, he approached a group of drunken locals, casually asking questions about the strongest martial artists still alive.
It didn't take long for the conversation to turn into a heated argument, with each man shouting over the other, defending their favorite warrior.
Rex then posed a simple follow-up: Were the strongest martial artists of the past stronger than the ones today?
That question sparked even more chaos, but it was exactly what he needed. By listening closely and piecing together the names repeated with reverence, Rex was able to identify the best of the best—the martial artist who stood above all others.
As for Martial Arts in this world, they were made up of techniques that did not exist in the game. Similar abilities in YGGDRASIL were known as skills, typically acquired by players with warrior-type classes. When a martial art technique was used, it could temporarily boost physical stats, sharpen the user's mind, or grant combat advantages.
While magic casters relied on Tier Magic, Martial Arts were seen as the warrior's magic techniques tailored for melee combatants who excelled in close-quarters battle.
Eventually, Rex arrived at the graveyard of a legendary warrior known by the title One Slash. This man had earned fame after performing a feat that resonated throughout the land: he had once cut down a dragon with a single strike. While it hadn't been a fully grown dragon, the achievement was still remarkable enough to make his name known far and wide.
More than just his feat, he had also mastered 24 martial arts, a number unmatched by anyone else. It stood as a world record, proof of his dedication and unparalleled mastery.
His level had reportedly been in the 50s, due in part to the fact that he carried the blood of a player.
The next target was the strongest human spellcaster ever born in this world. He was known as Merlin—a legendary figure, born from the union of a native and a player. Before his death, he had reached level 65, an impressive feat by this world's standards.
Merlin wasn't just powerful—he was a genius, feared and respected across the land. But what truly set him apart was the innate talent he was born with—an ability that made mastering magic almost effortless for him.
In this world, some individuals are born with unique abilities, known as talents.. These gifts vary wildly, from walking on water to copying any spell you witness and using it as your own.
Merlin had one of the more powerful kinds—an affinity for learning and mastering all forms of magic, making his growth seemingly limitless. His death left a gap in magical knowledge that few, if any, could hope to fill.
The next target was a dragon—a far more difficult pursuit. Searching for the remains of a fallen dragon took Rex deep into the mountains, through uncharted terrain and long-forgotten paths. It wasn't easy, but after a few months of focused searching, he finally found what he was looking for.
He stood before the ancient remains of a Dragon Lord—a being that had fallen over 300 years ago, during the legendary battle against the Eight Greedy Kings.
This was the Boundless Sea Dragon Lord, a creature whose power had once rivaled that of a level 90 player. Reviving it, however, came at a steep cost.
It required 400 HP, a price Rex couldn't pay all at once. Instead, he was forced to revive it gradually, sacrificing his life force bit by bit as he slowly brought the dragon back to life.
Once everything was in place, Rex ignored the rest of the world and focused solely on learning, absorbing as much as he could from the three masters he had gathered.
Thanks to Divine Instant, his ability to comprehend all forms of magic made the process remarkably efficient. The skill allowed him to identify, break down, and analyze spells, enchantments, and magical constructs across all known schools of magic.
In other words, given enough time, Rex could learn everything, so long as his job classes permitted it.
But that was fine. He had plenty of ways to level up, and with that goal in mind, he set his sights on his next hunt: a Demon God.