Digitize: Rebirth of the Silver Death God

A soft gale blew across the open field, rustling Nero's combat robes as he stood behind a towering tree, basking in the atmosphere as blades of leaves fluttered around his figure. Despite this, however, his eyes were serious as he calmly waited for his older self to begin his words.

Adult Nero soon materialized behind him, his semi-transparent figure visible only to Nero himself, standing back to back with his younger self as he spoke.

"Previously, I had told you that you would need to go to a dungeon to acquire more power before the trials of the Gate of Legends. However, I did not explain to you the true hazards of a dungeon..."

When Nero heard this, he frowned as he spoke, "What kind of hazards? Wouldn't it just be a place with digitize beasts, traps, high-grade equipment, and a final creature to be annihilated?"

Adult Nero shook his head and made a cold laugh before he replied, "If only that were true. Listen here, a dungeon is far more dangerous than that, for you see, it is a very place in the World of Promise that ignores the rules."

When Nero heard this, his face turned dark as he asked, "Wait, you don't mean?"

"Correct," Adult Nero said, cutting him off as he continued to speak with a cold look in his eyes.

"A dungeon is typically a place where one will experience death, but... as the Novice Zone is a bit more special, the penalty of true death has been constrained, limiting it to only the loss of one's lifeforce. In other words, so long as you die in a Novice Zone dungeon, you would have essentially left behind a piece of your life within it, further reducing your overall lifespan."

When Nero heard this, his face turned pale; he had no idea that things would get like this so soon. Yet, despite his discomfort, Adult Nero continued to speak with indifference.

"I know that it might be discomforting, but you'll need to get used to it; the one thing that you do not want to do in any dungeon, especially those after the Novice Zone, is perishing. This is why there are special methods available for each dungeon raider. It is also this very reason why all dungeon raids are especially brutal; digitizers will stop at nothing to acquire a second life or means to escape from its confines."

When Nero heard those words, he drew in a breath of frigid air while thinking to himself, 'It looks like I was making light of this event for too long. I'll need to take this as seriously as if it were in real life.'

Adult Nero nodded as he heard Nero's thoughts; he then stared at the bright sun in the distance that illuminated this mystical world's azure sky. His eyes seemed capable of viewing through the myriad of towering trees and high mountains that loomed behind the distant scenery of buildings and structures from the nearby Birgime.

"All dungeons are set in a special place that generated by random, the only thing constant is its rank. Hence, while no one can ever truly be ready for one and should always go in with the expectation of meeting the unknown, you can only prepare yourself for the expected level of dangers."

Adult Nero said again as he took his sights from the distinct, fixing it onto Nero before tapping his shoulder and vanishing within his body.

Nero wasn't surprised that Adult Nero could touch his shoulder. He had already recalled the scene from his encounter with the All-Seer. After clearing his thoughts, his eyes showed firmness as he took a step forward with his fist tightly clenched.

'I will be ready.'

Nero thought with a firm look on his face, no longer dallying in the open fields, he took a step forward, moving towards the distance as his silhouette faded beyond the coarse pathway.

***

Time passed, and it was already nearing the peak of the morning; many digitizers were already gathered within Winfrey Village, as the slower ones were still on route.

It was a well-known fact that the new digitizers would each have to speak with the Village Elder to acquire the quest for the first dungeon raid; only after doing this could one enter a dungeon portal by normal means.

As such, the scene within Winfrey was a crowded one, filled with all of the recently arrived newbies, very much like the scenes in the other Novice Villages scattered about the entire Novice Zone.

The heavily armed Raynas was currently moving through a sea of humans and nonhumans, carrying in his arms a large crate filled with a bundle of different types of equipment. His face was a bit sullen as he looked at the petite Elly in front his him that walked with a joyous expression on her face, moving without a care in the world.

'This sister of mine...' Raynas thought as he heaved a deep sigh, shaking his head as he accepted the bag boy's role.

As if Elly heard his sigh, she looked around and spoke while pointing ahead, "Brother, hurry, we have to get over there now; I don't want to be late for accepting the quest."

'Tsk! Whose fault do you think it is that we're late in the first place?' Raynas cursed inwardly, his eyes flashing with images of scenes before now, recalling as Elly led him across the entire markets purchasing everything she needed and didn't need.

Elly seemed to have sensed his discontent; she knitted her brow and looked at him as she asked, "Brother, aren't you happy?"

Raynas gritted his teeth before making a warm brotherly smile as she spoke, "Haha, my little sister is my life; how could I not be happy?"

When Elly heard this, she snorted and said nothing, turning around as she ran ahead while thinking, 'Hmph! Brother, just you wait, this is only the beginning of the punishment for what you told mother about that time.'

Raynas shook his head, seeing Elly run ahead, he naturally didn't know her thoughts and only followed along, but soon, his eyes shifted to the right as he saw a familiar silver-haired figure.

'Oh, it's him, huhu... I have a perfect idea.'

Raynas thought with a set of cunning eyes, far different from his usual look as he saw the innocent and naive looking Nero walk towards his position, unaware of his plans.