Reset After Solo Clear: Shadow Master Rebirth

The Blank Map

The sun over Aurelis had fully risen when Nox finally paused and leaned against one of the half-standing stone pillars. 

He opened his status menu while wiping away virtual sweat that somehow felt real. “My progress is painfully slow. Back then, I could gain five levels from a single boss fight. Now I have to collect them one by one from weak monsters.”

[STATUS WINDOW]

Level: 7

HP: 210

Shadow Energy: 140

Shadow Capacity: 1/2 unit

The Erebus Guardian approached, its massive body moving almost silently through the ruins before settling beside him like a giant dragon choosing to bow to something far smaller than itself.

“You really don’t mind following someone whose level is far below yours, huh,” Nox said softly as he looked at the creature.

The Erebus Guardian did not respond, of course it could not, but its deep crimson eyes blinked slowly, as if it understood every word he said, even if it could not answer in the same language.

Nox opened the world map from the system menu, hoping to find some clue about where he actually was. What appeared instead made him frown.

The map was empty. Only a single small dot marked his position, surrounded by gray terrain with no city names, no dungeon icons, and no NPC indicators that would normally appear automatically.

“This isn’t any beginner zone I’ve ever known. Even the most obscure hidden areas usually have a name on the map,” he muttered to himself.

He tried pressing the system help option, a standard feature that usually guided lost players toward the nearest city.

[Feature unavailable in this area]

“Unavailable,” Nox repeated, raising an eyebrow. “So it’s not just me who got reset. Even the system’s basic rules that apply to all players don’t fully apply here.”

He closed the map and stared out at the horizon. The same ruins stretched endlessly around him, but this time he noticed something he had missed earlier. The pattern of structures in the distance was too deliberate to be random debris. There was something resembling a pathway, though partially collapsed, leading in one direction away from the center of the ruins where he had been reborn.

“If the system won’t show me the way, then I’ll just have to find it myself,” he said, stepping forward.

The Erebus Guardian rose and followed, its footsteps far lighter than its size should have allowed.

They traveled for quite some time, long enough for Nox to measure time by the number of encounters rather than any in-game clock that never felt accurate. Two more Wraith Pups. A small pack of Ravaged Hounds that he managed to avoid entirely this time using Umbral Veil, without engaging in combat at all.

He paused after passing them undetected. “This skill is interesting. Umbral Veil isn’t just for surviving when cornered. If I use it earlier, I can avoid unnecessary fights entirely.”

He stored that realization in his mind as both a mechanical fact and a new approach to combat. Azrael had once been known for efficiency, never wasting effort on unnecessary battles. That instinct was still there, waiting for his new account to grow strong enough to match it.

When they finally reached the end of the broken pathway, Nox stopped abruptly.

Before him stood a massive stone gate, half-buried in ruins, its carvings nearly eroded by time. Unlike the surrounding structures, the gate still emitted a faint purple glow from the cracks running across its surface, the exact same color as the reset screen he had seen the night before.

[Anomaly detected]

[You are approaching an area not registered in the world database]

[Proceed?]

Nox stared at the notification for a long moment, his heartbeat quickening as curiosity began to outweigh caution.

“World database, so this isn’t just missing from the player map. It doesn’t exist in the official database at all,” he murmured.

He glanced at the Erebus Guardian, as if seeking its opinion. The creature simply returned his gaze in silence, leaving the decision entirely to him.

“If even the developers didn’t record this place, then this is the most likely place to find answers about why I’m here,” he said before stepping forward.

He placed his hand against the surface of the gate. The faded carvings suddenly flared to life, forming rotating patterns like massive gears. From within the cracks, a low humming sound emerged—like something long sealed away waiting to be played again by the right person.

[Data Fragment Found]

[Playing stored log]

The voice that followed was fragmented, like an old radio signal barely holding together.

“The subject has not yet shown signs, if this class successfully adapts without external gear, then our hypothesis about.”

The voice cut off completely. The gate dimmed, its carvings fading once more as if the energy that awakened it had already been exhausted

Nox stood motionless, staring at the now-silent gate, the words echoing in his mind.

“Subject, hypothesis, and class. What’s this supposed to mean?” he repeated quietly, his voice barely audible.

He turned to the Erebus Guardian, his eyes narrowing. The fragments of suspicion that had drifted shapelessly since the night before began to piece themselves together into something far more unsettling than a mere system bug.

“This isn’t an accident. Someone designed all of this on purpose. And it seems I just heard part of the reason why.”

After everything that had happened, and in the midst of the confusion surrounding him, Nox decided to rest for a moment.

“I need to rest for a while and clear my mind. There’s too much going on right now, and I won’t be able to figure anything out if I keep pushing myself like this.”

[Do you want to log off?]

[Yes]