"Well... let’s see what other surprises are in here," said Mark, closing the skills screen and opening the next section.

[Equipment]

The screen deployed showing a humanoid silhouette in the center with spaces around it for each part of the body: head, torso, arms, legs, feet, accessories, and a special space for the main weapon.

However, all the spaces were empty and each one displayed a gray box with the text "Unequipped" in small letters.

"I suppose that was to be expected..." murmured Mark, looking at the naked silhouette of his profile.

But it still hurt.

Because his main armor, the one he had worn for the last two years in Eternal Conquest Online, wasn’t just defensive equipment. Yes, the base defense it gave was decent but not spectacular. However, what really made it valuable were the passive effects it granted him.

Constant mana regeneration, mana cost reduction on his abilities, increased invocation speed, resistance to negative effects, and a movement speed bonus.

All those little advantages that by themselves didn’t seem like much but together turned a decent necromancer into an efficient one.

"I would have liked at least my armor to stay with me..." said Mark, running a hand across his face. "Not to mention the catalyst."

The catalyst was even worse. It was a dark orb that amplified the power of all necromancy spells by fifty percent and had cost him six months of farming to obtain.

Mark simply let out a long sigh and proceeded to close the equipment screen.

"Next."

[Inventory]

The screen changed and in front of him appeared an enormous grid full of small icons representing objects.

And upon seeing it, his eyes lit up like those of a small child.

It was all there.

Everything.

Exactly as he had left it the last time he played.

Potions of different colors and levels occupying an entire section of the grid, spare weapons he had stored just in case, including daggers, staves, and a couple of swords he had obtained from special events.

All the armor he had accumulated over the years, from the most basic to the legendary ones that could only be obtained in maximum-level raids.

The accessories, rings, amulets, and capes with unique effects he had collected one by one.

And the consumable items, teleportation stones, summoning scrolls, smoke bombs, storage crystals.

Everything was there.

Each square of the grid had an icon, a number indicating the quantity, and a colored border indicating its rarity.

Mark felt an involuntary smile forming on his face.

"Fuck yes..." he said in a low voice with an emotion he couldn’t contain.

But unfortunately his euphoria didn’t last long, because the moment he extended his hand and selected one of the squares, the one containing his maximum-level necromancer armor, a lock symbol appeared over the icon.

[This item is only available from Level 90]

Mark frowned.

He selected the next square, the one with his catalyst.

[This item is only available from Level 100]

He selected a legendary sword.

[This item is only available from Level 85]

A ring with life regeneration effect.

[This item is only available from Level 75]

A cape with magic resistance.

[This item is only available from Level 70]

He continued selecting items at random, one after another, each time going lower on the rarity scale, each time testing simpler and less powerful objects.

And each one returned the same result.

Locked by level.

Level 90, level 85, level 80, level 75, level 70, level 65, level 60, level 50...

Mark kept going down.

Premium healing potions.

[This item is only available from Level 50]

Standard teleportation stones.

[This item is only available from Level 50]

Basic healing potions.

[This item is only available from Level 50]

When Mark finally finished reviewing one by one all the items in his inventory, he reached a conclusion.

Level fifty.

That was the minimum.

The simplest and most basic objects in his entire inventory required at least level fifty to be used.

And unfortunately he was only level thirty-three.

"Things can never be that convenient... can they?" he said bitterly.

"Master," said Aria, pointing at the screen with curiosity. "What are all those little squares with pictures?"

Mark had become so absorbed in reviewing his inventory that he had completely forgotten that all his subordinates were right next to him.

"They’re my things that I had in the other world..." he answered, somewhat discouraged.

"That means each square is an object?" asked Aria, surprised.

"Not exactly. While each square represents an object, the quantity of said object is indicated by the number that appears to the side," he explained while raising his hand to point to one of the spaces in his inventory. "For example, this one here is a healing potion. Although it only takes up one square in my inventory, there are actually 99 of them just as the number on its side indicates."

"..."

Rose, who had been listening attentively to her master’s explanation, decided to speak.

"Wow..." she said, raising her eyebrows in surprise. "You really did have a lot of things, Master."

"Yeah," responded Mark. "But unfortunately, as much as they’re now in front of me, I can’t use any of them."

"And why is that?" she asked, tilting her head.

"Because my level is still too low..."

"That’s..."

"Frustrating," Mark completed for her as he closed the inventory with a resigned gesture.

And with that, only one last section remained to review.

[Quests]

Mark looked at the menu for a second.

Since of all the menus he had opened so far, this was the only one he really didn’t know what to expect from.

In Eternal Conquest Online, the Quests section was simply a board where daily quests, event quests, and the main story quests of the game appeared.

Things like "kill twenty skeletons in the northern dungeon" or "collect fifteen medicinal herbs" or "complete the obsidian dragon raid."

They were basically generic video game quests.

But he was no longer in a video game.

And Mark seriously doubted they would ask him to kill twenty skeletons in exchange for experience and coins.

’Most likely it just says "unavailable" or it doesn’t open at all,’ Mark thought.

He extended his hand without much enthusiasm to select the Quest option from the menu.

And to his surprise, there was something.

[Main Quest]

Name: The Rise of the Emperor of Death

Objective: Eliminate or unify all semi-humans and demi-humans in the south of the continent.

Reward: +20 Levels

Penalty for failure: -20 Levels

Time to complete: ▓▓▓▒▒▓▓▓▒░░▓▓▒▒▓▓▓

"...Huh?"