In the Shadows, the Heart Beats Still (Only I Level Down)

Nero, a 23 year old man from Earth, is beta testing a video game as a favor for a friend. During the tutorial, his character is killed by a mysterious knight dressed in dark armor. Nero is offered a second chance and upon accepting he ends up transmigrating into the world of the video game, possessing the body of the deceased tutorial character. Inside this fantasy world, Nero is equipped with a System, which gives him access to different abilities, the primary one being 'Shadow's Belly' which allows him to steal the abilities of his fallen enemies. Also, each time he reaches a new level, he levels down.Nero begins to unravel the mystery as to who the nameless tutorial character was and what his quest was. He also discovers how he, himself, is connected to all of this, since it turns out that him ending up where he is was no mere coincidence.

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Hello everyone, thank you so much for stopping by to check out my story. As you can see this is my first outing on Royal Road and I am ecstatic to share my worlds with you. Here's what you can expect from this story.

- An MC that accumulates his power as the story progresses. His abilities are powerful but not instant win levels of OP at the start of the story

- Great focus on character, both the protagonists and the side characters

- Great focus on worldbuilding, lore and history

- Elements of mystery woven into the story in regards to the main character, why he is sent to this other world and what his purpose is

- I intend this to be a lengthy story so not everything will be revealed right from the start, we figure things out as we go along (both the readers and the MC!)

For now it is my goal to upload a new chapter every single day of the week.