Night in Hellespont was no different than the day, truly. While the city-planners could simulate a day-night cycle, it mostly just led to a change in local light levels. A city in space could not afford to become truly dark, so night was more akin to a well-lit twilight with colorful lights and weird sciency-looking afterglows. Beautiful, but quite obvious in its artificial design.

Scott did not care about the darkness of the night in the space port. Originally, he found it quite the lovely display, but a display of a different nature rose up before him just before he had planned to whip out his treasure map and begin the hunt for loot. Instead of the austere beauty of the alien space port, his eyes were glued to something that he truly wished that he had never seen. It was a message marked 'Urgent' by the so-called gods who ran the happy bullshit that he currently referenced as his life.

[Urgent!!!]

Champion Scott Davidson, due to your recent activities you have acquired a powerful sponsor. This sponsorship comes as part of a necessary reimbursement to be made by the entity in charge of the world-setting known as 'Dead Men Walking'. The divinity who rules that world has discovered that the situation in regards to the restoration of the appropriate timeline in that setting will be even more difficult that first surmised. He has offered to make a sponsorship deal.

The nature of the changes that must be made to the Dead Men Walking world-setting necessitate a great deal of temporal manipulation. While it should be the case that the hub-town that you founded in that world-setting would remain, and be only slightly changed due to a combination of the shifting timelines and the need to have a point of light in the darkness for humanity, the changes the original owner needs to implement would completely destroy that timeline.

The corruption in the coding for that world has proven to be too deeply rooted to salvage the situation through the standard methods and will require extreme intervention. As such, it has been determined that there is a greater than ninety-seven percent chance of all human life becoming extinct in that world-setting within three years should those drastic changes not be implemented. Currently, the legality of those changes is being argued in front of a tribunal, but given the circumstances no one believes that the divinity in charge of that world will be denied circumstantial leniency.

In order to better explain the situation we have determined a basic explanation that you might comprehend. He cannot simply reset the system to a point before the outbreak. Any further explanation in that regard would be pointless for reasons that, frankly, you would not comprehend. Consider the situation equivalent of a forced save in a game that will not allow you to restart from an earlier point without completely starting the game over from the beginning. The earliest semi-reliable 'save-state' stems from the moment when he updated the system to allow for the future expansion, the very update that was corrupted also destroyed any earlier 'save' data.

This overly simplistic explanation is made so that you understand why the situation will play out the way that it must. As it was feared to be the case previously, your hub-town will cease to exist through no fault of your own. We cannot change that even if we were to acquire legal right to do so. This is now a joint legal matter due to the associations that the owner of that world has with the Divine City. All we can do is abide by the wishes of the deity in charge of that world, given our complicity with the situation that caused this problem.

In truth, this is a problematic situation for us at Team Devil as well. In some ways, it can be seen as a breach of contract. We are forced to take something that belongs to you. Even if we compensate you, it does not change that fact. As such, all we can do is apologize at this time and offer extra incentives atop the offer granted by the deity of the Dead Men Walking world-setting.

Sponsored Offer: One hundred thousand experience points, for the purchase rights to your former hub-town currently valued at twenty-three thousand four hundred twelve experience points, and the right to engage in temporal insertion rectification missions once he is ready for such actions to begin. At this time no other champion is allowed to take this offer, as the Dead Men Walking world-setting will become a private invitation server to prevent another iteration of such a situation. You may be able to acquire a new hub-town in the future of that setting should these missions go well, but there is no guarantee of such an option becoming available.

Bonus Offer from Team Devil: Due to this change in the current situation, and further exploration of legal issues concerning the matter by our legal department, we at Team Devil wish to offer further compensation. You will be granted Absolute Reallocation, and acquisition of a pre-selected legendary rarity home upgrade item after said reallocation.

Absolute Reallocation – You will be completely reset. All of your upgrades and items will be destroyed. This includes most home upgrades, lifestyles, items, and blood lines. You will keep all experience points that you currently possess. Any items destroyed in this process will be added to your exchange for re-purchase at standard prices. Your exchange will also be reset in regards to prices that will be more in your favor in some regards, but worse in other regards. You will retain access to your current bloodline and equipped lifestyles, but will be able to utilize them through superior alternate means which will be explained should you take this offer.

Companions will not be affected. Any friends or enemies made will remain the same, regardless of your decision. You will also retain all system perks, such as your one year life span and internal spatial storage. Items purchased with local currency will remain unaffected. Local currency will also be retained.

Please be advised, this is an extraordinary opportunity. Reject it at your own discretion. Consider this a peace-offering in an attempt to right this situation. The corruption in the Dead Men Walking codex is too severe, and must be attended to regardless of our contractual designs. We must pay proper restitution and this is the best that can be offered in this situation.

[==]

"What do I do?" asked Scott angrily while he looked out over the space port. "As much as I liked the idea of owning my own little town, I'm going to get paid five times its value and a guarantee that I can come back despite the corruption."

It was easy enough to accept that situation. If he made out like a bandit, and the people of that world honestly had a chance to recover then he was fine with taking that loss. In truth, he had not done much with the place and there was a chance to find a new town to own. In a way, the situation smelled strongly of eminent domain. It was akin to the government taking a private citizen's land for the good of the nation. The citizen could complain, but sometimes it really was for the benefit of all. Of course, at other times it was simply because one politician or another just wanted land rights to a profitable area.

He understood the god of Dead Men Walking exercising eminent domain since there was a lot of work to do to fix the situation. No, the problem that Scott had with the situation was the bonus offer. From the wording of it, Team Devil continued to rightfully suffer from the backlash of their fuck up. Whether they were trying to fool him into accepting a lesser compensation or not was a moot point. It was a bonus offer. They already admitted that their contract was broken to some extent. If he refused the compensation the only one who would suffer the consequences would be him. They would simply look bad as a company for a while, and only to people whom Scott would probably never meet.

If he tried to haggle for more, he held no leverage. He could make them feel bad, but what would that accomplish? In the end, they could both withdraw their offer, and he would be left with no hub-town and no compensation.

It was obvious what they intended. The deity in charge of Dead Men Walking wanted to compensate him for his loss and for his help in the situation. Team Devil wanted to cover their asses and have something to show people for their efforts. They were akin to a politician paying off a prostitute to keep them quiet after performing a dirty deed. The first thing they offered, the reward package, was not good enough after the fact so they chose to offer him more hush money.

"Just take the money, whore. I'm an important man who has a business to run," muttered Scott.

All of his tickets and other things would have to be re-purchased. It was a good thing that he had not gone treasure hunting or spent all of his points. The last mission had driven home the need to be a bit more frugal. Though, were he to be more honest he did not spend his points primarily due to the fact that he wanted to take a rest first. Besides that, he might have to actually buy those treasures like the first one.

"Two hundred thousand points and some change to work with, but I'll be level one and have to buy a bunch of shit that I already bought before." Scott allowed the idea to meander inside his head for a while. He could go talk to his team, but in the end it was his life. He did not force them to buy specific upgrades, though he might suggest things. It wasn't their business what upgrades he bought, or lost, as long as they knew of them before the next mission.

Thoughts regarding the next mission led him to consider the timing of this offer. It would be a simple affair for once. He held no doubt of that fact. Team Devil would not go to all of the trouble that they had to rectify the situation if they intended to just swat him life a fly. No, it would be a calm and reasoned mission. The one after that could be an entirely different story, however.

If ever there was a time to start over, it would be now. The requirement to take a daily mission was no longer a concern. If he missed it, so what? He would receive a penalty week were he could take no missions. Basically, he would be given time off. The mission door would not open for that week, but it wouldn't be a problem for his other doors. What once would have been a dire issue, had become a way to guarantee time to regroup and take a break. He basically just needed to take one class 'C-1' or higher story mission a year to reset his life span to that full year each time. There was still pressure to perform, but not nearly as much as there had been before. Now, the game he played was less about pure daily survival. It was the beginning of the true goal, gaining resources to beat the emissary. Plus, he could have more fun with it.

Scott rubbed his chin. A complete reset? He had done something like it once before with the Ferakai bloodline. This time things were different, though. It would be a fresh start with over two hundred thousand experience points and greater knowledge of how things worked? It was tempting. For one thing, he would not need to purchase so many closets and boxes. He would need to rebuy a couple of storage items eventually, but for now he could max out his internal spatial storage for another thirty thousand experience points.

Ultimately, he would save points on the limited storage items that he was forced to buy previously due to circumstances and lesser finances. The purchase of a storage box or closet would not be a bad idea, but he would not need multiples until he ran out of personal inventory space.

"Going to lose all those materials, though," groused Scott. The crystal essence shards would be destroyed. In truth, it was the only thing that actually sat wrongly with him. "Could just spend time in Fear Rune, though. I mean that place literally creates them as loot..."

Other than the initial cost to set himself up once more, there was no downside to the reallocation. The thing that truly had his attention, however, was the promise of a legendary home upgrade item. "If it's a fruit basket, I'm gonna be so pissed..."

Scott read the message once more then focused his thoughts on the reallocation section. "Retain bloodlines and lifestyles, but access them through a superior method? That has to be what that home item is about."

One other thing caused him to be quite excited, in regards to the possibilities. Ultimately, it was that possibility that made his choice. Scott sighed then accepted the offer. A door of light appeared instantly before him followed by the appearance of a message window that bid him enter and instructed him on what to do.

Once Scott was through the door, he reappeared in his dark and depressing hole in the wall. "If I'm going to do it, I better go ahead and do it."

He walked over to his exchange point and placed his hand atop it. "I accept the recent sponsorship and bonus offers made to me. Please send payment and begin reallocation."

The moment the words left his lips an incredibly intense pain lanced through his body, along with a ray of light. Frozen mid-scream all he could do was stare directly ahead of his body was vaporized atom by atom.

Thankfully, he lost consciousness after a short time. When he reawakened, it was to the sight of the glowing sphere and a new message.

[Thank You!]

Your reallocation is complete. You have been returned to base human form [Earthling], all attributes are now at their standard baseline for a human of your world setting. No anomalies occurred during reconstruction.

As specified in the contract, all system items were destroyed along with many of your other items. However, you can repurchase the destroyed items from your exchange point. Your legendary home upgrade item has been installed. Please enjoy it to your fullest. If you are concerned regarding its rarity, this specific item is usually only allotted to Elite Champions who complete an A-1 story mission on the normal difficulty setting, or a B-4 grade or higher story mission on the hardest difficulty setting. No one in your planetary group has even come close to this level of capacity to date.

We cannot stress enough that this home upgrade is the best compensation we can offer in regards to this matter. Anything more would be highly unwarranted. Anything less would not be worth mentioning. No further compensation will be considered for this matter, regardless of the outcome. This legal case is closed.

[==]

"God damn..." said Scott with a loud groan, "How am I even alive?"

It was not the intense pain that he referenced, but the feeling of fragility. He had forgotten what it was like to be a purely average human being. Scott rubbed his much smaller arms then bemoaned the situation. "My sweet, sweet, gains bro..."

Terrified, and curious all in one, Scott checked his status. An involuntary shudder ran down his spine upon seeing the result.

[Name: Scott Davidson]

[Age: 20]

[Race: Earthling]

[Level: 0][0.00/1000]

[EXP: 213000]

[Life Span: 1 Year]

[ATTRIBUTES]

[Strength: 1.00][Resilience: 1.00]

[Vitality: 1.00][Dexterity: 1.00]

[Concentration: 1.00][Charisma: 1.00]

FEATS

[None]

POWERS

[None]

[==]

"This better be fucking worth it, that's all I have to say," he groused. Of course, there was little he could do about it either way.