[Optional: Trade your past life for bonus experience points?]
[Yes / No]
"Yes..."
"If you're planning on traveling tonight, the south gate is currently on lockdown. Authorities say they're addressing the situation and will keep us updated, so be sure to visit our website.
All that aside, it's absolutely luminous outside this evening. A soul storm is drifting among the stars, painting the sky with stunning colors. A perfect night to spend outdoors. And the warmth should last all week."
The news anchor smiled as the broadcast continued.
Outside, the city of Sanctus glowed in vibrant neon.
The light of the soul storm mixed with the pale shine of Earth's twin moons.
"It's beautiful tonight," said Emperor Donis. "How about a walk?"
A small boy and his twin sister looked up at their father.
A selection window appeared.
[ Option 1: Male, Kiers ]. [ Option 2: Female, Kahlel ].
"Boy..."
Memories exploded through Kiers' mind. 67 years of life flooded back in a rush of emotion and experience.
"This is… my second chance…"
Tears filled his eyes as he stared at his tiny fingers, slowly wiggling them.
"I lived such a hard life..."
Another window appeared.
[Converting 67 years of memories and emotions into bonus experience.]
"Stop it, damn it! I changed my mind." Once again, his past life flashed before his eyes.
"Those memories, emotions, that's my essence. My soul. Cut it out-" He pleaded, but it was obviously too late.
[67 years converted = 6,700 EXP]
Kiers's facial expression flatlined, his eyes went dead, and in that moment, he was an empty vessel.
[Creator's Blessing detected.]
[10 Times multiplier applied.]
[Total Experience Gained = 67,000]
Another notification appeared.
[Level 2]
Then another.
[Level 3]
Kiers gasped for air, "What the heck was that about?!" Kiers shouted.
A surge of emotions rose inside him like a crashing wave… then vanished just as quickly.
Something was gone.
Something important.
Yet he also felt strangely awake, as if he had just opened his eyes for the first time.
His father stood watching Kiers with a worried look,
"I know I'm rarely around to spend time with you two," Donis said sincerely. "But building a peaceful world is… harder than it sounds."
Kahlel, Kiers' twin sister, glared at him.
"What's wrong with you?!" she snapped, tugging Kiers' ear.
They walked along a stone pathway stretching over a great pond. Mana lamps glowed warmly along the winding path.
Kiers's reality shifted on him; life seemed more vibrant, beautiful, and fragile.
Notifications kept appearing, and he swatted at them in annoyance.
[Level 47]
A seed in the form of a thought started to develop a new mindset.
"Good things aren't meant to last," Kiers said with a smile.
The sky looked impossibly beautiful.
As if he were seeing it for the very first time.
"My son," Donis continued, "I know I'm always working. That won't change anytime soon. But I love you both. I would never forget you two."
"We know, Dad," Kahlel said.
[Level 50]
Another message appeared.
[Ready for Ascension]
Kiers waved at it.
The window didn't disappear.
"Yeah, okay," he muttered.
Another warning flashed.
[Warning: Ascension will end the Tutorial.]
[User Interface access will be restricted to REM Sleep only.]
[Are you sure you're ready to ascend?]
Kahlel stared at her brother, her face twisting with irritation.
"You've been acting really rude, lately. What the is hell going on with you?"
"Yeah," Kiers said to the notification. "Sure."
Then he turned to his sister.
"Not talking to you."
Suddenly, his vision expanded.
Everything zoomed outward, his field of view widening to nearly double.
Blue light surged into his body.
Filling his bones, his heart, the rushing rivers of blood through his veins.
He felt weightless.
Energy flooded every part of him.
His skeleton glowed through his skin.
"Kiers! My boy!" Donis grabbed him, panic in his voice. "What's happening to you?!"
"I feel amazing… but I can't see anything," Kiers said. "The light's too bright. Everything's blue."
Donis didn't answer.
The emperor himself had begun glowing.
Mana poured into his body, filling his reservoir until it overflowed. His mouth hung open as drool slipped down his chin.
"Dad!" Kahlel grabbed Donis's arm.
The same blue light surged into her body.
She stiffened as mana flooded through her.
Another message appeared before Kiers.
[Select your Strength]
[Intelligence]
[Faith]
[Arcane]
[Glory]
"Glory."
[Weakness Random Selection in Progress…]
[Weakness Assigned: Intelligence]
The blue light rushed back into Kiers' body.
Then the energy vanished.
Cold sweat ran down his back.
His body trembled weakly, shakily, and nauseated.
Kahlel's vision tunneled. Dizzy, she dropped onto the stone pathway, struggling to stay conscious.
Donis stared at his own shaking hand.
"I'll call the medical team," he said slowly. "Better have a professional check our status."
He looked toward the sky.
"What a strange phenomenon…"
General Hospital of the Holy Queen
"My Emperor… what brings you here today?" the elderly doctor asked.
Donis briefly explained everything that had happened.
"The boy spoke to someone who wasn't physically present…?" the doctor muttered thoughtfully.
"Right before he lit up like a neon sign," Donis added.
Kahlel glared at Kiers with open resentment.
Kiers, meanwhile, lay on the bed staring at a single spot on the ceiling, grinning like someone lost in a happy trance.
The sight made Kahlel's blood boil.
Inside his mind, Kiers could feel the life force of every person in the hospital. A glowing map of the entire ten-floor building stretched across his awareness.
People moving.
Hearts beating.
Mana flowing.
"Pay attention!"
Kahlel grabbed his shoulder and shook him.
The mental map shattered instantly. The glowing auras vanished.
Seeing his sister was annoyed.
"Sorry…" Kiers whispered, to her.
"What I can do," the old doctor said, adjusting his glasses, "is admit all three of you for observation tonight. We'll run a few tests."
He rubbed his chin.
"It sounds like prolonged mana exposure. But a mana overdose shouldn't cause a skeleton to glow."
"Very well," Donis said calmly. "Be sure to pay closer attention to my son."
"I've already made note of it. A nurse will escort you to your individual rooms shortly."
The doctor shuffled slowly out of the room.
Donis watched his children carefully.
"There may be a problem with Kiers' mana reservoir… or his life-force regulation." Donis was trying to figure out the worst case scenario.
Throughout the night, nurses collected blood and urine samples.
They monitored their mana fluctuations hour after hour.
Meanwhile, Kiers slept so deeply he was almost paralyzed.
Inside the darkness of sleep, notifications appeared.
[Notification: 51 Skill Points]
[Notification: 5 Perk Points]
[Notification: 2 Special Coins]
[Notification: Level Up!]
[Level 51]
"Skill points?" Kiers muttered. "What the heck is a skill point?"
[Skill Point: A unit of currency typically awarded upon leveling up or completing objectives. Used to unlock or improve abilities and attributes on a skill tree.]
"Oh… okay. When I picked Glory as my strength… what did that mean?"
[Glory Attribute: Strength, Dexterity, and Agility receive a +20 bonus.]
[Quick learning enabled for these attributes.]
Glory Perks
Fearless One No fear: +10 bonus to all attributes. Fear present: −15 penalty to all attributes.
One-Shot-Sam Auto-locks a mana-charged attack onto the target.
The Ground I Stand Negates blunt force trauma or mana-focused attacks. (3 uses per day.)
Another window appeared.
[Weakness: Intelligence]
Double damage received from spells and elemental attacks. Debuffs are twice as effective and last longer. Instant-death spells now have a 100% success rate instead of 50%.
"That's… a lot of information."
[Allocate Skill Points.]
"Can you just put them where you think is best?"
[Recommended Paths: Warrior, Sell-Sword, Berserker, Vega Bond, Martial Artist, Fencer…]
The list went on, Kiers scratched his head.
"I like to use a gun like my dad… but also a shield."
[Points Allocated.]
[Perk Points Available: 5.]
"What are those for?"
[Perk Points: Used to unlock or upgrade perks.]
[1 Perk Point earned every 10 levels.]
[5 Perk Points required to purchase a new perk.]
"Just put them where you think is best."
[New Perk Unlocked: Shield Retaliation]
[Perk One-Shot-Sam upgraded: Increased range.]
Another notification blinked.
[Special Coins Available: 2]
"What are those?"
[Special Coin: A celestial lottery token.]
[Possible rewards range from food items to Legendary armor, weapons, and mounts.]
[Rare chance to obtain a Celestial Skill.]
"Cool! Let's use one!"
[Error: Conditions not met.]
[Items will spawn when the player is conscious.]
The windows faded.
Kiers drifted deeper into sleep.
Then his eyes opened.
He was back in the hospital room.
His father and sister were staring down at him, relief washing across their faces.
"You slept well," Donis said with a smile.
"Lucky," Kahlel muttered under her breath.
"What time is it?" Kiers asked groggily.
"It's six!" Kahlel snapped. "You slept all day and all night! The nurses checked your mana every hour, and you didn't even wake up! We thought something was wrong with you, you ugly-ass kid!" Kahlel's face fumed.
"Six…?" Kiers blinked. "Like… evening six?"
"Yes," Donis answered calmly. "Your sister and I have already been discharged. We were waiting for you to wake up. I called for a nurse as soon as I saw your eyes move."
Right on cue, a nurse knocked and stepped inside.
"Good, he's awake. The doctor is just around the corner. Good morning, Kiers. How are you feeling?"
"Alright… I guess." Kiers shrugged.
A different doctor, a younger doctor entered, pulling up a chair beside the bed.
"Kiers, what you experienced appears to be a mana overdose," he explained.
"However… your case is unusual."
He glanced toward Donis.
"You three didn't suffer any negative side effects."
"In fact, the opposite happened. Your bodies appear completely renewed. Your mana reservoirs have increased… astronomically."
The doctor folded his hands.
"Life-force conversion and regulation have also improved significantly."
He met the emperor's eyes.
"Your Majesty… I believe this phenomenon deserves further research. Unfortunately, we're understaffed at the moment."
The doctor stood up.
"If you allow it, I would like to study Kiers once things settle down."
Donis nodded once.
"You are all discharged. If you have further concerns, please return."
And just like that, the doctor hurried out.
Kiers looked at Kahlel.
Then at the nurse, who smiled warmly.
"You're free to leave whenever you're ready."
"Nurse," Donis said suddenly.
"May I have a word in private?"
"Of course, Your Majesty." She bowed and stepped into the hallway with him.
"Kiers. Kahlel. Wait here a moment," Donis said before closing the door.
Kahlel crossed her arms.
"That doctor left me with more questions than answers," she grumbled. "I wanna go home."
"Me too," Kiers said.
Outside the room, the nurse spoke quietly.
"Whatever you're gonna ask me, I apologize in advance, I understand, they're your kids, Your Majesty, but we are extremely understaffed. More and more medics are arriving as casualties. I'll stand my ground for the hospital. Just because you're the emperor doesn't mean you should always have your way."
Donis lowered his head slightly.
"I apologize."
His voice hardened.
"It seems I'll have to deal with this rebellion myself."
A moment later, he opened the door again.
"Children," he said calmly. "Let's go home."
He watched his kids walk down the hospital hallway.
"My people have grown far too casual with me."
He looked at the nurse, "Who am I?" he asked.
"You're the emperor."
Donis released a dense, murderous aura, "You speak when spoken to."
He stared at her for a long moment before leaving.
Donis triggered her fight or flight instinct, and she crumbled.
As Kiers walked, glowing auras flickered around people on the floors above them. He could sense their movements, almost like watching shadows through the ceiling.
If he had turned around, to witness his father's aura, he would've wet himself.
Beside him,
Kahlel had been talking to him the entire time.
Grinding her teeth, when she realized he hadn't heard a word she said.
Finally, she snapped.
"I've had it with you!"
She threw a full haymaker.
CRACK.
Kiers hit the floor instantly, his nose broken.
"I'm sorry!, want me to call the doctor back?"
Kiers sniffled, "No."
He refused to wait around for another doctor.
And so, one story begins...