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Hard work doesn't guarantee success. The only guarantee is suffering. Thus those with high ambitions are cursed for eternal damnation and endless toil with no promise of relief.

Kaniel had worked really, really hard. Yet the results yielded no miracles, only despair and, agony. Such was life. Sacrifice yourself and everything you hold dear, and the glimmer of hope may remain as distant as it ever was. Kaniel gave a relaxed, tired smile at the screen before him. He had no motivation to click the mouse. Who cared about the internet, the weird tower, the store he couldn’t even use? Who cared about everything, really?

Something within him told him to push forth nevertheless. It always did.

When he was beaten by his servants for being a crybaby.

When he was battered at the academy for having no talents, unbefitting of his status.

When he was berated by the whole world, his own family included.

When the only good points he could make of himself were lies.

Only one thing kept him pushing. Always, it always did. Such was the duality of life. Such was the greatest addiction humanity had ever beheld.

Hope. For some, hope for a better day. For some, hope for a better future. At times, even, hope for a hope.

“Are you watching me right now?” he spoke to the air. “Demon Lord of Destruction? How bored can a deity be to watch after a lowlife? Are you having fun?”

Silence.

“You know how hard it was? I've spent all my younger years reading the fucked-up exploits of the emperor. I hated the guy with all my heart. All the help I had making out the English letters were some stupid hints gathered in dust in the forgotten corners of the libraries.”

He clasped his heart, shaking vehemently. He hoped he had at least gotten a skill to heal his weak heart.

“Fine! Be it! I'll continue the tirade and play this masquerade! Whether it's a trap or a curse. I hope you enjoy the show!”

Silence. Silence. Silence. Complete and utter silence. Whiteness surrounded him from all sides. Emptiness. Nobody to talk to. Nobody to listen to. His eyes darkened. He could hear his weak heartbeats. Barely clinging to life. Barely pumping blood.

“Hahahahaha…”

…

Kaniel slumped into the chair, one arm draped over the backrest. His other hand pressed against his face, fingers curling lazily over his mouth, muffling the remnants of a sneer. His hair fell in waves, tumbling over his eyes and shrouding shadows across his face.

Beneath his murky gaze, amusement glinted. A sense of restrained chaos. Something darker, about to snap. Cruel, restless, unpredictable. His head tilted to the side, slightly. The corner of his mouth twitched. Blood wrapped around one hand, sloppily. Another meaningless wound. Madness hovered, masked by slouched shoulders, and, a lazy grin.

Seconds passed. Minutes. Blood dripped every now and then. Then hours. His mind calmed from the pandemonium he’d just experienced, from the relentless cycles of mental and physical torture to possibly becoming a puppet and a plaything. What remained was peace, tranquility, and pure madness.

Kaniel shifted in his seat. One leg bent upward, the other sprawled lazily to the side, relaxed. His fingers brushed against his lips. The eyes shone darkly from beneath the wild mess of hair, scanning everything unseen with unsettling insanity. An arm rested against his knee while his other hand hung loosely in dried blood.

Finally, he held the mouse once again, and once again, he flicked the cursor toward the internet icon, the pale light of the screen reflecting off his glazed-over eyes of the darkest dark.

Wikipedia

|X| Email |Unlocks at level 5|

???

Kaniel felt a sticky trickle of blood run from his nose, warm as it slid past his upper lip. His expression was unmoved, apathetic. He flicked his tongue out and traced the trail of blood along the curve of his lip. It tasted metallic, disgusting. He ran his other hand across his jaw, halfheartedly wiping away the remnants. He clicked on Wikipedia.

Wikipedia

Cost per use: 5 Points

Access to Earth’s Wikipedia database in its entirety. Provides articles that explain real-world subjects, whether history, science, philosophy, or trivia.

With his ten points, Kaniel could use Wikipedia only two times. He could access any chosen information from Earth. There were some other functions, like Email, but they’d only open at higher levels. Kaniel had no idea as of yet how hard it’d be to reach level five. For now, all he had was Wikipedia on the internet.

He left and pressed on the icon of a golden coin, the dimensional store. Kaniel didn’t have high hopes since he was restricted by his constancy affliction and wouldn’t be able to purchase tangible goods.

|X| |Unlocks at level 10|

Turned out he couldn’t even access the store until level 10. Lastly, the only thing left was the tower icon. Kaniel didn’t risk it. Play stupid games win stupid prizes. What if he got transported to the inheritance ground upon clicking on it? He was restricted from fighting. He was also restricted from lying. Just how was he supposed to save himself?

“Fuck it,” he said, clicking the mouse button. As if he hadn’t already gambled all his life.

Floor 1: Darklands

No sun has touched this land for as long as it has existed. The sky above is a perpetual expanse of blackness, pierced only by the occasional lights of stars, the dying embers of forgotten worlds. The deserted wasteland stretches endlessly, broken up by ruined villages, graveyards, and dead forests, where trees stand in solitude against the night. Swamps bubble with decay, their surfaces disturbed only by the ripple of bones moving beneath.

Hint: Moss-covered stones and ancient ruins are scattered across the landscape, remnants of a civilization long devoured by time and death.

71h 57m 44s

Kaniel took his time to properly digest the contents of the first floor before the timer below ticked.

71h 57m 43s

He was indeed inside a dream. A minute in reality equaled an hour in the outside world. Thus, a second here amounted to a minute. He waited another minute just to confirm.

71h 57m 42s

After the confirmation, Kaniel got back to Wikipedia.

It was time to spend his points.

Initially, he had planned to hide in the north for as long as he could and develop his strength. Yet he could neither talk nor fight now. He was rendered useless by the system, entirely. One mistake, whether here or outside, would ordain his doom. His destruction.

Kaniel tilted his head downward. His bangs fell across his eyes. A thin stream of blood continued to drip from his nose yet again. His expression was a void. He slowly planned and took into account every detail he possibly could. Undeniable truth he had no choice but to face.

The taste of iron was as disgusting.

“There is a way…”

He looked at the computer. At how advanced it was. If, if Earth was so far advanced, then what if he didn’t need strength to begin with? The thought was instantly rejected. How could he stand against indomitable forces with such prune methods?

Then again, what was power?

Throughout the ages, there were those who could shatter mountains with their fists and cast a storm of fire just as large. But that was strength, not necessarily power. Power came in many ways. Authority was one of them. Numbers. Information. Resources.

Kaniel’s entire demeanor shifted instantaneously. Everything shattered as a surge of thought crashed over him. His hand shot up, covering his mouth and nose. His eyes widened, pupils blown, darting from place to place. Every hair on his head stood wild, as though electrified.

He tilted his head to the side, lips pressed tight behind his hand, fingers dragged down, parting just enough for his teeth to show, biting back words as he knew there was now a figure always watching him. His other hand trembled at his side, balled into a fist.

Emperor Constantine was an eccentric. For one, he always empathized with mathematical formulas. He had changed the way people viewed magic. From an untamed beast that couldn’t be controlled, magic was turned into a discipline like alchemy and runecraft. There were rules. A law inherent to everything. People operate their lives on those rules. Any breakthrough would turn the world in its entirety. Now, he had access to infinite knowledge from Earth. He could create his own new world within the north—a developed world, blending the knowledge of the two worlds.

Cooperation was a key. He couldn’t develop his own strength. Yet, he could build a force. Rule through other people. Become a puppeteer who dwells in shadows, unbeknownst to the world. This was the right way to conquer both the inheritance ground and the real world, a path to power.

Exhausted, Kaniel was on the brink of losing consciousness. He had a feeling that if he slept, he’d leave the domain. In the real world, he’d have three days before he was thrust into the tower forcefully by the system.

English

6,903,513 articles.

Before him stood a white screen with the icon of Wikipedia, a globe with many strange symbols out of which he could only recognize the English ‘W’. Below it stood a search bar.

Search____

He could only choose two out of close to seven million articles. The question was, which ones? Internet? Computer? History? Magic? Alchemy?