Professor Evans' voice was a dry, monotonous drone, a sound as familiar and unchanging as the worn oak lectern he stood behind. "…and thus, the debate regarding the Mandate of Heaven versus the Divine Right of Kings is fundamentally a question of legitimized power. Who grants the right to rule? The heavens, or God?"
Leo Lin stifled a yawn, his pencil tracing idle shapes in the margin of his notebook. The lecture hall at Stanford was steeped in the late afternoon sun, dust motes dancing in the golden light. He was a third-year history student, and this particular topic, while fascinating in its own right, was one he'd studied since childhood, straddling his half-Chinese, half-American heritage.
His phone, face-up on the desk, buzzed softly. A text from his sister, Jasmine.
Jasmine: Reminder: Mom's making mapo tofu tonight. Your turn to get the rice. Don't be late or Dad will eat your share.
A small smile touched his lips. He typed back a quick reply.
Leo: On it. Lecture's almost over. Tell Dad to control himself.
He slipped the phone back into his pocket. It was the last moment of normalcy he would ever know.
It began not with a bang, but with a flicker.
The lights in the lecture hall stuttered. Professor Evans paused, mid-sentence. The projector screen dissolved into a cascade of rainbow-colored static. A low hum, felt more than heard, vibrated through the very floor.
"Is that… an earthquake?" a girl whispered.
Before anyone could answer, the world outside the window warped.
The sky tore.
A jagged rift of impossible violet and emerald green splintered across the blue, widening with a sound like a universe screaming. Through the tear, Leo saw swirling, chaotic geometries.
BRRRRRZZZZZT—ERROR.
The word hammered directly into his consciousness.
CORE REALITY MATRIX #7349 CORRUPTED. INITIATING EMERGENCY INTEGRATION PROTOCOL.
Panic erupted. Students shot to their feet, screaming.
INTEGRATING LOCAL DIMENSIONAL CLUSTER… COMPLETE.
INITIALIZING [SYSTEM] FRAMEWORK… COMPLETE.
WELCOME TO THE REALMS OF ASCENDANCE. GOOD LUCK.
The world dissolved into light.
A searing, white-hot radiance consumed everything. Leo felt a sensation of unbearable acceleration, of being pulled apart. Then, just as suddenly, it stopped.
He collapsed to his hands and knees, gasping. The cool, polished floor was gone. He was kneeling on damp, loamy earth, the scent of pine thick in the air. He looked up.
Stanford was gone. The city was gone. He was in a forest of colossal, red-barked trees that scraped a sky now dominated by two moons. The familiar constellations were erased.
"What… what is this?" a voice stammered nearby.
Leo turned. A handful of other students from his lecture were scattered around a small clearing, their faces pale masks of terror.
Before anyone could form a coherent thought, a translucent blue screen materialized in front of Leo's face.
Welcome to the Realms of Ascendance.
The System has integrated your world. You must now choose your path to power.
Two Primary Modes are available:
1. ADVENTURE MODE (Selected by 99% of Population)
· Focus: Personal power, combat, and quests.
· Classes: [Warrior], [Mage], [Rogue], [Archer], [Craftsman], etc.
· Role: Become a powerful individual, a citizen, a soldier, or a mercenary. Serve a territory or roam freely.
· Progression: Level up through combat, crafting, and completing system quests.
2. LORD MODE (Rare Leadership Classes)
· Focus: Territory building, resource management, and large-scale warfare.
· Classes: [Knight Commander], [Archmage Lord], [Pioneer Captain], etc.
· Role: Establish and rule a territory. Your power is tied to your land, your population, and your military.
· Progression: Expand your territory, attract citizens, and compete on the Global Lord Leaderboard.
· WARNING: Lord Mode carries extreme risk. Territory destruction may result in Class loss or death.
Your soul has been scanned. Your potential has been quantified.
A Starter Class has been selected based on your aptitudes.
Please choose your path:
Below the text, three simple icons glowed, representing the standard Adventure Mode entry points.
[Warrior]
A master of arms and combat. High Strength and Vitality.
[Mage]
A wielder of arcane forces. High Intelligence and Spirit.
[Rogue]
A shadow in the light, a dagger in the dark. High Agility and Perception.
The screens appeared in front of the others, too. He heard Mark, the football player, let out a whoop. "Hell yeah! [Warrior]! This is just like that game!" A moment later, a simple longsword and a wooden shield materialized in his hands.
Sarah, a quiet girl from his study group, hesitantly tapped the [Mage] icon. A simple wooden staff appeared in her grip.
Others made their choices, receiving simple weapons and tools. They were being slotted into the Adventure Mode, becoming individuals in a new, dangerous world.
Leo's screen, however, flickered.
The three options glitched, distorting. The text scrambled.
ERROR. ANOMALY DETECTED.
SOUL SIGNATURE CONFLICT: [Mandate of Heaven // Divine Right of Kings]
LATENT POTENTIAL: CATASTROPHIC.
RECALIBRATING… RECALIBRATING…
A wave of searing pain lanced through Leo's skull. The forest swam in his vision.
RECALIBRATION FAILED.
OVERRIDING STANDARD PROTOCOL.
ACCESSING… FORBIDDEN ARCHIVES.
CLASS LOCK [COSMIC_EMPEROR.EXE]… UNLOCKED.
The red error text vanished. In its place, a new screen bloomed in hues of deep cosmic purple and brilliant gold. The icon was a stylized throne, set against a backdrop of swirling galaxies.
[Cosmic Emperor] (Lord Mode - Forbidden Variant)
The ruler of realms, the commander of legends. You do not fight. You command. You do not quest. You conquer. Your will is law, and your legacy is written in the stars.
WARNING: This Class was sealed by the System Architects. Its existence violates core balance protocols. Proceed at your own peril.
There was no choice. There was only the throne.
He reached out and accepted.
Power flooded him. It was a tsunami of weight and authority, the ambition of a thousand conquerors poured into his soul. His consciousness expanded. New screens unfolded.
Class: [Cosmic Emperor] Confirmed. (Lord Mode)
You have been granted the [Imperial Eye].
You have unlocked the [Imperial Domain] interface.
You have unlocked the [Imperial Trials] system.
Global Lord Leaderboard unlocked. You are currently unranked.
He focused on the [Imperial Eye]. Instantly, his vision shifted. Overlaid on the real world were faint, glowing tags.
[Mark - Lv. 1 Human Warrior - Citizen Potential]
[Sarah - Lv. 1 Human Mage - Citizen Potential]
[Forest Wolf (Juvenile) - Lv. 2 Beast - Hostile]
The last tag made his blood run cold. He spun around. From the deep shadows, a pair of feral, glowing yellow eyes emerged. The creature that slunk into the clearing was the size of a pony, with fangs as long as his fingers.
Panic erupted.
"Oh god, what is that?!"
Mark bravely stepped forward, raising his sword. "Back off!" he yelled. The wolf ignored him.
Leo's mind, supercharged by the [Cosmic Emperor] class, didn't freeze. It accelerated. He pulled up the [Imperial Trial] screen.
[Imperial Trial Initiated: The Sovereign's First Step]
Objective: Establish a foothold of your nascent empire. Secure a defensible location and survive the first night.
Time Limit: 4 Hours.
Reward: Summon One (1) Historical Legend to your banner.
Failure: Death. The annihilation of your legacy before it begins.
A defensible location. He used the [Imperial Eye], scanning the terrain. The ground sloped upwards to the north, towards a rocky outcrop. High ground.
"Everyone!" Leo's voice cut through the panic, sharp with an authority that made everyone flinch. "We need to move! To those rocks, now!"
He didn't wait. He started running. After a moment of stunned silence, Sarah sprinted after him. The others followed, a desperate scramble.
The wolves gave chase.
They were fast. A second and third wolf joined the pursuit. Mark, bringing up the rear, turned to face the lead wolf. He swung his sword wildly. The wolf dodged and lunged, its jaws clamping down on his shield arm with a sickening crunch of bone. Mark screamed and was flung aside, slumping motionless against a tree.
They weren't going to make it.
Leo reached the base of the rocky outcrop, a shallow cliff face with a narrow ledge.
"Up! Climb up!" he roared.
He turned, putting his back to the stone. The three wolves closed in. Sarah stood beside him, her staff raised, a faint, flickering ball of fire sputtering at its tip. It was hopeless.
The [Imperial Domain] interface blinked urgently.
[Imperial Domain: Unanchored]
Population: 0
Morale: N/A
Resources: 0 Wood, 0 Stone, 0 Food
Structures: 0
Citizens: 0/???
There was an option. [Anchor Domain].
He selected it.
A pulse of invisible energy exploded from him—a wave of pure, territorial will. It washed over the rocky ground. The air grew still. The lead wolf hesitated, confused.
[Imperial Domain Anchored!]
Your Domain is established. All who stand within it are subject to your will.
Domain Bonus: [Unyielding Earth] - Minor damage reduction for you and your followers while within your Domain.
It was a tiny advantage. The System recognized this patch of ground as his.
The wolf's confusion passed. It snarled and launched itself at him.
Time seemed to slow. Leo had no weapon. No combat skills. He had only his will. He looked at the charging beast and saw a subject that needed to be brought to heel.
He raised his hand in a gesture of command and poured every ounce of the [Cosmic Emperor]'s authority into his voice.
"KNEEL."
The power that erupted was ontological. A king decreeing a law of nature. The air crackled. The leaping wolf crashed to the ground not five feet from Leo, its body slamming into the earth as if struck by an invisible giant. It whined, struggling against the force pinning it down. The other two wolves skidded to a halt, tails tucked, ears flattened.
The compulsion lasted only a few seconds. Leo felt a wave of dizzying exhaustion. But it was enough.
The lead wolf scrambled back and fled, its packmates following.
Silence descended, broken only by ragged gasps.
Leo leaned against the cold stone, his legs trembling. He looked at the small group huddled on the ledge—Sarah, and three other students, all staring at him with terror, awe, and dawning hope. They were his first potential citizens. His foundation.
[Imperial Trial: The Sovereign's First Step - COMPLETE.]
Reward: Summon One (1) Historical Legend to your banner.
Summoning Interface Unlocked.
A magnificent screen appeared—a vast, starry tapestry with countless points of light representing history's greatest figures. He filtered the search. He needed a mind. A strategist.
His focus settled on one brilliant point of light.
[Sun Tzu - The Ultimate Strategist]
"The supreme art of war is to subdue the enemy without fighting."
Role:Grand Strategist, Minister of War.
Loyalty:Absolute.
This was the first brick of his empire.
Leo reached out to the starry tapestry.
"Come to me."
The air shimmered. The light coalesced into the form of a man in simple, ancient Chinese robes, his eyes holding the depth of countless battlefields. He looked at Leo and bowed, a deep, respectful gesture.
"This humble servant answers your call, my Emperor," Sun Tzu said, his voice steady as a flowing river. "I am yours to command."
Leo looked from the legendary strategist to the terrified survivors, then out at the dark, alien forest.
He was no longer in Adventure Mode. He was a Lord. And his first decree was survival. His reign had begun.