"Is this for real? Do I really have a cultivation game as my System in this new world? Damn!" A smile spread across Leo’s face. He sorted through his new memories again. In this world, everyone traveled to the Ascension Tower upon turning fifteen. The Ascension Tower decided a person's fate. It held one hundred stairs, and the higher one climbed, the greater their talent was deemed to be. There were other benefits, too, but those could wait. Anyone who could surmount the very first stair would awaken a talent and earn the title of martial artist. There were eight martial realms in this world. Iron-Tier Practitioner. Bronze-Tier Practitioner. Silver-Tier Practitioner. Gold-Tier Practitioner. Platinum-Tier Practitioner. Diamond-Tier Practitioner. Ascendant. And finally, Sovereign. Iron-Tier Emperors were legendary figures who could shatter a continent with a single punch. They were the ultimate powerhouses of mankind in this apocalyptic martial world. And Leo was the heir to such a family, one whose ancestor had been a Sovereign—a pinnacle existence. But for some reason, he wasn't in his family's home. He was living with his mother's family, the Sterling. This family was founded by a Ascendant. While not as powerful as his own, they were still tremendously influential. He didn't dwell on it. He could always ask his mother what had happened. Leo stretched, trying to reacquaint himself with a body that hadn't moved in two long years. A series of sharp cracks echoed from his joints. "Ouch," Leo murmured. "My bones and joints were completely locked up." He now felt fully merged with the emotions and memories of this body. And with that came a stark realization: he was running out of time. He looked for a calendar. The date was July 7th, 534 in the Apocalypse calendar. His last memories were from the year 532. That wasn't the worst of it. Back in 532, he was already thirteen years old. That meant he was now nearly fifteen. Only twenty-five days remained until his birthday. He had lost two precious years of training. To ascend the tower and awaken a powerful talent, everyone began their training by the age of eight, if not earlier. They practiced external martial arts to toughen their bodies and endured rigorous conditioning to forge an unyielding will. Only then could they hope to climb higher. Before his collapse, Leo had been a prodigy. He had mastered numerous external forms, from sword arts to advanced movement techniques. Everyone had been certain he would climb to at least the sixtieth stair, which would grant him an S-rank talent. But then, everything fell apart. "I need to find Mom and find out what happened," he resolved. "And I need to ask her if she has a top-grade Astral Shard." He left his room. The layout of his maternal grandparents' home was a vague memory from a visit when he was very young. As soon as he stepped into the hall, two maids hurried to his side and bowed. "Young Master, you should be resting. You've only just woken up. Your body needs more time to adjust." "Don't worry. Do you know where my mother's room is?" Leo asked softly. "Yes, sir. Please follow us." Leo followed them to a door and knocked gently. "Mother, can I come in?" Inside, Sarah was sitting on her bed, weeping as she clutched a picture of her husband, Leo's father. He had vanished a year ago on a quest to find a cure for Leo and had never returned. In his absence, the Sullivan family's treatment of her had turned cruel. They had even cut off funding for Leo’s medical care. Left with no other choice, she had taken her comatose son and left the Sullivan family, returning to her own family in the Western Continent of the Western Federation. Now, she was whispering to the picture, sharing the joy of her son's awakening and the sorrow of her husband's absence. Then she heard the knock. It was her son’s voice. She quickly wiped her tears and went to open the door. "Why are you up? Didn't I tell you I would visit you soon?" she chided gently, afraid he might collapse again if he didn't rest properly. "Mother, I'm alright. Can you tell me what happened these past two years? Besides that, I also need something from you." "What do you need? Tell me that first. The story can wait," Sarah said, her tone laced with worry. "It’s not urgent. I'd like to hear what happened first," Leo insisted. Sarah sighed and told him everything. A single tear traced a path down his cheek when he learned his father had gone missing for his sake. He felt little, however, when she recounted the Sullivan family's mistreatment. It was just human nature, a truth he understood all too well. Unsure how to respond, Leo changed the subject. "Mother, do you have a top-grade Astral Shard?" Sarah was surprised by the strange request, but she nodded nonetheless. "Yes, I do. Why do you need one?" "You see, I'm very weak right now," Leo began slowly. "In twenty-five days, I'll be fifteen and will have to climb the Tower of Ascension. With my current strength, I don't think I'll even make it past the first stair. I had a dream just now… that if I held a top-grade Astral Shard, it would help me recover. Who knows? Maybe it will help?" A pang of anguish struck Sarah's heart. The thought of her son, once a prodigy, being mocked by society for a weak talent was unbearable. She couldn't stop the tears from welling up again. She took a shimmering Astral Shard from her storage and handed it to him. She knew it was a fool's hope, that it wouldn't help at all, but from now on, she would give her son anything he asked for. It didn't matter why. "Thank you, Mom. I'm going back to my room now," Leo said with a sweet smile before leaving. "And please, don't cry anymore. A pretty face like yours isn't meant for tears." Sarah couldn't help but let a small, sad smile touch her lips at his words. Leo returned to his room, the crystal clutched in his hand. He had to know if the game-like panel was truly his System. As he walked through the halls, he passed many members of the family. He saw a mixture of emotions in their eyes: pity, envy, contempt. The younger generation, in particular, looked at him with jealousy and ridicule. To them, Leo was a waste, yet for the past year, a steady stream of the family's resources had been poured into keeping him alive. He was the son of Sarah Sterling, the most beloved granddaughter of the family's ancestor. Now that he was awake, they were sure even more resources would be diverted to him. "Why should the trash of the Sullivan family be nurtured by us? What if we attract their wrath?" sneered a young man—Leo's cousin, the son of his eldest uncle. Leo didn't spare them a glance. He walked directly into his room, shutting the door behind him. He had no time for such nonsense. There was too much to do. Once the door was closed, Leo placed the crystal in his palm. He focused on the interface in his mind and pressed the "Cultivate" button. Instantly, the crystal in his hand vanished. [Name: Leo Sullivan] [Ascension Talent: Pseudo] [Ascension Level: Mortal] [Ascension Base: 3/1000] [Energy Absorption: 1/s] It was really cultivating automatically. Now all he could do was wait. He sat on his bed and closed his eyes, watching the number for his cultivation base tick steadily upward with each passing second. "What's this 'pseudo' cultivation talent?" he wondered. "Is it because I haven't climbed the tower yet, so it's not a proper talent?" Sixteen minutes passed. [961/1000] ... [999/1000] [1000/1000] A new option appeared before him: [Breakthrough]. Leo immediately pressed it. Kacha! He felt something shatter within him. In an instant, the profound weakness that had plagued his body vanished, replaced by a surge of brimming energy. He looked at his panel again. [Name: Leo Sullivan] [Ascension Talent: Pseudo] [Ascension Level: 1] [Ascension Base: 1006/5000] [Energy Absorption: 2/s] "Damn! I really broke through," he thought, a thrill running through him. "I wonder if this is equivalent to a Iron-Tier Practitioner, level one."

Chapter 2: You Awakened A Game