Elian Vance wiped a smear of blue, glowing blood from his cheek and looked up at the crumbling peak of the Spire.
The wind here screamed like a dying banshee, carrying shards of raw, crystallized mana that could slice through plate mail. Elian didn't wear plate. He wore a coat woven from the silk of a Phase Spider, enchanted with three layers of kinetic dampening runes.
"Terrible optimization," Elian muttered, kicking a loose stone. It fell, tumbling into the abyss below, vanishing into the purple fog that covered the rest of the ruined continent. "Who designed this wind physics engine? It's a resource hog."
He adjusted the heavy, hexagonal metal case strapped to his back. It hummed against his spine, warm and rhythmic.
This wasn't just luggage. It was the Core. It was twenty years of research, three wars, and the soul of a slain Dragon Lord compressed into a divine server.
It was the installation disc for The System.
"Warning," a mechanical voice buzzed from the copper bracelet on his wrist. "Mana density rising. Probability of Wild Magic Surge: 84%."
"I know, Query," Elian replied to the simple construct. "We're entering the Source Node. The reality rendering is glitchy here."
He took a step forward, and the air in front of him shattered like glass. A fracture in space opened, revealing a swirling void of tentacles and teeth—a Void Feeder, attracted by the mana leaking from the Spire.
In a normal fantasy story, the hero would draw a sword and scream a battle cry. Elian sighed and pulled a piece of chalk from his pocket.
"See, this is the problem," Elian lectured the eldritch horror as it screeched. "You shouldn't exist. You're a bug. A collision error between the Astral Plane and the Material Plane. I'm going to patch you out."
The Void Feeder lunged.
Elian didn't dodge. He snapped his fingers.
[Execute: Force_Wall_v9.1]
He didn't shout a chant. He didn't pray to a god. He visualized the mental syntax he had spent years perfecting.
A shimmering, geometric grid appeared instantly in the air. The monster slammed into it, not with a thud, but with a digital warp sound. The beast slid off the hexagonal barrier, confused.
"Current magic is too hard," Elian grumbled, sketching a quick rune in the air that glowed gold."You have to memorize pronunciation, gather reagents, align your soul... it's user-hostile. No UI. No tooltips."
He thrust his hand forward. The golden rune expanded, wrapping around the Void Feeder.
[Run Process: Deconstruct]
The monster froze. Then, layer by layer, it unraveled. Flesh turned to dust, dust turned to light, and light turned to raw mana. The mana floated toward Elian, absorbed by the intake vents on his hexagonal backpack.
"Energy harvested," Elian noted. "Inefficient, but it'll do for the boot sequence."
He stepped over the spot where the monster had been and began the final ascent.
The top of the Spire was a flat plateau of obsidian, etched with grooves that dated back to the Age of Creation. In the center stood the Universal Pedestal—a socket directly connected to the ley lines of the planet.
It was currently empty. The Old Gods had abandoned it millennia ago, leaving the world on autopilot. And autopilot was crashing.
Elian dropped the heavy case from his back. It hit the obsidian with a heavy thud.
He unlocked the latches. The lid hissed open, revealing a perfect, pulsating icosahedron (a twenty-sided crystal) suspended in a magnetic field. Inside the crystal, billions of microscopic runes shifted and flowed like liquid code.
"Alright," Elian cracked his knuckles. "Deployment time."
He picked up the crystal. It was heavy, carrying the weight of a new reality.
He walked to the pedestal. The wind died down. The chaotic magic in the air seemed to hold its breath. Even the sky turned a darker shade of violet.
"Query," Elian said. "Start the recording."
"Recording started," the bracelet chirped.
Elian looked at the empty air. "People of Aethos. For ten thousand years, you've suffered under the chaotic whim of random magic. You've died from plagues because healers are rare. You've been eaten by monsters because you didn't know their levels."
He lifted the Crystal high.
"I am Elian Vance. I was a Senior Systems Architect on Earth. And I am about to give you all a User Interface."
He slammed the crystal into the pedestal.
BOOM.
A shockwave of pure white light exploded from the Spire. It didn't destroy; it scanned. It swept across the mountains, the oceans, the kingdoms, and the dungeons. It passed through stone, flesh, and soul.
Elian fell to his knees, his mind assaulted by the sudden connection to everything.
He saw the King of Tyria sitting on his throne.
He saw a goblin hiding in a cave.
He saw a dragon sleeping on gold.
The world was no longer just matter. It was Data.
A transparent blue window appeared in front of Elian's eyes. It flickered, stabilized, and then chimed with a crisp, clean sound that had never been heard in this world before.
[System Boot Sequence Initiated...]
[Loading Assets... 100%]
[Calibrating Mana Physics... Complete]
[Generating Classes... Complete]
[calculating XP Thresholds... Complete]
Elian laughed, a breathless, maniacal sound. He reached out and tapped the air.
[Welcome, Administrator.]
Please set the World Difficulty.
Elian hesitated. His finger hovered over the options.
Story Mode (Peaceful)
Normal (Balanced)
Hardcore (High Risk, High Reward)
Apocalypse (System Integration Event)
"The world is soft," Elian whispered. "They need to get stronger fast if they want to survive the outer dimensions."
He pressed Hardcore.
[World Difficulty set to: HARDCORE]
[Tutorial Initiated: The First Wave]
[Global Announcement Sent.]
All across the world, in the eyes of every peasant, king, and beast, a blue text box appeared. Panic ensued.
Back on the Spire, Elian watched a new window pop up just for him.
[Quest Generated: The Alpha Tester]
Objective: Survive the System you just created.
Reward: Administrator Access Level 2.
Failure: Deletion.
Elian grinned. "Finally. A game worth playing."
He opened his hand, and for the first time in history, he didn't cast a spell. He activated a Skill.
[Skill: Admin Command - Smite]
A bolt of lightning, perfectly calculated and absolutely precise, struck the ground beside him.
"Hello, World," Elian said.
System Data: Current Status
Administrator: Elian Vance
World Version: Aethos v1.0 (Alpha)
Current Online Users: 412,405,112
Mana Saturation: Stabilized at 100%
New Mechanics Implemented:
HP/MP Bars: Visible
Experience Points: Active
Inventory Space: 10 Slots (Standard)
Respawn: DISABLED (Hardcore Mode Active)