ARCADIA INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY - NEW EDEN SECTOR
Orion Starr was five chapters into Immortal Sovereign of Nine Heavens when Professor Hendricks started explaining electromagnetic field theory again.
He'd already read this. The textbook covered it fine, and he'd gone through the supplementary materials twice. Field theory wasn't complicated—just vector calculus applied to physics. Most students struggled because they didn't have strong enough math foundations.
Orion didn't have that problem. Numbers just made sense to him. Always had.
He glanced at his phone under the desk. The cultivation novel's protagonist had just broken through to Foundation Establishment realm by absorbing spiritual energy from a heavenly treasure. His meridians were expanding, his dantian crystallizing, his body transcending mortal limitations.
Completely ridiculous. Also incredibly addicting.
"Mr. Starr, perhaps you'd like to share with the class what's so interesting on your phone?"
Orion looked up. Professor Hendricks had that expression—the one teachers got when they caught you distracted and wanted to make an example.
"Sorry, Professor. Just reviewing the Maxwell equations for the upcoming exam."
"The exam is three weeks away."
"I like to prepare early."
A few students laughed. Hendricks shook his head but didn't push it. Orion had a 4.0 GPA and consistently scored highest in the class. Hard to complain about a student who aced everything.
The guy next to him—David something—leaned over. "You're such a kiss-ass."
"I'm efficient."
"You're a nerd."
"That too."
The lecture ended. Orion packed his bag—laptop, tablet, two textbooks on electromagnetic theory and computer architecture. His phone stayed open to Immortal Sovereign of Nine Heavens. The protagonist was consolidating his cultivation base, preparing for the next breakthrough.
Total fantasy. Fun fantasy though.
He headed across campus toward the transit hub. Arcadia Institute of Technology sat in New Eden, one of the mega-cities built after the Great Unification. Gleaming towers, vertical gardens, maglev trains running overhead. The whole city felt like it came from a sci-fi movie.
Because it basically did. After humanity passed the Great Filter eighty years ago, everything changed.
The Great Filter was the theoretical barrier that prevented civilizations from advancing—usually they destroyed themselves through war, environmental collapse, or resource depletion before achieving interstellar capability. Earth had been headed that way. Nuclear tensions, climate crisis, political fragmentation.
Then something clicked.
Scientists called it "the Breakthrough"—a moment of collective realization that cooperation beat competition. Countries unified into the Earth Federation. Borders became administrative zones. Resources were shared. Universal basic income eliminated poverty. Free education and healthcare became standard.
No wars. No starvation. Humanity finally working together.
Orion had grown up in this world. It was just... normal. The idea of separate countries fighting over territory seemed insane when you could just work together and solve problems.
His phone buzzed. Message from Nyla.
Nyla:coffee after ur lecture?
Orion:heading home. mom's cooking
Nyla:tell her i said hi
Orion:will do
Nyla:see u at home then
Orion stared at his phone for a moment. Nyla. His step-sister. Except that word felt wrong lately.
Cassia had adopted him when he was two, brought him home to four-year-old Nyla. They'd grown up together. Same house, same family, same everything.
Then puberty happened and things got complicated.
Nyla was brilliant—studying bioengineering at the same institute. She was also gorgeous, funny, and knew him better than anyone. And somewhere along the way, the sibling thing had become... blurry.
They'd never talked about it. Just existed in this weird limbo of almost-but-not-quite.
He pocketed his phone, chest tight. Maybe they needed to talk. Clear the air. Figure out what they were.
The transit hub was crowded. Evening rush. Orion found a seat near the window and pulled up his cultivation novel.
The protagonist was learning a new technique—Primordial Breath Circulation. It let him absorb spiritual energy from heaven and earth, refining his body and expanding his cultivation base. Each breath made him stronger, pushing him toward immortality.
Complete nonsense. But what if it wasn't? What if there really was some kind of energy humans couldn't detect? What if ancient cultivators had figured out how to manipulate fundamental forces we didn't understand yet?
Orion smiled at himself. That was the problem with reading too many cultivation novels. You started thinking like the protagonists.
The maglev slid through New Eden's towers. Holographic advertisements flickered across buildings. Delivery drones zipped between structures. The city pulsed with energy.
Three stops later, Orion got off in the residential sector. Nice area—mid-tier housing, clean streets, community gardens on every block. His mom worked as a network systems analyst for the regional data infrastructure. Good job, stable. Combined with his scholarship stipend, they lived comfortably.
Not rich. Comfortable.
Orion walked toward their building, still reading. The protagonist had just absorbed enough spiritual energy to advance to the next cultivation stage. His body was transforming, becoming something beyond human.
Fun idea. Totally impossible in real life.
Orion looked up to cross the street.
The screen appeared.
Right in front of his face. Floating in midair. Glowing blue text on a transparent display that absolutely should not exist.
YOU HAVE BEEN CHOSEN AS THE PIONEER OF YOUR CIVILIZATION
Orion stopped walking. Blinked. The screen stayed there.
YOU HAVE BEEN GRANTED THE TECH TREE LIBRARY SYSTEM BY THE MULTI TRANS-DIMENSIONAL GODS ALSO KNOWN AS THE AUTHOR
"What the..."
BEGINNER'S REWARD PACK:- BRAIN ENHANCEMENT BY 200%- PHYSICAL ENHANCEMENT BY 100%
- BREATHING TECHNIQUE
ENHANCEMENT IN PROGRESS: 1%... 2%...
The changes hit immediately.
Not painful at first. Just... strange. Orion felt his neurons firing faster, synapses connecting in new patterns. His brain was rewiring itself, expanding its capacity. Memories surfaced—kindergarten lessons, elementary math, high school physics, college lectures. Everything he'd ever learned cascaded through his mind, reorganizing into perfect clarity.
Perfect memory. Complete recall. Every book he'd read, every lecture he'd attended, every snippet of research papers he'd glanced at—all of it crystallized into accessible knowledge.
His thoughts accelerated. He could feel his comprehension deepening, understanding concepts that had seemed complex before with perfect clarity. It was like taking NZT from that old movie Limitless, except stronger. Way stronger.
10%... 15%... 20%...
His body started changing too. Muscles tensed and relaxed, fibers restructuring themselves. His bones felt denser. His heart beat stronger, pumping blood more efficiently. Every cell in his body was optimizing, becoming more than it was.
Strength flooded through him. His legs felt like they could sprint for miles. His arms could probably lift twice what they used to. Maybe more.
His senses sharpened. The world came into focus with crystal clarity. He could see details on buildings two blocks away—individual bricks, window seams, the grain in metal panels. His hearing expanded. He could pick out conversations from the coffee shop across the street, the hum of the maglev tracks overhead, someone's music playing three floors up in the nearby apartment.
His brain processed it all without effort. Each sound catalogued, each visual detail noted and filed away. No overwhelming sensory overload—just perfect, efficient processing.
Then came the pain.
25%... 30%...
Now it hurt. His skull felt like it was expanding to accommodate his growing brain. His muscles burned as they rebuilt themselves. Every nerve screamed.
New text appeared.
YOU ARE TO DEVELOP YOUR CIVILIZATION TO BE CAPABLE OF USING A CONTROLLED NUCLEAR FUSION GENERATOR IN 3 YEARS
FAILURE TO DO SO WILL RESULT IN THE DISAPPEARANCE OF THE SYSTEM. THE SYSTEM WILL BE TRANSFERRED TO ANOTHER HOST
YOUR TIME STARTS NOW
The headache hit like a hammer.
Orion grabbed his head, tried to stay standing. Couldn't. His legs gave out and he hit the pavement hard.
Someone shouted. Footsteps running toward him.
He couldn't see. Couldn't hear properly. Just pain and that progress bar climbing in his enhanced mind.
40%... 50%... 60%...
His brain was on fire. His body was tearing apart and rebuilding. Every second felt like an eternity.
80%... 90%... 95%...
Then darkness.
SYSTEM LIBRARY SPACE
Orion opened his eyes.
He was standing in a library that shouldn't exist.
No walls. No ceiling. No floor. Just infinite shelves stretching in impossible directions, filled with books that glowed with soft light.
"Okay," he said. His voice echoed weird. "Either I'm hallucinating or I've finally lost it."
Text appeared in front of him.
YOU HAVE BEEN CHOSEN AS THE PIONEER OF YOUR CIVILIZATION
YOU HAVE BEEN GRANTED THE TECH TREE LIBRARY SYSTEM BY THE MULTI TRANS-DIMENSIONAL GODS ALSO KNOWN AS THE AUTHOR
YOU ARE TO DEVELOP YOUR CIVILIZATION TO BE CAPABLE OF USING A CONTROLLED NUCLEAR FUSION GENERATOR IN 3 YEARS
FAILURE TO DO SO WILL RESULT IN THE DISAPPEARANCE OF THE SYSTEM. THE SYSTEM WILL BE TRANSFERRED TO ANOTHER HOST
YOUR TIME STARTS NOW
Orion read it twice. His enhanced brain processed the information instantly, pulling up everything he knew about nuclear fusion from his upgraded memory banks.
Fusion research had been ongoing for decades. ITER was making progress but projected another ten to fifteen years before viable commercial reactors. Three years was impossibly tight.
"Trans-dimensional gods," he muttered. "Also known as the Author. That's either incredibly literal or someone has a weird sense of humor."
New text appeared.
YOU ARE CURRENTLY IN THE SYSTEM LIBRARY SPACE
ALL TECHNOLOGIES BELOW TYPE II CIVILIZATION ARE AVAILABLE FOR YOU TO STUDY
ANY SUBJECT YOU WANT TO READ, SIMPLY WILL IT TO COME TO YOU AND VARIOUS BOOKS ON THE SUBJECT WILL APPEAR
ANY BOOK YOU CHOOSE WILL BE UPLOADED TO YOUR MIND, THEN YOU CAN STUDY IT FROM YOUR MEMORY AT ANY TIME
NOTE: THIS LIBRARY DOES NOT PROVIDE DIRECT BLUEPRINTS OR CONSTRUCTION MANUALS
INSTEAD, IT PROVIDES FUNDAMENTAL KNOWLEDGE, THEORIES, COMPONENT DESIGNS, AND SCIENTIFIC PRINCIPLES
YOU MUST SYNTHESIZE THIS KNOWLEDGE TO CREATE WORKING SYSTEMS
TASKS WILL BE ASSIGNED TO YOU AT RANDOM INTERVALS
CURRENT TASK:DEVELOP NUCLEAR FUSION TECHNOLOGY IN 3 YEARS
FAILURE: NO MORE SYSTEM
REWARD: TYPE II TECH TREE UNLOCKED, HOW TO SYNTHESIZE "UNKNOWN GAS" ALSO KNOWN AS QI/MANA/AETHER/PRIMORDIAL ENERGY ETC.