The Lich Master rubbed his bony hands, the sound going through Joe like nails on a chalkboard. Joe held back a wince and all the questions spinning in his mind about where he was and the body that was his new home. It was a lot to take in.
"Poppy, we have a new Ascender I’d like you to meet."
The dark screen above the tray of his personal items blinked to life. A pixelated image took form into what looked like a cross between a bearded dragon and a goat. Its scaled head had comically oversized ram's horns, and its eyes were like some cute cat plushie like the ones his sister used to love. As soon as those eyes met his, it began whizzing around the screen like a golden retriever with the zoomies and a guinea pig popcorning, all combined into one overactive creature.
"Hi-hi, Ascender! Poppy here to help-help! Fun times ahead, yip-yip!" She blinked her big eyes, a scaled tail swishing from side to side.
Joe raised an eyebrow at the enthusiastic welcome, not quite what he’d been expecting. "Hi, Poppy, nice to meet you. I’m Joe."
The Lich Master sighed and rolled his eyes. "I’m still working out the kinks in her programming. Feel free to ignore her if she gets too much. That’s what I do."
The avatar on the screen didn’t stop prancing, her eyes locked on Joe. "Poppy sniffs-sniffs new friend! Joe smells like adventures! Ready for adventure?"
Joe cocked his head to the side, trying to get the measure of the avatar that was now chasing its tail, her colorful form standing out against the darkness of the screen.
"That all depends on the type of adventure." Joe rubbed the back of his neck to ease the growing tension there.
"Yip-yip, now Joe here, Poppy shows tower, Poppy shows everything!"
"Poppy, no!" The Lich Master wagged a finger at the mini kaiju avatar. "We talked about this; you're programmed to serve me and obey your prime directives."
The little avatar flinched and came to a sudden halt. Its whip-like tail sagged, and its eyes went wide and sad like a puppy dog's. "Poppy understand. Poppy here to help-help, shows Joe tower, much wow, so big, only when master says."
"Yes, Poppy, only when I say so. For now, listen and await further instructions." The Lich Master had the look of a stern parent, one who had been awoken from his crypt and certainly not got enough beauty sleep. By the look of his necrotic flesh, a millennia of sleep wouldn’t fix that.
"I must apologize for Poppy; there are some trade-offs by using such a simple AI language model. The main benefit, as you can see, is that she is born to serve and is unlikely to stage a mutiny."
Joe frowned.
"Don’t look at me like that." The Lich’s eyes, like bottomless pits, narrowed on him. "I know she sounds as smart as a fish but I assure you, she has an impressive ability to gain new knowledge and grow, just like those neural networks back on Earth, but we have mana to boost the system that governs everything here. Making yours seem rather limited, much like your mortal minds. Since I’m feeling rather generous, I’ll grant you permission to ask one more question."
"Our AI language models are trained on data mined from the internet and a lot of other controversial sources. Yours looks like it was trained on a dog’s mind. What does Poppy stand for anyway?"
The Lich Master kept his eyes narrowed, ragged lip curling up into a sneer. "There are no dogs here, such fragile creatures wouldn’t survive in this world. Poppy is not an acronym. She is trained on the thought patterns and behaviors of a Titan that is keenly intelligent with an inbuilt drive to serve."
Joe scratched his head.
Sounds like a virtual golden retriever to me.
Just like Deano, his granddad’s beloved big hairy pooch who ate everything from socks to ham hocks the moment anyone's back was turned. He wondered what a digital avatar like Poppy had an appetite for. Once he found that out, he’d use it to his advantage.
"Question time's over; consider yourself fortunate to have been given a second chance at life. Not only that, you are one of many tower ascenders I have specially chosen to compete for the ultimate prize—immortality."
"You’re saying you brought me here for a game?" The words burst from Joe’s mouth without thinking.
A dark aura swirled around the Lich Master, the warm air cooling several degrees. "Your fighting spirit is impressive, truly. It’s that drive that’s helped you retain your past life memories with greater clarity than the many other ascenders I summoned to this realm. But do not take it for granted.”
The lich leaned forward, his ragged Skeletor face taking up the entire screen. “Everything you see around you, I built from the ground up. It’s all mine. Everything is under my control. That includes you. I suggest you put your tenacity to better use than irritating me. Focus on the prize and put your skills to their best use as you integrate with the system and climb."
Joe took a long breath, holding back the tide of anger rising within, like his own monster from the deep. It was pointless challenging the lich when he held the upper hand. Joe only needed to be patient and learn as much as he could, and if the lich liked the sound of his own voice, bragging about the system and all he’d created, so be it.
"You know, you can rise to the top of immortality, or if you choose, you can step off a cliff and die for good. Outside this tower is a hostile world. But if you ascend the tower here, you grow strong enough to become immortal, and then this world will become your oyster."
Joe wanted to ask him why a powerful being like the Lich would do such a thing. Was it really just some grand tower-climbing game solely for his amusement? It sure felt like a prison to Joe if his only options were to ascend or die.
And if what Joe knew about liches was true, this Skeletor wannabe was about as trustworthy as a politician. He cracked his neck. Would he find a way to make room for negotiation? There was mention of ascenders, plural, and competition, not to mention a governing system. Joe assumed Poppy was a user interface, and he was eager to know more.
With the snap of his fingers, the Lich Master raised his voice as he spoke, "Poppy, initiate step one of the system integration process. Activate the link with subject 113782491603."
“I’m not going to be hijacked by nanobots am I?” He raised his hands. “I read this awesome story back on Earth where something like that happened to the main character.” Joe shut his mouth, holding his breath, hoping he didn’t press his luck.
“Don’t make me regret my decisions!” Even through the screen, the Lich Master’s eyes seemed to bore into Joe’s soul, like he could drive his bony fingers in and rip out his heart. “Ask a question out of turn and I’ll erase all your memories. Poppy, activate the system link!”
Stolen content warning: this tale belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences elsewhere.
"Yes Master. Poppy think Joe cool! We do cool things, yes?"
Joe looked between the Lich Master and the bouncing avatar, its tail whipping up a storm on the display screen.
A heavy sigh echoed. "Just say yes. Then Poppy will initiate your link to the system. Always use simple verbal commands, like you’re speaking to one of those tiny humans who have yet to learn full bodily function control."
Like a toddler?
For now, Joe had no choice but to roll with it.
"Yes, Poppy, I’m ready." His casual shoulder shrug hid the fact he felt anything but ready. What the hell would connecting to the system be like? Some VR game he couldn’t escape?
He was about to find out.
Joe’s body tensed, heart pounding so hard it threatened to escape his rib cage. It was like one of those dreams where he was sitting in an exam, suddenly realized he forgot to study, and not only that, was stark naked with the eyes of all students on him. This was that but magnified a jillion times.
"Yip-yip! Let’s go!"
A sudden shock hit him like an electric jolt. Hairs raising as if he’d stuck his finger in a socket, his vision blotted out by blinding white stars.
The sensation passed in a flash.
As his vision returned, a small blue screen appeared. He reached out to swipe it, but his hands went right through it. Words scrolled across it and flashed to hold his attention.
[Welcome subject 113782491603. System link activated. You are now interlinked with the Titan Tower.]
Joe’s eyes widened. The interface already seemed much more advanced than Poppy, and a Titan Tower? He glanced from his periphery at the old blood and pulsing fibers. Did the lich build this tower from the ground up because of some Kaiju addiction?
The lich sighed, breaking him from his thoughts. “I can tell you’re puny human mind isn’t used to an advanced system. Poppy open the tab for races.”
“Yip-yip, can do!”
Joe’s brows furrowed as a few tabs populated from the left. The one labeled ‘race’ highlighted and a column of white text filled his vision. Each line named a different race, like some of the games he’d used to play, but there were some others he hadn’t heard of. More puzzling than the race was the second column labeled ‘Ascender Number,’ which seemed to sort the races in descending numerical order.
[Race : Ascender Number
Elf : 300
Changeling: 125
Dwarf: 100
Human: 80
Kobold: 35
Ratfolk: 20
Hybrid: variable]
“So I can choose my own race?” Joe glanced down at his hand. The human race landed about smack in the middle of the list. It seemed like a hierarchy food chain, with the least desirable being a ratfolk. “I don’t want to be human.”
“No, you don’t have a choice in the matter.” The lich’s raspy voice firm in his response. “The tower grants the ascender their race.”
“Don’t you control the tower?” Joe’s chest tightened as the lich groaned, but he pressed further. “Why even show me the list of races if I can’t choose one?”
The clinking of bony fingers echoed in the room. “The ascender number is what you should be more concerned about.”
Joe nodded, the blue screen bobbing along with his vision. “Let me guess, it’s a base stat for average IQ.”
The lich released a hoarse chuckle. “Intelligence isn’t linked to race. But you are right, it is a base stat for life expectancy. Each ascender number is tethered to time. Unless you grasp immortality, time is your most precious possession." Like a ring obsessed halfling, the lich hissed with a finality.
Joe opened his mouth to question him further, but the lich raised a bony finger to his putrid lips. No words escaped them; there was no need. His dark, threatening gaze made his intentions crystal clear.
Joe's jaw snapped shut. He turned his attention back to the stats screen, focusing on the human race.
A life expectancy of eighty years.
If time was currency here and he was human, he was smack bang in the middle of a social class system. One thing was for sure: the Lich Master didn't seem to care for equality, but he supposed if given the choice, folk would choose the race with the longest life expectancy, which were elves.
But from his knowledge of games, each race had its pros and cons. Joe needed to be clever if he was given a class to choose from like the online games. No matter what options he could choose, he’d have to maximize the racial benefits of being human.
"Joe cool. Time for class selection?" Poppy looked at Joe with such eagerness.
"Yes." The Lich Master shrank back, looking over his shoulder. Turning back, he looked Joe in the eye. "While you cannot choose your race, you are free to choose your class. Choose wisely."
A notification appeared.
[Open class selection. Yes/No?]
He turned his attention to the Lich Master and crossed his arms. "What if I refuse?" A bold move, he knew, but now that Joe was linked to the system, could he challenge the Lich more without punishment?
"That is your choice. If you do not choose, one will be chosen for you after the timer runs out. Once you leave the induction room, you may find, if you're not careful, that time can easily be taken from you. If you run out of time, you die. So, I suggest you don't waste it on futile endeavors like testing my patience. Now, I will leave you in Poppy's care; I have other ascenders to greet."
"Wait, I..."
The screen faded to black, and the Lich Master was gone. With him, the book and his other belongings puffed away in a white smoke.
If you run out of time you die.
Just like the items that vanished, would his life end for good? Joe leaned his hands on the table, eyeing his seaweed snack.
A pang of homesickness washed over him.
The Lich Master had told him that immortality was the prize once he climbed the tower. Joe had enough in-game experience to know that if this place was anything like those games, he could become powerful enough to challenge the Lich Master—a being who was not bound by time or space. The lich knew of his home world, Earth. There was a small chance that if he won, Joe could return home or at least gain knowledge of it like the Lich Master had. He couldn't do that if he stood there moping.
He leveled his eyes at Poppy, who was looking at him with eagerness, waiting to serve.
Focusing on the class selection notification, Joe selected 'yes.'
The familiar white text appeared in front of him along with a five minute countdown in the upper corner.
Joe smiled, happy he recognized the classes.
* Alchemist : Earth
* Outsider : Wind
* Bard : Wind
* Priest/Priestess : Water
* Druid : Earth
* Fighter : Wind
* Philosopher : Wind
* Paladin : Fire
* Ranger : Earth
* Rogue : Water
* Sorcerer : Fire
* Mage : Water
* Arcanist : Wind
He puffed his cheeks at seeing each class linked to a single element. The lich said the tower thrived off of mana, so Joe needed to consider not only how the class would fit with his race, but also how an element might change his abilities.
He frowned. It seemed the option to choose a different element would not be a choice he could make, at least not directly.
“Poppy, does my system allow me to advance in levels, to become stronger for example?”
The creature’s eyes widened on screen. “Very good, Joe! Now choose a class. See-see what happens.”
Joe rubbed his chin, reviewing the list. “Reorganize each class according to elemental affinity.” With his command, the text within the blue dialog box shifted. At least he had some control over the user interface. If he could change this, what else could he do to hack the system?
Earth: Alchemist, Druid, Ranger
Wind: Outsider, Bard, Philosopher, Arcanist
Water: Priest/Priestess, Rogue, Mage
Fire: Fighter, Paladin, Sorcerer
Glancing at the timer ticking away, he only had a couple more minutes to make a decision. He didn’t know what he’d face in the tower, only that time mattered.