Crossbridge Empire, Valoria Palace
Clang!
A crisp metallic crash echoed across the silent palace hall as a silver tray slipped from Grand Marshal Angie's hands, shattering the heavy stillness of the chamber.
Her firm yet beautiful face, usually composed and dignified, was now lit with a mixture of shock and unrestrained joy.
"His Majesty has awakened!" she cried out, her voice trembling between disbelief and ecstasy.
"Quick! Notify Doctor Melina and Lord Winston immediately!"
She didn't even pause to retrieve the fallen tray. Instead, she turned on her heel and half-ran, half-sprinted down the long corridor, her boots clattering against the marble floor as if the world itself had been jolted awake.
"...Your Majesty?"
A groggy voice, hoarse and weak, broke the silence behind her.
Aurek slowly pried his eyelids open, his head splitting with an unbearable ache.
Sunlight, far too bright for his pounding skull, pierced through the gaps in the thick velvet curtains, falling in scattered beams upon his bed.
The golden rays illuminated the lavish canopy above him, the carved frames, and the silken sheets beneath his hands.
Wait a second... where is this? Why am I lying in a palace?
His heart thudded in confusion.
The young man's true name was Durin, a first-year student in the Faculty of History. Just a moment ago, he had been hunched over his dormitory desk, burning the midnight oil, frantically finishing his term paper. And yet, in the blink of an eye, he had somehow awoken here—in a palace bed no less!
What the hell is going on?
Before he could examine the chamber more closely, an immense flood of memories surged into his mind like a tidal wave.
Durin's hands flew to his head as stabbing pain lanced through his skull. Memories that were not his own—strange, alien, yet terrifyingly vivid—forced themselves into place, merging with his very soul.
Piece by piece, he sorted through them.
The truth dawned on him.
He had transmigrated.
And not just into any random identity, but as none other than the Emperor of the Crossbridge Empire—Aurek the Sixteenth.
At first glance, this should have been a dream come true. A college freshman suddenly reborn as emperor? He could have lived a life of unrestrained pleasure—standing at the pinnacle of power, savoring the splendor of nobility, enjoying the beauty of aristocratic women who would flock to him.
But reality was far crueler.
The emperor he had inherited... was utterly pathetic.
This was the continent of Eura, a land so vast it was said to be ten times the size of Earth. And that was only the mapped portion; vast stretches of wilderness remained unexplored, blank on even the most ambitious maps.
Within the known lands, nations sprawled in uncountable numbers, scattered like the stars across the night sky.
The Crossbridge Empire, in this endless ocean of kingdoms, was indeed considered a powerful one—but only relatively so.
Ten thousand years ago, the empire had been founded by the first emperor, Aurek Veynar, a master-ranked warrior whose overwhelming might carved out a dominion amidst chaos.
From that moment forward, the Veynar dynasty had ruled unbroken, passing the throne down through seventeen generations, culminating in Aurek XVI.
But fate had played a cruel trick.
The only heir of the late emperor had been born with intellectual disabilities.
This "child of tragedy" did not utter his first words until the age of five.
At ten, he barely managed to write his own name. And at twelve, when his father passed away unexpectedly, this pitiful boy—scorned and pitied alike—was thrust onto the throne as emperor.
It did not take a genius to imagine the outcome. A simpleton enthroned in a world of predators—what empire could survive that?
The empire's nobles and officials wasted no time. Like ravenous wolves, they openly divided up Crossbridge's remaining wealth.
No longer restrained by fear of imperial authority, they scrambled to fatten their pockets before the empire itself collapsed.
Aurek XVI, though dim-witted, was not blind. He knew his ministers were corrupt. He simply lacked the courage—or perhaps the wits—to resist.
Timid to the bone, he allowed himself to be trampled.
At court, young aristocrats mocked him openly, sometimes cutting his royal robes into bizarre skirts for their amusement.
And so the years crept by.
On his sixteenth birthday—the day that officially marked adulthood in Crossbridge, the day he was supposed to finally rule in his own right—tragedy struck.
During the celebration, he was knocked over by a short, stocky pony, and the frail emperor fell unconscious.
That coma lasted for two long years.
Until today—when Durin arrived.
Unbelievable... this guy was that much of a useless waste?
Durin's—no, Aurek's—mouth twitched as he processed this pitiful past.
And then, as if that were not enough, the inherited memories revealed an even more shocking truth:
This world was not just swords and politics. It was a world of powers—of magic and supernatural abilities.
In this world, commoners lived and died at the bottom rung. To rise above, one had to at least step into the ranks of an Apprentice. Beyond that came the ranks of Trainee, Elite, Expert, Hero, and finally, Master.
Masters who achieved a legendary title could advance further into Grandmaster, Stellar, and Sage.
As for God Rank... that existed only in legends, whispered like myths of ancient heroes.
On the continent of Eura, strength was the only law.
Even the first emperor Aurek had relied on his Master Rank might to carve out the foundation of Crossbridge.
But in truth, the title of emperor was hollow.
Across the continent, powerful theocracies and kingdoms thrived. Among them, the Ordon Theocracy stood supreme.
To the ignorant masses, an emperor was supreme. But in Ordon's eyes, an emperor was nothing more than a convenient puppet, a glove with which they manipulated the sheep of the world.
The Ordon Theocracy controlled not only Crossbridge but nearly one-eighth of the continent.
Their power was overwhelming. Dozens of Master-ranked powerhouses answered to their banners. And their supreme pontiff—His Holiness the Pope—was rumored to have been personally granted a divine title by the gods themselves. His strength was immeasurable.
Under his rule, Ordon expanded endlessly, planting puppet rulers across the continent.
Crossbridge Empire was one of them.
On the surface, the empire seemed wealthy—its lands fertile, its people numerous, its taxes abundant.
But Aurek knew the truth.
Ninety percent of the empire's resources and taxes were siphoned directly into the hands of Ordon. Of the pitiful remainder, corrupt officials stole almost all. By the time anything reached the imperial treasury, barely five percent was left.
The result?
A hollow husk of an empire. Impoverished. Fractured. Rotting from within while predators circled from without.
Yet the Theocracy did not intervene.
Like vampires, they were content to drain the Crossbridge Empire dry, bleeding it to the last drop before discarding the corpse.
So I'm an emperor in name... but really just the biggest sucker in the world?
Aurek groaned inwardly, his heart filled with frustration.
As he shifted slightly in bed, his right hand brushed against something cold and unyielding at the edge of the mattress.
Fingers closing around it, he realized what it was.
The Scepter of the Emperor—the very symbol of sovereign authority.
For two years it had been abandoned, left lying by the bed, gathering dust.
But the moment his hand gripped it—
A surge of warmth burst from the scepter into his palm, flowing like molten gold through his veins, spreading across his limbs and bones.
The emblem at the scepter's tip—a carved Iris flower—flared with a strange, shadowed golden light.
The glow flickered once, then vanished, leaving behind a subtle luster upon one of the flower's petals.
And before his eyes, a translucent screen appeared in the air.
[Emperor's Scepter: Activated]
[Current Level: 1]
[Emperor Points: 10]
[Available Unit: Elemental Assassin (Cost: 1 Point)]
[Effect: Allows the emperor to summon powerful soldiers. As the level increases, more units and soldiers can be summoned, with chances to summon special units.]
[Tip: Every 100 Emperor Points increases level by 1. Summoning consumes Emperor Points, while defeating enemies grants more points.]
Aurek's pupils contracted sharply.
"I... I have awakened a system?" he whispered in shock.
His breathing quickened, chest rising and falling.
Just moments ago, he had felt utterly powerless in the face of political decay and divine domination. Yet now—this! This was his golden finger, his cheat, his destiny rewritten!
If this was true, then the game had changed entirely.
A slow, confident smile tugged at his lips.
Very well. If that's the case... then it's time to show these parasites who the real king is.
Of course, bold words aside, he needed to test it first.
Let's see what this Elemental Assassin can do.
With determination, Aurek focused on the glowing option and willed it into action.
"Come forth—Elemental Assassin!"