The Queen's Rise to the Top - Chapter 298: Top of the Mountain

Ethan is a man nearing forty who has squandered his life behind a screen. Since his teenage years, he has poured everything into online games, chasing digital achievements while real life quietly passed him by. Now, with reality finally weighing on him, he realizes how empty his existence has become.Despite decades of obsession, he has only one thing to show for it: the #1 account in the world’s most popular MMORPG, Lost World Online—a fully immersive virtual game operated through neural-link technology. It is an account powerful enough to guarantee fame, sponsorships, and a second chance at life.But overnight… it vanishes.No warnings… No errors… His account simply ceases to exist.Ethan spends the entire night frantically searching for answers, contacting the developers through official forums, only to be told that nothing can be done. Without the account, even streaming or professional contracts are impossible. Exhausted and hollow, he finally gives up and falls asleep, deciding to forget his regret, half hoping everything would be a dream when he wakes up.When Ethan opens his eyes, he finds himself standing before the character creation screen of Lost World Online.It feels like a dream, yet his mind is clear, his body well responsive, not even like a game. Paying little attention, he goes ahead and creates a character and initiates the game.Then, his vision is swallowed by darkness.A violent rush of wind slams into him, and when his senses return, he is standing inside a bustling town from the game. Before he can question the missing opening cutscene—something that should always play after character creation—his attention is seized by the scene around him.The town was celebrating an Annual Festival. This was a festival that only ever occurred once, a festival that marked the first day Lost World Online was launched.Realizing the impossible, Ethan hurriedly calls up his system interface—only to find that there is no options menu, no settings, no log-out button…“This cannot be real.”

“After every fire, ants survive.”

…

Mysterious anomalous biological metals have polluted the world, and the world has undergone tremendous changes. Metal sickness is like a key that opens the door to evolution. Under the tide of evolution, there are no innocents.

The choice is up to you, do you want to be the surviving ants after the fire, or do you want to risk your life, step on the glorious long steps to the gods, and glimpse the supreme glory of the mother goddess?

…

Touch the totem in your heart, follow the inspiration, and step on the long steps of ascending to God:

[Amphibians] → [Atlantic Glory] → [Ningen]…

[Eight Arms] → [Nightmare in the Sea] → [Deep Divers]…

[Eagle Eye] → [Owl Ghost of the Night] → [Jersey Demon]…

[Living Dead] → [Grave Digger] → [Death Ferryman]…

…

“On that day, the world was polluted, and I was the source of pollution. Human desires are endless, desire is the best food on the way to evolution, and I am the embodiment of desire.”

– Joe Tour.

- Description from novelbuddy

In Dwarkam, people are not born equal.Some are born Halocrats, wrapped in power and worship.Some are born Gutterborn, taught to keep their heads down and their mouths shut.Zane Atlas was a Gutterborn.Eighteen years old.Hungry.Beaten.Invisible.The world taught him one rule early:Filth shouldn’t look up.When the Golden Slab descended from the sky, it gave power to those who caressed it.Most gained skills.Some gained status.Many gained hope.Zane gained something else.Something that was never meant to awaken.Something that watches before it judges.Something that acts only when survival is at stake.[ Conflux System ]It does not reward obedience.It grows through choices.And it can merge anything Zane owns…including his body, his instincts, and his will to survive.Now Zane walks a thin line between staying alive and being discovered.Between obeying a world that hates himand becoming something it must erase.The churches are watching.The crowns are stirring.The monsters are waking.And Zane is learning one terrifying truth:Sometimes, being chosen is worse than being powerless.——— ——— ———Support Me - ko-fi.com/khyaalJoin My Discord For Reference Arts and much more - https://discord.gg/zmUcswM2N5

Yin Shen’s name is God.

He never thought that one day he would really become a god.

- Description from novelbuddy