Zane woke up, smelling the fresh dew of the morning and feeling the heat of autumn. Yesterday felt like a dream, but the crest on his left hand and the imposing tower seen through his window were proof that everything was real. The world he knew had forever changed.
Under normal circumstances, he should be heading out for his morning run, but Zane chose to exercise indoors today. Although his room was pitifully small, there was still enough room in the kitchen for a hundred push-ups, a hundred squats, and a hundred crunches. Breakfast was still the leftovers his mother brought, and after a long shower, he sat on his bed and opened his laptop.
As expected, news about the Dimension Tower was everywhere: on every news website, every news station, and every social media platform, including Facebook and Twitter. And the situation was not just in the US, but globally. Politicians, economists, celebrities, and ordinary people were discussing the tower and the dawn of a new era.
"There is a lot of false information," Zane analyzed. As a person who was present at the core of the tower's shenanigans, he saw a lot of nonsense. "However, it seems news about the five spots has not been leaked." He searched countless sources and forums on the net, but did not find a single word about the five spots the Dimension Tower spoke of.
"There is no way everybody would keep it quiet," Zane pondered. "Do the other regions have rules that this information cannot be leaked? But ours did not, so that can't be the result. Is it a government crackdown?" He immediately shook his head. The US and many countries around the world were not very efficient or even competent at regulating the internet, let alone the entire world seems to have a blockade on this information.
"It would make more sense for the tower itself to block the news," Zane thought. The information might cause more panic and chaos. Humans are great at compartmentalizing. Despite the tower's presence, a significant portion of the population still does not believe in the invasion. Zane has already discovered thousands of theories: from government conspiracies to aliens playing a prank on Earth.
However, as time passes and the threat of the Demon Lord's invasion becomes increasingly real, people will start to panic and cause chaos. And if they learned that there was a way to save their own and their families' lives, the situation would probably escalate.
"Whatever the cause is doesn't matter," Zane thought. "I only need to focus on surviving and proving myself as a mage and acquire one of those spots." Many things were in line, and he was prepared to do whatever was necessary to achieve his goal. A brief breathing exercise calmed him and helped him rein in his thoughts. Zane was prepared to end this web scouring session when a notification arrived. It was a message from someone called Isabella Monte.
A slight surprise flashed in his eyes. Isabella was one of his old hookups after he was freed. However, two months ago, they cut off contact because she got back with her ex and even became engaged. He opened the direct message, and she was just asking if he was alright. After replying that he was alright, she bid him well before stopping the conversation. Zane did not mind. They had agreed to stop communication out of respect for her partner. The fact that she even contacted him in the first place was a sign of her care.
However, after that conversation, Zane suddenly thought of someone else he held dear. He immediately opened Weibo to reach out to his ex. Since his arrest, he had stopped communicating with her. And over the years, he had grown wearier. However, Zane knew she was one of the greatest things to have happened to him. The four years they had spent together had had an immense influence on the man he was now.
As he glanced at the screen before him, for the first time ever, he hesitated: What if she was chosen? What if she had died? Would he cry for her death? Would he care because she died and was important to him, or because he failed to get the answers he wanted? All these thoughts suddenly haunted him, making him pause.
Zane shook his head. There was no point in hesitating now; if she's really gone, then it must be fate at work. So, with a clear mind, he typed to ask if she was alright. For the next few minutes, Zane stared at the screen. He sighed before muttering, "Not replying doesn't mean something has happened to her. After all, she never replied before."
[Flower Moon: I'm fine. I'm glad nothing has happened to you.]
[Elegant Scholar: That's good.}
[Flower Moon: Don't contact me again."]
[Elegant Prince: Wait, I just need closure. Here is my number: **-**-9876. Call me.]
Sadly, Zane did not receive an answer — just the notification that she had gone offline. Cindy was one of the key figures in unraveling his case, but she refused to cooperate. After sighing to himself, he prepared to go out, maybe check out the library.
"Hmm? What's this?" he muttered. His eyes were glued to something on the corner: a thick book with a bag and a note next to it. His memory was excellent, almost eidetic, so he was sure this thing was not there before. Slowly approaching, Zane's eyes immediately caught the attention of the title: The Gremorian Language.
After a brief hesitation, he took the note:
[Drink the blue potion before reading this book, and do not drink more than one in a six-hour window. Drink one green potion a day before sleeping — Dimension Tower.]
"It's really them," Zane muttered as his heart beat accelerated. An urge to immediately follow direction overcame him, but he swiftly regulated his emotions. A rule of thumb he always follows is never to make a decision while in a heightened emotional state, so he placed these items on his bed and waited more than ten minutes before opening the bag: fourteen blue potions and seven green ones.
"7 green potions — is the expectation to finish in seven days? Will there be extra rewards for doing it faster? Maybe even a title?" A smile crept on the corner of Zane's mouth as his overachiever side was instantly activated. Studying was his forte, and although he rarely had to cram for hours, when he did, the results were usually outstanding.
There was no hesitation in his actions. If the Dimension Tower wanted to kill him, there were better ways. The blue potion tasted like some of the herbal medicines his mother used to make for him as a child. Luckily, the terrible taste was soon replaced by a cool sensation that enveloped his head. The first page of the book revealed an exquisite and highly detailed magic circle. As Zane gazed upon it, a brief bout of dizziness overcame him before a vast amount of information was poured into his mind; no, not directly instilled, but more like presented to him, and he had to learn it.
Initially, it was the alphabet of an unknown language, then vocabulary, pronunciation, and grammar. Every time Zane reached a certain threshold in these subjects, more information would be presented, and he could turn the page. So, for the next 18 hours, he drank three potions and did nothing else except studying, with a few 20-minute breaks every two hours to eat, bathe, and relax. Before he realized it, night had consumed the world.
"In just a few hours, I mastered months of a language — magic is truly wonderful," Zane sighed to himself. Now, he was even more interested in what would happen after learning this language. As such, he did not hesitate to drink the green potion and fall asleep.
A woman sat opposite Zane; she was beautiful, or so he thought, felt. Her face was blurred, but for some reason, he felt she was beautiful. A faint scent of osmanthus spread from her body, which somehow greatly alleviated his tiredness from all the studying.
"Hello, how are you doing?" she asked.
"I'm fine, thanks. Who are you?"
"I'm sorry, I can't understand you."
Zane finally realized she was speaking Gremorian, and a look of sudden realization dawned on him. He did not hesitate to repeat what he said, and she smiled.
"My name is Lucy, and I'm your speaking instructor."
"I have figured as much," Zane nodded before looking around. "But where is this place?" He seemed to be in this endless white space with only the two of them in sight and the two chairs.
"In simple terms, this is the dream world," Lucy explained.
"Learning through dreams? Magic is truly wonderful."
However, he seemed to have said something wrong, and Lucy corrected his pronunciation and grammar, which elicited a slight blush on his face. However, he swiftly regained his bearing and corrected himself. For the next few hours, the two conversed using basic phrases, and once in a while, Lucy would correct Zane. As time passed, their conversation became more complex, and Zane found himself unable to keep up. So, Lucy ended the lesson.