Ren strapped the watch to his left wrist. It was a "Sundial" MR-13, a specialized outdoor model. It was shockproof, waterproof, and equipped with a heart rate monitor, pedometer, digital maps, and a compass. Its battery was rated for over six months of continuous use. It was one of the most expensive items he had purchased, but the online reviews were glowing.
He synced the time: October 30, 2015 (Imperial Year 36), 9:03 AM.
Once fully dressed in his gear, with his water bottle filled and his backpack loaded, he tucked the tactical multi-tool knife into its sheath on the back of his belt. Ready, he stepped out the door.
***
Mt. Sage was located about 30 kilometers west of the city. Spanning over 15,000 acres, it was a national forest park and wildlife sanctuary, as well as a popular summer retreat for city residents.
Since ancient times, Mt. Sage had been the subject of legends regarding "Transcendent Beings." It was rumored to be the site where ancient masters practiced alchemy and sought the secrets of eternal life. Traces of ancient ritual pools still remained. Over the centuries, many hermits seeking spiritual enlightenment had hidden themselves in these peaks, giving the mountain its name.
The local spiritual tradition, known as "The Esoteric Way," was the native religion of the Great Zhao Empire. Its teachings focused on self-transcendence and the harmony of nature. It held massive influence in the Empire, especially among the nobility and the elite, rivaling even the major global religions. Its followers sought to become "Sages"—beings who had surpassed human limits.
Ren arrived at the foot of the mountain by taxi at 10:35 AM. With his pack on his back, he began to climb.
It was a Friday in late October, so the summer crowds had vanished. The weather was cool, the ancient trees provided a thick canopy, and the air was filled with bird songs. Ren avoided the main tourist paths, choosing a narrow, overgrown trail instead. He saw no other hikers—only the occasional squirrel darting across his path.
After thirty minutes of hiking, Ren stopped. He was deep in the woods, far from any prying eyes. To his right stood a massive tree with roots so thick they had buckled the stone path. He stepped behind the trunk, ensuring he was invisible to anyone who might pass by.
He summoned the Wish Book. Taking a deep breath, he spoke his desire:
"I wish that the world I am in is a world with a high limit of power, where Transcendent Beings and Sages truly exist... and that on this mountain, through some miraculous encounter, I become a Sage myself..."
Ren wanted to test if the book could grant him supernatural power. To him, the idea of "Ascension"—rising above the mortal coil to become something more—was the ultimate romance. To ensure the wish didn't manifest in some horrific way (like a tree falling on him and leaving a "Sage-shaped" pile of meat), he added as many specific parameters as possible.
However, the text that appeared in the book was a deep, alarming red:
*Wish: I wish to transform the world into a high-power realm and become a Sage through a miracle.*
*Status: This wish involves a fundamental alteration of the World's Fate Line. It requires a massive amount of Wish Points. Your balance is insufficient.*
Ren wasn't discouraged; he was thrilled. He had thrown out a "max-level" wish just to test the boundaries. The book didn't say it was *impossible*—it just said he didn't have enough points. That meant, in theory, if he had the points, he could rewrite the laws of reality.
He began to lower his standards to find the point where his current balance would be enough.
"I wish that on this mountain, through a miracle, I am discovered and recruited as a direct disciple by a true Sage..."
From "becoming a god" to "becoming a god's student." Surely that was cheaper?
*Status: Insufficient points. This wish still requires a fundamental alteration of the World's Fate Line.*
***
"I wish that this world *used* to have a legacy of high-level supernatural power that has since vanished or faded. Within my point balance, I wish for the power system to be designed in a way I can understand... and that on this mountain, I find a way to obtain this ancient legacy."
This was Ren's seventh attempt. With every failure, he stripped away more specifics. He was moving closer to the current reality of the world, making the wish more vague and reducing the "disturbance" to the timeline.
He was about to try an eighth time when he froze. The text was black.
*Wish: I wish for the world to have a forgotten supernatural history, and that I find a chance to obtain this legacy on this mountain.*
*Status: Successful.*
Ren's heart leaped. He looked around instinctively. He had come to this mountain because of its legends, hoping the local "energy" might make the wish cheaper. He had packed his survival gear specifically for whatever "coincidence" the book was about to throw at him.
Suddenly, the ground beneath his feet buckled.
The entire mountain began to shudder like a wet dog shaking its fur. Trees creaked and groaned, their leaves rattling like rain.
*An earthquake?*
At the summit of Mt. Sage, which Ren could not see, a muffled boom echoed. The earth split open, and a plume of fire erupted into the sky.
The ancient "extinct" volcano was waking up.
Bellowing roars—sounding like a thousand angry tigers—echoed from the peak. Then came a high-pitched hiss, like a titan-sized serpent. Ren heard a whistling sound from above. A second later, objects began falling from the sky like black hail.
One landed right in front of him. He picked it up, then immediately recoiled. It was a piece of volcanic rock, porous and scorching hot. It burned his palm, leaving his skin red.
Ren retreated until his back was against the massive tree. The trunk and the thick branches above acted as a shield against the falling debris. A massive pillar of black smoke rose from the peak, visible even through the thick forest.
"A volcanic eruption!" Ren's mouth went dry. He was a local; he knew Mt. Sage was supposed to be a dead volcano. It hadn't erupted in over a thousand years.
The Wish Book had moved a mountain to give him his "opportunity."
As screams from other tourists echoed in the distance, Ren saw a rock the size of a wagon wheel smash into the path nearby. Panic flared in his chest. *I need to get off this mountain. It's too dangerous. Maybe the 'opportunity' will find me on the way down.*
He began to run, dodging falling ash and stones. The air was thick with sulfur. As he sprinted, a violent tremor tore the ground apart. Without warning, a massive fissure opened directly beneath his feet.
Ren stepped into empty air.
He plummeted into the dark crack. In a desperate scramble, he managed to grab a protruding jagged rock. He dangled there, heart hammering. Above him, the opening was ten meters away. Below him, deep in the darkness, he saw the faint, glowing red of molten lava.
His arms burned. He knew he couldn't hold on for long. If he fell, he was dead.
*This is bad...* Ren looked around wildly. To his left, he spotted the dark opening of a cave set into the wall of the fissure. He swung his body, used his momentum to reach for a foothold, and scrambled into the opening.
He collapsed on the cave floor, gasping for breath. The air inside was acrid and strange. He pulled the flashlight from his bag and gripped his tactical knife in his right hand. If this was his "miracle," he had to find it.
He crawled deeper into the cavern. The walls were made of dark, ancient rock. After five minutes of walking, he reached a dead end.
His flashlight beam cut through the dark, landing on a figure sitting against the back wall.
Ren froze. He gripped his knife tighter, his heart racing. He approached slowly.
It was a skeleton. It had been there for centuries. Dust and dried fungi had formed a crust over it, weaving into the remnants of its ancient robes to create a sort of shell. On the floor in front of the remains, there were characters carved deep into the stone.
Ren knelt and brushed away the dust. He took several photos of the inscriptions with his phone. Then, he turned his light back to the skeleton.
Facing a corpse in a lightless cave was terrifying. Ren steadied his nerves, bowed deeply, and whispered, "Master, please forgive my intrusion."
He used his knife to gently pry away the crust of fungi and rotted fabric. To his shock, the bones beneath were not white. They were a shimmering, polished silver, as if they were cast from solid metal.
There was nothing else on the body—no gold, no weapons. Everything had turned to dust. The only survivor was a jade tablet clutched in the skeleton's left hand.
Ren took the tablet. It was cool to the touch. Under his light, he saw it was a deep sea-green. One side featured a delicate carving of a magnificent palace floating among clouds. The other side bore four ancient runes surrounded by intricate patterns.
He tucked the tablet safely into his pocket and scanned the cave one last time. Finding nothing else, he summoned the Wish Book.
*Wish: I wish for an ancient legacy on this mountain.*
*Status: Fulfilled.*
*Cost: 20,000 Wish Points.*
Ren looked at the silver remains and bowed three more times. "Thank you, Master, for this gift."
He knew he didn't have much time. The mountain was screaming. He made one more wish: "I wish to return home safely and successfully."
Once the text turned black, he ran back to the cave entrance. He looked down—the red glow of the lava was getting brighter. He looked up—the exit was a ten-meter vertical climb.
He knew he had to lose weight to make the climb. He dumped his water bottle, binoculars, and heavy rations, keeping only his ropes, carabiners, and safety harness. He wasn't a professional climber, but he had studied the basics online. He had bought this gear as a "just in case" for a fantasy scenario exactly like this.
He hammered a mechanical cam into a crack in the cave wall and clipped his safety rope to it. This was his first anchor. If he fell, he wouldn't hit the lava; he'd just swing against the wall.
He began the climb. His muscles were already strained from the fall, but adrenaline pushed him forward. He climbed two meters and set a second anchor. He chose a diagonal path, zig-zagging to find better handholds.
He reached the five-meter mark. His arms were shaking. He reached for his belt to grab another cam for a final anchor point when the mountain convulsed again.
The rock he was holding onto shattered.
Ren fell.
The safety device on his harness locked instantly with a sharp *clack*. He jerked to a stop, swinging violently against the stone wall. The impact knocked the wind out of him, but he was alive.
He hung there for a moment, his heart nearly jumping out of his chest. He took a second to breathe, then grit his teeth and started climbing again. He couldn't stop. If he rested, his muscles would seize up, and he'd never make it.
Six minutes later, his hands gripped the grass at the edge of the fissure. He hauled himself up and collapsed on the forest floor.
He was a mess. His hair was matted with ash, his clothes were torn, and his arms were trembling from exhaustion. But he didn't stay down. He unclipped his safety rope, threw it back into the abyss, and ran.
The base of the mountain was pure chaos. Tourists were screaming for their cars, and local shopkeepers were frantically throwing valuables into vans.
"Attention! Attention!" a voice boomed from the sky. Ren looked up to see a blue-and-white police helicopter circling low. "Mt. Sage is undergoing a volcanic eruption. Evacuate immediately to at least 10 kilometers away! Use any available transportation!"
Ren knew he couldn't call a ride-share out here—no driver would head *toward* a volcano. He sprinted toward the parking lot.
Most cars were already screeching away. He spotted a small electric delivery van pulling out of a spot. It was a "North" brand utility vehicle, common for city logistics. Ren lunged in front of it.
The driver slammed on the brakes and leaned out the window to curse, but Ren shoved a 100-credit bill into his hand. "Please! Just get me to the city!"
The driver snatched the money and jerked his head toward the passenger seat. "Get in! Now!"
Ren scrambled inside. The driver floored it.
The road was narrow, and ash was hitting the windshield like gravel. Ren looked back. The sky was a bruised, terrifying grey-black. A wall of smoke had swallowed the peak.
"You a hiker?" the driver asked, glancing at Ren's battered gear.
"Yeah," Ren wheezed, clutching his backpack. "I wanted to see the sights. I almost didn't make it back."
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