Chapter 1: The Ascension System

Middle Worlds' Hall, Restricted Area of Hades Hotel.

A lone ghost wandered in as he tried to escape from Eternal punishment.

He drifted off the dark corridor with unease.

His pale green eyes darted around nervously, searching for shadows that would drag him back to the boiling pit of hell.

Every sound made him jump.

Every shift in light made him curl.

His phantom heart thumped wildly against his rib.

But no one came so he continued on...

Flickering blue flames danced on the torches attached to the walls, casting eerie shadows on the carpeted floor.

The walls, the floors, the ceiling were all embroidered with countless stars and constellations.

The torches, arranged at 3-meter intervals, only provided enough light for the ghost, Mikael Lee, to see what was in front of him.

The quiet stillness of the hall induced his fear of the unknown.

'The creepy ambiance truly befits the Underworld hotel...' Mikael thought as he drifted in hazy darkness.

"But how do I know which door leads back to Earth?"

Mikael Lee, a second-level sinner hoped to escape to the world of the living.

Carefully observing the doors on either side of him, Mikael noted that they were made of polished black mahogany with stainless steel handles and room numbers.

He checked the other doors but no matter how many, he couldn't find any telltale signs of what's beyond them.

All doors are identical save for their metal room numbers.

'Should I open them one by one? But what if something jumps out on me?'

Mikael shook his head and slapped his cheeks to rid himself of negative thoughts.

'No, I can't just stand here forever.'

He took a deep breath as he touched the cold handle of the door on his right.

He pulled it open and saw a majestic underwater world.

Beautiful mermaids swam alongside fishes in a mesmerizing dance in a city made of abalones.

For a second, Mikael worried that the water might flood the hall but to his relief, a jelly-like film covering the entire length of the door separated the two dimensions.

When a sharkman noticed his presence and swam toward him, Mikael immediately shuts the door.

'Well, I'm sure that's not Earth… Next!'

Mikael quickly moved on to the next door, bravely dismissing what he just saw as natural now that he, himself, was nothing but a ghost.

The next door showed him tall grass and insects.

No.

Not the conventional ones as these grasses were 10-feet tall and the insects were as big as people.

Naturally, Mikael closed it and moved to another.

Every door he opened showed him an incredible sight, but none that he would want to live in – or at least 'haunt' in.

'Where? Where is Earth?!'

Mikael lost count of the doors he opened.

Just as he was starting to lose hope of ever finding his way back home, he came across one that looked exactly like Earth.

It was nighttime beyond the door, but Mikael was able to recognize some of the plants in the forest.

'Surely, there can't be another world with the same plants, right?'

Mentally exhausted Mikael decided that he finally got the correct world and thus, without hesitation, passed through the transparent barrier.

'Ugh! It's so cold!' Mikael felt his soul freeze from the biting cold of the gelatinous membrane.

Soon, a flurry of images passed by his vision.

The images accelerated into a blur and then as if caught in a tornado, Mikael spun around, his soul stretching like spaghetti as it travelled at the speed of light.

Pop!

Finally, he was chucked into the forest like a newborn babe coming out of his mother's womb.

'I want to vomit… ughh… dimensional travel feels like sh*t!' -- Or so he grumbled, but Mikael felt ecstatic.

He had successfully escaped punishment and he was now back home!-- Albeit a dead man, Mikael didn't care.

'As long as I'm not in hell.'

Slowly, his lips curled into a big smile, 'I did it! I'm back!'

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Just as he was basking in happiness, a blue translucent panel appeared floating before him.

<Initializing the Ascension System….>

<97%....98%...100%>

<Identifying Player….>

<Identity Confirmed.>

<Generating skills…>

'Huh?! Wha- what's happening?!' flustered by the sudden development, Mikael waved his hand on the screen.

Mikael was shocked when his hand went right through the panel,

'Is it because I'm dead or am I hallucinating right no-'

Ping! Ping! Ping!

Numerous tabs webbed in front of him like a scene from a sci-fi movie.

<System successfully initialized!>

<Due to excessive bad karma, Player Class is degraded from 'Ghost' to 'Poltergeist'>

<Poltergeist's innate skill: Psychokinesis Lvl.1 is generated.>

<Poltergeist's innate skill: Teleportation Lvl. 1 is generated.>

<Poltergeist's innate skill: Reverse Clairvoyance Lvl. 1 is generated.>

<Obtained Skill: Blessing of the Mist Lvl. -1 is generated.>

<Status window>

<Player name: Mikael Lee Lvl. 0

Title: The one who escaped punishment.

Class: Poltergeist

HP: 100 MP: 100

Fatigue: 50

Physical damage reduction: 100%

Total Karma points: -1250 KP>

The stream of neon texts overwhelmed Mikael.

"What the heck is this Ascension system?"

Then, the system answered his query as another window appeared.

<Preface

The Ascension System is a program granted by the universe to beings who attained the hidden qualifications.

Players are given the choice to either become a Demon Lord by collecting bad karma or a Seraphim by collecting good karma.

The creator of the universe has ordained that 'beings of free will' be appointed as 'Players' for the balance of the universe.

For the Chaos and Order.

For Yin and Yang.

The players shall be given Providence to defy their own fate and forge their own paths.>

Mikael's jaw slacked at what he just read, "I… I am given a choice? I thought I would just quietly haunt this place as a ghost but what is this?"

He scanned the contents of his status window, trying to make some sense of what was happening.

'First of all, why am I starting out as a poltergeist? Why is my Karma points on the negative? Heck, even my skill level is negative… ugh…' Mikael grabbed his hair in frustration.

'What should I do? Since I'm already on the evil scale, should I just become a Demon Lord?'

Mikael closed his eyes and imagined what demon lords in anime typically do – killing people, mass destruction, and controlling armies of monsters or undead.

"Naah…" he stuck out his tongue as if the very idea disgusted him.

Sure, it sounds so exciting that some might be tempted… but not Mikael.

As someone who already knows the existence of Hell, Mikael was not too keen on spending a few centuries of fun only to suffer for millennia if caught.

To him, the Demon Lord's appeal was practically nonexistent.

'If I become a Seraph, they can't possibly send me to hell, right? Maybe if I do enough good things here, they'll allow me to go to heaven.'

With this, Mikael has decided to start his grand redemption scheme.

--Chapter end--

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