[Countdown: 08:34]

  Across the city, in a cramped apartment, a university student named Meng Yao set down a paper bag of takeout beside her keyboard. She frowned at the glowing message on her screen.

  "Wait, what's this countdown? Is this part of the new patch?" she muttered, popping open her noodles.

  The digits kept ticking down, casting soft amber light across the cluttered desk.

  "Should I text the rest of the sect to log in? Wait, Liang Wei's pretty strict about not waking him up past eight…" She opened a can of orange soda but still texted him anyway.

  [Countdown: 06:59]

  The hum of servers echoed through World Ascension's central node, mirrored in thousands of homes.

  In a hotel district, a streamer named AceKingTV leaned toward his camera, grinning at chat.

  "Yo, you guys seeing this? Global event? 'Immersion Integration'? What the hell does that mean?"

  Comments flooded the screen:

  bro is this lore or update?

  countdown looks way too real, ngl

  W devs cooking something wild again

  [Countdown: 04:23]

  A soft vibration spread through every active rig. On thousands of monitors, the system window expanded—lines of shimmering script curling around the digits like forming circuits.

  [Synchronizing Neural Link Data…]

  [Countdown: 02:40]

  Halfway across the world, a small game reporter began filming her monitor for a breaking segment.

  "This is happening on national servers, confirmed through community feeds," she said breathlessly. "Phoenix Games hasn't issued a statement on this new update triggered for longtime players, or how it'll affect different world maps—"

  Her feed glitched, static hissing in the background.

  The stream cut to black.

  [Countdown: 01:32]

  [Countdown: 00:56]

  [Countdown: 00:12]

  [Countdown: 00:00]

  Every screen flashed white.

  [System Announcement — Immersion Testing Will Now Begin]

  All selected players will retain their avatars' strength, levels, and skill data.You will be transferred into the Immersion Arena, where you will face a variety of experimental monsters.

  Combat results will be analyzed to collect integration data and improve future immersion functionality.

  "Welcome, Candidate Liang Wei."

  A voice echoed directly inside Liang Wei's head.

  What—? Argh, my head!

  He stumbled back, disoriented. His body felt heavier, more real than it ever had. Covering his eyes, he gasped, "Who—what—where…?" His skull throbbed as he forced his eyes open.

  "You have been chosen as one of many participants assisting with integration data collection. Do not be alarmed. This process is harmless.

  Love what you're reading? Discover and support the author on the platform they originally published on.

  The monsters that will appear have escape as their primary directive. However, if they perceive you as prey—or fail to recognize you as a significant threat—they may revert to primal instincts."

  !!!

  Liang Wei froze. He wasn't in his dorm anymore. He'd been plucked straight out of bed and dropped into a gladiator ring.

  The air smelled of dust and iron.

  Lanterns flickered over empty stone bleachers.

  Rusted weapons lined the walls, and a massive gate loomed ahead. Behind him shimmered a blue-tinted portal—the only sign of the world he'd just left.

  "These monsters will begin at Mortal Grade, starting from Grade 1 – Feral Beast, and will scale in difficulty as you defeat them.

  Survive, without dying, for two hours and forty minutes, and prevent the Spirit Beasts from breaking through your defenses and escaping through the portal behind you."

  Mortal Grade… Feral Beast…

  He recognized the words, and his breath hitched. Looking closer, he realized something was… different about himself.

  He was taller than he should have been.

  His arms were wrapped in red cloth tucked beneath dark black sleeves. His gaze dropped to the sash strapped tightly across his torso.

  It was all too familiar—and that terrified him.

  This was the Sect Robe from his game's inventory… how was he wearing it?

  Reaching up, he traced the unfamiliar lines of his face, fingers brushing through his bangs until they met the skull ornament nestled against his long, ponytailed hair.

  This can't be real. Am I dreaming? Fuck, why's my head pounding this much… He held the side of his head. Is this a prank? I swear to god if Meng Yao's responsible for this…

  Embers started drifting around him—!!!

  He jumped back—no, he leapt back—feet lifting off the ground as he shot four or five meters into the air. "How…?"

  Thud!

  He landed, dust lifting as his feet planted back onto the ground.

  His weapons clinked behind him—the bone saw and the red cleaver on his lower half—as he looked at his feet in disbelief. It was physically impossible for him to jump that far and cross that distance.

  "W—wires… am I on wires?" Liang Wei asked himself. He swatted at the air—nothing. No strings, no metal, nothing to hold him up.

  His breath hitched. His index fingers twitched—one of his nervous ticks. He grit his teeth, balled his fists, and scanned the arena: the dirt underfoot, the lanterns above, the gladiator gate, the cage dome. Everything looked real—even the sky beyond it.

  Humming… Humming…

  He slowly turned to the portal behind him. It was tainted, yet he could see what was on the other side—

  His room…

  His heartbeat sped up. Fists clenched, he walked toward it, shock and confusion swirling in his head.

  Liang Wei tried to calm down. This has to be an illusion, he thought, reaching toward the swirling light.

  His palm slipped halfway through the portal before meeting a barrier.

  He pulled back, drawing a slow breath as the voice's words resurfaced in his mind.

  His jaw unclenched, then tightened again. His teeth sank into his tongue, the metallic taste of blood spreading across it.

  The pain was too vivid—too real.

  "This isn't a dream…" he whispered.

  A thousand questions tore through his mind. How did this happen? Why me? Where am I?

  Had he been transported to another world… another dimension?

  Before he could chase the thought further, the sound of rattling metal snapped him back.

  He stepped away from the portal, fingers brushing the hilt of his cleaver. I need to think clearly, he told himself. Panicking now won't change anything.

  "I don't know why I'm in this situation—"

  Thunk! Thunk!

  The door opposite him shook violently under repeated blows.

  "—but I've got a feeling that whatever brought me here is trying to test me…"

  If I've been given my game items, that means this will operate as a game as well. One monster entrance, one exit portal.

  I'm in a gladiator ring.

  This is most likely a tower-defense-style scenario.

  Grip!

  That's good. Dao's Rising might not have had any PvP arenas, but I've played a ton of tower defense.

  He armed himself and got into a sparring stance.

  The metallic gate groaned, its hinges screaming as dust and sparks scattered across the dirt. A low hiss seeped through the cracks.

  Bang!

  The center latch shot loose.

  A surge of pressure rolled through the arena as the gate crashed open, chains snapping against stone.

  Something crawled out.

  Slick scales glinted under the lanterns—black-green hides rippling with muscle. One… two… then four more followed, slithering and clawing their way into the ring.

  Six of the lizards prowled in total, each the length of a grown man, their forked tongues tasting the air.

  [Mortal Grade: Feral Basilisk-Lizard] [Lv 3]

  The system tag shimmered faintly above their heads before fading into the dust.

  Liang Wei froze, his heart hammering.

  They moved too smoothly—like predators that had hunted before. One snapped its jaws, the wet crack echoing off the walls.

  His mind still half screamed that this was a trick, that it couldn't be real—but the tang of iron in the air, the grit under his boots, the heat radiating from their scaled bodies… all of it said otherwise.

  The lead lizard lowered its body, muscles coiling.

  His pulse steadied, a strange calm taking hold as muscle memory from countless hours of gameplay guided his movements.

  The first basilisk lunged—fangs flashing, claws slicing through the dirt.

  Liang Wei moved on instinct.

  Dash!!!

  Sand dusted his clothes as he crossed the arena, his steel meeting scale with a sharp clang. Sparks burst into the air as he pivoted and brought the blade around for a counter.

  The impact jarred his arms. The creature hissed, stumbling sideways, its tail whipping around with brutal force—

  He ducked.

  The tail tore a line through the dust where his head had been.

  Three more lizards began to circle, their slitted eyes glowing faintly amber.

  "Is that all you got?" Liang Wei taunted, forcing a shaky grin that twisted into something sharper.

  His lungs expanded, adrenaline rushing through his veins.

  This wasn't any different from how he'd always played—only now, there was no screen between him and the monsters.

  "Vitae Skill Tree!" he called, voice trembling with excitement.

  The world shimmered in response.

  A glowing violet stone—set within a jagged iron medallion—materialized in his inner sea. The relic pulsed once, and a web of branching lines spread out from its center, faint icons flickering in the air around it.

  Liang Wei's consciousness darted across the translucent screen.

  His skills were still where he'd left them, though the icons themselves were faint and half-rendered.

  Alright… visual interface might be missing, but the system still recognizes commands. That means verbal triggers should work too.

  He grinned. "That's all I need."

  He raised his cleaver. "Crimson Harvest!"

  The Vitae Stone flared. His intent surged through it like lightning—

  Fwoosh!

  Flames roared to life, coiling around his blade as he moved in a clean, practiced arc. His mind locked onto the image of the hellish red saber icon that had once defined this skill.

  Two of the basilisk-lizards lunged at once, seizing the opening they thought they saw—

  Too late.

  A massive crescent of crimson fire erupted from his swing, forming a blade that cut a searing path through the air.

  The flame-saber cleaved through both beasts in one sweeping strike, their bodies split apart before they even realized what had happened.

  For a moment, Liang Wei stood frozen, the afterimage of the fiery blade still burning behind his eyes.

  The smell of scorched flesh and smoke filled his lungs. His arms trembled—not from fear, but from awe.

  "I… actually pulled it off," he muttered, staring at his still-burning weapon that lit the fuse to summon his attack.

  The remaining four lizards hissed and backed away, circling warily now, their predator instincts replaced with hesitation.

  Liang Wei exhaled, steadying his stance. His lips curled into a grin.

  "Good," he whispered, tightening his grip. "Be scared."

  Hellish Ascension: Court of Curses.

  https://www.royalroad.com/fiction/151269/hellish-ascension-court-of-curses/chapter/3006039/prologue-physician-the-cursed-brush