[04: 10: 21:22]

~~~

KNOWLEDGE PACKET — DYNAMIC DIFFICULTY

Every 'story' that a time-bound experiences has a fixed difficulty at the start—a difficulty determined by the culmination of factors like the power scaling of the story, the availability of resources, the knowledge that exists within its realm, and more. This isn't a game where you can simply restart if things go wrong; it's a real story, with events unfolding much like they do in anyone's life.

Imagine you always dreamed of becoming a doctor. And now let's say if you fail the exams and can't get into a top medical school, does that mean you're no longer destined to be a doctor? Not at all—but the challenge, the difficulty, increases.

Likewise, in the world of the 'story' you're in, every event can alter the difficulty—raising it or lowering it.

"System," Cassian said through clenched teeth, forcing mental pressure against the interface until something gave, "mute all unnecessary notifications. Now."

The constant stream of ambient updates—environmental changes, minor stat fluctuations, background quest progress—cut off instantly. Blessed silence followed, broken only by critical alerts and viewer chat.

That's so much better…

"Alright," Cassian muttered, staring at the chaos he'd inadvertently triggered. "I need actual advice here, not jokes or philosophical bullshit. What the hell do I do now?"

[The Eternal Wanderer]: It's likely the presence of a Truth that has demons spooked.

The text materialized in his vision with that characteristic measured tone teacher always used.

[The Eternal Wanderer]: If I'm reading this situation correctly, whoever leads this expedition is deeply suspicious. They suspect enemies—possibly rival demon lords—have secretly infiltrated this world and are scheming behind their backs.

[The Eternal Wanderer]: Hence the extreme reaction.

"Fuck." Cassian dragged a hand down his face, feeling stubble scratch his palm. "Never though manifesting a truth would be so dangerous."

The absurdity would have been funny if he wasn't the one about to die from it.

[Keeper of Archives]: Oh dear, my sweet plum is in quite the predicament! But fear not—you've survived worse through cleverness and adaptability!

Sweet plum. I'm never going to live down that nickname, am I?

"System," Cassian said quietly, pulling up his interface with fingers that wanted to shake but couldn't afford to. "Would you show me my balance again>"

Numbers materialized in glowing text:

[WISH FRAGMENTS: 387]

Not great. Not terrible. Definitely not enough for what he needed if standard conversion rates applied.

Cassian stared at the number for exactly three seconds while his brain did frantic calculations of his odd of getting anything useful from gacha mechanics.

"Two hundred wish fragments for Standard banner pulls," he said, committing to the gamble because what other choice did he have? "One hundred for Dungeon Event banner pulls. Do it."

[DING! CONVERTING 200 WISH FRAGMENTS INTO 'STANDARD WISHES']

[EXCHANGE RATE FOR THE BANNER: 10 WISH FRAGMENTS = 1 'STANDARD WISH']

[DING! USING 20 'STANDARD WISHES' ON THE 'STANDARD TIMEBOUND BANNER']

[DING! CONVERTING 100 WISH FRAGMENTS INTO 'DUNGEON EVENT WISHES']

[EXCHANGE RATE FOR THE BANNER: 10 WISH FRAGMENTS = 1 'DUNGEON EVENT WISH']

[DING! USING 10 'DUNGEON EVENT WISHES' ON THE 'DUNGEON EVENT BANNER'][WISH FRAGMENTS: 387]

[DING! MAY THE GODS OF GACHA FAVOR YOU!]

The notification hung in his vision with what Cassian could have sworn was malicious glee. He'd spent three hundred wish fragments in under ten seconds—resources that had taken actual blood, sweat, and near-death experiences to accumulate.

Please win 50/50 on something good!

[The Wild One]: YESSS! GAMBLING TIME! The BEST kind of problem-solving!

[Keeper of Archives]: Oh my! Going for the gacha! How thrilling! What cards will fate grant you?

[The Eternal Wanderer]: At least he's being practical about resource allocation, even if the mechanism is ridiculous...

Golden light erupted across Cassian's interface as the system began processing his pulls. Card silhouettes flickered past too fast to identify—flashes of weapons, abilities, consumables, all spinning in that deliberately addictive visual display designed to trigger dopamine responses in human brains.

The author's narrative has been misappropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon.

I'll die from anxiety if I sit here watching the pull, Time is already not on my side…

"System, ping me when it's done," Cassian said, waving the notifications aside with practiced mental gesture. "I need to think."

[DING! THE WHEEL IS NOW SPINNING...]

The gacha animation minimized into a corner of his vision where it could process without distracting him. Cassian turned back to the valley, trying to force his brain into gear despite exhaustion that made thinking feel like wading through mud.

Thank gods, I didn't drank any alcohol… Though I wonder does it taste as good as everyone keep on saying it is?

[Keeper of Archives]: The situation outside will escalate into chaos. The "One True Voice" was generous enough to allow you this time to prepare, Cassian.

"Yeah, no shit," Cassian muttered. "The question is how do I use that chaos instead of getting crushed by it?"

Think… Think

His mind started piecing together fragments of strategy—nothing concrete yet, just shapes of plans that might work if he got lucky and didn't die horribly.

[DING! The Demon of Red has entered the stream]

Cassian paused mid-thought, staring at the notification with growing confusion.

"Hmm?" He blinked at the chat window. "That's a new viewer."

The name carried different formatting than his regular viewers—deeper red coloring, slightly different font weight, an energy signature that felt distinctly other even through the system interface.

Genuine curiosity overrode his important planning for a moment. Cassian had gotten used to his small collection of cosmic entities watching him struggle through impossible situations like he was their favorite reality TV show. But new viewers were rare, and this one's name was... direct.

"Thanks for joining," Cassian said carefully, addressing the chat like he was talking to actual people instead of incomprehensible beings observing from outside reality. "But, uh... are you actually a demon? Like, capital-D Demon? Because that seems like important context given my current situation."

[The Demon of Red] merrily replies: Yes! The greatest of all demons! The Glory of Red! The Magnificent Destroyer! The Crimson Sovereign of—

[The Eternal Wanderer]: Just call him Red. Like The Wild One, he has a pathological need for theatrics.

[The Demon of Red]: You wound me, Wanderer! Such pedestrian thinking! Such failure to appreciate grandeur and proper dramatic presentation!

[The Wild One]: Hi Red!

[The Demon of Red]: Oh you are here as well! Our rematch is still pending! This time you won't win!

[The Wild One]: Heh… you'd need another million years for that!

Despite everything—the danger, the exhaustion, the very real possibility of imminent death—Cassian felt a laugh bubbling up in his chest. These people bickering like internet forum regulars while he stood on battlements planning how to infiltrate demon territory was so absurd it looped back around to being almost comforting.

[The Demon of Red]: Anyway, young Cassian—for a human born without cultivation heritage to manifest a Truth of Destruction? That's nothing short of miraculous. The Truth is mesmerizing, young one. Absolutely intoxicating in its purity and potential.

[The Demon of Red]: And I, the Greatest of Greatest Demons, hereby name you... Demon.

Cassian stared at the notification for several seconds while his brain tried to process what he'd just read.

"I'm sorry, what?" The words came out flat with disbelief. "You're naming me demon? Like, an actual demon? I'm a human though… is that's... that's a thing you can do?"

[The Eternal Wanderer]: It's a recognition thing. Cultural practice among their kind. Means Red sees potential in you worth acknowledging.

[The Demon of Red]: I've watched your progress from the very start, young Cassian, and it was CRAZY! Magnificent! Beautiful destruction tempered with just enough restraint to make it art rather than mere chaos!

[The Demon of Red]: It's a pity you're still in Story Level One, where suppression and filtering of Timebound abilities is strongest. We can't act as freely as we'd like, or else we'd shower you with boons, quests, gifts beyond mortal comprehension...

[The Demon of Red]: Fucking Heaven. There's heavy suppression on Story Level One interactions. But once this level clears? Expect yourself to be flooded by offers from entities who want to sponsor your growth.

That... was an interesting news but Cassian filed the information away for later panic.

[The Wild One]: Indeed! Though I still found a way around restrictions using my superior intelligence and creative interpretation of rules!

[The Demon of Red]: Yeah, I watched. That drove the difficulty scaling to HARD mode. For a human, no less!

[The Demon of Red]: Though I agree fully with your methods—only pain and suffering forge a proper demon! Or... whatever you humans call true strength forged through adversity!

[The Wild One]: I KNOW, RIGHT?! Although not sure about the demon terminology specifically, but YES! Trial by fire is the only way to create something worth existing!

"Glad my suffering entertains you both," Cassian muttered, though without real heat. "Really warms the heart knowing there are crackheads are watching me almost die repeatedly for their amusement."

[The Eternal Wanderer]: Just ignore those two theatrical idiots. Back to the situation at hand.

[The Eternal Wanderer]: Your main objective is getting the Sanctuary Stone into the Destruction Pillar. The biggest obstacle you'll face is the leader of the demonic forces—he'll be at least Ascension III, possibly higher.

Right. The actual mission. Thanks for bringing that up!

The reason he was standing on battlements staring at impossible odds instead of finding somewhere to hide and wait for the scenario timer to expire.

"System," Cassian said quietly, "pull up the main quest details."

[DING! MAIN SCENARIO: THE DEMONIC HORDE OF ULZAAMAN HAS CLAIMED THIS WORLD AS ITS OWN.]

[DEMONS THRIVE IN PURE DESTRUCTION ATTUNEMENT. THEY FORCEFULLY TERRAFORM ANY WORLD THEY INVADE INTO A LAND OF DESTRUCTION, MAKING IT UNINHABITABLE FOR MORTAL LIFE WHILE STRENGTHENING THEIR OWN KIND.]

«Before your time runs out, Timebound, you must place the Sanctuary Stone into the Destruction Pillar. Once activated, the Sanctuary Stone will convert all stored destruction energy into creation energy. This blast of creation radiance will fortify life—but for demons, it will be fatal.»

Cassian had read the quest text a dozen times, but seeing it again with full context of how badly the demons were now hunting for him made the task seem even more impossible than before.

[The Wild One]: Also, that bastion leader told you the Destruction Pillar sits at Mount Ywarh's summit. Heavily fortified demon position now. Patrols everywhere. Scouts along every mountain path like guard dogs.

"Thanks," Cassian said genuinely. "Appreciate the reminder."

"Fantastic odds. Really inspiring stuff."

[The Demon of Red]: Cassian the Demon—you should prepare for facing an Ascension III entity. Even with your Truth manifested and aura partially developed, if you choose direct confrontation...

[The Wild One] finishes: It'll be a massive fucking failure. Complete disaster. You'll die screaming before you get within fifty feet of the objective.

"Well," Cassian said dryly, "So it's gonna be stealth and distractions…"

But his mind was already working through the tactical nightmare, discarding impossible options while looking for angles that might—might—give him a chance.

Direct assault is suicide. Something big enough to split their attention...

[The Eternal Wanderer]: That's good thinking. Information warfare can be as effective as raw power when properly applied.

[Keeper of Archives]: Oh! My sweet plum is thinking strategically! Using deception and misdirection! I'm so proud!

[The Demon of Red]: A true demon understands that fear is a weapon as potent as any blade. Perception shapes reality more than most mortals realize.

"Two pieces of information I can weaponize," Cassian said, counting on his fingers while his brain started connecting tactical dots. "One: there's a confirmed Destruction Truth wielder—me—that they think is part of enemy demon factions infiltrating their territory. Two: there's a human with Soulkeep abilities running around—also me, but they might not know that yet."

"And…"

[DING! GACHA PULL SEQUENCE COMPLETE]

[DING! ALL STANDARD AND DUNGEON EVENT WISHES PROCESSED]

[DING! 35 NEW CARDS ACQUIRED]

[DING! RESULTS READY FOR REVIEW]

Cassian stopped mid-thought, mid-step, mid-everything as the notification sounded.

The gacha pull was done.

Thirty five new cards waiting to be revealed.

Whatever fate—or the sadistic gods of random number generation—had decided to give him.

Cassian took a breath that tasted like ash and copper.

"Well," he said quietly to the empty air and the cosmic entities watching him like their favorite show, "let's see what fate decided to give me."

His hand moved toward the notification, fingers hesitating for just one heartbeat—

—before accepting the prompt.

Come on. Give me something. Anything. Just please, for once, let the RNG gods smile instead of laugh.

The cards completed thier rotation, light flaring bright enough to make him squint—

~~~

Next chapter will be updated first on this website. Come back and continue reading tomorrow, everyone!

If you find any errors ( broken links, non-standard content, etc.. ), Please let us know < report chapter > so we can fix it as soon as possible.