Max stared at the glowing system screen, the blue light dancing in his eyes.
He blinked. Twice.
Then leaned in, rubbing his chin as thoughts flooded his mind.
"Alright, System... what exactly can you do?" he mumbled, eyes narrowing at the floating interface like it might suddenly spill secrets.
[There are many functions, Host.]
The screen shifted. New windows opened one by one, smooth and seamless. Each description lit up in neat lines, like magic come to life.
Construct Tower Defenses: Build magical and mechanical towers to guard your land. Each tower has unique abilities fire-based AoE blasts, long range snipers, energy barriers, healing zones, and more.
Upgrade & Evolve Structures: Use resources to upgrade towers into powerful, advanced defenses. Some may even gain intelligence at higher levels.
System Store: Buy anything from towers, skills, blueprints, gear, power ups, to special items and knowledge.
System Inventory: 100 slots. Each slot can hold 100 of the same item. Different items use separate slots.
Max raised his eyebrows.
That's coool.
All the features as he had expected wait~
"I even have a store? Of course, I do. How else would I get all this stuff?" He scrolled further, eyes widening. "Wait… skills? Power ups? Knowledge? This isn't just a tower defense game. This is… a full package."
His heart thumped harder. This wasn't just about building towers. This was a full-blown survival and domination toolkit.
But then one important question popped up.
"System," he asked carefully, "what's the currency? And how do I earn it?"
If it was some nonsense like earning one point per impossible task, he was already doomed.
The familiar chime echoed.
[Primary Currency: Gold Coins]
Method of Earning:
Killing Monsters
Completing System Contracts
Selling Loot, Blueprints, Resources
Conversion:
Real Gold → System Gold (1:1)
System Gold → Real Gold
Note: Gold is the core of your survival and progress.
Max let out a breath he didn't know he was holding.
"Okay… that's actually good. I can work with that." He gave a slow nod. "Gold is simple. Gold is honest."
Still, a shadow crossed his face.
If he hadn't been cast out… if he still had the Boneblade name behind him, the influence, the vaults full of resources he could've bought an army's worth of defenses by now.
But that was gone.
All of it.
He clenched his fists for a second. Then relaxed.
Doesn't matter. I've got the system now. That's more than anyone else in this city.
He turned toward the frost covered window. The outside world was white and silent, but he could feel it… the forest beyond the city, already shifting, already watching.
Tomorrow, the monsters come.
He could almost hear them in his head snarls, claws tearing through snow, jaws snapping.
But now, he wasn't just a weak prince.
Now… he had a chance. Maybe
He looked back at the glowing screen, cracking his knuckles.
"So… a tower defense game, huh?" he whispered. "Then let's build a fortress they'll never break."
Just as the thought settled, a loud BANG!
The door slammed open.
Max jumped.
A tall guy in his twenties walked in, not bothering to knock. He had short green hair, eyes like emerald glass, and a sharp, handsome face that looked permanently annoyed.
"Boy, I think you better apologize to everyone before they shove a bamboo stick up your ass and tie you to the front gate as monster bait."
Max blinked, then squinted at the guy.
"…Togi?"
He racked his brain for the memory. Right Togi Fisher. A magic knight sent by his mother to watch over him. Trusted, but... maybe more like a spy. Either way, Max didn't care right now.
Togi frowned at the strange way Max reacted to him, but the disgust in his eyes didn't change.
"Apologize?" Max sighed. "Alright, let's go. Not like I've got a better plan. And I don't think sticking me out front with a bamboo stick will scare any monsters off."
Togi stopped in his tracks, visibly surprised.
"…Really?" he asked, blinking. The spoiled idiot was actually agreeing?
Still, he kept his guard up, walking behind Max with suspicious eyes.
If he tries to run, I swear I'll knock him out and tie him up myself, Togi thought grimly. Because of this idiot, thousands might die.
He clenched his fists at the thought.
Politics. One mistake and a city burns.
Still, he couldn't help himself.
"You're underestimating yourself, though," Togi muttered just loud enough. "With that ugly face of yours, there's a real chance the monsters will kill themselves after seeing you. If not, they'll at least turn back in disgust."
Max almost tripped right there.
"Wow. Thanks. That's comforting," he grumbled as they walked down the hall.
The cold wind slapped Max's face the moment he stepped out of the building. His coat flapped around his legs as the snow crunched under his boots. The sky above was dull and gray, stretching like a dead sheet over the city, casting everything in a lifeless shadow.
Behind him, Togi followed silently. His arms were crossed, and his sharp green eyes were scanning everything, like he expected trouble at any second.
They didn't speak. But Max's eyes moved constantly taking in the worn-out city around him.
The place looked tired.
Old stone walls cracked with time. Wooden signs that creaked with each gust of wind. Buildings patched up with anything people could find. It wasn't pretty. But it was still standing somehow.
Each step Max took felt heavier than the last. His chest grew tight as the sound of shouting reached his ears. Angry voices. Loud and Harsh.
He knew what was coming.
And honestly, he couldn't blame them.
They turned the corner, and the noise got louder. The crowd was just up ahead.
This world… it wasn't a kind place.
It was ruled by power nothing else.
Magic wasn't rare. It was everywhere, flowing in bloodlines. Some people could summon firestorms, others could turn the clouds into frozen death and drop it from the sky. Swordmasters bragged they could slice an entire kingdom in half with one swing. And some even combined magic with crude technology basic machines run by mana, herbs turned into powerful medicine with a little enchantment.
Not futuristic. Not sleek or polished. But still… powerful for what this world had.
Power wasn't something special here. It was something you needed.
Beyond the big empires, outside the protection of nobles and armies, it was chaos. Twisted forests full of beasts, deserts crawling with the undead, cursed lands where even magic refused to work. If you weren't strong you didn't survive. You didn't matter.
And this city was no exception.
Max was walking straight into it now. Into the fire.
The city square came into view.
It was full.
Hundreds of people packed tightly together. Men, women, old folks wrapped in rags, children holding their mother's hands. All of them standing in the snow, all staring at him.
Their faces were angry. Tired. Some had tears in their eyes. Others just clenched their fists or muttered under their breath.
Then it started.
Splat.
A tomato exploded near his feet.
Splat! Splat!
Rotten eggs. One hit his boot. Another splattered on his coat.
"Because of you, we're all going to die!"
"You should be the first one tied to the gate!"
"Monster bait!"
Alex didn't stop. He just sighed.
He stood there, letting it all sink in the shouting, the hate, the pain in their voices.
And deep down he didn't argue with any of it.
He understood.
If this had happened in his old world, his face would be on every screen. News reports in every country. Talk shows, headlines, online hate. He would've been everywhere for all the wrong reasons.
But this wasn't just media drama. This was real fear.
Real desperation.
He didn't cover his face. Not that he could.
He walked through the center of the crowd, step by step. Slowly, he tried to raise his head, tried to look at them. But he couldn't. His chin dipped again. Not because of guilt at least not his own but because something in him refused to meet their eyes.
This wasn't his fault.
Not really.
It was the fault of the man whose body he now lived in.
But that didn't matter.
To them, he was that man.
Thud.
A snowball slammed into his side. Then another.
Someone threw a shoe. The heel clipped his leg.
"Look at him! He's smiling! Bastard thinks this is funny!"
He wasn't smiling.
Not really.
His lips were tight, forced into a small, pained line. His eyes were tired maybe sad.
But maybe to them, it looked smug. Maybe it looked like he thought he was above them.
The truth?
He didn't know how to react.
His heart was racing. His skin tingled from the cold and the tension in the air. Dozens hundreds of people were staring at him, blaming him, shouting.
His body didn't know what to do.
So it smiled. That small, awkward half-smile. A defense mechanism from a past life.
Alex had always been like this.
No matter how bad things got, he smiled.
A broken, uncomfortable smile. Like it could hold everything together.
But here, that smile only made things worse.
Togi walked behind him, silent. His hand hovered near his sword. Eyes cold. Muscles tense.
He leaned in close and muttered under his breath. "Say the word, Your Highness. I'll shut them all up."
Togi hated him. That much was obvious. He probably dreamed of running him through.
But Togi had taken an oath. And oath was oath.
Even if he despised the man he was sworn to protect, he couldn't let Alex die.
Or be disrespected.
"No," Max said quietly.
His voice was soft. Barely louder than the wind.
"They have the right to be angry."
Max was surprised by his own words.
What was he even doing here? Did he really come just to apologize?
Another egg hit him, square in the chest.
The yolk and filth oozed down his coat.
He didn't wipe it away.
Didn't flinch.
Something in his mind told him: You deserve this.
Even if he didn't.
Even if he didn't understand what exactly had happened.
Something inside whispered: Take it. Own it.
So he stood there.
Still.
In the middle of the square.
Everyone stared at him now.
Some filled with rage.
Some clinging to the tiniest shred of hope that maybe, just maybe, he'd say something that could change things.
Maybe he'd beg forgiveness. Maybe he'd speak to the Emperor.
Maybe he'd do something.
Even though deep down, they all knew nothing could really save them now.
Max slowly turned his head.
He looked at their faces.
Mothers holding babies, eyes sunken from no sleep.
Old men leaning on canes, worn and tired.
Hunters with weathered coats and scars that spoke of a thousand battles.
Kids with cracked lips and frostbitten fingers, peeking out from behind legs, too young to understand, too cold to feel safe.
All of them would die tomorrow.
Unless something changed.
His fists tightened.
Not in anger.
In resolve.
He drew in a slow breath. Just enough to steady his voice.
And then
He opened his mouth to speak.
---