Steampunk: Sixth Era Epic - Chapter 17 - Steam Age College Fields of Study

Winner of the 2017 Joara Novel of The Year Contest-

In a world plagued by Morgellons, a deadly disease that turns humans into non-human creatures, people have chosen to abandon their humanity in order to fight against the bloodthirsty corpses. In the end, there will be no humans left on Earth.

But that harsh world is, in fact, a world fabricated merely for entertainment. A world for humans to live in exists neither inside nor outside.

This is the story of a boy who, while living a miserable life, stares at the stars as he desperately tries to keep his humanity.

For five years, I've lived the life of a failure. Smashing my hands against the wooden target in hopes of entering a meditative state; a necessary step to becoming a cultivator.For five years, I've faced nothing but disappointment, looks of pity, and meager attempts at encouragement.But everything has to come to an end. An end, that for me, became a new beginning!Circuits, wires, and capacitors? Or maybe spirit powder, Spricur crystals, and Qi gathering formations?In a world where cultivation is, for most, merely a hobby and the worlds of mysticism and science are divided, I shall be the one to craft a bridge between the two!Why rely on ancient arrays to harness dense Qi? Isn't it easier to buy one of my converters, plug it into the wall, and be done with it?Is your gaming console malfunctioning, yet no tech shop can find the cause? Have you tried this the exorcising swatter 3.0?And you! Yes, you, the one whose reflection appears on the screen on your phone once you block it! Why would you buy static figurines if you can come to my shop... And get your hands on waifus that will actively flirt with you?Come all ye troubled souls, and allow this God to craft a solution to all your problems!

“There is no god, only the echo of our fears, bound together in a symphony of false hope, woven to make this endless cycle of pain bearable... But I refuse to be just another note in their song. I will not be silenced to protect the gate you so desperately uphold. I don’t care for the blind masses; they are but shadows, moving without purpose. If I cannot run, I will walk. If I cannot walk, I will crawl. If I cannot crawl, I will roll. And if all that remains of me is a severed head, then I will still glare at you with the scorn of the relentless.”...In a world where Hunters fight to keep humanity safe from monstrous invasions, Timothy Walter is nothing more than an E-rank weakling, expendable, powerless, and barely surviving.That changes when a forgotten dungeon forces him into a deadly trial, awakening ancient rulers from across races.Bound to the weakest among them, he inherits a power unlike any other: “King Player.”Now, with a system that defies all logic, Timothy must carve his path, facing enemies both human and monstrous, as he ascends from the lowest depths to claim a throne none believed he could reach.