Chapter 252 - New Era

After having accepted the offer to be transported to heaven to enter the contest to become the new emperor to heaven, Julius had gone into slumber for what felt like aeons. However he had only spent about a thousand years in that dream like star as he awaited for the remaining contestants. However after so many years having gone by, Julius awakened one day with a yawn just like everyone else that was there as they all awakened out of their capsules on a grass field which disappeared into nothingness when they awoke from their slumber.

Once everyone had gotten on their feet, they all heard the footsteps of a figure approaching them with a smile on his face. 

"Greetings everyone. You have all been summoned here to take part in the new heaven emperor contest. As you may have heard, our previous emperor is no longer with us and we seek a new leader to help us lead our lives. This is where you all come into play," said the figure that had greeted them, which was a tall skinny man that wore a royal robe.

Of course hearing this, all of the competitors had a single question I mind.

"If you need a new emperor, why not have one of your own compete for the position instead of dragging us here?" one of the contenders asked, which made the man that was speaking have a sinister grin on his face.

"But you see, we already do have people from this realm of existence competing for this position. There were only about a hundred thousand of you and nearly 10 million from our plane of existence," said the man with a sinister grin.

"If you already have them, why bother calling on us? By the way you're talking, you're saying that your people are better than us so it makes no sense to go through the trouble of summoning is here," another contestant.

"Well the answer to that is really quite simple, we summoned you here to toy with your kind. You from the human realm are nothing but insects to us. So we thought to have a little fun with you while you're here," said the figure before laughing.

"So you're saying that you challenged us even though your people have an advantage since you know how this place works," said another contestant.

"Yes, that's exactly what I'm saying. You may think that it's cheating or playing dirty but none of us care. I mean after all, why would we care about the opinions of people so much lower than us?" said the figure while laughing.

...

"So how does this contest work?" said Julius as he didn't need to waste anymore time asking questions which wouldn't change the outcome of anything. As such, he decided to ask the questions that really mattered, which was how he was going to win.

"Oh wow, well it seems one of you is adapting to your sad conditions already. Anyway, this is how things are going to work. Right now, all of you are relatively the same in comparison to each other. You're about the same strength and have the same speed and durability. The only thing that differs is your intelligence. The contest is to determine the person who will become the emperor of heaven. As such, the task at hand is rather a difficult one. That being that you will all be given a watch that tracks your progress. Right now, you are all at level 1. The goal is to reach level 100 first. Whoever does this becomes the emperor of heaven. Just so you know how futile your situation is, know that our people have studied ways to increase their levels thier while lives. They'll easily surpass you and they'll take their rightful place as the ruler of heaven. As for you, you can helplessly struggle to achieve that goal," said the figure before snapping his fingers which placed a watch that acted as a level tracker for everyone.

"Now, without further ado, let the contest begin!" said the figure to which everyone began to run in all directions. They didn't know where they needed to go but they thought that it was better than standing around. However Julius had other plans. 

"Hey there, I was just wondering, is it okay if I ask you a couple questions?" Julius asked as he wanted to see if he could get the figure that stood in front of him to say anything helpful.

"Huh? You're not running around like your competitors? It seems like you already gave up then, so sure," said the man that had given the introduction speech.

"Does becoming the ruler of heaven allow one to travel to the lower dimension as well?" Julius asked.

"Well ya but it's been about a thousand years since you left your planet and ascended to this plane of existence so anyone you knew is dead and even their bones have probably decayed by now," said the man to which Julius grit his teeth as he couldn't allow himself to show weakness.

"But if a person somehow becomes the emperor of heaven, they could warp space and time in the lower realm though, right?" Julius asked as he never had been so worried for something.

"Yes technically but even so, what's the point when you rule heaven. You can have anything and everything you ever wanted. Not that it matters to you, you already lost," said the man who made fun of Julius for sticking around instead of rushing to increase his level.

"Okay then whatever. I guess I give up. Just wondering though, since the human realm takes inspiration from heaven, this place also has dungeons right?" Julius asked to which the man nodded.

"Well thank you so much. That's all I needed to hear. I'll be taking my leave now," said Julius and before letting the man even react, he tried to do something which he didn't know would work.

"Duke Drake, are you still there?" Julius asked.