My Cruel Awakening

Kane Holloway died alone in his apartment. Then he woke up seven years later, aching, hungry, and lying on a park bench. At first, he thought he’d somehow been given another chance at his old life. Then he saw what had happened to Earth while he was gone. Rifts had opened. Monsters had come through. Some people had Awakened and gained powers Kane used to dream about. He wanted those powers too. There was just one problem: to get them, he had to enter a Tutorial Tower that killed countless people every year. Kane had no training and barely enough money to prepare. Once inside, he couldn’t afford to rush at every threat and hope a Skill would save him. He had to pay attention, work with what he found, and figure out what the Tower wanted before it killed him. Other candidates had their own plans. Kane had no intention of dying for any of them. For the first time in years, a life he wanted, seemed possible. He just had to survive long enough to claim it. What to expect— ⚔️ Dark LitRPG progression on an Earth transformed by Rifts and monsters. 🏰 A deadly Tutorial Tower with dangers Kane has to learn to understand. 📈 Classes, Affinities, Skills, and power earned through difficult choices. 🧠 A protagonist who observes, prepares, improvises—and puts his survival first. ❓ Questions about Kane’s return that grow more troubling as the System takes notice. New chapter every week on Royal Road.