Infinite Skill-Cap

The "Infinite Skill-Cap" was supposed to be a gift. Instead, it became a digital tomb. Arthur has spent a decade chasing a ghost, his father, a brilliant programmer who vanished into the world's most ambitious neural simulation. When Arthur finally breaks through the firewall, he discovers a reality where human souls are rewritten into pure data and power is the only currency. Armed with the "Infinite Skill-Cap," a unique anomaly that allows for limitless growth, Arthur must navigate a decaying digital jungle and climb a spire of obsidian and code. But the higher he levels up, the more his humanity begins to fray. Every new skill is a piece of his memory erased; every stat boost is a step further from the boy he used to be. At the heart of the machine lies a terrifying truth: the system doesn't just want players, it wants a god to fuel its survival. To save his father, Arthur must decide if he is willing to become the ultimate monster, or if he has the strength to embrace the one thing the system can't calculate: the power to fail. Infinite Skill-Cap is a visceral blend of LitRPG, Cyberpunk, and Psychological Thriller that explores the dark side of digital immortality. Length: Approximately 11,500 words (Novelette).