The Tower is an enigmatic structure that one day appeared on Earth, moments before its destruction, saving the human race and preserving them in its walls as they took residency.
Yet such a place was cruel and unforgiving, as it bore a controlled amount of chaos, the disorder that would end everything, and the so-called worlds it destroyed upon its arrival.
In the end, death was inevitable, and the Tower had only halted what would have ultimately come. Yet this construct offered salvation in the form of power. Supernatural abilities unique to every soul, and yet it barely made them catch their breath
The power was certain, but whether it would be useful or not was unknown. With this gift, the race that took refuge climbed, seeking death to curry the attention of the tower, in exchange for wealth and resources.
As time passed, a few grew in power, led armies, and vanquished. Eldritch abominations, these select few came to be crowned as Sovereigns and etched their tale as the Tower's Monarchs.
"Dear Monarchs, please heed my prayer. Save me, in the depths of this floor. I beg of you, for what sin have I committed to be flung in this lawless pit, I have no treasure to offer except for my undying loyalty!!!"
A man in his prime pleaded for mercy, yet none had answered his call, a frail vessel, sloppy movement, with not a single saving grace of a quality, a bottom feeder that licked the shoe of his superiors. "Why? Did they push me aside? I wasn't a bother, I never complained, even when I got harassed physically and mentally, not once have I fought back."
Enter Kang Sei Jun, a "Talentless shite" as his superiors call him with a feeble body a weak mind and a useless power, he gained the moment he was given birth in this tower. Orphaned by the fact that his biological parents abandoned him moments after his ability was known, tossed aside to the slums of the lowest floor, and the only reason for his survival was that the residents weren't desperate enough to be cannibals. Lived to see his 20s by degrading himself and succeeding his adopted parents' ultimate technique and mastering the "Heavenly Ass Kisser" and all its subsequent techniques
"I guess I should be grateful that I managed to reach this age," As Kang Sei Jun mended his wounds, all due to the miracle that he doused himself in the monsters' feces to mask his scent.
"I knew I should have perfected the other Heavenly Pushover Arts. If I did, I wouldn't be here. Master Boot Licker, Mistress Boast, and Grandpa Groveler, Mother, Father... please forgive this prideful son of yours," Covered in feces and whatnot, it allowed this man to crawl his ass away from the den of the wolf spiders which the climber that he worked as a porter for had abandoned alongside himself.
"I should've heeded all of your words as you lot nagged me to continue. I thought being a Grand Unity Pushover was enough. I was too much of a fool and practiced until I reached "Ultimate Walkover" neither human nor insect-" A loud and frightening howl stopped him in his escape as well as shutting his mouth entirely as the beast that scared off his employers was waiting near the floor's exit.
"Hey, what gives? Why the hell is the hidden boss stationed at the exit? It's pretty much smooth sailing before that- Wait, why is it that my inside voice is rather loud- Oh shit I've out and done it, cuz this is my outside- Kyaaah!!!"
He screamed like a bitch as he managed to lose his crotch if not for the Red Wolf Spider's urgency to catch his prey as it leaped the distance but was off in its aim with the claws it drove nearly reaching his pants by a hair. This allowed Jun ample time to run the opposite way like a bitch, as the fiend retrieved its burrowed claws and began to make its pursuit on the feces covered cannon fodder. Yet, for how weak its target was, seeing as it hardly moved two meters away at max speed, it felt disappointed for how much of a free meal he was and contained its bone-chilling aura, resulting in the arrival of the bottom feeders of its kind to for an added challenge.
'Why hasn't the Red Wolf Spider come yet? With its usual strength alone, it could easily retrieve its claws and kill me the moment I blinked. Did it let me go? No, that's not the case. I guide Climbers here all the time. Don't tell me it got disappointed by its prey? Well, can't judge it. I am an easy meal. I heard about cases like these, but I scoff at them as a myth. Wait, that means it's bad news for me, the story always ends with the unfortunate victim being mauled by the wolf spiders. The chances of me surviving are if I outran them until big Red over here up and kills them and me right after,'
Kang Sei Jun's panicked mug began to change the moment he reached for his back pocket, and suddenly his eyes lit up.
The moment the eight-legged pack of wolves would sink their teeth into his flesh, an afterimage was found in place of his spot. For some reason, he came to be incredibly fast, as in that mere second he evaded, and returned a shallow kick, disorienting the beast.
"God damn it! I was saving this for my biggest break. But it's better than dying here in the rot, good thing I brought this book." As the wolves pounce on him, he dashes in response, all the while returning the favor by kicking them instead of using his knife.
[Tower Resident: Kang Sei Jun
Ability From Birth: Reader - The person who has this ability is pretty good at reading
Subsidiary Abilities:
• Photographic Memory: Every piece of literary work read is stored neatly and can be triggered by a phrase connected to the work
• Speed Reading: You can blitz through a literary work without breaking a sweat
• Immersion: Holding literary works that contain a main character, like a Novel, bedtime story, Journal, etc. It will allow the person who has this ability to gain their powers depending on the book's quality and the person's physique.
[Target of Immersion:
• A story about a petty supervillain that has Super Speed but is incredibly weak in terms of physical strength, making him look like a sadistic villain as he's known to only beat his enemies by repeatedly beating them with his hands and feet
• Quality: Abnoxious!!! The cover has been doodled, vandalized, and torn, while not being carefully maintained!!! FFF rating
• Borrowed Power: [Super Speed >SSS)]Due to the low rating, the Borrowed Power has been changed to [Super Speed (F)]
• Taboo: You can't use any weapon when attacking an opponent. Due to the low rating, the penalty if you break this rule; the immersion will end immediately
• Duration: The book's rating has been detected, immersion duration 1 minute.
'Good, I managed to lure Big Red to take me seriously. Not that I'm fast enough to outrun it, but this is enough for it to chase me,'
The moment Kang Sei Jun exhibited his newly gained speed, the eight-legged alpha of a wolf pounced in response. With a single leap not only did it traversed the area but also slaughtered and gave chase to its unusually agile meal. The floor suddenly trembled ever so slightly, but due to the two's insane chase, they hardly felt it as their feet left the ground before it even shook.
"This isn't good! I knew I'd be fast, but to think it's keeping its pace. I'm running out of steam. Think Jun, THINK!!!"
As their chase finally left both seeker and prey stricken with exhaustion the both felt the undeniable shaking of the ground. Sei Jun spots an opportunity as his gaze shifts to a rough and fragile flooring with just the right weight that would break. So he took the gamble, he lessened his speed to control his trajectory as he avoided the beast's claw with luck on his side.
[Duration: 5.49 seconds left]
"What's wrong? Is Big Red tired? I made myself slow, but why can't you catch me? Not that I'm fat shaming, but aren't you too thicc?" As he uttered those words, paired with a deceitful grin, he gazed at the wolf
"Awooooo!!!" It remained still and unfazed until it ultimately leaped for the kill
[Duration: 4.17 seconds left]
"I hope this works!" He evades its claws, and just like before, he tries to channel the power as the information of the book has been ingrained within him
"Graaaaahhhh!!!" The beast had raised its jaws certain for the kill, but in that small frame of seconds, it suddenly felt pressured
[Duration: 3.59 seconds left]
[Duration: 2.41 seconds left]
[Duration: 1.01 seconds left]
"Jackpot!!!" Sei Jun came to be incredibly fast that everything paused for a moment, and the milliseconds in his perception felt no difference from hours
[Duration: 0.59 seconds left]
"Get ready, chewy, it's time to hyper jump!!!" He grabbed hold of the hidden boss's mane and, with his remaining time, he charged up for one final stride
"This is gonna hurt, I know it will."
In what may be considered a speed faster than light, he dragged himself alongside a much bigger being to unstable flooring. As time resumed, the trajectory as well as the speed of the wolf spider remained the same as before they blinked. The monster fell to the unstable flooring, whereas the feces-stained mortal faced an incredible dosage of pain.
"Aaaaaaah, it burns!!! It burns!!!! Kill me instead!!!!! I beg thee!!!!!! SMITE ME!!!!!!!"
What Kang Sei Jun was experiencing was the damage he had done to himself by using a power too great for his body. The energy he spent moving that huge, hulking thing in a flash was now puncturing every muscle of his body as he breathed. Normally, he wouldn't be able to do so except for the fact that he entered a speed where even his sense of pain was slowed down, and he bulldozed his way to dragging that wolf.
"Super Speed my ass. What's so good about being fast when it hurts so much? I knew this book was good, it's such a waste."
As Sei Jun regrets his use of the book, seeing as it fades away the moment he uses it, he wondered if he just ran to the exit. He would escape, but this floor had dangers lurking everywhere, and he'd just be leaving the wolf spider den. There's also the fact that his lack of strength meant that if he didn't time his cooldown correctly and had one millisecond more, he'd be a red paste on the wall.
'Although I'm weak, with the speed I was going, the momentum could easily kill me if I hit a wall, I would break it, but myself included. Gaining that speed and how to use it wasn't the only thing I gained, but the principles and theories behind it. But as if that information would come in handy, well, this has been a horrible experience, I'll just live the rest of my life as a pushover, thank you very much-'
"Aaaaaahh! Too soon!! I fucking jinxed it!!!" As he stood up to leave the den, the flooring on which he stood broke as another tremor hit, resulting in his fall.
'Welp, thats about it, my whole life in one sitting, I can't believe I made it this far for how much I fumbled every chance. I kid you not, I was even called Fumgor the great, for how much I messed up, as I would've gotten laid dozens of times? Was she beautiful, wasn't the answer, but was she a person? Or even a living being for that matter, if this were a novel, then my whole story had ended in a single chapter,'
Although, as Luck has it, this wasn't his final moment, as a miracle came in the form of a tragedy, a very tragic moment. "I'm alive? My crotch broke the fall, thank god? It's not like I ever used it, so I'm not attached at all, hahaha get it? Cuz it's chopped off-"
"Aghhhh!!! Oh, it's just a nightmare? Did I really fell? The fall looks so deep, but my limbs are all intact, what gives?"
In cold sweat, he arose from his nightmare to find himself in a peculiar room, with the interior design being a luxurious bed. Till he realized it's a tomb, but he didn't correct himself, instead of eyeing the nearest exit, as if he had forgotten that the beast lay here as well. It seems greed was known to the poor, even though their the most content they could ever be, except for a hippie.
"Is this a Monarch's tomb? Oh golly, is this Gough B. Rouger's tomb? If you want my treasure, then find it. I left it in my tomb!!!"
He rummaged through the debris, but after all that time and hours wasted, he only caught wind of a book near the bones of its owner. "What the hell is this? A Diary? Who the hell wrote a Diary? This must have dated back to the 2025 era of humans."
As Kang Sei Jun opens the book, he suddenly feels it contract as the small book suddenly gains thousands of sheets neatly intertwined. The fact that this mere Diary had space distortion magic impaired on it meant this Monarch was loaded. He opens and reads the first chapter only to find a writing that's bizarre in its neat pacing and style that reads.
"Tough luck, pal, I already got everything here. Got tired of finding and breaking the core. Oh, well, have the Monarch's Diary," Rage fills Kang Sei Jun to the brim, but he then heard a familiar voice and met the gaze of the Red wolf spider.
"Awwoooo!!!" It lunges at him, and in terror, his body instinctively reacts to activate his skill, and he immerses himself in the book
[Target of Immersion:
• Entry one
Earth's fucked. The sky cracked, the ground bled, and right when extinction kissed us on the lips, a tower taller than logic swallowed what was left of humanity. Now we live inside it. It feeds us scraps of power, whispers promises of glory, and urges us to climb. So I did.
That day, my flame awakened—The Undying Flame. It burned the monsters clawing at my throat… and also a guy who called me a "Loser."
His name is Ash. Not that I knew him well, but the fact thats all he is as of now. I regret nothing.]
"Huh, what the hell just happened?"
For a second, he saw a horrific beast, and after, it disappeared, the diary in his possession was unaffected by his power. He spots the huge beast lying on the ground with its body burnt to a crisp and his hand covered in undying black flame. Suddenly, he felt pain more excruciating than what he experienced before was quite tolerable, and felt the context of the book.
"This Monarch is so petty!!!"
[Summary: A diary of a Monarch who'd kill anyone for the pettiest of reasons, wants to kill his Monarch friends over something they were at fault for, tried doing so but died in the process]