When the light faded, Soji found himself standing on a wide, circular platform of black stone, suspended in an endless fog. There were no walls, no ceiling—just the eerie quiet and the steady pulse of glowing runes beneath his feet and ruined structures.
He was inside the Tower now.
No crowd. No other climbers. Just him.
Alone...
As he walked around suddenly a message popped up. Along with the system's voice.
[TRIAL ONE: PROOF OF ENTRY INITIATED.]
The voice of the tower system echoed within his mind, mechanical yet ancient.
[OBJECTIVE: SURVIVE UNTIL THE GATE OPENS.]
[TIME LIMIT: 1800 SECONDS.]
Soji blinked and Alerted. "Wait—survive what?!"
The answer came as a low growl from the mist.
Something moved at the edge of vision—lumbering, hulking, wrong. Then it emerged: a six-legged wolf-like beast, twice the size of a horse, built from charred bone and veined with molten iron. Fire licked from between its ribs. Its eyes burned with hatred.
"Nope. No. No thank you," Soji muttered, backing away instinctively.
The creature charged.
He barely dodged in time, the beast's claws gouging long trenches into the stone. It turned instantly, snapping at him with slavering jaws. He ducked behind a broken pillar, breathing hard.
[WARNING: NO COMBAT SKILLS DETECTED.]
[NO MANA SIGNATURE PRESENT.]
[DEFENSE RATING: CRITICAL.]
Soji threw a chunk of rubble to distract it. It barely noticed. The beast charged at him and Soji braced for running.
The next twenty minutes were agony.
He ran, dove, scrambled. Used the ruins on the platform for cover. Once, the creature slammed him into a wall hard enough to crack a rib. Blood trickled from his mouth. He couldn't breathe properly, couldn't think. His limbs screamed for rest, but he couldn't stop.
Because stopping meant dying.
At one point, he crawled beneath a collapsed archway too small for the beast to enter. It clawed at him through the gap, roaring, shaking the entire structure. He bit down on his fist to keep from screaming, curled up as stones fell around him.
Time crawled. He lost track of it entirely.
By the time the system voice returned, he couldn't even react.
[TRIAL COMPLETE.]
[GATE UNLOCKED.]
The beast suddenly froze, snarled once more, and vanished into smoke.
Soji collapsed onto the stone, trembling. His arms wouldn't move. Blood soaked his side. His head throbbed. Every breath felt like knives cutting his lungs. But he was alive.
Barely...
As Soji got up limping bruised finding a place to rest the interface pops op.
[REWARD GRANTED — RANDOM SKILL ROLL INITIATED.]
Three glowing cards appeared above him. A yellow, purple, and green card. Then it revealed its contents. It's an ability card.
[SKILL 1: ASTEROID RAIN — LEGENDARY (ACTIVE)]
Call down a barrage of molten asteroids from the sky. Insane extreme destruction. Very High mana cost. (Long Cool down)
[SKILL 2: CONJURE BARRIER — EPIC (ACTIVE)]
Summon a magical barrier to block incoming attacks. Duration and strength scale with willpower. Short Mana Costs. (No Cool down)
[SKILL 3: PHYSICAL ENHANCEMENT — UNCOMMON (PASSIVE)]
Boosts all physical stats by 30%. Constant passive effect.
Soji stared at them, wheezing. Barely being able to breath.
Asteroid Rain looked incredible. Devastating, divine even. But he didn't even know how to cast anything. Did he have mana? Did he even know how to use a skill?
Barrier seemed smarter. Defensive. Life-saving. But again—what if it needed perfect timing? What if he fumbled? And it scales with strength and willpower on which Soji is low at.
His gaze settled on the passive.
No activation. No thought. Just… stronger. More durable. Better.
"I don't care about flash," he whispered. "I just want to live."
He touched the third card.
[ WOULD YOU LIKE TO PICK THIS CARD? ]
[ YES ] | [ NO ]
Soji pressed the button [ YES ]
[PHYSICAL ENHANCEMENT (PASSIVE) ACQUIRED.]
Warmth flooded his battered body—not healing him, not fixing the wounds, but giving his muscles just enough tension. His vision sharpened. His breathing eased.
For the first time since entering the Tower, he felt just a little more than helpless.
Just a little.
And right now, that was everything.
Soji staggered to his feet and limped toward a rock to rest. His first trial was over he didn't win. But atleast he survived.
Suddenly a familiar chime echoed through his skull. It was the system.
[SYSTEM ANALYSIS COMPLETE.]
[TRIAL 1 PERFORMANCE EVALUATED.]
[STATS:
— OFFENSIVE CONTRIBUTION: 1%
— DAMAGE SUSTAINED: 87%
— TACTICAL EFFICIENCY: MINIMAL
— SURVIVAL TIME: FULL DURATION]
[OVERALL RANK: G]
The letters burned themselves into the air in front of him, large and unmistakable.
Soji stared at the interface, expression unreadable.
"G... huh? Heh... " He said with a weary sigh.
He wanted to laugh. He really did. But all he could manage was a cough and a half-smile as blood dripped from his chin.
"Guess I passed the world's hardest PE class with a mercy grade." Coughing blood.
[SYSTEM REWARD ALLOCATION COMPLETE.]
[REWARD GRANTED: x1 Lesser Vitality Elixir.]
A small vial of crimson liquid materialized before Soji, hovering just above his outstretched hand. It pulsed faintly with warmth, like a living ember caught in glass.
He stared at it, eyebrows furrowing. "Seriously? That's it?"
The glowing label shifted into view:
[Lesser Vitality Elixir – Instantly restores minor physical wounds and stabilizes vital functions.]
Soji didn't waste time. He pulled the cork and drank it in a single swig.
The taste surprised him—sweet, almost like artificial strawberry syrup. It soothed his parched throat, and for the first time since stepping into the Tower, he didn't feel like death breathing down his neck.
A comforting warmth bloomed in his chest, spreading through his battered body. The sharpest pains in his ribs faded. His torn muscles twitched and mended, bones realigning with faint pops beneath his skin. The deeper wounds remained, throbbing beneath the surface, but he could breathe again without wincing.
"Still hurts like hell," he muttered, testing his shoulder with a slow roll. It protested, but not as violently.
He took a trembling step forward. Then another.
The Tower had given him just enough to stand. No more.
A low hum vibrated through the air as a portal shimmered into existence ahead, swirling like liquid glass framed by jagged stone.
Soji stared at it. His throat tightened.
"There it is..." he breathed. "Second trial. I might actually die in there."
He hesitated. A flicker of doubt gnawed at the edges of his mind. But then another thought crept in.
Wait... doesn't the Tower have a system?
He glanced around, eyes scanning the empty chamber, then looked up at the unseen sky. "Hey. System. Whatever you are. Are you just gonna throw me in again without even explaining how this works?"
Silence. No response.
Then—ding.
A familiar chime echoed softly in his skull.
A system screen blinked into existence before him, its digital surface humming with faint energy.
[Challenger Status: Soji Takashi]
Rank: G
Title: None
Race: Human
Condition: Stable (Wounded)
Passive Skill:
Physical Enhancement (Uncommon)
– Increases STR, DEX, and CON by 30%
Base Stats:
STR: 2 → 2.6
DEX: 2 → 2.6
CON: 3 → 3.9
INT: 6
LCK: 0
Soji stared blankly. For a few seconds.
"...You've got to be kidding me." He scrolled through the numbers again, hoping the glowing digits might shift—recalculate—do anything.
Nope.
Still sucked.
LCK: 0
He ran a hand down his face. "Zero luck. Literal zero. Not even a pity point?"
He squinted closer. "What kind of system shows you your own mediocrity like it's some kind of achievement?"
The stat screen didn't answer. It just hovered, indifferent, like a smug digital judge.
He rubbed his chest where the healing warmth had faded, aches returning like ghosts. "STR two point six... DEX two point six... Great. I can't hit hard, can't dodge, and I'm one good kick away from folding like a lawn chair."
He paused. "At least my INT is decent, I guess?"
He glanced at the '6' and raised an eyebrow.
"...For a guy who willingly walked into a death tower with zero combat skills? Yeah, real genius move, Soji."
He sighed, closing the screen with a flick of his hand. The numbers vanished, but the weight of them lingered like lead.
For a long moment, he just stood there, staring at the swirling portal ahead.
"Guess I should be grateful," he muttered. "Still breathing. Still standing."
His fingers clenched. The raw memory of the wolf's jaws snapping inches from his face still made his skin crawl.
"I didn't beat it. I just… survived."
He took a shaky breath. "And I'm betting the Tower won't let me do that twice."
The portal shimmered again, casting flickering light across his battered form.
Soji squared his shoulders, ignoring the pain in his joints.
"If I'm gonna die in there," he whispered, voice low, "I'm dragging my stats up with me. Even if it kills me."
And with that, he stepped toward the portal.
"Welp I'm finally out from THE FIRST TRIAL."