Muffled voices drifted into Alex's mind like echoes through water.
"Where the hell did this boy come from?"
"I don't know! He just… appeared out of nowhere!"
"Check if he's breathing!"
Alex groaned softly. His body felt heavy, like he'd been buried under blankets of stone.
Where… am I?
The voices grew clearer as consciousness slowly returned.
"He's alive! Hey, kid, can you hear me?"
His eyelids fluttered open.
—And froze.
Above him stretched a crystal-clear sky, more vibrant than anything he'd ever seen. Lush green trees swayed in a gentle breeze, their leaves sparkling like emeralds beneath a golden sun. Strange birds with multicolored wings soared overhead, their melodic cries echoing through the air.
Alex sat up slowly, his breath catching in his throat.
This… isn't Earth.
Dozens of people surrounded him, dressed in fantasy-like clothing—tunics, cloaks, and armor that looked like they'd been plucked straight from a video game. Their faces were a mixture of curiosity and alarm.
"Are you alright, kid?" a broad-shouldered man asked, kneeling beside him.
"What happened to you? Did someone attack you?" another voice asked.
"How did you get here?" a young woman pressed, her eyes sharp with suspicion.
Alex's mouth opened, a dozen questions swirling in his head, but before he could speak—
RUMBLE.
The ground shuddered violently, knocking several people off their feet. Birds screamed and scattered into the sky as the earth split with a deafening roar.
"Earthquake?!" someone shouted.
Alex fell to his knees, clutching the trembling ground. His heart raced as cracks spiderwebbed across the grassy field.
Then, from the very center of the clearing, something began to rise.
A massive black structure emerged from the earth, shards of stone falling away as it grew higher and higher. The air grew cold, the sky dimming as though a storm was gathering overhead.
Gasps and screams erupted from the crowd.
"A tower… it's a tower!" a villager cried, stumbling backward in terror.
Alex's eyes widened. The tower stretched so high it seemed to pierce the heavens, its jagged spires glowing faintly with runic symbols that pulsed like a heartbeat.
The trembling stopped as suddenly as it had begun. For a moment, there was only silence.
And then a deep, resonant gong echoed from within the tower, shaking the very air.
[System Notification]
A glowing panel appeared before Alex's eyes.
[The First Tower has been awakened.]
[All chosen will now be summoned.]
Alex's breath caught.
Chosen? Summoned? What the hell does that mean?!
Before he could react, glowing magic circles flared beneath the feet of several people nearby. They screamed as they were dragged into the tower, disappearing in flashes of light.
And then, beneath Alex's feet, a circle appeared.
"No, no, no—wait!" he shouted, but it was too late.
The light swallowed him whole.
Light.
It was all Alex could see as he was swallowed whole by the glowing magic circle.
His stomach lurched like he was falling from a skyscraper. A roaring filled his ears, and then—
THUD!
He slammed onto a cold, stone floor. Groaning, he pushed himself up, blinking rapidly.
Where…?
His breath caught.
He stood in a vast, circular hall, so huge it felt endless. Towering pillars stretched up into darkness so high he couldn't see the ceiling. Faint blue runes glowed along the walls, pulsing like veins of light.
And he wasn't alone.
Dozens—no, hundreds of people were scattered around the hall, many groaning or shouting in confusion. Some wore armor or strange robes, others were clearly dressed like ordinary humans.
"Where are we?!"
"Someone tell me what's going on!"
Panic rippled through the crowd. Alex stumbled to his feet, his chest heaving.
First the car accident… then that voice… and now this?
Before anyone could make sense of it, the air vibrated with a deep, resonant hum.
DONG.
The sound was like a colossal bell, shaking the very bones of everyone present. Then a blinding golden light filled the hall, and a massive system panel appeared in the air, its glowing text visible to all.
[Welcome, Chosen.]
[You have been summoned to the Tower of Ascension.]
Silence fell instantly. Even the panicked screams died away.
The voice from before returned, now magnified a hundredfold, echoing from everywhere and nowhere at once. It wasn't a human voice—it was cold, mechanical, and terrifyingly precise.
[Clear the 99th floor of the tower… and you will be granted one wish.]
[Any wish.]
[Power. Wealth. Immortality. Resurrection.]
[Whatever your heart desires shall become reality.]
A stunned murmur swept through the crowd like wildfire.
"Did it just say any wish?!"
"Immortality…?"
"I can bring her back… I can finally—!"
The atmosphere shifted from fear to desperate greed.
Alex's stomach turned. A wish that can do anything? No way. There's always a catch.
He clenched his fists, forcing himself to stay calm while the others lost their heads.
[However…]
[Failure to climb will result in elimination.]
The word elimination flashed blood-red across the system panel.
"W-what does that mean?!" someone screamed.
As if in answer, a man near the edge of the hall suddenly vanished in a burst of red light, leaving only a scorch mark where he'd stood.
The crowd erupted into pure chaos.
"It kills you! Elimination means death!"
"We're trapped in here!"
Alex's heartbeat pounded like a war drum. So it's survive… or die.
[The first trial will begin in 60 seconds.]
[Climb… or perish.]
A massive countdown appeared in the air: 60… 59… 58…
Alex's breathing quickened.
Around him, people scrambled to prepare, some shouting orders, others weeping.
Alex muttered under his breath, "Damn it… this is insane. But if I want to live, there's only one choice."
He glared up at the glowing system panel, determination burning in his eyes as the countdown ticked lower.
10… 9… 8…
Survive first. Figure out the truth later.
3… 2… 1.
[Trial Start.]