If someone told me a week ago that I'd die in a car crash, wake up in a blue void, and get kidnapped by some cosmic game master…
I would've laughed in their face.
Yet here I am, standing in a stone hall bigger than a football stadium, surrounded by terrified strangers, while a giant glowing panel tells us to climb a magic tower or die trying.
…Yeah. I'm not laughing now.
My name's Alex Carter.
Twenty-four years old.
College dropout.
Ordinary guy, nothing special about me—unless you count my bad luck streak, which could probably be classified as legendary.
Before all this, my life was… well, let's just say it wasn't exactly a fairy tale. My parents died when I was young, so I grew up scraping by with part-time jobs. I wanted to be a game designer once, but reality crushed that dream fast. Rent, bills, endless work shifts—those things don't wait for your passions to catch up.
And just when I thought things couldn't get worse, fate decided to throw me under a literal truck.
Thanks, universe. Real funny.
When that strange voice asked me if I wanted to live, I almost said yes right away. I mean, who wouldn't?
But here's the thing: nobody gives something for free.
Every deal has a price. Every favor has strings attached.
Maybe it's because I've been burned too many times back on Earth, but the moment I saw that glowing panel, alarms went off in my head.
That's why I pressed "No."
…Not that it mattered. The system decided for me anyway.
And now I'm here, trapped in some death game with a bunch of strangers, being told that if we clear ninety-nine floors, we'll get a wish that can do anything.
Sounds like the ultimate prize, right?
Yeah. I don't buy it for a second.
Wishes like that never come without a catch. Maybe the "prize" is worse than death. Maybe this entire tower is just one big experiment to see how far we'll go for power.
But even if I don't trust it, one thing's clear:
If I want to survive, I have to climb.
I can think about the truth later.
The glowing countdown above the hall ticked lower. 15… 14… 13…
I clenched my fists, forcing my breathing to steady.
Stay calm, Alex. Observe, adapt, survive.
My heart was pounding so hard it felt like it would explode, but I couldn't let fear control me.
Because if I panic here… I'm already dead.
3… 2… 1.
Here we go.
[Trial Start.]
If I had to describe the start of our climb in one word, it would be hope.
Visuals flash across my mind, like fragments of another life.
A massive group of people stood in the tower's grand hall, eyes blazing with determination.
"If we just climb together, we'll make it to the top!" someone shouted.
Back then, we all believed it. Even me.
We thought this was just like a game—fight some monsters, clear some floors, and eventually claim our wish.
But the first trial… tore that illusion apart.
The memory shifts violently.
Screams echo through blood-soaked halls. Flames roar as grotesque creatures with too many limbs tear people apart.
"AHHHHHH!"
"RUN!"
The stench of death was everywhere.
That floor wasn't just difficult—it was hell itself.
Even I thought I would die there.
Maybe I should've died there.
But I'm not the kind of person who gives up on life after getting a second chance.
Even as people fell around me, I fought. Clawed. Survived.
Somehow, through sheer desperation, we cleared the first trial.
When the announcement came, we all collapsed in exhaustion, laughing and crying at the same time.
[Trial Cleared!]
[Rewards Distributed!]
Glowing light descended upon us, healing our wounds. Strange weapons appeared in our hands. Strength surged through our bodies.
Skills. Items. Power.
For the first time since being dragged into this nightmare, we had hope again.
Maybe—just maybe—we really could climb to the top and make a wish.
And so we climbed.
Floor after floor, trial after trial.
Every level was a battlefield.
And with every level, people died.
Their screams still haunt me.
At first, we tried to stay united as one large group. But chaos tore us apart. Fear, greed, and desperation drove people to form teams for survival.
We did the same.
Me, Martin, Maya, Ash, Johan, Alden, and Roy.
Seven people who trusted each other with our lives.
We were strong. The best.
And because of that, we kept surviving.
Then came floor 50.
At first, clearing it felt like a miracle—until we saw the reward.
A single, glowing stone floating in the air, radiating warmth and peace.
[Reincarnation Stone Acquired.]
[Using this item will allow one to be reborn in another world. You will be free from the tower forever.]
The room went silent.
People stared at the stone with trembling hands, tears streaming down their faces.
"We… we can leave?" someone whispered.
And then chaos erupted.
Many didn't hesitate. They seized the stone, crying in relief as their bodies dissolved into light, escaping this hell forever.
I couldn't blame them.
But me and my team… we made a vow.
That no matter what, we would reach the top together and claim our wish.
We didn't want to run. We didn't want to surrender.
So we kept climbing.
By the time we reached floor 70, only seven of us remained.
Everyone else was gone—either dead or reincarnated somewhere far away.
Just us against the tower.
Me. Martin. Maya. Ash. Johan. Alden. Roy.
My family. My friends.
My everything.
And then… floor 75 shattered that bond.
The trial had barely ended. We were bloodied, exhausted, and standing among the corpses of monsters we'd barely managed to defeat.
That's when Maya—our healer, our heart—stepped forward, tears glistening in her eyes.
"I'm… I'm sorry, everyone," she whispered.
My head snapped toward her, confused. "Maya? What are you—?"
She clenched her fists, trembling.
"I can't… I can't keep doing this! I don't want to die here!"
Her voice cracked, raw with terror.
"I'm abandoning you all here. I'm really, really sorry."
A glowing reincarnation stone appeared in her hand.
"Maya, wait!" Martin shouted, reaching toward her. "We're almost there! We need you!"
She sobbed, shaking her head.
"I can't! I don't care about wishes anymore—I just… I just want to live!"
Before any of us could stop her, she crushed the stone.
Her body dissolved into shimmering light.
And then… she was gone.
Just like that.
I stood there, frozen, staring at the spot where Maya had been moments ago.
My hands trembled. My throat felt tight, like I couldn't breathe.
First we lost everyone else… now her too?
But there was no time to grieve. No time to break down.
Because if we stopped moving forward…
The tower would consume us too.
So I swallowed the pain, forced my body to stand, and turned toward my remaining teammates.
"We keep going," I said, my voice hoarse but firm.
"For Maya. For everyone we've lost."
My fists clenched tight.
We will reach the top.
No matter what it takes.