Prologue. Who Is Threatening To Climb The Tower?
[Stage Perfect Clear.]
Gasping for breath, I wiped the blood from my cheek with my sleeve, as the familiar message appeared before my eyes.
[A few Constellations are astonished by your record.]
[Constellations of the combat type find your way of fighting interesting.]
As always, as soon as I cleared the stage of the tower, the messages from the Constellations popped up in the air.
And as if on cue, a portal of blue light began to materialize out of thin air.
A clear signal of victory for clearing a stage of the tower.
But I always felt particularly uneasy right after the portal appeared.
[Many Constellations are eyeing you as a candidate for an Avatar.]
[Many Constellations demand that you head to the next floor.]
Ding.
[A new mission has arrived.]
— 『To the Next Floor』
Theme: Proof Difficulty: A+
Description: The Constellations are eagerly awaiting for you to accrue merit and become their Avatar. Take a step towards the next floor. Continue to grow. The choice is in your hands.
Mission: Enter the next floor.
Reward: Qualifications of an Avatar Failure Penalty: Death —
"Haah…"
I let out a sigh.
The missions of the Constellations that I've frequently faced.
They cleverly mix the word 'choice' to fabricate a plausible sentence, but the end of their messages was always the same.
[Failure Penalty: Death]
Dying if I fail… Of course, if I reject the mission, the result is the same.
Should I pass through this portal and challenge the next floor? Or do I stop here and forfeit my precious life?
This has always been the 'choice' they gave me, and I have been repeating the same thoughts every time.
Do they not understand the definition of the word 'choice'?
But no matter what I thought, they just kept on spouting whatever they wanted to say.
[Many Constellations are urging you.]
[The mission 『To the Next Floor』 now has a time limit.]
[Remaining Time: 00:01:00]
A single line of additional message appeared before me.
I read the threatening letter sent to me by the unknown beings and naturally stroked the back of my neck.
They demanded a lot from me.
Of course, every time, I became stronger, but it was obvious I never felt thankful to them for a moment.
"Hey you!"
I used my mana to make sure that they could clearly hear my shout.
"Won't you remove this?"
I flicked my finger, annoyed by the 'time limit' blocking my view.
[A few Constellations express their doubts at your words.]
"…If so, I'll show you something interesting."
Trials that I braved, whether I wanted to or not, just to avoid death.
But as I mentioned before, through these processes, I was able to become strong enough and finally achieved one of my goals.
[Using the Unique Skill 'Update'.]
[Checking coins needed for the Unique Skill 'Update'.]
…
…
… Ding!
[Conditions have been verified.]
[The Authority will be activated.]
It felt as though a beam of light had poured down from the heavens.
The power granted by the tower began to fill me, and as my body heated up, I relished in the transformation I was undergoing.
— [Conqueror of a Ruined World] Rank: EX
Description: You become a Constellation of a world. —
[Your Status rises overwhelmingly.]
[According to the Will of the Tower, the player 'Ethan Cross' has become a Constellation.]
[All missions imposed by the Constellations have disappeared.]
A man who was just a human.
A man who was nothing more than a plaything for beings of another realm… but I had finally reached a position equal to theirs.
[Been waiting long?]
[A few Constellations are horrified.]
[A few Constellations start to slowly back away.]
Constellation Ethan Cross.
On that day, for the first time, I moved towards the next floor of the tower solely by my own will.