"Katelyn, join our team!"
A young man called out across the plaza, his voice cutting through the chattering crowd as he faced a girl in a light-blue robe, her golden hair shimmering beneath the sun. A crystal-tipped staff rested in her hand, faint runes glowing softly along its length. Her proud expression radiated confidence.
Before she could reply, another young man stepped forward.
"No, join our team instead! We already have two B-Rank combat talents!"
The crowd went still for a heartbeat. Then, gasps rippled through it.
"Two B-Ranks? No wonder they're after her!" someone whispered, awe in his tone.
"With her A-Rank talent, their team would be unstoppable!" another added, envy dripping from his words.
"I wonder what it's like to be in a team like that," a young man muttered dreamily.
Smack!
"Quit daydreaming," his friend scolded, smacking him on the back of the head.
"Yeah," someone else snickered, "with your D-Rank Spatial Storage Anus, no team's touching anything you pull out of yourself!"
A wave of laughter burst from the surrounding crowd, rippling through the open plaza.
The place was chaos, recruiters shouting out their offers, weaker young Awakeners begging to join teams, while the stronger and wealthier ones flaunted their awakened talents or showed off gear far better than the government-issued kind. The whole plaza was a sea of noise and excitement.
And it made sense. Today marked the day every young person in this world dreamed of, their First Tower Entry and the beginning of their journey as Pathfinders.
Amid the noise stood a single unmoving figure.
Grimm.
He watched the crowd quietly, dark hair shifting in the breeze, his eyes black as a void, calm and detached as he stared straight ahead.
A week ago, he'd been an ordinary man on Earth. Then, with a blinding light and a splitting headache, he woke up here, inside the body of an eighteen-year-old boy who shared his same face but bore a strange name, Grimm.
He had read enough novels to know exactly what happened.
He'd transmigrated.
And now he stood at the edge of a new world, one that resembled Earth but was filled with magic and monsters.
Twelve years earlier, this world, which went by the name Aelios, had shattered.
It started with a tremor that shook entire continents. The sky cracked like broken glass, the ground tore apart, and oceans rose to swallow cities. Just when everyone thought it couldn't get worse, came the rifts, shimmering fractures in space that connected the world to an unknown dimension. From these fractures poured nightmares, demonic beasts that devoured everything in their path.
Nations fell. Law and order vanished. Humanity stood on the brink of extinction.
And then… the Tower descended.
A monolith-like structure that appeared simultaneously across the planet, its smooth black surface stretching endlessly toward the heavens.
At first, with everything already falling apart, people feared it, believing it to be yet another omen of destruction. But when desperate survivors dared to touch its surface, everything changed.
The Tower reacted in a way no one expected. It pulled them in and transported them to a vast, otherworldly realm filled with monsters, treasures, and mystical power. Those who survived their first ascent returned stronger, faster, capable of feats that defied logic.
And thus began the Age of Pathfinders, the name given to humans who braved the Tower, conquered its floors, and returned with power rivaling the gods.
Now, twelve years later, a new generation of awakened youths stood ready to follow in their footsteps.
Grimm was one of them.
His lips curved into a faint, amused smile as he watched the plaza descend into chaos.
So much noise. So much excitement. Yet he felt oddly detached.
He didn't remember much of this body's past, the fragments he'd inherited hinted that the original Grimm had lost his memories in an accident long before his transmigration. But he knew enough. The boy whose life he now lived had just awakened an E-Rank talent, barely above the lowest tier.
In a world where power determined worth, that rank was a death sentence for ambition.
Still, Grimm knew something others didn't.
His so-called useless talent wasn't what it seemed.
---
[Grimm]
-Rank: Wood.
-Level: 1 [0%]
-Profession: Locked
-Talent: E-rank Gluttony.
-[Vitality: 100%]
-[Mana: 100%]
Stats:
Physical:
↳ [Strength: 8 | Endurance: 6 | Agility: 9]
Mental:
↳ [Intelligence: 5 | Focus: 3 | Perception: 7]
---
[Gluttony]
— Talent Rank: E
> Due to unknown interference, further information cannot be displayed.
Please enter the Tower to unlock full access.
---
No matter how many times he checked, the same cryptic message appeared.
Grimm exhaled, rubbing his chin. "So… the Tower's holding my answers, huh?"
He couldn't wait to find out what it meant.
"Grimm! There you are!"
A cheerful voice cut through his thoughts. Turning, he saw a familiar figure jogging toward him, a boy with short, spiked brown hair and a bright grin.
The boy's name was Chris, the only person the original Grimm could call a true friend.
"What are you doing alone? Still haven't found a team?" Chris asked as he approached.
Grimm shrugged lightly.
"You know my talent's useless. Nobody wants to team up with dead weight." He smiled faintly, though his tone carried no bitterness.
Chris frowned, glancing around. "That won't do."
He scanned the crowd, eyes darting as though searching for an answer only he could see. After a moment, his expression firmed. "Then join mine."
He pointed toward a small group nearby, two girls and three boys, all watching Grimm like he'd just kicked their pets.
Grimm chuckled. "Yeah… I don't think that's a good idea."
Chris grimaced. He knew Grimm was right. His team only respected him because of his A-Rank combat talent, and while they wouldn't dare speak out loud against Grimm joining if he ordered it, he knew that would only backfire on Grimm in the end.
"I appreciate it," Grimm added. "But I'll figure something out on my own. I want to see what my talent can really do first."
Chris hesitated but eventually sighed. "Fine. But if anything happens, come find me."
With that, he left, returning to his team.
Grimm watched him go, a small smile forming. Chris really was a good guy.
But before he could dwell on it, a stir spread through the plaza, voices rising, hands pointing toward the entrance.
"Whoa, who's that?"
"Look at his gear, I'm sure that's not government-issue like mine!"
"I've seen him before! That's Arthur Williams, right?"
"Wait, the same one who awakened an S-Rank talent?"
"The same! I heard the Celestial Comet Guild already recruited him."
"What?! But guild recruitment's supposed to happen after the first Tower run!"
"That's for people like us. S-Ranks play by different rules."
Excitement buzzed through the crowd like electricity. Grimm followed their gaze.
A young man walked through the plaza, tall and confident, his armor polished and perfectly fitted. His expression stayed calm and detached, but a sharp glint in his eyes gave him away, he was clearly enjoying all the attention.
From the fragments of memory he'd inherited, Grimm recognized him.
Arthur Williams, a boy who'd once been an average student at his high school, that was until the awakening of an S-Rank talent had rewritten his destiny.
Such was the way of this world. Power changed everything.
Grimm's eyes darkened slightly.
He wasn't jealous. Not exactly. But he couldn't help the flicker of resolve burning quietly in his chest.
He glanced toward the distant Tower, its dark silhouette gleaming beneath the morning sun.
That was where it would all begin, whether he rose as a dragon or stayed nothing more than an ant, no one could say yet. Still, a quiet thrill stirred in him at the thought of what waited beyond those doors.
Just then, a commanding voice echoed across the plaza.
"Alright, everyone, gather around! The Tower trial begins now!"