OMG, they said the top floor was sealed for a thousand years… I just rolled my eyes and wondered why everyone else was panicking.
Kaelen stood at the base of the Ruined Spire, its jagged silhouette slicing through the storm-laden sky like some ancient predator daring anyone to climb it. Lightning forked across the clouds, illuminating the cracked walls and shattered spires that jutted from the tower's obsidian core. The rumors surrounding this place had been echoing across the lands for decades, no, centuries. Yet here he was, smirking at them as if the world's end had sent him a personal invitation.
"Top floor sealed for a thousand years," a voice muttered behind him, shaking slightly.
Kaelen turned slowly. A trembling young climber was clutching his starter blade like it would suddenly morph into a life-saving sword. The boy's knuckles were white, his lips quivering. Around them, a dozen others huddled, whispering the same rumor as if repeating it enough could turn it into a fact.
Kaelen raised an eyebrow. "And yet here I am, fully intending to see the thing for myself. Who's first in line to die?" His voice was smooth, teasing, and lethal. Even in a crowd of novices, attention snapped toward him. Because in a place like the Ruined Spire, speaking with confidence and power was a dangerous invitation.
The rumor network buzzed through the crowd like wildfire. "Did you hear? Some shadow freak is here. He's bending darkness. They say he doesn't even bleed!"
Another whispered, "No way… only the Spire chooses that."
Kaelen chuckled inwardly. Let them whisper. Let them panic. Rumors were weapons, just like any sword.
Then came the NPC moment. A wiry old man leaned on a crooked staff, glaring at the novices like he was some grim specter of authority. "The betting pool's open," he rasped. "Ten gold says this one dies in under an hour." His eyes flickered to Kaelen, sizing him up like a fisherman weighing a new catch.
Kaelen smirked. "An hour? Charming. You want odds on whether you survive being roasted by my sarcasm first?" The man sputtered, nearly losing his balance on the cobblestones.
System Pop-Up: "Level 1 Unlocked: Adventurer. Basic Skill Hint: Shadow Awareness (Passive)."
Kaelen ignored it at first, but the faint shimmer along his shadow made him tilt his head. The Spire was responding, or maybe it had been him all along. He could feel it: the darkness wasn't just the absence of light. It was a living thing, whispering in his mind, curling around his presence, stretching tendrils across the cracked stone.
"Interesting," he muttered. "I like this tower already."
Another NPC flailed in the background, clearly trying to demonstrate a spell. A ball of fire sputtered, bounced off a wall, and singed the hem of his robe. He screamed. The audience cringed. Kaelen rolled his eyes and muttered under his breath, "If dying in style is your goal, I'd recommend more practice and less screaming."
The Spire's entrance loomed, carved into the rock like a wound in the world. Vines and black moss clung to the edges, moving ever so slightly as if the tower itself breathed. Rumors said the floors had memories. Shadows remembered. Echoes of past climbers were etched into the stone, waiting to test anyone foolish enough to ascend.
Kaelen's boots crunched on the loose gravel. Every step stirred whispers: "He's alive… he's moving… he's really going." The rumors weren't just chatter anymore. They were kinetic, spreading like wildfire between NPCs and climbers alike. The crowd parted automatically, some from fear, some from awe. Some from sheer curiosity. A small girl clutched a book to her chest, scribbling furiously, muttering, "Kaelen… Kaelen… what does he have?"
He caught her gaze and winked. "Patience, kid. Or maybe a lesson in humility, your choice."
Kaelen reached the base of the tower proper. The first floor stretched above him like a shattered cathedral. Broken staircases spiraled upward, balconies hung at impossible angles, and debris shifted underfoot. He could feel the latent magic weak, but present. And he wasn't even trying yet.
"Alright," he muttered. "Let's see what the top floor has been hiding for a millennium."
Before anyone could intervene, a minor monster, a shadow wretch, slithered from the darkness. Its form was inconsistent, flickering between shapes. Most climbers screamed, some fainted, and a few tried clumsily to attack. Kaelen? He smirked.
"Weak," he whispered.
With a flick of his wrist, shadows coalesced around him, forming elongated, whip-like tendrils. They wrapped around the wretch before it could react. The creature struggled, but Kaelen's shadows held it in a perfect, twisted embrace. Then, without breaking a sweat, he squeezed, and the thing disintegrated into black ash.
The nearby NPCs paled. One muttered, "I didn't think it would… die like that."
Kaelen grinned, his tone dripping with sarcasm. "Yeah, it's a weird trick I call not being pathetic."
System Pop-Up: "Shadow Sense Active. Minor OP Ability Detected. Current Power: Tier 1 Shadow Manipulation."
He felt the Spire's floor beneath him shift, almost acknowledging him. He paused, letting the tension hang in the air. Every whisper, every rumor now had a face. And he wore it smugly.
The wiry old man from earlier coughed, trying to recover some dignity. "Lucky… or cursed," he muttered, scratching his head. "Never seen someone bend shadows like that at Level 1."
Kaelen leaned casually against the wall, letting his shadows drip along the cracked stones. "I prefer 'entertaining.' But thank you for the warm-up applause."
The climbers around him began murmuring, spreading the rumors even further. "Did you see that? He didn't even touch it, and the monster was gone!"
"Some say the top floor sealed itself because someone like him was coming."
"Is he even human?"
Kaelen chuckled darkly. Humans are boring anyway.
As he began the first ascent, the rumors, the NPC quirks, the tiny, pathetic fears of the climbers all merged into a symphony of amusement for him. The tower responded to him in subtle ways. Shadows shifted as he walked, revealing hidden cracks and passages. A faint whisper tickled his ear: "Kaelen…"
He froze, heart skipping a beat, not from fear, but from recognition. Something in the darkness knew him. Not fully, but enough to make the climb interesting.
One NPC stumbled again, tripping over his own feet. "Help! Help!" he yelled, waving a tiny dagger. Kaelen barely glanced, muttering, "Maybe next time, read the floor plan first." And with a motion so smooth it looked casual, he extended his shadow hand, catching the man mid-fall and setting him upright without effort.
The man coughed, blushed, and muttered something about ghosts. Kaelen just smirked. Humor was necessary. Fear was boring.
System Pop-Up: "Rumor Network Updated: Kaelen – Shadow Manipulator, OP, Unpredictable."
By the time he reached the central atrium of the first floor, his shadows were dancing along the walls, teasing at corners, slipping through cracks, and almost sentient in their own mischief. The crowd outside murmured, writing stories in their notebooks, gossiping in hushed tones, spreading his legend before he even encountered a real challenge.
He tilted his head toward the ceiling, where the distant silhouette of the next floor's sealed doors loomed. "So… top floor in a thousand years, huh?" he murmured, almost to himself. "A thousand years is a long time… for a baby like me."
A subtle shadow shifted across the wall behind him, responding almost… playfully. His heart raced not in fear, but in anticipation. This tower was alive, and it was going to be fun.
Kaelen's grin widened, teeth glinting in the flickering torchlight. "Alright," he said. "Let's see how fast we can make history. Or rumors. Or… both."
The shadows pulsed at his feet, stretching toward the ceiling. Somewhere deep in the Ruined Spire, a voice whispered, almost approvingly: "Finally… someone worth noticing."
And Kaelen? He just smirked, knowing the real game had only just begun.
Rumors of the shadow bender spread like wildfire. Every novice, every seasoned climber, every NPC now had a name to fear, a story to tell, and a legend to gossip about. Kaelen's journey had begun, and the Ruined Spire itself seemed… awake.
The next floor waits. The top floor is still sealed. But not for long.