The sun over the continent of Arcania bloomed with its grand radiance, brightening the beautiful sky.
Heavy clouds hung over the Desmond Barony as birds inspected the blue heavens they ruled.
Chirp~
One of the sparrows, curious and playful, dove down from the vast sky and landed atop the strawed roof of a small house.
Chirp~
It chirped as it looked down from above, gazing at a young man wearing ragged woolen clothes.
The boy—eighteen years of age, an adult by this world's standards—was thin and sickly. Dressed in old, worn clothing, he lay on his bed.
His black hair was messy and long, radiating outward from his head, while his blue eyes stared blankly at the empty space above him.
Status Window
[Name] : Damon
[Talent] : Absolute Mastery {SSS}
[Level] : Lv. 0
[General Skills]
• Enter Tower (1 Use / Day)
[Strength] : 1
[Agility] : 1
[Defense] : 1
[Stamina] : 1
[Mana] : 0
Absolute Mastery
Grade: SSS
A talent that defies the natural laws of the system.
• Any skill can be converted into a General Skill
• Skills can be created, fused, upgraded, or evolved
• Learning time reduced to near zero
• Mastery achieved almost instantly
Damon stretched out his hands as they passed through the blue screen—something that only he could see.
"It is real…" Damon muttered, still unable to believe what he had experienced. "…I have truly awakened."
Awakened.
Yes—awakened.
This was supposed to be a normal world, until the Black Towers appeared out of nowhere and transformed it into a magical world where players and monsters roamed.
Those chosen by the Black Towers were granted the ability to enter the towers once a day and gain magical powers never seen before.
"Sigh… if it were the old me, he would have hanged himself by now," Damon sighed.
Placing a hand over his head, he recalled his past—his true past.
Born and raised in the small city of Desmond under the governance of Baron Desmond, Damon was born into a farmer's family.
He had no surname, as only nobles and royals possessed one. Still, he never complained about being born into a non-noble household.
His parents were kind people. His father was a farmer who tended the Baron's fields, while his mother was a housewife who took care of their cattle—the only valuable assets their family owned.
A year ago, his father passed away. The cause of death was unknown; one night, he simply stopped breathing. A few months later, Damon's mother, Marie, followed him, leaving Damon completely alone.
"Medical knowledge and forensics… hell, everything in this world is so underdeveloped," Damon muttered to himself, diverting his thoughts from the emotional subject.
Today, he had been chosen by the tower and awakened. Somehow, during the awakening, he experienced the life of someone from another world—a modern world, Earth to be exact.
Waking up from the illusory dream, Damon found himself possessing the knowledge and understanding of a modern man, while having awakened in reality.
"Is this how everyone awakens?" Damon wondered. Information about awakenings was limited.
The information network of this world was poorly developed, and as such, many details about other awakeners remained unclear.
To the pre-awakened Damon, players were supposed to be wicked heretics wielding supernatural powers.
That was what the majority of humanity believed—thanks to church propaganda and the lack of accessible knowledge.
"Sigh… what should I do now?" Damon felt lost.
With almost no reliable information about players available, he had no idea what his next step should be.
He couldn't go out and gather information himself—people were repulsed by players and would hunt one down and burn them at the stake if discovered.
"All I know is that a year ago, towers and monsters appeared, and players are evil beings chosen by the towers… sigh," Damon muttered.
Despite the lack of information, he wasn't completely blind.
Thanks to the webnovels and games he had experienced during his awakening, Damon had a decent understanding of what the system screen represented and how these stories usually unfolded.
In the novels… towers appear, and one must clear each floor within a given time, Damon recalled.
If the floors aren't cleared, the tower collapses, bringing monsters and destruction to the world.
"Is it the same here?" Damon pondered as he examined his status screen one section at a time.
[Name] : Damon
Only nobles and royals possessed surnames in this world, clearly drawing the line between privileged births and common folk.
[Talent] : Absolute Mastery
Absolute Mastery
Grade: SSS
A talent that defies the natural laws of the system.
• Any skill can be converted into a General Skill
• Skills can be created, fused, upgraded, or evolved
• Learning time reduced to near zero
• Mastery achieved almost instantly
Holy crap! Damon was familiar with the standard tier classifications in games and novels. SSS grades were usually spammed in titles—always the highest-tier, protagonist-level cheats.
With a mental command, another pop-up opened on the blue system screen.
[Talent Tier Ranks]
F, E, D, C, B, A, S, SS, SSS
{SSS} Grade
Highest possible grade in talent ranking
"It's true!" Damon sat up straight, his heart pounding with excitement.
'Did I get myself a cheat?
Am I the protagonist of this world or something?'
He was only eighteen years old—someone who still wished, deep down, for the world to revolve around him. The thought excited him, but he didn't dare let it show outwardly.
"So this is accelerated learning? Instant mastery?" Damon raised an eyebrow as he reread the description.
"This thing is pretty broken if it's SSS-grade…" Instant mastery-type cheats were notoriously overpowered in the novels he remembered—and being the highest-grade talent only confirmed it.
And honestly, who wouldn't love getting an overpowered cheat?
Moving on, Damon checked his level.
Lv. 0 {0/1 EXP}
The experience panel was simple enough to understand.
Next were his attributes—all set to 1, except for Mana.
A value of 1 represented the strength of an average adult male. Mana, based on his fictional knowledge, likely represented magical reserves.
Damon had a decent grasp of what everything meant, but to be absolutely certain, he would need to enter the tower himself—just like other players.
[General Skills]
• Enter Tower (1 Use / Day)
"There's only one way to find out, I guess…" Damon muttered as a smile crept onto his face.
"Enter Tower."