The door

"Shit! How do we survive this!" Regret now etched in their face. The others stared at Grandi in contempt. "If only we didn't listen to his sweet talk about coming here," they thought.

Unfortunately, it was too late to turn back now. "C'mon, Marcus! Do something! Anything!!"

Grandi shouted with a terrified expression. With shaky hands, Marcus began drawing out a circle with his glowing chalk.

Grandi, seeing this, turned to the others. "Alright, I need your help in this. Lend me your strength!" Quickly stepping on the circle, as if practised before, the others placed their hands on him with the exception of Marcus, who watched with a pale face.

The others realised their powers already passing through the supposed threshold it was meant to stop.

"You! What did you do!" They screamed, unable to take their hands off, and soon they realised their skin began shrinking as they dropped to the ground one after the other– dead.

Grandi, feeling a large amount of power surging through him, had a confident smile on his face as he slammed his shield once more. "Halo!" He exclaimed. A fierce bright glow enveloped the two men left as the fireball descended on them.

BOOOM! BOOOM! BOOOOM!

The explosions were larger than the first, with most of the bodies nearby turning into ashes. The dust finally cleared, revealing Grandi, who stood with one knee placed on the ground while blood slowly dropped down to the ground.

"Strong!" That was the one thought that came to his mind. Looking beside him, Marcus body lay on the ground with a lagre chunk of his body missing.

'If I didn't activate my unique skill, I would have been dead by now.' Grandi thought with a terrified expression.

"Amazing, to see you able to withstand that... once again. I must commend you. You're truly a rare one. So what level are you now? You must be quite a high Ascendant to still be alive."

"Arghhh!" Letting out a fierce growl, Grandi charged forward, the power still potent within. Swinging his large mace, it hit the empty air, causing him to turn around quickly.

"Ugh," he groaned as he felt a stinging pain at the centre of his stomach. Looking down, a fist could be seen covered in blood piercing through his stomach. Grandi, not wanting to die alone, performed a ditch attempt. He swung his mace wildly around, hoping to strike his assailant but failed miserably.

"Oh. I see. A red star talent, but you're quite weak? Are they supposed to be this weak?"

Dropping to his knees, his vision began to blur. He could see the boy with dark brown hair letting out a twisted smile as he collapsed to the ground, face first.

For some reason, Blake felt a bit of his pain lessen after watching what had happened to the group. 'At least they didn't survive,' he thought, looking at the sky. Once again, he felt a stinging pain just from his slight movement.

His vision was beginning to blur and slowly succumbing to the swirling darkness.

"He's barely alive... but will do."

He heard a whisper, causing him to open his eyes instantly. "Am I imagining things or what?" He thought, staring at the figure floating before him. The figure was dressed in a black robe with jagged ends with his face covered in a swirling mist.

He could just only make out the figure dressing when suddenly he saw a huge black door appear before him. The huge black door was emitting a soft glow, which felt kind of soothing.

"I think that's all I can take," he thought as his gaze weakened. The door slowly began to creak open, releasing a blinding light that covered him. The light soon fade away, revealing an empty spot. Everything slowly dissipated into particles, which faded along with the wind.

"I think that's all of them." The guy with the flame ability said, slowly walking across the dead bodies. For some reasons they were unable to detect the strange phenomenon that occurred.

"Well, remember our goal. No one must make it to that tower." The robed figure said as he slowly made his way away from the area. "You know what to do, get rid of the bodies," he said as his body dissipated in mist.

....

"Wake up... wake up... wake up!"

He felt a slight shove at first, and then it turned into an incessant shook, which slowly caused the figure lying on the ground to stir softly.

"Urghh, what happened?" He groaned, opening his eyes.

"Thank goodness! You're awake."

"Huh?" Blake jumped backward, hearing the voice with a face just a few inches away from his. "Hold on? What happened?" He muttered, staring at his body. To his surprise, he was completely fine with not a single scratch on him.

"How did this happen?" Blake muttered before finally taking in his surroundings. First, he finally discovered the identity of the young lady before him.

"Mariam? Mariam!! You're alive!" Blake exclaimed with a smile. "Hold on, what about the others?"

"The others? That's not the main problem now. Take a look at where we are."

"Whoa! This place is so... huge. And what's with the large crowd of people?" Rising to his feet, he was just about moving forward when the ground began vibrating.

[Before the trial begins, all candidates must have their abilities awakened]

[Those who are yet to awaken their ability should head to the pillar at the centre of the room]

The automated words were heard by all, causing quite a ruckus. Out of the thousands, a few hundreds quickly step forward, heading towards the pillar.

"C'mon, here's your chance." Miriam said, staring at Blake, who had a dumb expression on his face.

'Awaken my ability!' Blake exclaimed in his mind. His once rigid form finally moved. Quickly walking forward, he joined the line of hundreds gathered before the pillar.

Awakening of one ability usually occurred once one entered the tower. Blake, who had never entered a tower, was bubbling in excitement.

"Finally, I'll get to awaken my skill!"

A bright white glow pulsated from the pillar, spreading to the hundreds and converging on them.

[System is being linked to a tower...]

[Condition has been met...]

[Ability is being awakened... You've unlocked the status window]

[Name: Blake Allsworth]

[Race: Human]

[Bloodline: None]

[Class: N/A]

[Rank: Mortal]

[Level: 1]

[Mana: 10]

[Battle Power: 10]

[Intelligence: 5]

[Congratulations! You've awakened the SS-Rank Degeneration ability]

[Due to the conditions of the tower, ability has been limited to D-rank]

"Holy F*ck! An SS-rank ability!" Blake exclaimed in amazement. This was beyond his expectations. He had this potential, yet he allowed himself to settle for less. If he had entered a tower right from the start, maybe, maybe he would have been able to lift his family out from their sufferings.

"Don't worry, Lucian, mum. I'm coming back and would grant you the life we've always desired!"