Becoming a Player
[Normal Difficulty - 0th Floor]
{Aasal Hayes Clone}
Walking on the smooth surface of the steps, he looked around and noticed nothing out of place except for a clearing in the distance. The only thing to do was to walk in that direction to try and understand what he was getting into.
Almost as to answer his question, a sound rang in his ear:
[Welcome to the Tower, and the 0th Floor - Tutorial Grounds! ]
[With a world destined for destruction, the Tower was . . .
[. . . the Tower is always watching.]
"Hmm interesting, a tower," Aasal muttered, wondering what that entailed.
Taking a look at the system in front of him, he opened the [Status] and looked at his info:
{[Name: Select Hayes ]
[Age: 17 ]
[Race: Human ]
[Talent: Clone]
[Class: Select ]
[Skills: None ]
[Titles: Beta Tester (Unique), Normal Difficulty Challenger (Common) ]
[Conditions: Lethargic ]
[Statuses:
Strength: 3
Agility: 3
Intelligence: 10
Vitality: 3
Luck: 0.5
Charisma: 2
Free Points: 0]}
Taking the same steps as his original, he focused on the parts that he had to select or read to better understand.
Focusing on [Titles]:
Normal Difficulty Challenger (Common)
A pioneer of the Tower on Normal Difficulty
Permanent 5% boost to allocated stats
He took a look at the other title, Beta Tester, and was content with the percentage boosts on all stats he puts in. This would make growing stronger easier.
Looking at his talent, he could only sigh as he had a feeling that the original was going to be gone for a while—or forever.
"It looked like he got sucked into a black hole when he picked his difficulty. What are the odds of both of us being picked?"
He did some quick mental calculations without even trying and realized it would be around 1 in 67 trillion—or 1.5 with 13 zeros in front of it.
"Well, that's assuming the Earth's population is around 8.2 billion. But that number's likely off due to underreporting and remote regions. If I factor that in… but then there's also…"
The clone kept rambling until he eventually got more interested in looking back at his status in front of him.
Focusing on the Select on Name, a message popped up:
[Please choose a name]
Thinking this was a once in a lifetime opportunity, he took it seriously. He never really liked his name—especially his middle name. But now he could pick whatever he wanted.
"Hmm, should I pick something cool like Apollo or Zeus? Nah, that's kind of cringey."
After mentally sifting through hundreds of names, he eventually went with one he remembered from a show he watched.
"I'll choose the name Ace."
[Updating]
[User's name is now: Ace Hayes]
If he had the option to change his last name, he would've done that too. But since he shared the same DNA as the original, the bloodline was likely to be fixed
Clicking the Select on Class, he was pleasantly surprised with what showed up:
[Analyzing Potential…]
[Potential Confirmed]
[Please Choose a Class:]
- Sword Saint
- Player
- Arcane Tyrant
- Scholar
[The System strongly encourages the user to pick the class Player]
Going through the descriptions of what each class meant, when he got to the class Player, he immediately chose it without hesitation.
Why?
Player (Unique):
A one-of-its-kind class. A Player has the system at their disposal. Quests will be generated, stats awarded through levels and kills, and the system will assist in growth. What doesn't this class do?
Grants points per level and per kill
Can access exclusive quests
May unlock hidden features or interface commands as system compatibility increases
Ace knew exactly what this meant. He remembered what being a Player was like in the novels he used to read.
"I guess being a video game pro in my youth actually helped me out," he said with a smirk.
Getting closer to the clearing, he noticed the surface was a hard, almost metallic steel, with a large circle carved into the middle. He still had a few minutes before he arrived, so he explored his interface more.
Other than [Status], the only unlocked tab was [Inventory].
Opening it, he saw a grid of digital squares with a seemingly endless scroll bar—empty.
Curious, he picked up a handful of dirt and thought of storing it. The dirt vanished from his hand.
A square in the inventory now displayed:
Dirt (Common)
It's as you expect—it's dirt.
He chuckled, then removed the dirt and tossed it back on the ground. He walked in silence until he stood face to face with the clearing…
[Please choose a weapon]
- Sword
- Spear
- Bow
- Gauntlet
- None
This wasn't a hard decision. He quickly picked Sword—not only because he loved the thought of using one, but also because it was an overall well-rounded weapon.
After selecting it, a sword materialized before his very eyes, floating in place. Ace reached out and grabbed the hilt.
[Generic Sword (Common)]
A basic sword given to initiates of the path.
Grants: Stable cutting ability. Good for beginners.
He had never picked up a real weapon before. And yet, it felt natural in his hands.
[Please defeat the foe.]
In a flash, a creature materialized inside the circle.
A gray wolf. Lean, fast-looking, and with sharp canines…
Ace scanned it instinctively.
[Training Wolf - Level 2]
HP: 120/120
ATK: 9
DEF: 3
[Remarks: Getting bitten by this is not a good idea]
His eyes narrowed.
"Alright. Let's test this class out."
And he stepped into the circle.
The wolf pounced.
Ace dodged sideways, barely avoiding the lunge. He stumbled but kept his grip on the sword. "Fast!"
The wolf circled. He readied the sword, got his footing and was breathing heavily.
It lunged again. This time, Ace swung wildly.
SWISH! The blade slightly scraped its side, shallow, but enough to draw blood
[You have learned: Basic Swordsmanship Lv.1]
They clashed again. Ace ducked, dodged, and struck whenever he had the opportunity too.
[You have learned: Dodge Lv.1]
Blood now marked the wolf's shoulder. It howled and retaliated. Ace gritted his teeth and parried—barely.
[Basic Swordsmanship has leveled up: Lv.2]
The wolf's claw nicked his side. Pain surged through him.
[You have learned: Pain Tolerance Lv.1]
He flinched—but moved forward anyway. Swing. Dodge. Bleed.
[You have learned: Pain Tolerance Lv.2]
A fang caught his forearm, tearing skin.
[You have learned: Bleed Resistance Lv.1]
"Opening!" Ace screamed in his head.
He stabbed inside the side of the wolf, just dodging the rips and piercing straight through the heart.
The wolf yelped, staggered, and collapsed onto the ground. Blood seeped out of it.
[Dodge has leveled up: Lv.2
[Level Up! Free Points: +3]
[Stats Gained from Kill: +1 Strength, +1 Vitality]
[Reward Unlocked: Healing Potion x1]
[Reward Unlocked: 20 Tower Coins]
[Forum Access Granted]
Panting, Ace looked at the monster and whispered, "Holy crap… I actually killed it."
[Travel to 1st Floor Waiting Room?]
- Yes
Ace stared at the screen.
"Yes," he said out loud.
The words had barely left his mouth when light surged beneath his feet. The bloodstained platform blurred, the steel circle dissolving around him as a bright flash consumed his vision—and then he was gone.