When he pressed the first option, the white panel in front of Rodrick changed completely:
"Welcome to the Star Tower System, Aspirant."
Three new options appeared alongside the welcome message:
[Skill Tree] [Status] [Star Body]
Rodrick hesitated for a moment. He had seen out of pure curiosity how the system used by tower aspirants worked, and as far as he knew, there were only two sections in it: Status and Skill Tree... Where had "Star Body" come from?
Rodrick ignored it for the moment and clicked on Status.
Aspirant: Rodrick Gray Oarion
Characteristics: Star Prince, Eternal Forgetfulness.
Level: 1
Titles: Son of the Stars.
Anchors: None
Specialty: Weapons Aspirant
—————————
Statistics
Strength: 6
Agility: 7
Stamina: 5
Vitality: 8
Dexterity: 2
Aura: 0
————————
Rodrick looked at the vibrant words written on the magic panel in front of him. It seemed that he actually had some hidden talent. He had never heard of his characteristics, let alone his intrinsic title.
It seemed like a good start. Continuing his little self-guided tour, Rodrick clicked on the stellar body option.
"Aspirant, do you wish to receive the first part of your stellar inheritance?"
Rodrick was surprised to see this panel superimposed on the other one. Rodrick didn't think twice and accepted. Seconds later, unprecedented pain flooded Rodrick's poor, now battered body. The pain was like lightning igniting light bulbs throughout his entire being. If an old car could talk, it would probably say that this sensation was the same as being repaired after being in a deplorable state. Rodrick's entire body tightened in protest at the immense energy flooding his being.
An hour later, the strange process was over...
Statistics |
Strength: 20
Agility: 19
Stamina: 25
Vitality: 21
Dexterity: 2
Aura: 1
Rodrick was stunned... What had just happened?
"Impossible..."
A new panel overlapped the statistics panel.
"You have received the first part of the stellar inheritance: Fragment of the Supreme Stellar Body."
Fragment... this power he had just received was a mere fragment of the power from which it mainly came.
"This is crazy..."
Rodrick clenched his fist, testing its strength. It felt different, very different. According to his calculations and what he had seen on the internet, his stats were similar to those of someone at level 15. He could now consider himself a middle-class contender on the verge of reaching the upper class!
Or at least he could if his aura and dexterity were at the same level as his other stats. Without dexterity, his power would always be mediocre, and without aura, he wouldn't be able to use the techniques and skills that accompanied his powerful body...
There was work to be done.
Rodrick closed the system panels and sat down to think.
"Okay... where do I start?"
Even though he had seen a lot of things on the internet about aspirants and towers, he actually had no idea what they did when they weren't killing monsters in the tower. So Rodrick turned to the most accurate and efficient solution at the moment, the internet.
Rodrick took out his cell phone and began to research.
"What to do when you wake up the system."
Hundreds of opinions and web pages appeared. Rodrick was eager to read everything; preparing for every future threat to the extreme was a common habit of Rodrick's. But there was no time for this; he had to hurry up and start leveling up.
He quickly read through some opinions and the main idea was clear: most talked about enrolling in the recently founded Aspirants Academy, while others who seemed more experienced pointed out that the best option was to embark fully into a tower. Rodrick liked that option. He didn't want any more beating around the bush.
"When did I become like this?"
The previously nonexistent determination within Rodrick now flooded him fervently, not leaving him alone for a single moment. The goal was crystal clear and never left Rodrick's mind.
Save his loved ones... save his sister. He had to do it. Something deep within him had awakened, and he knew he had to save them.
Rodrick went up to his room, grabbed a jacket, put on some sneakers, and left the house. It was time to look for information.
Rodrick walked through the forgotten city of Noumber, the endless rain continuing to fall incessantly on the silent city. Rodrick hated the rain.
When he reached a small building with a maximum of three floors, he looked at it uncertainly. It looked neglected, old, and faded... Without further hesitation, Rodrick put away his umbrella and went inside. A woman in a secretary's uniform greeted him as soon as he entered. The woman looked strangely shiny, which was unusual. Rodrick rubbed his eyes, thinking that his vision was playing tricks on him.
"Good afternoon, I'm looking for Mr. Dobey," Rodrick said with some hesitation.
"Oh, of course, Mr. Dobey, follow me," the girl replied reluctantly.
Rodrick frowned, confused by the woman's strange annoyance.
"Maybe Mr. Dobey is in high demand?"
Rodrick remained silent and followed the woman. The place was truly luxurious, but very neglected, just like the streets of Noumber. It was quiet, and they seemed to be really short-staffed. After passing through the reception area, the girl entered one of the main corridors where darkness reigned supreme. Rodrick hesitated a little before entering that corridor; he didn't feel comfortable at all.
"Sorry, the light bulbs burned out a few days ago. Go ahead, there's no danger."
Rodrick hesitated... Saying literally that there was no danger made Rodrick even more afraid. He didn't feel confident about this girl. He had only come to this establishment looking for a person famous on the internet for helping newly awakened people.
Rodrick sighed and walked forward, trying to clear his doubts.
At the end of the hallway, a modest office greeted them. The smell was not pleasant at all.
"Tobacco, trash, so many smells in one place, surprising..."
In the middle of the dirty office stood a large desk, next to which sat a man in a chair that looked like it had been taken from a dining room. It was not at all what Rodrick had expected to see.
"Rodrick! I'm glad you're finally here. I was eagerly awaiting your arrival," said the enthusiastic man.
Mr. Dobey jumped up from his chair. He was wearing a long black coat and white pants, which, in fact, were not in the best condition. Rodrick could bet that this man had not changed his clothes in at least two weeks. In the end, Rodrick decided to let it go. He hadn't come to see this man to criticize his lifestyle.
"Mr. Dobey, it's a pleasure to meet you. I wanted to come as soon as possible after our conversation."
"I'm glad, kid, I'm glad. Now, please sit down, let's talk about your case in detail."
Rodrick took a seat across from Mr. Dobey, who simply smiled as he began rummaging through some papers, which appeared to be reports about other newly awakened children in the city. Behind him, Rodrick could hear the woman's heels clicking as she left the room. The incessant rain outside managed to filter its sound even into the office of the disheveled man in front of him.
After a few seconds, the man turned his gaze back to Rodrick.
"All right, Rodrick. According to the report you sent, you just woke up a few hours ago, right?"
"Yes, sir."
"Good... very good. Do you know what your specialty is yet?"
"Yes, I'm an Aspiring Weapons Master."
"Ah, good, that makes our job easier."
The man opened his computer and typed for a long time. About two minutes flew by, and the only sounds now filling the room were the constant typing of Mr. Dobey, the rain outside, and the clock behind him. Rodrick hadn't seen the clock when he entered, much less heard it, which he found really strange.
"Maybe it was above the front door..."
Rodrick chose to ignore his doubts and waited patiently for Mr. Dobey.
Suddenly, Rodrick heard footsteps behind him, the heels of the secretary from earlier. Rodrick turned his head to look behind him and see where that annoying clock was, but instead, he came face to face with the simple, silent front door. There was nothing there.
"How strange..."
Rodrick turned his head back and looked at Mr. Dobey writing.
"...Sir?" Rodrick asked, puzzled.
"What is it, Rodrick?"
Rodrick remained silent. What the hell was going on?
Something felt wrong, terribly wrong. He felt an overwhelming discomfort flooding him.
But strangely, nothing was happening. Everything was the same. He was in the same office with the same Mr. Dobey. The secretary... had just left, but he had heard her come in.
It was so strange...
Suddenly, Rodrick's hand moved upward at breakneck speed.
"What the hell!?"
Rodrick hadn't done anything; his body had reacted on its own, and he seemed to be squeezing something with his right hand.
Looking down at where his hand was holding nothing, Rodrick began to doubt himself. He looked back at Mr. Dobey, who hadn't even flinched, as if this whole situation wasn't even happening.
"Oh, well. I guess I'm just hallucinating. I must have slept badly last night."
Rodrick pulled his hand back to its original position on the chair, but his hand did not respond. It did not want to obey its master. It felt out of control... like Rodrick's instinct to protect himself.
Then Rodrick looked up. Mr. Dobey was typing on the computer with a slight smile, unaware of Rodrick's gaze.
"Mr. Dobey?"
"What is it, Rodrick?"
"What's going on?" Rodrick asked.
"I'm just writing your report, Rodrick. Why? Are you feeling okay?"
Rodrick looked at him silently and closed his eyes. Something bad was definitely happening, and the most useful sense in a human being's life right now, the sense that gathered information for the brain in search of survival, was failing him...
His vision was lying to him, and Rodrick knew it. What he was seeing in front of him was not the absolute truth, and his instincts were screaming at him. So Rodrick stopped trusting his vision.
When he closed his eyes, Rodrick's other senses instantly became stronger.
"Sir, the needle isn't piercing his skin... it looks like the skin of at least a middle-class aspirant.
"Impossible! The boy just woke up... Try infusing the needle with your aura, I'm sure it will pierce him that way. This bastard is holding me too tight... Hurry up, Alexa!"
Rodrick quickly identified who was talking behind him. He got up from his chair and turned around.
"Oh, so it was a trap for new applicants, I see."
When Rodrick said this, the two nearby voices fell silent. Then, Rodrick raised his other hand and touched his head. When he touched it, he could feel a strange, sturdy material on top of it. Rodrick smiled and grabbed it firmly and removed it.
When he opened his eyes, he saw where he really was.
An old clinic. It was dark, dirty, and smelled disgusting. Rodrick quickly understood the reason for the bad smell when he arrived at Mr. Dobey's office. They had simply tricked Rodrick's sense of smell in that other way. The clock, along with Mr. Dobey's constant typing on his computer, kept Rodrick's sense of hearing busy. He had to admit that it was a really well-crafted trap. Rodrick did not expect to be deceived like that at all.
He considered himself not very naive, or at least much less than average, but this time, they had really fooled him.
He was not going to let it go.
Looking at Mr. Dobey, he assessed the situation. Rodrick held the disheveled man by the neck without hesitation.
Apparently, these people had not taken the sixth sense into account. The most developed sense of the aspirants, they had surely overlooked this because of the main victims for whom this trap was designed: the new aspirants, those at level 1 with mediocre statistics. They had failed to foresee the appearance of a level 1 aspirant with statistics of at least level 15.
Frowning angrily, Rodrick grabbed Mr. Dobey's neck more tightly. Dobey tried to resist with all his strength, but it was impossible for him to escape Rodrick's grip. He had to admit that Dobey was strong, perhaps at level 10 or something close to it. This man was not weak at all. But it didn't matter, because Rodrick was more powerful.
"Damn monster..." Dobey said as he continued to resist.
"Oh? Now I'm the monster, huh?"
Rodrick completely crushed the man's windpipe, killing him in the process. A panel appeared in front of him for a few seconds and then disappeared.
+31 EXP
Rodrick smiled and turned his head to the left, where he could see the frightened secretary trying to open the exit door. Rodrick analyzed the place a little and discovered that he was underground, perhaps in a basement. To reach the exit door, it was necessary to climb some stairs.
Rodrick jumped down the stairs and grabbed the woman.
"How far am I from the city?" Rodrick asked, grabbing the woman by the neck.
"It's... you're here... above is... is the original office..."
Rodrick hit her one last time to knock her unconscious and walked to the door, where he remembered the scene of the secretary trying to open the door. Apparently, she didn't have the keys, so Mr. Dobey must have them.
"Ah, whatever."
Rodrick grabbed the door handle and opened it with brute force. The door broke but opened, and Rodrick walked out calmly while thinking.
"Damn, when did I become so cool?"
Upon reaching the main office, Rodrick walked down the original hallway and left the building. As he left, Rodrick looked at the silent city and remembered the disaster he had caused in that small operating room.
"Well, this didn't turn out as I expected."