"As a freshman, you electrified the campus and energized it to life. Throughout your years at the APA, you have kept current with your classes. It is my pleasure to acknowledge the graduates of the best Awakener Institution on this continent. These graduates have demonstrated excellence…."
"Hraaaah…" The lady yawned impatiently.
'The education here sure was useless. The only thing left is to pass the damn Tower, which will guarantee me a peaceful and quiet life full of riches… hehe. I just have to overcome the fifth floor…'
While the lady was deep in her thoughts, the professor voiced, "Gregory Ichnikov, Samantha Larson, Likita Elias .…"
'Finally, my legs are getting stiff…'
Likita recollected her composure and glanced at the two young ladies beside her.
"Oh, they are calling me. See you Mira, Sara."
The little lady beside her pointed the finger at her. "Are you unavailable after the ceremony, Lita? Robert has invited all of us to his father's villa for the party at night. He specifically insisted on you coming this time. You won't turn us over as usual, right?" She frowned, expecting the ballista of excuses Lita had up to her sleeves.
Her round face was like a piece of slightly yellow ivory; the greater part of the forehead was covered with red dots. The straight hair was the same color as her upturned eyes - Caramel brown. Mira was a patient type, yet she got her limits tested with Lita all the time.
"You see, Mira, I have promised my parents to commemorate this special event in a restaurant today. We still have a big chunk of time before departing to The Tower and will surely meet beforehand." Lita professionally declined the offer.
'Except I am leaving tomorrow…'
"Hey Lita, you promised us last time. Stop making excuses. With all the preparations due, we will likely not have another chance to get together for a while." Sara gave an automatic response as if too accustomed to Lita's usual excuses.
Sara had a slim figure, her shoulders defined by prominent collar bones. Her skin was rich black, and her face was decorated with child-like eyes covered by lush, red-dyed buzz-cut hair. Despite having a small teardrop face, her gigantic brown glasses perfectly suited her image. The fact that she had no shiny accessories on her surprised her two friends since she was a frantic lover of those.
"Alright then. Honestly, I was looking for an excuse to spend some time with you two. I can see my parents every day, but friends are as important. Let's enjoy the night!" Lita said enthusiastically.
'Ugh…I had a single day off, and you had to ruin it. Well, I am just mending my social connections and making some new ones. Yeah - social connections.'
"Oops, it seems the stage is waiting for you, Lita!" Mira inserted.
A blonde lady in a creamy white tunic dress colored the stage. Lita had a spotless Heart-shaped face, like those of Hollywood stars. Her white skin with an olive undertone radiated beauty. Her dress was simple, yet she neither required shiny metallics nor extravagant make-up to compliment her charm.
The cheers intensified as she glorified the stage. Her blue almond eyes shone with joy. She gave a nod with a broad smile and slightly bowed, exhibiting happiness and confidence, grateful for all the attention given to her.
'As if…'
"Dear colleagues, my precious friends, the hard-working staff who put all their hearts into our education, and my beloved family…"
'Family, huh,'
Lita raised her voice. "It is an honor to be part of this grandiose marking in the history of APA and our nation. I am proud to be part of the 2023 graduate ceremony!"
She straightened her back and peered at the audience. "At a time our world is dealing with enormous challenges..." She raised her hand and put it on her flat chest. "But at a time when opportunities created by those challenges have never been greater!"
"It is time for humanity to reattain the rule over our homeland. Our predecessors have built the foundation; the rest we pave. What makes humanity frightening is our adaptability and unyielding will. Until the day we stop striving to thrive, we will remain impenetrable."
Lita took a heavy gasp.
'How cringe… Here comes the best part.'
"Thank you for making me who I am, APA, my second family. And, of course, I sincerely thank the government for sustaining our guaranteed safety."
'Yes, look at this sweet young woman maintaining your graceful image; ain't she a good asset?'
The hall burst into cheers; Lita's eyes swelled as she tried to stir a few droplets coming from her reddened eyes. She lingered on her way back, walking in an unsteady manner.
'Perfect.'
***
A huge modern mansion lay on the shore of the Pacific Ocean. It had everything one could yearn for.
An atmospheric garden at the entrance, brimming with the fresh fragrance of roses and lavender flowers, enlightened the mood of every passerby.
A large swimming pool was placed in the backyard - maintained at a daily rate. Amidst it stood a gargantuan fountain, switching the lights and the mode at which it sprayed every moment.
With a glance at the insides of this humongous mansion, it was apparent that its interior would not be any inferior to its outer looks. After all, it must have a mesmerizing panoramic view of the ocean.
"I'm home…."
After opening the door and greeting Fabien - the butler, Lita was met with serene silence, as usual. Father Samuel was probably drunk at his casino hotel or rummaging the city for Mother Irina, who was probably with someone else's father…
Brother Yan definitely took after Irina…
'I haven't seen him in two weeks; it's a wonder if he's alive.'
Yan was an awakener who challenged The Tower two years ago. Yet, he died on the third floor, so calling him awakener was absurd.
There was also sister Clara, or was there?
'Whatever…'
Lita headed to her room while politely refusing dinner, stating that she had a gathering to attend.
The room was almost empty - no accessories, memoirs, or any decorations whatsoever. The walls were of golden color while the floor was ceramic. Standing at the left corner of the room was a wide bed. Beside it was a closet, all consisting of simple and comfy wear. On the opposite corner was a study desk under the double-hung window where Lita spent most of her days self-studying on her laptop.
Today was a special day.
Because tomorrow, Lita will be heading to The Tower.
Exactly when the 21st century commenced, the day after, cataclysmic earthquakes started taking place all around the world. That was the first stage of the sixth extinction, which abruptly took 15% of the human population. It lasted for a week.
Then the portals appeared.
Nobody knew why the catastrophe descended upon humanity, but no time for consideration was given. The brave volunteers, mainly consisting of desperate gamers, who plunged into those portals never came back. Current science wasn't advanced enough to determine the logic behind the supernatural.
There were many new theories as well as some resuscitation of the old ones, for example, Einstein's wormhole theory. One apparent fact was that those circles contained immense energy, more than any nuclear weaponry.
Soon after, the portals started to fluctuate, and afterward, they poured the creatures residing inside onto the surface of our planet and vanished. That is when the gamers' and Einstein's theories prevailed. Millions of devious monsters swarmed across the globe.
The guns were useless against most since you had to break their cores to kill off the creature completely. Tanks and drones did great, but it was back-breaking to navigate through the prominent cities and avoid blowing someone up in an accident.
The main issue wasn't monsters' prowess nor numbers, but their unpredictableness. There were thousands of unique creatures, each with its bells and whistles.
After a while, some nations were even forced to opt for a nuclear armory. Sure, it did a great job at killing monsters, also humans, while at that. Although they pretended to imply evacuation policies and all, monsters were faster than earthlings; thus, they couldn't linger much.
This was the Second stage of the sixth extinction, which took another 60% of humanity, leaving only a fourth of the population yet to despair at the dread of death closing on and on. Two months was all it took for monsters to wipe out three-fourths of the planet.
Then The Tower came. Mysterious Tower of Trials.
Nobody knew what it was, but it gave a glimpse of hope to humans. Every individual had the right to take a trial, but only a few managed to pass the first few floors.
It is still unknown what The Tower is, how many floors it has, given that it has a limit, and what kind of power a man could attain by completing all the trials.
You lose the trial whenever you die inside The Tower, which does not affect the well-being of your real soul.
When you die, all the skills you obtained in The Tower and your status window get transferred to your real body.
The status window is a mysterious panel unique to each wielder. It shows the strengths of a user and has many more functions… People also call it a system.
While getting adjusted to The Tower, we lost another 15% of our species - The third stage of extinction.
Thankfully, the time inside The Tower was rushing ten times faster. After a week, the strong awakened who cleared the fifth floor returned to support the war. As time passed, we were finally at an advantage and soon gained control over dungeons.
Now, all humanity resides in North America since The Tower is here. We don't have enough power to watch out for the dungeons outside of the area. At least, most abominations can't get past the ocean - especially the biggest and most frightening ones.
Currently, humanity has a population of over 650 million. Although the number keeps shrinking, the rate at which it falls keeps going down.
The survival rate decreases the further one gets away from The Tower. The places outside of human reach - all the other continents - are called Wilderness or The Death Zone.
"I will have a sweet life after I withstand the first five floors, and the place at the top of the societal hierarchy will be guaranteed~."
'....'
'Is that really what you want?'
Lita lay on her bed, firmly hugging her pillow, droplets slowly stemming from her eyes.
***
"Catch him! He couldn't get far away!"
"Be cautious! He has killed dozens with mere tricks."
The coastal city with a growing population was in constant motion. Nearing its technological boom, construction was taking place in every part of the city. A polarized class system was very much in place - An upstairs-downstairs culture of lords and ladies with scullery maids and servant staff. With its narrow streets and lively nightlife, it was one of the most popular destinations for migrants coming from the East, where the war prevailed. The place was similar to early 20th-century England.
Except, there was magic.
The man in his mid-thirties was leisurely drinking a cup of coffee with a lady.
He had messy medium-sized hair scattered all over his head, pigmented by the color of his coffee, maybe slightly brighter. His eyes were scary, not because they depicted any ill will. In contrast, those grave gray eyes didn't express anything at all. As if the owner was not a human being but some ghost or a leftover shell. A sharp chin and nose were ornamented on his rather triangular handsome face.
From afar, nobody would vary him from the nearby surrounding of a loud crowd, except that he didn't like wearing the sleeves of his coat as he would drape them over his shoulders.
"You've messed up big this time, Master; even when you purposefully let them catch you, they can't. Just goes to show how skillful you were." The lady said with a cheerful tone.
"Were?" The man distorted his face.
"Yeah, I haven't yet seen a person who's willingly choosing to be tortured and die a death of a rat." She tried her best to hide her lowering voice, yet there was nothing you could hide from his prying eyes. "You are as dumb as you are intelligent."
"Ahh, I couldn't fly to the sky and couldn't travel to the ocean, couldn't write a book and couldn't find a wife. There were so many things on my bucket list…Ugh, and I couldn't revolt against the empire." The man sighed deeply and then smiled. "From the looks of it, I am a failure; no, I am definitely a failure."
He took a pack of cigarettes out of his pocket, put one in between his fingers, lighted it, and then puffed while mumbling, "In spite of it, I don't regret a thing, Kara. The time I spent with you and Barny was priceless. He is still a kid, make him forget about me, and please, never attempt to take revenge. If something happens to you, then what about him?"
Kara broke down and started crying uncontrollably. "Then…sob...What about us…? Who's going to look after us if not you!? Everyone has died already…sob. You've promised…!"
"Well, you know that I am a pathological liar." The man took another puff. "Listen well. I don't have much time."
After instructing her on some matters, he stood up to provide a few more consolations before leaving. But after he saw her saddened face, his heart sank. He knew that words wouldn't be enough.
He kneeled a little and hugged Kara so hard that a squeak escaped her mouth. She hugged him in return. Waterfalls poured down her eyes.
"Well, at least I'm going to be remembered for generations."
"How so?"
"You see, I have lots of debts…."