Owen opened his eyes for the first time after being enveloped by the darkness that swallowed him after his death. He looked up at the tired, smiling face of his new mother, and the ecstatic face of his new father. His mother's beautiful soft green eyes comforted the cries he only now realized were leaving his infant mouth. Her smooth fair skin was partially hidden behind her shiny brown hair. His father looked big and strong, with a handsome face, brown eyes and golden brown hair. Owen guessed his father worked in the tower for a couple reasons: he emitted an aura of strong mana, and no matter how well he hid it, nothing could get past Owen's mind's eye. The second reason, was a scar that ran across his throat. He could tell it was patched up by a very skilled healer, but it was only fast enough to save his life, not heal it entirely.
The room he was in had white dahlia wallpaper up and a ceiling fan with light brown wooden blades. He rolled his tiny head to the left and saw a big window on the wall, revealing their house sat atop a massive hill while showing off an amazing view of the city skyline below. Rolling his head to the left, he saw the door to this room, gray wood with a shiny brass doorknob. "Alright, let's let Veronia rest up, you can put your son in the crib now." he heard a voice say, assuming it was a midwife of some sort. His father nodded and picked Owen up in one big hand and placed him gingerly in the crib across the room. They all quietly left the room, giving their newborn son some time to rest.
If he was the son of a tower climber, his household must be wealthy, or at least well off. Climbing the tower was very profitable, whether you did it as a government worker or for a private company. This gave Owen hope, as it meant he would have access to things that would accelerate his growth as a tower climber. Nothing his father could give him, however, could match what Owen provided himself before his passing: The "Second Chance System" or the SCS. Upon completion of the system, he will have regained every drop of his power.
Owen commanded the system to open, and the familiar transparent purple screen with white lettering appeared before his eyes.
'WELCOME, CREATOR. HOW MAY I SERVE YOU?'
'Show me the main window." Owen replied to his obedient creation. Without delay, the screen switched to the main window.
Name: Alexander Freidricks(Owen Valeguard)
Innate Attribute(s): [Creation] |Rank: Omnipotent|- (Locked) Your original innate attribute, enables you to create anything you have the mana for. Temporarily locked due to the insufficient condition of your vessel. [Kinesis] |Rank: Weak|- Control over small objects. The larger the object, the less control you have over it. Aquired from Veronia Freidricks. [Super Sword] |Rank: Very Strong|- Talented in swordsmanship from birth. Able to read the movements of combatants with ease. Also able to envelop and embue blades with mana much easier and with higher quality. Aquired from Daniel Freidricks.
Inventory: 0/1000
Stats: Strength:0 Mana Capacity:0 Dexterity:0 Endurance:0 Senses:0
Owen celebrated in his head. His father was indeed a strong tower climber, he had to be with an attribute like Super Sword. Abilities with high starting ranks often make mighty tower climbers. That's not to say abilities with low starting ranks are bad though, as with hard work they can rank up, and even evolve. His parents had chosen the name "Alexander" for him before he had even opened his eyes, the system had shown him through the nameplate.
'Wait... why is my creation attribute locked?!? Explain this right now, SCS.'
'ATTRIBUTE STATUS-LOCKED- EXPLANATION: Your vessel cannot yet handle your original mana. Without your original mana, [Creation] cannot function. Strengthening your vessel is necessary before aquiring your original mana.'
'Dammit, that's really inconvenient. When I get my body strong enough, will you give me my mana?'
'YES, CREATOR. AFTER YOUR VESSEL IS STRENGTHENED ENOUGH, YOU WILL AUTOMATICALLY RECEIVE YOUR ORIGINAL MANA.'
'Well, I guess that makes sense. Guess I'll have to start putting in the work!'
'MAY I SUGGEST A STARTING POINT, CREATOR?'
'Of course, SCS. What do you have for me?'
QUEST: Learn to walk. Requirement: Achieve 20 consecutive upright steps. Reward: 5 stat points
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In the middle of the 100 acres of forrest his father owned, Owen trained to the limit of his 10 year old body. His hands were firmly latched onto a tree branch, wrapping halfway around it. '8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13... 14... 15!'. After that last pull up, he dropped to the ground and landed on his feet, but stumbled back and fell down onto his rear end.
Owen knew every inch of that damned tower like the back of his hand, which, of course made it safer for him. It also meant that he knew exactly how dangerous it was, and how much he needed to prepare for it. He still had six years until he was allowed to even step foot in the doorway to the tower because of government regulations put in place to protect people. He also needed to be able to pass the tower screening as soon as he was allowed to take it. If you didn't pass it, it meant that you weren't strong enough to survive on the first floor and you wouldn't be allowed in. Entering without passing the screening was a federal offense potentially met with 50 years of jail time.
Passing the screening wasn't the only test you needed to succeed in. Every floor of the tower has trial that must be conquered. If you fail, one of two things could happen: You'll be met with a permanent penalty that will follow you through the tower no matter how high you climb, or you'll die. In his past life, Owen had failed a couple of times, which meant he wasn't as strong as he could've been when he was betrayed. Failing trials is not an option.
Suddenly, he felt a strong presence, a little far off, but approaching at an alarming speed. He stood up, and put on his gray shirt over his torso, and passing a little over the waste of his black shorts. With a huge gust of wind that shook the branches of surrounding trees, the same presence stopped five feet behind him.
"Young master Alex, your father has sent for you. He requires your presence immediatly."
A tall, thin man stood behind Owen, dressed in a black tuxedo, coat tails and all, and slicked back jet black hair. He had stormy gray eyes that were focused on the back of Owen's head. He looked to be in his early to mid 20s, however, Owen knew he was indeed pushing 50. Having a large Mana Capacity tended to keep your body in its prime for much longer.
"Hey Richter, do I gotta run my butt off to get to the house in time or are you gonna help me out?"
Richter nodded and extended a gloved hand out to him. As soon as he took it, he was pulled through the air and stopped on Richter's back. At a guestimated speed of 60 miles an hour, they practically flew through the forrest with how quick his strides were. They arrived at the house in a matter of minutes. Owen called it "the house", but it was offically known as the "Freidricks Estate House", and rightfully so! It was a 16,000 square foot, three story mansion reminescent of the Bildmore house, back when that was still standing.
Owen hopped off Richter's back, and walked through a pair of 15 foot glass arch doors into the family room. There, sat at the far end of the long mahogany table and bathed in yellow light from the chandelier, was his father, Daniel Freidricks. Dressed in a navy blue suit with a lighter blue dress shirt, his hair side parted to the right and a well groomed dark mustache sat on his upper lip. He held a steaming tea cup in his right hand, and his left was resting on his knee.
"Alex, come talk with me. There's a couple of things we need to discuss." Daniel spoke in a calm but serious voice.
Owen saw that there was no room for humor in his expression, so he quickly walked to the chair across the table from his father and sat down. A maid with black hair tied into a bun came over and poured him a cup of the same steaming tea his father drank. If Owen's memory served him correctly, her name was Diana. She used to be known in the tower as the Moon's Dagger for her strength and assassination prowess, but know her title was changed to a dog of the Freidricks family. Some might call that a bad thing, but climbers know that only the cream of the crop get the chance to serve their family. Every servant at the estate was a high rank climber who had seen death time and time again.
"I know you've had a strong desire to climb the tower for a long time. Since you could talk all you've been interested in is making sure you're strong enough to thrive in there by the time you're allowed to." Daniel said. Owen nodded, but wondered where this was going.
"That's why, starting next week, you'll have an instructor hired into the estate with the specific purpose of training you. Combat will be more natural than second nature to you by the time you complete their course."
Owen wondered who the person his father hired to train him was. It had to be someone amazing for the "Mystic Sword Tyrant" to praise them so highly. He thought it may be one of the 12 servants of the estate, but "hired specifically to train you" eliminated each of them.
"Who did you hire, father?" Owen asked curiously.
"The Combat King, Ethan Wilkons." Daniel spoke with the raspy, deep voice he always had. His mother tells him that his vocal cords were permanently damaged in an intense battle he had in the tower. No one except mother knows who or what he was fighting, but she wouldn't tell even Owen what it was.
The Combat King was indeed worthy of being hired by father. He was known to be the most skilled almost every aspect of combat. He only fell short in swordsmanship when it came to his father, but then again so did everybody else. Not only did he earn his title from the tower through skill, but he was also rumored to be powerful enough to climb all the way to the 500th floor of the tower all by himself. Owen was amazed someone like that was hired to be his personal trainer for the tower. With his Super Sword attribute, he'd become a lot stronger a lot quicker with this kind of training. The faster he got stronger, the faster he'll get his original mana back.