[ You have awakened a Mythical-grade Talent: Soulweaver ]
Ethan didn't know anything before he decided to come to this place other than the stories about monsters and amazing rewards from this Tower. He thought that the Agents would explain everything to him.
But it turns out that he was just thrown into this Trial without any explanation. And now, he suddenly awakened a Talent.
At least he knew something about Talents. It was his superpower. And Mythical-grade sounded awesome. Ethan immediately knew that he had just gained an amazing superpower.
'Is that it?'
Ethan waited for another rune to appear but there was none. The rune had stopped and the voice inside his head was also silent.
Instead, the room started to change. Its interior melted into black shards like ash and swirling around him. Including the corpses of the four people he killed earlier.
Ethan frowned. If they disappeared along with this room, does that mean they were part of it? So they were indeed an illusion.
After about a minute, the room returned to darkness like the one he entered through the closed door. Ethan waited, and the door opened.
"Hey! You're done." Jane's voice called him from behind the doorframe forming a box of light.
Once Ethan stepped out of the dark room, he looked at Jane. "Do you know what I just experienced in there?"
Jane didn't immediately answer his question. She stared at him for a few moments with eyes full of admiration. Even her lips parted a little, showing how impressed she was right now.
Ethan, getting such a look, furrowed his brow. "Why are you looking at me like that?"
"Huh? O-Oh... Sorry. It's been a long time since I've seen someone awaken a Talent that powerful."
"You can see my Talent?" Ethan was surprised.
"Not really. I can only glimpse the light around you. I can guess that at least you have a Talent with Rare-grade or above." Jane smiled. "With a Talent as strong as that, your journey climbing the Tower will surely be much easier."
Ethan just nodded. He already knew that much. But for now, he would try to lay low and not let another Invited know about his power.
"You haven't explained anything to me and just threw me in there. At least you owe me that much," Ethan said.
"Right. Do you know the reason I didn't say anything to you?" Ethan looked at her, waiting for her to continue.
"That's because most of the Invited who enter there can't pass the Trial. You are the first one to succeed after one year."
"One year?"
"Yeah," Jane nodded.
They both walked towards the elevator and got in. Jane continued. "There were one hundred and three Invited who came before you. Only fifty of them came back. You succeeded without too many severe injuries, so you must be a cold-hearted person."
Ethan glanced at her. So she does know what happened in there.
Seeing Ethan's suspicious look, Jane chuckled.
"Don't worry. I've experienced the same thing. You were ordered to kill some people competing for the treasure, right? They were just illusions created by the Tower. You don't need to feel guilty."
Ethan felt relieved in his heart. He didn't feel guilty. The fact that they were just illusions meant nothing. But he didn't say anything.
After they returned to the surface, they passed through the corridor and saw several men and women wearing suits. They're Agents, just like Jane.
They all looked at Ethan with shocked or admiring looks. But some of them scoffed at him openly, as if saying they knew he wouldn't survive for too long after this.
'Do they not see my Talent like Jane?'
"They can't see your Talent now. Only I and some… uhm… people in higher positions can see it," Jane said immediately, as if answering his question that he didn't say.
"Who are those people?" Ethan asked.
"I'll explain some things to you once we get to our private room."
So Ethan just waited. He noticed some people not wearing black suits like the Agents. Instead, they wore casual clothes or even some kind of armor.
Ethan was curious about it, but he decided to wait until Jane explained it.
Once they arrived in a room, Jane immediately closed the door. Ethan sat on a couch while Jane sat on the couch in front of him.
"What do you want to know first?" Jane asked. She smiled at Ethan with an excited expression.
Ethan himself felt excited because his Talent seemed quite amazing. But he kept a flat expression that was hard to read.
"What will happen after I pass this Trial?"
"You will immediately enter the Tower. We will provide some insight into what you will face there, but not too much.
"Then, on the Third floor, you will find the Academy. There, you will gain all the knowledge that you can use until you reach the Tenth floor."
"There is an Academy built inside the Tower?"
"Yes," Jane nodded. "It was built about ten years ago by the Evernight family, I'm sure you've heard of them."
Ethan nodded. The Evernight family was very famous as the conquerors of the highest Tower. They had conquered it up to the Twentieth floor and gained incredible treasures from there.
In the Lorned Country – where Ethan lives now – they hold full power, even surpassing the president.
"I'm still very unfamiliar with the Tower. Please tell me how I should actually conquer the floor?" Ethan asked the most important question in his mind right now.
Jane looked surprised. "You don't even know about that? Have you been living under a rock?"
"I wasn't that interested in the Tower before this," Ethan said, shrugging his shoulders casually. "I only knew that the Tower contained nightmares. And people can't enter without getting an Invitation, that's it."
"Alright," Jane said. "It's pretty simple actually. To conquer a floor, one only needs to defeat the Floor Warden. They come in various shapes and abilities. And now everything has to be fought with a battle to the death. Some of them prefer tricks.
"They will respawn after being defeated when another batch of Invited come once every year."
Ethan could already imagine how difficult the path ahead would be. He gritted his teeth and looked determined.
"You also have to be careful with other Invited. They might be your ally, but most of the time they will be your enemy," Jane added, giving him a warning.
"I knew that much already," Ethan said.
Jane smiled. Then she proceeded to explain more things to him about various things he needed to do. She also said that his father would receive full care while he climbed the Tower. But he still wouldn't be able to fully recover until he got the cure from the Tower.
To Ethan, it was good enough because he didn't have to worry about how his father would make ends meet while he was gone.
After that, Ethan went back to his small apartment. He prepared to tell his father about what had happened.
---