Sitting on the soft grass by the pool, knees drawn to his chest, Arthur stared blankly at the clear water. The memory of the Giant Rats haunted him—the grotesque, matter fur, the jagged teeth, the unrelenting hunger in its eyes. While the adrenaline that had engulfed him had dulled the details, now, with nothing to distract him, they assaulted him incessantly, the fear settling in, heavy and suffocating.
His arms tightened around himself. "I almost died."
The thought of returning to the First Floor made his stomach churn. He glanced toward the forest beyond the Safe Zone, the very same place that for the past seven days—or what had felt like it, he wasn't too sure in this place—he had searched for a possible way to escape. Every attempt to step beyond the tree line ended the same way: a moment of disorientation, blackness and then him waking up back in the clearing as though nothing had ever happened.
Even the lake in the centre of the clearing had revealed no secrets. Its water was pure and drinkable. Yet there was nothing to it, no currents, no hidden depths; just an unnatural pristine pool.
Arthur sighed and waved his hand tentatively, mocking the motion that had summoned the interface he had become intimately familiar with over the last few days.
PROFILE
NAME: Arthur Hale
LEVEL: 1 (25/100 EXP).
HEALTH: 120/120.
MANA: 60/60.
STATS:
- Strength: 8
- Dexterity: 6
- Endurance: 7
- Intelligence: 7
- Wisdom: 6
- Luck: 5
STAT POINTS: 0
Arthur stared at the numbers having been working to figure out exactly what they meant and symbolised. It was all pretty simple in principle, he had a level, health bar, mana bar as well as stats.
All pretty standard.
It was made even simpler to understand when he looked at the notation '(25/100 EXP)' next to his level made it clear how close he was to reaching the next level. He wasn't certain what would happen when he levelled up, what rewards would be given or even if there would be. Arthur assumed there would be, but he wasn't exactly in a rush to return to the First Floor to find out.
Especially not alone.
Even more so if it meant going alone and with no real knowledge of what those monsters were. All he knew about them was their name, Giant Rats and that they gave 25 EXP when killed; that was it.
To his shock, a smaller window popped and Arthur recoiled slightly in shock.
NOTIFICATION
Tentatively, Arthur clicked on it.
NAME: Giant Rat
INFORMATION: Once ordinary rats, these monstrous beasts have been mutated through exposure to dense Mana. They are common predators found in surrounding forests, having been driven from local towns and villages. As a result, they have further evolved into more aggressive predators than their ordinary counterparts. Possessing sharp claws and an enhanced sense of smell, they are deadly predators. Typically found in packs, they pose a significant threat to unarmed or inexperienced individuals.
REWARD: 25 EXP.
Arthur's pulse quickened as he absorbed the information. "Found in packs..." He murmured, remembering how he had barely survived four of them and that was by running for his life, Arthur really hoped that it was a pack what he thought and that there wasn't more of those things on the First Floor.
He then looked at the other two sections, their titles resting next to the Profile greyed out, INVENTORY and SKILLS. He couldn't access either of them yet, Arthur assuming that due to having nothing for either of them to hold, no equipment or skills.
Another reason he didn't want to go back to the First Floor just yet.
On his own, as he was, there was nothing he could do.
Once again, as had become a habit for him, he opened the notification about the Giant Rat again, rereading the details. As his gaze flickered across the window, committing the description to memory as a means to pass the time, a faint pulse of light ran through the display before another notification appeared.
CONGRATULATIONS!
DUE TO INCREASING YOUR KNOWLEDGE OF THE TOWER YOUR INTELLIGENCE HAS INCREASED BY 1 (7 → 8).
Shocked and unsure of this, Arthur pulled up in PROFILE once more.
PROFILE
NAME: Arthur Hale
LEVEL: 1 (25/100 EXP).
HEALTH: 120/120.
MANA: 65/65.
STATS:
- Strength: 8
- Dexterity: 6
- Endurance: 7
- Intelligence: 8
- Wisdom: 6
- Luck: 5
STAT POINTS: 0
"So the numbers can be increased?" Arthur wondered and as he looked over his profile once more, he realised that his MANA had increased to 65 as well. "That's five more than before. So, intelligence is linked to mana, and by the looks of things. One in intelligence equals five." He waited, but there was no popup and Arthur sighed, lying down on the floor. "I was hoping that I might have gotten more intelligence for that. But I'm guessing I need to do more than just figure things out to increase my stats.
Arthur had no idea how long he'd be stuck here or how to even get out of here. He assumed that the only way out was by clearing the floors, which seemed like the most sensible choice. But was he seriously meant to clear the floors by himself? Was he the only one even here? Were there other people out there beyond the forest?
He had no answers and so once more, Arthur was stuck as time dragged by painfully slow. There was still a cycle of night and day, but whether it was accurate Arthur didn't know, he didn't even know where he was. For all he knew time days were faster; or slower.
By the time that flowed wherever he currently was, it had been seven days. Seven days in which he hadn't properly eaten and yet he never felt hungry. Still, the lack of proper sleep and being isolated here alone was beginning to increase the mental weight he felt with each passing moment.
"Is this just it?" Arthur wondered to himself, tracing the water in the lake creating small ripples, the only seeming disruption in the surroundings around him. "Just...waiting till I go crazy?"
Rubbing his temples, Arthur tried to shake the growing pit in his stomach as that thought was becoming more and more like reality as time ticked by. Yet that was when a faint hum broke through the silence, Arthur jumping to his feet as he spun around to try and find the source of the sound.
Then, from the darkness of the trees, a figure stumbled out, collapsing onto the grass. It was a man in his mid-twenties, dressed in jeans and a hoodie, his face pale with confusion as he looked around wildly. His breathing was shallow and his hands were trembling and that's when he found Arthur.
Arthur approached cautiously. "Hey, are you okay?"
The man flinched, his wide eyes snapping to Arthur. "Where… where am I?"
Arthur knelt beside him. "I wish I knew. What's your name?"
"Eric," the man stammered. "Eric Collins. What the hell is this place? I was just… I was at home, and then—" He broke off, his gaze darting around the clearing. "What's going on?"
Arthur sighed, sitting back on his heels. "I wish I knew, but I don't have a clue what's going on or where we are. I woke up here a week ago—if time even works the same here. But there's no way out. The forest just… sends you back here if you try to leave."
Eric's breathing steadied, though his eyes were still wild with disbelief. "This...this is the Towers, isn't it? The ones that appeared last week?"
Arthur frowned. "Towers?"
"You don't know?" Eric gave him a bewildered look. "They appeared in every country—massive structures, hundreds of meters tall. No one could get in. Governments tried everything—bombs, drones, I heard North Korea tried throwing a nuke at theirs—but nothing worked. People are losing their minds trying to figure out what they are."
Arthur's stomach turned. "So this place… is connected to those towers?"
Eric nodded slowly. "It has to be. There's no other explanation. A week ago, they showed up, and now… we're inside one?" Arthur felt the weight of Eric's words settle over him.
Seven days.
If Eric was right then the Towers had been outside for exactly as long as he'd been trapped here. It was a small comfort to him to know that time did flow the same, at least that was one answer to the many questions in his mind.
Arthur's gaze shifted to the portal. "It's been a week. Do you think… another person shows up every seven days?"
Eric followed his gaze, his brow furrowing as he followed Arthur's gaze. "Maybe. That would explain why it's just the two of us right now. But… what about the portal?"
Arthur swallowed hard. "I've been through it once. It's… a game, I think. There's a forest—darker than this—and monsters. I barely survived."
Eric's eyes widened. "Monsters?"
"They're called Giant Rats," Arthur said bitterly. "They're bigger and faster than anything I've ever seen. They're...well they're quite literally giant rats." The blunt description made Eric chuckle slightly. "But we just don't have monsters, we have stats and a gamer interface. Everything."
For a moment, silence stretched between them.
Then Eric straightened, his expression hardening. "That means this really is like a game. Levels, stats, monsters to fight… And the goal must be the same—climb the tower and reach the top."
Arthur hesitated. "You make it sound simple."
"Maybe it is," Eric said. "I mean, there's two of us now. That has to count for something, right?"
Arthur felt the old fear rise in his chest, but Eric's words planted a seed of determination. Two was better than one and sitting here, waiting for answers, wasn't going to solve anything.
He clenched his fists. "All right. Let's do it."
Eric grinned. "That's the spirit. Let's see what's waiting for us."
Together, they turned toward the portal, its faint hum promising another trial—and, perhaps, another chance to survive.