…
[Rank Up Achieved.]
[Congratulations, Seun. You are now an E-rank individual.]
[You have cleared the 5th floor!]
[Kill evaluation: SS]
[System will now distribute rewards!]
[You have earned 900 DC]
[Your proficiency of [Cosmic Energy Manipulation] has increased to 10%]
[You have reached level 15 and have been given the permission to explore the safe zone outside of Luminaris.]
[You have reached level 15 and have outgrown the discount on System Store purchases. You can now share DC with other explorers]
[You have earned the Title of "Explorer"]
Normally I would have been thrilled at the messages of the system showing me the rewards and the level of my growth, but I was still feeling too much pleasure from the level up.
I could feel the impact of the energy on every part of my body. My immediate need was to see what I look like.
Clicking on the store function, I immediately bought a full-length mirror which was delivered to my storage space immediately. Even though it was priced at a ridiculous price of 2000 DC.
I stared at the figure in the mirror, and for a moment, I couldn't believe it was me.
Just a few moments ago, I was an ordinary Nigerian, with plain brown skin, simple black hair, and the kind of appearance you could forget in a crowd.
But now? Now, I looked like something pulled straight out of a sci-fi epic.
My once humble brown skin was now glossy, radiating a faint, otherworldly energy glow that made it look as though it was polished with cosmic light.
Every time I moved, shimmering waves danced across my body, as if I were wearing the universe itself. It didn't feel like my skin anymore—it felt alien, unrecognizable.
But my eyes... "my eyes" were something else entirely.
They weren't human. No whites, no pupils, nothing familiar. Instead, they were like windows into the night sky.
I saw stars twinkling, galaxies swirling, and vast stretches of darkness. Looking into them felt like staring into the infinity of the cosmos—beautiful and terrifying all at once. If I couldn't recognize myself, how could anyone else?
And then there was my hair. What used to be a simple, unremarkable short black now glimmered with the color of starlight. It was still short though and looks like I had a deal with a low-budget hairdresser.
It shimmered subtly with every movement, as though tiny constellations were caught in the strands. It wasn't just hair anymore; it was a crown of light, impossible to ignore.
I frowned deeply, the lines on my face forming as I took it all in. "This... this is going to be a problem," I muttered to myself. The voice that came out felt hollow, disconnected, like it wasn't coming from the person I used to be.
I touched my hair, then ran my fingers across my glowing skin, trying to ground myself in this new reality. "How am I supposed to go out like this? I'll stick out everywhere I go. People are going to stare, and that's going to bring trouble."
I took a step back from the mirror, feeling the weight of what I'd become.
A part of me marveled at the transformation, but another part—the one that just wanted to live a quiet life—felt dread creeping in.
Whatever simplicity I'd once had was gone. My appearance now screamed "otherworldly," and that was a beacon I wasn't sure I wanted.
"Of all things," I sighed, looking at the mirror one last time, "why did it have to be this dramatic?"
"I don't want this," I complained while murmuring, pulling at my skin and checking out my physical changes. "This goes against the laws of all kinds of protagonists."
It is better to attract attention when you are powerful to keep meddlers and ne'er-do-wells away. Not when you are still a sprouting seed and you do not possess a firm root yet.
"Looking back, the other transcendent souls guys were also like this..." I recall the appearance of the 9 abnormal people I met back in the explorers' guild. They all had a distinct appearance that screamed "Abnormal."
"I should say hello to them at this point. Might need advice to keep things." I opened my system screen while ignoring the option of immediately checking my status but checking the forum and clicking the option of private chats.
I noticed that on the automatic group that includes everyone from our dimension, the number of group participants has reached 68. A stark difference from the original 100 that was present in the group.
"What...? Did something happen while I was gone?" I had to question myself because, factoring out the fact that as a result of my actions, I got penalized and my trial got enhanced, a normal explorer should be able to clear the floor from 2-10.
The tower made it obvious that the lower floors were auto-generated to fit the explorers' growth needs and it won't be trying to kill everyone outright like I experienced. At least that was what I have learned from reading various forum posts.
"Did they get a penalty too?" I scrolled up reading group messages and discovered something strange.
One individual has changed his username to "Earth-King" claiming authority over everyone else in the group and seizing the weapons of those who tried to disobey him. He could even enact penalties.
While I left immediately to get lunch and retire to a room, everyone else was trying to network together while the 2 strange women who were trying to scout people and causing a scene were also driven out by the rabbit people.
After that period, people were also discussing on the group chat. Until the "Earth-King" guy sent a message to the group asking everyone to come to the receptionist area. That was the last message in the group.
It was on the separate group that Isabella created that she was left a message that the "Earth-King" was using a dangerous power that could make anyone who sees him automatically submit to him.
Those who had a strong will and tried to resist had their weapons seized and a penalty of increased monster strength was enacted upon them. They were also forced to start climbing the floor immediately.
Her last message was typed in a hurry, asking those the remaining 5 people on the group to avoid coming out to the receptionist area.
"Something is wrong. How can he enact penalties? How can he even use that kind of power when he is not part of the transcendent souls group? Hey [system] can a low-level explorer do that?" I tried asking the system. I was sure it was intelligent, but I was not truly expecting an answer.
[Yes Seun. He can if he has the power to do it]
"Y-You can talk?"
[Of course, why would I the ultimate creation of the Gods lack something as basic as the ability to talk?]
"No, you are supposed to be perfect." I said as I tried to calm my heart now increasing its beat in my chest. I could feel emotion from the words of the system. "Ok, I need some information. Can I ask about it from you?"
[Yes. You have reached the minimum requirement of level 10 and are qualified to speak with me]
"Good. Can you tell me about the Earth-King and how he is able to enact penalties?"
[No. I cannot provide information about another Explorer to you, Host]
"Host?" I interrupted the voice.
[Yes. Seun the explorer is a host to the system. For providing the opportunity that eases your convenience to check your level, strength, and providing skills, the system is entitled to 20% of the casualties you earn]
"Isn't that like getting taxed for having you?"
[You are free to see it in whatever way you deem fit. But back to the conversation. I am not permitted to share explorer information to anyone else, except my creators]
"Sounds legit, but if I may ask. What is the reward for getting to the 100th floor of the tower?"
[The reward is only known to those who thoroughly clear the floors and trial of the tower]
"Hmm" I took note of the wordings of the system. Just like a game. To get the full game clear, you need to participate in all the events and kill all the bosses. "Can you always speak out like this whenever I call you?"
[I can speak into your mind as I did during the 5th floor trial. I am not limited in this manner. It is just surprising that many people don't get to talk to me]
'Is it because they did not call you out' is what I was thinking in my mind before the system intruded.
[If you lack the will to think of me as intelligent, I won't respond to you]
"Yeah, you should be able to read minds"
[No, I can't. I am not permitted to read the minds of my hosts. But for that thought of yours, I have had this same conversation with an uncountable number of individuals already.]
"Experience is golden as they say then. But what about the people who died? Did they return back to our dimension?"
[If they possess enough amount of DC to initiate an automatic revival, they will be revived but out of the originally 36 dead people, only 4 had enough DC. Their soul goes back to the great cycle of reincarnation]
"What about the rest, are they permanently dead now?" I felt sad for them. They have been dragged here by the tower summons and now dead after being manipulated by another Earthling. "Life is seriously unfair"
[Another explorer can pay for their revival but with 10x the price per individual]
"Seriously!? We can pay for their revival? This is good news" I was happy that I could at least contribute to fixing the mess. But I remembered that the "Earth-King" guy was still around. "If we revive them now, won't that basta*d play with them again?"
[Yes. It is best you leave their revival for now and think on how to get stronger than him]
"So you can give an advice too?"
[Of course, the system exists to help the Host to grow. I advise checking your status]
"Status"
The system displayed the familiar screen containing my status to me:
=====
Name: Seun Adebayo
Level: 15
HP: 850/850
Cosmic Energy: 3400/3400
Strength: 30
Intelligence: 35
Agility: 30
Attack: +16
Defense: +16
|Transcendent Skills|
[Cosmic Energy Manipulation (10%)]
|Acquired Skills|
[Cosmic Radiation Resistance Lv.Max], [Abnormal Status Effect Resistance Lv.5]
|System Skills|
[Storage Space]
|Titles|
[Transcendent Mortal], [Master of Cosmic Radiation], [Explorer]
=====
My HP increases by 50 per level, cosmic energy increases by 100 per level, while the other stats increase by 1 per level.
"System when do I get to leave this space?"
[You only have about 28:34 time left until you are ejected to the next floor]
"That's manageable. I will use the remaining time left to practice. When it's time, inform me"
[=_=]
"Huh? What is wrong?"
[The tower just complained about your destruction of the floors! Well, it will reinforce this one, try to go wild as you can!]
"The tower is also intelligent?" The system did not respond to my question. But the silence was enough to be an answer.
My [Cosmic Energy Manipulation] skill has reached 10%, and I could feel that my control over it was better. I was going to test out the previous attacks that I was unable to do.
I was able to achieve a much better cosmic push, the concentrated burst of energy was now very strong, enough to shove an opponent backward while causing internal damages to their organs.
My cosmic net was now able to materialize vividly and ensnare opponents caught in their path. While changing their net form required more energy and concentration, it was not difficult for the current me.
"Cosmic Sword..." my energy tried to gather in a sword form but dissipated almost immediately. "This is still not ready to use"
Though if I temporarily allow cosmic energy to flow into my body and letting the energy flow out through a sword form, it should be sufficient as a last card if I encounter difficult enemies.
After my mastery reached 10%, my body was generating a shield automatically in my skin layer that was filtering out the incoming excessive energy allowing only the right amount of energy to eneter. At this point, my energy reserves would get filled back without me doing anything.
I could also now open 2 portals with a diameter of 6 feet. I also test out their performance and I was satisfied.
"And now for the final test. Cosmic or... No cosmic explosion!!"
I decided to create a compressed orb of energy. It was smaller than the last one but more stable and dense.
*BOOM!!!*
The loud deafening sound did not reach me. After the first time, I had put a space isolation barrier around me that filtered out sound. I watched in full happiness as the ball of energy exploded. The reinforced floor was destroyed.
"Hey System. How much time do I have left?"
[You have 00:58 time left]
"Just in time!" I am going to try to speed run the floor till I reach the 10th floor before going to put a stop to the "Earth-King" guy.