Level Up Legacy

"Yuvan has summoned it," said Arthur as he gazed at it. "I will kill him if given the chance, Ilia. I know that he is your brother, but he is one person I can never forgive."

"I always knew there was something off about him," said Ilia as he gazed at the red, his messy hair fluttering in the wind. "There were signs, but I chose to look away from the ugliness of my family."

"I looked away, too, in the beginning. But you saw the person who attacked Kera and became my enemy. I could no longer act as if it wasn't my responsibility to stop him," said Arthur as he turned toward Ilia. "You chose to follow me, but I will let you decide how to handle this."

"Let me accompany you into the tower," said Ilia after some slight hesitation. "I will not prevent you from killing him, but I must ensure that he is indeed my brother and not another puppet."

"I wouldn't have killed him if I did not make sure," said Arthur with a nod. "Come with me to the tower, but you must know this can be dangerous. No matter how strong we are, this will be their ground."

"There is a legend about Red Towers," said Ilia after a brief silence. "No one can leave once they enter unless they clear the tower. However, despite many records of being seen, no Red Tower remains in the world. Thus, most assume they are temporary."

"I never heard of Red Towers."

"Because they are a matter of great secrecy," responded Ilia. "There is one common thing between empyrean-rankers. All of them have cleared a tower before. It might be a coincidence, but many astra-rankers believe it is required before advancing into the next rank."

"That explains why the Astra-rank is considered to be the limits of humans," said Arthur with a smile. "That means that once news of this tower reaches the world, powerful awakeners will flock over here."

"I would assume that most are on their way. Becoming a Titan Guild requires ten astra-rankers or at least one empyrean ranker. Most guilds will send their astra-rankers here, even if they could never return."

"We don't need to stop them," said Arthur with a smile. "Relay the orders that if any awakener wants to enter the tower, let them. We don't have a claim over it at the moment."

"That is the wisest decision," said Ilia before giving a lieutenant this command. "What about the situation with Runera?"

"Let them cooperate with Velos. He is trustworthy and would not harm us," Arthur said before he rose. The tower began descending over the walls, destroying them without mercy. "However, no members of our guild are allowed to enter the tower for their safety. If one of the sub-guilds is caught disobeying, let Alan handle them."

Ilia relayed the orders and returned. At that moment, the tower began digging into the ground after drilling through the walls, destroying most of them. The boulders would have crushed many if Velos did not evacuate.

All of a sudden, the tower stopped moving, and a gate appeared facing Arthur as if inviting him inside. Before he could take the first step, several battleships appeared in the sky, where the arrays could not reach.

"They are here," said Ilia as he raised his eyes. "Velos has told them their entry is allowed, so we can rest assured about being ambushed. However, it might be wisest to be the first to enter, just in case the Red Tower has an entry limit."

Arthur agreed, and the two advanced toward the tower. Ancient symbols with unknown power were carved on the gates, making Arthur realize that runes were not the sole language of creation.

Ilia and Arthur stopped at the gate together and placed their hands simultaneously. Similar to the trials of Ilios, Arthur heard astral voices in his head as the tower brightly shone. Then, the two of them were teleported inside.

***

There was no noise, smell, or light inside the dim room that Arthur woke up inside. He found himself standing beside a bed, a table, and a bag. The room was built with bricks, and the smell of dirt filled his nose.

This was not what Arthur expected from the Red Tower. At first glance, there was a door, but Arthur was in no hurry to leave. Instead, he tried using his legacy to gain some information.

[Action blocked.]

A panel appeared before him, but this one did not belong to his legacy. It was red, making Arthur know its origin. The Red Tower was interfering with using his spiritual artifact, his legacy.

"Then, what about runes?" muttered Arthur as he raised his hand and tried to create a rune. There was a spark of mana but nothing else. His frown deepened because it was the first time his ability could not be activated.

Arthur decided to use his more unorthodox ability, which was colorless lightning. Arthur was relieved to see the black lights flicker on his fingertips as he raised his other hand to use it. However, the spatial fabric seemed to distort in its place, meaning that they affected this dimension.

"Although restricted, I can still use it," said Arthur after sensing the opposition he received from the tower. Then, he turned his attention toward the items in his room.

The table seemed insignificant, but Arthur walked toward it nonetheless. When he placed his hand on it, Arthur was surprised to see a panel on its surface containing information about him.

[Challenger Name]

[Floor: 1]

[Reward Points: 0]

[Strength: 10]

[Agility: 10]

[Stamina: 10]

He had the sole rows on the left, but the right had different squares. There was a single square for 14:04

skill, a weapon, and another for spiritual art. It seems that these were his limits inside this tower.

[Perception: 10]

[Mana: 10/10]

He had the sole rows on the left, but the right had different squares. There was a single square for skill, a weapon, and another for spiritual art. It seems that these were his limits inside this tower.

"Is this like a leveling-up station?" muttered Arthur with surprise as he tried to navigate around it, but there was a restriction because he was still on the tower's first floor. Arthur did not see anything that indicated that the tower knew about his colorless lightning, so he was relieved.

After being done with the table, Arthur walked toward the bed. Although it looked ordinary, he noticed it started regenerating his mana as soon as he placed his head on the pillow. Furthermore, he could feel his lifeforce being nourished.

The bed was a regenerative artifact that allowed him to heal. The sole thing inside the room was the small leather bag, which could be worn over his shoulder. Arthur tried to fiddle with it, but it was locked. The moment he wore it, a panel appeared in front of him.

There was a single row of ten items inside. Arthur found three things, one being a scroll, another looking like a book, and the third being a single gold coin. The scroll landed in his hand when he summoned it, and the following words were written.

[Use the word Return to teleport to your room.]

Arthur realized what this item was. It was a way to leave the tower and return to this room, where he could rest and raise his abilities inside the building. Since he had no use for it, he returned it to his bag.

The second item was the book, which he took out and opened. As he flipped through it, Arthur found three sections: information, Quests, and Monsters. The only chapter of the three to have anything written was the first, which were things he realized about the tower, like its different functions.

The last item was the gold coin, but Arthur found nothing special about it. It was not a magical item but an actual gold coin. This item was what interested him the most.

"This coin signifies civilization inside the tower," muttered Arthur as he examined it but found nothing written on it. "If there is an economy, can there be other people here? And if so, where have they come from?"

Arthur had some expectations about this tower since it was much more sophisticated than the Tower of Yearning, which he had once entered. Since this one descended from the sky, it might be connected to other worlds or timelines.

These questions would not answer, so Arthur returned the gold coin to his bag and walked toward the door. The moment he placed his hand on the handle, the tower sent him a panel.

[Do you wish to enter the 1st Floor?]

"Yes," replied Arthur, and the door creaked open. Behind it was darkness, and Arthur could feel himself being sucked into it. Arthur was then teleported into the tower, where his next adventure began in pursuit of a single man.