William stood, his gaze fixed on the counter, mind wandering. Would a portal suddenly appear, like in those novels and comics he always read? Or maybe some kind of summoning magic circle, just like the ones in anime?
As the timer struck zero, a deep, ancient bell echoed three times—not the sharp ring of ordinary bells, but a weighty, almost ominous sound. William glanced upward, muttering, "Is someone up there screwing with us by using..." Before he could finish, he vanished from his room—along with everyone else aged twenty to forty-five.
William had no idea what happened next. He couldn't see or feel anything. He wasn't even sure he was alive. Time didn't seem to matter. Then, little by little, he started to feel again. There was something soft under him, and even with his eyes closed, he could sense a bit of light.
He slowly opened his eyes and found himself lying in a vast grassland. As he stood, the surroundings came into focus. A circular field blanketed with grass and flowers. At its center stood a tree, at least ten meters tall, its roots encircled by a dense patch of flowers. The clearing wasn't small; it was about the length of a football pitch, maybe 100 meters on all sides.
William stood there for a while, taking in the breathtaking view. There were no walls or ceiling, just a dome of blue sky like back on Earth. There was no sun, but the sky glowed with a gentle warmth. Soft breeze touching his skin, making the place feel alive.
He'd expected some rundown shack or a wasteland surrounded by a broken wood structure. Instead, what he was seeing made him let out a satisfied grin. "Well, I can't complain about this. It's beautiful, but where's the starting hut or anything? All I see is grass and a single tree in the middle, and it didn't have a damn fruit on it."
He couldn't make sense of his surroundings. It was like facing an exam with nothing from the syllabus. As he tried to figure out what the hell was going on, that familiar blue system panel blinked into existence right before his eyes.
[Welcome, Tower Lord, to the Tower Expanse.]
[Each Lord has been randomly assigned a Beginner Tower along with its associated troops. Lords can check their tower status at the core in the center.]
[You can also check your own stats and other functions by simply thinking of or saying the term 'Status', whichever you prefer.]
[After 30 minutes, your talent will be drawn at random.]
[Once your talent has been assigned, the Trials of the Tower will officially begin. All Lords will receive a three-day protection period.]
[After the protection period, the Ascension Test will begin. Every three days, monsters or intelligent races will attempt to conquer your tower.]
[Your job is to stop them by either defeating or forcing them to surrender.]
[If they conquer and break the core of your tower, the Tower Lord will be killed and the tower will be destroyed.]
[Each time, the Ascension Test will become more difficult than the last, so work hard to strengthen your tower.]
William carefully read through the series of notifications flashing before his eyes. As he reached the last message, he couldn't help but mutter, "Well, this is some serious shit. Just three days of protection, and a test every three days? If someone pulls a crap troop, they're absolutely fucked."
There were still thirty minutes left before his talent was revealed. William wandered toward the center, drawn by the lone tree. As he walked, his mind spun with wild guesses about what kind of troops he might get.
The surroundings hinted at plant-based troops, or maybe, just maybe—elven troops. The moment 'elven' flashed through his thoughts, his mind went straight into the red zone. He immediately shook his head, muttering, "Hell no, my life depends on them."
As he reached the center and got a closer look, the tree reminded him of an oak, though its branches were thick with vibrant green leaves. It was smaller than what he'd expect for a world tree, but beneath it bloomed a bed of green, blue and red flowers, filling the whole area with a some unique fragrance.
A five-foot-wide path without any flowers cut straight toward the trunk, as if it was made so the Lord could reach the tree—or maybe just so some idiot wouldn't trample the flowers.
He stepped onto the path, his eyes wandering over the beautiful flowers lining the way. As he reached the tree, its leaves blocked out the light, casting a cool shade over him.
A gentle breeze was constantly moving here. Up close, the trunk was as wide as his shoulders, and he could feel a subtle warmth radiating from the tree, almost like it was welcoming its Lord.
He subconsciously reached out and touched the tree trunk. Instantly, a system panel popped up before his eyes, displaying his Tower status.
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Tower Lord: William Hart
Tower Core: Luminara Tree (Sapling)
Tower Floors: 3
Tier: Beginner Tower (Low)
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Troops
Main Troops: Fairies (F-Rank)
Number of Troops: 0 / 20
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Tower Traits
Lumin Dust
Grants 10 grams of dust infused with pure life energy each day. Using Lumin dust speeds up both your health and mana regeneration by 30%.
Bloom Essences
Flowers blessed by Luminara grow naturally on the Lord's floor, each offering unique boons:
Luminara Bloom (Green) — Increases health regeneration by 10% for 60 seconds.
Luminara Bloom (Blue) — Boosts mana regeneration by 10% for 60 seconds.
Luminara Bloom (Red) — Raises attack power by 20% for 60 seconds, but may leave you feeling weakened after use.
Living Seeds
Grants one Luminara-blessed seed each day. Planting it will produce a random plant-type troop after three days of growth.
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Tier Upgrade Condition
Wood: 0/100
Stone: 0/100
T.P (Tower Points): 100/100
Tier 1 (Intermediate)Troops: 0/2
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As the tower status appeared, William's eyes went straight to the most important part: troops. But when he saw his main troops, only one word escaped his lips: "Huh?" He pulled his hand away from the tree trunk, then pressed it back, thinking it was a glitch and hoping a good old refresh would fix things.
But the result stayed the same: 'Fairies.' Unconvinced, he refreshed the panel a third time, then a fourth. By the fifth attempt, he finally gave up and let out a weak laugh. "Ha, I'm fucked by tiny fairies. They're usually the mascots of the forest, and now I've got them as my main troops," he muttered, not knowing whether to laugh or cry as now he could see himself failing in the first Ascension test.
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[A/N]: Don't drop after seeing low-rank troops! The real Wow Factor is talent that will be revealed in the next chapter.