Tower Awakening: I Have Limitless Potential Trait

Chapter 2 – Tower

[... begin]

"What th-" before he could finish his sentence, a light appeared out of nowhere and illuminated his room as he disappeared with the light.

Meanwhile, in a cold place with only a few torches to light the place. That was a wide and big place, but there's no people on that place.

Suddenly a man's figure appeared out of thin air, he still lying down same as he positioned as before. Yes, he was Daniel. He then stood up and look around in a new place that he himself didn't know.

"Where am i?" he started looked right then left, every corner he checked.

That place was very quiet and somehow it felt as if there was no one there at all. He looked In front of him, there was a big door that could lead him on a place, but before he deciding to do something, a voice echoed in his mind as hologram screen appear in mid-air.

[Congratulations. You are selected to be one of the chosen challenger to challenge Tower of Awakening.]

"Challengers? Is it a typical tower novel that i read back then? But why?"

[Tower of Awakening was a place that can grants you a fame, wealth, and even power. It has 1 floor until 100 floor. Not everyone can challenge these pace since it was a unique place.]

[Enough with introduction. I will teach you how to use tower system.]

[First. The command 'Status' will show your status. Try to say it.]

"Status," he tried as the tower told him to do.

[ (Challenger's status)

Name: Daniel

Race: Human

Level: 1

Job: -

Trait: Limitless Potential (???)

Stats Point: 0

Strength: 12 Agility: 9 Vitality: 17 Mana: 11 Perception: 8 Willpower: 19

Skills: -

Title: - ]

He looked by his status line one by one and nodded with agreements, until he realized a trait called [Limitless Potential] in his panel. 'Limitless potential? But why it is classified as a unknown? It should be great right...?' he thought.

'Whatever...' then he looked other stats such as strength, agility, and he only could nodded with agreements especially for Willpower's one. That was his biggest stats on his panel, and he was thinking maybe because he was used to be independent since children, his father died on a incident while his mother was just a clerk in a regular shop, forcing him to realize his own condition.

[Next is the command 'Inventory'. Try to say it to open your storage space.]

"Inventory," Daniel said.

A new transparent screen appeared showing dozens of empty square boxes.

[Inventory is a dimensional space where you can store any non-living items. You can put items inside or take them out just by thinking about it. As an exclusive privilege for chosen Challengers, any items dropped by slain creatures will automatically transfer into empty slots here. Identical items can stack up to 99 times per slot before taking a new slot.]

[Next is the 'Tower Shop' feature. Notice that this feature is currently locked. The Tower Shop can only be accessed after a challenger reaches the first safe zone located on the 5th floor. Once unlocked, you can use the shop to buy items, weapons, or manifest rewards directly to your origin world using Tower Coins.]

"Wait, manifest rewards to my origin world?" he whispered and then realize something more important than this tower's existence. "Hei! How do i comeback to earth?! I don't have time to do this... mom... my mom waited for me!" he yelled on a air as his face came panic.

The tower was silent for a moment, as if processing his question. Then the text appeared.

[Actually you could get out from tower after reaching first rest area at the 5th floor.]

Relief feeling started spreading on his heart until he see the next tower's text notification.

[But you won't back to the earth, instead you would teleported into a Hub-World. It was a realm where the tower landed centuries ago. It has a civilization built around it called Ring Cities.]

[Your Tower System is absolute. It will remain active everywhere, including the Hub-World and your origin world. However, ordinary people who are not chosen cannot see your system panel, and cannot enter the Tower.]

He froze after reading the text. "What do you mean? A Hub-World? Civilization? So I really can't go back to my home? What about my mother? Who will take care of her if I am missing?" he shouted, his voice echoing in the empty room.

[To return to your origin world, you must possess a specific artifact or reach a higher floor that grants dimensional travel. However, through the Tower Shop, you can search those specific artifact including your manifest reward.]

Reading the last sentence, his eyes widened. He stopped shouting and started thinking. "System, tell me the truth. Can I get a luxury estate for Olivia using this Tower Coins once I reach the 5th floor and unlock the shop?"

[It is. The Tower can manifest material wealth such as a luxury estate as a minor reward compared to divine power or eternal life. But you must survive and conquer the trials first to gather the coins.]

He took a deep breath. His mind was in chaos just a few minutes ago. He was stressed about the new condition from Olivia's family. Two years to buy a luxury estate. If he stayed on Earth and worked as a minimarket cashier on the night shift, it was a zero percent chance.

But here, in this mysterious Tower, there was a chance. It was a dangerous chance, a game of life and death, but it was still a real chance. He thought about his mother who always supported him, and he thought about Olivia's trembling voice on the phone.

"I understand now," he said while slap his face with his hands. "I don't have any other choice. I will climb this tower. I will reach the 5th floor to unlock that shop, then the 100th floor. I will get that money and go back to my world."

[Your resolve is acknowledged. Initiating the first phase of the Awakening Survival.]

[Before entering the first floor, the challenger must choose a basic starting weapon.]

Suddenly, a loud rumbling sound came from the ground. The stone floor in front of Daniel opened up, and a large weapon rack slowly rose from the ground. The rack was filled with various old and rusty weapons.

He picked up a one-handed sword. It was rusty, but the grip felt solid in his hands. It felt like the safest choice for someone with no real combat experience.

"I will choose this sword," he declared.

[Basic Rusty Sword selected. Proceed to the door directly in front of you to enter Floor 1. Penalty for failure: Death.]

The torchlights on the walls suddenly flickered and changed color to a pale blue. The large stone door slowly opened. However, instead of a simple room, a cold, stale wind blew against his face.

With a determined look, he stepped forward. As he walked further, the stone door behind him slammed shut.

He widened his eyes in shock. In front of him was a massive, endless underground labyrinth. The walls were made of broken bricks, and pathways branched out in every direction like a giant spider web. It was completely dark, save for a few glowing mosses on the walls. It felt like a buried city.

[Welcome to Floor 1: The Forgotten Catacombs.]

[Trial: Survive the labyrinth and reach the door heading to the 2nd Floor.]

[Time Limit: 24 Hours.]

"A maze...? It's not just a single room?" he whispered, his grip on the rusty sword tightening as he realized the true scale of the Tower.

Before he could even pick a path, he heard the sound of bones clattering from the shadows to his left. A humanoid figure stepped into the dim light. It was a skeleton holding a broken wooden club.

"Let's get this over with," he whispered.

The skeleton noticed his presence and produced a weird clicking sound. Then it started running toward he while raising the broken club high in the air.

He held his sword with both hands. His high willpower stat helped him to not freeze in fear. The skeleton swung the club aiming directly at his head, he quickly ducked to avoid the attack.

The club hit the stone wall, creating a loud bang. He used this chance to swing his sword at the skeleton's ribcage.

Clank!

His sword hit the bone, but it did not cut through. The skeleton recovered and kicked Daniel in the stomach with its bony foot.

"Argh!" he was thrown back and fell to the ground. He rolled to the side to avoid another smash from the skeleton's club.

"I can't just hit the body, I need to break his vital part," he thought. He quickly stood up. The skeleton charged again. This time, he waited until the skeleton was close enough. When the club was about to hit him, he stepped to the side and swung his sword with all his strength, aiming at the skeleton's neck

Crack!

The rusty sword hit the gap between the neck bones. With a loud crack, the skeleton's head flew off its body and rolled on the ground. The headless body collapsed into a pile of bones.

He dropped to his knees, panting heavily.

[Congratulations. You have defeated an Awakened Skeleton.]

[You have leveled up.]

[You gained 10 Tower Coins.]

[You obtained: Bone Fragment x1. Item automatically transferred to Inventory.]

A warm energy enveloped his body, taking away all his pain and exhaustion. He smiled weakly. He checked his inventory screen and saw a picture of a white bone inside the first empty square box, with a small number 1 on the corner. The automatic drop feature worked exactly as the system explained.

He survived his first fight. But as he looked down the endless, dark corridors of the labyrinth stretching out before him, his smile faded. The door to the next floor was nowhere to be seen, and the sound of more clattering bones echoed from the depths.

The real test of survival had just begun.