Awakener's Guide to Climbing the Tower

"So how are we supposed to leave this place?"

Misha’s altered voice carried only a short distance before the white swallowed it. She turned in a slow circle, searching for a seam in the floor.

"Where are we anyway?"

King floated nearby, his paws now tucked beneath his body. [Between floors nya.]

She rolled her eyes behind the mask. "Very informative."

King’s golden gaze passed over her with languid contempt. [You requested an answer. You neglected to request one tailored to the limits of your intelligence nya.]

She folded her arms and said nothing.

King held her gaze, waiting for her to admit defeat or possibly apologize for existing in an insufficiently enlightened state but she continued staring. One of his tails curled behind him. The second followed slowly.

At last, he released a sigh burdened with the suffering of an emperor forced to explain architecture to livestock.

[This is an Observation Vestibule nya.]

Misha glanced around again. There was still nothing to observe. "A what?"

[An intake chamber connected to the Tower’s original progression framework nya.]

That got her attention. "Original framework?

The phrase dragged her back to Genesis. Rain running through the window and King’s reflection in the glass as he explained things to her.

King drifted ahead of her, though there was nowhere meaningful to go. He simply preferred speaking while everyone else followed.

[The Basement Floor serves as the first culling stage. It determines whether an entrant is capable of receiving an Awakening nya. From Floor 1 through Floor 9, newly awakened Raiders are tested, measured, sorted, and discarded in considerable numbers nya.]

Misha frowned. "Discarded..."

[Dead, if you require the vulgar translation.]

"I understood the first time."

[Then do not interrupt me merely because the word wounded your sensibilities nya.]

She lifted one hand and made a small, impatient motion for him to continue.

King’s chin rose. He looked rather pleased.

[Floor 10 is the final gate of the lower initiation zone. The Tower creates an Observation Profile for anyone who starts at the Basement Floor.]

Misha’s shoulders went still. "Observation profile? Meaning what, exactly?"

King turned in the air. [It means portions of the Raider’s progress may become visible beyond this Tower’s ordinary population.]

The white room did not change. It only felt less empty. Misha glanced over her shoulder despite knowing there would be nothing there.

"Visible to whom?"

[Outer Beings nya.]

She faced him again. "Outer beings?"

[Entities that exist beyond ordinary mortal worlds. Some arose from other Towers, some predate them, and others began as products and exceeded the function for which they were created nya.]

"Products..."

[Do not seize one word and gnaw at it like a starving mongrel. Their origins are numerous, their classifications tedious, and most would exceed your current comprehension nya.]

Misha rested one hand against her hip. "That explanation somehow became more insulting halfway through."

[Your comprehension failed halfway through nya.]

She decided to ignore that. "Are they connected to the Root?"

King’s expression changed. The disdain remained, but the casual mockery disappeared beneath it.

[Connected, yes. Identical, no.]

He descended until his golden eyes were level with hers.

[The Root is structure. It binds Towers into a greater framework. It carries authority, resources, records, and output between systems that would otherwise remain isolated.]

Misha remembered the image that had formed when he first described it. Feeding tubes.

"Are Administrators considered Outer Beings too?" She asked, crossing her arms tighter.

[Some may qualify, but most do not.] He circled her once. [An Administrator maintains an individual Tower. The Root links that Tower to the greater framework, and Outer Beings remain beyond the lower worlds and may receive access to what the Tower chooses to expose.]

Observation Profile.

The term finally settled into something her mind understood. It was not a surveillance camera, not exactly. It sounded like the creator pages people used back home. Individual profiles built around someone’s content, with clips, broadcasts, viewer counts, and followers waiting for the next update.

Every Awakener received a channel and the Tower decided what footage appeared. Outer Beings wandered through those profiles, watching whoever caught their interest. They could follow one Raider, ignore another, or move on the moment someone more entertaining appeared.

The idea was absurd.

"So everyone gets their own creator page," Misha said.

King’s brow lowered. [Their own what nya?]

"A profile. A channel. Whatever you want to call it." She drew a small square in the air with one finger. "Something observers watch selected fights, achievements, maybe important quests. If they like a Raider, they subscribe, or follow that profile and wait for the next broadcast."

King regarded her as though she had compared divine revelation to street theatre.

[The terminology is beneath the majesty of the process nya.]

"So yes."

[There are observation privileges, priority markings, patron interests, and direct sponsorship nya. Only for those who awakened.]

"That’s subscribing with extra ceremony."

King’s eyes thinned. [There are civilizations that would wage war for the privilege you reduce to a vulgar entertainment feed nya.]

"People back home waged wars in comment sections."

[Then your world deserved its decline.]

Misha’s lips twitched beneath the mask.

The comparison still helped. Outer Beings were not sitting together in one enormous audience hall. They had individual interests. Favorite Raiders, probably. They could also have preferred classes, preferred styles of combat. A few likely chased disaster, betrayal, and whatever other mess produced the highest entertainment value.

Every Awakener was their own channel. Every public achievement could become a new upload.

"Are they watching right now?"

[No one is watching you at this moment nya.]

Misha’s head turned toward him. "Not yet?"

[Observation access does not guarantee an audience nya.]

King’s voice carried the faint satisfaction of someone about to explain why she lacked importance.

[Crossing the threshold only permits qualifying events to be distributed. Then an observer must choose to view it nya.]

"So I have a channel with no followers."

King’s gaze moved over her mask. [You possess an empty Observation Profile attached to an unknown beginner with no visible affiliation, and no publicly confirmed class. At present, you are profoundly uninteresting and... inactive nya.]

Visit and read more novel to help us update chapter quickly. Thank you so much!