Awakener's Guide to Climbing the Tower

Misha stared at the floating cat for a moment. The more she learned about how the Tower worked, the more convinced she became that surviving it had less to do with strength and more to with noticing what its rules conveniently failed to mention.

"Can Awakeners see who follows them?"

[Not unless the observer chooses to reveal itself nya.]

"So something can watch for years without giving a name..."

[Yes nya.]

"That’s creepy."

[Visibility has never required consent nya.]

The answer settled badly in her stomach.

Misha pictured the system more clearly now. Outer Beings browsing profiles.

A healer whose audience waited for miraculous rescues. A swordsman with thousands of followers because every duel ended beautifully. A violent fool with a dramatic title who stayed popular because viewers enjoyed watching him almost die.

’Hiiro would thrive.’ That thought annoyed her.

He would absolutely treat the entire system like a popularity competition. The moment he learned Observation Profiles existed, he would demand a follower count. If Astrid had more, he would accuse the Tower of favoritism. If Caius had more, he would insist on challenging something dangerous enough to ’improve his ranking.’

Astrid would treat every unseen observer as a security breach. And Caius? He would probably understand how to manipulate them.

Her mood darkened. "What does the Outer Beings want besides entertainment?"

[Products nya.] Then he extended one claw. [Assessment, sponsorship, curiosity, or even acquisition. Certain observers seek capable Raiders before they become too powerful, too expensive, or too deeply bound to another patron nya.]

"So they also scout Raiders through their profiles."

[If that primitive image helps your mind endure the concept nya.]

Someone outside wanted the Tower’s information organized. Contributions, potential, star ranks, quest evaluations... Misha had assumed the numbers existed because the Tower behaved like a grotesque game. Perhaps that had only been part of it.

The System was not merely measuring Awakeners for themselves. It was packaging them. Showing which profile grew fastest, which fighter attracted attention, which healer might be worth sponsoring, and which person could become useful enough to claim.

A faint chill traveled across her shoulders.

"What about the settlement floors?" she asked. "You said Caleb redirected observations away from them."

King drifted ahead, his silhouette sharp against the white. [Yes, ordinary life produced no recommended events. Observation channels were directed toward repetitive, insignificant activity or left dormant unless a threat reached administrative importance.]

"Repetitive activity? How?"

[Raiders who were climbing and dying before they could even reach the higher floors. Nothing capable of holding a superior being’s attention nya. Master deprived parasites of spectacle.]

"And... it worked?"

[The Tower of Hellfire’s external ranking declined. Sponsors migrated toward Towers producing more frequent conflict, stronger candidates, and greater spectacle.]

The answer fit Caleb more neatly than Misha liked. He had not only frozen settlement resets to protect the people living there, he had made the Tower uninteresting so in the end, the Outer Beings lost interest and turned toward louder Towers.

With fewer eyes watching, her brother could tamper with the system more freely.

Misha’s brows tightened. "But the reset changed that."

[An Administrator from another Tower restored multiple foundational quests at once. Settlement floors that had remained stable for years activated simultaneously nya. Such an event is neither repetitive nor insignificant.]

"So the viewers may come back."

[Some already will have noticed the disturbance nya. Others may follow once the Tower begins producing noteworthy events again, aside from floor quests.]

The white room felt colder.

Someone else had switched the spectacle back on.

King circled her once, taking visible satisfaction in the length of the list he was about to deliver.

[You entered through the Basement Floor with an unauthorized recruitment from the Tower’s system. Your records were deliberately suppressed, you cleared a personal hidden route, escaped an active boss trial, acquired an identity-concealing artifact, and crossed the observation threshold nya. So your Observation Profile will not go unnoticed. It will only be a matter of time.]

"When you put it that way, I sound like paperwork."

[A catastrophic quantity of paperwork nya.]

"That must be why Caleb likes me."

[Master’s affection for his sister endures many defects nya.]

She gave him a flat look, then touched the mask covering her face. "Caleb gave me this because he knew my profile will go public after this."

King’s expression sharpened. [Master did not create the mask nya.]

Misha lowered her hand. "No?"

[The Stray Cat has always existed within the eligible reward pool for the Trial of the Forsaken. Master’s authority could influence which contextual reward the Tower selected, but he did not invent the artifact nya.]

"Can Outer Beings see through it?"

[Some may recognize that concealment exists nya. Others may infer details through your actions. Few may request privileged information from Master.] King’s whiskers shifted with faint satisfaction. [Master is unlikely to surrender his sister’s records merely because some nameless creature demands them nya.]

That sounded like Caleb. He might sell information about anyone else if the trade amused him. Her records, though? He would probably demand an insulting price, reject the offer anyway, then maybe even threaten whoever asked.

"What about other Administrators?"

King’s expression hardened. [Only this Tower’s acting Administrator possesses direct jurisdiction over your full interface nya.]

Misha caught the wording. Acting Administrator, not simply Administrator.

King continued before she could press. [Administrators of the other Towers observe authorized events through the Root. They cannot casually open your raw system record or alter your profile nya."

"Only Caleb can."

[Within ordinary authority nya.]

"So it won’t stop the most dangerous person with access..."

King lifted his chin. [You are a child carrying an umbrella and is asking whether it will stop the sea nya.]

A soft smile touched her mouth beneath the mask. "It stopped the rain from getting me wet."

King paused. His golden eyes settled on her, and for a moment the disdain softened into something closer to reluctant acknowledgement.

[An irritatingly mortal answer nya.]

"I’m mortal." She lowered her hand. "We improvise."

For the first time since arriving, something changed in the white room. A thin golden line appeared ahead. It stretched vertically from floor to nowhere, then slowly widened.

Warm air slipped through and Misha smelled rain, smoke, old stone, something metallic, and underneath all of it–rot. Very faint, but there.

Misha’s body reacted before her thoughts finished sorting the scents. Her shoulders tightened. One hand drifted toward Twinfang while the other drew her hood over her head.

The opening widened into a doorway. Beyond it waited darkness.

No warm lantern glow, no crowded streets, no distant laughter or market noise like Genesis.

Wet stone stretched beyond the threshold. Farther ahead stood the black outlines of damaged buildings, their upper floors swallowed by shadow.

Ding!

「 〔OBSERVATION THRESHOLD REACHED〕

Raider progression requirement satisfied.

Observation Profile registration complete.

External Observation Access has been activated.

From this point onward, qualifying trials, achievements, and designated quest events may be made visible to external observers.

Observer identities may be withheld.

Raider participation cannot be fully disabled.

—

Exceptional achievements may increase Observation Priority. 」

Misha read the notice twice.

Her lower-floor achievements remained unlisted so for now, Outer Beings did not know Misha Apocalypse had crossed the threshold.

She stepped toward the opening. After two paces, she noticed King did not follow.

The cold air from Exodus tugged at her cloak as she turned back to him. King remained in the white room, suspended where the light could not cast his shadow. His tails had gone still and a strange quiet settled over his features, softening none of his pride but stripping away the usual mockery.

[This is the final threshold at which I may accompany you as I have, young mortal.]

Misha’s hand slipped from Twinfang. "What?"

King’s golden eyes did not leave hers. [Beyond this chamber, you will have to continue without me nya.]

"So you’re leaving..."

[I am withdrawing nya.]

"That is still leaving with extra arrogance."

A trace of his old disdain returned. [Do not cheapen this moment because sincerity embarrasses you nya.]

Misha went quiet.

The doorway behind her waited. Rain whispered against stone somewhere beyond it. Something metallic creaked in the distance, followed by the wet scrape of movement through rubble. Exodus waited.

"Will I see you again?" she asked.

King lifted his chin. There he was, the sovereign who would rather swallow a blade than admit attachment. [The Tower rewards those who continue forward, not those who stay at thresholds mourning what has already ended nya.]

"That wasn’t an answer."

[It was the only answer worthy of you nya.]

Misha stared at him through the white cat mask. King’s gaze moved over it, then settled on her warm brown eyes behind its eyeholes.

[Climb.] His voice carried no mockery now. [Do not permit the Tower, its observers, its Administrators, or your own tiresome weakness to decide where your ascent ends nya.]

Misha’s throat tightened. She hated him a little for noticing enough to say that.

King’s wings spread. [Reach the summit nya.] Then a proud, almost cruel smile touched his small face. [If you remain worthy by then, I may allow you the honor of standing before me again.]

There it was. Arrogance wrapped around something he refused to name.

"Fine." Misha let out a quiet breath. Then she dipped into an exaggerated curtsy. "Wait for me at the top, Your Majesty."

His golden eyes widened slightly. Only slightly. Then his expression settled into regal satisfaction. [Do not keep your king waiting nya.]

She straightened herself then turned toward Exodus and stepped through.

Behind her, King’s voice reached her one final time. [Keep moving, Gravekeeper.]

Then the white room closed.

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