Genesis & Oblivion: The Celestial Evolution System

Chapter 100: Chapter 100 — The Twentieth Floor

The staircase seemed unusually quiet.

Azrael walked at the front while Seraphina followed closely behind.

Caelan, Lyanna, and Orin remained a few steps behind them.

After surviving the Nineteenth Floor, none of them spoke much.

Their bodies weren’t seriously injured, but the constant pressure of the trial had exhausted them.

Eventually, Orin broke the silence.

"Does anyone know how many floors this Tower has?"

Caelan shook his head.

"No."

Lyanna looked at Azrael.

"Do you?"

Azrael shook his head.

"The System hasn’t shown us."

Orin sighed.

"I was afraid you’d say that."

Seraphina smiled.

"Why?"

"Because I was hoping there would be a number."

He looked upward.

"Something like fifty."

Azrael laughed.

"And if there were a thousand?"

Orin stopped walking.

"A thousand?"

"Just an example."

"Don’t say things like that."

Everyone laughed.

The mood became lighter as they continued climbing.

Eventually, the staircase ended.

Azrael stepped onto the Twentieth Floor.

And immediately stopped.

There was no battlefield.

No forest.

No floating islands.

Instead, they found themselves standing inside an enormous city.

Buildings stretched across the horizon.

Countless streets crossed one another.

Markets were filled with people.

Shops displayed weapons, armor, herbs, crystals, and magical artifacts.

Cultivators walked alongside beastfolk.

Spirits floated through the streets.

Dragons walked in humanoid forms.

Children played near fountains.

Merchants shouted about their goods.

It looked completely ordinary.

Orin stared.

"We’re in a city?"

Caelan looked around.

"Apparently."

Seraphina frowned.

"Where are the other disciples?"

Azrael looked toward the crowd.

"Maybe..."

He paused.

"They’re here."

Everyone turned toward him.

"What?"

Azrael pointed.

"The people."

"The Tower created them."

Lyanna activated her perception.

Her expression changed.

"They have souls."

Azrael nodded.

"They aren’t simple illusions."

Seraphina looked around carefully.

"Then what are they?"

The System appeared.

[Floor Twenty]

Trial Type: Civilization

Objective:

Live within the city for seven days.

Special Rule:

Your strength will be restricted.

Additional Rule:

You may not reveal your true identity.

Failure Condition:

Interfering with the natural order of the city.

Orin stared at the notification.

"Seven days?"

Azrael nodded.

"And our strength is restricted."

He tried circulating his energy.

Almost nothing happened.

His eyes narrowed.

"Peak Mortal Origin..."

He couldn’t sense it anymore.

The System displayed another message.

[Power Restriction]

Current Physical Capability: Ordinary Human

Skills: Restricted

Bloodline Abilities: Restricted

System Functions: Limited

Orin’s expression became pale.

"So we’re normal?"

Lyanna looked at her hands.

"Almost."

Caelan smiled.

"Interesting."

Orin looked at him.

"How is this interesting?"

Caelan shrugged.

"We’ve spent the last nineteen floors relying on our abilities."

He looked toward the city.

"Now we can’t."

Azrael nodded.

"This is probably the point."

Seraphina smiled.

"We have to live without power."

They entered the city.

The moment they crossed the gates, their clothes changed.

Azrael now wore simple dark clothing.

Seraphina wore a plain white dress.

Caelan, Lyanna, and Orin received equally ordinary clothing.

The city guards barely glanced at them.

One guard pointed toward a nearby building.

"If you’re new arrivals, report to the registration hall."

Azrael nodded.

"Thank you."

They followed the instructions.

Inside the registration hall, an elderly clerk sat behind a wooden desk.

"Names?"

Azrael looked at the others.

"We’ll need new identities."

Seraphina nodded.

Azrael thought for a moment.

"Azar."

The clerk wrote it down.

Seraphina smiled.

"Seren."

Caelan chose "Kael."

Lyanna became "Lina."

Orin sighed.

"Can I just keep Orin?"

The clerk stared at him.

"Of course."

Orin smiled.

"Good."

They were assigned a small house near the eastern district.

No money.

No weapons.

No cultivation techniques.

Nothing.

The clerk handed Azrael five silver coins.

"That’s enough for three days."

"And after that?"

"Work."

Azrael nodded.

"I understand."

They left.

Their first day was surprisingly difficult.

They had fought monsters.

Survived storms.

Climbed mountains.

Faced powerful guardians.

But none of that prepared them for ordinary life.

They needed food.

They needed money.

They needed somewhere to sleep.

And they had no abilities to rely on.

Orin eventually found work at a blacksmith.

Caelan joined a local guard training ground.

Lyanna helped a merchant organize supplies.

Seraphina went to a small clinic.

Azrael wandered through the city searching for work.

Eventually, he found an old bookstore.

A sign hung above the entrance.

BOOKS BOUGHT AND SOLD

An elderly man sat behind the counter.

"You looking for work?"

Azrael nodded.

"I am."

The old man looked him over.

"You know how to read?"

"Yes."

"Then organize those shelves."

Azrael looked at the enormous pile of books.

"All of them?"

"Unless you have somewhere else to be."

Azrael smiled.

"I’ll start."

By sunset, everyone returned home.

Orin dropped onto a chair.

"Blacksmithing is harder than fighting."

Lyanna laughed.

"You only worked one day."

"My arms disagree."

Caelan placed several coins on the table.

"I earned enough for food."

Seraphina smiled.

"I brought medicine from the clinic."

Azrael placed a small stack of coins beside Caelan’s.

"I earned mine from the bookstore."

Orin stared at them.

"So..."

He looked around.

"We’re actually doing this?"

Azrael nodded.

"For seven days."

They ate together.

Simple food.

Bread.

Vegetables.

Soup.

Nothing compared to the meals they had experienced in powerful realms.

Yet...

Seraphina smiled.

"It’s good."

Azrael looked at her.

"You really think so?"

She nodded.

"We earned it."

Azrael smiled.

She was right.

The next few days passed peacefully.

They worked.

They learned.

They interacted with the people of the city.

And gradually, they began noticing something.

The city wasn’t perfect.

There were poor districts.

Rich districts.

People who struggled.

People who prospered.

There were arguments.

Small crimes.

Business disputes.

Families trying to survive.

Nothing was extraordinary.

Yet there was something important about it.

Life continued.

People woke up.

Worked.

Ate.

Loved.

Argued.

Laughed.

And went to sleep.

Then they repeated it the next day.

On the fourth day, Azrael sat outside the bookstore during his break.

The old owner joined him.

"You’ve been quiet."

Azrael smiled.

"I’m thinking."

"About?"

"Why the Tower brought us here."

The old man looked toward the street.

"Maybe it wanted you to remember something."

"What?"

The old man smiled.

"Strength isn’t the only thing worth protecting."

Azrael became silent.

Across the street, a mother held her child’s hand.

A merchant argued with a customer.

Two old friends laughed beside a fountain.

A young couple carried groceries home.

Ordinary lives.

Azrael understood.

The Tower wasn’t teaching him how to become stronger.

It was teaching him what strength was supposed to protect.

On the seventh day, the five gathered at the city gate.

The System appeared.

[Floor Twenty Complete]

Civilization Trial Passed

Time Survived: 7 Days

Power Restriction: Successful

Natural Order: Preserved

Understanding of Ordinary Life: Increased

Reward Granted

Azrael’s personal System appeared.

[Celestial Evolution System]

Name: Azrael

Race: Aetherion (Awakening)

Realm: Peak Mortal Origin

Skills:

Origin Perception — Lv. 8

Astraeus Sword Art — Lv. 6

Combat Insight — Lv. 10

Stone Resonance — Lv. 2

Resonance Sight — Lv. 4

Instinctive Combat — Lv. 2

Traits:

Dual Evolution

Adaptive Evolution

Aetherion Resonance — 14%

False Information Resistance

Civilization Understanding

Genesis Authority (Locked)

Oblivion Authority (Locked)

Evolution Progress: 67%

Azrael closed the System.

Seraphina stood beside him.

"Did you enjoy being ordinary?"

Azrael thought about it.

"More than I expected."

She smiled.

"Me too."

Orin stretched.

"I definitely didn’t."

Lyanna laughed.

"You complained every day."

"Exactly."

Caelan looked toward the staircase that had appeared beyond the city gate.

"The Tower is waiting."

Azrael nodded.

The five began walking toward it.

Behind them, the city continued as though they had never arrived.

People continued working.

Children continued playing.

Merchants continued calling out to customers.

Life simply continued.

Azrael glanced back one final time.

Then he turned toward the staircase.

The number above it was:

21

He took the first step.

The others followed.

This time, they carried something different with them.

Not another technique.

Not another weapon.

A better understanding of why they wanted power in the first place.

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