***
"Congratulations. Thanks to your actions, you have obtained the title 'Climber'
***
Nik stared at the floating message for a few seconds, still a bit stunned by the events. 'Climber, huh? Sounds interesting' He tried clicking on the title, curious to see if it had a concrete effect.
***
Title granted to those deemed worthy of climbing the tower.
Allows entry and exit through the interface.
***
'Okay... let's see if it really works.' Nik thought and closed his eyes, intensely imagining his home. His bed, the beige walls, the organized chaos of his desk.
For a moment, nothing happened, then, as if something had clicked, he felt a strange sensation. A blink later, he was in his room, standing, still covered in dust and the metallic smell of the factory. "What the fu—?" He muttered, looking around.
In the kitchen, his parents were sitting at the table. His mother noticed him first. "Nik? When did you get back?"
"You haven't answered all day, we were getting worried!" Added his father.
Nik scratched his head, searching for the most neutral and believable excuse possible. "Sorry, I... left my phone on silent. Weird day."
During dinner, he faked normalcy, even though every bite felt surreal. His mother told him about the chaos in the city, while his father complained about the traffic. "With those soldiers around the Cathedral it'll take two hours just to get to the center... It's already hard enough to park normally!"
"They fenced off the entire square. No one can get close to that... portal, or whatever it is. They say it's a phenomenon never seen before."
Nik nodded, but inside he was a whirlwind. After dinner, he returned to his room and let himself fall onto the bed. The ceiling felt strangely distant. 'What the hell is happening to me... Is all this real? Did I... really "kill" something?' With a mix of anxiety and curiosity, he whispered a single word. "Status."
***
Name: Nicholas
Lvl:1
HP: 100/100
MP: 100%
Skills: –
Titles: First of the First, Climber
***
Nik's eyes widened. 'So... it wasn't a hallucination.' He clicked on the title First of the First.
***
First of the First:
You were the first to kill a tower mob.
Thanks to this, you've been granted use of the Tower Pulls.
To use them, double-click on this title.
***
'A gacha, seriously? Even here? Please tell me there's at least a pity system."
He double-clicked, and a new screen appeared.
***
Tower Pull
Insert virtual credits to attempt a skill pull.
Normal pull cost: 100 VC
Themed pull cost: 120 VC
Note: you can sell items dropped by tower mobs for credits simply by inserting them into this interface.
***
Nik slapped his forehead. 'Dammit... I didn't take anything from that golem! No loot. Damn it... Oh well, I'll deal with it tomorrow. I'm fried right now.' He stared at the ceiling for a few more seconds, then closed his eyes. Nik grabbed his phone from the nightstand. He opened the browser and started typing. Only confusion. Grainy videos, conflicting voices, a flood of clickbait. Then, a serious video. Or at least it looked serious. "According to the team at the Mauna Kea Observatory and the Webb Telescope, the upper end of the structure, virtually invisible to the naked eye from Earth is located on the lunar surface. A connection is theorized between the portals and the discovered structure, centered around the Plato crater on the Moon." Nik's eyes widened. "The Tower... is on the Moon?"
He opened the window. The sky was clear. The Moon, full. "Holy shit." A tiny dark dot. No stars, just that. Like a pupil in the white eye of the satellite. He kept scrolling and found another report. "Military teams and reconnaissance drones have confirmed that the initial area, a grassy and silent plain, shows no immediate threats. So far, only about a dozen civilians worldwide have been confirmed to enter. No one has yet reached an actual structure."
Nik let the phone fall onto the bed.
He pulled the blanket tighter around himself, eyes still fixed on the Moon. 'The Tower is there. I've been there. And I'm going back.'