Uriel opened his eyes after the light dispersed before him. An immense landscape stretched all the way to the horizon. There was nothing but a sky covered with small clouds that revealed glimpses of a beautiful blue expanse; the ground beneath him was a perfect reflection of that sky.
"It's truly beautiful." The place reminded him of the Uyuni Salt Flats he had once heard about in his geography classes before dropping out of school.
"I'm very glad you like the view."
Startled, Uriel's eyes widened. In his mind, a fleeting thought appeared; a thought he recognized had not come from his own mind. It was difficult to explain: it had appeared in his head, and he had never actually thought it himself, yet there it was.
"Oh, forgive me for appearing in your mind out of nowhere; it was rather discourteous, climber."
A beam of light materialized before him. Bright golden particles rose from it.
Somehow, it felt warm to stand in the presence of that comforting light.
"My name is Soliel. Once, I was the goddess of thousands of worlds; I carried my light to the most inhospitable corners of the universe, though no longer. Today I am here to guide you in your ascent of the tower. Do you have any questions?"
Uriel was still processing everything. Just moments ago he had been in his house, and now he was speaking with floating lights; it was a unique sight, so he simply asked the first question that came to mind.
"Excuse me, uhh… Miss Soliel." The particles of light that drifted from the beam seemed to shine brighter and move faster for a moment; whatever that meant, Uriel continued with his question anyway.
"Where is everyone? Aren't there supposed to be many more climbers here?"
The impressive view had almost made Uriel forget this detail for a moment, but then he remembered; after all, he would need to join a team. If everyone wasn't here, that complicated things a lot.
"Oh, they've all departed already. A certain number of climbers were supposed to enter the tower this year, and that quota had already been met."
Uriel suddenly felt a slight chill. For some reason, he had the feeling he wouldn't like the next words this goddess was about to say.
"You see, you weren't supposed to be here… You missed your chance to become a climber this year, so you should have entered next year instead."
Uriel's expression soured, as if he had bitten into a very old lemon.
"And yet, here I am."
"And yet, here you are… You see, I'm the one responsible for welcoming you all this year, and I couldn't help but notice the little boy who wanted to enter the tower with all his heart. Out of curiosity… let's just say I looked through your memories, and I liked what I saw."
Several emotions swirled in Uriel's mind at that moment. On one hand, he felt happy to be recognized by this goddess; but on the other, it deeply unsettled him that his mind could be read like an open book.
"Boy, you have fire within you; I believe you have great potential." The lights chimed happily around him. "So I decided to give you the opportunity to enter and prove what you're worth."
Uriel still had certain suspicions about the situation, but he couldn't help feeling grateful. In the end, he had wanted to enter the tower with all his heart; it was his greatest wish, and this goddess had granted it. He felt like he wanted to repay her somehow.
He raised his voice, almost as if that would give more weight to what he was about to say.
"I won't disappoint you. I'll climb the tower and reach the very end; if necessary, I swear it."
The lights stopped for a moment, remaining still as if they were carefully observing Uriel—or at least that was how it felt to him.
But soon the lights chimed joyfully again, rising and falling over and over.
"Young Uriel, do you know the most important thing living beings possess? Their oaths. With all my being, I hope you keep yours."
Uriel blushed a little. He remembered that when he was younger he used to lie a lot to get out of trouble—something that, if this goddess was telling the truth, she had certainly seen. But what he had said just now wasn't a lie; he truly intended to climb this tower for himself and for his family.
"If what you say is true and you plan to reach the very end, I'll tell you something that might help you."
That immediately caught Uriel's interest; as the poor boy he was, he wasn't about to let any opportunity slip by—especially not one offered by a deity.
This time the lights chimed erratically, as if angry.
"That's not what this is about! I'm not going to help you cheat! That would be unfair to the others! Everyone is putting their lives on the line in this place!"
Uriel was immediately frightened. That meant she knew everything he had thought since arriving here.
The only thing one can do in such situations is admit their mistake.
"Sorry," Uriel said, lowering his head.
The lights returned to their usual brightness and movement.
"No, it's fine. I didn't explain it simply enough. You see, when this tower was created, we knew not everyone would be able to climb its floors, and that some people would stand out above the rest. What I mean is that I want you to prove that you are not like everyone else… What I'm saying is, if you stand out despite all these difficulties… I will help you, Uriel."
Uriel's eyes lit up; he would definitely try.
"But Miss Soliel, what do I have to do? How can I prove that I deserve your help?"
All the lights moved directly in front of Uriel. He was certain that this time it felt as if she were staring straight at him.
"What I want is quite simple, Uriel. I want you to follow your heart, just as you have done since the day you were born: when you confronted your father, when you saved your sister, when you helped your mother, when you saved that little girl."
The lights slowly began to drift away into the sky.
[Climber, prepare to be teleported]
Soliel's voice began to grow distant.
"You are a small ember that ignites in desperate moments. Go, Uriel: become a fierce flame that burns everything in its path. Do that, and we will meet again."
Uriel shouted with all his strength.
"I WILL! I'LL BECOME THE BEST CLIMBER! JUST WAIT!"
Uriel's vision blurred, and slowly he felt his body grow light.
As quickly as it had come, the sensation disappeared. Uriel's vision gradually returned. Now he found himself in a chamber surrounded by what appeared to be carved stone. In front of him stood five statues, each carrying different equipment.
But before approaching them, in the corner of his vision the point that had been there since he became a climber was now red. He focused on it, and a panel opened once again.
Name: Uriel – The Last of the First.
Race: Human
Level: 1
Stored Power: 0
Status: Alive
Titles
The Last of the First. (By bad—or perhaps good—fortune, you are the last to enter the tower among the first brave souls to accept the challenge): Grants 5% more power until you reach the average level of the other climbers.
Uriel smiled slightly; at least now he wouldn't be at such a disadvantage. Though honestly, he didn't feel like 5% could really be considered a dramatic change in his situation—but he wasn't about to complain.
Now his attention was completely focused on the statues before him. When his gaze lingered on one in particular, the system panel appeared.
[Warrior Class]
[Powerful class focused on winning close-combat confrontations and enduring a moderate amount of damage]
[Tank Class]
[Powerful class focused on resisting enemy attacks and dealing a moderate amount of damage]
[Ranged Class]
[Powerful class focused on dealing high damage from a distance but weak at close range]
[Mage Class]
[Fragile in close combat but highly versatile, capable of dealing damage or providing utility to the team]
[Assassin Class]
[Powerful class focused on dealing massive close-range damage but extremely vulnerable to attacks]
Uriel noticed that the only class whose description began differently was the mage. Aside from that, he carefully reviewed each description; honestly, they provided very little information—just the bare minimum on a broad scale.
Of the five, the tank, warrior, and assassin classes caught his interest the most. But he decided to discard three of them at once; after all, he would be alone—at least in the beginning, he thought—so choosing classes with such obvious weaknesses would be counterproductive.
In the end, warrior and tank were the only options left. Warrior seemed to be the more balanced one, and he personally felt quite comfortable facing opponents up close. But before making his decision, a thought crossed his mind.
Uriel knew he wouldn't be alone forever; this was only temporary. And when he had a team, if he were a warrior he would be responsible for fighting on the front line, focusing entirely on whatever stood before him.
But that wasn't what he wanted. Since he was a child, he had always been the shield that stood in front to protect the people he loved—and in this tower, that wouldn't change. He would always choose to stand before danger to defend those he cared about; because of that, the decision he was about to make became clear.
"A tank. I'll be a tank."
He extended his hand and touched the tank statue.
[Climber, prepare to be teleported]
His vision blurred, but this time he would be ready for whatever appeared.
Uriel opened his eyes, and the first thing he saw in front of him was a strange-looking woman, hooded and with horns.
"RUUUUUUUUUUUUUN!"