My surroundings had transformed into a cavern of ash and flame. The ground was uneven, filled with pitfalls and stalagmites made of obsidian black crystals. The rough walls shimmered around me as they reflected the light of a fire at the back of the room, and I stepped forward hesitantly. I wasn't sure what I was meant to do. Or what I could do.

Then I found the button.

Long, and red, it was made of crystal and sat proudly on a black pedestal in the middle of the cavern. I'd missed it at first because I was looking for something a little more obvious. When I approached the button, a prompt appeared before my eyes.

[Press the button to begin the trial.]

That was all. There was no long explanation, or any indication of what I would face. Trial 4 was going to be a mystery to me, and unlike trial’s 1 and 2 I wouldn't be drunk when taking it.

I held back from pressing the button. There was something I hadn't tried yet.

“Status screen,” I said.

Status screen:

Name: Ben.

Tower: Unassigned

Floor: Unranked.

Class: N/A.

Mana: 1

Vitality: 11

Intelligence: 6

Wisdom: 8

Stamina: 14

Dexterity: 13

Available stats to assign: 0

Skill list:

Crafting (Legendary): Tier 0.

Inventory:

Essence stones(F-rank): x100

I briefly panicked as the blue screen smacked into my face and covered my vision. Then I read what it was telling me, and curiosity replaced the fear

“My life’s value put into numbers,” I narrowed my eyes. “That's not very loving.”

Taking up a quarter of the screen was a small rotating image of me in the bottom right corner. When I focused on the depiction, it blew up to fill the entire screen.

Subject: Ben.

“Wow,” I stepped forward to get a closer look, but the hologram moved forward with me.

A faint chuckle escaped my lips, and then I clamped my mouth shut.

I played around with the image for a moment. It wasn't hard to figure out how things worked. In fact, it was almost intuitive.

When I focused on the image of myself, it grew larger.

When I wanted it to rotate, it rotated.

Seeing my reflection was strange. Gloves. Shoes. A plain white shirt. Tracksuit pants. A belt. My shirt had seen better days, and I didn't know why I'd put a belt on over gray tracksuit pants. To get to my friend’s house I'd thrown in whatever was nearby, and I'd barely noticed them after that.

The rest of me was slightly pale skinned, slightly above average height, and blessed with a sharp jawline, I'd always considered myself handsome in a potential kind of way. A few years at the gym and a slightly better diet after high school had done wonders for me, but while I had a flat stomach and some muscle, I wasn't flush with abs or bursting out of my shirt.

Almond-gold eyes and dark black hair completed the look. The two orbs stared at me lifelessly, and I realized that was the same thousand yard stare I saw in the mirror every morning.

I closed the window with a swipe. All of the stats I'd seen were meaningless unless I knew what they did.

Also, my physical stats being higher than my mental ones was kind of insulting.

A quick glance told me that there was nothing else waiting for me here, and I knew that Jemima would have pressed the button as soon as possible. Which meant she was likely going to speedrun whatever trial hit her next.

I pressed the button

[Trial 4: Interview with a Star. Once, your planet called celebrities stars. Most of them are now dead. The towers have a similar concept, except their Stars are more literal, and more powerful. What does an interview with them entail? Who knows. Maybe you'll fight. Maybe you'll laugh. Maybe you'll cry. They decide. You just have to go along for the ride.]

[Fun fact! Did you know that there are nine types of trial rooms in the towers? Puzzles, battles, speed, wisdom, magic, challenges, strength, emotions, and Stars. Trial 4 is a Star trial, the toughest of the trials you can face. I thought that'd be a neat fact to tell you before you die. I’m considerate like that.]

All I had was a bean bag chair and a hundred glowing stones.

“I won't lie. My chances are looking pretty grim,” I said.

The fire in the back of the room expanded and my words were lost in its blaze of glory as the floor began to tremble.

Shiver.

The cavern twitched as something approached.

Rumble.

My vision blurred as the floor began to shake violently.

Crash.

A crystal stalactite fell from the ceiling shattered beside me, but I didn't dare tear my eyes away from the flames.

Something was approaching from their depths.

That should have been impossible, and my mind screamed at me that it was. There was a cavern wall behind the flames, so nothing could be walking toward me. And yet it was.

The figure was a giant, far larger than the ones outside, and as they strode through the flames and into the cavern they filled up half of its available space by themselves.

[You are in the presence of the Star Constellation, He Who Hammers The Cosmos. He will be your judge. And he will be your executioner.]

Its eyes were pitch black, and its skin was crimson with the texture of sandpaper. The being was undoubtedly male, but that was the only thing I could glean from him. He wore armor that reminded me of a Viking's garb, and a large crown sat on its head, pushing down waves of immaculately kept gray hairs. Golden flames spewed forth from the crown, and whenever they grazed the ceiling they left behind lines of lava that dripped down onto the being’s shoulderplates.

To call it fat would be an understatement, and also wrong. Underneath its thick red skin and armor I could see muscles rippling out, each threatening to crack apart anything that tried to contain them.

He was also carrying a hammer, but his was a warhammer, designed to crush opponents with a single blow. There were three star engravings on his hammer, each filled with a bright gold liquid that had filled them out perfectly.

My hammer only had my blood and sweat on it.

“This doesn’t seem like a fair match up.”

A sound filled the room at my words, causing the ground to shake again, and I realized the being was laughing. My world had been destroyed and all they did was laugh.

[3 Star Constellation, He Who Hammers The Cosmos, challenges you. Craft an item worthy of his admiration, or perish.]

A gigantic red hand rose above me, and for a moment I thought it would squash me and be done with it. Then it lowered, and in its place were dozens of shining crystals, blocks of colorful metals, and piles of leather hides and other materials.

“What is this?” I asked. “Are you giving this to me?”

The question garnered a stifling gaze from the bring, and my heart froze, literally, pain spreading throughout my chest as it did.

Then the being looked away, and the pain subsided.

Did that guy just stop my heart with a look?

I threw away the troubling implication as soon as it hit my mind. I wanted to scream. And to shout. But I also didn't have time for that. If I survived I could do it all I wanted.

You could be reading stolen content. Head to the original site for the genuine story.

[Pick a material.]

There were too many materials to choose from, but there was something else missing.

“A hammer isn't all you need to make something,” I said. “I need a forge. That's just common sense.”

[The Star will provide you the means to work your material. Choose wisely.]

I grumbled at the dismissal, but I wasn't in a position to oppose the two. Looking closely at the materials, I ignored all of the gemstones and strangely coloured metals, and reached for a block of ordinary iron. Crafting a weapon was like making a house. Fancy materials were rare, but so were oranges. Nobody wanted to live in a house made of oranges, no matter how nice it looked.

Similarly, nobody could wield a weapon made from materials the crafter didn't know.

How did you know?

The question echoed throughout my being. I hadn't been given a sword, or any of the other weapons. A hammer had been dropped into my hand. A tool that I was intimately familiar with.

Except nobody should know that. The only people who did were already dead.

“Any clues as to what kind of thing you want me to make?” I asked the big guy that took up half the room. His hammer was close to me now, and I eyed it warily as it swished back and forth lazily.

The being said nothing.

“So, you're the silent type,” I grunted, hauling the iron block onto the stone table. “Me too.”

The Star, which is what the System called it, watched me from above, its flaming crown piecing the ceiling above it. Whatever throne it sat on now had clearly been gained through a power that I couldn't match up to. So, I focused on the iron block in front of me.

[The warmth of a Star flows through the chosen material. This is a rare opportunity to craft a weapon beyond your means. Use it wisely.]

I didn’t reply. I had never been much of a talker.

Instead, I smashed down onto the iron block with my hammer, and saw the iron bend, even when it shouldn’t have. Seeing the impossibility before my eyes, I let out a shout, and struck again. And again. I poured all of my emotions into each swing.

My anger.

Clang.

My fear.

Clang.

My sorrow.

Clang.

As I molded the blade in front of me, my emotions guided my hand. None of my movements were aided by the System or by my mysterious new skill. They didn't have to be. I knew how to use a hammer like it was an extension of myself.

[Crafting(legendary) is resonating with your movements. Proficiency increases by 5% for the duration of your crafting.]

A cool sensation gripped my mind and body as the blue box appeared, and I felt each movement grow marginally easier. Like a friend encouraging me, the skill illuminated the path to success, making each successive movement a little bit more successful than the ones before them.

Under the light of a Star, and wielding the hammer gifted to me by my planet's destroyers, I crafted that which would bend them to their knees.

What came out of the iron block was anger, and fury. It was fear, and terror. It was sadness, and sorrow.

When I was nearly done, the Star raised his hand, and the metal began to cool, dropping in temperature rapidly. A flash of panic hit me, since I knew the metal would warp or even shatter if it was cooled too quickly. But it didn't break, and it didn’t splinter.

In my hands I gripped a hammer, and a sword.

It was my first creation.

I lifted the sword high above me, my muscles screaming in protest as the iron resisted them. The sword wasn't sharp, nor was it shaped like a traditional weapon.

What sat in my hand was a blade shaped like a tower. It was an identical image to what I'd seen before entering through the massive doors, except its body was too instead of marble.

[Interesting design. Please pick a name to complete this item.]

“The Tower,” I said. “That's what it's called.”

[Name confirmed. Assigning name.]

[Item complete! The Tower(rare).]

The blue boxes quickly disappeared, replaced by an item description and a holographic image of the weapon in my hands.

The Tower(rare): Forged in the flames of a Constellation and imbued with the anger and rage of a man who has lost everything, this sword cannot be satisfied, even if it consumes the towers themselves.

Rare: This weapon can reach tier 6.

Tier 0: Unlocked.

Tier 0 passive: Bludgeon. Destroy enemies with a single crushing strike. All blunt damage dealt by this weapon is increased by 15%.

All of my fears washed away as I gazed upon the weapon I had crafted. For a moment, I forgot about the horror of my situation, and the desperate need to survive that permeated my soul,

“It's beautiful,” I gasped.

The being above me didn't respond. Its eyes fell onto the weapon, and I felt approval radiating from their pitch black depths.

Gently, I placed The Tower onto the ground. I raised my hammer and I tapped it right in the middle of the blade.

And it shattered into pieces.

Silence fell.

[You made it fragile on purpose.]

The System’s message was almost accusatory.

“I did,” I replied.

[Why?]

The System was asking me out of genuine curiosity.

“To make you think,” I replied. “And to show you what I think of your Tower.

A low rumble escaped the Star’s lips. The mighty being had liked my display.

[He Who Hammers The Stars has deemed your creation worthy. You have passed the fourth trial.]

[Calculating your achievements…]

[A reward has been generated!]

“No.”

[You don’t want a reward?]

“No,” I laid my hammer down. “I want to pick my reward.”

[Listen here you little—]

“—Stop.”

The word struck me like a hammer, knocking the breath out of my lungs and throwing me onto my knees. Anger coursed through me as I lay among the shattered pieces of my weapon, and I could feel a pair of smoldering eyes piercing the back of my head.

That was the first word the Star had spoken.

[The grace of a Star is never ending. He Who Hammers The Cosmos wishes to know what reward you want.]

“This hammer is crap,” I said. I looked down at the tool and anger simmered within me. “I thought I recognised it. It's my old one. Or a copy of it.”

[The System likes to give comfort to those undergoing its trials. You received an item familiar to you.]

“I don't believe you, but it doesn't matter,” I replied. “Change it. Make it better. Give me something I can actually use.”

The blue boxes didn't reappear, and for a moment I worried that I'd gone too far.

Rumble.

My legs quaked as the floor shivered underneath me. The Star had stepped forward, its armored foot smacking down on the floor and forcing me back.

I winced as the being drew closer, but instead of smiting me, it reached down and tapped its pointing finger against my hammer. It was like watching a human poke a grain of sand.

A light bloomed, bloody crimson mixing with red dark as lava. Before my eyes, the hammer I had wielded transformed into something brand new…

…except it looked exactly the same.

The floor shook as the Star stepped back, and I picked up the hammer, raising it to my eyes and examining it carefully, “did it change?”

The Star didn't answer, but a blue box appeared in front of me.

Crafting Hammer(common): This item is a common hammer found on many floors of the five towers.

Common: This tool can reach tier 2.

Tier 0: Unlocked.

Tier 0 passive. Unlocked. Your crafting proficiency increases by 5% when you are actively crafting an item with all of your focus.

Tier 1: Unlockable. Craft four different items of common rank or higher to unlock this tier. Requirements met: 1/4.

Tier 1 passive: locked.

Then, before my eyes, the text began to shimmer and change.

[He Who Hammers The Cosmos has spoken. Your reward has been granted.]

Crafting Hammer(common, evolving): This item is a common hammer found on many floors of the five towers.

This weapon has been modified by a Constellation, the second highest rank of the Stars. Its potential knows no limits, save for the ones that bind its user.

Evolving. Slotted rarity, legendary: This tool can reach tier 9.

Tier 0: Unlocked.

Tier 0 passive. Unlocked. Your crafting proficiency increases by 5% when you are actively crafting an item with all of your focus.

Tier 0 passive 2: Granted. This item will evolve to reach the rarity of the user’s highest rarity skill. The skill assigned to this passive must pass the tier requirements before evolution is possible. Current skill assigned to passive: [Crafting(legendary]. Current tier: 0. Current rarity: Common.

Tier 1: Unlockable. Craft four different items of common rank or higher to unlock this tier. Requirements met: 1/4.

Tier 1 passive: locked.

“Thanks,” I grunted. “Just for the hammer.”

The Star gazed down at me, and then nodded. Fire spewed forth from its crown, and heat spewed out across the room, and caused the walls to shriek and thunder without end.

All of the gathered materials disappeared, swept away by the flames, and I stepped back to avoid them.

When the flames died out, the Star was gone.

And a set of stairs had taken its place.

[Congratulations! You have passed the fourth trial. The first floor of your Tower awaits!]

I looked at the newly formed stairs with dread. Even when a trial finished, this place immediately wanted me to move on, no matter how stretched out, tired and hurt I was.

The shattered remains of The Tower protested as I stepped through them, and I paused as a particularly stubborn piece stabbed into my shoe and clung into the material.

“Huh.”

On a hunch, I waved my hand and I imagined the metal disappearing like the essence stones had. To my surprise, the iron immediately disappeared and a prompt showed up, indicating I'd added the material to my inventory.

Star-forged metal: Metal that was imbued with the power of a 3 Star Constellation. It was once iron, but no longer. It was also once a weapon, but some dumbass decided to shatter their creation. But even in death, the metals refuse to be wasted. They want to become a masterpiece.

I shook my head and turned toward the only exit in the room. With a dry mouth and pained chest, I stepped onto the stairs and made my way up.

After all, there was nowhere else to go.

[Let go of all you've ever known, humans. Your lives are over, whether you believe it or not. The towers provide rebirth for all its denizens, and a new chance. Step through its entrance and be granted a reprise from your baptism of fire.]

[Welcome to the first floor. I hope you die.]

The moment the stairway ended, I was pushed out of it and thrown onto a patch of dirt and grass. It was so vibrant, and so green, that I was reminded of the parks I used to play in as a child.

For a moment, I felt safe.

In that safety, I finally found my voice. Without looking up, and without caring for who heard me, I shouted. I cursed. I yelled. I cried. And finally, I screamed.

And I continued screaming until my throat was raw.