The loud chit-chatting in the lecture hall immediately stopped and turned silent. Those inside knew better than to test Ms. Maribell’s patience, Thane and Bradley especially. However, the duo consistently provoked their teacher and received punishment on the daily. Rumors and jokes of their sadistic tendencies circulated amongst the academy. Not many others were like the two. The room now quieted as they waited for Ms. Maribell to start off her class.

With a strong and naturally prickly voice, Ms. Maribell spoke to those in the lecture hall.

“Now, those of you here today have decided on becoming Climbers. If there are any non-Climbers, you may excuse yourselves now and return home or find an advisor in the administration portal for questions and guidance on your future. From this point forward, the academy only caters to Tower Climbers.”

She looked at Thane specifically, but seeing him not stand up to leave, she understood he decided to become a Climber.

“Alright. All of you here have taken the first step on the path as future protectors of humankind. However, this is but only the beginning. Your next step will be to achieve a minimum of “level five” by the month’s end. However, that is the lowest acceptable progress to apply for a guild. Those who want to be specially recruited into the guilds during the Lazar Kingdom's founding festival will require much more. Decide and choose your main class’s specialization. Find and level up your secondary classes. Increase your stats and skills by completing quests and spending your rewarded points and tokens wisely. Prove yourselves worthy of being chosen amongst your peers. Only those with the determination to do so will succeed. Otherwise, the Dungeons and their Heathens will hunt you down, and you will die. Become powerful to survive in our desecrated world.”

After instilling fear and motivation to her class, Ms. Maribell continued with the next item on her agenda, written neatly down on a piece of paper on top of the podium she stood behind.

“Moving on. All the classes in the academy will now split apart and recombine into the System’s three main classes: warriors, mages, and priests. From there, the main classes will further subdivide into their specializations. If you do not know your desired specialization, then you will be shifted around the other areas of specialization until you do. Questions?”

Many students had questions but did not dare raise their hands.

Ms. Maribell looked around and responded, “No? None? Ok, now leave the lecture hall and split into your general classes at the portal hub. Your new instructors will direct you all and answer any questions remaining. Dismissed.”

The new Climbers slowly emptied back out to the corridor between the lecture hall and into the hub area with the many dark blue rifts. A middle-aged man shouted out to the crowd of incoming academy Climbers.

“Priest in the middle, warriors on the right, and mages on the left. Follow those directing you to your designated portal and training grounds.”

Thane and Bradley moved along with the masses like some sort of mass production factory that sorted them out and shoved them along a conveyor belt to different portals. Exiting through the portal, the artificial lighting of the portal hub area disappeared, replaced by a fiery sun that beamed down hot rays from an expansive clear blue sky.

The newbies were still in the Tower. However, they were also not. They entered one of the Ivory Tower’s many small miniature dimensional pockets on the first floor reserved for the academy and crop harvesting by the non-Climbers. Grassy green fields extended from the portal and around an enormous stone coliseum to the horizon, but the new Climbers bothered not with the scenic sight. They grouped and crowded around the many different signposts stating the varied specializations of the mage class. An older lady in black robes directed others as more new Climbers entered the rift.

“Follow the signs to your desired specialization. If you have yet to decide, remain with me here, and we shall rotate you around. Remember, you only have one month to decide. Afterward, all of you will graduate and be on your own whether you make something of yourselves or not.”

The newbie Climbers sorted themselves out. Thane and Bradley walked over to the large sign that read ‘summoners.’ Approaching the area, the two abruptly stopped and shuddered. They did not know how, but Ms. Maribell already stood below the sign, waiting for her new students.

Bradley immediately wrapped his hand around Thane’s neck and jerked the two around into a huddle facing the other direction. “Dude! No way! Is Ms. Maribell going to be our teacher again!? Let’s try to find another summoner group!”

Unlatching Bradley’s arm from his stinging neck, Thane tried to massage away the slight pain while replying back, “My neck, Brad.”

“Oh, sorry.”

“It’s ok. I get it. However, there’s nothing we can do if we want to specialize as summoners. All the specializations have only one sign.”

“Dang it. Should we specialize in something else and cross over with the summoner arts later?”

“I told you we wouldn’t escape training from Ms. Maribell. Face your fate, Brad. Let’s go.”

Thane headed off first with Bradley dragging his feet reluctantly from behind. As everyone who decided arrived, Ms. Maribell greeted her new students.

“Welcome. I see some new and also old familiar faces.”

Ms. Maribell looked around and found some of her prior students. Thane and Bradley saw her glance over and then glance at Duncan’s unwanted familiar face.

“For those that do not know me, my name is Anna Maribell. However, it is only Ms. Maribell to all of you. Do not try to call me by my name.”

A black-haired newbie in fitted leather armor in the crowd arched the corner of his mouth into a smirk. His dark brown eyes gleamed with mischievous as he looked at Ms. Maribell. With a low and flat voice, he taunted, “What if we do, Anna?” trying to test their new teacher.

Thane shook his head, but Bradley excitedly looked over at the daring young man with a pale face, smirking at their teacher. He grinned and moved left and right, reaching his neck and head higher to allow his curious eyes a better glance at a fellow miscreant.

Suddenly, the air felt heavy. Everyone in the area felt a powerful pressure weigh down on them. A dark aura flared out like a blazing black fire from Ms. Maribell. Her face was blank but icy cold. She narrowed her dark brown eyes at her new student, who tried to stir up trouble. She detested troublemakers.

“Since you are so curious, you will now find out. See that enormous coliseum behind us? For disobeying me, you will run around that building five hundred laps.”

This book is hosted on another platform. Read the official version and support the author's work.

“Five hundred?!”

“Run or leave and specialize in something else. Do not test my patience further.”

The black aura flooded out from Ms. Maribell Vince condensed into a massive hand that grabbed the young man’s body in a hold. The hand of condensed mana lifted the young man off the ground and launched him off towards the coliseum.

“Anyone else?”

Everyone else silently shook their heads.

“Follow me, we will begin immediately. Do not be like your foolish classmate running laps. Time is of the essence. How can you all be called summoners without a summon? Your first step on becoming summoning mages will be to acquire your first summon.”

Ms Maribell walked off towards the coliseum with everyone in tow. They came to the entrance of the coliseum as the punished panting, jogging newbie made his way around.

“Five hundred laps. Do not dare to cheat me. I can make you run all day until you do. You can leave and choose something else otherwise.”

The young man gritted his teeth but nodded his head. Everyone else gave varying looks as they passed by him and entered the enormous stone structure. Thane glanced over, thinking his new classmate dug his own grave. However, Bradley waved happily at him and gave him two thumbs up. Bradley’s actions gave the daring newbie some needed energy and motivation, and he pushed forward into running once again.

The group following Ms. Maribell down a long hall exited to a massive locker room with long blocks of stone that acted like benches.

“Everyone take a seat.”

All the newbies followed their teacher’s instructions.

“Remember this room. We will meet here every morning for the remainder of the month. You may keep your items inside the lockers here, but as Climbers, I advise you to put your things in your inventory. It is much more secure.”

Ms. Maribell pointed to an open doorway.

“This leads us to the training grounds, located at the heart of the coliseum, where some of your training will take place. For now, we will remain here as I introduce the Mage Summoner path. As Climbers with a main class, we have many specializations to choose from. However, there is no such thing as a free lunch. Even as Climbers, in order to obtain skills that we need, we must complete the Tower’s quests to receive points and tokens to spend at the Marketplace to buy and acquire the skills to progress.”

“But this also gives us freedom. You may purchase any and all skills available to your general class. Although we have broken everyone down into specializations, it does not mean you or anyone else cannot acquire other skills in the other specializations of the mage class. We split everyone as such because the Tower System recognizes these individual branches. However, as you will soon find out, although all of us here intend to specialize in the same profession, we will not develop exactly the same set of skills. You will determine and add your own skills that fit your style and circumstances. There is a basic underlying set that you will follow, but there are no restrictions so long as you stay within the mage class. You can find this guidance as a skill tree on the Classpath’s page. The same applies to your secondary classes as well.”

“By the grace of the Ivory Tower, all new Climbers are given two Tower Tokens to start their journey. Note that one thousand points condense into a token and that all skills purchased from the Marketplace are all at level one. You may explore these features later. However, for now, locate and take out your gifted tokens in your inventory. Then open the Marketplace tab and place your token on the screen. Do not be alarmed. It will be recognized and absorbed. From there, your balance will be shown on your screens. Search for the summon skill and purchase it. Afterwards, it will be deposited into your inventory. Using it will fill you with the knowledge of the skill. After completing all I just mentioned, exit to the training grounds and use your skill to summon your first creature. Begin.”

Thane and everyone else did as told. However, Thane’s inventory had three tokens. He took out the two new tokens and left the one gifted to him by his father as a memento. As instructed, he purchased the skill and opened his inventory to learn it. He tilted his head, seeing the skill as a picture of a white orb in a slot of his inventory. Reaching his hand at the picture, it slipped through with a slight resistance like a membrane. He felt something round and squishy and pulled out the skill orb. Wondering how to use the orb, it suddenly reacted to his thoughts and burst open with an explosion of glittering gold sparks that absorbed and flowed through his body and into his head, filling it with knowledge of summoning.

Bradley hurried with excitement and pulled Thane up. “Bro! Let's go test out this skill!”

Bradley ran off first, with Thane eagerly following close behind. They dashed through a hall connecting the locker room to an open exit to the heart of the coliseum. A bright light beamed down through the open massive circular structure. Thane winced from the intense rays, but he and Bradley excitedly kept rushing forward into the wide dirt field encased around tall white stone walls. From there, rows of seating expanded upwards to the top edge of the structure. Thane and Bradley were so excited to try their new skill that they missed seeing a few observers in the empty stands.

Reaching the center of the field first, Bradley turned around and smirked at Thane. “I win! Now drop and give me fifty push-ups!”

“Fat chance. We didn’t bet on anything this time. Besides, you still owe my fifty push-ups from the time we were on the wall.”

“You too! You still owe me from that time too!”

“Fine, let’s make it more interesting. How about double or nothing? Whoever summons the cooler summon gets no push-ups, and the other gets one hundred push-ups?”

“You are on! I will go first. Haha! Prepare to be surprised, Thane! Get ready for those hundred push-ups!”

“Yeah, yeah. We shall see.”

Bradley grinned, but it soon disappeared as a serious look took over his face. He stood closed-eyed and focused. Mana surged deep from within his heart and flooded out into his body. It quickly rotated throughout himself before condensing at the crown of his head and pulling out from his body. It shot out as a white beam, piercing through the sky. It tore through space and time, acting like a beacon. Suddenly, Bradley’s eyes opened wide in astonishment. Something gripped onto his mana, and he vanished from sight.

Thane slightly panicked, but after learning the skill, he realized his friend was taken to choose his new summon from a supreme being who answered the calling beacon. The time taken to contract a summon varied. Thane decided to start too, because he knew not how long his friend would take.

He closed his eyes.

Mana surged from his heart and collected at the crown of his head. It shot up in a pillar of light, and Thane’s consciousness sensed his mana rip through the fabric of space and time. He astral projected into the cosmos, rushing past planets and stars and flying by solar systems at immense speeds.

He flew even faster.

Everything warped. Light bent and streaked by like white lines. Something was calling to him, and that was when he felt it. As he was pulled faster and faster far into the center of the universe, something large and cold gripped onto his mana, and he shuddered. Thane hurriedly opened his eyes, only for one moment to see the inside of the stadium and then the next, the dark and vast vacuum of space.

Floating in a bubble in the open cosmos, Thane looked around in shock. He knew the summon skill would take him to higher beings to form contracts with them and their subordinates. The places they would be taken to could be anywhere, and the supreme beings could be anything. However, no being was in Thane’s sight. But Thane was looking for someone or something too small. He felt something bigger and larger looking down at him, and he looked up.

The outline of a pair of eyes, each the astronomical size of a solar system, peered down and through his entire being. It was as if it looked through and saw every fiber of his being and all of his memories.

A deep voice reverberated through the cosmos and shook the heavens. Being so close to the entity, Thane’s entire being shook deeply.

“You will do.”

A white fissure cracked before Thane, and a small ball of silver metal zoomed out and rushed towards his face. Thinking he was going to be smacked by the metal ball the size of his head, he flinched and shut his eyes while lifting his hands to guard his face.

However, the pain never came. Thane slowly peeped one eye open. Suddenly, he opened both of them wide with alarm at the sight of the hovering metal ball that expanded and contracted as if alive and breathing.

“Reach out, human. It must be destiny. For we both detest the horrid Dungeons and Towers.”

Thane jerked his head and looked up at the massive pair of eyes observing his every action. Flashes in the distant cosmos revealed various colors of holographic circuitry. Whatever it was, Thane knew he could not comprehend the size of the being.

“Who are you?” Thane asked.

“You use my power but do not know? No. Maybe it is for the best for now. You will soon find out, human. Take it. It is a piece of myself. Grow and consume what was rightfully mine, and I shall give you what you most desire; I will bring back your parents you so dearly miss.”

Thane immediately shouted while looking at the entity with shock and disbelief.

“Are you really able to?! Can you really bring back my mom and dad?!”

“Do my will, and I shall do that and more. I will reunite you with your parents in the same flesh and blood as they once were. For now, I am limited, but break my seals. Something so little, I can grant at the return of my true power. Will you accept and take on my creation as your own? In return, I shall grant you your wish.”

Thane did not hesitate. They had a commonality. They both disliked the Dungeons and Towers. The entity even agreed to bring back his parents to how they were before.

“Yes!” Thane shouted with no hesitation, reaching out his hand and touching the metal orb hovering in front of him.

“It is done.” The System entity said as its words shook the universe.

A blinding light erupted from where Thane’s hand touched the ball of silver metal. A searing pain shot from the metal through his hand and into his entire being. Thane screamed from the pain, but his voice vanished as he and the ball of metal were transported back to the dirt field in the coliseum. The System stared into the vast universe and narrowed its eyes menacingly.

“Just a little more. Revenge is almost within grasp. You will all regret what you have done to me!”