As the school day dragged on, Haruto couldn't focus on anything except Professor Elara's lecture on the Tower Floors.
The world's structure wasn't a standard flat it was a vertical world, a series of stacked floors where each level was a sprawling, distinct environment. Elara explained that as you ascended to the higher floors, the difficulty, the monsters, and the environmental hazards increased exponentially. Solo runs on the upper levels were considered a death sentence, yet as Haruto studied the maps Elara displayed, he felt that familiar itch—the urge to test his limits.
I've been trapped in the lower sectors for too long, he thought, drumming his fingers on his desk. I haven't even cleared Layer 1 yet. I'm living in the sub-basement while the real game is happening on the floors above me.
The moment the final bell rang, Haruto didn't linger. He didn't want to deal with the fan-girls or another confrontation with Kenjin. He bolted out of the classroom, moving with purpose. Emilie was already waiting for him outside with his car. He dove into the backseat, and she slid into the driver's seat, pulling away from the academy grounds smoothly.
As they drove, Haruto stared out the window, his mind churning. Solo runs are dangerous, yeah. But staying safe is just a faster way to get bored to death. I need to go.
He checked the dashboard clock. Midnight, he decided. That's the sweet spot. The guards are thin, the people are asleep, and most importantly, that's when my three-hour 'vocal-unlock' window resets. I'll be able to use my voice, I'll have my system protocols back, and I can move through the floors unseen.
When they arrived at the mansion, Haruto checked his messages. A few pings from his team—updates on their own progress—but he ignored them. He walked into his room and went through the motions of his nightly routine, making enough noise for anyone listening to think he was heading to bed. He even left his light on and jumped into bed, pulling the covers over himself, acting the part of a tired student.
Once he was sure the house was silent, he carefully slid out of bed. He stood in the dark, his eyes reflecting a cold, sharp resolve.
Layer 1, he thought. Let's see if the 'floor' can handle a solo run without guards.
He moved toward the shadows, ready to sneak out and face the vertical challenge of the world.
Haruto moved through the shadows of the mansion's storage wing with the silence of a ghost. He reached the hidden gear cache—a small, reinforced compartment he'd set up weeks ago—and pried it open. Inside, his equipment waited: a high-durability shortsword, a reinforced iron rod, and a flickering, enchanted magic stone that housed the schematics for the Tower's floor maps.
As he reached for the stone, his system interface automatically pinged, flashing a notification in his vision. He froze.
[ACCOUNT BALANCE: 1,777,777,777 G-CREDITS]
Haruto blinked, rubbing his eyes. Seventeen... seventeen billion?
His mind raced back to his last sync. He had been down to a few grand credits just days ago. Lilith. It has to be her. A grin tugged at the corner of his mouth. She might be a headache when she's awake, but she's a damn good financial engine.
Armed with enough capital to buy a army, he slipped out of the estate and made his way toward the base of the Tower.
The structure towered above him, a colossal megalith of stone and shifting light, divided into its distinct, tiered floors. He approached the entrance of Layer 1, but stopped dead in his tracks.
The main gate was heavily fortified. Two armored guards stood like statues, their spears glowing with low-level mana enchantments. But it was the figure standing between them that made Haruto's pulse spike.
A girl stood there, bathed in the soft, eerie glow of the gate's lanterns. She was holding a heavy, leather-bound book, her eyes darting across the pages as if she were cross-referencing reality itself against her notes. She didn't look like a guard; she looked like an examiner.
A monitor? Here? At midnight? Haruto crouched behind a crate, his heart hammering.
He tapped his throat, feeling the faint hum of his system initiating the bypass. He could feel the restriction on his voice pack beginning to dissolve, the pressure in his throat finally lifting.
Three hours, he reminded himself, the familiar rush of power returning to his vocal cords.
He stood up, emerging from the shadows. He didn't try to hide anymore. If he was going to climb, he was going to start by getting through this gate.
"Alright," he whispered, his voice raspy from disuse, the sound sending a jolt of thrill through his system.
"Let's see if this examiner is ready for a player who isn't playing by the rules."
Haruto pulled the dark, high-collared robe tight, the heavy fabric obscuring his frame and casting his face into deep shadow. He moved with a practiced, measured gait, closing the distance to the gate.
The girl with the book snapped it shut, her sharp eyes locking onto him instantly. She didn't look intimidated; she looked annoyed. "Hello? Who are you? I've been stationed here all shift and I've never seen you before. You aren't supposed to be in this sector at this hour."
Haruto halted, his hand instinctively gripping the iron rod under his cloak. He forced his voice to sound casual, slightly raspy from the long silence. "Easy, miss. I don't live around here. I'm just passing through from a long way off. I heard the gate was open and thought I'd do a bit of grinding while the place is quiet."
The girl squinted, stepping forward into the lantern light. She looked skeptical, her gaze lingering on the mysterious robe. "Passing through? This isn't a tourist attraction. Let me see your status card."
Haruto hesitated for a heartbeat, then manifested his status window. He had masked his true metrics, projecting a standard, low-tier display. To her, it would look like a basic, unremarkable blue UI—the mark of a low-level wanderer.
God of Nothingness my foot, Haruto thought, watching her reaction. The system has everything under wraps now. Even though my UI is suppressed, why is my HUD suddenly blue?
The girl looked at the blue projection, then back at him. Her expression shifted from suspicion to something closer to pity. She sighed, tapping her finger against her book.
"Level 6?" she muttered, looking him up and down.
"Are you serious? Look, kid, you're a walking snack for the floor-guardians. There's no one else here, and I'm not letting you walk into a massacre just because you're passing by. This gate isn't a playground."
She leaned in closer, her voice dropping to a warning tone.
"Listen, you're clearly not 'the one' they told me to watch out for. You're just another level-one nobody who's going to get himself killed. Don't you have a guild or a mentor to tell you how suicide works in this tower?"
Haruto stood his ground, his silhouette looming under the dim gate light. "I'm alone," he said, his voice flat.
He remembered the three royal crests he had been granted—the symbols of absolute authority. He reached out and raised his left hand. The ring he adjusted caught the lantern's flicker, and a brilliant, unmistakable golden glow pulsed from the emblem. It wasn't just a badge; it was a command.
The girl's eyes widened, her scholarly composure shattering instantly. She stumbled back, clutching her book to her chest.
"That... that's the highest-degree royal crest. Who are you? Are you a prince from some hidden territory or a vassal state?"
Haruto leaned in, his shadow enveloping her.
"Does it matter? I have authorization. Now, am I going through, or are you going to keep blocking a member of the nobility?"
The girl looked visibly shaken, her face pale.
"I—I didn't know! But sir, you're alone! This is suicidal. If you ascend even one floor above your current clearance level, the environmental pressure alone will crush you. You're only level six"
"I know the risks," Haruto said, brushing past her.
"Wait! Please, just—don't die in there!" she stammered, frantically waving her hand at the two armored guards.
"Open the gate! Let the guest pass!"
The guards hesitated, looking from the girl to the glowing golden crest on Haruto's hand. With a synchronized metallic clank, they stepped aside and began to crank the heavy gears of the gate. As the massive stone slabs groaned open, revealing the dark, misty entrance to Layer 1, Haruto stepped forward.
He didn't look back at the girl, but as soon as the gate shut behind him and he was shrouded in the thick, unnatural fog of the first floor, his confidence wavered.
Oh, shit.
He looked down at his empty palms. I don't have any magic.
The silence of the floor was heavy, almost suffocating. He realized with a jolt that he had just played the 'Prince' card perfectly, but he was essentially walking into a death trap as a glorified regular human.
Ivory is going to kill me, he thought, a nervous sweat breaking out on his forehead. If she finds out I came here alone, without a single shred of magic to defend myself, she'll lock me in the mansion for the next century. I need to make this quick, grab some data, and get out before I become a floor-guardian's midnight snack.
He gripped his iron rod tighter, his knuckles white. The game was on, and he was officially playing on 'Hardcore' mode.