Upon entering the 0th Floor, I found myself standing in a familiar square. Almost immediately, an interface appeared before me.
Name: Lucen Noctis
Class: Classless — Lv. 1
Final Ordeal: 30th
Essence Gained: 19,982
[Upload to Leaderboard]
[Named / Anonymous]
I chose Anonymous, then stepped away from the square and entered the nearest inn.
I paid 20 Essence for a room for the night. I had no intention of staying long—I just wanted to bathe. There was no way I was returning home like this. My body reeked of sweat… and whatever my evolution had left behind.
Just as I was about to enter the bath, Veyren emerged from my shadow. I paused. He looked just as filthy.
For a moment, the thought of washing him crossed my mind.
After bathing, I replaced the water and called out to him.
He didn't move.
"Come here. Let me clean you," I said, gesturing with my hands.
He hesitated before slowly approaching.
I activated Sensory Bind—and felt it immediately.
Dread.
He really didn't want a bath.
"Don't worry," I said calmly. "Just enter my shadow. I'll rest a bit before we leave."
His energy returned instantly, and he leapt back into my shadow without hesitation.
I bought a basic clothing set for 25 Essence, changed, and finally went to sleep.
When I woke up, I left the inn. I wouldn't be progressing through the tower again today.
I headed back to the center of the square where I had first appeared. A Teleportation Spire stood there. Placing my hand against it, a tab appeared.
[Move to the 1st Floor / Exit the Tower]
[Exit the Tower]
The moment I selected it, the world shifted.
I was back in my room, standing at the foot of my bed.
I grabbed my phone.
9:00 AM.
I had entered the Ascent at midnight. Nine hours had passed. I must have slept longer than I thought back at the inn.
My mom should be home by now.
As I passed my doorway, I saw her sitting at her desk, typing away on her blog. When she noticed me, she looked up.
"What took you so long?" she asked. "I thought you'd be back by the time I got here."
"I slept at an inn after finishing my Ascent," I replied.
"Oh, okay. Did you check the tower leaderboard?" she asked.
"They're saying someone gained an impossible amount of Essence. They think it might be a bug."
"I didn't notice anything," I said. "How much Essence did they gain?"
"19,982," she replied.
"He only reached the 30th Ordeal. The average for that is around 8,000 Essence. Even if variants appeared three times, that would only add about 3,500 more."
She shook her head slightly.
"So the speculation is that it's a guild prodigy who was given an artifact that boosts Essence gain by at least 1.5×. Those are extremely rare. Since no one's confirmed anything, it's being treated as the first leaderboard error."
"Wow… that's shocking," I said, unsure whether I wanted to tell her the truth.
She stood up and pulled a book from the table, sliding it toward me.
"As soon as I got home, I looked for this," she said.
"Your father told me to give it to you when you turned sixteen. He had some worries… but I see now they were unfounded."
She smiled.
I took the book and opened it.
Blank.
I flipped through the pages—every one of them empty.
"It's blank," I said.
"I know," she replied. "I asked the same thing when he first gave it to me. He said, 'It isn't blank—but not everyone can read it. If he can, the information inside will help him. If not, then he doesn't need the book's help.'"
She paused.
"At the time, I thought only players could read it. I didn't show it to anyone."
Maybe it was something only vampires could read.
Or maybe because I wasn't a full vampire yet…
"Can I hold on to it?" I asked. "Maybe I'll be able to read it eventually."
"Of course. It's yours now," she said, though her expression dimmed slightly.
"What's wrong?" I asked.
"Just remembered an unpleasant memory," she replied.
"Anyway—what's your trait?"
"Restriction," I answered.
"It lets me apply debuffs to others, but in exchange, I have to seal some of my own skills to gain buffs."
"That sounds cool," she said, "but it feels like it should have a downside."
"There is. The duration was one minute at first—now it's three. But against anyone above my rank, it drops to about 10 to 30 seconds."
"So it's useful against people around your level," she said, "but not really against stronger opponents."
"Not true," I replied.
"I think it shines most against stronger enemies. It helps even the playing field. Ten seconds can change the flow of a battle."
I hesitated.
"…Though maybe that only applies to monsters," I added quietly.