After dinner, Daniel quietly walked up the stairs and returned to his room. Alice was still in the kitchen, cleaning up the dishes, and his mom was watching TV with the volume low. The house felt strangely silent after their lively conversations. Maybe even too silent.
He fell onto his bed and stared at the ceiling.
Images of the Tower spun in his mind.
The Tower that the media, the internet, and even his sister claimed was the only path to true power—hidden deep within its floors.
"Celestial Domain... Ascension... Breaking through human limits..."
His mind was a mess, but his body, still tired and sore, didn't want to rest.
Everything felt strange to him, but honestly, he was more excited than scared.
Ever since he came to this world, he had always wanted to become an Awakened.
He took a deep breath, got up, and pulled out his old, dusty laptop from the corner of the room. Its screen was cracked, and the fan was louder than it should be—but it still worked.
He logged into "ArcaneNet," the official website of the Awakened.
The homepage looked like a digital plaza full of movement and noise. The forum had tens of thousands of active members, and its sections were organized like a small world: discussion halls, video tutorials, dungeon news, floor clear reports, and even sub-forums for rare races and special classes.
He had heard about it from his sister before, and he had always wanted to check it out—but until you become Awakened, you're not allowed to enter.
Within less than a minute, his account was created. Next to his name, a tag appeared:
[ Daniel Noir ] [ Level 0 – Newbie < ? > ]
"What the hell is that?" He raised his eyebrows and clicked on the < ? > icon. A short message popped up explaining the level and the "Newbie" title.
He quickly realized that the forum had its own leveling system.
From level 0, for new members, to level 10, for those who had conquered the highest floors of the Tower.
"One floor... one level." Based on the number of Tower floors an Awakened had cleared, they would be given a level in the forum.
For example, if an Awakened had cleared up to the second floor, they would have Level 2 access.
The highest level available was Level 9—because even the top Awakened in the world had only managed to reach the ninth floor.
Level 0, which was where he was now, belonged to those who had just awakened and had never entered the Tower or cleared any floors.
High-level users had special access. They could post exclusive content, join strategic discussions, and even get invitations to special projects.
It looked like they could even join online auctions and access other special privileges.
But he was standing at the bottom. A level where most users only asked questions—and rarely got answers.
With curiosity, he started exploring. The information was categorized, and it looked like with his current level, he could only access a few basic things.
Even to buy or learn different skills, he needed at least Level 1.
"Hmm, let's see..." For no special reason, he searched for his class. His sister had told him there was a lot of information about most classes in the online community.
Most of that class-related info had been found in the Celestial Domain or the Tower.
He was a bit curious—was there anything about his class?
"Fallen Priest Class"
But there was nothing.
"I guess that makes sense." Daniel laughed a little and moved to the Tower Guide section.
All the official information about the Tower and how to enter it was there.
The first sentence he saw nearly made him swear.
"Entry into the Tower is only allowed with a valid key."
There were three ways to get a key listed:
2. Direct purchase from the online Community (extremely expensive)
3. Take the Awakened Assessment Test
Why the hell do you need a key?
He did some searching and found out that the reason was the Tower itself—it required a key for entry.
Well... he didn't have a guild. And he had no money.
"Only one option left... the test."
But when was the test held? How could he sign up? After more searching, he learned that the tests were organized only through local associations—and their schedules were available only in person.
Even more interesting, these tests weren't just for getting a key. They were also a path into the National Awakened Federation.
A place where the most elite Awakened were trained. A place where the strongest stood out.
Daniel's eyes landed on one of the posts in the community titled:
< When are the Assessment test? What even are they? >
It had some basic explanations about the test—but nothing useful about the schedule.
He wanted to leave a comment to ask, but...
[ Access level too low. You are not allowed to comment. ]
"Fuck" he muttered and slowly closed the laptop.
"Guess there's no other way. I'll go back to the association tomorrow and see what I can do."