The Tower strips away the world before giving you its own.
There was no sound.
One moment, Caidyn Ver had been standing on the telepad. The next, she stood alone in a blank expanse—no visible walls, no light source. Just infinite, bleeding white.
Not cold. Not warm. Not even empty.
Waiting.
Then, a soft tone rang out—pure, but layered. A crystalline chime that vibrated just behind her eyes.
[System]
Candidate Identified: Caidyn Ver
Age: 18
Background: Adventurer-School Graduate | Independent Training Record Verified
Lineage Flag: Legacy Status Detected — Parent of Note: Aeyra Ver (Deceased, Former Tower Climber)
Initial Sync Authorized.
The air pulsed faintly. Something invisible shifted beneath her feet.
[System]
Beginning Synchronization Process...
Tower Affinity: Stable
Synchronization Rate: 91.3%
Core Pattern Integration: Complete
Class Slot Identification: Complete
Initializing Loadout Skeleton... Done
Activating AI Core Interface... Sync pending
A wider flicker.
Then the pane unfolded midair, sliding into being with cool, system-precise grace.
[PLAYER STATUS]
Name: Caidyn Ver
Level: 1
XP: 0 / 50 XP
Class:
• Primary:CodeForge(Tech Artificer / Adaptive Gunsmith)
• Secondary:Eclipsedancer(Elemental Gunner)
Vital Stats
• HP: 130 / 130
• Stamina: 100 / 100
• Mana: 100 / 100
• Essence Flow: 10 / 100
(Essence Flow begins at 10 and rises dynamically during combat. It fuels elemental and shadow-based abilities and can increase through precision, tactical flow, or rhythm—yet will drop if attacks miss, combos break, or momentum is lost.)
Status Effects
None
Base Attributes
(Core stats that define innate physical and mental capability.)
• STR: 14 — Affects lifting power, recoil control, and physical effort.
• AGI: 17 — Governs movement speed, reaction time, and fluidity.
• INT: 19 — Influences tech use, elemental crafting, and magic enhancement.
• END: 17 — Affects stamina recovery, resistances, and health pool.
• LUK: 20 — Impacts crit rate, rare drop chances, and outcomes of random events.
Specialty Attributes
(Advanced stats derived from combinations of two Base Attributes.)
Reload Speed: 26
Formula: AGI + END
Effect: Determines how fast Caidyn reloads and cycles weapons. Critical for maintaining pressure in modular combat.Elemental Effect Potency: 30
Formula: INT + LUK
Effect: Enhances power and duration of elemental bullets. Increases secondary effects like burn, freeze, and shock.Evasion: 29
Formula: AGI + LUK
Effect: Boosts ability to dodge attacks and escape high-threat zones. Raises reaction speed and animation cancel windows.Tech Mastery: 27
Formula: INT + END
Effect: Increases efficiency in crafting, AI sync, modular assembly, and Overclock management.Precision: 28
Formula: LUK + AGI
Effect: Governs firearm accuracy, headshot rates, and weak point targeting. Boosts ranged critical chance and overall aim consistency.
Caidyn took it in—lines of logic and latent power, perfectly measured. The numbers weren't just stats. They were boundaries—what she'd start with. What she had to break past.
Then the display condensed, dissolving into a glowing circle that hovered briefly above her left wrist before sinking into the skin. It didn't hurt, but she felt the weight of it immediately.
A presence. A promise.
[System]
Whitebox synchronization complete. Floor 1 interface unlocked.
Awaiting first movement to initialize environment parameters.
She exhaled.
Let's begin, then.
She stepped forward.
The world around her shimmered. The Whitebox stirred.
The Whitebox trembled at the edges. Not violently—just enough to feel like it breathed. As Caidyn moved, the whiteness began to fracture, almost imperceptibly, like the beginning of glass deciding whether to crack or transform.
Then the voice returned—cool, immutable, laced in soft circuitry.
[System]
Core Synchronization Achieved.
Awaiting Tactical AI Finalization Protocol.
The pane hovered silently, as if waiting for something sacred.
[System]
Tactical AI Partner: [Unit-Ø]
System Kernel Initialized. Sync Level: Passive
Finalization Required:
• Personal Identifier (Name)
• Projective Avatar (Visual Form)
Please designate a name and appearance for your Tactical AI Partner to complete integration.
Caidyn's hand hovered in the air—no need to touch, just intent. But she didn't rush it.
Not this part.
Other candidates probably named their AI something clever or cute. Some probably used callsigns, pets, acronyms, memes. But for her, this wasn't branding.
This was identity.
She exhaled, steady and low. The name came easily. It wasn't spur-of-the-moment. It was the moment.
"Designation: Kairos," she said aloud.
The glyphs pulsed. Accepted.
She continued, her tone sharper, more deliberate now.
"It's not just a name. It's a timing principle. Kairos—not chronos. Not the timeline. The break point. The perfect exploit. The frame where everything flips."
[System]
Designation registered.
Please describe chosen avatar form.
Her expression didn't change. But something deeper inside her—something more private—shifted into place.
"Kairos manifests as a sky serpent," she said. "Digital. Sleek. A bit mythic. Something between a Chinese dragon and a waveform glitch."
Her voice grew quieter, steadier, as the details unfolded.
"In passive state, he's ambient. Subtle. The ripple in the air when you're not sure if something just moved. The shimmer in the corner of your screen when no program's open."
"But when active—"
White light gathered. Swirled. Began to twist into long, flowing threads of radiant code.
"—he becomes semi-corporeal. Long. Serpentine. Etched with fractal symbols. Each scale a recursive function. Eyes like ember-threads that track every angle. Always scanning."
The space before her shifted as the projection took form. It didn't roar. It didn't hiss. It hummed, like code unfolding inside a processor mid-execution.
[System]
Visual form finalized.
Initializing behavioral sync.
Caidyn watched as the coils of Kairos faded into ambient space—dissolving into a flicker of distortions, shadows bending where light should have fallen straight.
Then, a voice.
Smooth. Controlled. Male-coded, but touched by something synthetic. Like system audio wrapped in theatrical confidence.
"So this is the one I've been waiting for. I was beginning to worry they'd assign me to another halfwit with bad trigger discipline."
Caidyn arched a brow. "Already starting with the attitude?"
"Please. If I were any less dramatic, you'd call me boring. And we both know you didn't survive off boring."
She smirked. "Just don't get in my way."
"On the contrary. I'm the rhythm you follow when the pattern breaks. You handle the chaos—I make it dance."
[System]
Tactical AI Partner Finalized: Kairos
Combat Sync: Initialized
Behavior Tree: Adaptive Sync – Performance-Based Feedback Model
Floor 1 parameters loading…
Around her, the blank whiteness finally began to tremble in earnest.
And above her, barely visible but unmistakably present, Kairos coiled through the space like a half-formed thought in mid-flight.
She was no longer alone.
The whiteness fragmented, pixels snapping like static before bursting outward.
Suddenly, the air filled with the scent of ozone and cold metal.
Floor 1 was forming.
The vast space unfolded into a cavernous indoor range—its ceiling soaring high beyond sight, walls lined with myriad targets: some fixed, some moving on complex rails, others popping up and down in rapid staccato.
The floor beneath her feet hummed faintly, the sound of precise mechanical calibration.
This isn't a trial, she reminded herself. Not yet.
Floor 1 was a walkthrough—a system check, a basic run-through to measure skill and coordination before the real climb.
Three crates slid silently into place before her.
They clicked open, revealing neatly arranged components inside—barrels, bodies, ammo types, elemental cores, and augments—each waiting for assembly.
Caidyn's eyes narrowed, scanning the parts with practiced efficiency.
Her fingers reached first to the Heavy Suppressor components.
With precise motions, she began assembling the reinforced barrel onto the heavy Gatling body, slotting in the hollow-point rounds, fitting the heat elemental core, and integrating the energy modulator augment.
The weapon clicked into completion.
Immediately, a translucent HUD materialized in front of her:
Heavy Suppressor — Defensive Powerhouse
Attack: 65
Attack Speed: 900 BPM / 15 BPS
Clip Size: 180
Range: 1,200 ft (366 m)
Defense Bonus: +15
Durability: 120
Reload Speed: 7.5 seconds
Additional Effects:
Hollow-Point Rounds: +20% damage to unarmored targets; slight stagger chance.
Heat Core: Applies Burn — inflicts fire damage over time (stackable).
Energy Modulator: Restores 1% ammo energy per hit, improving sustained fire potential.
Gatling Class: Suppressive fire lowers enemy evasion by 10% under stream; strong area control through stagger pressure.
She hefted the Heavy Suppressor, feeling its weight settle into her grip. The targets ahead shifted, moving into position.
The barrels spun with a ferocious roar as she unleashed a torrent of blazing bullets, watching as enemies staggered and fell.
Satisfied, she set it down carefully.
Next, she turned to the Shadow Stinger parts—standard barrel, compact pistol body, standard rounds, shadow core, and phase stabilizer.
Her hands moved swiftly, assembling the sleek weapon with care.
Upon completion, the HUD flickered back with new stats:
Shadow Sting — Agile Close-Quarters Sidearm
Attack: 40
Attack Speed: 450 BPM / 7.5 BPS
Clip Size: 15
Range: 50 ft (15 m)
Defense Bonus: +5 (Evasion-based)
Durability: 90
Reload Speed: 2.8 seconds
Additional Effects:
Standard Rounds: Balanced kinetic force; dependable across armor types.
Shadow Core: Applies Weakening Veil — reduces enemy damage by 10% for 3 seconds.
Phase Stabilizer: Reduces recoil while moving; minor auto-correction assists rapid aim.
Pistol Class: +15% movement speed during reload; precision reload grants 1s invincibility window.
The Shadow Stinger felt like an extension of her own hand—quick, silent, precise.
She moved through the targets with fluid shots and swift repositioning, the dark rounds cloaking her movements in shadow.
Finally, she gathered the last components for the Frostfire Marksman—long-range barrel, basic rifle body, incendiary rounds, shock elemental core, and standard scope.
The assembly was meticulous, every part locking into place with satisfying clicks.
The HUD returned once more:
Longshot Mark — Precision Rifle
Attack: 55
Attack Speed: 300 BPM / 5 BPS
Clip Size: 12
Range: 800 ft (244 m)
Defense Bonus: +10
Durability: 100
Reload Speed: 3.5 seconds
Additional Effects:
Incendiary Rounds: Causes minor fire damage; ignites flammable terrain and objects.
Shock Core: Applies Disruption — brief chance to interrupt enemy skills and stagger on hit.
Standard Scope: Slight zoom; increases headshot crit rate and targeting clarity.
Rifle Class: +20% Critical Hit Chance beyond 400 ft; crouching boosts damage by 10%.
The targets shifted again, this time scattered far across the range.
She steadied the rifle, sighting distant marks with icy precision, sending rounds that shocked and burned in perfect harmony.
Lowering the weapon, Caidyn allowed herself a brief smile.
Three weapons, each forged with care and mastery—extensions of her own skill, ready to meet the climb ahead.