Victor entered the building and was amazed by the vast interior, which was far larger than it appeared from the outside. Towering shelves filled with books stretched across the hall. He walked toward the receptionist's desk, where he saw a young woman engrossed in writing on a digital screen.
"Excuse me, miss," Victor said. The young lady looked up from her work, raising an eyebrow at him.
"Hmm, what can I do for you?" she asked. Although clearly displeased at being interrupted, she still maintained a professional smile.
"Where can I get information about the tower and other basic details?" Victor asked, noticing the slight increase in her annoyance.
"Guest, this must be your first time here. You can directly connect your electronic device to the information center database and freely access any information. Hardly anyone actually comes here unless it's necessary," the young lady explained with a forced smile.
'Damn, Miss Amanda didn't tell me this. No wonder I didn't see anyone,' Victor thought, twitching his eyebrows. Looking around again, he noticed that aside from the receptionist, not a single other person was present.
"Hmm, I actually don't have any device on me," Victor admitted, scratching his cheek.
'Cute,' the young lady smiled at his sheepish expression and sighed. Then, she pulled out what looked like a futuristic tablet and handed it to him.
"Here, you can use this. It's for public use—for those who can't afford their own device," the receptionist said, giving him a quick once-over. Judging by his plain clothes, she assumed he was too poor to own one himself.
"Oh, thank you," Victor said, unaware of her thoughts. He took the tablet, sat down, and began browsing through it.
"So much information." As soon as Victor started browsing through the database, he was almost overwhelmed by the sheer amount of content available.
He scrolled for a few minutes and was surprised to see that even high-rank techniques and spells were available online. This shocked him because, in his previous world, while low-rank techniques and spells were freely taught in universities, high-rank ones were either guarded jealously by rankers and organizations who obtained them or sold for exorbitant prices. Judging by what he was seeing here, these techniques and spells—freely accessible—would have been worth a fortune in his old world.
"Let's look for information about the tower," Victor mumbled as he opened the public records available on it.
According to the records, the Tower had existed since the beginning of time along with the planet, even before humans were born.
The Tower contained countless floors, each one a separate world of its own—each at least the size of a country from his past world. Those who gained qualifications to climb the Tower were called Rankers, and to ascend further, they had to pass trials set by the Tower. Many failed and remained stuck on their current floor.
"I see… this place is called the Outer Area, huh," Victor muttered as he discovered that the region he was in was known as the Outer Area—the lowest floor of the Tower and located outside its main structure. Most people here were not connected to the Akashic Records.
'Could my system have been the Akashic Records?' Victor thought with a frown. In his previous life, before regressing, while everyone else had suddenly gained access to mana, he had received something additional—a system. That system had given him missions, and completing them made him stronger. In the end, it was through that system that he had obtained the fruit… after which he woke up here and he found himself here.
'I see, that's the trial Miss Amanda mentioned… the one I missed,' Victor thought as he took a deep breath. According to the information, the Tower Trial was something everyone attempted once they came of age. If they succeeded, they would be connected to the Records, become Rankers, and gain eligibility to climb the Tower.
The reason even the strongest in the Outer Ring sought to pass the trial was simple: no matter how powerful someone became outside the Records, they were still nothing but ants compared to true Rankers. Without the Records, one could never reach that level. Worse yet, those without the Records remained mortal, while those who began climbing the Tower could live for hundreds—sometimes even thousands—of years. Of course, many failed the trial and remained stuck in the Outer Ring.
"Will I also start from Level 1?" Victor frowned. The records stated that once connected, even Rankers began from Level 1—yet a Ranker at Level 1 was already stronger than any non-Ranker. In his previous world, Victor had been the only one with a system that gave him levels. Others could only estimate strength through instinct, and it was the same method he had used back in the hospital to gauge how weak Miss Amanda truly was.
"No use thinking about this. Let's see if they have any information about the Primogenitor," Victor muttered as he searched, but found nothing.
'Looks like Miss Amanda was right—this information isn't easily accessible,' Victor thought with a bitter smile.
'Should I ask? It's not like they'll figure out I'm one myself if I casually bring it up, right?' he mused as he walked toward the receptionist.
"Oh, you're done already?" The receptionist raised an eyebrow when she noticed Victor approaching.
"Sort of," Victor said with a nervous chuckle.
"Sort of?" she repeated, tilting her head slightly.
"I wanted to ask you about something I couldn't find in the database," Victor said, making her raise an eyebrow again.
'Something not in the database?' the young woman thought with a frown, before gesturing for him to continue.
"Have you ever heard of the term Primogenitor?" Victor asked, his tone filled with curiosity.
"Primogenitor? I've never heard that word before," she replied, brows furrowed in confusion.
'I should have known… Miss Amanda did say most ordinary people wouldn't know about this,' Victor thought, turning to leave when—
Thud.
'Fuck.' Victor cursed inwardly as an overwhelming pressure suddenly descended on him, forcing him onto his knees.
"Where did you hear that term?" a rough voice demanded.