Alessio Leone's Perspective
Honestly, Alessio still couldn't figure out where those three girls found the courage.Level two, and already diving into a dungeon?It was pure recklessness… or maybe just the typical naïveté of rookies who hadn't yet tasted the bitter edge of the Black Tower.
Of course, he knew they were skilled. He could see it. The way they held their weapons, their steady stances, their still-intact confidence. They probably came from other games, veterans of competitive environments.And among them, there was one player Alessio knew exactly how legendary she could become.In his past life, Eleanor Whitmore hadn't been just any player. She was a monster.
Still, none of that changed the fact: if they went into this dungeon alone, death was all that awaited them.
For him, though… their recklessness was actually a stroke of luck.Having at his side someone who, in the future, would be one of the five greatest healers in the history of the Black Tower… made their suicidal madness a little less suicidal.
"My name's Matteo." As always, the mechatronics engineer—ever sociable—was the first to break the ice, smiling as he adjusted his glasses. "And this rude guy here is Ale… Aslan."
Alessio narrowed his eyes for a moment. Matteo had almost said his real name. But fortunately, the half-hour lecture Alessio had given about the dangers of revealing identities in online games had paid off.
"And you are?" Matteo added, giving them space to answer.
The three girls exchanged glances for a brief second. Then, one by one, they introduced themselves:
The blonde with green eyes lifted her chin calmly, her voice steady and serene:"Lumina."
The redhead smirked, provocative, almost mocking:"EmberFlare."
And the Asian archer, serious as always, answered short and sharp:"SilentArrow."
Three names. Three distinct presences.
And now, all of them were stuck with him inside the dungeon's darkness.
Alessio drew a deep breath, sizing each of them up before speaking.
"Alright. We don't need much strategy for this dungeon. I'll hold the front line."He tapped the axe against his chest and raised his shield."Matteo, Ember, and Silent—attack anything that isn't me."
His eyes landed directly on the redhead."Especially you."
EmberFlare arched an eyebrow, her lips curving into a teasing smile.
"And the healer…" Alessio turned to Lumina, the blonde with calm eyes. "As long as you don't let me die or run out of mana, we'll have no problems."
Silence hung in the air for a moment. Then, as expected, the first to respond was the fiery red mage.
"Just out of curiosity… who made you leader?"
Alessio almost laughed.Her aggressiveness was transparent—like fire refusing to be contained.But instead of playing along, he only smiled faintly.
"If you've got another strategy, I'm all ears."
EmberFlare folded her arms with a huff."No. We can't do this without a Tank. Just… don't go around barking orders."
He didn't argue.Not because he lacked reasons—but because something told him that arguing with this girl was a battle lost before it even began.
Better to just move forward.
And so, the newly formed party—four long-range fighters with Alessio as their only wall in front—took their first steps inside the dungeon.The very first dungeon any of them would face in the Black Tower.
The dungeons of the Black Tower weren't, in essence, different from what any veteran of digital games might have experienced.The monsters came in hordes.Always from the front.And so, the classic Tank-and-Healer strategy could be applied without much tweaking.
But the fact that it wasn't different didn't mean it was easy.
The Tower's monsters weren't mindless puppets programmed to run in a straight line toward the nearest player.They moved in patterns.Patterns of attack, of defense, of cooperation.It was like facing creatures that actually thought.
And there was more.
Here, players didn't control avatars with clicks and hotkeys.Every move was their own body.Every dodge demanded real reflexes.Every strike demanded strength, coordination, precision.Execution was far harder than any shortcut on a skill bar could convey.
In short, they were just five people.Five beginners, inside a suffocating dungeon.
And what waited ahead was an entire pack of wolves.Not common wolves, but creatures that moved as one. Fast, ferocious, capable of ambushing, flanking, isolating their targets.
They had fangs and claws.The players had nothing but simple melee weapons.
Sure, there were skills.Special strikes, spells, enchanted arrows.But the wolves had their own as well—sudden charges, howls that rattled the mind, bites that bled you dry.
That was why the Black Tower was always clear.Cruel.Unforgiving.
In the end, what mattered most wasn't luck.Wasn't starter gear.It was real player skill.
And at this stage of the game… that skill simply didn't exist.
Even so, Alessio wasn't all that worried.
Because deep inside, he held a quiet expectation—something no system could measure.In his past life, when it came to pure skill, he didn't believe he had been far behind the top players of his class.
Of course, his beginnings had been miserable.Weak items, broken gear, no real support.Teammates who drained him more than they ever helped.A constant burden, dragging him down every time he tried to lift his head.
But even then, he dreamed of the top.Believed he could reach it.And so, he fought tooth and nail for the Legacy Item.That forbidden relic was his hope—the rope he believed could pull him up to the surface.
And it was also the spark that revealed his old allies' rot.The moment the Legacy fell into his hands, they showed their true faces.Greed. Betrayal. Hatred.The group that should have been his strength became the blade that stabbed him in the back.
The memory still burned.
But now… now everything was different.The past was buried, and the future lay ahead of him, carved in stone and blood.
In this life, he wouldn't let the same mistakes repeat.No more blind trust.No more naïveté.No more failure.
In the Black Tower, whenever someone mentioned the name of a Tank… Alessio would make sure they thought of him.
And of his Elegant Tanking Path.