Alessio Leone's Perspective
The main peak of the frozen mountain rose before us in all its grandeur.
It was impossible to describe it simply as a mountain — it was a colossus, a natural monument that defied the very concept of limits.
The mountain range stretched as far as the eye could see, but the central peak — the Leviathan's Peak, as players called it — made every other formation look insignificant.Its base vanished into valleys of ice and deep fissures where the wind howled like an ancient lament, while its sharp, near-indistinguishable summit disappeared into bluish clouds, reflecting the blinding light of snow.
From where I stood, the frozen surface gleamed beneath the Tower's dim sun, a dance of pure white and cold blue shadows piling across the slopes.The ice walls rose like crystal fortresses, and the wind striking them echoed like the distant roar of some sleeping creature.
It was a landscape both cold and sublime — wild, merciless, and perfect.
Far ahead, blocks of ice floated on the frozen surface of a narrow river that wound at the mountain's base.It was as if the terrain itself were alive — creaking, shifting, breathing.
I looked upward again, and the cutting wind struck my face, lifting tiny crystals of snow that glittered in the air like silver dust.The Black Tower was a vast world, and even for someone who had known it in another life, there were still moments when its immensity reminded me just how small a human being truly was.
Reaching this place meant more than a geographical advance.The date was etched into everyone's mind: exactly one month since the opening of the Tower's servers.
Thirty days.That was all it had been — and yet the entire world had already changed.
In my previous life, at this same point in time, I had barely reached level 5.Even so, that progress had placed me among the elite — one of the names listed near the top of the first public rankings.
But this time… things were different.
I looked at the interface before me, its ethereal glow illuminating the air.Level 10.
Seeing that number was more than gratifying — it was symbolic.Every experience point, every decision made, every optimized route represented the direct result of my choices.
Behind me, my group gathered in silence, adjusting their equipment.All of them were at level 9 — just one step below me — which, in itself, was impressive.Their collective progress was far faster than before.Most likely, on a global scale, other players weren't far behind this stage.
My mere interference had spread like ripples across a lake.My presence alone — and the choices I made — had altered the natural rhythm of the Tower's evolution.
I smiled faintly at the thought.Even the smallest deviation in time could create an entirely new world.And now, before that colossal mountain, feeling the biting cold and the immensity of the Black Tower stretching endlessly ahead, I knew — history was about to accelerate.
But this time… under my rules.
If I had advanced with full strength and speed, I wouldn't have taken nearly a month to reach the Frozen Mountain.Two weeks, perhaps. Ten days, at most, if I had forced the pace.But I didn't.
We moved slowly — deliberately.
Every step through the endless white wasteland before the mountains was calculated.I allowed my team to fight the countless spirit beasts roaming that frozen expanse — frost wolves, ice serpents, subterranean worms, and hybrid abominations lurking beneath the cracked ice.They posed no real threat to me, but for them, it was perfect training.
That region was treacherous.The wind sliced in violent gusts, horizons blurred into the white sky, and the snow concealed natural traps beneath its surface.Yet, despite its dangers, the place served as a forge — shaping instinct, reflex, and discipline.And for me, the time spent there wasn't waste. It was investment.
The reward waiting inside the mountain justified the delay.But the real reason I didn't feel any urgency went beyond that.
Even faced with the magnitude of what was hidden there — something that, in my past life, only the most powerful had ever discovered — I felt no fear of losing it.And there were two clear reasons why.
The first was simple: no one else knew it existed.
The great guilds, no matter how influential, were still crawling through this stage of the game.They were too busy securing safe zones, mapping new regions, building their influence, establishing supply routes, and — above all — controlling the masses of common players.
And, of course, they had competition in every one of those efforts.
Exploring an entire mountain range as vast and lethal as the Endless Frozen Mountains would require organized strength and logistical resources they didn't yet possess.At this stage, sending explorers this far would have been considered suicide.
While they fought for territory and reputation, I was already here — at the edge of the map, where the virtual world felt more real than the air itself.
But the second reason was even more decisive.
Even if, by some miracle, a guild did discover this place…I seriously doubted they could defeat me.
The dungeon chain hidden within this mountain range was anything but ordinary.
For an average player — or even a newly formed guild — entering it would be the equivalent of marching willingly toward death.
Those dungeons were brutal — designed to annihilate anyone foolish enough to underestimate the terrain.And that was precisely what made them perfect.
I looked up at the mountain again — immense, silent, almost divine.The icy wind howled against my face, echoing like a distant warning.But I didn't fear it.
This time, I knew what awaited me.And I also knew that no one else was ready to face what slept beneath that ice.