Anos reached the Tower's base by late afternoon. The closer he got, the more people there were — thousands of them, crowding the streets, armed with anything from glowing swords to kitchen knives duct-taped to broom handles.
Anos whistled. "Wow… humanity really said, 'Apocalypse? Bet.'"
The Tower loomed above them like a cosmic skyscraper, its surface rippling like liquid obsidian. Strange glowing runes shifted constantly, spelling out languages no one could read.
Anos stood there, hands in pockets, observing.
[Countdown: 00:05:14]
"Oh good," Anos muttered. "Five minutes until we're all probably eaten alive. Nice."
He leaned against a cracked lamppost, scanning the crowd. Some people were panicking, others were meditating, a few were livestreaming on their phones as if this was a festival.
A little kid holding a rusty bat was crying. Anos crouched next to him.
"Hey," he said softly. "You gonna be okay?"
The kid nodded shakily. "I… I think so…"
Anos smiled. "Good. Just swing that thing at anything green and screaming. Easy game."
The countdown hit zero.
The Tower's massive gate hummed, then opened like a black hole.
And before Anos could make a sarcastic remark —
WHOOSH!
Everyone was sucked inside.
"—OH COME ON!" Anos yelled as his feet left the ground.
Inside the Tower was… another world.
The air was crisp and heavy, like a magical forest at night. Glowing mushrooms lit the ground, and distant mountains floated in the sky.
"Whoa," someone whispered. "We're… in another dimension."
Anos smirked. "Cool interior design. Ten out of ten."
Then the System popped up.
But this wasn't just Anos' system — this was something else.
A huge blue hologram appeared above everyone's head.
[WELCOME TO THE TOWER OF MAGGIE]
[FIRST TRIAL: EXTERMINATE ALL GOBLINS]
[BASE LEVEL: 2]
The crowd collectively sighed in relief. "Level 2 goblins? Easy!"
And then Anos' personal Kael System popped up in front of his face.
[ALERT: Due to your presence, difficulty level increased.]
[Adjusted Goblin Level: 8]
Anos' smile froze. "…Excuse me?"
[Explanation: Tower difficulty scales to highest threat present. Your existence is considered a threat.]
"Oh, you've got to be kidding me."
All around him, glowing panels appeared above everyone's heads — displaying their levels.
Lv. 1 – Lv. 3 – Lv. 2 – Lv. 4…
And then —
Lv. 7 (Anos)
The crowd gasped.
"WHO is Level 7 already?!" someone shouted.
"Bro, we just awakened yesterday!" another yelled.
"WHOEVER IT IS JUST MADE THIS WAY HARDER!" a third person screamed.
Anos put his hands in his pockets and whistled innocently.
"Wow, crazy. Must be some prodigy guy. Definitely not me."
[Public Announcement: Anos – Lv. 7 – Presence Detected.]
The crowd collectively turned toward him.
Anos smiled sheepishly. "…Sup?"
"You—YOU'RE THE ONE WHO MADE THIS LEVEL 8?!"
People were glaring, some even shaking their fists.
Anos shrugged. "Hey, don't look at me. It's the Tower's fault for recognizing greatness."
Before anyone could yell back — the forest started shaking.
The first goblin appeared.
It was huge. Twice the size of a man, with glowing red eyes and a jagged bone club.
Someone screamed.
And then dozens of goblins emerged from the trees, howling.
"LEVEL 8?! THEY LOOK LIKE MINI-BOSSES!"
People panicked, running in circles.
Anos grinned.
"Oh, this is going to be fun."
---
Goblin Fight Mayhem
The first goblin charged at the nearest man. The guy swung his sword — and got yeeted twenty feet into a tree.
"OH MY GOD WE'RE GONNA DIE!"
Anos stretched lazily. "Alright, guess I'll do some cardio."
He snapped his fingers.
[Skill Activated: Time Cancel]
The goblins froze mid-attack, their snarling faces hanging in the air.
Anos walked up to one, poked it in the nose, then turned to the screaming crowd.
"Hey, stop panicking. Look."
Everyone blinked, realizing the monsters weren't moving.
"…You… stopped time?!" someone shouted.
Anos smirked. "Yup."
Then he walked over to the nearest goblin, stole its bone club, and smacked it over the head with its own weapon.
CRACK!
Time resumed.
The goblin collapsed, twitching.
Everyone stared at him like he was a superhero.
"Wait… this guy's actually cracked."
"Okay, maybe him being here isn't so bad."
Anos twirled the bone club like a baseball bat.
"Alright, level 8 goblins. Who's next?"
Chaos
The next five minutes were chaos.
People teamed up to fight while Anos casually one-shot goblins with bone clubs, kicks, and random environmental objects. At one point, he used a goblin as a shield against another goblin's attack, then threw it into a tree like a baseball.
Someone yelled, "HOW ARE YOU SMILING WHILE DOING THIS?!"
Anos shrugged. "Therapy is expensive. This is cheaper."
By the time the dust settled, dozens of goblin bodies were scattered around the glowing forest floor.
[Trial Progress: 75% Complete]
Anos wiped his hands on his shirt. "Well, that was fun. Who's up for a group selfie?"
Everyone groaned.
---
Tower Surprise
And then the ground started shaking again.
Everyone froze.
"Please tell me that's not a boss…" someone whispered.
The Tower hologram appeared again.
[WARNING: MINI-BOSS SPAWNED – GOBLIN CHIEF – LEVEL 10]
Everyone looked at Anos.
"…Don't you dare blame me for this," he said.
---
Chapter End Hook
The trees split apart as the Goblin Chief stepped out — massive, armored, carrying a tree trunk like a club.
People started backing away.
Anos just grinned.
"Well," he said, snapping his fingers again.
[Skill Activated: Time Cancel]
He pointed at the giant goblin.
"You. Big guy. I call dibs."