Alex woke up to a splitting headache. His vision blurred until glowing text forced itself into focus.
[Congratulations on reaching Level 10.]
[Stat points gained: 6. Current unallocated: 8.]
[Class Unlocked: Shadow Reaper.]
[Skill Gained: Scythe Talent – First Ability.]
[You have awakened Shadow Energy.]
[Shadow Energy will increase +1 per level.]
Alex froze with a look of disbelief as Legendary classes only received four stat points per level, but his new class had granted six. Two extra. "Could this be a class above something beyond legendary" Alex said to himself. His pulse quickened.
Alex then opened his status screen.
[Strength: 17]
[Agility: 17]
[Stamina: 17]
[Mana: 14]
[Shadow Energy: 10]
Without hesitation, he dumped all eight points into Mana so as to try to make his stats even. The rush of power coursed through his veins like fire and ice, dulling the ache in his skull. His body felt lighter, sharper—deadlier. Alex then opened the system window to check what reward he had gotten from completing the quest on the first floor.
A new prompt appeared.
[Reward: Ring of Speed obtained. Grants +3% movement speed.]
Alex slipped the ring onto his finger. A small smile tugged at his lips. Not bad for the first floor. He slung his scythe across his back and muttered, "Time to settle some old debts".
Alex's past life.
Somewhere in the Tower in the middle of a forest. We can see 4 different people, one being a female dragon with black hair, another a male swordsman and a blonde female downed in pure white that had a bit of blood on it from the monsters killed while holding a staff with a cross on it. Suddenly the male swordsman had called the blonde saint "Lysandra".
The swordsman asked Lysandra, "when did you get in the tower as the time of entry you said does not match."
Lysandra answered by saying, "I entered the tower when Alex entered as I am also from earth but after my talent awakening, apparently the church's goddess gave them a revelation about me becoming a saintess and the immediate assistance the church was to give me in my growth. The church just helped me in my growth till the 25th floor and I was left to grow by myself."
Back in the present,
Alex stalked into a smoky tavern. Conversations faltered as eyes followed the weapon strapped to his back. He approached the bar and slid a coin across.
"I'm looking for someone," he said. "A girl, who might have been taken by the church at the fountain of awakening."
The bartender shook his head. "No such person here."
Alex's gaze sharpened. He pushed another coin forward.
The man swallowed hard. "Come back in three days. I'll have your answer."
Alex tossed him a pouch of gold and turned away. He had used the remaining three days to get as strong as possible and level up as much as possible.
Three days later, Alex had reached Level 15 but noticed he was not leveling up anymore as there was so little he could do with the low experience point, so decided to continue leveling up on the next floor.
[Strength: 24]
[Agility: 24]
[Stamina: 24]
[Mana: 23]
[Shadow Energy: 15]
Alex went to the pub for the information but the pub's atmosphere had changed. Every man inside seemed to be watching him, silent and tense. Then suddenly the bartender demanded a hundred gold for the information.
"And if I refuse?" Alex asked softly.
A heavy hand clamped onto Alex's shoulder.
Alex moved before any of them could react and then the sound of Bones snapped and the man who had clamped Alex's shoulder screamed in pain and as the other men charged to fight, he beat the rest of them leaving them in a bloody mess.
"She's real," the man stammered. "The paladins went to the Fountain of Awakening and brought her to the church and also helped her complete her quest and are planning on going to the next floor in 2 days time after leveling up a bit more out two days ago.
"She'll move to the next floor tomorrow" Alex said with a bit of a frown.
Alex left the pub heading towards the church and behind him he left a quack of terror.
The church barred its gates. And as he tried to walk past the gate a Paladin warned him away telling him that no one is allowed in the church for the next 2 days.
Alex answered with blood by slitting the throat of the guard. The first guard's throat parted beneath his scythe. As the sounding guards rushed to apprehend Alex they soon fell in moments, their shouts cut short as their heads rolled across the cobbles.
He strode into the holy halls, leaving crimson footprints behind him. He searched the church but found no traces of Lysandra, he looked through from door to door and also killed those who planned to stop him from his search for Lysandra.
He found her in a meadow-like chamber, kneeling before a statue of the goddess. Golden light bathed her form as she prayed, serene and untouchable. A guardian knight rose before her, blade flashing.
"Pass me, and you die."
"Then you're already dead."
Steel clashed. The paladin's blade came down in a blinding arc, holy light trailing its edge. Alex barely twisted aside, the steel biting a furrow across his ribs instead of splitting him in half. Agony flared hot—but he did not falter. His scythe snapped forward, black steel hissing as it curved for the knight's throat.
A shield slammed up to meet it. The impact rattled Alex's bones, sent sparks screaming across the chamber, and hurled him back two steps.
The paladin pressed forward, relentless. Every strike was measured, precise, backed by divine blessing that turned raw muscle into unstoppable force. His longsword carved wide sweeps, hammering Alex's defenses. A feint at his leg turned into a shield bash to the chest—ribs cracked, and Alex hit the floor with blood bubbling in his throat.
He laughed through the pain.
The ring on his finger thrummed, speeding his movements until the world stretched and slowed. He darted up in a blur, scythe whipping around. The curved blade bit deep into the knight's shoulder, tearing through plate and flesh alike.
And then—
"Goddess Embrace."
Light cascaded over the wound. Metal reformed. Flesh knitted whole. The knight stood reborn, as though Alex's strike had been nothing.
Alex's teeth ground together. He lunged again, shadows coiling down his weapon. Strike after strike rained down, each one heavier, faster, sharper than the last. His scythe became a whirlwind, gouging trenches in the marble, splintering armor, raking bloody lines across the knight's arms and legs.
But every time Alex carved through him—
"Goddess Embrace."
Another flare of light.
Another wound undone.
Another wall between him and victory.
The saintess knelt at the statue, bathed in radiance, lips moving in steady prayer. She had not so much as glanced at Alex, yet her voice was the chain holding him back. That quiet, calm presence. That untouchable light.
It infuriated him.
The paladin's blade slashed across his side, splitting flesh to the bone. Alex staggered, vision swimming. But instead of faltering, he leaned into it, eyes wild. The shadows wrapped tighter around his scythe, black fire licking its edge.
The knight raised his sword in a final, two-handed swing meant to cleave him in half. Alex roared and threw everything—every drop of shadow energy—into one devastating strike.
The scythe screamed through the air.
Darkness collided with light.
The barrier around Lysandra shattered like glass. Holy fire guttered and died. The knight's blade cracked down the middle, and Alex's scythe carved a deep crimson line across his chest.
For the first time—Lysandra gasped.
The sound froze Alex in place, exhilaration flooding his veins. Then the system's text seared across his vision:
[Passive Skill Detected: Nebula Healing.]
[Would you like to copy this skill?]
His lips stretched in a bloodied grin. "Yes."
[Skill Acquired: Nebula Healing.]
Warmth surged through his body, not cold shadow but divine brilliance twisted into his own. His ribs popped back into place, wounds sealed, torn flesh reknitted. Pain fled him. Strength flooded back, intoxicating and wrong.
The paladin faltered, horror dawning in his eyes. Alex bared his teeth like a wolf.
"You feel that?" he hissed. "Your goddess belongs to me."
He spun, scythe cleaving in a half-moon arc. Steel met flesh, and this time no miracle came to save him. The knight split from shoulder to hip, blood spraying in a perfect crimson arc across the statue.
Silence.
Alex turned toward her. Lysandra's golden hair glowed like a halo in the goddess's light, her hands still clasped, her eyes finally on him.
"Now it's your turn," he said, stalking forward, steps echoing across the blood-soaked stone.
He lunged—
—and light engulfed her. In the blink of an eye, she was gone. Spirited away, safe, beyond his reach.
Alex lowered his scythe slowly. The silence pressed heavy, broken only by the drip of blood from his blade. Then his lips curved into a slow, sharp smile.
"Run, saint. The Tower won't save you. Nothing will."
By dawn, the first floor burned with rumors. A lone man who had wiped the church from existence. Survivors whispered names—Reaper, Shade, Hollow.
But one name lingered, crawling from mouth to mouth in fear.
The Wraith.