Chapter 1 – The Tower of Chaos Appears
The city hummed with the ordinary rhythm of a late afternoon. People walked home from school, employees streamed out of office buildings, and traffic filled the streets with its usual chaotic symphony. Kael Veynar, sixteen but barely distinguishable from any ordinary student, walked down the sidewalk with his hands stuffed into his hoodie pockets. Beside him, his childhood friend, Elena Cross, strolled effortlessly, her dark hair bouncing lightly with each step.
Elena had always been the bright one. Since they were kids, she had carried a quiet warmth, a light that Kael had never really noticed — or at least, never acknowledged. She had laughed at Kael's endless sarcasm, followed him into trouble, and been the one constant in his otherwise monotonous life. Over the years, her feelings for him had grown into something deeper, unspoken yet unmistakable. Kael, ever oblivious, treated her like a close friend — nothing more, nothing less.
"Kael, you're spacing out again," Elena said, a teasing smile on her lips.
"Huh? Oh… yeah, I'm listening," Kael replied, shrugging. He didn't bother asking what she had said. Conversation with Elena had become as much habit as it was companionable comfort.
The world shifted in an instant.
The ground beneath their feet trembled violently, a low rumble that swelled into a deafening roar. Cars lurched, their alarms blaring, windows rattling. Kael instinctively grabbed a lamppost, steadying himself as Elena stumbled beside him, her shriek piercing the air.
And then — the impossible happened.
A structure of obsidian-black metal, taller than any skyscraper Kael had ever seen, erupted from the horizon like a spear of darkness. Its sides shimmered with an unnatural gleam, and it seemed to stretch endlessly upward, piercing the clouds and vanishing into the sky. No matter how long he stared, he could not see the top. The Tower of Chaos.
It was incomprehensible. A building that should not exist in a world governed by physics and reason. Yet here it stood, casting a long, dark shadow over the city, dwarfing every human structure beneath it.
People screamed, pointing skyward. Helicopters swarmed overhead, capturing the moment live for the entire world to witness. Kael and Elena froze, staring upward, mouths agape.
"This… this isn't real," Kael muttered, the hairs on his arms standing on end.
From every corner of the globe, chosen individuals suddenly found system windows floating in front of their eyes. Glowing text appeared, golden and urgent:
"You have been chosen by the Tower. Clear it to save yourself from Doom."
Elena gasped as a window materialized before her eyes. She read, her face lighting up with awe and reverence. Kael blinked, staring at the cascading words — and waited. Nothing.
No window appeared for him. Not a flicker, not a line of code, nothing.
He wasn't chosen.
Three Years Later.
Humanity had struggled, clawing forward slowly. In three years, only ten floors of the Tower had been cleared, a testament to both the Tower's overwhelming difficulty and the sheer desperation of the chosen. Governments had formed elite guilds, corporations sponsored Players, and the media broadcast every fight as entertainment, cautionary tale, and spectacle all at once.
Kael Veynar, now nineteen, slouched against a cracked wall, gray and weary. His hair, dark with faint silver highlights, hung in messy strands around his face. Crimson eyes, normally sharp, were dulled by years of watching the world move on without him. His hoodie was faded, shoes scuffed. He looked, to the casual observer, like any ordinary teenager. To himself, he felt like an invisible ghost.
Elena had abandoned him, lost to fame and power. The Priestess of Defiance, a Supreme Awakener from another world, had chosen her as a sponsored Player. Now humanity's first S-Rank, she could heal and dismantle bodies at will, a terrifying combination of creation and destruction. She had completely forgotten Kael, and even if she hadn't, she was no longer reachable in any meaningful way.
Kael had nothing. No sponsor, no status, no power. Just a life shadowed by the Tower he could not enter.
He let out a bitter laugh. "Three years… and I'm still nothing."
The air shimmered suddenly. A light, golden and ominous, pierced his vision. A system window appeared, unlike any he had ever seen. Words burned themselves into his eyes:
"You have been sponsored by the Ancient Primordial of Hunger."
"Authority Granted: Gluttony. Description: Can consume powers, skills, and fragments of players. No ceiling to growth."
Level: 1
Kael staggered backward, heart hammering. He stared at the window, dumbstruck. His first instinct was disbelief — no one had ever heard of this. A primordial god sponsoring someone? That shouldn't even be possible.
But there it was. The golden glow, the words, the promise.
He clicked the "Register" button instinctively. The system accepted him, marking him as a Player.
Rank: E
Insignificant. But it was enough.
Kael's mind raced as he pieced together what this meant.
Sponsors were beings of unimaginable power, Supreme Awakeners or Demigods from other worlds who had attempted the Tower and failed. They survived, gaining immense strength, and now acted as patrons for new Players. A sponsor could gift skills, blessings, or unique powers — but loyalty was required, and betrayal could be deadly.
Most Players were chosen by sponsors. Those who weren't — like Kael — were left behind, ignored by the Tower, overlooked by the world. Until now.
The Ancient Primordial of Hunger wasn't just any sponsor. It was an entity from the very beginning of the Tower itself, a being whose existence predated everything Kael had known. Its Authority, Gluttony, was a dangerous, limitless power — to consume and absorb skills, fragments, and powers without ceiling.
Kael swallowed hard, trembling with anticipation and fear. His life had been meaningless… but that was about to change.
Kael spent the last of his savings on a cheap dagger — E-Rank trash, barely sharper than a nail. It wouldn't last a few hits against anything truly dangerous. But it was all he had.
Stepping through the nearest rift — a shimmering portal anywhere on Earth always leading into the Tower — Kael's pulse raced. The first floor was dim, strange light filtering through cracks in impossible walls. Shapes moved in the shadows.
Goblin-like creatures emerged: five small, vicious monsters, claws gleaming. Kael lunged with his dagger, striking desperately. The fight was chaotic; the monsters were faster than he expected, and his blade barely scratched them.
Panic rose. He was going to die. He swung like an idiot out of control.
Then he remembered. Authority. Gluttony.
A surge of instinct, hunger, and raw power coursed through him. He absorbed the goblins' fragments, feeling strength pour into his body, reflexes sharpening, muscles tightening.
His system window pinged:
[Player: Kael Veynar]
Class: ??? (Error: Unregistered)
Level: 1
Title: The Nameless One
Sponsor: Ancient Primordial of Hunger
Stats:
Strength: 10 (+3)
Agility: 10 (+3)
Vitality: 10
Mana: 10
Luck: 10
Authority: [Gluttony]
Skill Slots: Locked
He stared at the stats, disbelief and exhilaration fighting within him. He had survived. And more importantly, he had grown.
A dangerous grin spread across his face.
The Tower had finally chosen him.
And Kael Veynar would devour it all.