"That would be rent, car, gas, and the loan shark."
I shook my head helplessly. I was drowning in debt, only barely having enough to feed myself. At this rate, I would end up homeless or simply disappear.
Last month, the loan sharks had beaten me to a pulp. It was hard to imagine what they would do this time, especially when I could barely offer them a few dollars. Life was miserable for me.
I stood and walked to the small kitchen, pouring myself a cup of water. The faucet took its time before anything came out, but I did not complain. I took what I could get.
The water looked a little gray. I didn't dwell on it and downed it in two gulps. At the very least, it left me refreshed.
I turned around and opened the fridge. It was mostly empty: a half empty-carton of eggs, some bacon, and an unopened pack of beer. Did it even matter? I had no gas, which meant ordering food or eating out.
That came with its own problem. My insurance was unpaid and my tag lights were out. I had lost my license the month before, when the loan sharks stormed into my place. They had probably taken it.
"I should fucking kill myself," I chuckled.
My eyes stung, but I wiped them with the sleeve of my hoodie. Sulking would not fix anything. It would only make me feel worse.
I pulled a beer from the fridge and left my studio apartment. There was only one thing I could do late at night while hungry. It was humiliating, but it kept me out of trouble.
[Unit D - Building 11]
Tok, tok, tok.
I waited. When the door finally opened, I felt like I was standing before an angel.
…
Melissa looked through her peephole. A haggard young man with vacant eyes stood on the other side. She immediately knew who it was and opened the door.
"Sarkis, can I help you?" she asked.
The man bowed slightly before speaking.
"I'm sorry to bother you, but do you have any leftovers to spare?"
This was the fourth time he had asked for food. Of course, she did not mind, but she was starting to worry about his financial situation. At this point, Melissa had no idea how he was paying rent.
She nodded and stepped aside so he could come in. The cold beer bottle in his hand was clearly visible, but neither of them seemed to care. They were both adults, after all.
Melissa cooked him a simple dinner in twenty minutes: rice, beans, eggs, and avocado with a pinch of salt. It was the kind of meal one could never go wrong with and still enjoy.
With Sarkis, she could tell easily that he was extremely grateful. A faint smile stayed on his face the entire time he ate. She liked to watch him a little, to encourage him to finish everything, instead of leaving the plate half full like the first few times he came over.
After finishing his meal, she took his plate and set it in the sink. Melissa glanced at him and opened her mouth. "You can stay a little—"
Her apartment suddenly shook, and everything was thrown out of place. The violent tremors showed no sign of stopping, so she quickly pulled out her phone to check the news.
[No Service]
"What?"
Melissa lost her balance and hit the side of her head on the kitchen counter. Dazed, confused, and in shock, she looked up to see Sarkis crawling across the floor toward her.
The moment he reached her, he hurriedly said, "I think this is an earthquake. Here, I'll cover you."
She felt safer as his larger frame wrapped around her. It felt warmer, too. But the tremors only grew stronger, shaking the apartment more and more. At some point, Nicolas suddenly pulled her to her feet, trying to evacuate.
That was also when the roof collapsed, falling on top of them. Most of the weight landed on him, but Melissa was still crushed to a degree. Breathing became nearly impossible. And soon, both of them lost consciousness.
…
My eyes shot open. I looked down. Once I realized I wasn't impaled by a piece of rebar, a sigh of relief escaped my lips. It was then that the assembly hall I was sitting in registered with me. Tens of thousands of others were also looking around.
I turned to look beside me and noticed Melissa. She was too, staring around in awe and confusion. There was no way to explain how we had gotten here. Not by any normal means, at least. I knew for a fact we had been in her apartment before.
Nonetheless, I was content. My appetite had been satisfied, and there was no piece of metal sticking out of my chest. The pain I had felt was very real, yet it was almost as if it had never happened.
The girl next to me, a high school student by the look of her, suddenly leaned in and whispered, "Look. There's a bear next to that man on the stage."
I turned my head. There really was a ferocious looking bear standing on the stage, its body marked with deep scars. Beside it stood a tall man. He was clearly human, yet something about him felt wrong.
Just looking at him made my skin crawl. It felt as if hundreds of needles were pressing into my flesh, poking directly at my nerves.
"Welcome, everyone." A deep voice suddenly resonated throughout the assembly, reaching every ear.
The hall fell silent. Something about the voice compelled me to listen.
"You are all inside the Tower of Beginnings. A place meant to familiarize you with things. The Earth you know and love is already in ruins."
The man on the stage yawned before continuing. "Climb to the top of this tower if you want to save your world. I am not here to harm you, but troublesome mutts will be put down."
He was completely apathetic. No emotion crossed his face as he explained it so simply. Of course, people began to panic.
I didn't understand them. Why was it that when they were told not to panic, they did exactly that? Thousands were killed with a snap of the man's fingers, and only those who somehow stayed composed, or were too terrified to act, remained.
Of course, I was part of the latter.
A warm, wet sensation spread across my arm and face. My eyes were squeezed shut, caught between fear and disgust, but I knew I had to look. Otherwise, I would not be very different from those who had already died.
I opened my eyes and looked down at my shoulder, where a headless corpse leaned against me, blood gushing from the obscene wound.
Shock set in. My eyes went wide. I stood up too quickly and stumbled backward, slipping in a pool of blood and cracking my forehead against the floor.
M-Melissa… S-s-she's dead…?
Before I could even process her death, a translucent panel appeared before me.
[Archetype Selection]
➼ Physical
➼ Magical
➼ Hybrid
Without much thought, I selected the first option and tried to calm myself. But I couldn't. My body was hyperventilating, and tears silently slid from the corners of my eyes.
Another panel suddenly appeared.
[Terminal]
➼ Sarkis Abraham (Lv 0)
[Stats]
Strength: 0 (F)
Dexterity: 0 (F)
Agility: 0 (F)
Vitality: 0 (F)
Perception: 0 (F)
Mana: 0 (F)
Attribute Points: 50
[Skills]
[Swordsmanship - F]
[Innate Ability]
[Synaptic Overdrive - E]
It knows my name…
This new panel was more interesting than the last. It really did feel like a game, even if it wasn't one. There was even an inventory I could store things in.
I slowly stood and wiped the blood from my face with my sleeve, then glanced at Melissa's headless corpse. She wore a bracelet on her wrist, which I quickly took and put on myself.
Even if I hadn't known her well, she had been kind and caring. I wanted something to remember her by. Tears streamed down my face, and my chest convulsed with sniffles.
But it all stopped abruptly when a resonant voice echoed through the assembly hall.
"For those of you left," the man spoke slowly, "prepare to conquer the first floor and your first trial. You will be placed in a group at random to ascend."
My body trembled. I did not want to climb any tower, especially this one! Yet I had no choice. Unless I sought death, I needed to obey and move forward.
"The strong prey on the weak," I muttered.
Such was the law of the jungle.
None of this would have happened if humans weren't weak. If only Earth had been able to defend itself from whatever had brought it to ruin…
I did not wish to remain weak. Hastily, I dumped every single attribute point into Strength and donned the old armor that appeared in my inventory.