"AHHHH!"
"Fucking bitch, it's always the same with you!"
"Paf!"
"Asshole, go to hell! I'm leaving!"
"Then go ride some dick, you whore, but the kids stay in this house!"
The sound of shouting was the first thing Uriel heard every morning.
"Ahhh… why can't they just not fight for a single day?"
Uriel stayed a while between the sheets of his bed. He wanted to enjoy the feeling.
"I'm calling the police!"
Alright, that was enough. I'm not staying here listening to my neighbors argue all day. He walked over to a dresser that offered a bit of resistance as he tried to reach his clothes.
Today he wanted to dress light. It was the middle of summer, and he had to work if he wanted to survive another day. His father had left with the last money from the vulnerability subsidy. So he had no other choice, and besides, he still had to keep paying for his mother's coma treatments.
Honestly, I don't know what I'll do. I guess I'll just keep working until my arms fall off.
Uriel went to the kitchen and opened the refrigerator. The only thing inside was half a slice of stale bread.
"Well, at least he left something, heh."
Even the television was gone.
He took the bread, split it open, and spread it with oil and salt.
"Not bad. If I had oregano, this could taste a little better."
I honestly hope I'll have enough money to buy some bread later. It was already a bit late, but it didn't really matter. No one would scold him; in a way, he was his own boss, a mini entrepreneur.
I hope there are a lot of orders today. Normally things went pretty well for him. If he pedaled fast, he could deliver people's orders quickly, and there were usually plenty of them. That was a small benefit of living in one of the most important cities in the southern states.
His gaze drifted toward the mountain range that surrounded much of his state's territory. It looked rocky and dry. Personally, he liked it more when it was covered in snow; it was a beautiful sight. Too bad he could only see it like that in winter.
Uriel entered a small, ramshackle shed that served to store tools, looking for his bicycle, but it wasn't there.
"Of course that bastard took that too."
This was simply horrible. Now he also had to run everywhere he needed to go to deliver things. Now I won't be able to go to combat classes, and I won't be able to visit my mother or my sister either.
His head began to ache just thinking about how difficult things were becoming.
"What if I steal a bike?"
At first it didn't sound like a bad idea, but if he got arrested it would be over, both for his mother and for his hopes of getting a proper job when he turned eighteen, which would happen today. So he didn't plan on screwing it up.
He slapped his face with his palms, slowly enough that it didn't hurt but hard enough to make a sound.
"Alright, walking it is."
I'm not going to let my mood get ruined.
Yeah…
I won't let anything ruin it.
Tears slowly slipped from the corners of his eyes.
"Damn it… damn it all."
Uriel quickly wiped his face.
There was still another option. Uriel had to be chosen to become a Climber. However, there was one problem: there were rarely Climbers in the Southern States. Still, it was said that the Tower itself chose the Climbers, and they were always people who wanted to climb it for one reason or another.
That was why he had convinced the owner of the combat club to let him train for free. Uriel was sure that if there was anyone who truly wanted to climb the Tower, it was him. So he was certain that today, at 23:59, when he turned eighteen, he would be chosen by the Tower and escape this misery.
Even though the Southern States didn't treat Climbers as well as the Central States or the Northern States, it still meant going from extreme poverty to a normal life.
But for now, he had to focus on what was in front of him. So he closed the door behind him, ready to go to work.
But then…
"HELP! SOMEBODY HELP ME, PLEASE!"
A girl's scream caught his attention. Uriel knew that robberies happened in his neighborhood, but he had never seen someone robbing a girl. Even people around here looked down on that.
In front of him, he saw three men holding a girl tightly. She looked barely two years older than his little sister.
They weren't paying attention to him. They were too focused on what they were doing. The girl writhed like an eel until one of them punched her hard in the face, making her bleed.
A thought ran through his whole body.
He couldn't help but overlay the image of his sister onto that girl. It would be brutally painful if one day someone told him she had disappeared. But more than anything, he couldn't stand the scene, it disgusted him.
"She could easily be my sister."
Something inside Uriel urged him forward, telling him to help the girl the same way he would want someone to help his little sister if she were in the same situation.
"I can't face three adult men head-on… but if I catch them by surprise… maybe…" he thought.
Near him was a rock roughly the size of his hand.
His body trembled uncontrollably. He didn't know why, but despite the shaking, he lunged at the man who had hit the girl.
—---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Uriel woke up on a hospital stretcher. The sight was strangely familiar. After all, he had come here many times to visit his mother.
Then his gaze dropped to his hands. They were wrapped in bandages, and they hurt like hell.
"Shit… that was brutal."
Fights weren't unfamiliar to him. He had been in many at the combat club for future Climbers. But he had never been attacked with a knife before, only threatened with one.
His teacher used to say, "A fistfight can kill you. A fistfight against someone with a knife will definitely kill you."
"Honestly, I don't regret hitting those guys. They were scum."
I say that, but…
Uriel's gaze shifted to his arms, which wouldn't stop trembling as he remembered the scene.
"Uffh…"
The girl must be fine if I woke up in the hospital.
At that moment, the door to the medical room opened. A beautiful blonde middle-aged woman walked in alongside another man who seemed to be her husband. He was also very handsome and well dressed, with an elegant air. His hair was combed back, making him look like a businessman.
"Look, Mom, he woke up! I'm so happy!"
A nasal but cheerful voice came from beside the distinguished couple. It was the girl Uriel had helped that morning. She was wearing a sort of nasal splint.
"It's you."
Uriel smiled for the first time that day. He was honestly glad he had helped her.
"I'm really sorry about your nose."
The girl smiled brightly back at him.
"Oh no, it's okay! Dad said it could've ended much worse if you hadn't shown up, so there's nothing to regret. Oh, right!"
The girl suddenly jumped and pulled a box from a bag her parents were carrying.
"Here! This is for you for saving me. My name is Cris! Please be my friend!"
Uriel was suddenly stunned, not so much by the girl's request, but because what she was giving him was a cellphone. And not a cheap one. He had seen this exact model in commercials that played outside stores and restaurants.
"Alright, sweetheart, step outside for a moment. We need to talk to this young man," Cris's mother said, trying to restrain her daughter's enthusiasm.
The girl pouted and left the phone at the foot of the bed.
"And why do I have to leave?"
At that moment, the father, who had remained silent the whole time, spoke.
"Because now we're going to talk about adult matters. So listen to your mother."
"Oish!"
Cris groaned in protest but left the room.
Seeing that, Uriel couldn't help feeling a little envy. He wished with all his heart he had a family like that, a family that wasn't falling apart, a family that cared about you and spoiled you.
Well… the old man was probably the closest thing he had to that.
Cris's father walked toward him.
"First of all, my wife and I thank you for saving Cris. She is our little treasure."
His gaze never left Uriel.
"You also don't have to worry about medical expenses, neither yours nor your mother's, at least for a month."
Uriel looked at him in shock.
How did he know about his mother?
"My mother?"
"Yes. When we arrived here, we tried to contact your parents. That's when we learned about your situation, so we decided to help as a sign of gratitude. We also called the man listed as your guardian at the hospital, so he should be here soon."
Uriel was sincerely grateful. This man had come out of nowhere and solved half his short-term problems. It was simply incredible.
"I don't know how to thank you."
Uriel felt like crying. Now he would have more time to spend with his little sister, and maybe he could save more money for his mother's surgery.
"You don't need to thank us. You already did a lot for us. However, there is something I want to ask of you."
His gaze turned much more serious, and a chill ran down Uriel's spine.
"My daughter now wants to be your friend. But we don't want that. She needs to spend time with people of her own status. You understand?"
Oh… so that's what this was about.
Honestly, it didn't hurt. He hadn't helped that girl out of a whim. At a glance, it was obvious they were a wealthy family. Clearly, they didn't want anything to do with someone who lived in Green District like him.
"That's fine. Don't worry. I won't be a bother to you or your family."
He said it without a trace of anger, only understanding.
For the first time, the man smiled.
"Good, boy. That was my only concern. Here, this is for the trouble."
He pulled out a stack of bills from his pocket and left it on a shelf beside the stretcher.
"Oh, my daughter will surely talk to you anyway. It's fine. She'll probably want to chat for a bit, but just let her get bored," the mother added before both parents thanked him again and left.
Behind them, Cris entered the room with a smile on her face.
"Finally they're gone. Honestly, they're so annoying."
This girl really doesn't realize how lucky she is.
It didn't disgust him. In fact, it made him happy. It made him think that letting his little sister live in foster care had definitely been the right decision. When he felt sad, he imagined her laughing with her new friends.
"Hey, don't be mean to them. They're just worried about you, and for good reason. You were almost kidnapped."
"Yeah, that scared me a lot. But luckily you came to the rescue."
Her gaze suddenly sharpened, as if she were trying to uncover a treasure just by looking.
"Hey… are you a Climber by any chance?"
"No. No, nothing like that."
"Really?"
"Yeah."
She stayed quiet for a couple of seconds.
"I don't believe you."
That surprised him.
"Why?" he asked, confused.
"Because no normal person, especially a teenager, would stand up like that against three adult men," she said playfully, as if she had caught him lying.
"No, you're mistaken. I'll only turn eighteen today, so I can't be a Climber yet. But I want to be one. That's why I joined a combat club to train."
The girl looked even happier than before.
"If it's you, you'll definitely become a Climber! You were amazing beating up those bad guys, like bam bam plap!"
Cris started throwing punches into the air, recreating the fight.
She looked ridiculously funny, and Uriel couldn't help laughing.
"You weren't bad either. You even hit one of them like a superhero."
Her eyes lit up.
"That's because I want to become a Climber too! But my parents won't let me."
Suddenly she stopped.
"Hey! Climbers need a team of five people to climb the Tower, right? So how about we become a team and climb it together? We only need three more!"
Uriel thought it would be fine to play along just for today.
"Alright. When you grow up, I'll let you join my team, and we'll climb the Tower together."
Cris approached and grabbed one of the fingers that wasn't bandaged, wrapping her own around it.
"It's a promise. We'll climb the Tower together. Just wait for me."
"CRIIIIIIIIS!"
An angry male voice called her.
"AHHH! It's my dad! I have to go. We'll talk later, Uriel! Take care!"
The girl ran out the door, leaving him alone, but not for long.
An old man with a face full of scars and wearing a military uniform entered the room.
"Well, you didn't lose any limbs or organs. Looks like you actually learned something."
Uriel raised both hands with a resigned smile.
"Kid, that could've ended much worse. I lost my eye trying to act brave against a guy with a machete."
The old man pulled a chair closer and sat beside him.
"I canceled today's classes to come see you because I thought you'd been gutted or worse. But it turns out you're fine. I asked around, you can leave already if you want."
Uriel smiled. He was glad the old man had worried about him.
"Let's go see my mother, then let's leave."
—---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
It was already night at his house, exactly 23:30. That was 29 minutes before his birthday.
The old man had bought a cake to celebrate, but he had already gone home. He said the midnight cold made his legs ache, old people problems.
29 minutes, and he would finally know if he was a Climber or not.
No.
Uriel had to be one.
He had been lucky this time, but that didn't mean luck lasted forever. Luck runs out. In the end, the only thing that remains is what you build.
That was why he got up every day to earn some money. That was why he chose to report his father so his little sister could be taken away, even at the cost of taking countless beatings.
He would become a Climber.
He would save his mother.
He would give his little sister a good education.
They would move forward.
20 minutes.
10 minutes.
5 minutes.
1 minute.
All this time, Uriel hadn't taken his eyes off the clock.
And finally…
00:00
But nothing happened.
"No… no, no…"
Uriel panicked and opened the internet. Minutes passed, and still nothing.
After five minutes, the first news about people disappearing started appearing, but nothing had happened to him.
"No… please don't do this to me…"
"I want to be a Climber…"
"I need to be a Climber…"
But nothing answered his pleas. Only silence.
Until, at the edge of his vision, he noticed something that hadn't been there before.
When he focused on that point, a translucent panel unfolded before him.
Name: Uriel
Race: Human
Level: 1
Stored Power: 0
Status: Alive
Statistics
Strength: 0.9
Dexterity: 1
Vigor: 0.8
Willpower: 1.1
Perception: 1
Skills
None
Class
No Class
Titles
None
Equipment
Weapon: None
Armor: None
Accessory: None
Inventory
Empty
He didn't even have time to observe when more panels suddenly began appearing.
[Welcome, Climber]
[You are about to embark on a monumental journey]
[You have been selected among many for your strong desire to uncover the secrets of the Tower]
[You will venture alongside other species from across the universe]
[Form a team of five companions and face your destiny]
[Climber, you must know this is a dangerous journey]
[Your friends will die]
[You yourself may die]
[And the final reward may be something insignificant to you]
[Even so, do you wish to climb the Tower?]
[Yes] [No]
Uriel didn't hesitate for a second.
[Yes]
[Climber, prepare to be teleported]
3…
2…
1…
His vision filled with blue particles, and then he vanished.