The classroom of Section E began to fill slowly. Students streamed in from the side corridors in successive waves. Some carried small devices and digital papers, while others exchanged brief conversations and light laughter that melted into the growing noise of the room.
Excitement filled the air. Each student took their seat as the sound of footsteps faded gradually and the whispers vanished little by little until an expectant silence spread through the room.
After a few moments, all the students were seated. They waited for the lesson to begin as the classroom fell into complete stillness and perfect order.
Reis was sitting in the second to last row beside the wide window that revealed a stretch of the academy's distant horizon.
In front of every student, a transparent screen appeared, displaying their personal data.
The floor they had reached, their mana level, and their mental stability index.
Shifting symbols and endless numbers moved in solemn silence.
But Reis was not looking at any of them.
His eyes were fixed on the horizon beyond the glass and the gray sky.
The murmur of the students, the tapping of fingers on the screens, and the soft mechanical sounds of the data filled the room.
Everything blended into an inner silence, a silence only he could hear.
Then the silence suddenly turned into complete stillness.
The door opened, and a man entered with slow steps and unshakable confidence.
It was Professor Arkan Sorin, one of the oldest instructors at the academy and one of the few who bore the title of Conqueror of the Common Floor.
His height was average, his body slender, yet in his posture there was a weight that made even the air seem to slow down.
His long gray hair was tied behind his head with a black ribbon, and his wrinkled face looked as though time had failed to break him and had instead deepened him.
In his right hand he held a dark wooden staff etched with glowing symbols that shifted every few seconds.
He stopped in the middle of the classroom and tapped the staff on the ground.
A faint wave of light rose from the spot and turned into a floating circle in the air. From within it, a massive projection of the Black Tower formed. It was transparent, visible only through thin blue mana threads outlining its structure.
He spoke with a deep, slow voice that passed clearly through the students' minds.
"We will begin the lesson on the common worlds, and there is no need to waste any time".
"This, students, is the design of the Black Tower through mana data. It is neither an imaginary drawing nor a metaphor taught to you in books or shown on the Net".
He took a step forward and pointed the staff toward the lower section of the projection.
"The hundred floors of the Tower are not merely a sequence of tests and challenges. They are independent systems, entire worlds, each with its own laws. Yet they are all subject to one unified order".
He lifted his head toward them, his gaze cutting through the rows.
"Every ten floors, a single world opens to connect all towers across the multiple realms. It is what is known as the common world".
Some students whispered in surprise, while others seemed to already know this.
Reis remained silent, his gaze fixed on the image of the Tower.
Arkan continued without paying attention to their whispers.
"The common world is not an ordinary place. It is an arena where the wills of the realms gather, where armies rise through dreams and fall to reality".
"With each cycle, the shape of the common world changes. Sometimes it is a ruined city drowned in fog. Sometimes it is a maze of light. At other times it is a desert ruled by ancestral spirits. No one knows its next form until the world opens at the required threshold".
One of the students raised his hand and asked: "Professor, I did not understand how the world opens at the required threshold".
Arkan answered in a calm and assured tone.
"For example, the tenth floor is the first common world that gathers all of you together. It does not open until the required number of Awakened reaches it. Those who have successfully cleared the ninth floor. Sometimes it requires a million Awakened, perhaps more".
He paused for a moment, then continued while the staff pointed toward a bright line at the tenth floor.
"The rule is simple but cruel. Only the one who finds the key to the world has the right to advance to the eleventh floor. The rest are left behind, alive or dead".
The sound of breathing grew louder across the room, but no one dared to speak.
His voice grew sharper.
"The key is not a single fixed thing. It may be a person, a symbol, or a decision. Sometimes it is a full-scale war. Sometimes it is a riddle that can only be solved through sacrifice".
On the screen in front of Reis, the data began to shift automatically.
Images of past worlds, notes from previous cycles, and the names of Awakened who had lost their lives in failed attempts appeared.
He showed no reaction.
He read the numbers as if they told a story he already knew.
Arkan raised his voice slightly.
"Some of you think the Tower is a path to glory. The truth is that it is an endless trial. It tests you at every step, not just to measure your strength, but to see how much you are willing to lose".
"Every floor you enter reshapes you. No one leaves as they once were".
Then he smiled faintly, a smile with no warmth.
"I personally stopped at the sixtieth floor. Not because I could not go further, but because I understood when to stop".
"Anyone who climbs to the upper floors begins to lose themselves. They forget their names, their past, and even the reason they started to climb. The Tower never returns what it takes".
A heavy silence passed.
All the students stared at him with rigid faces.
Reis remained still, his hands in his pockets, his head tilted slightly as if listening to something no one else could hear.
Arkan spoke at last with a solemn voice.
"Remember this well, students. The ascent is not an honor. It is a vow of endless trial. Whoever believes they are ready to climb higher must first face the first common world".
"And only there will you understand the true meaning of fear".
The lights dimmed for a moment, then returned, revealing the stunned faces of the students.
Reis kept his gaze on the floating projection of the Tower.
In his eyes there was no fear. There was something else.
A quiet, mysterious curiosity drawn toward the depths of the Tower where secrets yet undiscovered awaited him.