The world ended without warning.
One moment, I was walking home from work, earbuds in, thinking about what to grab for dinner. The next, reality shattered.
There was no transition, no fade to black. Just—gone. The street, the cars, the evening sky—all of it vanished like someone had flipped a switch.
When my vision cleared, I was somewhere else entirely.
Gray sky. Crumbling buildings. Rusted cars scattered across cracked asphalt like abandoned toys. The air smelled wrong—stale and metallic, like old blood and concrete dust.
Around me, voices rose in panic. I wasn't alone.
Nine others materialized in a loose circle, all of us staggering, disoriented. Some looked professional—business casual, work uniforms. Others were in gym clothes or casual wear. One guy was still in house slippers.
"What the—where are we?!"
"Is this a dream? Someone pinch me!"
"My phone's dead. My phone's completely—"
Then the blue text appeared.
Not on a screen. Not projected. Just... there, floating in my vision like some kind of augmented reality overlay that required no device.
[SYSTEM INITIALIZING...]
[WELCOME TO THE TOWER]
You have been selected as a Climber.
Survive. Adapt. Ascend.
[Personal Status Unlocked]
[Trait Assigned]
[Tutorial Scenario Beginning...]
My heart hammered against my ribs. This couldn't be real. This was insane. Some kind of gas leak hallucination or—
[ TUTORIAL SCENARIO: 1 ]
[ THE CULLING ]
[ OBJECTIVE: Reach a Safe Zone before time expires]
[ TIME LIMIT: 60 Minutes]
[ SAFE ZONES: 10 (Capacity: 5 each) ]
[ PARTICIPANTS: 100 ]
[ THREATS: ??? ]
[ WARNING: Safe Zones will LOCK when capacity is reached ]
[ WARNING: Those outside Safe Zones when time expires will be ELIMINATED ]
[SCENARIO BEGINS IN: 3... 2... 1...]
"ELIMINATED?!" A woman's voice cracked with hysteria. "What does that mean, eliminated?!"
But I was already pulling up the status screen that had appeared in the corner of my vision, fingers moving through empty air like I'd done this a thousand times before.
[ NAME: Ren Raven ]
[ LEVEL: 1 ]
[ TRAIT: Observer [UNIQUE] ]
[ EFFECT: See what others cannot. ]
My breath caught. Unique? I didn't know what any of this meant, but instinct told me—keep this hidden.
Before I could process more, a man's voice cut through the chaos. "Everyone! EVERYONE, calm down!"
He was in his late twenties, athletic build, the kind of guy who probably captained his college sports team. His voice carried natural authority.
"Panicking won't help," he continued, forcing calm into his tone even though I could see the fear in his eyes. "Let's... let's figure this out together. My name's Marcus."
Slowly, the group quieted. We were all desperate for someone to make sense of this nightmare.
"The message mentioned traits," Marcus said, staring at his own status screen. "We all got one, right? Maybe if we share what we have, we can work together on this."
Silence. Everyone was still processing, still hoping this was some elaborate prank.
"I'll go first," Marcus offered. "Mine says 'Enhanced Stamina.' I guess that means I can run longer or something?"
A woman in athletic wear spoke next, bouncing nervously on her feet. "I've got 'Quick Reflexes.' I'm Hana."
"'Iron Will,'" another woman said firmly, crossing her arms. She had that determined look of someone who'd dealt with worse. "Maria."
"'Steady Hands.' Daniel." The guy in glasses adjusted them nervously.
"'Thick Skin,'" grunted a stocky man in a construction vest. "Victor."
A younger guy, early twenties, was shaking badly. "'Coward's Instinct.' Great. Just... great." He laughed bitterly. "Ryan."
A college-aged girl looked confused at her screen. "'Lucky Charm'? Is this some kind of game? I'm Emma."
Then a woman in her late twenties spoke, her voice quiet but measured. "Sophie. Mine's 'Empathic Reading.'"
Her eyes swept across the group, lingering on each person. There was something analytical in her gaze that made me uncomfortable.
All eyes turned to me and one other man who hadn't spoken—a guy with an unsettling smile that didn't quite reach his eyes.
He spoke first. "Mine's personal. Let's just say it'll keep me alive." His tone made it clear the subject was closed.
I'd already seen his trait though. Observer had activated the moment we'd all gathered, cataloging everyone's information automatically.
[ TARGET: Derek ]
[ TRAIT: Predatory Gaze [RARE]
[ Type: Mental/Combat Enhancement ]
[ Effect: Instinctively identifies the weakest member of any group. Enhanced damage against targets marked as "prey." Intimidation effect on those being observed. ]
[ Notes: Predator-type trait. User likely exhibits sociopathic tendencies. ]
A chill ran down my spine. That explained the unsettling feeling he gave off. His trait literally made him a hunter of the weak.
Sophie's gaze lingered on him, her brow furrowing slightly. Her Empathic Reading must have been picking up something off about him too.
Then those eyes turned to me.
"I got 'Keen Eye,'" I said, keeping my voice steady. "Should help me spot things, I guess."
It wasn't technically a lie. Observer did help me see things. I just left out the part about it being unique, SSS-ranked, and apparently something that gave me detailed information about... well, I wasn't sure yet.
Marcus nodded, accepting it easily. Most of the group seemed satisfied.
But Sophie's frown deepened. She opened her mouth as if to say something, then closed it. Her eyes moved between me and the smiling man—Derek, I'd learn later—uncertain.
She stayed silent.
Thank god.
Then, cutting through the tense quiet, a sound that made my blood run cold:
A distant, inhuman SCREECH.
Then another. And another.
Ryan's head snapped up, his whole body going rigid. "Oh god. Oh god, something's coming. Something's—"
His status screen flashed: "COWARD'S INSTINCT ACTIVATED"
"RUN!" he screamed, voice cracking with primal terror. "WE NEED TO RUN NOW!"
In the distance, between ruined buildings, shadows began to move. Fast. Too fast.
My vision suddenly shifted.
It wasn't like seeing normally. Information flooded my mind—text overlaying my sight, data processing faster than I could consciously think.
[OBSERVER ACTIVATED]
[ ENTITY: Lesser Ravager ]
[ Type: Mutated Predator ]
[ Threat Level: MODERATE (individually) / HIGH (in swarms) ]
[ Behavior: Pack hunters, attracted to movement and noise ]
[ Weakness: Poor vision in dark areas, vulnerable to blunt force on exposed joints ] [ Notes: Fast but stamina-limited. Will exhaust after a 400-500 meter sprint.] [Estimated Horde Size: 40-50 entities, Current Distance: 300 meters and closing]
My heart slammed against my ribs. Forty of those things. Against ten unprepared people.
"We need to move. NOW." Marcus was already backing up.
"Which way?!" Hana spun around, looking at the maze of ruined streets.
My eyes—my Observer ability—scanned frantically:
Alley to the left: Narrow, defendable but potential dead end (highlighted in yellow). Main street ahead: Wide open, multiple escape routes but exposed (red) Building on right: Structurally damaged (weak points highlighted in bright red), three stories Overturned bus, 50 meters north: Temporary cover (yellow)
Then I saw it—a faint blue shimmer on a building rooftop about 400 meters away.
[SAFE ZONE MARKER DETECTED]
[ Distance: 400 meters NE ]
[ Capacity: Unknown ]
But between us and that marker, the horde was spreading out, cutting off direct routes.
"There!" Derek pointed in the opposite direction—away from the Safe Zone. "We go that way, lose them in the buildings."
My gut twisted. That route led away from survival.
Marcus looked at me. "You said you have 'Keen Eye,' right? See anything?"
I had seconds to decide. Revealing that I could see a marker 400 meters away would immediately expose that my trait was more than I'd claimed. But staying silent meant following Derek toward nothing.
"Wait," I said, keeping my voice steady. "Not that way."
Derek's eyes narrowed. "And why not?"
"The buildings are too damaged." I pointed at the structures in Derek's direction, using the structural analysis Observer was feeding me. "See those cracks? They could collapse. And it's a maze—we could get cornered."
Victor squinted and nodded. "Kid's right. Those buildings look like shit."
"Then where?" Marcus demanded.
I pointed northeast, not directly at the Safe Zone, but angling toward it. "That direction. More open streets, we can see them coming. And..." I hesitated, selling the lie, "I think I saw something reflective over there. Maybe glass, maybe water. Could be a landmark."
Vague enough. Plausible for someone with "Keen Eye."
The screeches became deafening.
The first Ravagers burst into view—twisted, dog-like creatures with too many joints, flesh mottled and gray, mouths splitting impossibly wide. Observer fed me more data I didn't want:
[THREAT ASSESSMENT: IMMEDIATE]
[Closest entity: 45 meters]
[Group speed: 12-15 m/s Human sprint speed: 6-8 m/s average]
[Survival probability: 34%]
"MOVE!" Marcus shouted.
We ran.
Ryan's Coward's Instinct kept him at the front, terror lending him impossible speed. Marcus's Enhanced Stamina let him keep pace easily. Emma stumbled on rubble, but somehow her hand caught a broken pipe, swinging her forward instead of down—Lucky Charm working in real-time.
I ran. Observer still feeding me constant information:
[Ravager 12 meters behind]
[- targeting Victor (slowest runner)]
[Alternate path ahead - side alley, cuts 30 meters off the distance. Debris pile ahead - unstable, avoid the left side]
"Left! Take the alley!" I shouted.
We veered left. Behind us, Victor grunted as something slashed his shoulder. Blood sprayed.
"THICK SKIN ACTIVATED" flashed across his vision, I assumed—the wound was shallow, painful, but not deep. Victor kept running, cursing viciously.
Hana's Quick Reflexes kicked in—she grabbed Maria's arm, yanking her away from a Ravager's lunge with inhuman timing.
Derek ran with unsettling calm, his eyes locked on the creatures. He was reading them, learning. Not panicking like the others.
Sophie glanced back, her face strained—probably overwhelmed by everyone's terror through her Empathic Reading. But I saw her notice Derek's coldness, my focused calm.
We're both different, I could almost see her thinking.
We burst into a wider plaza.
The blue shimmer was visible now to everyone—a glowing barrier surrounding a three-story parking structure.
"There! That's it!" Daniel gasped.
But the Ravagers were catching up, more pouring in from side streets. The horde was trying to cut us off.
Then Observer showed me something that made my stomach drop:
[SAFE ZONE: Parking Structure Gamma]
[Current Occupants: 4/5]
[Distance: 150 meters]
[Estimated Arrival Time: 45 seconds at current pace]
[Ravager Intercept Probability: 78%]
[WARNING: Only 1 spot remaining]
One spot.
Ten people running.
My mouth went dry. I said nothing. My legs pumped harder, Observer tracking everything—the closing Ravagers, the stumbling runners, the shrinking distance to survival.
"Almost there!" Marcus shouted, pushing himself harder. He was pulling ahead.
Ryan was practically flying forward on pure terror, second in the pack.
I kept pace in the middle, conserving energy, calculating. Derek matched me stride for stride.
He knows too, I realized. He can see something's wrong.
Behind us, Daniel was falling back, his office-worker body failing him. "I can't—I can't keep—"
"DON'T STOP!" Maria screamed, her Iron Will forcing her exhausted body forward.
Victor was limping now, blood trailing from his shoulder. He was falling behind.
Emma tripped—then somehow her hand caught another pipe, swinging her forward. Lucky Charm again.
Hana dodged a Ravager's lunge without breaking stride, Quick Reflexes on autopilot.
Sophie was breathing hard, her eyes wide. She glanced at the Safe Zone, then back at the group.
Her face changed. She'd realized something.
The math didn't add up.
50 meters out.
The parking structure loomed ahead. Through the blue shimmer, four figures stood inside, watching us approach with expressions ranging from relief to guilt.
"Come on! You can make it!" one of them shouted—but there was something desperate in their voice. A warning we were too panicked to hear.
Marcus hit the barrier first. It parted like water.
[5/5 OCCUPANTS]
[SAFE ZONE GAMMA: CAPACITY REACHED]
[BARRIER LOCKING IN: 3... 2... 1...]
"NO! WAIT!" Ryan screamed, five meters behind Marcus.
But the blue shimmer solidified instantly into an opaque wall. Marcus slammed his fists against it from the inside, his face twisted in horror as he realized what he'd done.
The rest of us skidded to a halt.
Nine people. No safe zone.
And the Ravagers were right behind us.
"SCATTER!" Derek shouted, already sprinting away from the sealed Safe Zone.
Observer flooded my vision with data—three more Safe Zones within possible range, the Ravagers' positions, optimal escape routes. But there was no time to think, only react.
I ran.
The group fractured instantly. Derek went left, disappearing into an alley. Victor and Hana went right. Ryan, paralyzed by his Coward's Instinct screaming contradictory warnings, stood frozen for a fatal second before finally bolting straight ahead.
I went northeast—toward another Safe Zone marker Observer was highlighting 300 meters away.
Behind me, Daniel stumbled.
His Steady Hands meant nothing when your legs gave out.
I heard his scream. Then the wet, tearing sound as the Ravagers caught him.
I didn't look back. I couldn't.
I ran through a maze of broken streets, Observer guiding me away from Ravager patrol patterns, through gaps in their formation. My lungs burned. My legs screamed.
[Safe Zone Eta: Distance 180 meters]
[Ravager Pursuit: 3 entities, 25 meters behind]
[Stamina: CRITICAL]
I wasn't going to make it. Not at this pace.
Then I saw it—a partially collapsed building with a narrow gap leading into what looked like a basement. Observer analyzed it instantly:
[STRUCTURE: Basement Access]
[- Ravagers too large to follow (95% confidence)]
[- Structural stability: MODERATE]
[- Alternate exit: UNKNOWN]
[- Assessment: Viable temporary shelter]
I dove through the gap, squeezing into darkness. Behind me, the Ravagers screeched, their bodies too large to follow. Claws scraped at the entrance, but couldn't reach.
I crawled deeper into the basement, heart hammering, body shaking from adrenaline crash.
Safe. For now.
In the darkness, I pulled up my status screen, the blue light illuminating the rubble around me.
[TUTORIAL SCENARIO UPDATE]
[Scenario Timer: 47 minutes remaining]
[Current Safe Zones Occupied: 7/10]
[Estimated Survivors: 68/100]
[Sixty-eight survivors. Thirty-two dead already.]
Daniel's scream echoed in my mind.
I'd watched the math. Seen the capacity. Known that Safe Zone was full. And I'd said nothing because revealing that knowledge would have exposed my trait.
I made the right choice, I told myself. Warning them would have caused a stampede. Would have gotten me killed.
But Daniel was still dead.
And Sophie—wherever she was—had seen my calm focus in that moment. She'd realized I knew something.
I sat in the darkness, catching my breath, while Observer continued scanning for threats.
The Tower had just taught me its first lesson: Information was power. But power had a price.
And I was already paying for it.
Minutes passed in the darkness. The Ravagers outside eventually lost interest, moving on to hunt easier prey.
Observer showed me the scenario status updating in real-time:
[Estimated Survivors: 62/100]
[Timer: 43 minutes remaining]
Six more deaths while I'd been hiding.
I needed to move. Needed to find another Safe Zone or at least a more secure position. This basement was a temporary shelter at best.
I carefully made my way through the darkness, Observer highlighting safe paths through the debris. There had to be another exit, a way to—
Then the System announcement appeared.
[PHASE 1: ONGOING]
[62 Survivors Remaining]
[PHASE 2: BEGINNING]
[New Objective: SURVIVE The Horde Evolves. Safe Zones will protect you from PHYSICAL threats.]
[They will not protect you from HUNGER.]
[They will not protect you from THIRST.]
[They will not protect you from EACH OTHER.]
[Time Remaining: 42 minutes]
[Survivors may search for supplies]
[Safe Zones can be RE-ENTERED if space is available]
[WARNING: Scenario difficulty increasing]
[Good luck, Climbers.]
My blood ran cold.
Outside, I heard it—the wet sounds of transformation. Bones cracking. Flesh tearing and reforming.
The Ravagers were changing.
Observer activated automatically, analyzing the sounds:
[ENTITY: Ravager - EVOLVED FORM]
[- Type: Alpha Predator]
[- Threat Level: HIGH (individually) / EXTREME (in packs)]
[- New Abilities: Enhanced intelligence, basic problem-solving, can detect prey through structures]
[- Behavior: Will patrol and wait. Patient hunters.]
[- Weakness: Still vulnerable to blunt trauma, but armored hide has thickened ] [Notes: No longer exhausts easily. Can sustain pursuit indefinitely.]
Then I heard something worse—scraping sounds at the basement entrance. Not the mindless clawing from before.
Methodical. Intelligent.
They were digging.
[WARNING: Structural integrity compromised.]
[Estimated breach time: 8-12 minutes]
I had to move. Now.
Observer highlighted a path through the basement—toward what might be a sewer access or underground passage. No guarantee it led anywhere safe, but staying here meant death.
I started moving, carefully, quietly, while above me the evolved Ravagers worked with terrifying patience to reach their trapped prey.
The timer counted down.
Forty-one minutes.
The Tower's game had just begun, and I was alone in the dark with monsters that were learning to think.
But I had Observer. I could see things others couldn't.
The question was—would that be enough to survive what came next?
[END CHAPTER 1]
[CURRENT STATUS]
Survivors: 62/100
Safe Zones Occupied: 7/10
Time Remaining: 41 minutes, 23 seconds
Phase 2 in progress...