Chapter 2: Ah Shit, Here We Go Again

Being in the beginner city meant there weren’t many features he could use. His level wasn’t high either, not even level 10 yet, so only a few functions were unlocked.

Even so, there were things he didn’t quite understand. One of them was how he was supposed to use skills.

And what was his class? That part wasn’t exactly clear, since Ethan arrived here in an unconventional way.

I should find a safe spot first to sort out my status.

Alaric left the city through the northern gate. He had made alt accounts countless times in this game, and Tower of Ascension had been with him for years.

There was no doubt Ethan was a true veteran of this game.

That’s why he often ended up back in the beginner city called Ascardan, starting the early event with a new account.

Each time he finished the beginner event, there was always one place he would go to rest.

It was a green hill with a single tall tree. Aside from being quiet, the area had plenty of slimes wandering around. They only gave small amounts of exp, but it was steady.

Alaric walked out of the city wearing his starter clothes. When he reached the hill, his eyes caught sight of a female player hunting slimes.

She cut them down with ease, and judging by her style, she had taken the warrior class. Of course, even if the avatar looked female, the player could very well be male.

That was normal in-game, and no one really cared—except for people who came here looking for romance.

Seriously, come on! There are tons of dating apps, and you pick Tower of Ascension to find a soulmate?

Alaric reached the top of the hill and sat cross-legged, opening his system menu. He ignored the girl, who was still busy farming slimes nonstop.

[Profile]

[Name: Alaric] [Change Name?]

[Class: ?]

[Level: 5]

[HP: 250/250 || MP: 300/300]

[Status Attributes]

[STR: 20 || AGI: 10 || INT: 0 || CONS: 15 || WIS: 5]

It wasn’t hard for Alaric to set his attributes the way he wanted. His main account was a warrior class, though he had tried the other four classes before.

Still, for someone who preferred close combat, warrior was always the best choice.

Not only strong, but also durable. With STR boosting his damage and CONS giving him stamina and survivability, Alaric wouldn’t be taken down easily in one-on-one fights.

[DING! Congratulations, you’ve set your attribute points]

[System has detected your attribute allocation matches player class: Warrior]

[Do you want to select this class?]

[Y/N]

Alaric finally got the system notification. To him, it felt a little late. They assigned a class only after analyzing how he distributed his points.

Of course, Alaric would pick warrior as his main class in this game.

[Warrior class selected]

[Description: A close-combat class. Strong survivability and excels in frontline battles.]

He nodded, then went straight to his inventory. He pulled out the three common-level items he had received after finishing the beginner tutorial.

He tapped on the first item, the Beginner’s Chest. When he opened it, several rewards appeared in front of him in the form of system notifications.

[DING! Beginner’s Chest opened]

[+25 exp]

[10x gold coins]

[5x HP Potion Lv. 1]

[5x MP Potion Lv. 1]

[1x White-Furred Camel (Trial 7d)]

Alaric sighed. For his main account, these would’ve been useless. But for beginners, these items were actually pretty handy later on.

Well, no one complains about beginner chests. I mean, what were you expecting? A Mythic sword?

Done with the chest, he opened the weapon and armor sets. Since the multiple-open feature was unlocked, he opened both at the same time.

[DING! Congratulations, you’ve obtained items]

[1x Longsword (Common)]

[1x Leather Helmet (Common)]

[1x Leather Chestplate (Common)]

[1x Leather Gauntlets (Common)]

[1x Leather Pants (Common)]

[1x Leather Boots (Common)]

Lowest-tier gear. Still, better than nothing. If I die in this game… is there a chance I’ll actually die for real?

He had played this game for years. He knew the secrets of every chest, monster, dungeon, and battle trick.

It might take some time, but I’m sure I can rise to the top among all the players here.

Alaric equipped the gear. On his profile menu, there was also a “show armor or costume” feature.

From the start, he never displayed armor appearances, even if he was wearing Dragonbone-tier sets.

He always preferred using costumes, because they looked better to him. Now, too, he toggled his appearance to costume instead of armor.

Even with the appearance swapped, the armor’s stats still applied. That feature only changed what other players saw, not the actual gear itself.

Alright. I’ve got my class. I’ve spent my attribute points. Armor and sword equipped. Now, time to check out my skills.

[Skill]

[Skill 1: Crimson Slash || Lv. 1] [MP: 25] [25% Physical Damage+ Bleed 5 HP/sec for 5 sec] [CD: 10 sec]

[Desc: A fast sword swing that leaves a red trail in the air.]

[Skill 2: Iron Fang Thrust || Lv. 1] [MP: 50] [45% Physical Damage + Physical pierce 40%] [CD: 15 sec]

[Desc: A sharp, direct thrust like an iron fang, piercing enemy defenses.]

[Skill 3: Skybreaker Leap || Lv. 1] [MP: 100] [70% Physical Damage + Knockback 3 sec + Slow 5 sec] [CD: 20 sec]

[Desc: A high leap followed by a crushing strike to the ground.]

[Talent: Infinite Skill Level] [Locked!]

[Note: Reach skill level 10 to unlock talent!]

Alaric froze. This wasn’t about the warrior’s basic skills—he already expected those. What shocked him was the talent: Infinite Skill Level.

That talent didn’t exist in the game when Ethan used to play. It only showed up now, after his death and transmigration into this world.

Could this mean… this isn’t really the Tower of Ascension?

He glanced at the girl still farming slimes. Even though she kept killing them nonstop, the slimes continued respawning. But that wasn’t what he was watching for.

He wanted to see if she would log out or not. Humans had a playtime limit, at most eight hours straight.

He didn’t mind waiting. Occasionally, he joined in to strike down a slime or two, until the sun went down and night arrived. By his calculations, it was about time for the girl to log off.

And sure enough, she opened her system panel and logged out. A column of green light enveloped her, and in an instant she disappeared, returning to rest in the real world.

“I really am inside the Tower of Ascension.”

Alaric lay back on the grassy hill, staring up at the fake stars above the city. Loneliness and sadness washed over him. But this was his fate now, and he had no choice but to accept it.

“What is Ashley doing right now?” he whispered.

He opened his profile again and saw the option to change his name. Of course he’d use it. The name Alaric felt too generic for him.

[Enter your name:]

Alaric paused, thinking of a fitting one. He couldn’t use his exact old account name, since it was already taken.

[Enter your name: EthanArk]

[Success! Your name has been changed]

Sigh… If this really is Tower of Ascension, maybe there’s still a chance I can meet them again.

The Lionark party should be in Maverald City. With his current level, there was no way he could get there yet. Ashley and Gordon could handle things, though. He just hoped Rick didn’t screw up again.

Gosh… time to get some rest.

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