"Narding the red stone: every time you reach a new realm, you’ll receive another red stone. Breaking that stone will instantly transport you to the realm above. However, after using ohere’s a 72-hour cooldown before you use another. Ohat initial cooldown passes, you use the stones freely, but you ever desd back to a lower realm. My advice is to make sure you’re strong enough to asd, or you’ll find yourself fag enemies much strohan you," Halgon expined.

  "The tower is filled with corrupted elementals from across the universe. Remember, the realm above you always harbors stronger foes."

  "Never uimate corrupted elementals. Think back to the ones you’ve entered on your home p or elsewhere. Now, imagihem a huimes strohat’s the kind of threat you’ll fa the tower."

  Finn’s mind raced. He’d never entered a corrupted elemental before. He had no idea what they looked like, let alone how strong they were. The worst thing he’d ever entered was a stray dog, and that hadn’t even taken him a week to befriend.

  "The first realm is filled with low-level corrupted elementals. It’s the easiest oo quer. At your current level, you could probably wipe roups of them without breaking a sweat. We've even made it so your first red stone has no cooldown, so if you want to skip the first realm and dive straight into a greater challenge, you’re free to do so. Think of the first realm as a warm-up before the real danger begins," Halgon tinued.

  "The tower has seven realms in total, as you saw in your invitations. The seventh realm is the peak. If you make it that far and survive, you'll be bestowed the title of a demigod, gain immense power, and rule your ow. You asd the tower however you choose—work together with o solo, use the system to your advantage, avoid danger by stealth, ht every enemy you enter. It doesn’t matter. Reach the seventh realm, survive, and you win."

  "And remember," Halgon’s tone grew more serious, "iower of Assion, always expect the ued. Burn that into your minds."

  "And with that, I’ll leave you to your fate. Good luck, didates."

  With that, the whirlpool in the sky appeared once again, swallowing Halgon and vanishing without a trace.

  Before Finn could voice his s about the trouble he was likely in, a voice cut through his thoughts.

  "Finn. e with me, I o speak with you."

  It was Halgon’s voice, but hadn’t he already disappeared?

  fused, Finn sed his surroundings, trying to pinpoint where the voice had e from.

  "You will not be able to see me there, but I see you," Halgon’s voice echoed again.

  "Where are you?" Finn asked, still searg for the source.

  "Do you see the white stone in yht hand?" Halgon replied.

  "Stone? What st—"

  Finn's question died in his throat as he suddenly felt something cold in his right hand. He gnced down, and sure enough, there was a white stone, about the size of a fist. How had it gotten there? When had it appeared? He hadn’t even noticed it.

  "That’s the one. Break it. It’s soft enough for you to shatter with one hand. Just squeeze it tight, and you'll be teleported straight to me," Halgon instructed.

  "What's wrong, Finn?" Yukha’s voice came from behind.

  "I... I’m hearing Halgon’s voice, even though I ’t see him. He told me to break this stone and talk to him," Finn expined, still holding the stone in his hand.

  "You should do as he says," Yukha grunted.

  "It’s your ce to ask about why you were summoned here, without an invitation, and without the system."

  "Yeah, you're right," Finn agreed, though his voice was uain.

  "But it’s still pretty scary. Will this even work? Is just breaking this stone really going to transport me to where he is?" Fiated.

  "Let me see," Yukha said.

  Finn raised his hand, showing Yukha the stone he was clutg.

  "That’s a teleportation stone alright." Yukha firmed. "It’s the same kind we use to move between locations. Look around, it’s how it works."

  Finn followed Yukha’s gaze, sing the area. He saw individuals vanishing one by oo thin air. Seeing people disappearing just like that was surreal. He turned just in time to see the intimidating orc he had bumped into earlier crush a red stone in his hand, vanishing instantly.

  "Are they being teleported to the tower’s first realm?" Finn asked.

  "Ihese young ones are brimming with determination," Yukha said, his voice steady and measured, yet carrying a trace of admiration. "If it were me, I would take a moment to ter myself—clear the mind, prepare thhly. It is wise to approach such challenges with posure rather than haste."

  He paused, his weathered eyes seeming to look beyond Finn for a moment.

  "Halgon wanted you to speak with him, didn’t he?" Yukha asked.

  "Yeah," Finn answered.

  "Why don’t you go speak with him then?" Yukha suggested. "I’ll wait here a myself ready. Only if you’re still wanting to go with me to the tower, of course."

  "Seriously?" Finn asked, his surprise evident.

  "You don't want to?" Yukha asked, raising an eyebrow.

  "Of course I want to! You seem strong, and you know a lot. I’d feel better going with someone like you. But are you sure? I don’t even know if I have the system, or if I even uand it. I might just be dead weight," Finn admitted, feeling unsure of himself.

  Yukha grunted, scratg his thoughtfully. "A strong tree doesn’t stand for itself," he said. "Its shade is for others. My wife... she used to say that. She’s already gone now. Strohan I ever was, but she always helped the weak. I do the same now, in her honor. As for the tower, I have no grand ambition to reach the top. I am not driven like the others. If I help someone along the way, I will. That’s enough for me."

  Finn fell silent, taken aback by the weight of Yukha’s words. He felt a wave of gratitude. To be saved from the fire, to be summoned here, and to have found an orc like Yukha—it was more than luck.

  "Thank you, Yukha," Finn said early.

  "You’re wele, Finn," Yukha replied with a nod. "Now go. Who knows? Maybe you will be the one helping me survive instead."

  "I hope so," Finn said quietly.

  With that, Finn crushed the white stone in his right hand. The stone crumbled, pieces fluttering in the air, and in an instant, Finn was transported to another pce again.

  "Wele, Finn," a deep voice said.

  It took Finn a moment to reorient himself. Teleportation was a disorienting experiene sed, you were in a familiar space, feeling soft grass under your feet, wind brushing your skin, the hum of life all around you. Then, in a blink, you were somewhere else entirely, surrounded by sensations that felt fn, unnatural.

  Here, there was no grass, no wind, no sound beyond his owhing. Just an endless expanse of pure white stretg out in all dires. There were no walls, no sky, no floor he could dis, yet he stood solidly on something. The temperature was unpceable—her warm nor cold but h in an odd, ral void. And amidst this emptiness stood one figure: Halgon.

  "Halgon… this pce," Finn said, his voice trailing off as he tried to grasp the strangeness of it all. "What is it?"

  "It's a temporary realm I created," Halgon replied casually, his tone almost lighthearted. "You just call it The White Room."

  Finn gave a hesitant nod, still unsure what to make of his surroundings.

  "Anylease, sit down," Halgon said, gesturing. "This is only your sed time telep, right? I imagine you're still not used to it."

  Finn gnced behind him, and to his surprise, a brown chair materialized from the floor as though it had grown out of the white void itself. The texture was rough and hard, like solid rock, yet whe down, it was uedly fortable.

  Before he could ent, something else caught his eye. A table—crafted from the same stone-like material as the chair—had appeared in front of him. Resting on top was something utterly ued: a Haizza, fresh and steaming, and a mug filled with dark liquid that unmistakably smelled like coffee.

  Finn blinked, dumbfounded. It wasn’t just any pizza—it was his favorite bination. Haizza and coffee. How could Halgon have known? Where had it even e from?

  His stomach growled loudly, bringing a flush of embarrassment to his cheeks. The stress of everything—esg a burning building, being whisked into another dimension, entering Gods and towers—had made him fet basieeds like hunger. But now, with his favorite food in front of him, the familiar smell tugging at his senses, huruck him like a hammer.

  Without a sed thought, Finn reached for the pizza, ready to devour it. Manners could wait.

  But just as his hand hovered over the first slice, Halgon's voiterrupted him.

  "You look terrible, Fin me fix that first."

  Finn paused, realizing what he meant. He didn’t need a mirror to know how bad he must have looked—dirty, disheveled, and covered in grime from crawling through a burning house. His clothes g to him with sweat and soot.

  "Hold your breath for a moment," Halgon instructed.

  Before Finn could ask why, Halgon snapped his fingers. Instantly, a torrent of water ed around him, swirling like a living current. It wasn’t painful, but the sensation was overwhelming, like being dunked into a washing mae. The water rushed over every inch of his body, scrubbing away the filth and grime with an effio bath could match.

  After a few seds, the water vanished as abruptly as it had appeared, leaving him soaked and shivering.

  Halgon snapped his fingers again, and the lingeriness evaporated, the droplets h in the air before disappeariirely. Finn blinked as his clothes dried, leaving him feeling oddly refreshed.

  "There," Halgon said with a satisfied nod. "Gotta be careful with that teique, though. Don’t want to drain all your bodily fluids and turn you into a raisin."

  Finn stared bnkly. "What?"

  Halgon chuckled, waving his hand dismissively. "I'm just messing with you. ing someone up like that is nothing to me. I've do a huimes before."

  Finn exhaled, shaking his head. The man—or whatever he was—had a strange sense of humor.

  "Now," Halgon said, gesturing to the table. "Go ahead a. Fill up your stomach."

  With everything else seemingly taken care of, Finn didn’t hesitate any longer. He grabbed the first slice of pizza and sank his teeth into it. For the first time in what felt like ages, a sense of fort began to settle over him.

  Finn devoured the delicacies in front of him with ravenous iy, as if it were his st meal. Slice after slice, he polished off the family-sized pizza, barely pausing to breathe, and then gulped down the coffee in long, satisfying swallows. Ihan ten mihere was nothi but ay pte and a drained cup.

  “Thank you for the food—and for ing me up,” he said, leaning ba the stone chair with a sigh of te.

  “You’re wele,” Halgon replied, a small grin on his face. “I’ll admit, I had a taste of those foods myself, and I have to say, they’re surprisingly good. Also, uedly cheap.”

  “You bought them? Wait, you get stuff like that even if you’re not oh?” Finn asked, curiosity piqued.

  “We’ll get to that ter,” Halgon said, waving the question away. “For now, I know you have a lot on your mind. Go ahead—ask. I owe you at least that much.”