The black chess piece felt warm in Noah’s palm.
Not hot.
Alive.
He slipped it into the hidden pocket inside his academy coat.
The System remained silent.
For once...
It offered no explanation.
The stone corridor trembled.
A deep rumble echoed overhead.
The hidden staircase behind him had disappeared.
Only one path remained.
Forward.
"...Guess that’s my answer."
Noah tightened his grip on Shadowfang and walked.
Minutes later...
A brilliant light swallowed the corridor.
When Noah opened his eyes again...
He stood inside an enormous circular arena.
White marble pillars surrounded the battlefield.
Above them floated thousands of glowing crystals.
There was no ceiling.
Only an endless blue sky.
"...Another illusion?"
A voice answered.
"No."
"This is memory."
Noah spun around.
Standing at the opposite end of the arena...
Was another young man.
Black academy uniform.
Messy black hair.
Same height.
Same face.
Same crimson eyes.
It was...
Him.
The System flashed violently.
Trial Recognised
Second Floor Trial
The Enemy Within
Objective: Defeat Yourself.
The other Noah smiled.
"You’ve finally arrived."
His voice was identical.
"So..."
"You inherited Ragnarok too."
Noah frowned.
"...You’re not real."
The copy shrugged.
"Maybe."
"Maybe not."
He slowly drew a sword identical to Shadowfang.
"Does it matter?"
Without warning...
The clone disappeared.
CLANG!
Steel collided.
Noah barely raised Shadowfang in time.
The impact pushed him backwards.
The clone grinned.
"Too slow."
The duel exploded across the arena.
Every strike Noah made...
The clone countered perfectly.
Every feint.
Every dodge.
Every combination.
It was like fighting someone who already knew his next move.
"Damn it!"
Noah kicked the clone backwards.
The copy landed gracefully.
"You’re frustrated."
"I would be too."
It laughed.
"You’ve spent your whole life reading stories."
"Watching heroes."
"Learning from others."
"But tell me..."
The clone pointed its blade at Noah.
"When have you ever developed your own style?"
Silence.
Those words struck harder than any sword.
It was true.
His techniques came from observation.
His instincts from survival.
But...
Nothing was truly his.
The clone attacked again.
This time...
Noah didn’t copy.
He improvised.
He abandoned textbook swordsmanship.
Instead...
He moved with pure instinct.
A step.
A twist.
A sudden shoulder check.
The clone stumbled.
For the first time...
It looked surprised.
"Interesting."
It smiled.
"There you are."
"Noah Blackwood."
Not the reader.
Not the Extra.
Just...
Noah.
Their swords clashed again.
Faster.
Sharper.
Neither gained the advantage.
Until...
Noah remembered the Guardian’s Lesson.
"Don’t fight..."
"Think."
He stopped trying to overpower his opponent.
Instead...
He watched.
The clone always mirrored his breathing before attacking.
A tiny habit.
Almost invisible.
There.
Noah stepped inside the next strike.
Shadowfang flashed.
SLASH!
The clone’s sword flew into the air.
The blade stopped at its throat.
Silence filled the arena.
The clone smiled.
"Congratulations."
"You’ve finally won..."
"...without becoming someone else."
Its body dissolved into silver light.
Before disappearing completely...
It whispered.
"Never forget..."
"The greatest enemy of Ragnarok..."
"...is the person wearing it."
The arena trembled.
The System chimed.
Trial Complete
Second Floor Cleared
Rewards:
+2 LevelsSwordsmanship Mastery IINew Passive Unlocked:
Adaptive Combat
The longer a battle continues, the faster Noah learns his opponent’s habits and patterns.
A staircase of white stone slowly rose from the centre of the arena.
Leading upward.
Noah looked back one last time.
The empty battlefield had already begun fading.
He exhaled slowly.
"One floor down..."
He looked toward the stairs.
"...many more to go."
Unseen by Noah...
Far beyond the Tower...
Azrael stood atop a distant mountain, gazing at the academy.
A black raven landed on his shoulder.
"So?"
Azrael asked.
The raven’s crimson eyes glowed.
"It has begun."
Azrael smiled.
"Excellent."
"Let the Tower make him stronger."
His smile slowly vanished.
"Because when he reaches the Fifth Floor..."
"...I’ll be waiting."
The staircase carried Noah upward.
One step.
Then another.
The brilliant white light surrounding him slowly faded.
The moment his foot touched solid ground...
He frowned.
"...This isn’t a tower."
He stood in the middle of a bustling city.
Merchants shouted from wooden stalls.
Children laughed as they ran through crowded streets.
Blacksmiths hammered glowing steel.
The smell of fresh bread drifted through the air.
Everything felt...
Real.
Too real.
The System appeared.
Third Floor Trial
Trial Name: The Forgotten Choice
Objective: Survive until sunset.
Restrictions:
All combat abilities sealed.Shadowfang unavailable.Mana sealed.
"...Seriously?"
Noah reached for Shadowfang.
Nothing.
The sword was gone.
Even the Broken Crown Mark had vanished.
For the first time since inheriting Ragnarok...
He was completely powerless.
A little girl accidentally bumped into him.
"Oh!"
She stumbled backward.
"I’m sorry!"
Noah instinctively caught her before she fell.
She smiled brightly.
"Thank you, mister."
Then she ran toward her mother.
Noah watched them disappear into the crowd.
His chest felt strangely heavy.
A voice echoed behind him.
"You look lost."
Noah turned.
An elderly baker stood in the doorway of a small shop.
Flour covered his apron.
He smiled warmly.
"New to the city?"
"...You could say that."
The old man laughed.
"Everyone says that."
He handed Noah a warm loaf of bread.
"Here."
"You look hungry."
Noah hesitated.
"I don’t have any money."
"Then pay me by smiling."
"...That’s a terrible business model."
"It is."
The baker laughed even harder.
Hours passed.
Noah wandered through the peaceful city.
There were no monsters.
No assassins.
No nobles.
No danger.
Only ordinary people living ordinary lives.
Children chased one another through the streets.
A young couple argued over vegetables.
Musicians performed in the town square.
For a brief moment...
Noah forgot he was inside a trial.
Then...
The church bells rang.
Once.
Twice.
Three times.
Every smile disappeared.
Every citizen looked toward the horizon.
Black smoke rose beyond the city walls.
The baker’s expression turned pale.
"...They’re here."
The ground shook violently.
A deafening horn echoed across the city.
Soldiers rushed through the streets.
"Everyone inside!"
"Close the gates!"
"Move!"
Panic spread instantly.
Noah grabbed a passing guard.
"What’s happening?"
The guard looked at him as though he’d asked the sky why it was blue.
"The Eclipse Army."
"They’ve come again."
Again.
That single word made Noah’s stomach tighten.
He climbed onto a nearby rooftop.
Beyond the city walls...
An endless army marched across the plains.
Black banners.
Crimson armor.
Thousands...
No.
Tens of thousands.
The army stretched beyond the horizon.
At its front...
Seven enormous siege beasts walked side by side.
Each taller than the city walls.
The System chimed.
Hidden Information
Historical Reconstruction
Date: Unknown
Status: True Memory
Noah froze.
"This actually happened..."
"This isn’t an illusion."
The First Successor’s voice answered quietly.
"No."
"It is history."
The city gates thundered shut.
The baker looked up at Noah from the street below.
His warm smile had vanished.
Instead...
He looked tired.
As though he’d seen this many times before.
He whispered something Noah barely heard.
"We lose..."
"...every time."
The first flaming boulder crashed into the city.
BOOOOOOM!
Fire erupted across the rooftops.
People screamed.
The peaceful city transformed into chaos within seconds.
Noah’s fists clenched.
His powers were sealed.
His sword was gone.
Yet people were dying all around him.
The System displayed one final message.
Trial Updated
There is no correct answer.
Choose for yourself.
Noah looked at the burning city.
Then at the frightened people running through the streets.
He took a slow breath.
"I don’t need Ragnarok..."
"...to decide who I am."
And with nothing but his own two hands...
He sprinted toward the flames.