The Elder lends me some support as I take a few steps. It takes some effort to make sure I’m putting one foot in front of the other. I have not felt this uncoordinated in years.

Mumbling I say “What was in that drink?“

Laughing Elder Knight Torak responds “It’s called Honey Nut liquor. Harvested from a tree found on floor thirty. Its sap is diluted down with honeyed water and needs no extra processing.

Moving through the building we go up a flight of stairs, down some interconnecting hallways, and up another flight of stairs.

Feeling cold wind on my face I look around. In front of me are docks filled with an assortment of boats. However, there is no body of water. We appear to be high up, at least a hundred meters from the ground. The city looks beautiful and stretches out in front of me. The streets are lit up with all manner of colourful lights. I can see the ocean in the distance from here too. There is a long road leading from the tower going over the ocean and connecting to an island. There is another larger island further away, but no bridge connected that one to the mainland.

“Never seen anything like this in the last world” I say.

“Quite a sight, isn’t it? I like to come out here in the mornings just before the sun rises. The craft are called mana cruisers and as the name implies, require mana to run. Tinker Hammer, a Dwarven and Gnome guild created these once it was discovered mana could be used for more than just powering spells. Since then, mana has become a vital part of the city.”

Leading me onto one of the cruisers, the elder opens a door and guides me down a small stairway. Inside was a room, maybe five meters wide, with a crescent shaped couch in the centre facing towards the front of the craft. Behind the couch is a crystal ball at chest height supported by a wooden pillar leading into the floor.

Knight Elder Torak sits down and stretches out his arms, resting them on the back of the couch. “Come, sit down and enjoy the view while we make our way to the guild hall.”

Taking a seat, I can only see the curving wooden walls of the craft surrounding us. “What view? Unless you are talking about yourself. If that’s the case, I should let you know that you are not exactly my type.”

Laughing the elder makes a motion with his hand and throws something towards me. Catching it on reflex, it’s a water skin. I look back the elder and see him grinning. “Some water. You should drink it slowly and sober up before we reach our destination.”

From the corner of my eye, I see Mac walk into the room.

“Here you go” Mac places a pair of sandals on the couch next to me and then stands at the pillar. He places his hands on the crystal ball and closes his eyes. After a second the walls that were just a moment ago solid, become transparent.

Looking down at my feet I can see straight down the side of the Tower. dropping the waterskin I grab onto the couch, my fingers sinking into the soft pillows. The waterskin doesn’t continue falling towards land but instead plopped at my feet. Looking closer I can see wood grains where the floor is. The wood itself is almost completely invisible. Picking up the skin I take a sip and lean back into the couch.

Mac still standing behind me says. “We will be departing now. Let me know if you need to move and I can adjust the floors.”

The ride was amazing. The sun was setting as we made our way through the skies. Looking around I could see other cruisers, sharing the sky with us. Slightly right and to the front of us was the ocean. Hundreds of ships coming and leaving from a connected island. As we get closer, I can see that the island has several piers on each side with a large number of docked vessels.

I could tell when we were crossing into the human sector as the architecture changed. The centre of the city is a mash of differently styled roads and buildings with many different colours. While the human sector had a more uniformed look with roads all being grey stone.

Directly in front of us a was beautiful looking, large, Japanese style castle. Attached to the castle sat a tall pagoda. As the cruiser passed over a tall stone wall elder Torak turns to me. “No need to go about mentioning what we talked about today. It will only make things complicated.”

Not sure on his meaning I just nod in agreement. I am fine with others not knowing I gave up all my levels for a magical class.

Mac navigated the cruiser towards the pagoda and came to a stop next to an attached sky dock.

Disembarking from the cruiser onto the wooden planks, I could see two figures standing in front of us. One of them looked to be Yui, wearing a white kimono styled with cherry blossoms. The other figure was an older man wearing a plain dark blue kimono.

Elder Knight Torak bows and shakes the man’s hand. “it’s been too long, my friend.” The man returns the bow and squeezes the elder’s shoulder. Turning towards me, elder Torak gestures with his hand towards the man. “This is Hiro Gushiken, head of the Ex-terra guild. He is the current and longest living Hero, of this world.”

Now that caught my attention. From what I know, there can only be one.

“Hiro, this is Reigner, the first human to be summoned here in over a hundred years.”

I give a little wave. “Hello, Master Gushiken.”

Hiro bows his head towards me. “It is good to meet you Reigner. Please just call me Hiro”

Yui walks over to me and takes my arm. “Come on. I’m sure you are eager to see the Awakening stone. We have some plum wine we can celebrate with afterwards.”

Breathing in, I can smell Yui’s perfume. Lavender. “Please, no more alcoholic drinks for the moment.”

Hiro and elder Torak walk in front of us, talking softly to each other.

“I won’t say no to some plum wine” I hear over my shoulder from Mac walking behind us.

The inside of the pagoda looks even more beautiful than the outside. The floor is a rich dark wood. A waist high wood rail adorns the edge of a large opening, in the centre. A series of cherry blossom trees have been positioned between floors, all lit up from motes of different coloured lights floating between the branches. I have become so used to the shadow filled caverns of the Tower I can’t help but stare as we make our way down.

We continue walking through ornate wooden passageways until we reach a room with a large crystal ball in the middle. The crystal had to be at least a meter in diameter. Blue and purple clouds swirl and move slowly around a glowing red light in the centre. The room itself was illuminated by the crystal, with blues, reds, and purple colours moving across the walls and wooden floor. In a circle surrounding the crystal are several pillows, large enough to sit on comfortably.

“Beautiful, like a sunset.” Yui says from next to me. “I love coming in here to meditate”. Leaning close to my ear she whispers. “Don’t tell Master Gushiken, but sometimes I like to bring some snacks and plum wine in here when hide-uh take a break from training.”

“So, this is where you went when you ran off in the middle of sword practice last night.” Pulling my eyes off the crystal, I see Hiro looking at Yui with an amused expression. That’s some good hearing.

Walking up to me, Hiro takes my arm from Yui and guides me towards the crystal. “Yui told me about this morning.” Patting my hand gently he continues “I was gifted this Awakening stone by a being that lives in the upper floors of the tower. There is none more powerful outside the Tower itself. Come, place your hands on the stone so you may gain access to the wonders of mana.”

My hands tremble as I place them against the Awakening stone. It’s feels warm. Red lighting builds in the centre, flashing from cloud to cloud. It is hypnotic, like looking into a thunderstorm.

The lightning starts striking where my hands rested, and I can feel it pounding into my body.

I try to pull my hands away out of reflex but find that they are stuck. I feel something, not pain but energy, traveling through my body and building inside me. Looking at the back of my hands, a thick substance of black, red, and yellow start to seep from the pores of my skin.

“Everyone, out the room now!” Hiro says from behind me. The sounds of feet running on wood quickly follow.

Feeling like I’m about to burst I close my eyes and let out a yell.

A shockwave explodes from inside me and I can hear a series of splattering noises all around.

Falling to my knees, I realise I’m no longer glued to the awakening stone… and I’m naked… again.

In my vision I see a blue squared, opaque, window in front of me with the word “Congratulations” displayed. The window fades after a second and gives me a clear view of my surroundings.

The once beautiful wooden floors, walls, and pillows are covered in what I can only call a mixture of tar, pus, and blood. Looking out the doorway I can see the walls of the hallway are also covered… apart from a man shaped silhouette. Looking at the floor of the hallway I see that Mac is sprawled on the ground… His back looking very gruesome.

Hiro moves inside the room quickly and takes my hand. I feel an energy move though me from his touch. Sighing in relief Hiro looks me in the eye. “That was a lot of blood. I was worried you perished.” Laughing he says, “You have quite the health pool for level zero”.

Hiro looks over at Mac, who was now carefully getting to his feet, his back, completely covered in muck. “Yui-chan, please ask Sara to bring us a fresh set of clothes for Mac and Reigner.”

Helping me to my feet Hiro says “Come. I’ll show you to the baths.”