I Awakened as a Transcendent Newbie

Five years ago, a massive black structure known as the Tower of Trials suddenly appeared in major cities all over the world. Its incomprehensible height made it look like the Tower of Babel itself. The Tower of Trials changed a lot of things, but the most notable shift was the emergence of Awakeners.

Those chosen by the tower and granted the right to climb it were called Climbers. Or Players. And those Climbers had created two main communities. One was the Guilds, formed by like-minded Climbers banding together. The other was the Climber Gallery, an online forum where people shared experiences and opinions.

Of course, there was no way to verify awakenings online… so the Climber Gallery ended up split between actual active Climbers and desperate hopefuls spamming shitposts. I belonged to the latter group.

Well, I used to.

I refreshed the page every ten seconds, obsessively checking for new comments and upvotes on the shitpost I’d uploaded five minutes earlier. It was an incurable disease that afflicted everyone who spammed the gallery.

…Wait, am I the only one?

The thought flashed through my mind, but it wasn’t something I could figure out alone. I’d have to actually talk to other people about it. Besides… right now, I really didn’t have time to be worrying about stupid shit like that.

A translucent blue status window had appeared right in front of my eyes. And in the center, the words were crystal clear.

I looked down at my body, which had changed in the blink of an eye. My field of vision had suddenly dropped. My muscles were gone, replaced by slender, pale, smooth limbs. Long white hair cascaded over my shoulders. Two soft mounds pushed out from my chest. When I instinctively turned toward the mirror on the wall, a woman with jewel-like blue eyes stared back at me.

Her perfectly sculpted jawline and nose bridge looked like they’d been carved by a god. I stared at the reflection and thought:

Whoa. Jackpot.

I don’t have to go to the military anymore.

I should post this on the gallery and farm the absolute shit out of the attention. At least a hundred upvotes, easy, right?

A troll post I’d uploaded before leaving the house. The gallery rules said posting your actual face violated anonymity, so I couldn’t upload a selfie. If I had, I’d have easily gotten over a hundred upvotes. Still, even just the hand photo was pulling in a ton of attention.

“Hnnngh…”

A shiver ran down my spine. I trembled with delight as I read the replies, the corner of my mouth curling up.

“Idiots.”

Did they seriously think I’d wait for them? Just imagining those gallery idiots running over here with their blood boiling made my brain feel like it was exploding with dopamine.

“Haa…”

When I placed my hand against the wall of the Tower of Trials, a cold sensation flowed into my palm. A new status window appeared before me.

The decision wasn’t hard.

“Easy mode for some relaxed rice-farming, obviously.”

They said even clearing the Easy difficulty tower would net you a salary like a big company employee. Plus, you wouldn’t die. With that thought in mind, I raised my finger over the Easy option and snapped a photo.

Four comments in a single refresh. This body really ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠was a dream come true. I could feel eyes on me from all around. I’d thrown on some of my ex-girlfriend’s clothes that were still at the house, so it was a little embarrassing, but whatever.

“Better finish this quick, sell the magic stones from the clear rewards, and buy some rice.”

Just as I was about to press the Easy difficulty button—

Ding!

“...?”

My brows furrowed on their own. What the hell? Why now?

The next moment—

“Huh?”

“The sky…”

“Whoa, it’s beautiful.”

I heard people murmuring. Without thinking, I looked up.

And I saw it.

The stars in the night sky—which should have been invisible because of the city lights—were now shining brilliantly, lighting up the darkness. Starting with the brightest ones, smaller stars gradually revealed ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠themselves too. It looked like a curtain covering the heavens was being pulled back.

“...?”

More status windows popped up.

“...Eh? Eh?”

Before I could do anything, a brilliant light swallowed me whole.

I tried to steady my spinning head after the sudden teleportation while processing the status windows floating in front of me.

“...Ow, my head.”

My long hair, which reached all the way to my waist, fluttered in the wind and blocked my vision. Through the pure white strands, I saw a vast plain bathed in brilliant starlight.

But…

“I thought there were only three tutorial maps.”

Slime Plains, Barren Desert, and Queen’s Tomb. Those were the maps for Easy, Normal, and Hard respectively. I’d never heard of a place like this—not on the gallery, and not from any Climbers who occasionally appeared on TV.

“...Is this an Easter egg?”

There was zero information about this place. Still, I couldn’t just sit around. Even on Hard difficulty, standing still meant certain death. I quickly scanned my surroundings to get ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠a feel for the environment.

Unfortunately, the wide-open plain didn’t offer any useful weapons or equipment. All I could see was blue grass and some gently rolling hills.

And the moment I confirmed that—

Ding!

“...Wait, you’re not giving me anything?”

I didn’t even have time to complain. The ground had started shaking.

Rumble rumble rumble—

“Whoa?!”

My body staggered. The next instant, a skeletal hand burst out of the dirt.

“...Skeletons?”

Looked like the monsters were the same as on Hard difficulty. I spun my brain into overdrive trying to figure out how to survive this.

In the meantime, more and more skeletal hands were clawing their way out of the ground.

…And there were way more than I’d expected.

“Oh, you’ve gotta be shitting me…”

Ten? Twenty? Sleek skeletons that looked like they could reflect starlight were crawling out of the earth. I ran with everything I had while pulling out my phone to record a video.

I have to upload this to the gallery later.

Of course, that meant I had to survive first.

There was only one solution I could think of right now.

My unique ability. I had to activate it.

“God damn it, I should’ve practiced first…!”

I looked up at the sky. My entire field of vision was filled with countless stars shining brightly in the night.

“You bastards dragged me here without asking, so at least help me out, you sons of bitches!”

My still-unfamiliar voice rang out across the star-filled heavens.

Thud. Thud. Thud.

“Shit…”

The footsteps were getting closer. I didn’t need to look back to know what it was. Skeletons. I didn’t even have time to speak. I kicked off the ground with all my strength, desperately trying to put distance between myself and the sounds behind me.

“How the hell do I even use this thing…?”

It was an incredibly unhelpful description. What the hell did “borrowing power from the stars in the night sky” even mean?

“Please…”

My heart felt like it was about to burst. In desperation, I reached my hand toward the night sky.

And then I felt it.

“...!”

The starlight wrapping around my fingertips. Thousands upon thousands of colors blending together into a prismatic radiance. That beautiful light gathered in my grasp and took the shape of a single sword.

On pure instinct, I swung it toward the presence I felt behind me.

Slice—!

Only then could I see what it was. It was indeed a skeleton, but it held a blade sharp enough to cut through steel. Its body was clad in thick plate armor that could ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠probably stop bullets. It looked exactly like an ancient general who had died long ago and been buried in the earth.

This was definitely not an ordinary skeleton.

Yet that thing was sliced cleanly in half by my prismatic blade.

Its head and torso separated, turning into black ash and scattering. Countless status windows floated above what remained of its body.