Uncontrolled Power

I had checked again and again, just to be sure.

Stats?

Everyone knew they didn't go up easily.

That was what people said on the hunter forums, and even the Diamond Golem running the shop in the Tower of Transcendence had sung the exact same tune:

"Keep taking them consistently, and you will eventually see results. That is the nature of elixirs."

And yet...

Mine had jumped.

Not just one rank, either. It had surged two whole tiers.

"What?" the Golem rumbled, crystalline joints grinding in disbelief. "A single root hair advanced you two ranks?"

"Yes, I'm telling you, it really did."

"Just how utterly pathetic was your innate mana reserve to begin with, boy?"

Well, to put it plainly...

"It was F-rank."

"...F?"

"Yep."

"Ahem... Keep your chin up, then."

Wait a second. Mr. Golem? That look of pure pity in your eyes is pretty insulting, you know.

Then again, who cared? Let him pity me all he wanted. Thanks to that root, my mana wasn't bottom of the barrel anymore. It was a glorious D-rank.

Heh.

I knew it from the moment I bought Energy Bolt. The wares sold in the Arcana Market of the Tower of Transcendence were on an entirely different plane of existence. Naturally, my expectations skyrocketed.

"Earlier, you mentioned you had an elixir that increases mana purity," I said, leaning in. "Roughly how much would that cost?"

Mana purity was another concept I had read about. The higher the purity, the sharper and more potent a skill became. If I drank an elixir like that, would my already devastating Energy Bolt pack an even crazier punch? What about all the spells I would learn later down the line?

"In terms of lowest-grade magic stones," the Golem replied impassively, "you would need at least ten thousand."

That was expensive. Ridiculously expensive.

Come to think of it, did I really need to be any stronger ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠right now? Wouldn't my current firepower be more than enough? It definitely wasn't that I was giving up ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠because the price made my hands shake—absolutely not.

"Well, keep in mind that our Arcana Market carries elixirs for practically any field a Climber might require," the Golem added, crossing its massive stone arms.

Hearing that alone was reassuring. Of course, none of it was free.

"Just make sure you bring plenty of magic stones next time, boy."

"Right, of course."

Someone once said that there was nothing money couldn't solve, and if it didn't solve the problem, it meant you simply hadn't brought enough cash. I didn't know if that held true for the real world, but here in the Tower, it seemed like an absolute universal law.

Just look at how things had changed. Yesterday, the Golem had kicked me out without even letting me browse, but today it let me look around at my leisure and actually answered my questions. That was the magic of a thousand stones at work. Still, its patience clearly had a limit.

"Hmph," the Golem grunted, its carved features settling into a look of profound annoyance.

How did a living rock have such expressive facial cues? It was practically broadcasting its irritation. If I lingered any longer, I was definitely getting tossed out again. Best to make a graceful exit.

"I'll be taking my leave now. See you next time!"

"Don't bother coming back," the Golem growled. "Or if you must, bring a hefty purse. Digging up scrap trinkets for spare change is a royal pain."

It ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠grumbled like that, but I knew it would pull whatever I asked for if I waved the stones. And there was no need to worry on that front.

"Don't worry," I called over my shoulder. "I'm heading out to gather magic stones right now anyway."

This was my second time exiting the Tower of Transcendence. The first time had been an unceremonious boot out the door, but this time, it was entirely on my own terms.

A blinding flash engulfed my vision. When I opened my eyes, the familiar ceiling of my studio apartment greeted me. Lying on the desk right beside me was a printed report.

"I really need to throw that thing away," I muttered. "Why is it the first thing I see every time I get back?"

Looking at it again, the lab's diagnostic equipment really was terrifyingly accurate. They hadn't been bragging for nothing when they called it the pinnacle of modern science and awakened sensory analysis. Aside from my mana capacity jumping to D-rank, the numbers were a near-perfect match for the bottom-feeder talent I started with.

"Man... looking at it in black and white really drives home how hopeless I was."

Zero talent in its purest form. But so what?

"As long as I have magic stones, I can tear up this entire profile and rewrite it from scratch."

That meant gathering stones was top priority. How? There were plenty of ways. I could hunt around for localized rift raids like the one yesterday, or delve into commercial dungeons and gates. But for someone in my position, the fastest, most reliable method was obvious.

"The Tower of Despair, without a doubt."

It had a once-a-day entry restriction, but people called it the national gold mine for a reason. Clear Floor 1, and the shared completion reward handed you five magic stones. Repeating just the risk-free first floor meant a guaranteed daily payout of two hundred and fifty thousand won.

"No wonder normal folks look at awakeners with pure envy."

People said the rewards diminished if you repeatedly cleared the exact same floor, but I had no intention of staying on the first floor anyway.

"Yes."

Huh? What's this now?

Privileges were special rewards granted when an awakened set an unprecedented record in a tower, gate, or dungeon. Come to think of it, I recalled seeing a flurry of messages right after blowing Floor 1 to pieces.

"Damn it... I completely forgot because that mana exhaustion hit me so hard."

A world record meant I held first place across the entire globe. I remembered watching an interview with an American ranker who had claimed first place on some floor in the past. He had boasted about receiving a mountain of magic stones as his world record privilege. Stones, and heaps of them!

Now that was what I called a reward. Bring on the stones!

Wait, what? EX?

Wasn't clearance evaluation supposed to range strictly from C to S? Even getting an S-rank was rumored to have happened only once or twice in the entire history of the Tower.

"Holy crap..."

A rank nobody had ever heard of. If the grade was this insane, the magic stone payout had to be astronomical, right?

Excuse me?

What the hell was this?

"What on earth is a Mark of Transcendence...?"

No, seriously. Give me my magic stones! Stones were the one thing I actually needed!

"I don't even know where you're supposed to spend this thing..."

Still, it was an EX-rank reward. Surely it had to be useful for something incredible down the road. It had to be. Swallowing my frustration, I tucked the token away into my inventory.

"Whatever. Let's just clear Floor 2."

Unlike the forest clearing of the first floor, Floor 2 was a vast, open expanse of white sand stretching toward an endless ocean.

Naturally, I had done my homework on this floor as well. The mission was another monster subjugation. The key difference was that unlike the passive slimes on Floor 1, these monsters actually fought back.

"Well, they're still just turtles."

What did it matter if they had an attack pattern? They were notoriously sluggish. On the forums, hunters joked that you could leisurely walk up and flip them onto their shells without breaking a sweat.

Scritch, scrape.

Far across the dunes, several shells crawled forward at an agonizingly glacial pace.

Yeah, they were slow as molasses.

"All I have to do is blast those things."

They were scattered pretty widely across the beach, but that was no longer an issue. My mana capacity wasn't F-rank anymore; it was D-rank. That meant I didn't have to bet everything on a single shot. I could fire off multiple Energy Bolts in succession!

"Line up, shell-heads. Time for a taste of real magic."

I reached out my hand and gathered my power.

Crack!

A spark hissed into being at my fingertips. Wait... is it just my imagination, or is this light ball way bigger than before?

CRACKLE! ROAR!

Nope. Definitely not my imagination.

"Why the hell is it that big...?"

The previous Energy Bolt had already resembled a small falling meteor, packing enough explosive force to obliterate an entire city park in one go. But this one? It looked at least three times larger.

KABOOOOOOM!

The blast wave tore across the dunes, detonating with the fury of a tactical warhead.

"Whoa."

Those turtles had been scattered across hundreds of meters of coastline, yet that single explosion had vaporized the entire beach into glass. Don't tell me this was another...

Yeah, I figured as much.

I honestly didn't know how to feel about this. It was incredible, but at the same time, thoroughly disappointing. Couldn't the system toss in a bonus sack of magic stones alongside the special token? Whatever. I cleared my daily floor, so now I could head outside to find a dungeon or—

What?

My knees gave out, and I collapsed face-first into the scorched sand. Why the hell is this insane mana exhaustion hitting me again?!

My capacity had advanced two whole ranks! I had so much more mana than before! So why... why was my tank completely bone-dry?!

Click, click.

Back in my room, clutching a cold bottle of water, I tracked down the answer on the hunter forums. ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠Specifically, it came from a famous post written by South Korea's Rank 2 Awakened, Choi Gimun—a man notorious for his chronic struggles with mana exhaustion.

Aha.

So that was why my Energy Bolt had swelled into a colossal doomsday bomb. It wasn't that the spell cost more; my body had simply dumped one hundred percent of my expanded D-rank reserves straight into the cast.

"Man... I thought all I needed was to increase my mana pool."

Now I had to raise my mana control too? How much would an elixir for that cost? Considering the purity elixir was ten thousand stones, this one had to be just as astronomical.

"We don't have one," the Golem stated flatly when I returned to the Arcana Market.

"What? You said you carried elixirs for practically every field! Why don't you have one for control?!"

"The ability to govern power only bears fruit when forged through personal effort," the Golem lectured, arms crossed stubbornly. "Do not assume you can freeload your way through existence just because the Arcana Market is here. Put in some honest work, boy."

I clicked my tongue. Why did a living statue have to make so much sense? It completely took the wind out of my sails.

Sigh. Guess I'm going back home. I'll just have to look up exercises for practicing mana control on the internet.

"Consider it an investment in your future," the Golem added, watching me turn away. "Mastering control is an essential milestone if you ever hope to climb the Tower of Transcendence anyway."

I stopped in my tracks. "The Tower of Transcendence?"

"Indeed. You are a Climber, are you not? You possess the right to ascend."

Well, technically speaking, that was true. My class was Climber, after all. But was that even remotely realistic?

"Didn't you say that tower is meant for Pre-Transcendents and full Transcendents?"

And what was Kim Haun? A fresh-faced level three rookie. Attempting that divine tower was so absurdly out of my league that I hadn't even entertained the thought. Who knew what kind of cosmic abominations prowled those floors? I'd probably die the split second a monster looked in my general direction.

"You would not be in any mortal danger," the Golem remarked casually, "though in your current state, you wouldn't stand a ghost of a chance anyway. Flawless control of mana is the singular key to conquering Floor 1."

"Ah..."

I had heard rumors about that kind of thing. Even in the Tower of Despair, certain floors tested trial objectives rather than simple monster slaughter. This sounded like a similar concept. Still, one thing was crystal clear.

"Then I definitely can't do it."

Flawless control? I couldn't even manage basic output regulation, let alone 'flawless' mastery.

"Naturally," the Golem scoffed. "Countless Transcendents grind their bones through agonizing discipline just to rein in their overwhelming power, suppressing their presence down to the level of an ordinary mortal human just to satisfy that scarecrow's trial... Hm?"

The Golem paused, stone brows furrowing as it looked at me.

Wait a minute.

What did this walking boulder just say?

Suppress their power down to the level of an ordinary human?

In that case...

Wasn't this trial practically made for me?