1 Slums

Nobody knew how it was created, nor its true purpose, but everyone in the entirety of the planar world named Lumen knew of the existence of the Tower. No matter how far you traveled, it was always visible on the horizon, breaching into the Heavens, far beyond observable distances.

Though its purpose was unknown, the vast majority of races calling Lumen home were instinctually drawn to the Tower. It represented something far bigger than their small lives and, when people had doubts about the purpose of their own existence, they would always turn towards the Tower in the distance, as if hearing a call in the deepest recesses of their mind. While their own lives were chaotic and tumultuous, the Tower always stood aloof and majestic, seemingly untouched by the passage of time and the tribal wars which had waged for millennia.

Thus, whenever people felt lost, confused, or without a home, they would turn their gaze toward the Tower, their feet drawing them closer to its impossible dimensions. With the passage of time and an incalculable number of generations, many races had come to surround the Tower's base, measuring more than a million kilometers in diameter and shaking the hearts and minds of those who managed to venture close.

Here, as a result of hundreds of races converging, many found even more conflict but, with the Tower looming over them, they would do their best, hoping for a chance to venture into its depths by proving themselves amongst their peers. They knew this was possible as, covering the base of the Tower, written in the universal language of Kinu, the qualifications for entry were listed for all to see. Since there were families, clans, and organizations who had ventured into the Tower and returned, some bringing back powerful artifacts, it was the dream of all within the megacity surrounding the colossal Tower to venture into its interior and test yourself against the challenges that awaited...

For this purpose, many of the organizations that had managed to gain benefits while venturing into the Tower began to open their doors to others. As it was impossible to enter the Tower a second time, they used the resources they had gathered to create Schools, teaching those who sought to climb the Tower what they should expect. This was possible through the existence of Akasha, the system that was possessed by all inhabitants of Lumen. Though Akasha, powerful binding contracts could be established, the terms of which could even bind a person to a specific organization for their entire life.

With thousands of years passing since the first families ventured into the Tower, tens of billions of individual entities had taken up residence around its base. Over time, they built the first megacity, named Axis, to serve as the central trading hub and the home for the most established families. Beyond the massive walls that surrounded the first megacity is where the vast majority of other clans were located, many of which fought amongst themselves over limited resources as they all vied for the chance to enter the Tower.

Unfortunately, very few people knew how to actually enter the Tower as, even by reading the script at the base, you would not be provided with a clear answer. The only thing people knew for sure was that, if you desired to climb the Tower and managed to overcome a great challenge, you would be given the chance to begin your climb. When this happened, the person in question would vanish from the world, even if they had been in the midst of a heated battle.

As a result of such incidents, a frenzy would often occur in the surrounding area as, believing they were under the watchful eyes of the Tower's Keeper, everyone would endeavor to prove themselves. Because of this, it was not uncommon for several hundred people to vanish in a short period of time, many from the same region.

While this seemed to be a blessing to some, the truth of the matter was not so pleasant for those who experienced such a transfer. Unfortunately, as the first return point in the Tower required you to reach the Tenth Floor, a feat that could take decades for some, it was not easy to acquire any cohesive information about the mass transfers.

Even this did not discourage people, however, as there was no end to the events, competitions, and tournaments taking place, both within and outside of Axis. As there were even instances of children being given access to the Tower, most schools focused on survival skills, navigation, puzzle-solving, and combat. Depending on the race, there were children as young as three years old fighting brutal battles against their peers, each shaped by the hopes and dreams of their families and clans. For this reason, it was considered odd if you did not seek to climb the Tower, to the point weaker individuals, having no confidence in the climb, were treated poorly amongst children of the same generation...

"Please...just leave me alone...!" screamed a youth with uncharacteristic, pale blue, hair.

In response to this plea, the youth was met with the merciless fist of a much larger boy, surrounded by a group of seven snickering boys and girls, each showing contempt in their expressions.

"Eat dirt you scrawny pest! If you don't want to climb the Tower, why don't you just dig a hole for yourself and crawl into it!" Accompanying this insult, the boy, possessing dark skin and two small horns poking through pitch-black hair, kicked his victim hard in the stomach, not content with the fact he had already knocked the boy to the ground. From there, he began to press against the pale-haired youth's head with his foot, ensuring he got a face full of the thick a pungent 'dirt' that lined the streets of the slums.

Though this was not the first time he had suffered such indignation, the pale-haired youth, named Linnaeus, couldn't help but feel wronged. It wasn't that he didn't want to climb the Tower like the others but, with his younger sister being ill, he couldn't just abandon her. After their parents had died, she was the only one he could rely on and, unless she was given the chance to climb the Tower, he would stay at her side to protect her from this cold and cruel world...

With Linnaeus curled into a ball, not fighting back at all, the older boy snorted through his nose before spitting on the side of his head and saying, "This is your last warning, Lin. The next time I catch you trying to snitch food in my territory, don't blame me for what happens..."

Following his words, the boy kicked Linnaeus hard in the stomach, causing a small icon hovering above the latter's head to decrease before flashing red. This was only something visible to people actively engaged in combat, allowing them to determine the remaining health and status of their opponent. Since killing Linnaeus would cause unnecessary tensions among his group, the bully was content just teaching him a lesson and embarrassing him.

While the group began moving away from him, Linnaeus looked at the small icons within his vision, his golden eyes momentarily losing their light. He hadn't even stolen the bread that they clawed out of his hands as, with his weak and emaciated figure, combined with his uncharacteristic appearance, an Old Crone had taken pity on him. Now, as if having ascended to Heaven, only to find out it was the stairway to Hell, Linnaeus couldn't help but release a few tears as he saw his own Status...

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[Status]

Name: Linnaeus Finnian

Title: Street Urchin(+1 Con +1 Dex, +1 Wis Per Level. Half Free Attributes Per Level]

Race: Hume(50%), Manalyte(50%)

Age: 8

Gender: Male

Level: 3(140/300)

Health: 45/100 (Critical Health)

Soul Power: 70/70

Strength: 4-2

Constitution: 5-3

Agility: 6-3

Dexterity: 11-6

Intelligence: 5

Wisdom: 8

Spirit: 2

Charisma: 6

Luck: 3

Free Attributes: 8

Skills: [Kinu Comprehension:(-)], [Knife Mastery: LV4], [Sense Danger: LV14], [Presence Concealment: LV7]

Abilities: [Steal: LV13]

Magic: [Enhance: LV2]

[Kinu Comprehension]

Passive: Able to speak, read, and write the universal language of Lumen.

[Knife Mastery: LV4(213/400)]

Passive: Familiarity and skill with knives and daggers.

[Presence Concealment: LV7(611/700)]

Passive: Makes it harder for others to sense your presence.

[Sense Danger: LV14(89/5000]

Passive: Able to identify threats through intuition.

[Steal: LV13(2941/4000]

Cost: 20 SP

Active: Allows the user to steal an item from a target's equipment slots of inventory. Success rate dependent on Skill Level, Dexterity, and Luck.

[Enhance: LV2(11/20)]

Cost: 20 SP

Active: Empower a single attribute by 10%.

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When a person dropped below half their total health, which could only be replenished through rest, consuming food, or ingesting special items, all of their physical parameters would be reduced by half. You would also fall into a state where any strenuous actions could further reduce your health and, with natural regeneration voided during the (Critical Health) state, it meant there was a fair chance he would die if not treated. Unfortunately, as resources were already rare in the slums, the only thing he received from those in passing were eyes of pity or contempt...

With no other choice, as he would otherwise die, Linneaus clenched his teeth as he focused on his Status. Using one of his precious Free Attribute points, he increased his Constitution to 6, granting him an additional twenty Health. This brought the values to 65/120, removing him from his [Critical Health] state and restoring his passive regeneration.

Feeling most of the pain fade away, Linneaus breathed a sigh, even as he lamented having to use a Free Attribute point. It was common knowledge that you should save them until you could either reach a threshold or learn a unique Skill. Since he only got half the usual amount of points compared to normal people, Linneaus felt the loss more than most, causing his mood to turn solemn.

Shaking his head to clear his darker thoughts, Linneaus lifted himself from the dirt, not minding the stains in his patchwork clothing. Then, moving outside of the Blue Bird's territory, the name of the local gang of Street Urchins, he made his way to a small bridge that spanned one of the hundreds of waterways dotting the slums like veins on the arm of a Skoon addict.

During his short journey towards the small hovel-style orphanage he called home, Linneaus' kept his head low. Even then, most people weren't foolish enough to get too close to him, knowing full well they would lose one of their possessions if they dropped their guard for even a moment. This was the reason he needed to venture into other territories as, even if he had money to exchange, most vendors wouldn't even allow him into their stores in his own district.

Fortunately, just as he was about to give up and return empty-handed, a glistening morsel entered into Linnaeus' vision, causing the dark pupils of his golden irises to contract. There, rustling through the waste piles that had yet to be disposed of by the Cleaners, a skinny rat could be seen. Though the former Street Urchin, a boy named Thomas, had stolen his knife, Linnaeus wasn't willing to waste this rare opportunity. While acting as natural as possible, trying not to draw attention to himself, Linneaus snaked his way towards the alley before using his [Enhance] magic.

Though it was invisible to most, some were able to see blue runes visible through the tattered patchwork of Linnaeus' trousers. As [Enhance] magic was one of the most common types, used by the vast majority of races throughout Lumen, it was easy to identify at a glance. Because of this, a youth of around sixteen years old, having a lean body, long legs, and a thin layer of speckled fur covering their body, moved like a blur after seeing what Linneaus had found.

Feeling his [Sense Danger] activate, Linnaeus immediately gave up on trying to capture the rat. He moved to the side as fast as he could, just in time to see a Vulna woman, a species known for their Agility and their cat-like ears and tail, sprint past him. She was several times faster than he was but, at the same time that he dodged to the side, Linneaus extended his hand while activating his [Steal]. Though he would have little chance at success under normal circumstances, it was much easier to pilfer the items of people who were distracted...

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At the same time that the Vulna woman caught the rat, holding it closer to her body as she fled the pursuit of other greedy slum dwellers, Linnaeus ducked away from the chaos, quickening his steps with a downtrodden expression on his face. Though this act didn't fool, those who were able to see through him didn't particularly care about anything he might have stolen from a random homeless person.

After turning a corner, evading the few sets of eyes that had followed his actions, Linnaeus pulled his hand from his pocket, opening his palm to reveal his spoils. What he saw immediately quashed any positive emotions he had felt, causing Linnaeus' expression to turn dour as he discarded the tattered and fowl fabric to the side. The only thing he had managed to steal was a dirty piece of fabric that looked like it hadn't been washed in years. It was likely a spare washcloth given its size, meaning he had risked his life for a rag...

Shaking his head, Linnaeus did his best not to let his emotions show as, if he appeared to be a soft target, he would become just another victim within the slums. Still, he couldn't completely hide the sadness in his eyes as he dragged his feet towards the orphanage, feeling as if his entire day had been wasted...