“Are you sure?” Gabriel doubted it.He had a feeling it wasn't that simple. Gabriel remembered his grandfather talking about a promising student whose fighting skills were on par with Luna and Nyx.He praised the student for being smart and quick-witted. His reflexes were also top-notch. Grandpa Ken said that this student had a natural talent for sword fighting.Considering Grandpa Ken, it was rare for him to praise someone else for their skills. The first person he admitted was better than himself was Nyx.So if Axel was really as talented as Grandpa Ken said, then why didn't he fight back against those people? Gabriel didn't believe it was to enhance his ability.That would be too stupid and risky. Unless Axel knew about the secret recording and intentionally got himself hurt to trap those who bullied him.“Yeah, he's fine. Let's go now. The kid is safe anyway, and we can put his name on the Awakened list. We'll figure out the level of his awakened power once he turns 18 since he wi
July 18, 2027.Axel came home to his quiet house. He inserted the key into the doorknob and slumped his heavy body against the wall. He was exhausted; every inch of his skin ached.When he crouched down to undo his shoelace, his stomach flared up in pain, and he groaned. This was Axel's everyday life: coming home battered and without anyone to welcome him.Axel is a seventeen-year-old high school student. He no longer lives with his family; his parents are dead. His only relative, his sole brother who used to greet him at the door with a bright smile, is now nothing but ashes inside a jar above the cabinet.Ten years ago, on July 7, 2018, a huge black Tower appeared at the center of the world. Nobody knew how it happened, nor did anyone see its appearance. It was as if the Tower had materialized out of thin air, like a magician producing a card from an empty hand.The appearance of the Tower caused a massive uproar among the public. With panic and anxiety, all citizens demanded an exp
For the entire nine years, the fact that he lacked special abilities tortured Axel. But he knew what real pain was like a year ago. His lifeless eyes drifted to the open window leading to the ceiling balcony. Memories flashed in his brain, attacking his whole being like poisonous gas. He coughed up blood and collapsed to the ground. Dead, dull eyes still continued to gaze at the balcony, as if doing so could bring back his cheerful, bright brother who would pat his head and say, "Welcome home."One year ago, on this very day, he received the news that his brother had died. His brother's guild members filled the entire yard, carrying his unrecognizable body. His limbs were horribly torn from his main body, his face utterly disfigured. It was a miracle these people could recognize his brother as their guild master, 'Nyx'. Axel, however, with just one look, immediately recognized him. Was it because they shared the same blood running in their veins? Or because they had the same genes? Th
At first, Axel was expressionless. His position, with his hands and feet tied, looked like a criminal about to be publicly executed. More like publicly humiliated. Axel’s indifferent eyes twitched. This water… something is wrong with it.“Hahahahahah, did you notice?” the boy asked with a smirk. He turned to the instructor.“I was able to learn a new method to control my ability. Earlier, that waterfall was at -2°C. I haven’t learned the technique to lower the water’s temperature, but I can control how hot the water can be. Currently, the water is at 40°C.”The boy proudly showed off the temperature reading on his holographic screen. Within a few seconds, it had reached 50°C. Then 60°C.As the temperature kept rising, Axel thrashed around. His throat was almost ripped as he screamed. The other students looked at him with uncomfortable gazes.The instructor patted the boy’s shoulder, “That’s enough, you will burn his skin.”The boy ignored the instructor’s words and stalled.“AAAAHHHH
Soon, other students from different classrooms had gathered around. The principal came to the field with other teachers.“Ah, he finally kicked the bucket.”“Isn’t he Nyx’s younger brother?”“Yes, but he didn’t awaken any special abilities, right?”“Wasn’t he the student who was used as a living target by the whole class not long ago?”“Ah, you mean during the shooting exercise? He had many of his bones broken because of that incident, right?”“How come there’s no healer who healed his injuries now? Most of his broken bones before weren’t fatal because there was a healer who took care of them.”“How did he die, anyway?”“One of his classmates boiled him to death.”The murmurs of the students were particularly distinct. Some conversations were drowned out by the ambulance that came to collect Axel’s dead body. The atmosphere was solemn, but no one felt sorry for Axel. Their expressions were sympathetic, but their thoughts did not have any space for Axel.‘Ha, so the weakling finally ki
Axel hurriedly reached out and opened the book.“This kid… If you are reading this book, it means I am dead.”Axel stiffened as he read the first sentence.“I don’t want you to be involved. The life of a Challenger is extremely dangerous. I did my best to fight and clear as many dungeon floors as I could. The Tower of Erase hasn’t unleashed its terror on the human world yet, but once it does, 70% of the population will be ‘erased’.”Erased…?“I just want you to know this is not the life I wanted for you. I live every day imagining my baby brother graduating from college, living the life of an artist that you always wanted.”Axel’s finger subconsciously touched this sentence. A slight, gentle breeze blew on his face. With a snap, a heavy, overwhelming feeling possessed him. Axel looked up in surprise.Sitting a few steps away from him was his brother. His left leg was missing. Blood continued to flow from his side. His other hand was holding onto his stomach, where the unbelievable amo
For some unknown reason, Axel could see Nyx’s thoughts. The reason for his brother’s alienation was that he didn’t want Axel to have anything to do with being a Challenger and the Tower of Erase. His goal all along was to conquer the Tower of Erase, erase it from the face of the Earth, so that normal human Axel could live a normal, happy life.Axel’s tears could not stop streaming down his face as he watched the images his brother imagined. They were filled with Axel: what he would look like when he graduated from college, when he landed a corporate job, how happy Axel would be when he introduced his girlfriend to Nyx, and what Axel would look like in a black suit as a groom when he decided to marry his girlfriend. Nyx would take care of his cute nieces and nephews.Axel finally understood that it wasn’t Nyx’s intention to isolate him. He just wanted to protect him from the bad and ugly things that make one unable to sleep for countless nights. Axel’s tears never stopped. He continued
Axel was clearly at a loss. He was already exhausted. He had experienced many strange things in one day. He had just died, then was brought back to life. Then he witnessed his brother left to die by his guildmates. Now, there were talking puppies with fox tails staring at him with ruthless red eyes. Axel could not take any more surprises and collapsed."…Crap, we scared the human.""…He’s not dead yet, right?""…With the skill finally finding its new owner, what about the demon of greed? Will it be reborn too?""…New demons using stronger skills with notorious previous owners cannot resist the temptation and become possessed. What makes this human different?""…If that happens, we’ll just eliminate him.""…But he is human. We are not allowed to interfere with human affairs.""…We will just deal with that problem once it happens."That night, Axel had nightmares. He saw himself tied up to a metal fence. He was screaming, asking for their help, but no one responded. The instructor turne