The Dark Pillar Tower

Aaron stepped ahead along the path to follow the purple energy direction emitted earlier. The closer Aaron walked, the stronger he felt the purple energy typical of the darkness attribute.

Among the four, it was strange that Aaron could only see the purple energy flow. That further convinced Aaron that this purple energy was intended for him.

The path had several intersections; an ordinary person without direction might get lost. But, it was different with Aaron. He wouldn't get lost easily if the purple light still appeared.

'Where exactly is the center of this purple light?' asked Aaron, confused.

They continued to walk after Aaron even though they had no idea where Aaron was heading. Natasha looked at Aaron anxiously, feeling really uncomfortable about this situation.

Aaron turned right at the second intersection. The purple energy aura was getting bigger and smelled stronger.

The young man stopped for a moment when his nose wasn't used to smelling such a pungent smell. It made Jackson wonder.

Aaron forced himself to walk forward, and he saw a pile of human bones with no flesh remaining. Natasha and Elisa were startled with widened eyes.

"What happened? Who is he?" asked Elisa, shocked.

"It looks like he's an adventurer trapped inside the tower maze for years."

Jackson stepped forward beside Aaron. He crouched with both eyes fixed, staring intently at the human bones.

"He was an adult male, around 27 years old when he died. From the equipment around him, he was obviously a mage."

Natasha and Elisa listened carefully. There were no precious items in the pile of bones, but what made Aaron able to find him was something that was a mystery.

"What made you able to find this place, Aaron?"

"Just my instincts and feelings, Jackson."

While they were talking, a sparkling purple light emerged from the center of the bone skeleton. The dazzling light sparked Jackson and Aaron's curiosity. 

Elisa forbade them from holding the orb of purple light. But, because of Aaron's great impulse and curiosity about the purple aura and its connection to his talent, Aaron reached out and grasped the orb of purple light with his hand.

"Aaron, your hand!"

[WARNING!]

[Dark Pillar Tower's Teleportation Orb activated]

[Synchronization of dark energy power begins]

[1%]

[100%]

[Synchronization complete]

[Start teleporting user to Dark Pillar Tower]

Aaron watched his left arm fade and vaporised into purple particles floating into the sky. Jackson pushed away the orb of purple light so Aaron's teleportation process would fail. But once activated and synchronized, the teleportation was impossible to undo.

Natasha stepped closer to Aaron, holding his chest and face with teary eyes. She had never thought Aaron would experience something like this; it was beyond Natasha's comprehension.

"What happened to you?" Natasha asked.

"I don't know. But you have nothing to worry about. I can definitely return."

Half of Aaron's body vaporized into particles of purple light. During the process, Aaron didn't feel any pain or anything. All he felt was a numb sensation in the part of his body that had vaporized.

"Don't leave, Aaron," Natasha pleaded, crying as she realized Aaron was leaving.

"I'll be back."

"That's my promise to you."

"Wait for me, Natasha."

In the end, Aaron's entire body disappeared and evaporated into the air. Natasha fell to her knees with both hands covering her face, feeling deeply lost at Aaron's disappearance. Jackson had never expected something like this to happen.

"There are a lot of mysteries in this place. From the earlier pop-up system, he just teleported to the Dark Pillar Tower."

"We have to find information about The Dark Pillar Tower to save Aaron," Elisa explained.

Hearing the name Dark Pillar Tower made Natasha remember a lesson taught by Instructor Melinda. It was said that there were 200 floors in the pillar tower, but the ones often explored were the common pillar towers, while the Dark Pillar Tower was not used.

"About that... Instructor Melinda explained it to me in class once. It seems like she knows something."

"Alright. After we finish the monster raid, we'll go visit her."

Elsewhere, Aaron opened his eyes and saw he was alone in a damp and quite dark cave. His hands and entire body returned to normal, but he no longer held the purple teleportation orb.

[Warning!]

[Host level does not match the minimum level of Dark Pillar Tower adventurers]

[Warning!]

[Host level does not match the minimum level of Dark Pillar Tower adventurers]

"Dark Pillar Tower?"

Aaron stood up from his seat and stepped out from inside the cave. Just before his feet stepped away, he was shocked by the appearance of thousands of monsters with large sizes and high levels.

[Welcome to the Dark Pillar Tower]

[Dark Pillar Tower]

[Monsters: Lv.30-???]

[Dark Tower Pillar Portal Countdown closes:]

[-]

'This is insane! I had trouble fighting Lv.1 monsters. Now, I have to face Lv.30 monsters?' Aaron asked, shocked.

'Maybe Aerith knows something.'

Aaron again stepped back and stayed silent inside the cave. He called out Aerith's name several times, the Dark Dimension's ruler girl. 

Aaron called out to her in a loud voice, causing many large-sized monsters to be lured nearby.

"It seems like a waste to call out her name here."

"Who said it was a waste?"

A Dark Dimensional rift appeared outside the cave where Aaron had taken cover. The figure of a girl in a black dress and red hair emerged from within the rift with a terrifying yet captivating aura.

The monsters instantly ran around in fear, realizing there was a figure stronger than them, leaving Aaron in astonishment.

"Aerith."

"Aaron. How did you get stuck here?" asked Aerith, glancing around her and feeling like this place didn't suit her.

"Trapped? Are people who enter here said to be trapped?"

"Only those who make it through the 100-floor depth can leave here. However, there's nothing in the history of humans being able to do so," Aerith explained, still floating in the air and reluctant to put her feet on the smelly, dirty, and slimy ground like this.

Aaron gasped, his body immediately turning limp as he sat against the cave wall. If he was indeed trapped here, then it would take years for him to be freed.

"Put that aside for now. The lowest level monster here is Lv.30, while I'm still Lv.20."

"I want to try out my sub talents, but my mana capacity is lacking or insufficient to use even the lowest sub talents."

Aerith looked at Aaron, who looked listless, limp, and lackluster as if he already knew that his fate was sealed when he was trapped here. The girl took one step forward and was right before Aaron in a flash of purple light.

"You don't deserve to be here."

"But because of my existence, you can be saved. Be grateful, Aaron."

Aerith stretched her hand forward to shoot out a purple light filled with Aerith's high power. Aaron received the power and seemed to enter through his forehead. He felt a great amount of power flowing through the veins in his body.

[Profile Status:]

[Name: Aaron Lewis]

[Age: 18]

[Level: 20]

[HP: 2200/2200]

[MP: 2400/2400]

[Additional MP: 300.000 MP]

[Mage Level: Apprentice Mage]

[Race: High Human]

[Title: -]

[Money: 1400 RL]

"Additional MP?" asked Aaron, confused.

"It's a method to increase one's MP if the talent is higher than the user's level. It's common in other worlds," Aerith explained.

"You have to make sure that when the Additional MP runs out, you have enough MP to use your sub talents."

Aaron smiled and regained his enthusiasm. His level was still low, but with an additional MP like this, he would have the ability to bring out the power of his sub talents.

Since she had nothing else to do, Aerith opened the dark dimensional rift and went to say goodbye to Aaron.

"If you've made it out after conquering 100 floors of depth, then you'll get a new title," Aerith explained.

"What's that?" asked Aaron.

"Dark Ruler!"