Investment

『Chronicles of the Blood Tower』

'Hmm… from the information I received from Mathis there's a lot to look at. Mana seems to be a power only accessible in the Tower, hence why the Blood core doesn't seem to be detected. That being said, I don't see much investment in going down the warrior branch..'

Rasmus felt that while looking at the pros and cons of the three branches of jobs there wasn't much of a need to go down the warrior route. He figured he would rather trust his uncounted days of time in the barren plains and figured his combat skills to be pretty much top notch.

Going down the warrior path would quite literally be a very strong tool, but also at the same time make his weaknesses extremely apparent to others. There were specializations in crafting and what not within the warrior path surprisingly, but he found that there was no need to do something like that because his mind and body was ingrained with killing and surviving in that hell-like planet.

Through the multiple reasons he thought in his head he narrowed down his options to the remaining 2 branches.

'Casting or Healing?'

Rasmus was constantly questioning his choice here but a thought struck him like lightning.

What was the point in healing if he had the regeneration of a hydra through his Blood Aura. He could activate his Blood Aura even without exposing the core to others' eyes. Although, he was incredibly excited at the fact he would be able to meet other people and he would be able to interact more with them by becoming a healer, something was telling him in his mind that he shouldn't trust this place at all costs. Not only that, if you took the fact he had been alone for too many years to count, there was no point in relying on others.

He had decided.

Rasmus selected the Caster branch and a sudden list of specializations popped up on the tol.

1-Elementalist

2-Soul Magician

3-Necromancer

4-Circle Magician

5-Sword Mage

6-Illusion Mage

…..

Over the list of several options Rasmus looked over the several options and read their descriptions over carefully. If he was being honest there was nothing too appealing to him as he looked over the list of options. Though, the several descriptions of each job specialization really did strike out to him as he never imagined such things being possible with just his blood aura. He mulled over them secretly impressed with the varying applications of mana.

As he got towards the end of the list, something struck out to him as a rather odd specialization.

...

246-Apostle of Annihilation

...

He hadn't seen any titles of apostle in any of the prior options and clicked on the title to view the description.

---

Apostle of Annihilation - Hidden Specialization

Description : The Apostle of Annihilation is only available to those who are treading the path of denial. Their very existence defies all laws set in the Tower, and this class is one of the few specializations available to holders of the key fragments.

They specialize in learning and adapting all forms of skills and spells that are focused on destruction and annihilation. The Apostle of Annihilation will have their specialization hidden from others in party, as their identities are very obscure and can bring change to the very Tower itself.

---

Rasmus had never seen such an ambiguous description in all of the specialization descriptions he had read. Though, it was incredibly enticing because he had hardened his resolve to be climbing by himself in the Tower and this specialization seemed to be perfect to use along with his Blood Aura.

As he was a very wary and cynical person by heart this would be a destructive job that would give him what he needed to utterly destroy and erase his opponents from existence. However, he decided not to be rash in deciding and read over the rest of the specializations.

Over the course of a few hours, Rasmus had finally read over all the specializations and came to his decision.

He waved his hand in the air as he had been instructed to by Mathis once he was ready to make his decision and the grey dust particles in the corridor gathered and formed the figure of Mathis.

[Oh! I see you have come to a decision already! That was quite a long time I must say, I was expecting you to dilly dally even longer because most people choose rather quickly or are pressured by their familial specialities.]

"Yes, I've decided on the Caster Branch and as for the specialization; I have chosen the Apostle of Annihilation.", Rasmus replied nonchalantly.

[I see, what an intriguing choice. Of course, it's only expected that you should take advantage of your benefits as a key holder, as the Tower can be an arduous place. This is good. Now, I'll need you to grab your Tol and place a drop of your blood to finally finish the registration with it. Naturally, you should not worry about others seeing your skills or attribute values as your Tol is yours, and yours alone to use.]

Mathis, grabbed the Tol floating in the air around Rasmus and produced a small needle from the air. He then gestured to Rasmus to come closer and allow him to prick his finger to take a drop of blood and place it on his Tol.

Rasmus naturally followed the instruction and opened his palm to face upwards as Mathis took the needle and pricked his finger. He then took his Tol and touched it lightly with the bloodied finger.

FWOOSH!

A bright light surged out from the Tol and a surge of translucent panels and screens came into view for Rasmus.

[You must be seeing your Tol's system now. Once again nobody will be able to see it except for you. It will list your attributes, skills, and personal attributes on one side and have the network on the other. The network is where you can contact others, or access information for sale through the well known organizations and guilds roaming the Tower. Not only that, you must be feeling your innate mana surging throughout your body for the first time kekeke.], Mathis spoke as he chuckled at the dazed Rasmus.

In front of Rasmus, it was as Mathis had said.

---

Name : Rasmus Trostas

Age : 16 (real age not identifiable due to distortion in time axis in host's prior location)

Class : Caster - Apostle of Annihilation

Level : 0

Attributes -

Strength : 132

Speed : 157

Mana : 1,279 (unidentified source, system merging abundant and ambient mana within host's body)

Dexterity : 201

Stamina : 425

Status : Healthy, Holder of Key Fragment, (??? / Unidentifiable source of power within host's body), Lenoah's seal (weakening)

Skills -

1) Basic Mana Strengthening - B+

2) Tower Language - Passive

3) High speed Body Regeneration - Grade A-

4) Mana Perception - Grade S

5) (???)

….

---

Rasmus was currently too distracted to look deeply into the system as he was feeling a huge surge of power from within his chest, specifically from the blood core. It seemed like a source of power that was left untouched was now surging within him, coursing through his veins and capillaries.

[Oho! Look at this! I haven't seen such a talented Irregular like you in all my time in the Tower! You've already attained a huge quantity of Mana and have already opened up the several pathways to establish a mana circuit!], Mathis exclaimed as he looked intently at the huge surging amount of mana coming from Rasmus' body.

Mathis was inwardly shocked at the depths Rasmus was able to circulate his mana. It seemed like Rasmus had already established a circuit, and by no means an ordinary mana circuit. Most regulars had mana circuits or purchased them, but they were low quality and didn't expand to all aspects of the physical body. The ones with high rank mana circuits were the High rankers or leaders of clans, let alone the 9 current sovereigns who were the other irregulars in the Tower.

Of course the only reason Rasmus had such a deep and profound mana circuit was because he had some memories of biology back when he was in school on Earth, and had learned about basic human physiology as well as the numerous time he spent refining and utilizing his Blood Core.

However, as Rasmus was feeling the surging mana coursing through his chest along with the blood core, he felt that it was a little awkward because he couldn't feely utilize it as he could freely use his blood aura. He turned to Mathis confusedly, and asked a question.

"...I can feel this… mana you call it. It's huge and encompassing my body, seemingly strengthening me.. But, I can't make it work. It won't listen to me I think." Rasmus, stuttered, not sure of how to explain his predicament to Mathis.

[Of course, you need to start circulating it in a direction. Mana needs to have a direction or flow. Very few in number, some people are not able to flow their mana in the orthodox manner that almost all regulars do. Those people are other irregulars like you and the high rankers who can utilize laws or aura. Both of those unique powers, however, are not something you should be able to utilize as you haven't even entered the trial floor and would need some experience. But, the name they use for it is called Reverse Mana Flow. It's destructive and powerful, however it can destroy the body if used with a weak physique. For you, you should try guiding the mana to flow in a clockwise manner and you will start to feel a sense of… ownership if you will.], Mathis responded nodding his head understanding Rasmus' dilemma.

"Hm…", Rasmus muttered to himself.

'I may not have this Law power or their unique Aura as they call it but, the Blood Aura I use certainly feels like it might conflict with the mana if I use the standard manner.'

Since Mathis had told him the orthodox way of circulating mana was to guide it in a clockwise manner, Rasmus tried to guide the mana in the direction he wanted but it stopped and disobeyed him as the blood aura and mana were fighting each other off for ownership of the pathway.

Rasmus felt flustered, as he recalled what Mathis said about using reverse mana flow and how it could destroy his body if one had a weak physique. None-theless, it wasn't a problem as his very body had been restructured on a cellular level from the numerous years of survival. He started to try and guide the mana counter-clockwise and something amazing occurred.

The Mana and Blood Aura that were in conflict with each other earlier, as they were fighting for the pathway and circuitry of his body, passed through each other and melded together in a synergistic manner.

Thump...thump…

Rasmus felt an inexplicable, newfound source of energy as his mana circuit had finally been established and the synergistic effect with the blood aura gave a rampant glow from his body. His body started to glimmer in a faint scarlet and golden hue and Mathis' eyes shook with surprise, excitement, and wariness.

[How… This… No… It can't be!], Mathis cried out.

Normally one who just discovered mana, would take a year or two to practice guiding it and circulating it to be able to utilize it in skills or spells. They would be able to learn this in the time they prepared before taking the test at the Trial Floor at the bottom of the Tower. But, Rasmus, albeit being an irregular, seemingly grasped the flow of mana in one attempt and not only that! He even started to circulate it in a reverse flow which was much more powerful and destructive to enemies but also to oneself. The shocking thing about it was that his body was holding up just fine. Mathis could not believe his eyes.

'I need to grab a hold of him, he's an opportunity I can't let go to waste like those other trash who climb this tower as if they own it, this could be my chance to ascend to a higher guardian rank… No, I could even flip the entire Tower over if I have him by my side! I need to invest in him!', Mathis started to plot his several schemes thinking of what he should do to try and maintain an amicable relationship with the teen in front of him.

Rasmus, finally settled his mana's flow and opened his eyes slowly. He then turned to look at the panels that were displayed in front of him earlier.

'Lenoah's Seal (weakening)?' Rasmus felt a sharp pain in his head as he looked at the name on the panel.

The mana in his body reacted to the violent pain and started to spin faster and aid his cognitive abilities as Rasmus felt the sharp pain. Suddenly, Rasmus felt a flow of memories he had once had from back on Earth, remembering his mother, his father, the terrible experiences in the hospital, the countless times he had been beaten up and bullied by classmates. Everything.

His eyes shook with pure rage and anger.

Mathis looked at Rasmus' expression and gulped down his saliva. Rasmus recalled the stories he had heard and loved from his mother long ago. But, as he grew up he dismissed them as fairytales and folklore his mother made up to amuse him as a child. Looking at it now, something was very, VERY off. He remembered what his mother told him about the Tower, the suspicious guardians, the weird history and countless battles. But, it all forced Rasmus to deem it all as true as he saw his mother's name, Lenoah, on the panel in front of him.

As his eyes shook with pure rage and his memories came back to him, he was still in a vulnerable emotional state. But all of his emotions slowly came together to form one emotion. Pure Rage. His Blood Aura boiled with excitement.

Deep down within his soul, the flames of rage had been rekindled and were burning brightly.

He had found a place in his memories he never thought to be real, and he was going to find out everything that happened to him. If he didn't he resolved himself to utterly destroy and murder everything that tried to cross him.