The Path to Discovery

Eren leaned against the wall of the small alcove, his breathing steady but his mind racing. The labyrinthine structure of this floor had been unlike anything he had encountered so far. The twisting corridors, traps hidden in plain sight, and seemingly endless dead ends had pushed his focus to the limits.

The air here felt heavier, laced with an almost tangible hum of energy. This wasn't just a floor—it was a puzzle designed to test his patience and ingenuity.

Eren crouched and spread out the rough map he had sketched on a piece of leather salvaged from a fallen automaton. It was crude, marked with scratches and smudges of ash, but it was enough to give him some semblance of direction.

The center of the map was marked with a circle—the location of the final gate. But between him and that gate lay more than just traps and enemies.

"The clues," he muttered, staring at the glyphs etched into the walls of the corridor in front of him. "They're part of it."

Each glyph he had passed seemed to tell a fragmented story, depicting figures that could have been climbers or something far older. There were symbols of light, fire, and decay, interspersed with jagged lines and spiraling patterns that defied logical interpretation.

He pulled out the thin metal tablet he had crafted in the workshop on the previous floor. It was a basic tool, its interface capable of capturing and analyzing patterns. Holding it up to the glyphs, Eren waited as the tablet scanned the wall.

Lines of data scrolled across the screen, accompanied by faint beeps.

 Analysis Complete:

Language: Proto-Mana Script

Translation (Partial): "The key lies where the threads converge. Beware the echoes of the lost."

Eren frowned. The threads converge? The phrase could mean anything—or nothing at all. And the "echoes of the lost" was far from comforting.

Still, it was more than he'd had a moment ago. He marked the glyph on his map and pressed forward.

A Test of Ingenuity

The corridor opened into a circular chamber, its walls adorned with more glyphs. At the center stood a pedestal, atop which lay a small, shimmering orb. Surrounding the pedestal was a grid-like floor, each square pulsing faintly with light.

Eren approached cautiously, studying the setup. The room screamed "trap," but the orb radiated a soft, inviting glow that tugged at his curiosity.

He knelt, examining the edges of the grid. Each square bore a faint marking—numbers, symbols, or arrows—barely visible against the metal surface.

"A puzzle," he muttered, his analytical mind kicking into gear.

It didn't take long to deduce that stepping on the wrong squares would trigger something unpleasant. He had seen similar mechanisms during his brief time in the Phantom Gate's workshop, though none had been this elaborate.

The markings on the grid corresponded to the glyphs on the walls, but their arrangement made no immediate sense. Some appeared inverted, others mirrored. It was as though the puzzle was deliberately obscured, designed to waste time.

Eren's eyes flicked to the orb again, then back to the grid. He couldn't afford to rush.

Unveiling the Solution

He cross-referenced the glyphs on the walls with the map he had made earlier. Slowly, a pattern began to emerge—lines that connected the various symbols he had encountered throughout the floor.

"The threads converge," he repeated under his breath.

Using a piece of chalk, he carefully traced a path across the grid, stepping cautiously onto each marked square. The room's hum grew louder with each step, as if the Tower itself was watching.

When he reached the final square, the pedestal let out a faint click, and the orb floated into the air.

 Congratulations. Trial of Reason Complete. Reward: [Orb of Insight].

The system's voice echoed in his mind, and the orb descended into his hands. It was warm to the touch, and as he held it, faint tendrils of light wrapped around his fingers, sending a pulse of clarity through his mind.

The System's Whisper

Before Eren could examine the orb further, the system spoke again, but this time, something was off.

 Error. Anomaly Detected.

Designation: Flux Variant Confirmed. Additional Permissions Denied.

Eren's stomach dropped as he read the words. "Flux Variant?" What did that even mean?

 System Status Update:

Skill System Unavailable. Stat System Unavailable. Flux Status: Unstable.

The words disappeared almost as quickly as they had appeared, leaving Eren with more questions than answers.

"What the hell is a Flux?" he muttered, gripping the orb tightly.

The room fell silent once more, save for the low hum of the Tower's energy. Whatever a Flux was, it set him apart from other climbers—and not necessarily in a good way.

Eren pocketed the orb and took a deep breath. He would have to piece this together later. For now, the next challenge awaited.

Chapter 11 end