Finn’s fiwitched, itg to test out the new skill. His mind raced with possibilities—how the Fireball might look, how much damage it could deal, how it would feel to wield such trolled power. But he quickly pushed the thought aside. The White Room wasn’t the pce for experimentation.

  Though he doubted even a fully charged Fireball could leave so much as a scrat a space as seemingly iructible as this one—especially under Halgon’s watchful eye—caution still felt like the smarter choice. He made a mental o test it ter, somewhere safer.

  Pushing the urge aside, he navigated back to the shop. His focus: basics like mana ah potions. To his relief, the lowest-tier potions were affordable, priced at just 5 VP per bottle. He quickly added a few to his cart. Yes, there was even an add to cart option, which he found oddly amusing in such a fantastical setting.

  Still, he refrained from purchasing anything else for now. Finn figured he’d ask Yukha for advice before making any major decisions. The Fireball skill was the only thing he felt fident about for the moment.

  He noticed other items in the shop, some with descriptions that hi temporary buffs. However, they were far more expensive, and Finn decided they weren’t worth sideri.

  Doh his immediate shopping, Fiuro the stats menu and scrolled down to the st ses—ones he hadn’t looked at before.

  “The Blessings. How are they different from skills?” Finn asked, gng at Halgon.

  “Blessings are bestowed directly by the Gods,” Halgon expined. “You think of them as higher-tier passive skills. They often enhance your abilities in ways that go beyond the limits of ordinary skills.”

  “And how do I get more of them?” Finn asked.

  “By earning the favor of the Gods,” Halgon said. “That happen in several ways. Sometimes, a God might take notice of an a you perform and grant you favor directly. Other times, they’ll assign you quests. pleting those quests may earn you rewards—anything from ons to equipment, items, or, if you’re particurly fortunate, blessings.”

  “I see.” Finn houghtfully before his gaze dropped further down. “And what about these Vows?”

  “That is a much deeper version of the Blessings,” Halgon expined. “To put it simply, a Vow is a direct pact with a God. You make a vow, and iurn, you receive something of equal worth. What you gain depends on what you’re willing to give up. However, to even be eligible to make a Vow, your retionship with a God must be very strong.”

  “I see,” Finn replied, nodding slowly.

  His brain was beginning to feel overloaded with information, but the cepts were straightforward enough to grasp. His gaming background and experiences certainly helped. Even so, there iawing at him, something he was even more curious about: the Corrupted Elementals.

  He’d heard the term repeatedly—first from Yukha, then from Halgon. He’d gathered that they were dangerous, hostile, and likely out to kill him, but beyond that, he was in the dark. The self hi something tainted or corrupted, but the “Elementals” part left him clueless.

  If he wao survive, he needed more information.

  “I’ve been meaning to ask this earlier, but I got too caught up in the system. What the hell are Corrupted Elementals? And why are they out to get us?” Finn asked.

  Halgon opened his mouth to respond but suddenly froze, his gaze shifting upward, just as he had done before. Finn reized the gesture—it was likely how Halgon unicated with the Gods.

  After a few seds, Halgon finally spoke. “I’m sorry, Finn, but I’m being called baow. I may have stayed here lohan I should have. Something big is happening at the Tower, and as this year’s anizer, I o return and oversee things.”

  Finn’s brow furrowed, but Halgon tinued before he could interject. “You asked about the Corrupted Elementals, right? You ask your orpanion about them. He has plenty of experience dealing with them.”

  “Right. I fot about the tower. I remember a lot of them have already teleported there before I even got here,” Finn said.

  Halgon nodded. “Indeed. But before I send you back to The Threshold, I have something for you.”

  Finn tilted his head in curiosity as something materialized out of thin air. At first, he couldn’t reize what it was, but after a few seds, the shape became clear.

  “A coat?” Finn asked, his voice tinged with surprise.

  “This is for you, Finn. A gift,” Halgon said with a small smile.

  “From you?”

  “No,” Halgon replied. “Remember the human I told you about earlier? The one who came here before you and became a demigod? When he heard another human had been summoned, he got excited. Said he finally has a rade. He’s cheering for you to quer the Tower and ’t wait to meet you and 'talk about Earthly things'. He asked me to give this to you.”

  Finn grabbed the brown coat, running his fingers over the fabric. As he exami, glowing words appeared in front of him, h above the item.

  Keenweave Coat

  Curious, he mentally clicked the bel, and a description popped up:

  Keenweave Coat - A rare jacket woven from ented threads. Increases user’s Perception by X2 and gives 20% Elemental and Physical damage resistance.

  Finn’s eyes widened. “Isn’t that buff way to?”

  Halgon chuckled.

  “Is it allowed to give me free stuff like this? I thought only the Gods could do that,” Finn asked.

  “Anyone give didates gifts, even other didates,” Halgon replied. “As long as they afford it.”

  “That coat is expensive,” Halgon added. “It’s something that would take an ordinary challenger about a year of hunting Corrupted Elementals to afford. So you see how much excited he was by your arrival.”

  "Another yer of pressure ohen," Finn muttered, gripping the coat tightly. "Just surviving seems hard enough, and now I have someone’s expectations on top of that. But still, tell him I’ll do my best not to waste this amazing gift."

  “I’ll make sure to let him know,” Halgon said with a nod.

  "Anyway, I’ll be taking my leave now, Finn. I’ll teleport you back to The Threshold. You take as much time as you o test your system and prepare before heading to the Tower. That’s what I’d do, at least, if I were you.”

  “Thanks for the advice. But before you go, I have one final question,” Finn said.

  “What is it?” Halgon asked.

  “Do you think there’s a e to make it to the top of the Tower?” Finn asked, his voice steady but carrying a hint of uainty.

  Halgon sighed, pausing for a moment. “I don’t know, Finn. Unfortunately, I don’t have the power of fht. None do—not even the Gods.”

  His words were firm, yet tinged with empathy. “We only specute based on what we see right now. And, to be ho, at this moment, your ces look very small. I think even just surviving will be a struggle for you. My advice? Stick close to your orpanion. Follow his guidahat alone will raise your survival rate.

  “That being said,” Halgon tinued, his voice softening, “even a small ce is still a ce. The smallest stream carve a yon if it flows with purpose. Sle, Finn. Struggle even to the end. And I wish you luck.”

  With that, Halgon snapped his fingers, and his figure vanished.

  The White Room around Finn began to disie, its brilliant glow breaking apart piece by piece, swallowed by encroag darkness. He barely had time to brace himself before the familiar sensation of teleportation took hold, for the fourth time now.

  The first thing he felt was the cold wind brushing against his skin, followed by the lush green surrounding him as he opened his eyes. The vibrant greenery was a stark trast to the sterile brightness of the White Room, and it brought some relief to his vision.

  Looking around, Finn noticed the space was almost deserted. Only a handful of scattered creatures remained, making the vast emptiness eerily quiet. The biting wind gave him a slight chill, especially after the almost unnaturally perfect temperature of the White Room.

  Thankfully, Finn now had the perfect solution.

  He slipped on the coat Halgon had given him—a gift from his mysterious human ‘friend.’ It fit him surprisingly well, snug and fortable, as if tailored just for him. Gng down, Finn noticed how perfectly it plemented his gray polo shirt, denim pants, and white rubber shoes—shoes that were once covered in dark spots but now gleamed spotless, thanks to Halgon’s water magic.

  It was, admittedly, a good outfit. If only he weren’t about to walk into a Tower where it would probably be torn to shreds while he fought for his life against God-knows-what.

  As he sidered this grim reality, his hand unsciously brushed the scar on his face. For a brief moment, he wondered if the shop had something that could cover it—perhaps even an item with attribute boosts. That thought, however, would have to wait until he earned enough Valor Points. If he could eve any.

  “You look good,” Yukha said, his voice cutting through Finn’s thoughts.

  Finn grinned, a bit of fideurning to his stance. “Damn right.”

  “Where’d you get that? And why do you look so... now?” Yukha asked.

  “This coat?” Finn tugged on the fabric. “Halgon gave it to me. Said it was a gift from someone—a human like me. It has insane buffs, too. Doubles my Perception and adds some resistao physical and elemental damage. As for the liness? That was Halgon’s doing.”

  “What?!” Yukha excimed. “A buff like that is even possible? Wait... Did you say Perception? Does that mean you finally have the system now?”

  “Right again,” Finn said, his grin widening.

  “Well? Don’t keep me waiting. Tell me about it!” Yukha demanded.

  “All right, all right,” Finn said with a chuckle. “But don’t get your hopes too high. You might be a little disappointed.”

  “Just tell me already!” Yukha said.

  Finn expined everything the system had granted him, from the css he had chosen to his attributes, elemental affinities, and even the first skill he had unlocked—Fireball. He also mentioned how the Gods had amplified his affinities for the elements.

  “Choosing Mage as your css was the right decision,” Yukha said. “You are already making wise choices.”

  “When I first saw you, I thought you looked as fragile as gss. Your body was soft—untouched by battle or hardship. But the scar on your face, the dirt on your clothes, and that look in your eyes… that told a different story. You’ve experienced something. Still, I could tell you weren’t a fighter—more like aal specialist, perhaps a Mage.”

  “Well, you on the first part,” Finn replied.

  “Knowing your current attributes, though…” Yukha paused, his tone darkening. “They are parable to what a child’s might be. You have a long road ahead of you if you want to improve them.”

  Finn couldn’t help but wonder what he might have been like if he had grown up in a world like Yukha's, where fighting Corrupted Elementals art of daily life. Would he have been stronger? Hardened by the stant battles?

  “But,” Yukha tinued, stroking his thoughtfully, “your meager attributes lend some credibility to a theory I’ve had for a long time.”

  “What theory?” Finn asked.

  “It’s about the system,” Yukha said. “I believe the Gods have some way of hag into our bodies. When we first receive the system, it evaluates us based on our current physical and elemental strength—our potential at that moment. When I received mine, my attributes and affinities were far greater than yours, likely because I had spent my entire life fighting before that. The system must have analyzed our physical dition and verted it into numbers. Then, whenever we level up and assign points, it ‘hacks’ us again to improve a specific part of our bodies.”

  Finn listened closely, his curiosity piqued.

  “But here’s the thing,” Yukha tinued. “No matter how much we train, there’s a limit to how strong we aturally get. Yet the system allows us to push past that limit. When the Gods gave you extra points for your affihey essentially forced your body to surpass its natural barriers.”

  “That makes sense,” Finn said, his mind rag. “When I was a kid experimenting with fire, I remember feeling pletely drained afterward. If your theory is right, maybe I ‘ran out of mana’ back then, even though I didn’t know what mana was or even have the system yet. And that could also expin why my mana wasn’t full when I first received the system—I must’ve already used some before I was summoned here.”

  Finn remembered his desparate attempt at breaking the wall from inside his burning house with his own fire.

  “Possibly,” Yukha said with a deep chuckle. “An iing thought, but hardly useful. The system does what it does, whether we uand it or not.”

  “Fair enough,” Finn said with a shrug.

  Yukha’s tone shifted, being more anding. “Now that you have the system, I assume you’re eager to test your abilities. And do not yourself with mana—I will hahat. It’s better for you to grow familiar with your powers before we set foot ihe Tower.”