Tower of Paradise

Chapter 71: Soul Reaper (2)

First, the merchant only made an appearance when the floor difficulty exceeded the average, as happened on the third level. This was because only individuals without awakening were selected by the Tower. In clearer terms, those Awakened who had obtained their powers through a stellar core would never manage to ascend the tower.

For an ordinary person, being chosen by the tower represented both a considerable risk and an extraordinary opportunity. In schools, children learned survival techniques and combat methods as a precaution against a possible disappearance. Resourceful families hired private tutors to instruct their descendants in various martial arts. Members of Awakened clans even had powerful legacies, artifacts, objects, and skills passed down through generations that had ascended the Tower.

The wealthier the family, the greater the chances of surviving and transforming into an Awakened.

However, for commoners, those without family who spent most of their days begging for sustenance instead of attending school, being chosen by the tower represented no opportunity at all. For them, it was practically equivalent to a death sentence.

Fortunately, the circumstances in which you find yourself, the tools at your disposal, and the creatures you must defeat had to be within the reach of your capabilities, at least in theory. After all, the Tower established judgments, not executions. Surviving in the Tower was arduous, extremely difficult, but not impossible. I knew this better than anyone.

Second, the acquisition of a class could only be done on the fourth floor. If you didn't acquire a class at this specific level, you would never have the opportunity again, or at least that was the information that the Eyes of the Successor had managed to discern.

— Show me the classes you have. —Keeping a prudent distance, I addressed the merchant with a firm voice.

The enigmatic vendor responded by extending his disproportionately long arm. In the folds of his dark gray robe, ethereal swirls began to form that gradually gave way to almost a dozen potions of various colors and designs.

Classes constituted a fundamental element in the structure of the world, reflecting the accumulation of growth and skills of an individual, as well as the trajectory they would follow in the future. Each path corresponded to a series of ten levels of existence that provided access to supernatural and mystical capabilities. Once an individual acquired a class, they invariably became an Ascendant of that specific path.

Meanwhile, the level of existence represented the basic hierarchical classification of Ascendants in their journey toward the divine. The higher the level, the closer the Ascendant was to divinity and the more powerful the abilities they manifested. While in the world outside the tower, the acquisition of a class depended on the type of awakening one had, the only way to obtain a class within the Tower of Paradise was through purchase with soul fragments.

Naturally, this did not imply that consuming the potion would instantly allow understanding of all aspects of the class and its abilities. The potion simply provided the aptitudes and capacity to learn it.

For example, in the case of Knights, the potion conferred the potential to develop some elemental affinity similar to that of a mage, if not previously possessed, and the ability to enhance the body through said element, such as electricity.

This was precisely the reason why Ascendants persisted in their climb up the tower. As long as they managed to survive, even the most insignificant being could eventually acquire the talent of a dragon.

— Give me this one here. —My hand decisively pointed to a particular potion that cost exactly one hundred soul fragments. The container held a purple liquid that shone more intensely than the other options. It was, without a doubt, the most expensive potion.

After completing the transaction with the merchant, a bottle suddenly appeared in my hands.

I carefully observed the gelatinous purple liquid, finding it difficult to describe with precision. As if holding something of considerable weight, I carefully uncapped the container. The aroma emanating from the potion was subtle, almost ethereal.

I inhaled deeply. Evoking memories of my childhood, I brought the opaque bottle to my lips and tilted my head to ingest its contents in one gulp, as if it were a bitter medicine.

A refreshing, smooth sensation instantly invaded my oral cavity, descending down my throat until reaching my stomach.

The viscous purple liquid seemed to develop thin, extensive tentacles, providing a cold stimulation to every cell in my organism.

I couldn't help but shudder as my vision became blurry. At that precise moment, my body began to radiate an intense golden light, bright enough to momentarily blind me. All colors seemed to suddenly intensify. Reds acquired an incomparable vividness, blues an unfathomable depth, and blacks an absolute density. These exacerbated colors intermingled like in a complex impressionist painting.

My vision progressively blurred and, although my mind experienced a strange lightness, it maintained an unusual clarity. I felt like a castaway adrift in the immensity of the ocean.

Gradually, the environment regained its sharpness. Colors returned to their original state while a grayish, diffuse mist emanated from my being.

[Congratulations! You have acquired the Soul Reaper class.]

[As a reward for acquiring a class, you have received the exclusive skill: Stellar Purification.]

***

Soul Reaper.

Undoubtedly, the most formidable combat class of all. A class lost through time. Generally, this class was considered superior to all others, and not without reason.

It was the only one that allowed its users to experience a complete transformation, granting them the ability to adopt terrifying forms of monsters or mutants. The process consisted of integrating with the souls of those they had killed through the bracelet, thus acquiring power and abilities that far exceeded those of any conventional fighter.

Its greatest advantage—and what made it so coveted—was the balanced increase of the eight different statistics by five points with each promotion, receiving twice the benefits of other classes. All this made the Reaper an extremely rare and powerful rarity, justifying its exorbitant price in the Tower market.

However, not everything was advantageous. Its main drawback was that after the first promotion it required twice as many Soul Fragments compared to other classes to make an advance. A high price for extraordinary power.

It was important to remember that the user's level of existence did not reflect their true strength. In each promotion, most classes only increased in four different categories of statistics, depending on their type, not counting luck, which remained constant. And this increase was considerably less in other difficulties of the tower, such as in easy or normal mode.

Even I had barely managed to acquire it. If I hadn't perfectly completed the previous test, I could only have dreamed of possessing it.

The moment I had been waiting for had arrived.

[Soul Fragments: 103/100]

I had enough souls to raise my existence level. I didn't hesitate and used the souls to increase my power. The energy flowed through my body, transforming into energy and increasing my strength.

First, I felt a warm energy covering me, I could feel it in my pores and at the tips of my hair. It felt comfortable, contrary to what was happening to my muscles, which were convulsing. I didn't feel pain at all. I felt how the energy in my stellar core increased. All fatigue, hunger, or thirst left at that moment as if it were a lie. I felt my muscles strengthening. My muscles were very dense and full of strength. The force I could exert was greater than before.

I sighed with satisfaction, opening the status window.