A Pyromaniac's Ascent: Nothing Fire Can't Burn

Finn nodded, sitting up straighter. "Alright. First… is all that Yukha said true?"

"More or less," Halgon replied casually.

"So, you really were listening to our conversation?" Finn pressed.

"Of course. Any conversation that happens in The Threshold, I can hear it," Halgon said. "It's like the wind whispers it to me. Processing all that information at once is easy too—one of the perks of being a demigod."

Finn frowned slightly but pressed on. "Yukha mentioned the invitation and the system. Was all of that true? And if it was, then why haven't I received them? The other candidates got theirs ten years ago—shouldn't I have gotten mine too? Did I somehow miss it?"

"Slow down, Finn," Halgon said, raising a hand to calm him. "I'll answer everything—one step at a time."

"Right. Sorry," Finn said, leaning back and taking a deep breath.

"About the invitation and the system," Halgon began. "You didn't miss anything ten years ago. You being summoned here… it wasn't planned at all. It was a sudden decision. Remember the fire? You were about to die, and someone heard your prayers. That's why you're here now, instead of burning to death."

Finn's eyes widened. "The Fire God?" he asked quickly.

"Yes," Halgon said with a nod. "I'm surprised you figured that out so quickly."

"I kind of had a feeling," Finn admitted.

"She's known about you for a long time," Halgon continued. "In fact, she wanted to give you the invitation and the system ten years ago, like the others. But as Yukha mentioned earlier, we can't interfere with Earth. Even if we gave them to you, you wouldn't have been able to receive them. That much is clear, given how clueless you are right now."

Finn frowned. "What's wrong with Earth?"

Halgon's expression turned grim. "Unfortunately, we know very little about your world. What we do know is that some kind of barrier surrounds it. A powerful force has dominion over Earth—something ancient. Perhaps… even older and stronger than the Four Great Gods."

Finn caught the hesitation in his voice. "So if you can't interfere with Earth," he asked, "how was I summoned here? And how could I even use the fire element back there?"

Halgon sighed. "That, I don't fully know," he admitted. "But it's not unheard of. Even though we can't interfere with Earth, we can observe it. In the past, there were humans like you—ones who could use elemental powers linked to the Four Gods. But as they aged, their powers gradually faded until they could no longer use them at all."

"As for how you were summoned here… my theory is that the being guarding Earth allowed it. Maybe it also heard your prayer and wanted you to live. But that's just my guess—I have no way to confirm it."

Finn's mind swirled with questions. "So I'm an outlier," he said slowly. "Has anything like this ever happened before?"

Halgon paused, his gaze distant, before finally responding.

"Yes," he said. "This isn't the first time. It happened once before—one hundred years ago, during the last Ascension Ceremony."

"You mean someone from Earth had climbed the tower before?" Finn asked.

"Yes. And he brought a huge change to the Ascension Ceremony. For the good too," Halgon replied.

"Changed it? How?" Finn asked.

"Stats, skills, affinities, leveling up. Doesn't those words sound familiar to you?" Halgon asked.

"Yes, they sound like they got ripped off straight from an RPG," Finn said, raising an eyebrow.

"That's because they were," Halgon replied with a grin.

"What do you mean?" Finn asked, intrigued.

"In the Ascension Ceremonies of the past, things were a lot more… chaotic," Halgon began. "There was no structure, no guidance. Candidates were thrown into their trials with little understanding of what was expected of them. That all changed last millennium, when that challenger from Earth arrived. He not only succeeded in conquering the tower, but he also proposed something revolutionary."

Finn leaned forward, curious.

"He suggested turning the Ascension Ceremony into something more structured," Halgon continued. "He introduced us to concepts like stats, skills, leveling up, and the system. Like an RPG game as you said. His knowledge of these ideas was so extensive that we delayed his ruling on a planet just so he could help us develop it. For ten years, he worked with us to construct what you now know as the Ascension System. Thankfully, we completed it well before we sent out the first invitations for this millennium's ceremony, which gave us time to test and refine it. It worked better than we expected—it brought order to the chaos. Everything ran smoothly once we implemented it."

Finn's jaw dropped. "You mean someone from Earth actually made it to the top? Did he have the same circumstances as me?"

If someone like him had managed to conquer the tower, maybe I had a chance too.

"Not quite," Halgon replied. "You see, when we sent him the invitation, he wasn't on Earth. He was an astronaut, and that time he was away, floating outside Earth's barrier. Because of that, we were able to integrate him into another planet, where he trained and prepared for ten years before entering the tower."

Finn couldn't believe it. If the creature guarding Earth really was as powerful as Halgon described, he wouldn't have allowed that to happen even when one of his subjects was away from Earth.

"An astronaut getting integrated into another planet? His story sounds like something out of an isekai novel. And he didn't even need convincing? You didn't kidnap him did you?"

"Not at all," Halgon said, chuckling. "He was enthusiastic, almost unnervingly so. He had no strong attachments to Earth and was eager for the challenge."

Finn smirked. That guy's the protagonist of a light novel, for sure.

"And where is he now?" Finn asked, genuinely interested in the astronaut's fate.

"He's ruling his own planet," Halgon said. "He's been its leader ever since we finished the Ascension System."

"I see." Finn let the information sink in before asking the question burning in his mind. "So what about me? Will I still get the system?"

"Of course," Halgon said with a smile. "In fact, do you want to receive it now?"

"Yes!" Finn said, jumping to his feet.

Halgon laughed heartily. "Are humans always this eager, or are you two just the exceptions?"

Finn grinned. "So, how do I get it?"

Before Halgon could respond, a transparent screen materialized in front of Finn:

ACCEPT INVITATION TO TOWER OF ASCENSION?

"Do I just say yes?" Finn asked, glancing at Halgon.

"You can say it out loud or just think it," Halgon replied.

Without hesitation, Finn mentally said, Yes.

Another screen immediately replaced the first:

ACCEPT THE ASCENSION SYSTEM?

Again, Finn responded with a silent, Yes.

This time, a familiar-looking loading screen appeared:

LOADING . . .

It even had the classic dotted animation, though Finn couldn't help but think it needed a tip at the bottom to feel like a proper game. His heart raced as the anticipation built.

Finally, the screen shifted:

IMPLEMENTATION SUCCESSFUL.

Finn felt a surge of excitement as his status screen appeared:

Name: Finn Hayes

Health: 50/50

Mana: 45/50

Age: 21

Level: 1

Race: Human

Planet: Earth

Class: None

Elemental Affinities:

Stone: 5

Water: 5

Fire: 15

Wind: 5

Free Points: 0

Specialty:

Fire

Attributes:

Constitution: 5

Strength: 5

Perception: 5

Wisdom: 5

Free Points: 10

Skills:

None

Blessings:

[Universal Language]

Vows:

[]

Valor Points: 100

The first thing Finn noticed was his level: 1.

So, I'm really starting at level 1, huh

"Well?" Halgon asked, watching Finn's expression.

"It's… surreal," Finn said.

He glanced upward, noticing the health and mana displayed prominently at the top of the screen. Next to the numbers were colored bars—red for health and blue for mana.

It really is just like a game interface, Finn thought, his brow furrowing slightly. But something bothered him. Why isn't my mana full? I haven't even done anything yet.

Before he could dig deeper into that mystery, something else caught his attention.

Class: None

He tilted his head. So I need to choose a class for myself, he assumed, feeling a mix of curiosity and apprehension.

"How do I choose my class? Am I allowed to?" Finn asked.

"Yes," Halgon replied. "Just mentally click on it, and the options will appear."

Finn did as instructed. A list of classes appeared before him, filled with familiar names like Warrior, Knight, Archer, Mage, and Cleric, along with many others.

He immediately dismissed the melee classes. He had no training in hand-to-hand combat, and physical fitness wasn't exactly his strong suit. Sure, melee classes might offer buffs to increase his proficiency, but he didn't feel confident that even that could make up for his lack of experience.

Archers, and anything in the ranged weapon category, didn't appeal to him either. He'd never touched a bow and arrow in his life. Even in FPS games, his accuracy was laughable. The thought of relying on precision made him cringe. Those were off the table as well.

That left magic. He figured Mage would probably suit him best, but before deciding, he went through the other classes just to be thorough.

After what felt like an eternity of reading lengthy descriptions and growing increasingly disinterested, Finn gave up and turned to Halgon for advice.

"So, I'm not really proficient in melee combat or ranged combat, to be honest," Finn admitted.

"I don't think I'm suited to fighting in general. So, I'm thinking of just picking the class I'd enjoy the most instead. Which class would be best if I wanted to focus on controlling and amplifying the fire element? Burning stuff up is probably what I'd be best at, and honestly, it's what I'd enjoy the most. Plus, I'd like to learn fire-based skills too."

"In that case, Mage would be the most suitable for you," Halgon replied.

"The Mage class gives bonus stat points in Wisdom every time you level up. Wisdom increases your mana, which is essential for controlling the elements. The more mana you have, the better you'll be at handling fire."

Finn had already suspected as much, but a small part of him had hoped there might be some kind of hidden fire-specific class that would give him a unique edge.

Guess I'll have to settle for Mage

He mentally selected the Mage class, and its description appeared:

Mage: A class focused on honing one's mastery over the elements. Mages rely on elemental magic during combat, prioritizing it over physical strength or weaponry.

Class Bonus: +2 Wisdom per level

CHOOSE THIS CLASS?

After a few moments of hesitation, Finn thought, Yes.

CLASS SUCCESSFULLY CHOSEN.

With that, his status screen updated. His class now read Fire Mage instead of None.

"Why does it say Fire Mage instead of just Mage?" Finn asked.

"That happens automatically," Halgon explained.

"Your specialty—the element with the highest affinity in your status—is added to your class name. For example, Water Warrior, Wind Archer, or Fire Mage, as in your case."

"Is there any benefit to that?" Finn asked.

"Yes," Halgon replied. "If you maintain your class name—Fire Mage, in your case—beyond level 25, you'll start earning additional bonuses to your specialty. Each time you level up after 25, you'll gain an extra +2 to your Fire affinity. But that's only if you continue investing your points into Fire and keep the Fire Mage designation."

Finn nodded. The system seemed to encourage specialization, and fire was definitely where he excelled.

"Got it," Finn said. He couldn't help but feel a spark of excitement. "Fire Mage, huh? I like how that sounds."