Leo was dusting himself off, ribs still aching from the sparring construct's final strike, when one of the guards approached.
He was tall, clad in the deep charcoal uniform of the Tower enforcers, the golden insignia on his shoulder glinting in the light. His posture was relaxed, but there was a distinct sharpness in his eyes—the kind of gaze that saw things.
"Nice spearwork," the guard said casually, hands behind his back.
Leo straightened a little, trying not to wince. "Didn't land a hit."
"Didn't matter." The guard gave a small, approving nod. "You kept up. Last ten who tried didn't last five seconds."
Leo glanced past him toward the other two guards still stationed near the sparring unit. "You all just… stand around watching people get beat up for fun?"
The guard gave a soft, amused snort. "Something like that."
Then, after a beat, he added, "We're seeing what new members we might be getting soon. It's only two more trials to Floor Five, after all."
Leo's brow furrowed. "Members of what?"
The guard gave a faint, knowing smile, but didn't answer directly. "Let's just say the Tower doesn't waste potential. Especially not from those who make it through four floors and still come out sharper."
He took a step closer, voice dropping just enough to feel personal. "You've been noticed, Leo. That's not nothing."
Leo's eyes narrowed. "So what—I'm on a list now?"
"Maybe," the guard said with a shrug. "But don't get ahead of yourself."
He paused, his tone hardening.
"You've got three qi points. That's good—better than most. But the fifth floor? That's where people stop climbing. Not because they fail. Because they choose to stop. Because they can't push further. They settle. They survive. And they stay."
The guard glanced toward the horizon, where the sky above the Tower shimmered faintly.
"Once you're stuck there, that's it. No more advancement. No way back. The Tower becomes your world—and you belong to it."
He looked back at Leo.
"If you want to keep climbing, you're going to need more than talent. You need pressure. Hunger. And more qi points. Fast."
Then he turned and walked away, voice fading into the wind.
"Climb smart, spearboy. Or get comfortable being trapped."
The guard's words lingered in Leo's mind long after the man had vanished.
"Most people stop climbing.""The Tower becomes your world.""You need more qi points. Fast."
He couldn't shake it—not while he ate, not while he walked the training paths, not even when Mira cracked a rare joke that would've made him laugh a week ago. Something had shifted inside him.
It wasn't just about survival anymore.
It was about momentum.
About not stopping. Never stopping.
So Leo trained.
He cut down his hours of sleep to a threadbare minimum. His days were carved into brutal segments—refining spear forms, meditating on will, cycling qi until his veins ached, and challenging his perception of flow and reaction again and again.
He ran drills beneath moonlight. Practiced footwork until his toes bled. Replayed every fight in his mind until he could recite the patterns of enemy movement like scripture.
Mira and Aric noticed.
They didn't say anything. But they watched.
And Leo didn't care about appearances anymore. He wasn't doing it to prove something to them—or even to himself.
He was doing it because he had to.
The fifth floor loomed ahead like a cliff, and he didn't intend to crash into it with three qi points.
The breakthrough came in silence.
It was just past dawn, the third morning before the next trial.
Leo was alone in the clearing, spear resting against his shoulder, eyes closed in steady meditation. His breath flowed evenly, qi pulsing gently through his meridians, and for once—his mind wasn't chasing it.
It was aligned.
And then he felt it.
A pull.
Not violent. Not forced.
Just there—the next gate, like a door slightly ajar waiting for him to step through.
Leo didn't gasp.
He didn't flare his aura or scream triumphantly.
He just leaned into it.
And his fourth qi point opened.
Heat surged through his limbs. His breath caught for a moment as the flow of power multiplied—not linearly, but exponentially. His spine straightened. The pressure in his core deepened, concentrated.
His body was qi flowing through it and his sense now he barely even needed to concentrate to sense the fire and space essence around
With a smile Leo picked up his spear going to find Mira and Aric, it might of been last minute but at least for now he was keeping up