God's Tower System

Viktoria threw her arm out toward Jackson. All the reporters turned around to see who she was pointing to as she exclaimed, "Come on up, Jackson! You know you want to!"

Jackson ignored the outburst, leaning against the counter with his back to the crowd. Reporters began taking pictures of him as he gritted his teeth together, staring at the revolving doorway, praying the secretary returned quickly.

"Oh, Jackson! Don't be like that! Come on up! Answer a few questions!" Viktoria goaded as the reporters began to approach, taking more photos and excitedly chatting amongst themselves about the mysterious surprise figure.

"Jackson! Just a moment of your time!"

"Jackson! Please, just one question!"

"Jackson! Could you turn around?"

"Jackson! What's your relation to Viktoria Snow?"

He was bombarded with questions as the door swung open, the secretary jumping in shock at the congregation at her station, "Oh!"

"Please, ignore them. Can I get my CC now?" Jackson pleaded, extending his hand toward her.

"Of course, thanks to your rating of SSS, you are provided with a Black Climber's Card. Please use it wisely! Do you have any questions?" She asked with a smile, offering a small black case to the man.

"Really..?" Jackson muttered, dropping his arm in disbelief as the reporters became frenzied.

"Jackson! Are you really a SSS Ranked Climber?"

"Jackson! How's it feel to be classified as part of a very small and elite group?"

"Jackson! Please, what guild has sponsored your growth until now?"

"Jackson! Quick, turn around once for the camera!"

The reporters were emboldened at hearing the news, beginning to press against him, trying to get his attention. Jackson turned, glaring daggers at Veronika, who stood with her arms crossed and a smug grin on her face.

Jackson grabbed the case from the attendant and quickly moved away from the reporters before finally turning around and brushing his hair, "I'll answer one question; that's it!" He shouted, scanning the reporters before pointing to a nerdy-looking woman, "You."

"Hi, Jackson, I'm with TITA; everyone really only has one question for you: What guild are you associated with?" She asked confidently into her microphone before extending it to him.

"None and I don't plan to be." Jackson proclaimed before turning around and quickly dashing out of the building. He turned, catching Tara and Megan, before rushing over and grabbing both of their elbows before rapidly diving into an alley and disappearing from the streets.

The reporters ran after him, but once they exited the building, they lost all traces of him, running down the streets searching for him.

Jackson peeked out from the corner of the alleyway and sighed in relief after a brief, silent wait, grumbling to himself, "I'm gonna make her pay, if it's the last thing I do!"

"It's fine!" Tara said, dismissing his frustrations, "You should be happy to be in the spotlight! You're going to be receiving VERY lucrative deals in the coming days. You should seriously consider joining a guild."

"You don't understand..." Jackson replied, shaking his head. Tara placed both of her hands on her hip as she stared sternly at the young man.

"I'm willing to bet I understand you more than you'd think! Why don't you try me?" She huffed, flustered by the remark, "And to think, I waited here to give you a farewell gift!"

"I need the freedom right now! Guilds will restrict my movements too much!" Jackson said, rolling his eyes, "Anyways, why would you get me anything? I've never heard of previous 'graduates' receiving a gift."

"Hah!" Tara scoffed, her mouth agape at the tongue on this boy before she smiled and ruffled his hair, "I've taken care of you since you were a young boy, Jax... You're not just one of the students to me."

She smiled softly, caressing his cheek briefly before he sternly pulled away, embarrassed at the motherly affection, as she reached into her jacket and pulled out a small leather pouch and rolled-up letter, grabbing his hand and placing them into his palm.

"Please... Wait until I leave to open your gift." She said, smiling as she took a step back. Immediately, Megan stepped forward as she fiddled with her skirt again.

"Here, I got something for you too! I'm really going to miss you, Jax... I really hope you come and visit soon!" She said frantically, flustered as she bowed and held out a small box wrapped in ribbon.

"You guys..." Jackson said, choking on his words as he reached out and slowly accepted her gift.

"No! Don't say anything!" Megan spat out, her face burning red as she stood, covering her face and quickly hiding behind Miss De Loux as the young man smiled and shook his head.

"Thank you... Both, really!" Jackson said, smiling at the two women.

"Take care of yourself, Jackson! I expect to hear about your achievements real soon!" Tara said with a smile, waving as Megan regained her composure and appeared from behind her.

"I'm gonna miss you, Jax! Come back soon!" Megan said softly, waving goodbye reluctantly.

"I'll see you guys around!" Jackson said, not believing in goodbye, turning around as he stared up at God's Tower, looming over him. He had a fierce gaze as he balled his hand into a fist, fixated on the dark, ominous entryway floating high in the skies.

He turned, taking one last look at Tara and Megan as he turned the corner on the main street, disappearing from view in the crowd as he made his way to the tower.

The see-through luminescent staircase rose high above Duskgate. Jackson took his first step onto the stairs as a soft blue light emerged beneath his foot. Another step, the next stair lit up, each one dimming and shining brightly underneath each step he made.

At the top, Jackson turned around, looking far down at the city below him, no longer able to see the people running around, only seeing tiny specs of dust. He smiled, shielding his eyes from the bright sunlight as he looked out over the majestic, lush hills sprawling out in every direction.

Staring at the rotating portal before him, Jackson reached into his satchel, pulled out his father's journal, quickly flipped through the first few pages as he read aloud its contents, "Before going through the portal and stepping into God's Tower for the first time, always remember to exert the utmost caution when faced with The Guardian!"