William stood there, beer still in hand, eyes fixed on the countdown. His brain spun with wild guesses.

’Will it be a swirling blue portal that suddenly appears like in those novels and comics? Or maybe some kind of summoning magic circle, just like the ones in anime?’

As the timer hit zero, a deep bell rang three times. it was heavy, like the kind in Chinese temples. William glanced up and muttered, "Is someone up there screwing with us using..." Before he could finish, he vanished from his room, along with everyone else aged twenty to forty-five.

William had no clue what happened next. He couldn’t see, couldn’t feel, he wasn’t even sure he was alive. Time meant jack all.

Then, slowly, sensation crept back in. Something soft pressed against his back, and even with his eyes shut, he sensed light trickling through his eyelids.

He opened his eyes and found himself lying in the middle of open grassland. Standing up, he took in the view, a circular field carpeted with grass. In the center stood a ten-meter-tall tree, surrounded by a riot of colorful blooms.

The grassland wasn’t small; it was about a hundred meters on all sides, like standing in the middle of a football field.

William lingered, taking in the view. No walls, no ceiling, just a dome of blue sky like Earth. No sun, but the sky glowed with gentle warmth. A soft breeze brushed his skin, making the place feel alive.

He’d expected some rundown shack or a wasteland surrounded by busted wooden fences. Instead, the view actually made him smile. "Well, I can’t really complain. It’s beautiful, but where’s the core or anything? All I see is grass, a single tree in the middle, and there is not even a damn fruit on it."

He couldn’t make heads or tails of his surroundings. As he wondered what the hell he was supposed to do next, the classic blue system panel blinked into existence right in front of his eyes.

[Welcome, tower lord, to the Tower Expanse.]

[Each lord has been randomly assigned a beginner tower along with its associated troops. You can check your tower’s status at the core in the center.]

[To see your own status or access other functions? Just think or say ’Status.’]

[In 30 minutes, your talent will be drawn randomly.]

[Once talents are assigned, the Ascension Trial officially begins. All lords get a three-day protection period.]

[After that, the tower trial will begin. Every three days, monsters or intelligent races will attempt to conquer your tower.]

[Your job is to stop them by either defeating or make them surrender.]

[If they conquer and break your core, the tower lord dies, along with their main troops.]

[Every time the tower trial ends. It will become more difficult than the previous one, so work hard to strengthen your towers.]

William’s eyes, brain, and soul locked onto the notifications. He read them slow, worried he’d miss something if rushed. When he got to the last one, he muttered, "This is some serious shit. Only three days of protection, and a trial every damn three days? What if someone pulls a crap troop? They would be absolutely fucked."

With thirty minutes to kill before his talent reveals, William strolled toward the lone tree at the heart of the grassland. His mind wandered with wild guesses about what kind of troops he might end up with.

The surroundings screamed plant-based troops, maybe even elves. The second ’elves’ popped into his head, his thoughts dove straight into the pink zone. He shook himself out of it, muttering, "Hell no, my life now depends on them."

As he reached the center and got a closer look, the tree reminded him of an oak, but with thicker, vibrant green branches. It was smaller for a world tree, but beneath it, a bed of green, blue, and red flowers carpeted the ground, flooding the air with a sweet, woody scent.

A five-foot-wide, flowerless path cut straight to the trunk, maybe for the lord’s convenience, or maybe just so some idiot wouldn’t stomp all over the blooms.

He strolled down the path, eyes drifting over the riot of flowers. When he reached the tree, the artificial sky’s light was blocked by thick leaves, casting a cool shadow over him.

A gentle breeze drifted by. Up close, the tree’s trunk was as thick as his shoulders, and a subtle warmth radiated from it, almost like it was welcoming its new lord.

Without thinking, he reached out and touched the trunk. Instantly, a system panel blinked into existence in front of his eyes, displaying his Tower status.

⟡⟡⟡

Tower Lord: William Hart

Tower Core: Luminara Tree (Sapling)

Tower Floors: 3

Tier: Beginner Tower (Low)

⟡⟡⟡

Troops 𝚏𝕣𝕖𝚎𝚠𝚎𝚋𝚗𝐨𝐯𝕖𝕝.𝕔𝐨𝕞

Main Troops: Fairies (F-Rank)

Number of Troops: 0 / 20

⟡⟡⟡

Tower Traits

Lumin Dust

Grants 10 grams of dust infused with pure life energy each day. Using Lumin dust increases your health and mana regeneration by 30%.

Bloom Essences

Flowers blessed by Luminara grow naturally on the lord’s floor. Offering each flower unique boons:

Luminara Bloom (Green) — Increases health regeneration by 10% for 60 seconds.

Luminara Bloom (Blue) — Boosts mana regeneration by 10% for 60 seconds.

Luminara Bloom (Red) — Raises attack power by 20% for 60 seconds, but may leave you feeling weakened after use.

Living Seeds

Grants one Luminara-blessed seed each day. Planting it will produce a random plant-type troop after three days of growth.

⟡⟡⟡

Tier Upgrade Conditions

Wood: 0/100

Stone: 0/100

T.P (Tower Points): 100/100

Tier 1 (Intermediate) Troops: 0/2

⟡⟡⟡

As the tower status popped up, William’s eyes darted straight to the most important part: troops. When he saw his main troops, only one word slipped out: "Huh?"

He yanked his hand off the tree, then slapped it back on. He thought this was some glitch and a good old refresh might fix it.

But the answer didn’t change: Fairies. Still in denial, he refreshed the panel a third time, then a fourth. By the fifth, he just let out a weak laugh. "Ha, I’m screwed by tiny fairies. They’re usually just the damn mascots of the forest."

⟡⟡⟡

[A/N]: Please consider supporting by sending some Power Stones and Golden tickets. Your support means a lot and really helps me continue writing.