In the next moment, both Leon and Seraphine found themselves plunged into complete, blinding darkness—an absolute void where neither light nor sound existed. 𝒻𝘳ℯℯ𝑤ℯ𝒷𝘯ℴ𝓋ℯ𝘭.𝑐ℴ𝑚

Leon couldn’t sense Seraphine anywhere despite knowing she’d entered with him just seconds ago. His spatial awareness, usually so reliable and precise, detected nothing but empty black space surrounding him on all sides.

Strange. Where is she? We entered together.

Before he could worry further about their separation, golden text materialized before him in the darkness:

[Select Your Tower Designation Name]

[This name will be your identity within all tower challenges]

[Choose carefully - this cannot be changed]

A nickname? For the tower challenges?

Leon thought for only a moment before making his decision.

"Paragon."

The name was derived directly from his Class—Elemental Paragon—but he deliberately didn’t choose the full title. That complete information might be used against him later or prove seriously disadvantageous if the wrong people learned about his exact class designation.

Better safe than sorry. No reason to broadcast everything about myself to potential enemies.

The system accepted his choice immediately without question:

[Tower Designation Confirmed: Paragon]

[This name will be displayed on all tower records and leaderboards]

Somewhere else in the same dark void—completely separated from Leon—Seraphine was going through an identical process.

She simply chose her usual name without overthinking the decision. Seraphine was who she was, and she saw absolutely no reason to hide her identity for tower challenges.

I have nothing to be ashamed of. My name is my dear disciple, call me so lovingly.

She couldn’t sense Leon anywhere in this strange, isolated space either, which worried her considerably. The separation felt wrong, unnatural.

I hope we’re not separated when we actually enter the first floor proper. We should face these challenges together.

She wasn’t the only one thinking exactly that same thought.

Leon’s mind had reached the identical concerned conclusion about their potential separation during actual trials.

However, just as that worried thought formed clearly and distinctly in his mind—

[Administrator Privilege Detected]

[Special Ability Unlocked: Party Formation System]

[This privilege allows party formation even before the standard required threshold of Floor 10]

[You may invite other challengers to join your party for cooperative trials]

Leon, still floating in the dark void space, couldn’t help but smile with genuine relief seeing that notification appear.

Perfect! So we can stay together after all. The administrator status has real benefits.

He immediately tried to form a party with Seraphine, sending the mental command through the system interface with focused intention.

However, his attempt was instantly and harshly denied with a system message that flashed red:

[Party Formation Request DENIED]

[Reason: The nature of the First Floor Trial does not permit party formation under any circumstances]

[All challengers must complete Floor 1 individually, regardless of privileges or status.]

[This restriction cannot be overridden]

Leon felt disappointment and renewed worry wash through him like cold water.

Damn it. We’re going to be separated after all. No exceptions.

But he could only accept the situation and give up on the party formation idea for now. He had genuine trust and complete faith in Seraphine’s considerable abilities—she would clear the first floor without significant difficulty.

She’s already at Sage rank in terms of cultivation level. That’s genuinely impressive by any standard.

Not only that, she’s a dual elemental user with extremely high affinity in both lightning and light elements. Even in higher-tier worlds with more advanced cultivation standards and stronger competition, she would definitely be considered an exceptional talent.

He’d learned that much from reading the detailed biography of that man of culture, Lin Fan, which had contained comprehensive information about various power hierarchies and what constituted true talent across different worlds.

After the naming process finished completely for both of them—

SHIMMER! VANISH!

They both disappeared from the dark void space simultaneously, transported somewhere else entirely through mechanisms Leon couldn’t perceive.

When Leon’s eyes opened again, he found himself standing inside a massive arena structure.

The space was perfectly circular, maybe two hundred meters in diameter, with smooth, polished stone floors that reflected light like mirrors. High walls seemed to stretch impossibly upward into complete darkness overhead—no visible ceiling existed.

In front of him, floating casually in the air about fifty meters away, was only one figure.

Leon couldn’t gauge the strength of the individual in front of him at all—not even remotely. His finely-tuned instincts, usually so reliable for assessing threats, gave him absolutely nothing useful.

The figure was a man dressed in an immaculate white suit that seemed to be made of some material that shifted and shimmered with movement. He had striking purple hair that fell elegantly to his shoulders in perfectly maintained waves. Purple fur-covered ears protruded from the top of his head, twitching occasionally. A long purple tail swished lazily behind him with predatory grace.

Not human. Definitely a beastfolk from my knowledge of different species encountered so far.

The critical question racing through Leon’s enhanced mind was simple but vital: was this person really weak to the point of being completely beneath his detection threshold, or were they so unfathomably powerful that his senses couldn’t even begin to register their true Level?

Leon’s golden Divinordial heart gave him the answer immediately—it pounded with instinctive warning, beating faster than normal.

The latter. Definitely the latter. This person is monstrously, incomprehensibly strong.

The beastfolk man was looking at him lazily with half-lidded eyes, not saying anything initially. But those purple eyes carried a distinct, unmistakable hint of disdain—an expression of someone looking down at an insect crawling beneath their notice.

Leon didn’t like that condescending expression one bit at all, but he didn’t act rashly or let his anger show on his face.

Instead, he calmly activated his cosmic system’s identification function to check the man’s status and abilities—information that should be accessible.

However, the only piece of information he could actually see was the name displayed at the top:

[Velrith Moonscar]

Everything else— Age, level, Class, stats, skills, abilities, affinities—all appeared as question marks:

[Age: ???] [Level: ???] [Class: ???] [Cultivation Rank: ???] [Stats: ???] [Abilities: ???]

The very instant Leon finished that attempted probe—

FLASH!

The beastfolk’s purple eyes suddenly flashed with a strange ripple of energy that lasted only a millisecond before returning to their previous calm, expressionless state.

The obvious disdain disappeared entirely from his features, replaced now by something far more calculating and interested.

A knowing smirk slowly appeared on his face.

Shit!

Leon realized immediately he’d made a critical tactical mistake. The man had clearly detected his probing attempt despite the cosmic system’s supposedly completely undetectable nature.

How? The system should be invisible to others!

He tensed his entire body, raising his mental and physical guard to maximum alertness, ready to react to any threat.

Then a smooth, cultured voice spoke—carrying an unmistakable undertone of superiority and arrogance.

"I had initially thought a lower world filth had somehow stumbled into this sacred tower in its pitiful ambition or pathetic greed, completely ignorant of the true immensity of heaven and the genuine dangers that await the unworthy."

The beastfolk paused deliberately, his smirk widening with satisfaction.

"But it seems I was quite mistaken about certain... aspects of your situation."

He had clearly made some private conclusion in his mind based on whatever he’d detected or sensed from Leon’s probing attempt, but he didn’t voice those specific thoughts aloud.

Instead, he introduced himself with formal precision.

"I am Velrith Moonscar, mid-level administrator of this Ascension Tower and the one who will be personally conducting your trial evaluation today... Mister Paragon."