1. Regression
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At midnight, January 1st, 20XX, The Tower came into being. 

[Congratulations to Humanity for completing the Tutorial Level!]

[The Tower has now been unlocked. Players, please climb the Tower for abundant rewards!]

The Earth suddenly went online.

And not very long after, Humans awakened 'Blessings', gifts given by the Tower. 

Humanity adapted quickly, and soon, 15 years had passed.

But that didn't mean humanity prospered. If you didn't awaken a powerful Blessing, you were considered useless. 

Blessings came in ranks. F was the lowest rank, while S was the highest rank. 

Players were divided into 5 classes depending on their Blessing.
Fighter, Healer, Defender, Mage and Rogue. Each class specialised in certain stats, and each class had sub-classes too. It was like choosing a character in an RPG, except that you weren't the one that chose your class.

Players gained Player Titles naturally, or through special achievements. Player Titles were what the Tower referred to you as, and were used exclusively by the Tower, no other Player could see your Player Title unless it was through a public announcement from the Tower or through the leaderboard. This was a feature employed by the Tower to keep anonymity and privacy for Players.

⸻⸻⸻⸻

I, Ye Mingyu, have lived in the Tower for approximately 10 years now. 

I was one of the first people to ever awaken a Blessing and receive a Player Title, but the Blessing made me a mere C-rank mage. Even if that was considered the average, it wasn't considered a good rank, so as expected, I had been excluded and only got the most basic of human decency shown to me.

I signed a contract with a party 10 years ago, having finally felt confident enough to challenge a floor of the Tower. But in the midst of battle, I was fatally wounded, and the party had left me for dead. The Healer claimed he wasn't able to heal me in time and so, the party fled the Tower, leaving me for dead in front of multiple monsters. The only reason as to why I survived was due to my luck, I managed to destroy the already weakened monsters with a skill. 

But then I found that I had been locked inside the Tower with no way out, so I had to spend the rest of my life inside the Tower.
But I decided that I wouldn’t die so easily.

10 years passed in this hellhole.

[Congratulations to Player 'Erstwhile King of Ice' for managing to survive 10 whole years inside the Tower! The Tower has given you the following rewards!]

[The Tower has given you the following rewards: Constellation’s Recommendation x1, Constellation’s Wish x1] 

These rewards weren’t like anything I’ve seen before. Not even the Tower’s forums had mentioned anything like this. “Does the Tower mind explaining what these rewards do? And what are Constellations?” 

[The Human equivalent of a Constellation would be called a God or a Hero.]

So it was similar to those Constellations listed in a famous novel I had read before.

[A Constellation’s Recommendation allows for the Player to choose their own class, overwriting their current class. The Constellation’s Wish allows for the Player to be granted any desire, as long as it is within the authority of the Tower.]

This was…too overpowered, wasn’t it? Just for staying in the Tower exclusively for 10 years, you’d obtain such powerful rewards. 

But then again, surviving for 10 years in the Tower wasn’t easy at all, so maybe this was a good reward for doing so. 

But now that I had the Constellation’s Wish, it’d be a waste not to use it. Especially since I’ve been dreaming about this opportunity for a long while. It looked like a glowing ball of pure light, like I was holding a star in my very hand.

“I’d like to use the Constellation’s Wish.” 

[The Tower is listening to Player ‘Erstwhile King of Ice’s wish.]

“I wish to return to January 1st, 15 years ago.”

Maybe if I hadn’t wasted 5 years of my life right after awakening, I could’ve had a much better life than simply spending 10 years in a hell like this. 

So this is why I have decided to start fresh and live my life to the fullest.

[The Tower is calculating the Player ‘Erstwhile King of Ice’s wish.]

[...]

[The Tower has deemed Player ‘Erstwhile King of Ice’s wish is within the Tower’s Authority. The Tower will now send Player ‘Erstwhile King of Ice’ 15 years back in time, on January 1st, 20XX.]

The ball of light in my hand grew brighter, and my vision was engulfed in such bright light. 

When my vision was restored, I saw my room from 15 years ago.

⸻⸻⸻⸻

I missed having a bed to sleep on. Life in the Tower meant I had to simply make do with anything, and I’d be grateful if I managed to even get a pillow.

Speaking of the Tower, the Tower has recently made the familiar announcement that rang through the heads of every future Player. 

[Congratulations to Humanity for completing the Tutorial Level!]

[The Tower has now been unlocked. Players, please climb the Tower for abundant rewards!]

This brought back fond memories, didn’t it?

That’s right, I was one of the first to awaken a Blessing, I wonder if I’ve already awakened it.
I opened my status screen. 

[Player Ye Mingyu - Status]

[Player Title: Erstwhile King of Ice]

[Titles: Survivor of the Tower, Regressor]

[Blessings: None]

Class: None]

[Inventory: Constellation’s Recommendation x1]

[Description: A Player who has personally won the Tower’s favour.]

The description was…kind of short, wasn’t it? Usually descriptions in a Player’s status would be at least a paragraph long, was this because I didn’t have a Blessing or a Class yet? 

I didn’t think my Blessing or Class would get erased the moment I returned, maybe my awakening was later than I initially thought. Another thing too, my items from the Tower seemed to have vanished, but I still have my Player Title, regular Title and Constellation’s Recommendation. It seems like I’ve also gained ‘Regressor’ as a title too.

“I’d like to use the Constellation’s Recommendation.”

[Please choose a Class. The Player may also look at sub-classes.]

There was always one Class I desperately wanted to get as a mage.

“I’d like to see the Alchemist Class.”

[Class - Alchemist]

[Description: Alchemists are masters of their craft. With their high intelligence and wisdom, they are able to produce anything they wish, from potions of varying qualities to even life. Their adaptability to any circumstance and fluency in magic allows them to make quick decisions in dire circumstances.]

[Does the Player wish to change to the Alchemist Class?]

At times like these I wished there were buttons instead of needing to give a verbal answer. 

But nonetheless, I was confident in my answer.

“Yes.”

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