Time seemed to stretch endlessly, sitting on the cool stone floor in the confines of the cave, pondering my predicament. I yearned for a glimpse of what lay beyond the rock, but I was frightened simultaneously.

Among the artifacts obtained from my "slaying" of the dragon, that was on death's door when I woke up, one particularly caught my eyes: "Dragon Eyes." The equipment offered a passive skill, ever available and at my disposal, but the problem was that I had no idea how to wield the power or how to master it. 

Are you confused?  Another screen popped up.

"I mean, I guess I am a little confused," I said, not once questioning where this helper came from.

I can help you. 

"Could you tell me how to use the 'Dragon's Eyes' skill?" How could this thing help?

First, take out the artifact from the storage. 

"Okay," Another blue window appeared again, that resembled a "Status Page." Players often used the Status Page to track their progress and strength while climbing the tower. A normal player starts off with very low stats and the number progressively increases as they gain experience or complete challenges. Stats can also be increased by equipping artifacts. 

Name: Adrienne Kincaid

Level: 23 

Title: Dragon Slayer, 1st Tower Ascender

HP: 3700/3700

MP: ∞/∞ (LOCKED)

-------------------------------------------------------------

Strength: 16

Intelligence: 14

Agility: 12

Sense: 21

Magic Power: XX

As I followed the notifications instructions to access the player status page, my heart skipped a beat as I examined the astonishing sight before me. My levels and stats were off the charts, surpassing any possibility of what I could have imagined. Typically only a seasoned ranker could reach level 20 this early in the game, but that would take years if not decades, or they had to have some large stroke of luck. The male lead, Sunwoo, and his group only reached level 18 on the 13th floor due to them stumbling into a hidden dungeon on the first floors and gaining a legendary artifact early on. What shocked me more was the unregistered amount of mana I had. Although this could possibly hint that I had too great of a power to recognize, the more feasible answer was that I had not received any magic power. Besides the Magic Power stat is individual from any other stat, it was one that had to be learnt by the individual overtime. With a value so great that it would be unregistered, that would have to mean that the girl's body I occupied must have learnt from the time she was born til now. Even more than that, she would've been capable of magic, inconceivable by ordinary minds. 

"I have it open," I said, refocusing myself to the task at hand, ready to attack the next chapter of this story.

Good, now look to the right. There is a tab that says PLAYER. Click on the tab.

I clicked on the tab and another large blue window flashed into my view. At the top it read my name: Adrienne Kincaid. Underneath was a large customization screen that had a 3D image of my body displayed. It was a stagnant image of me, not me now, and I am not sure when it was taken. It seemed as if it was just a soulless image of me. 

As my eyes scanned to different parts of my body, a smaller description screen would pop out. As I looked to the tattered sheet of cloth draped over my tiny frame it read: "Cloth sheet Protection: -1." Even a the barest of items had associated protection values. This item being so dirty that it was even doing my body harm when wearing it. I then scanned up to my head and another screen popped up. 

Now click on your eyes. 

I clicked on my eyes, and then I saw a new page pop up with the eyes I had equipped, and the Dragon Eyes that I had just received. I tried dragging and dropping the eyes onto my body image, then I tried to switch my eyes with the other ones on the screen as well. Neither worked. 

"How do I unequip my eyes?"

You have to take them out. 

No. It can't be. This thing on the other end of the line must have been some sort of sadistic creature, praying for my downfall. 

"You expect me to rip them out with my own hands?! Are you insane?" I screamed back at him, and it was almost as if I could feel the screen laugh back at me in my anger. I had assumed that this was some sort of odd dream, but I still, the pain that I had endured from the gash on my forehead was very real.

As soon as you put the new eyes in it won't hurt. The Dragon Eyes give you the ability to adjust your senses, so you can just numb that sense and use the magic to heal yourself. Just do it fast and then you will be fine.

It was something only a being without a sentient body would say. I reluctantly accepted the strange logic, bound by a reality that defied explanation and sense. 

I retrieved the dragon eyes out of my storage, holding them hesitantly in my lap. Closing my eyes, I sat in silence for a few moments, grappling with what I was about to do. I opened my eyes again to see another screen in front of me.

Did you plan on getting out of here anytime soon? This is hilarious. 

"Shut up! I am going to do it." With anger, I closed my eyes, mustering all the courage possible to extract my real eyes, torn between a deep sense of fear, but an even greater curiosity towards the artifact. With the screen urging me on, I dug my fingers deep into the sockets of my eyes. As I pinched each connective tissue with my tiny fingers, cutting them with the dirty tips of my nails, excruciating pain shot through my entire body. I began to convulse on the floor, shaking in a state of shock, but I was unable to stop then. I braced myself and continued pulling, feeling the unsettling sensation of my own flesh yielding to my desperate hands. With my eyes out, I could feel their cold and slimy entirety fall down into my lap. My consciousness was fading as the blood continued to poor out.  Bleeding out seemed inevitable, but I held hope that the voice was right; that all injuries could be healed after I equipped my eyes.

Yet, in my blind bloody state, I realized my mistake. How could I read the instructions? Panic enveloped me as I began fumbling around in the dark. My sticky hands searched the dirty floor for some sort of sign, but it was no use. 

"What do I do now!" I yelled in desperation. There was no response. I cried out in agony, ready for the same feeling of death to overwhelm me once again, but it didn't. 

"Shit." I could feel my salty tear drops fall down my face and hit my mouth. It was ironic, even without my eyes I cried to myself. In my sadness, I pulled at the fabric from the cloth I was wearing, ripping it from the seams, then tying it around my head. 

Time passed and the pain persisted, leaving me feeling even more stranded and alone in my endless state of dying, not quite dead, only on the edge. I nestled up in the dead corpse of the dragon, which's blood gave me the only sense of warmth in the cavernous void I was in. My body began to relax, but I woke up quickly as my head began to burn. It seemed as if, sometime, in my deep sleep I had tumbled into the ashes of the fire, breathing in the heavy smoke it gave off. I shot up, quickly grabbing my face and trying to cool it off. My hands were covered in blood, I'm unsure whether it was my own or the dragon's, but it was now cold and the sensation soothed my burns momentarily, and I fell into a deeper sleep.

I can't remember after how long I woke up, sometime in between days or months probably. But I remember the countless hours I spent ripping off the dying flesh of the monster and roasting it, and I remember even more vividly the hours I spent throwing it back up or tending to the burns I would get from the fire. 

After a long time of blindness, my other senses began to heighten. I was able to hear the trotting of wild animals that were outside, I could smell even the tiniest mouse that would stumble into the room I occupied. Even without seeing, I was conscious of every movement, every change in temperature, or change in airflow in my room. I became accustomed to the lack of seeing and learned how to 'see' in other ways.

That was it... think.

There were many species that lived in the tower. Amongst dragons, there lived giant Ogors, deers with wings, and flies the size of boulders. The most enamouring species, though were the elusive fairies. In the story, it was so seldom that any individual would encounter a fairy, it seemed as if they were only myth and fantasy. On the 35th floor, Sunwoo and his group had met a shut-in old man who had claimed to have once met a fairy that he fell in love with. He talked about her gorgeous beauty, but he shared even more about the skills of the fairies. He claimed that all fairies were blind, but they were able to use the invisible flow of magic in the world to converse with their surroundings and use their powers. 

The old geezers theories seemed laughable to the crew, as it was taught that the principle of spells was the speech behind it. Using complex words or phrases to force the mana into a certain pathway, but I remember thinking that it was possible the cockiness of Sunwoo and his friends blinded them from enlightenment.

Desperate for this end to my suffering, I focused my mind, seeking to sense the flow of mana around me. As months drifted by, I continued in my pursuit, fueled only by the rotting meat of the dragon, and the ever glowing fire that defied explanation. Finally, a sensation–a faint natural flow coursing through the cave walls, like a river winding through trees, rocks, logs. I reached my hand out to touch it. My hand felt the cold sensation, and I could see the line light up with a deep blue color. It was not as if I was actually seeing it, but it was an inexplicable 6th sense. I focused more deeply, and found new streams, with each touch its energy permeated further into my being. 

My hands grew excited and I began to tickled these streams, reorganizing them and redirecting them into different areas. I wrapped them around my body like a thick blanket and chuckled as the room which's image I had forgotten lit up through the mana flow I now controlled. 

Empowered with this new discovery, I refocused myself and begun channeling the mana into my eyes, feeling some sense of relief. I had finally found it. Mana.