My Charity System made me too OP

The gate opened, and this time, there was no strange magic or sudden impact.

Just… cold wind.

Plain, dry air hit their faces as Leon stepped through first. What lay ahead was different from every floor they had seen before.

It looked like a battlefield. Endless and empty.

The ground was cracked, covered in old footprints, broken swords, and shattered armor. Torn banners flapped in the wind—none with any symbol or color, just blank cloth.

A flat, open land stretched far into the distance. No buildings. No monsters. Just the feeling that something big had happened here.

[Welcome to Floor 532 – Crownless March]

• Type: Memory Trial – March of the Last Climbers

• Hazard: Fatigue Build-Up – Strength drains over time

• Objective: Reach the far end of the battlefield. No help. No titles. No powers.

Note: All gear and skills temporarily sealed.

Suddenly, a message flashed in front of all of them.

"You climb not as Sovereigns, but as people."

"One last march. On your own strength."

Roselia gasped as her weapon faded from her hand.

Roman's armor disappeared. Kael's magic vanished. Naval stumbled as his sigils blinked out.

Milim cursed. "It took everything."

Leon looked down at his hands.

Even his Shell Reverb was gone.

No power.

No enhancements.

Just himself.

He turned to the others. "We move forward. Together."

The Long March Begins

They started walking.

At first, it was easy.

But after ten minutes, their legs started to ache. After an hour, their feet burned. The field seemed to stretch forever.

Then came the illusions.

They passed scenes of their past.

Leon saw his younger self again—tired, angry, almost ready to give up back when he was stuck on Floor 117. He walked past without stopping.

Kael saw a vision of his old guild leader, the one who betrayed him. He kept walking.

Roselia passed the grave of her father.

She paused—just for a second—then moved on.

Every ten minutes, a temptation appeared. A chance to stop. Rest. Or turn back.

But they didn't.

They walked.

Second Phase – The Break Point

Hours passed.

Fatigue hit harder.

Their lips dried. Muscles shook. Some of them were limping now.

The Tower wasn't attacking them with power—but with time. With weight.

Naval collapsed once. Leon helped him back up.

Roman nearly gave in when a fake version of his mother appeared and begged him to stay.

Roselia's vision started to blur, but she grabbed Leon's hand and held tight.

And Leon…

Leon kept his eyes ahead.

Not running. Not fighting.

Just walking.

Step by step.

He didn't think of the next floor.

He didn't think of victory.

He just moved.

Final Phase – The Monument

After what felt like a full day, they saw it.

A black stone monument at the very end of the field.

One by one, they reached it. Exhausted. Covered in sweat and dust. Barely standing.

Leon stepped forward and touched the stone.

The Tower spoke.

[Floor 532 – Completed]

You walked with no power.

No magic.

No titles.

You moved because you chose to.

• Trait Earned: True Will – Cannot be mind-controlled, stopped, or delayed when walking toward a goal.

• Passive Gained: Unbending – Stamina drain reduced by 70% during long-term challenges.

• Chain Protocol Node 11/12 Acquired.

Leon dropped to his knees, breathing hard.

But he smiled.

They had done it.

Only one floor remained in the Chain Protocol.

The gate to Floor 533 looked different.

It wasn't a doorway of stone or light, like the others.

It was a mirror—huge, nearly twenty feet tall. Cracked in places, covered in dust. But it shimmered, showing no reflection of the people standing in front of it.

Just a vast, empty hallway… and a faint shape at the end.

Leon stepped closer, and a system message blinked into view.

[Welcome to Floor 533 – The Final Key]

• Type: Identity Trial

• Chain Protocol Node 12/12

• Objective: Unlock the truth of your origin.

• Requirement: Enter alone.

Roselia frowned. "It's another solo trial?"

Leon nodded. "This one's mine. I'll be back soon."

Roman rested a hand on his shoulder. "We'll be waiting."

Leon took a breath and stepped through the mirror.

Inside Floor 533

The hallway stretched out in front of him, smooth metal and glass lining the walls. It wasn't like the usual Tower architecture. It looked like something far older, and more advanced.

As he walked forward, lights flickered on one by one.

The walls began showing him images.

His life.

From the moment he entered the Tower…

To the early days on Floor 1.

The friends he lost. The allies he made. The moments where he almost died, and the moments he chose to live.

He kept walking.

At the end of the hall, a sealed door waited, glowing with faint gold energy. A voice, calm and mechanical, echoed around him.

"State your name."

Leon didn't hesitate. "Leon Aetheren."

"Do you know what you are?"

He frowned. "I'm a climber. An Ascender."

"Incorrect. You are the last living heir of the Tower's Root Protocol."

Leon's eyes narrowed. "What does that mean?"

The door slowly opened.

The Core Room

The space inside was massive, filled with floating lights and a large terminal in the center. In the middle of the room stood a figure—tall, armored, but not hostile.

Its voice was calm. Not human.

"I am Archivist Theta. I've been waiting."

Leon approached. "Waiting for what?"

"For the Chain to complete. For the Final Key to arrive."

The room shifted—walls pulling back to reveal a massive screen showing the Tower from the outside. A huge structure spiraling up into endless clouds. But then…

The screen zoomed out further.

The Tower wasn't just a place.

It was a prison.

A seal. A lock.

And Leon was its key.

The Truth

"You were born not just to climb, Leon Aetheren. You were engineered. Grown from the Source DNA of the first Ascender who ever reached the summit."

"Your path was not chance. It was part of a cycle. Every thousand years, a new 'Leon' is born. And only one ever finishes the climb."

Leon was silent.

"Why me?"

"Because you survived. The others broke. Gave up. Were erased. But you… kept going."

Leon looked up at the core structure, heart heavy. "So now what?"

"Now, you decide. Use the Final Key. Unlock the Tower's true summit. Or destroy it… and everything inside."

"It's your choice."

Leon stood before the console.

All he had been through.

Every floor.

Every fight.

Every friend.

Every death.

All of it… led here.

He reached forward.

And touched the Final Key slot.

[Floor 533 – Completed]

• Final Chain Protocol Node Acquired

• Secret Floor Access: Unlocked

True Summit: Floor 534 – Origin Gate

Leon turned around.

"I'm not ending anything yet."

"I'm going to see what's beyond."