Dual System: Ascension of A Nameless Nobody

"Err…Are you guys seeing what I'm seeing? This is a glitch with the System, right? Right?" Sol asked in a tremble.

["???" | Level 250]

He looked at the information presented by the System again, just to make sure–it wasn't his eyes playing tricks on him.

"Nah, that's a bonafide freakin' monster right there…" Yeong-Un stated in frightened awe.

Even without seeing the level attached to the dormant, bound demon, its power could be felt by its imposing aura even while it remained in slumber–its colossal breaths releasing in light tremors throughout the secluded domain.

"Why is this here?" He asked, "...Something like this isn't possible to beat, is it? What's the point?"

"...I'm startin' to think yer' little theory holds some weight, fire-head," Yeong-Un replied, "This place might not just be a dungeon for this game–it could really be some part of a different world."

"Either way…we should get out of here–really," Sol urged them, grabbing onto both of their coats as he stood by the doorway.

"For once…I'm agreein' with that instinct of yers', Sol," Yeong-Un gulped, sweating as they all did from the heat produced just by the colossal, sleeping entity's presence.

The colossal chains that bound it were a mixture of gold and silver, producing a heavenly shine as their very nature seemed to constantly burn the slumbering entity's flesh.

"Yeah, I'm not sticking around to see if this thing wakes up," he added.

Just as quickly as they came, following their instinct to live rather than their human curiosity, they left the same way they came, returning to the abandoned library with the stairs being their path once more.

Sol clutched his chest as they ascended the stairs, breathing heavily, "...That thing was crazy. Did you feel that aura? My whole body was screaming at me to get out of there."

"Normally I'd say that's par for the course with you, but…same," he said, "...Let's hope that monster stays asleep."

"If it wakes up, that's a heaping load of E-X-P!" Yeong-Un laughed.

"Yeah, totally…" He replied.

As they traveled up the stairway, they found themselves reaching what looked to be the summit of the grand tree itself–there was no longer a ceiling, but a flattened portion of the tippity-top of the colossal cedar, surrounded by its tower-sized branches that loomed over them.

"Woah…" Sol let out, looking around.

Snow-white petals rained down in a gentle manner, dancing in the air as they stood on the silver-bark flooring of the flattened top of the tree.

"Never in my life did I think I'd see crap like this," Yeong-Un said, taking in the sight.

"I'll have to agree," he added, extending his hand as he allowed one of the pale, white leaves to fall atop his palm before letting it go.

Discovering a bridge that was formed of intertwined, colossal branches from the tree, by Sol's watchful eye, they moved onward.

"Holy crap…we're high…" Sol said, holding tightly onto the natural rope suspending the bridge as he moved along its length.

A look down showcased the height at which they were at; the trees of the forest below looked like nothing more than blades of snowy grass.

At the other end of the bridge, a new domain awaited–from what he could see, it laid behind a building of heavenly quartz, decorated with golden, angelic statues that guarded it in silence.

"I'm starting to think we're biting off more than we can chew here…" Sol mumbled as he carefully stepped across the high-placed bridge.

A passing wide howled, brushing against him as the bridge trembled slightly, prompting Sol to momentarily squeal out as he held tightly onto the ropes.

After the high-altitude winds settled, artificially born within the domain seemingly, Yeong-Un looked back at him with an annoyed raise of his eyebrow, "It's a bit too late for that, dontcha' know?"

"Yeah, that guy from America told us earlier: our only way out is to find one of the designated exits–which knowing dungeons in this world…It's not going to come easy," he added.

Sol breathed out, holding onto the ropes tightly with a trembling body as he scooted down the bridge, "...Can't you guys just lie and give me good news?!"

"No can do," he laughed.

Keeping his hands tucked into the pockets of his sleek, black uniform with his azure head pulled up, he reached the end of the bridge alongside Yeong-Un, having to wait an extra minute for Sol to crawl his way over.

"What aren't you afraid of, exactly?" He asked.

Sol caught his breath, adjusting his red headband as he straightened himself out, "...A lot of things! Heights are just another beast, Jeong-Hui!"

"Sure, sure…" He smiled.

Turning his sights to what laid ahead, the entrance to the next area was both inviting and daunting, standing as a towering dooray that stood at least ten meters tall, plated with gold and silver decorations inlaid into the pure quartz.

It was impossible to see past the doorway itself as a thick fog clung to it, purposefully obscuring their sight as they were left with only one choice: to move forward.

"I feel like I'm wastin' my breath sayin' this by this point, but…" Yeong-Un began saying, drawing just one of his dual spellblades, "...Be on yer' guard. Dunno what's on the other side of that doorway."

"Right…" Sol gulped, holding his silver spear tightly as he followed behind the two.

Even for him, he felt stepping through the fog gate was a daunting task; through the experience with the falling world and the Sky Dungeon itself–the possibilities were endless for what could be awaiting them on the other side.

Yeong-Un stepped through first, as if having something to prove as he wore a readied smile, with him following second, and Sol crawling in last against his better judgment.

Stepping through the fog gate resulted in an odd sensation momentarily holding his body; the seraphic fog felt as if many fingers ran across his body, caressing him and gently pushing him forward to the other side.

"Eurgh…Not gonna get used to that…" He muttered, stepping onto the other side of the enigmatic gate.

"Definitely a waker-upper," Yeong-Un agreed, rubbing his own head a bit.

Sol came out, bumping into his back as he stumbled forward a bit, prompting him to glance back at his amber-eyed companion.

"Be careful, will you?" He said with a small laugh.

"My bad," Sol nodded.

The domain they found themselves in was already a mind-boggling one; an area that left them with little clue as to where to actually go.

It was an illustrious, white-and-gold room of lavish decor; bearing spring fountains that flowed freely into separated pools of the clear water while perfectly-trimmed hedges stood along the quartz-tiled walkways.

"...Now this is a problem," he said quietly.

There were tall stairs on each side of the lavish chamber, leading to four different passages on the second floor, and another four on the bottom floor.

"That's a lotta options," Yeong-Un scratched his ear, "Where the hell do we go?"

"Hmm…Looks like we'll have to go with our gut on this one," he deduced, putting his hand to his chin.

"Sounds good to me," Yeong-Un smirked.

"It does?!" Sol added.

After looking through the utopian chamber, there didn't seem to be a clear difference between any of the eight corridors from their initial length.

"...Alright, I say the left on the top," he suggested.

"I say straight-and-center!" Yeong-Un suggested his own, slapping his own bicep with a smile.

"...I'll go with bottom-right…" Sol hesitantly added.

–All different answers from each of them. With conflicting ideas on where to go, though all unfounded, there was only one solution.

"If you…!"

"Don't do it…!"

"You'll lose–!"

In unison, they all yelled out the chant, standing in a small circle before bringing their hands down:

He picked scissors, holding a smile that quickly dimmed.

Sol selected scissors as well, wincing as the result of the decision-making game.

Yeong-Un picked rock, holding his fist tightly shut with a smirk.

"Victory–!" Yeong-Un celebrated, holding his victorious fist up in the air, "Ha-ha-ha!"

As if it were more serious than it was, the wild-haired, blue-nailed man gloated with a triumphant laugh, filling the vast, rich domain.

"Yeah, yeah, whatever…so that's our path then," he said with a sigh, looking ahead.

As chosen, it was the passageway directly forward from the way they came in–plain and simple, just like how Yeong-Un preferred to do things.

The entire time they marched over to the centermost passageway, Yeong-Un continued to laugh quietly at his clear, decisive victory over the other two in the game of chance, leading the trio towards the chosen path.

It took twenty minutes of pursuing the exact same length before they finally entered into the area awaiting the snow-white corridor: a distorted landscape.

Similar to the heavenly forest, it was a domain of nature, however, while trees sprouted from the ground floor, they also stretched out from the walls, twisted and curved in a mystical fashion.

"...Err, this scenery makes me want to puke…" Sol held his hand over his mouth.

It made little sense; a wind occupied the wild domain, causing the sideways trees to sway up-and-down as the iridescent leaves danced around.

A hum filled the circular domain; verdant grass sprouted with lush vigor, stretching across all walls indifferently, contrary to the ivory fields of the previous stretch of nature.

Simply, all sides of the chamber were presented as if being the ground floor–a confusing, mind-boggling concept for the trio who stood there, taking in the fantastical scenery.

"I can attest to that…" He muttered.

He looked up above, seeing there were even upside-down trees, and more perplexing, a clear lake that inhabited what should be the ceiling.

"Are they tryin' to fuck with our heads?!" Yeong-Un let out, marching forward as he looked around.

Flowers the size of them stood tall, exhibiting a rainbow of colors and petals of all shapes–some hexagonal, some circular, and some even triangular.

"Be careful…I've got no clue what this place is about," he said.