Dual System: Ascension of A Nameless Nobody

As they all grouped up together, having taken care of the den of ents, he was still perplexed by the skill just showcased.

“What was that? It was really something,” he asked.

Yeong-Un smirked, rubbing the spot between his upper lip and nose bashfully, “Right? It’s pretty damn amazin’, ain’t it?”

“I mean, what really was that? What did it do? It took out that ent instantly,” he asked, brushing off his friend’s boasts.

“Yeah, that was crazy! It popped like a balloon!” Sol said, making a motion with his hands to represent his words.

Yeong-Un seemed more than happy to explain, tapping the handles of his sheathed blades like a proud father, “Heh, that impressed, are ya’? “Vorpal Shredder” is somethin’ I picked up to handle tough bastards like those things. It stabs right through their defenses and manifests the attack inside of their body! Awesome, ain’t it?!”

“Try frightening…” He replied wryly.

“Yeah, really…” Sol shuddered at the thought.

There was no doubt about it to him, though–it was by all means an “ultimate ability”–a trump card that he was glad to have on his side.

As they talked, he looked over to see Yakeru in the process of walking away without having said a word.

“Hold on,” he called out.

“–“

Yakeru came to a stop, only halfway looking back at him. The trio were now all looking at the man.

“Why did you leave the party?” He asked.

“–” Yakeru remained silent for a moment, avoiding his gaze, “…It was a moment of weakness.”

“A moment of weakness?” Sol repeated.

“You three reminded me of some old friends, that’s all. That’s why I accepted your invitation, at first. However, it’s clear to me that my presence is a poison to you,” Yakeru said quietly.

It was difficult to gauge what the introvertive man meant by his words, prompting him to step forward and press him for a clear answer.

“What do you mean a “poison” to us?” He asked.

“As you all are right now, you’re much weaker than I am,” Yakeru told him, “…If we stick together, you’ll only learn to rely on me and be unable to adapt to hardship. While it may be beneficial for the moment, that hubris will corrupt your mind. Undeserved growth is not the path to enlightenment.”

“Weak?!” Yeong-Un let out, seemingly only hearing that one word._.

“…So that’s how it is?” He mumbled.

They could only stand there as Yakeru took his leave, who stopped once more to bestow them with sparse sayings:

“I’ll be on my way now,” Yakeru told them before issuing a warning, “…I’d wait a few minutes before ascending to the next floor of this tree. You might end up in my crossfire.”

Just like that, the cybernetic, enigmatic man was gone, vanishing up the next staircase as they were left perplexed by the oddities of the man.

“What the hell was all of that about? He thinks he’s better than us, or something?” Yeong-Un folded his muscular, scarred arms over his chest.

“…Something like that,” he sighed out, slumping his shoulders.

“Man, having somebody that strong around was nice…what a bummer,” Sol huffed.

By the time they ascended to the next floor of the great tree, heeding the warning given by the foreign man, all of the monsters present in the grandiose, mahogany chamber were already slain.

“Damn, can’t knock him for his efficiency…” Yeong-Un muttered.

Sol’s first instinct was to inspect the overgrowth-clung chests that sat on the leaf-infested library, letting out a disappointed breath, “He took all the loot, too!”

“Well, he did do all the work…” He added with a wry chuckle.

“He’s a greedy bastard, that’s all!” Yeong-Un clicked his tongue, kicking one of the oversized, wooden tables present in the colossal library.

Even from below, they could hear the floor above rattling from the swift battling that the man who abandoned them took place in, ending just as swiftly as it began after wood chips and dust snowed down from the aftermath.

Sol coughed out, closing the lid of the empty chest as he stood up, looking at the towering bookshelves that were mostly cluttered with overgrowth, “What is this place, anyway? It doesn’t feel like a dungeon. It’s sorta like…”

“An actual place where people lived? I was thinking the same thing,” he replied, stepping by the hazel-haired adolescent as he ran the fingertips of his black gloves over the leaf-clung table nearby.

“I was thinkin’ this place was pretty weird. The Defects are all weird here, too!” Yeong-Un commented.

“They don’t seem like Defects, not at all. This whole place seems like a different domain entirety than Obsidian Dungeons,” he said, “…I wonder.”

A theory popped into his mind, but it seemed outlandish to even consider past the surface level of his thoughts.

“What is it?” Sol looked at him.

“Well…What if this place is like…an alternate world created by that God? Or maybe like a preview of it,” he said, rubbing the back of his head as he fiddled with his frizzy, red hair.

“Now that’s a crazy idea,” Yeong-Un muttered roughly.

“Yeah, yeah, I know, but how do you explain all of this?” He looked up with his emerald eyes.

There was no arguing against the fact that compared to the Obsidian Dungeons, which were minimal and absent of features, the Sky Dungeon was inhabited by a variety of lively concepts, and creatures of a mystical scale.

“Doesn’t matter either way–doesn’t change the fact we’re here to cut down enemies and pick up loot,” Yeong-Un said, moving onward as he lightly kicked the toppled over table from his path, “And that gray-head bastard up there is ruining that!”

“Chill out, would ya’?” He sighed, tugging on the back of Yeong-Un’s coat to pull him away from completely stomping out the innocent woodwork, “I think Yakeru might’ve had a point, at least–we shouldn’t rely on a stranger to help us out. We came here so we wouldn’t have to rely on somebody much stronger than us, right?”

It was clear that he was right, since Yeong-Un begrudgingly fell silent like a pouting child, and Sol nodded a bit, ruffling his own tufts of brown hair.

“…I know it probably seems like a joke coming from me, but I think this is for the better…Half of me always wants to run away, but half wants to fight. That usually results in me freezing…and then picking that first half. But the half that wants to fight…I want to be able to pick that half every time,” Sol said quietly, looking away.

“Heh,” Yeong-Un let out quietly, “That’s not a half-bad resolve.”

He stepped over to Sol, patting the shoulder of his umber, dark-brown coat, “Honestly, I’m surprised you haven’t pissed your pants yet. I’d say that’s an improvement.”

Sol’s cheeks immediately went red as he slapped away his friend’s hand, “Come on! I was being serious!”

“Ha-ha-ha!” Yeong-Un laughed.

“I know, I was just kidding,” he assured Sol with a playful smile before hearing his own stomach rumble, “…Alright, I think it’s about time we have some lunch.”

Going through the intangible inventory he had, thanks to the System, he was able to manifest a few plastic-wrapped, already prepared sandwiches.

Seriously, I’d be dead without this inventory feature. Screw backpacks, he thought.

“Inkigayo?”

He said, lifting the uniquely-flavored sandwich that housed a combination of egg salad, cabbage, false crabmeat, and perhaps most peculiar of all–strawberry jam.

“Right here!” Sol called

Being tossed the sandwich, Sol enthusiastically caught it, sitting atop one of the large tables of the silent library and unwrapping it quickly.

“Barbeque Chicken is all you, then,” he said, tossing the savory sandwich to Yeong-Un, who caught it with one hand.

“Hell yeah! I’ve been waiting all mornin’ for this!” Yeong-Un said before chomping into the easy-to-carry meal.

While the other two quickly began to fill their stomachs, he unwrapped the package around the sandwich he prepared for himself.

And for me…spicy tuna and mayo. I hear it’s pretty big in Japan–I wonder if Yakeru likes this? He thought.

“Hmpf…”

He ate it quietly while sitting on the leaf-covered, wood-paneled flooring of the abnormal space. For drinks, Yeong-Un consumed a chocolate protein shake–though he didn’t admit it, it seemed he was trying his best to catch up to Korain in the department of muscles.

He’s a few inches too short, though. And like…a good forty pounds off, he thought.

As always, Sol had banana milk, or strawberry milk–whichever was on hand at the time as he gleefully drank the banana-flavored dairy drink through a straw, swinging his legs like an overgrown toddler.

And for me…water. Gotta stay hydrated, he thought.

After a few minutes into their lunch break, Yeong-Un leapt to his feet with a reinvigorated smile, slamming his knuckles together.

“Alright! I’m pumped! Let’s conquer this damn place–!” Yeong-Un called out.

Though he wanted to sit around for a bit longer, he slowly got to his feet, stretching his arms up before leaning side-to-side to let the blood flow through his legs properly.

Sol tossed his carton of banana milk to the side, letting out a small burp as he brushed the crumbs from the corner of his mouth, “…I don’t know about all that, but I’m pumped!”

“Glad you’re both so energetic,” he said quietly, finishing his quick stretches as his black coat moved around, tightening his dark gloves, “–Try to keep your head on your shoulders, at least. If we end up against a real boss in this place, it’s probably going to be something monstrous.”

“Yeah, yer’ right, but that’s good! The bigger they are, the more loot falls!” Yeong-Un laughed.

“I don’t think that’s quite how that goes, but you’ve certainly got the spirit,” he smiled, patting Yeong-Un on the shoulder before moving past him.

As he moved towards the stairs that led to the next floor, his step sank into a spot of the wooden floor, releasing an audible click.

“Eh…?” He looked down.

It was a false tile; it pressed down beneath the weight of his step.

“What was that?” Yeong-Un asked.

“Guys, look…!” Sol pointed out.

A rumbling sound filled the quiet, secluded library overtaken by nature as they both looked towards what Sol was pointing at–witnessing the bookshelves on the leftmost wall begin to part to reveal a secret corridor.

“Whazzat?” Yeong-Un asked in his hoarse voice, squinting his mix-colored eyes.

“…Looks like a hidden passageway to me,” he muttered in disbelief.

“Wait, wait, wait! This might be amazing!” Sol said, stepping past them as he stood by the threshold of the dust-covered, newly revealed hall.

“Huh?” Yeong-Un looked at him.

Sol turned back to the two with a look of avarice and curiosity in his amber eyes, “A secret passage might mean treasure! Jeong-Hui, you played a lot of video games, right? Tell me I’m wrong!”

“No…I definitely agree–this could be good,” he agreed.

Yeong-Un wore a large, excited smile after having the more “of mind” member of the trio confirm this, slapping them both on the back, “Then what’re we waitin’ for?! Let’s get some damn jewels!”

Together, they pushed into the dusty, dark corridor, finding it covered in abandoned cobwebs. The wooden walls, decorated with enigmatic, indecipherable paintings only continued to justify his theory of this peculiar dungeon.

Yeong-Un brushed his hand against the wall, swiping a layer of thick, old dust off as he flicked some off of his azure-painted nails with a look of disgust, “Whoever owns this place sure ain’t doin’ a great job of maintainin’ it.”

Surprisingly, for being such a wild soul, Yeong-Un is pretty strict when it comes to cleanliness. It might not seem like it from how loud and reckless he can be, but he does take care of his appearance quite a lot, he thought.

“This is a dungeon, I don’t think anybody is looking after it…” Sol replied, avoiding the cobwebs with a frightened look on his face.

“Yeah, yeah,” Yeong-Un scoffed, “Ya’d think God would be a bit more conscious about his territory, but whatever.”

Of all the things to question…He sighed to himself.

It was a perplexing corridor–it stretched on quite a ways, holding the same aesthetic of old, clammy wood that likely hadn’t been touched in an unknown amount of time. There were no other pathways or doors on the sides of the narrows walls, but only an exit at a very, very end awaiting them.

He was behind both Yeong-Un and Sol, only watching as the two exited before him into the next room, yet when he looked on–they were frozen, looking at something.

“What’s up?” He questioned.

–He reeled in no response, only walking forward curiously now as he stepped past the threshold, entering into a vast, secluded domain.

When he looked up, his blood froze.

It was a room that was crafted of dark, rotting wood, kept stabilized by black pillars and what looked to be talismans, clinging to the decrepit walls.

However, none of that mattered compared to what it was that caught their gaze so intensely.

Sitting in the center of the vast, cut-off chamber, sitting in stagnation with chains binding each of its limb and joints, a colossal, dark being was bound.

It was all-black, built with mountains of muscle with curved, gargantuan horns protruding from the sides of its head in two pairs.

The demonic entity, sitting in a slumberous state on its knees with its arms held up by the chains, exuded a natural, deathly air that came out like a putrid miasma.

“What the hell is that…?” He finally managed to exude the words stuck in his throat.

[Enemy Identified…]

[“???” | Level 250]

—

[The Same Day]

Through a quartz-laid entrance, three figures stepped through the doorway, entering the seraphic domain. The area they were greeted with was one resembling a lavish garden, presenting them with a tiled pathway, neighbored by clear, spring waters that flowed beautifully.

“So, this is a “Sky Dungeon”, huh? It’s a lot nicer on the eyes than those other ones, I’ll say.”

The words left the lips boisterously from the ponytail-wearing man, who stepped in as if owning the place.

“Korain, keep your voice down,” a dark-haired, taut woman said, standing half of his height as she stood beside him, “We don’t know what sort of enemies are waiting for us.”

“Oh, relax, Ma-Ri! After facing that angel, I’m pumped to slam some chumps!” Korain laughed without a care.

Following behind them, a meek girl adjusted her glasses, gulping as she held her magic staff tightly in her hands.

“I-I think Ma-Ri is right, Korain. We don’t know anything about this dungeon–it could be dangerous.”

Korain looked back with a reassuring smile, giving the girl a thumbs-up, “It’ll be a piece-of-cake, Eunji! Too much worrying will give you wrinkles!”

“I-It will?” Eunji replied, feeling her own cheeks.

Ma-Ri elbowed Korain lightly in the side, shutting him up, “Don’t fill her head with your dumb ideas.”

“Ha-ha! That stings!…A lot!” Korain laughed, though wincing.

After bickering for a bit, the three straightened out, heading into the depths of the seraphic domain.

–Unknown to the presence of the trio within the dungeon, and the trio to them, Gangcheori headed into the interconnected, vast dungeon, inevitably moving to a singularity point in which they’d reunite.