Dual System: Ascension of A Nameless Nobody

A fire was started by Sol, who gathered some wood with the help of Xiaodan while Tsukikage diced the humungous prey into cookable pieces.

"So, you're a friend of Sam?" Tsukikage asked with his mouth full from a bite of the cooked beast.

"My name is Sol…" He corrected the man.

"Right, Saul," Tsukikage said, brushing him off as he looked at Xiaodan.

Xiaodan nodded, "We were in the same group but the Tower split all of us up. I've just been sorta roaming the forest…trying not to die, ha-ha."

"I want to find the others," he said, looking down at the cooked meat he held in his hand, "but, honestly, I don't even know where to start…They really just threw us in blind, didn't they?"

"That they did…" Xiaodan nodded, sharing his sentiment.

The meat from the Stone Horn was more tender than expected for a beast that looked carved out of stone, but it was thanks to how carefully and with finesse that Tsukikage prepared it, using what looked like utensils forged from the hide of the cosmos itself.

Still, it was rather bland, but that was to be expected when working without spices or sauces.

Can't complain. I'm just glad not to be starving, Sol thought.

"...It's good that we're still alive, though, at least," he said almost in a whisper.

Xiaodan smiled, "It's only thanks to Jeong-Hui that I'm still alive. Seriously, that guy is something else…That's why we've got to find them all, right?"

"Obviously," he smiled.

Tsukikage laughed, joining into their conversation, "Sounds like a flashy bunch!"

"I guess you can say that," he nodded with a small smile but then looked at the pink-eyed man with a raised eyebrow, "Hey, I just thought about this, but…Tsukikage, were you with anybody before arriving at the Tower?"

The flamboyant man shook his head as his celestial earrings jingled, "Nope!"

"Huh…" He let out, but not exactly surprised.

He's the sort of person that can afford to be solo, I guess. With that sort of power, he's a one man army, he thought.

Xiaodan leaned back, leaving his hands on the ground as he looked up towards the sky, which was shrouded by the tall leaves of the forest, "...Still, where do we even start? We're in the middle of nowhere."

"Good question," he scratched his head, "I expected a "floor" to just be a large area, but this is something else entirely…It seems like the creatures around here are higher than twenty. Isn't that kind of wrong?"

"I get what you mean. The entry requirement for the Tower was twenty, but that was clearly just a "bare minimum"--though that's still unfair," Xiaodan added.

Tsukikage suddenly stood up, stretching his muscular arms and moving his neck side-to-side as it let out audible cracks.

"What's up?" Sol looked up at the man.

"This forest is quite dull and devoid of excitement now–I've had my fill of it," Tsukikage said with a smile.

"...Yeah, same, but…we kind of have to deal with that–"

As he tried to say such, Tsukikage interrupted him as he clapped his hands together, "It's time to move on to the next area! I'd suggest moving at least…six feet to the left!"

"Huh?" He let out.

"What's he talking about?" Xiaodan raised an eyebrow.

Though the two stopped asking questions once a massive reservoir of magical pressure released from the man's position, causing the air to vibrate and hum intensely.

"...I don't know, but let's move…!" Sol suggested.

"Yeah…!" Xiaodan nodded.

As the two moved out of the way, Tsukikage's smile faded into a focused expression as his jewel-like, pink eyes shined with conviction; he planted his feet down firmly and bent his knees slightly, holding a single hand forward. He kept his right arm, which was extended in front of him, steady with his left hand.

Finding the eccentric and talkative man now silent and focused as an imposing sight as the space around him seemed to curve unnaturally.

"Celestial Forge: Anti-Matter Technique: Void Zone."

From the tip of his finger, the air contorted and space rapidly condensed itself as a loud hum filled the ears of the two observing this spectacle, blaring against their ear drums before an unseen, imaginary mass was unleashed.

All at once, it burrowed through the forest, carving up the soil and erasing the plant life in its path; foliage was swallowed by the invisible particles and trees were vanquished in an instant.

It took only a moment to reach the other end of the forest, having cleared out a completely clear pathway now, unimpeded by trees or tall grass.

Tsukikage slowly exhaled, straightening himself up before looking back at the two with a smile, "What're you waiting for? Let's go!"

"...Right," he nodded.

"--" Xiaodan was silent.

After witnessing such inhuman power, the two didn't question the decision to go, following behind the eccentric man through the carved section of the forest.

Just what kind of person is he…?! Sol questioned.

–

[Near the Capital of Yinglong | Yeong-Un]

Marching on his own, the dual spellblade set his sights on the city in the distance, which was surrounded by towering walls.

Though the closer he came, the more grand the city looked in scope; at a far distance, it still seemed immaculate, but upon being closer, it was massive in scale. The quartz walls towered just below the clouds, stretching far and wide as dragon-sigiled flags fluttered in the wind.

"...Damn, that place is huge," he mumbled to himself.

Scratching his head as he summited a small hill, he found an alarming sight in front of him: a courtyard between the forest and the city itself, doused in blood and littered with the corpses of other humans like him–that much was clear by their uniforms.

"What the hell…?" He muttered in surprise.

Before he could approach closer, he was stopped as a hand suddenly befell his shoulder, causing one of his hands to instantly reach for one of his swords.

"I'm not an enemy," a masculine voice spoke into his ear.

"--Huh?" He glanced to the side.

It was a man with pale-white hair like snow, wearing a sleeveless, black-and-brown uniform with silver designs along it. He had peculiar eyes; varying in color like a rainbow.

[Guozhi | Level 44]

Level forty-four? Who is this guy? He questioned.

"Who are ya…?" He asked, tugging his shoulder away from the man's hand.

Guozhi looked at him before looking back towards the city, "Guozhi. That's all you need to know right now. What's more important is that you stay away from those walls."

"Huh? Why?" He asked.

"That city there–It's just a theory right now, but…" Guozhi looked at him, "I believe that's where our "goal" for this floor lies."

"Ain't that more of a reason to go there, then?!"

"You'd die in an instant," Guozhi warned him, "A level forty enemy arrived when a group of players approached those walls–luckily, I was able to handle him. However, that's only the start of things, I suspect."

There were definitely grounds for believing such words when they came from somebody of such an extremely high-level, especially when the man didn't seem to have any hostile intentions. Whether it was a six sense or just acute intuition, the young man had a sense for such things, and the snow-haired man wasn't giving him any malicious auras off.

"...How'd you come to all of that?" He asked, folding his arms over his chest, "I mean, you don't know for sure, right?"

"I don't, but tell me…Does a city like that not strike you as the "final boss" of this floor?" Guozhi asked.

He looked at those colossal walls again that stood around the seraphic city, "...Ya got a point."

"I'd advise you to head south of that city, just as I am," Guozhi told him, "From what I've heard, there's a large gathering of survivors in a spot outside of one of the Yinlong Kingdom's cities. It's called the "Advent Dawn." I believe that will be our sole respite on this floor."

He's damn smart. This guy is some sorta genius, or something…In that case, maybe I should tag along with him, then? Yeong-Un thought.

"Well, I was already headin' that way, so you can follow along if you want!" He said, walking forward.

As usual, he took the initiative in order to keep his pride intact, but the stoic man didn't seem to take any sort of offense as he went in the same direction as well.

Though the man hadn't done anything to arouse suspicion, and the fact that his acute sense of smell wasn't picking up on anything alarming, he kept his guard raised as he periodically glanced back at the man.

Why the hell did I choose to take the lead…? Watching my back with someone almost twice my level ain't exactly a simple endeavor, he thought.

Guozhi was a well-composed individual; he walked straight, never missing a stride or shifting his pace, and his expression remained calm as his spectacular, rainbow eyes stayed looking forward.

Well, I'll just have to trust this guy for now. If there's a city where players are gatherin'...I need to get there, he thought.

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