91 Uncertainty



[Ren Hilton's POV]

I let out a weary sigh as I surveyed the desolate safe zone stretching out before me. The once thriving and verdant landscape had now given way to a harsh and unforgiving terrain. Cracked earth extended in every direction, its parched surface offering no respite. Dusty gusts of wind swept through the desolation, carrying with them the faint scent of decay. Skeletal remains of long-dead trees stood like silent sentinels, testaments to a forgotten vitality. Their muted hues mirrored the somber emptiness that lay beneath. In this desolate sanctuary, silence reigned supreme, unsettling my calm demeanor.

"What in the world is this?" I muttered to myself, unable to shake the unnerving feeling that enveloped me. My gaze fell upon Blaze, the demi-god level being who had guided me through these floors.

"I don't know, but this is supposed to be the safe zone. I can't comprehend what happened here," Blaze responded, his smoky form hovering alongside me, mirroring my confusion.

The expansive floor, once a potential haven, now lay empty and devoid of any signs of life.

"Let's press forward," I said, determined to maintain my composure. While the situation felt increasingly strange, it still didn't surpass the oddity of encountering a demi-god level being on the fifth floor.

As I ventured deeper into the floor, my attention was drawn to a broken door at the end of the fifth floor, sending shivers down my spine.

"Isn't it supposed to be impossible to break the dungeon barrier?" I questioned, my understanding of the dungeon's structure suggesting that the barriers should be impervious. They were powered by the dense ambient mana of the floor and responsible for spawning the monsters.

"Breaking the barriers isn't impossible... it's just exceedingly difficult," Blaze responded, his eyes fixated on the fallen gate, studying it intently.

"Difficult?" I pressed for more information, my curiosity piqued.

"Yes, if someone possesses enough power to traverse the floors without defeating the monsters, they can certainly break through the barriers," Blaze explained, his words shrouded in vagueness.

"And how strong would someone need to be to accomplish that?" I inquired, realizing a flood of questions was brewing within me.

"Well, for instance, it would take a Crystalwing Sentinel a month or two to achieve it through sheer brute force. The usual magic lock unsolving method doesn't work on these types of doors," Blaze clarified, though I found his explanation perplexing.

"Huh? That's just absurd! It doesn't make any sense," I exclaimed, frustration seeping into my voice. However, nothing seemed to make sense within this enigmatic place.

Casting one final glance at the shattered door, a massive metal gate designed to keep the inhabitants of the next floor at bay, I couldn't help but feel intrigued and cautious as I stepped through the shattered entrance, ready to face whatever awaited me.

...

[After fifteen minutes.]

"What in the...!" I gasped in astonishment as I entered the sixth floor. It greeted me with an eerie silence, stretching out before me as a vast expanse devoid of the usual presence of monsters that typically roamed these depths.

"Keep going. There's something terribly wrong with this place. It's becoming even stranger than it should be," Blaze whispered, his voice tinged with a sense of dread. I couldn't help but notice the growing unease within me.

The air felt stagnant, and the absence of any movement sent chills down my spine. Each step I took echoed in the eerie silence as I cautiously navigated the floor, my senses

 on high alert. I searched for any sign of life or danger, but all I found were empty corridors and abandoned chambers.

...

[Next Floor]

The same unsettling emptiness persisted as I ascended to the seventh floor. Once a haven for treacherous creatures lurking in the shadows, it now stood devoid of their menacing presence.

"It's getting creepier, isn't it?" I mused aloud. It was as if they had vanished into thin air, leaving behind a desolate landscape. My senses heightened, and a feeling of unease settled upon me as I made my way through the desolate corridors.

Blaze urged me to maintain my composure, but I couldn't help but feel a growing uncertainty and...

"Interest," I interjected, trying to hype myself. Because each step I took ignited a different thrill within me, as if something was expected to be there but vanished into thin air, leaving nothing but emptiness.

...

The pattern continued on the eighth floor and even on the ninth floor, where an abundance of monsters were said to reside.

Each floor I traversed echoed with a ghostly emptiness. I found myself sitting on the ground, surrounded by a void.

Blaze's voice filled the vacant chamber, frustration evident in his tone, "Ahhhhhhhh! Where are the usual inhabitants? The formidable Fire Giants on the fifth floor, the elusive Shadow Revenants in the Whispering Caverns of the sixth floor, the magnificent Crystal Golems of the Crystal Nexus on the seventh floor, the foul Undying Revenants of the Rotting Catacombs on the eighth floor, and the ethereal Spectral Phantoms of the Misty Enclave on the ninth floor... they are nowhere to be found!"

I couldn't help but sense Blaze's emotions through our contracted connection. He seemed to be spiraling, going mad with confusion.

"Hey, Blaze? Are you scared?" I asked, fully aware of how absurd it sounded to ask a former strongest dragon...

"Yes," Blaze admitted without hesitation. "I am scared. I've been here countless times, and I know this place is like the back of my hand, at least up until the tenth floor. But everything is taking an unexpected turn... what you said about it being an Elusive Trial, your sudden access to the floors, and now this." Blaze's words poured forth, his emotions swirling within his monolid eyes, his world turning upside down.

"But it's not just the floor change that frightens you. It's something else," I interrupted, not giving him a chance to respond. "Are you afraid of uncertainty? .....That your predictions might be wrong?" I speculated.

...Silence...

It seemed I had struck a nerve. It wasn't the altered floors that frightened him, but the possibility of his calculations failing.

"It messed up your calculations," I sighed, finally realizing the weight of his frustration. It's like...

"My mind, once a sanctuary of certainty, is now a haunted labyrinth of doubt. Shadows of failed predictions twist and writhe, suffocating my thoughts. The terror of uncertainty grips my soul, a relentless specter that taunts me with every step. I am trapped in my own cursed web of miscalculations." Blaze began talking to himself, but I knew he was speaking to me at the same time. Why did it feel like this wasn't his first encounter with such despair?

I remained silent, simply listening,even when most of it didn't make sense.

....

"Hey, Ren."After some time, he called my name, and I refocused my attention on him. Ren, huh.

"I want you to quit. There's no point in proceeding to the tenth floor. We have to give up," Blaze declared.

"Why?" I asked, genuine confusion etched on my face.

"?" Blaze seemed baffled, "Why? Why you ask?... It's because you would die. It doesn't matter what is behind that next door. If it's empty, then it's even more confusing, and if it's that monster, then you are dead. There's no chance to even dodge." Blaze began ranting.

"Well, I'm already nearing the potential of my bloodline, so it would have been difficult for me even if everything went as you thought," I said. Yes, if I were to reach my potential on the sixth or seventh floor, that would mean I was going to die anyway, right?

"No! Those artifacts, golem cores, and everything else we've missed would have given you the strength to face the ferocity of the tenth floor. But look at you now, you're just... weak!" Blaze's words pierced through me, his desperation pouring out uncontrollably.

He continued, his voice tinged with desperation, "You can still turn back. Live a normal life, be a side character, go to the academy, or do anything that fulfills your desire to relive your youth. Use your future knowledge to build a successful business, start a loving family, take care of your parents... It's all possible." He listed these options, trying to convince me, but they felt... meaningless.

"Listen to me, Smokeball," I said calmly, pointing out a big hole in his plan. "Next year, according to the storyline, there are going to be two wars between Elishia and Hestia Empire. Then there's going to be the case of no man's land, and after that, the Demon calamity and the Demon king. Even if I were to go back now, I'd still have to fight when the time comes, and then, do you think I'd be able to survive these events with my current strength?" I said. A lot is going to happen, and no one is going to be left standing when the time comes.

"So if I don't try now, then I'll die tomorrow, and I'm not interested in the peace of living a few more days just to die even more miserably. I won't wait like a sacrificial goat." I stood up, determined to proceed to the next floor.

"still I don't know if I'll be able to defeat the monster, though," I muttered to myself.

*Woosh*

Blaze chuckled, "Haa, looks like I lost some composure there, Princess. You don't have to defeat it, just find something there, and it'll be done in no time." His voice returned to normal, and I couldn't help but feel annoyed by it.

"Find what?" I asked.

"The heart," Blaze's words echoed in my mind. A heart?

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

[A/N: OMG! he did not call out those novelists who write their MC living a side character life... right? Right!!!!!??]