The door opened.

  It revealed to Skylar a world of clouds and stars. There was no floor beyond it—only clouds drifting in midair.

  Skylar entered.

  He was followed closely behind by Karo who, finding his stunned reaction exaggerated, proceeded after him. Both walked midair as if on solid ground.

  "Celestial floor," said a voice unfamiliar to Skylar. "It is created by carving celestial veins on floors. What you are walking on is, in truth, a wooden floor with celestial veins carved on it."

  Skylar lowered his head.

  He stared at the floor of the heavenly chamber they had entered—a celestial floor according to the voice's claim. To a human eye, he was walking midair, traversing a real sky of white clouds.

  The clouds are moving, and there really is a world below… But standing on it doesn't feel like I am standing on the sky, so that means it doesn't affect the sense of touch… If it did, that would have been scary.

  Skylar raised his head.

  His steps slowed as he looked around him at the vast expanse of space that seemed endless—the rumored heavenly chamber. A sight that should be impossible, since the tree they entered was not this big, and if they had exited the tree, the outside sky would be completely different.

  "Celestial wall," the voice continued. "Just like the floor below you, they are also created by carving celestial veins on a wall or barrier."

  Skylar nodded.

  I think I understand now.

  He smiled.

  It's just like that black-gold chamber in the wolf's lair. There must have been an issue with it, and the floor might not have been celestial since it was made from black gold.

  Skylar looked up.

  He looked at the endless starry sea above him—or rather what seemed to be a set of heavenly stars suspended motionless just beneath it. Beneath the starry sea, other heavenly bodies hung motionless, except for four gigantic glowing rods—one white, one blue, one golden, and one red. They spun as they revolved around the heavenly stars aligned vertically in one plane, one below the other.

  "That… we call an Inner Heaven," the voice resumed. "It is created the same way as the celestial wall and floor, but sometimes there is a twist to it…"

  The voice ceased.

  Skylar looked before him at the center of the heavenly chamber. There, five figures sat in a circle—the golden monkey sat beside a lustrous black monkey with a scholarly look. The old monkey in the middle sat in front of the duo, and two gray monkeys sat close to each other.

  What's the relationship between all of them…?

  Skylar scratched his silver hair and tucked it behind his ear.

  Simultaneously, his gaze settled on Jaro, who had been glaring at him since he entered.

  He has been glaring at me since… He kind of reminds me of Mr. Rabbit…

  "Unlike the others, the heavenly bodies in the middle and the rods are real elements. That's the twist," the voice concluded.

  It belonged to the black-fur scholarly monkey, who pointed at what he mentioned. Skylar, in response, looked at it.

  "Young friend, come have your seat."

  The black-fur scholarly monkey, with meticulous politeness, pointed to a space beside the old monkey who had apparently zoned out.

  Skylar responded.

  With Karo following behind him, he approached where the scholarly monkey pointed and sat facing him in a lotus position. Diagonally behind him, Karo also sat in a lotus position, very close.

  Why is this guy sitting next to me and so close? His fragrance is on another level—definitely beyond that of those flowers. If only he were female…

  Skylar inhaled deeply.

  As he exhaled, his eyes caught those of Jaro glaring at him.

  Why is this guy glaring even fiercer? It's not like I stole your wife.

  He glared back at Jaro, then noticed the shift in the atmosphere of the gathering.

  "Eh?!" he exclaimed.

  The golden monkey, as usual, was smiling at him and Karo sitting close to him. The unfamiliar tall gray-fur monkey, as though totally unaware of anything, sipped from his wine cup, hiding a faint smile. And the scholarly black-fur monkey, out of awkwardness, scratched his head, smiling uncontrollably.

  After a while, the scholarly black-fur monkey broke the silence.

  "Young friend, we have a proposal for you regarding your departure from our mountain."

  Ensure your favorite authors get the support they deserve. Read this novel on the original website.

  "Departure?" Skylar blurted, a look of surprise on his face.

  Wait… mountain? Is this place the top of a mountain and not an island? Was he not joking? Ah! The lair was also on a rock…

  The black monkey resumed.

  "We understand how much you want to leave here. So, we have three paths for you to choose from. Hopefully, one will work out."

  Skylar smiled smugly.

  It's not like leaving here is something particularly difficult since this is not a black zone. All I have to do is fall off the edge and die. Hopefully, I will respawn below it… Nah, that would be very painful, and it may not even work. I have never died in this simulation before. I don't even understand how respawning works…

  "Sir, please tell me," Skylar pleaded.

  Unknown to him, Karo, close to his side but a little behind, looked pleadingly at the black-fur scholarly monkey. However, he shook his head dejectedly.

  He replied, "The first choice is that I take you with me when I descend the mountain, but that will be in seventy-seven moons. I don't know if you can wait. The second method is to wait for a drifting cloud that can take you to the surface below, but this method depends on luck since drifting clouds appear very randomly, and where they land is also totally random."

  "What is the last method?" Skylar interjected.

  "The last method is quite complicated. It requires you to take one of our tribe's trials that will definitely lead you out if you complete it."

  The black-fur monkey glanced at Karo, who was glaring at him with misty eyes.

  While Skylar critically processed the three choices presented to him, Karo tried many times to reach him with her wrapped hand but restrained herself each time.

  "Can I reach the end of the trial?" Skylar raised his lowered head.

  At his question, everyone except Karo, who had his head lowered, and Jaro, who was glaring at him, broke into knowing smiles. In particular, the zoned-out old monkey returned to reality and smiled, stroking his long beard.

  "You will pass if you choose to," he replied, a knowing smile blooming on his face directed at Skylar. "Then this concludes everything," he added.

  Something is wrong with this old guy.

  Skylar stood up.

  "Young friend," the scholarly monkey called, and Skylar turned to him. "You should come to the mountain peak at the next golden hour. That's where the trial will take place."

  Skylar nodded.

  Then he watched him stand up, walk towards a large scroll shelf that slid out from nothing, and reach for a peculiar, relatively small scroll.

  Another interesting technology. These monkeys are almost at the same level as us—no, maybe a lot higher… This simulation is getting interesting…

  "There is this bird in the north that can help you reach your destination in a far shorter time."

  The scholarly monkey walked toward Skylar with the scroll in his hand.

  "Young friend, have this scroll."

  He passed the scroll to him, and he collected it.

  "It's a map to the bird's location. Just a few regions from here—you should find it."

  "Thanks."

  Skylar unfurled the scroll and focused on its contents as he walked past Karo, who had not raised his head for a long time, leaving the heavenly chamber with unmasked excitement.

  The next golden hour arrived quickly.

  The rays of light from the golden clouds were clearly golden. They illuminated Flower Mountain softly—or rather, the gigantic rock standing on the peak, which was the center of the mountaintop like an island.

  At its foot, three figures waited.

  The golden monkey sat in a lotus position on a large boulder resting in front of the gigantic rock. Skylar, with his stuff packed inside a bag placed beside him, leaned against the side of this boulder facing away from the gigantic rock, overlooking the basins below that a flight of descending steps not far away led to. And Karo took a seat very close to him with two sacks next to him.

  While they waited patiently, two figures leisurely climbed up the broad steps. A few moments later, they arrived at the peak in front of them.

  One of the figures that now stood before them was the familiar gray monkey, and the other was unexpectedly a glamorous beautiful female monkey about two and a half mitas tall.

  She had lustrous black fur as dark as the abyss that outlined her incredibly curvy humanoid figure. Her face, though like the others—monkey humanoid—was creamy in color and uniquely attractive.

  Skylar shook his head at her sight.

  How can a monkey rival a world-class human beauty in appearance, look, and presence? Isn't her existence illegal at this point? Or did these developers just push boundaries as they wish?

  He stared at the female monkey while Karo at his side glared at her.

  The female monkey giggled, her hand covering her mouth.

  First, she looked at Karo, critically evaluating him. Then she moved closer to Skylar and bowed her head slightly.

  "Thanks for helping my daughter."

  What's she talking about…?

  Skylar gave a questioning look.

  He watched her hold out a cloth-tied parcel toward him.

  "You are welcome," he said as he collected the parcel.

  He turned his face to Karo beside him, who quickly wiped the ferocious glare off his face, leaned in, and whispered.

  "Hey, who is she?"

  "She is my mom," Karo replied.

  Karo's mom, who clearly heard their whispers, smiled at Skylar as he glanced in her direction.

  "So teacher is your father?" Skylar deduced, his eyes on Jaro.

  "Yes," Karo replied, after which she threw a warning glare at Jaro, who stood behind her mom and had been sneakily glaring at Skylar since he arrived.

  Time passed.

  Suddenly, Skylar felt a presence.

  The old white monkey, as though he had been standing there the entire time, appeared from thin air like a ghost, breaking the silence. The couple bowed to him in unison and left the way they came… through the broad stairs.

  "Young ones, follow me," the old monkey instructed.

  The trio followed him to the base of the gigantic rock, which was the highest point of Flower Mountain.

  As they stood in front of the rock, the old monkey placed his palm on it, and after a rumbling sound, a passage appeared as the stone cut whose fracture became visible on the rock slid back and buoyed up.

  Another mechanism… maybe fingerprint technology…

  The old monkey turned to Skylar.

  "Young one, I know this might sound unnecessary, but I should let you know that most of your colleagues who came to this part of the world like you are already far ahead of you… You might have to be careful."

  Skylar nodded gently.

  He paused for a moment.

  This old monkey knows about players and users… That doesn't make any sense… We are far from where Brave really is. So how? Is he a special NPC or administrator?

  "You can go now. The two of them will show you the way," the old monkey urged.

  Skylar nodded before bowing.

  With his burdens carried, he followed the golden monkey and Karo—who was carrying two heavy sacks—and they entered the belly of the gigantic rock through the passage.

  As the rock cut returned and fit back into the rock, sealing the passage, the scholarly monkey appeared from thin air next to the old monkey.

  "Grandfather, why put pressure on them?" he questioned.

  "You are asking me?" the old monkey replied, glancing at the scholarly monkey. "Didn't you get them involved with those annoying tribes aiming for that bird?"

  "But—"

  "They will be alright," the old monkey interrupted. "And you should understand who they are by now. By their standards, what I did is nothing. After all, our ancestor is eternal…"