Epic of Ice Dragon: Reborn As An Ice Dragon With A System
chapter-1784

The portal that opened in front of us was enormous, and exuded a tremendous quantity of divine power, it was born from my System Law itself, after all, these Trials were made by the System Law to make us stronger. The system is incredible, capable of giving challenges and gain power from them, which it can then transfer to the users of it.

The same is with the leveling system, absorbing energy from slain foes to level up, progressing and becoming stronger limitlessly... Well, not so limitlessly, once max level is reached, to level up even more, this Trial has to be completed.

"So what are these Trials anyways?" Benladann wondered, glancing at the portal.

"Think of them as the "price" you have to pay to get stronger," said Andromeda. "Something cannot be generated out of nowhere, something else has to always be given back. The System is capable of making that "something else" almost anything."

"Huh... Still don't quite get it," Benladann was confused.

"Me neither honestly," said Miranda. "How is it that you need a trial to exchange for power?"

"It's simple," I explained. "Challenges and difficult things make it so the System can gain Causality, which is a power related with Fate and Destiny, right?"

"Indeed, the System by itself, is not just a Unique Skill but what could be considered... a Cosmic Artifact of its own," said Andromeda. "Technically, I am the System and at the same time, I am a separate entity. The System is my body, but my mind clearly feels like my own self, so I call it differently, a being separate from me, yet that it is also... me."

"Huh, so by using this Causality... you gain power?" Benladann asked.

"More or less, yes," said Andromeda. "For example, if everything is "too easy" the "balancing" of the System is weakened, and you won't grow. Therefore, the System, now a Law, can alter the flow of Causality by itself and create Challenges to make it possible for advancements to be quick and swift."

"The power of Causality is what defines reality, even, what makes it right or wrong, what is fair or unfair," I said. "When there's a lot of bad things happening on one place, many good things might happen to another place, making it unbalanced, right? Causality then, over time, will fix that. Although usually, those that have suffered tremendous misfortune and die can't be saved, what's around them can change, or even the future of those that surrounded them."

"Hm... Okay, I think I understand a bit more," said Benladann. "So to sum it up, you can't make us immediately Rank Up. Because that is seen as "unfair". Therefore, the Law creates a "Challenge" we must go through for Ranking Up to become "earned", yes?"

"Indeed," nodded Andromeda. "You understood very quickly, Benladann! Well done." She patted her head as if Benladann was a child.

"I-I'm not a child to be congratulated like this!" Benladann complained adorably.

"I guess I kind of get it now, interesting stuff," said Miranda. "So we're sharing this challenge then! Wait, we can do it on our own too?"

"Yes, if you wanted, I could give each one of you an individual challenge!" said Andromeda. "They will vary on difficulty based on your level and power. But because you're joining one together, the difficulty will be based... on the strongest of the party."

Then, she glanced at me.

"Hm? Me?" I asked.

"Yes, so the difficulty will be incredibly hard for everyone else... But as the difficulty increases for them, that means they will get well rewarded too!" said Andromeda. "They might earn more power compared to a personal trial this way."

"Hoh..." I nodded, rubbing my chin. "Then that's fine. I wanted something hard to do to test all my new abilities, upgraded weapons, the evolved power of my spirits, and these new living domains too."

As I nodded, I sensed the powers of the portal and analyzed it, suddenly realizing of something obvious that had completely been ignored until now.

"Wait, that portal... the trial's portal," I said. "Isn't it the same as Dream and Nightmare Dungeons, Andromeda? The presence, how it creates a temporary "realm" where both soul and body can go inside, and how it is like a pocket dimension of its own too..."

"Ah yes! Your creation was really amazing, dear, so I decided to use its structure for the trials," she said. "It will be exactly as you described, but it is no longer made from Dreams and Nightmares, but the System Law itself, which encompasses many elements, including Creation! What you're going to see is not an illusion or a dream. So be careful."

"So we might see the story of someone else?" Miranda wondered.

"Hmm~" Andromeda smiled suspiciously. "I don't know, part of the Trial's creation is that I must let Random Algorithms and Internal Calculations create it for you. If I were to design it specifically for you through my own personal preferences, then it would completely lose its point. So! It might be like a Dream Dungeon, or it might be like real life, or it might be like both combined, or none! You'll have to see for yourselves."

She's being very cryptic about it! But I guess she's not wrong, we'll have to see for ourselves.

I'm kind of looking forward to this, honestly.

"Now, enough chitchat, you should get going. There's no time dilation due to the trial of the Flame Venerable being imposed into everything. But this Trial won't be short, you might be inside for over a day, so the sooner you get there, the better."

"So that's how it is... Alright then," I nodded. "Everyone, let's go!"

With my whole family at my side, the only ones aside from me who had reached max level, we moved inside the portal. I also brought my divine weapons, spirits, and the domains, all

capable of coming with us without issues.

The moment we passed through the portal, it felt like we were piercing through many spatial membranes, each one seemed heavier than the other.

FLASH!