Yusuf slapped my hands, giving me an annoyed look as I kept pulling at the neck of the combat suit they had given to me. It was nice looking if I had to be honest, being reincarnated did not stop me from wanting to look nice and good, however the damn thing was itchy as hell. And even though I was being presented before Mallam Bako and Hajiya Suraiya, the intensity of the itch was so much that I scratched away in front of them. besides I don't really like Mallam Bako and Hajiya Suraiya has been looking at me with eyes that I just can't understand. Sometimes during our lessons, she would stop and stare at me for the longest o times, and it was especially worse during the sessions we had to train my mastery over vibrations.
"Up until now he lacks discipline! What have you been teaching this thing Yusuf!" Mallam Bako asked, the Kaftan he was wearing flowing in the wind.
"He's just a child that has been placed in an uncomfortable clothing, so perhaps it would be better if you back the fuck off! And let's get this over with Mallam Bako. The caliphate expects stellar results and powerful soldiers, not robots. So perhaps you should figure out where our priorities lie with Test Subject number seven, which as it turns out it doesn't seem you can figure out so stop calling every single thing into question old man! You act like you could have done any better at his age." Hajiya Suraiya yelled at him, shocking everyone around, myself included about how she had stood up for me. For a moment Mallam Bako was tongue tied, but he found his voice quickly enough.
"Comparing him to me is a mistake, I am a favored son of the caliphate woman! Whereas he is just a weapon. He is nothing more than that Suraiya, not human, not a child or boy, he is a fucking weapon! an it! Not a he!" and with that he flung a binder at my face, the pages shuffling in the wind as I caught the book out of the air and raised an eyebrow in surprise at my reflexes. I looked up at Mallam Bako and saw his eyes almost spewing flames, obviously he wanted the book to hit me in the face, but me catching it out of the air embarrassed him. So I did the next best thing.
I took the book and smacked it on my face hard enough that my eyes watered, then held it out to him, returning it with an impassive face. Since he wants a robot with discipline I would give him that. of course the looks of horror and amusement going round the faces of the soldiers that were with us in the hangar was worth it. Mallam Bako was pissed off, so much that he was perspiring in rage, he shook, contemplating for a moment whether to attack me or not, but in the end he remained where he was, before calming himself down after a few seconds.
"The book in your hands contains information about the dungeon you're heading to. once you get there you should have enough information to survive, and perform well. We expect you to return with not just 3 main skill cards of the dungeon, but a completed transformation card for a terminal orb, and a high enough rating to receive a worth reward from the dungeon after you clear all fifteen levels of it. Failure is not an option, the quickest record for clearing that dungeon is 2 days, but that's by a man at the Terminal Advanced Lord Rank. So we expect you to be done in six months to a year. Survival would be wholly dependent on nothing more but yourself, perform well and the system would keep you alive. Fail and you die, either the dungeon kills you, or we will kill your ourselves…."
"Do not listen to this old man Number 7 my dear." Hajiya Suraiya interrupted with a smile as she came closer and place a hand on my shoulder.
"This is an important test my love, you must overcome this trial, surpass your limits and master the dungeon, make it your own. Fifteen floors are not a lot, but each floor is as an entire world to itself, and it has not been fully explored which means there are equal amount of danger and opportunity to be had. Time in the dungeon it five times as fast in the inside than on the outside, which means by the time you return you would probably be a big boy. Overcome this and grow stronger and I will not only get you another rare terminal beast, I'll make you a man." The last part was said in a whisper as she drew closer, but then all of a sudden her mood and temperament changed as she dug her nails into my shoulders, hard enough that I couldn't help but cry out in pain.
"But if you fail, wasting all of my investments in you! I'll find your corpse, reanimate it and torture you to death over and over again! Now go on ahead and make me proud." And with that said she turned around and skipped away, happy as a lamb as Mallam Bako followed behind her, obviously unsettled as the reality of my situation dawned on me.
If all of my training so far has been a sort of seeding and planting, then this dungeon was probably the addition of a fertilizer to speed up growth. This was like those rare machines I've heard about, a time capsule. The only problem with this was that even if time was slowed outside and much faster insides allowing you to achieve a lot of things in half if not less of the time required, the downside was that you never stopped aging. Sure people now live longer lives now due to the system and its terminals, but still, that would be a significant portion of your life spent in a place where all you can do is fight for it and grow stronger. I'm not going to lie…. I'm really scared.
"Number 7! Do me and Moses proud, we have taught you well." And with that Mallam Yusuf turned and walked away as a section of ground in the hanger split to the side. I watched on in baited breaths as horror filled my entire body as a stone arch sizzling with electricity showed up. It was like a doorway of inky blackness that led to the void of nothingness, as my heart skipped a beat. So the entrance of the dungeon was actually in the facility, which should explain what's in sub-level 2.
"Go forward Number 7 and do the Caliphate Proud!" Mallam Bako's voice came over the intercom. My feet seemed to move forwards on their own, while all I wanted to do was run the other way. I was going without anything, just the bloody binder that bastard threw at me…. God can you hear me? Is this how I'm going to die? Help me please!