{CONGRATULATIONS!}
{You have passed the trial}
Chris fell on the floor, he finally let go of Sim.
Chris was a bloody mess from head to toe, he hadn't expected that kind of repercussion to follow his actions. It was as if things were going in a terrible direction, he was glad that he overcame the trial, and best of all sim was unhurt.
Her armour did well to protect her, but as it had taken a lot of damage it had shrunken to them form of a shoulder guard, it would take a while for her armour to recover.
Chris liked the upgraded feature on the armour, he would have gotten one too if he wasn't trying so hard to cut costs.
It reminded him of the title, Poor Bloke.
"Ugh."
On the other hand, His armour was ruined.
Ring!
"Ha! I guess I'm in luck today," coming from a guy with his luck in the negative digits, it didn't sound so reassuring.
"I guess the luck of I and the demon avatar of Perversion, aren't quite connected."
A notification had appeared,
{Would you like to restore armour? Restoration cost - 5 gold}
"Restore." He needed to be prepared for whatever would come at him from behind the door, so it only made sense for him to restore the armour, he also took a mid-grade health potion.
"We should rest here for a while, and prepare ourselves before we proceed."
"Bark"
"Yup," it was for the best, he needed to calm himself, his body was still high on adrenaline, "there's no point in rushing ahead and getting killed off from a moment of carelessness."
"Woof"
Sim and Chris sat by the door and had a break.
Sim was currently unhappy with the current situation. She was sulking after having almost gotten herself, and her master killed.
'I can't believe I messed up such a simple task, what's going on?'
It was understandable that she would be careless as a dog. 'Still, I was once a supreme demon. A great demon like her was basically above such a stupid mistake, but now she realized it.
'I'm no great demon. I'm just a foolish low-grade dog that can't get over the past, and almost got myself killed.'
She was lucky to have such a caring master.
'He didn't abandon me, even after that.'
As if responding to Sims thoughts, Chris gently stroked her back.
'Where have you been all my life.' Sim thought
{Your Affinity with your tamed beast has increased by 5.}
Sim huddled nearer to him and placed her head on his lap. While growling softly.
Chris Chuckled.
'It seems she likes being petted, a lot.'
Chris reassessed his previous actions during the challenge and analysed his actions.
{Self-introspection has been detected from the challenger}
He had grown a bit. The phoenix fish had helped him gain a new skill, as well as open his eyes to endless possibilities towards the future.
He could sense the surrounding lava more clearly, enabling his Brio to grow. If used properly, he could finally learn newer and stronger skills making him strong enough to leave the dungeon. He wanted to leave and see his friends and perhaps even his father. It was a sad life, Chris kept on analysing the previous challenges and observing his mistakes until he was content with himself.
"Alright, that will do. Time to move on."
Sim got up, and shook her fur.
"Time to start a new challenge."
◇◇◇
{Would you like to open the training room?}
{Yes/No}
{Yes}
The doors opened wide giving Chris access to a new training room.
Chris looked around the dark room filled with training dummies of all shapes and sizes, he didn't know what to do with all of them.
{Here at the untold dungeon, we believe it is important to follow your path, therefore self study and development is encouraged rather that teaching and guidance}
{Simple, right.}
"The Fuck is this?" now it even had an attitude, he had no doubt that a certain guy was involved. They were out for him.
{Choose a weapon, and begin on your path to greatness}
{May your stories be told}
{Here and Beyond}
"What the hell?"
'Why were they trying to make themselves sound so grandiose?'
"Are you shifting me? That's a thousand times harder than receiving guidance, even rote learning was a thousand times better than this."
"Why are they doing this to me," Chris fell to his knees dejectedly. "Why do they have to be such dicks?"
He looked exhausted and deeply trouble.
{If you feel that you are mediocre and not up to it, you could also hire a dependable tutor from our finest selection}
Chris couldn't even speak from the shock.
"Me? M...me...mediocre?"
{Teachers}
Maggie - 1000 gold
Well versed in Magic.
Carlson – 2999 gold
Well-versed in sword manship.
Atilaila - 5000 gold
Well versed in the dark arts.
Natalia – 10009
Well versed in light arts, as you are a demon this will be hard for you to learn.
Compusius - 6000 gold
Well versed in the arts of strategy trickery and deceptions.
Dane – 4009 gold
Well versed in archery.
Danka – 4009 gold
Well-versed in crossbow.
At his level he couldn't afford any of them, the despair was taking over. I'll just ignore them for now. It would be best to practice on my own, how hard could it be?"
Of course, he was in for a world of pain.
{Well done Challenger}
{You have gritted your teeth, and accepted the honour of finding a new sword path. With great perseverance comes greater rewards}
{You will be awarded a bonus of 100 gold}
Chris placed his right hand on his temple and began to massage his forehead. It was just too shameful to watch them be this shameless.
{A 1 point increase in strength has been detected}
"Still giving out peanuts I see."
"You say it like I'm not supposed to get stronger."
"Fuck!"
'Bare with it, all good things are gotten through challenges.'
{New Trial!}
{You have arrived at the training room , a new story awaits you}
{You have to choose a path to follow}
{Please select an option}
Sword
Arrow and Bow
Spear
Cross bow
Daggers
Axe
Whip
Fans
Hand Guards
{Sword has been selected}
{Type of sword}
Long sword – Excellent choice.
Broad sword – Can you handled it with your twig like arms.
Dagger Sword – Ha! You'd better not cut yourself.
Ecliptic sword – Just forget it, your brain can't handle the mechanics.
…
At this point Chris was seething in anger, "what the hell? What do it take me for? Isn't this a bit too much?"
Even sim broke out into a doggie chuckle, she fell on her back laughing, Chris felt wronged.
"Just forget it, I'll go with the long sword."
"He planned to go with the long sword anyway since it was the best choice."
{You have picked the long sword}
{May you be told}
{You have triggered the Beginner quest -
Swing until your arms break}
{You are required to swing the sword 10,000 times every day}
{...}
{Chose a part to focus on}
Hand
Head
Arms
Torso
Legs
Thigh
Shoulder
'Ten thousand times, in 24 hours.'
"You've got to be kidding, at least give me something realistic. Doesn't that means I would have to make one swing every 8 seconds or so..."
"No, I refuse"
This was beyond savage.
{…}
{Disciplinary measures will be taken on your refusal}
{Do you wish to decline?}
{Yes!/No?}
{I'll start off with the shoulder.}
Chris backed down, it was still too early.
{Target area has been selected, assigning you a dummy.}
{Please make sure to use proper command prompts}
"Tsk, always so uptight."
{…}
{Dummy B6 419 has been assigned}
{Henceforth dummy B6 419 will be your partner}
{Hit dummy B6 419 on the shoulder, 10,000 times}
Chris looked around to find dummy B6 419, he found him lit up, close to the entrance of the training hall.
"What is this? A game show?"
"Ruff! Ha. Ha. Ha."
"Don't you dare." Chris sternly warned Sim. If she laughed one more time, he truly felt he would to lose it.
{Once the challenge is started, you are expected to complete the task within 24 hrs}
{You can't leave or stop the challenge midway, this would result in a failure.}
"What if I have to take a leak?"
{…}
{Use the convenience room}
{Head straight to the left, to use the facility}
"These guys were finally acting civilised."
He and Sim found the convenience effortlessly, to his dismay there was no consideration whatsoever.
If anything It was just blatant mockery, as if telling his that he wasn't worth much. It was merely a bare room with a bucket and a hole, he had to work with a bucket and a hole.
The tiny tin tub by the side was probably for washing.
Chris could feel the emotional damage he had just received, resound deeply in the depths of his soul.
"Well, this is better than the sandbox I use in the living area."
Sniff, sniff.
Chris went back to the training area.
He looked around and found a decent pen to put sim in.
"Alright girl, stay here until I'm done. I'll come pick you up, here's some food and a toys, along with your favourite puzzle and a bone."
"He picked out all the quality stuff he could afford for his doggy buddy, while he starved himself. He was really a fool for dogs, considering he had given up the chance to be a dragon tamer.
Sim yelped energetically, she immediately got started with the puzzle. Chris stared at her in delight, she frantically wagged her tail as she solved the puzzle for the treats. Sim had all of a sudden become his favourite pass time.
After a while, Chris walked back to his dummy.
He took a deep breath, drank a bit of water, did a few stretches, and readied his stance.
He calmed his mind, and broke free from every doubt, and concern. He had to give it his all, this was his first step amongst many to get out of here. This would be the start of his growth, his actions her would determine his base and skill creation, he needed to have a solid base. Furthermore, he didn't know what would happen next, but from what he could see, there were other Challengers in the untold Dungeons. If he didn't grow, he might get crushed, he needed to prepare for any situation, and be ready if he ever had to face others.
{Would you like to begin the trial}
{Yes/No}
{Yes.}
Chris was finally getting started.