Chris felt terrible, "fuck, this is too much."
"Isn't this just a bad case of discrimination."
Chris felt that, he was being discriminated against by the system, he didn't feel bad that Sim's trials were easier to do than his, "but still."
"Well, seeing is believing."
After all, it wasn't the first time that dogs were treated better than people.
{Rewards are given due to the outstanding performance of your tamed beast}
{1,000 doggy coins have been awarded, they can only be used in the doggy store}
{All stats increase by 10}
{Skill - Runner has been given}
{Runner - can quickly overtake others, or stay on chase once a target has been marked, skill proficiency rises the more it is used}
"What the hell!" Chris felt neglected, even the system loved Sim, but not him. He had got 5 gold for clearing his 1st dungeon, and 50 gold for his 1st training, if this wasn't discrimination, then what was.
All in all, he was happy for sim.
"Come on, girl, let's go home."
Sim used her hind legs for support, as she hit Chris's chest a few time excitedly, he didn't understand, so she started scratching the ground.
"What are you doing?" Luckily, the ground was easy to write on, so Sim had no problems writing down her thoughts.
The Problem was: There were just 4 letters.
M E A T
Chris looked at sim and hugged her in his arms while laughing, 'It turns out she was making a request.'
She licked his face and kept beckoning him to move towards the door.
"Okay, okay."
Chris chuckled, 'it seems like I've given her a new addiction.'
Chris went down to his room, with Sim in his arms.
◇◇◇
Amidst the sound of motor engines.
"Ma'am', we've searched the entire Antarctic continent from top to bottom, he isn't here."
"Damn it, I thought he'd be here for sure," they had both decided to visit the Arctic once, since Antarctica was now inhabitable after the split.
It was the land given by the UN to the displaced new races that had arrived at earth, after almost facing their extinction.
The Arctic was mostly habitable thanks to the great role played by the Ice elves in controlling and radiating the temperatures with their magic, even plants could be seen growing, along with new foreign crops.
The domes they build provided shelter and could be fine-tuned according to the needs of each race.
In order to enlist them, she had gone as far as making a few promises to acquire their trust,
"It's not needed, we only follow the will of nature."
Mimi stood in front of the Ice order. The rulers of the New Antarctica. They governed over the land, and were the main representatives of the other races.
"Nature is with you, and you are with nature."
Members of the order from the 1st to the 12th seat were in favour of Mimi.
"You and you father have shown us your good will." The 5th seat replied.
"We owe you a great deal." The 8th seat spoke next.
"As long as we can be of help." The 1st and 2nd seat gave their support.
"After all, the frost company played a massive role in our relocation. It is only right to return the favour." They were of one mind.
If anyone else apart from Mimi stood before them, such a thing would not have occurred.
"We will help you, frost." The Ice queen announced the final decision.
"Thank you."
Mimi wondered, was her time as a climate change activist finally coming to aide her.
After all the Ice elves were known to be as cold as the Icy land on which they lived in.
The 7th seat cleared his throat and broke the silence.
"If you don't mind, my 7th great-grand son is just your age an..."
"Agathest!" Nycome the holder of the 3rd seat yelled.
"Hmm, well it was worth the try." He shrugged
"Be more refined." She spat at him.
"Oh, don't give me that crack, we were all thinking the same thing." He proclaimed shamelessly.
Mimi blushed.
It was a wonder why they always warmed up to her.
"I'll be on my way."
"Yes, have a good rest at your resort, we have troubled you." The queen looked apologetic.
"If you ever change your mind, tell me first."
"My queen."
The queen laughed.
"I'm sorry you had to see that. Please understand that they really like you." Her escort tried to make her understand the situation.
"No worries, I like them a lot too."
Her escort blushed. She wore a smile as she escorted Mimi back to her lodging.
Mimi stood in the garden of Winter, alone with her thoughts.
She had talked a few times with Chris about visiting the continent; for a getaway or retirement, now she was alone without him. Him not being here was a big blow to her. "It's alright, we've already combed the waters, there are still more continents to go through, so it won't be long until we find him."
Furthermore, she leaped into the water, Mimi still hadn't given up.
"Nature's Marvel."
Brilliant light shown around her as she landed into the sea, swimming away.
"Damn it, follow the captain before we lose her, we have orders not to let her out of our site or your heads will be flying."
"Roger."
"H-219 is in pursuit, we are locked on, and tracking from the air, roger"
"All units pack up."
The men dropped their booze and hot chocolate as they ran after their captain.
"Fuck, she's not even a teenager any more." One of the men complained.
"Watch it, one more word and you're out." The head soldier reprimanded.
"Quit complaining, it's not like we weren't paid for this. If you don't like it, then fuck off." Gem, replied.
"I just ... needed the money." The soldier hung his head low.
"Then shut your pie hole. I like her spunk." Gem turned to the direction the miss had left in and smiled. " Don't worry, miss, this gem's got your back."
Jetpacks and Helicopters filled the sky as the men took off, chasing behind their leader, while some jumped into the ocean with their thrusters and submarines
Mimi swam full speed ahead, her with hair cascading behind her, giving the illusion of a mermaid.
The order would send her a detailed report when they were done with the search on the Arctic.
She had cut off all communications with the main group. Leaving them with no choice but to chase after her.
She wanted to be alone, most importantly, she didn't want others to see her cry. In the ocean, her tears would be safe, as well as her heart.
◇◇◇
Chris set out the utensils, ready to prepare Sim a dish.
Sim sat by the table side, waiting expectantly for her dish.
Sigh.
'The way she's watching, is a bit too much, it's like she's starting daggers at me.'
The way she gulped, every time Chris picked up an ingredient, was too adorable. Whenever she saw Chris step away from the pot, she immediately stood up on alert.
"Woof," it was really adorable for Chris, he couldn't help bursting out in laughter.
Sim realized what was going on and covered her face, with her paws.
A few moments later the dish was ready and Sim was ecstatic.
This time, Chris had made ham stew. Sim seemed to be enjoying it very much, she gave him a what else are you hiding look, when she was done, which left Chris laughing on the floor.
They continued their training for a few more months, as Chris had to help Sim with hers too, he ended up getting much more training done, than he had thought was possible.
He cooked for himself, and sim at dinner time, helped with training, bathed her, and took care of her, this led to drastically increasing their bond with each other.
It was to the point where Sim couldn't image not having Chris around her, while most trainers would find it discomforting, she kept her boundaries, so Chris wasn't too worried.
Chris welcomed this, he took SIM everywhere he went, and had no issues with it, in fact, it was the first time anyone had treated him so closely, apart from his one friend back on earth.
"I hope she's doing well. I hope she doesn't do anything out of proportion while I'm away."
'Yeah,' Chris thought, 'at least having someone waiting for me back home doesn't feel so bad either.'
Finally, another year had passed in the untold dungeon, Chris had bought a cake to turn his gruesome experience into a happy one.
Chris thought, 'If I could overwrite that moment with happy memories, it would be worth remembering. If I never came here, I would be living a shitty life on earth as Anna's slave with no sense of self, along with having to put up with my shitty dad."
He would gladly give up his life on earth for it. Well, he had to go back anyway, he just liked being here, in a place where no one did him no wrong.
After training that day, It seemed that it was finally time to move forward.
{Access has been granted}
{You are judged to be ready for a new trial}
{Time until you challenge the second floor 26hrs}
The wooden sword fell out from Chris's hands, just as the same as Sim missed the bite on her target as it gently rolled away.
This was the moment they were waiting for.
"It's finally here," the moment I thought would never come.
The occurrence left Chris with a bit of speculation.
'Could it be that one could only challenge each floors of the Untold Dungeons once a year?'
Well, he would have another year to figure things out, until then, he would just do his best with everything he had.
{Requirements for the 2nd floor - basic swordsmanship level 2}
{Be sure to purchase everything you need before leaving for the challenge, you have been warned.}
{Stay alert! The challenge is fairly easy, yet it records a high rate of failure}
{Your tamed beast may accompany you}
{New items have been unlocked in the store}
{You can choose to quit to return to, or leave the challenges of the untold Dungeons during the challenges from now on}
{May you remain told}
"Well, I'll just be alert then."
"Woof," Sim barked as Chris petted her back, it was basically expected at this point. Chris had been doing well and Sim was getting stronger it was bound to happen in due time.
In fact, Chris was starting to get a bit worried, he was planning to put in a formal complaint anyway, but it looked like there wouldn't be any need for that.
He would still get his pound of flesh back from the manager, but now wasn't the time. It would be his little insurance just in case things went south.
That night Sim and Chris had dinner, as usual he played with her, gave her a bath, and they went to bed.
Tomorrow he would have ample time to prepare, 'What could be more disastrous than getting jittery from too much excitement, or not getting enough rest.'
"There would be too many mistakes."
Chris let Sim stay in his bed, he needed company and what could be better than man's best friend. There was a long journey ahead, and he needed to walk the straight path forward, towards his goals. It felt like all the stops and screws had been removed, and the gears were finally moving.
Chris felt a bit uncomfortable, he didn't know what to expect, but he was glad that Sim was here with him.