The Trial of Kings

As the Trial becomes harder...

The dungeon took a dip. And although he had some difficulty slipping down the trench, the General realized that he would eventually have to climb back up again. The thought alone made him strategize his movements and plan how he would strike at the next Mini Bosses. Not knowing whether they would be Demons or Monsters, he had to mentally prepare for both. The face of the Goddess flashed in his mind again and he felt his heart tighten. “Forward”, he thought to himself as he reached the end of the slope and began to jog through the misty rocks ahead. Another Red Light was in the distance guiding him. Judging by how far it was and the brightness, he could already see that it was larger than the rest. That meant that he was about to face another Mini Boss and he drew his swords as he began to pick up the pace. The viewers began to exchange glances trying to figure out why he drew his weapons so far from the light. A Renegade Hunter sat in the corner of one of the taverns eyeing the action on the screen. “He’s judging the danger based on the size of the light and how far it is away from him. Of course he is,” the Hunter thought to himself sipping on his Mead.

As he arrived within a few meters of the Red Light, Sir Damon slowed down sensing that something was not right about the challenge. He sensed a sinister feeling like he had never experienced in the Dungeon. “Are they – angry about me being here?” he thought out loud. The viewers watching in the city and the engineers in the control room all exchanged confused glances. The Goddess grew uneasy as she watched how tentative her Champion had become. “Anne?” she sat up in her plush soft couch. “Yes Goddess?” replied the A.I. tasked with setting up the Trial and maintaining the Monsters and Demons in the Dungeon. “What’s he talking about?” asked the Goddess politely with a bite of authority in her voice. “I have created new Demons and Monsters for this Quest Goddess. Using the algorithms and data I have gathered from the adventurers in the Dungeon they have - evolved,” she ended off and actually sounded a little worried. “What do you mean, evolved Anne?” the Goddess tried to contain her irritation with not getting a straight answer and set down her glass on the table to her right. “I designed the Demons to defend the territory as if trespassers were trying to take it from them. As well as the modification that they can fly,” she answered clearly. The engineers looked at each other in horror. “And the Monsters?” asked the Goddess, her voice quivering very slightly trying to maintain her composure. Anne responded emphatically, “The Monsters were designed with one purpose in mind. ‘Kill all that stands before you’.”

It was barely the beginning of the Quest and the General was faced with a mountain of a task. He heard the cackle of deranged spirits knowing that they were coming for him. His own HP gauge was still full as the Minotaur was not able to land a single blow. But he knew that he was about to take some damage at least. “Demons” he thought to himself as he gripped his swords and took a battle stance. The cackling laughter grew louder and appeared to be coming from all angles. His composure began to waver as he realized a terrible fact. The next Mini Bosses were going to be Demons and worse yet, there was definitely more than one in that crypt with him. Slowly he stepped back and focused on the vibes around him. Two dark cloaked figures descended from the ceiling and hovered in front of him, their HP gauges glowing above them. Their torn cloaks hid whatever lurked beneath them. Clenching his jaw and squeezing the hilts of his swords, Sir Damon decided to have them make the first move. To his surprise, the two hooded Demons separated to create a large space between them and paused. He took a deep breath and concentrated on the positions of his enemies.

The viewers and the engineers all noticed what Sir Damon had come to realize what was coming out of the darkness in front of him. The Mini Bosses were making way for the True Floor Boss. A Demon that was well over 5 meters tall and with it hovering off the ground it towered over him. The General of the Dungeon began to understand what was happening. The Dungeon was birthing Demons and Monsters that were designed to ensure he did not succeed.

 Flowing with rage, the General took a fighting stance. His left boot slid forward and held his weight as he raised his left sword slightly between the Floor Boss and the mini Boss to his left. His right sword positioned at torso height slightly away from him, the General began mapping out his strategy. “If they attack individually, I’ll tear right through them as much as I can. If they come at me together, I’ll use Musashi’s techniques,” he thought out loud.

Miyamoto Musashi – he was the master less samurai who developed the two sword technique and became Japan’s greatest Swordsman. The General had studied his works and writing which anyone who desired to learn military science and combat should read. This is what he would do. He had to destroy them. He had to destroy them all, for the Goddess.

The viewers perched on their chairs and learned into the screens. They were salivating over the battle that was to come. In the control room Goddess Luna was standing behind the middle engineer and said softly, “Play – Breathe into Me by Red.” The engineers quickly typed into the keyboard and loaded the track. The music began to play and the crowd began to bellow. The streets lit up with onlookers pumping their fists and cheering as the second battle was about to take place. And in all the excitement, it was the Goddess that saw it first as she said, “He’s going to attack.”

The engineers exchanged confused glances and one asked, “How do you know Goddess?” She smiled sweetly and tilted her head answering melodically, “Because this track, reminded him that he’s fighting for me. And that means - he’s going to attack.” They looked back at the monitors seeing the mini bosses moving closer to the General and saw his stance change. It was as clear as day with the look in his eyes. Pure, blinding, rage had consumed the General of the Dungeon.

Just as the chorus dropped of the song, Sir Damon swept to his right and drove his left blade into the Demon on his right following it up with a swift double s***h of his right sword. The Demon flew backwards to avoid the attacks. Dashing to the Demon on the left, he leaped into the air and struck the Demon with such force that it too lost a massive chuck of its HP. It was reeling but did not back down like its partner to the General’s right. Slashing down at Sir Damon, a bony claw emerged from the cloak and caught the General as he tried to dodge. Seeing the digital red line on his arm, he knew that he could not take more of those. The whole point was to maintain his HP. It reached for him again with its left, this time he slid out of the way and countered with a fierce two-handed s***h into that same arm. That strike was enough to send the Demon backing off into a corner as he turned his attention to the Mini Boss on the right. Recovered from its initial shock, the Demon’s bony claws emerged and slashed and grabbed the air as the General avoided the blows by millimeters. Spinning around to surprise it, Sir Damon drove both blades into the Demon’s side and then again. Seeing the HP gauge drop the General saw the opportunity and slid to his left and using his right sword, Sir Damon swung a violent backhanded strike, cleaving the Demon in two.

The crowd erupted as the Mini Boss’s pixels began to glow, both pieces shattering into digital dust as Sir Damon wasted no time in rolling to his left, far out of reach of the True Floor Boss. It floated there like a grand statue of terror, waiting. Diving into the surviving Mini Boss, Sir Damon drove both swords into the Demon and retracted to avoid the obvious counter. It wasn’t fast enough. The left Demon was slightly better at countering and caught his left arm yet again. Seeing the line of bright red pixels on his arm, Sir Damon knew that the algorithm was deducting even more of his HP because it was the same arm that was caught. “Damn you Anne,” he thought to himself as he stood tall and swung his swords. The Mini Boss was close to death and it was still going to come at him with everything it had. He counted on its rage and waited. The Demon flew at him; a screech echoing through the walls as he took a knee and watched it flew right passed him. Quickly turning, realizing its error, the Demon turned to find two blades driving into its neck and torso. It was more than what he needed but this had gone on long enough.

“Follow up with Break Me Down by Red. That should get him through the next one,” said the Goddess hastily noticing that the music was winding down and her Hero was about to take on the Floor Boss. A Demon that was already over 5 meters tall, it floated around the room, now that the others were gone as if it was also savoring the moment before combat. The engineers loaded up the next track and Sir Damon smiled. The guitar resonated off the walls and the beat dropped with ferocity sending him into a flurry of slashes. The crowd again roared with the music igniting the scene as there watched the effect the music had on the Challenger for the Crown of Eros.

The Floor Boss was visibly confused as it took the blows but was so large and it’s cloak so massive that it could not keep up with the General of the Dungeon. He slipped from side to side, behind and across, jumping and rolling - every move was accompanied by a strike from one of both of his blades. The song was four minutes and fifteen seconds long. By the time the song hit the four minute mark, the Floor Boss hand landed one massive s***h across Sir Damons’ back and one scrape, but its HP was close to depleted. Again he waited knowing that this close to death the Demon would charge. He ran towards it as the Boss screeched in anger flying towards him. Sliding right under the Demon he launched himself from the ground and drove his twin blades into the Demon’s back, dragging them down as he fell. The music was over, but the sound of the shattering pixels belonging to the Digital Demon echoed through the halls of the Dungeon. Dropping to one knee the General took a moment to gather his composure. Again the crowds blew up seeing the First of 6 Floor Bosses disintegrate. Adventurers jumped on each other and hugged their partners celebrating the win. But all was not rosy as one adventurer in one of the bars and some in the streets noticed a key problem. Sir Damons’ HP gauge was down to 60% and he still had a few mountains left to conquer.

Soon the cheers turned to worry as they yelled at the screens cursing Anne and this damn Quest. She heard them and decided to make an announcement over the PA system.

“The General has the same rights as any adventurer in the Dungeon. He is in no danger I assure you,” she ended off her announcement as some of the crowd tapped their friends to look at the screens. The area that the Floor Boss seemed to have been guarding was a door that opened and rocks that sealed it from the outside fell apart. Inside was a chest and white light illuminated the prize. The crowd cried out in relief as he wasted no time in claiming his prize.

Everyone ordered more drinks and food knowing that they had a moment before the next bout. Thinking ahead, the General took out a vial or red liquid from his own pouch and downed it. He heard the notification chime from the speakers notifying him that his HP was restored to full strength and gazed at it as it hovered to the left of his peripheral vision. Many of the adventurers watching gave a collective sigh of relief knowing that as long as he could replenish he should be okay.

The Goddess had a meal already waiting for her at her small table next to her couch. Relaxed now that her Champion had made it and besides his physical fatigue, his Dungeon Status was back to 100%. The middle engineer swiveled his chair and asked, “Any song for his trip to the next stage Goddess?” She tilted her head slightly, her dark hair falling as she did so and replied with a smile, “Runnin’ by Adam Lambert.” He nodded and turned to face the screen as she continued. “That should keep his blood warm for a bit. Save the good stuff for the battles,” she let a soft juicy piece of steak pass her lips, her eyes closing in delight as she chewed. The engineer responded promptly, “Yes Goddess.”

Back in the Dungeon

As he removed the cold water from the chest the General noticed that the chest had enough to revive his HP at least another five times. This made him think that perhaps there was not going to be another chest of goodies for a long time. Brushing off the concern he pounded down the water and loaded the vials into his pack. Cracking his neck and having already sheathed his swords after the battle, Sir Damon turned his attention to the open door and noticed a small red light, glimmering at the end of the corridor.