The Rise Of A Porter

The forest was shrouded in silence. Not that there was anything there that could make any noise, apart from Arnold, who hadn't moved an inch from his position since his battle with the Dreadnought.

It was getting late, the sunset wasn't half as beautiful as it had been previously, the twin blue moons which calmed his soul were now symbols of Arnold's lost hope.

___

The Dungeon has been closed.

Looking for alternative ways to return to the human realm.

The system will remain unresponsive until the task is completed.

Please wait patiently...

___

He had been stuck in the dungeon for 2 days now, he knew that at least two days had passed inside the dungeon since his collision with the Dreadnought.

He had resurrected the Dreadnought with Talos' help, thinking maybe the Dreadnought would be able to tell him about the 'other' way to exit the dungeon, but that piece of crap couldn't even talk! As a result, He had sent his summons all around the forest to look for clues but so far it was all in vain.

Even the burnt down forest had started rejuvenating, green patches of trees and grass could be seen here and there.

Arnold was filled with rage and remorse, but this rage wasn't directed at Rion. He felt enraged on his own incompetence. He was defeated because of his own stupidity, like always, but this time he actually had to pay the price for it. He heard someone walking towards him and sat up straight.

"Anything?" Arnold asked his summons who shook their heads in dismay, "Looks like there wont be anything to eat today. Thanks for the effort though, I appreciate it."

Arnold smiled wanly as his summons stared at their feet. They didn't need to sleep or eat, but that wasn't the case for Arnold, he had to eat and sleep regularly or else his stats might get affected because of it. It had been 4 days since he entered this dungeon, initially the meat obtained from monster carcass was enough for him to satisfy his stomach, but most of the carcasses had already decayed and were inedible, moreover his summons couldn't find a single monster who was remaining in the dungeon, thus obtaining meat was impossible.

"Looks like it'll be the end of me after all." Arnold smirked and laid down once again. He had already checked the shop. No food items were available there.

He recalled what Rion had said before leaving the dungeon. "As a reward for helping me, I'll let you in on a secret, killing this beast isn't the only way to get out of the dungeon, but it was the easiest one."

'Did he actually knew about something that even the system didn't know, or was that rascal bluffing? But if what he said was true then how did he knew about it? Moreover, the those other guys from his guild knew something about this dungeon beforehand... is someone helping them out secretly?'

An endless wave of questions ran through his mind but he couldn't come up with anything useful. He had tried to use his foresight to see if it would be of any help, but it was marked 'Inaccessible' for some reason and since the system had gone silent once again, Arnold was clueless about what he could do at this moment.

"Finding those answers wouldn't let me get out of this mess... I need to control my emotions..." Arnold mumbled and sat up once again and started meditating.

Meditating would help him to relax a bit and maybe help him figure out a solution to the problem as well. Nicholas' words echoed in his ears, "Anger is your enemy. Control it, and it'll become your greatest ally."

Arnold took quick, but deep breaths and tried to calm his furiously beating heart. Nicholas' voice rang loudly in his head once again, "Anger is your enemy..."

After what seemed an eternity, his heart finally calmed down and he slowly opened his eyes. His summons were still surrounding him, waiting for him to give an order.

"That's right. It's too soon for me to be defeated. No mere dungeon can ever stop me!" With this Arnold got up and was greeted by a notification.

___

Conditions met : Will of Iron.

You've didn't lose sight of your future and hence you've proven your worth.

[The Guide Between The Worlds] has acknowledged your presence and revealed her location.

You've triggered a HIDDEN QUEST!

[ TASK ] :

Pass the trial of the [The Guide Between The Worlds].

[ PROGRESS ] :

0/6 Trials passed.

[ REWARDS FOR COMPLETION ] :

• one [Return Crystal]

[The coordinates of her lair have been received by the system. Opening the portal now.]

___

"The guide between the worlds? Is she some kind of Dungeon Master?" Arnold asked the system, who didn't reply, "I'm having a bad feeling about this... but I don't have a choice now do I?"

Arnold recalled his summons back and stepped into the portal, only to be greeted by another notification.

___

You've entered the domain of a [Lesser Being].

All your skills have been temporarily reset. You won't be able to use them until you successfully pass the trial of [The Guide Between The Worlds].

Your inventory access has been revoked.

You won't be allowed to consume mana for any purpose.

All of your attributes have been temporarily reset as well.

As a provision, you're allowed to keep one of your attributes intact. Please select an attribute you'd like to keep :

• STRENGTH (STR) : 96

• DEFENSE (DEF) : 75 (due to the gears)

• STAMINA (STA) : 78

• INTELLIGENCE (INT) : 160

• AGILITY (AGI) : 83

• ACCURACY (ACC) : 94

• EVADE (EVD) : 78

• CHARISMA (CHA) : 86

• MYSTIC (MYS) : 155

___

"I F*CKING KNEW IT WAS A TRAP!" Arnold bellowed, "... and still feel right into it."

He had expected something like this to happen but this was completely absurd! How was he supposed to complete a trial with just a single attribute! He was bewildered. He was still thinking about what type of tasks he'll have to complete.

Selecting Evade, Charisma, Agility, Stamina or Defense was out of picture as, one, their level wasn't high enough and two, Arnold won't be able to achieve anything by using these attributes.

He had similar issues with, Accuracy and Mystic, as even though they were high leveled attributes, he couldn't use spells to call his summons or his weapons anymore as they had been sealed by the authority of [The Guide Between The Worlds].

Strength was a good option but then again, he wasn't sure if the trial would require physical strength or not.

___

You have 15 seconds to choose an option.

___

"I've decided." Arnold said. His voice was filled with confidence.

___

You have selected [INTELLIGENCE (INT)].

The trial will now begin.

___