The monastery visit was far from over as the party kept going. The monks were especially jittery from the excitement.
"Alright, everyone, the moment you were all waiting. Here is the scripture room." As Bob opened the room, the monks gasped in wonder.
The room looked extremely ancient and had a profound aura to it. The giant statue of a benevolent human being stood out the most.
It seemed to be protecting five beautifully white stone tablets engraved with the scriptures. The only issue was that the room was vast, with the tablets relatively tiny in comparison.
"There's also this option too." Bob winked at them before pressing a button.
That's when the letters on the tablets glowed a soothing blue. A second later, they were duplicated as they started…floating away?! They even went to circle the nearest guy.
"As you can see, there's an interactive setting. There's no need to push to the front as you can read the scriptures from anywhere in this room. The holograms will come to you."
Monk A: This is magic!
Monk B: He said it's holograms…
Monk C: This is so damn cool! It's like a show!
That's when Dale chimed in. "Pfft— What about the information about the rank 6? Will you add it?"
"Of course, you can count on me!" Bob reassured with a few people chuckling. "Fuck the world" would be added here. How classy!
Monk D: This is perfect! Let's read the scriptures a few times and train!
He exclaimed as the others instantly agreed and got ready to sit right there and train.
"About that, there is a meditation room right next door. It has both personal and group training rooms. In each, you can control the noise, the visuals, and even the climate."
Bob promptly showed them, and it was wonderful. Sunny, rainy, cloudy, quiet, noisy, and their favorite had to be the snow.
Monk A: It's like we're outside!
Monk B: It will be like the snow sitting exercise!
Monk C: Mister Josh gained enlightening in the snow too!
They looked at it all with awe as they couldn't wait to sit and meditate. After all, this was the purpose of their lives here.
"Actually, there is one last option. I went along with the idea that there is a need for both agreeable and hostile training environments, and well... I added this little room in the back."
Bob pointed to the corner toward a demonic-looking door seemingly made out of skulls.
< ☠ Test of courage: keep out! ☠>
Monk A: Test of courage?
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Monk B: Why does it look like the door is alive?!
Monk C: This feels so evil! We mustn't go in there!
One of them approached it, only to grab the handle, freeze, look down and scream in fright. After touching it, his hands were now bloody. What kind of prank was this?!
Monk D: What the hell is this?! Get it off me! Get it off!!
"Relax, I'm sure it's fake." Josh went near the monk, reassuring him. He even scooped a bit of the liquid, licking it before pausing a second.
"Never mind, it actually is blood. Anyway, that looks interesting. Let me try!" He shrugged before disappearing inside.
Many were left shellshocked. Who the fuck just drank blood without even wincing?! He had even licked his finger clean afterward! Was he a vampire or something?!
Others couldn't help but stare at Bob. What the hell had he done, how and also fucking why?! There couldn't just be a supply of blood in there, right?!
"What? I just asked myself what would AT do if he had to design a hostile training environment, and I somehow came up with that." He shrugged innocently.
"It's actually a project that started a while back with the help of Tech Queen Alexa. The inside is pretty much a game that aims to feel as real as possible. Anyway, you'll see."
Alexa had helped?! They had used AT as an example?! God have mercy upon the poor monks' souls! How mad were they to try and compete with an all-powerful Tower?!
They waited in silence, holding their breath. About 10 minutes later, Josh was coming back, a smile on his face.
"It's pretty fun, you guys. You should try it for sure!"
Instantly every Climber that had ever set foot in the D.L. school made a beeline for it. They looked like people excitedly queuing at a theme park.
Every time they would come out with a smile on their faces, even the ones that were slightly pale. At this point, even the merchant and monks got curious.
"Wish me luck!" The merchant chuckled as he headed in.
A minute later, he was out.
"W-what the heck is this?! This is a freaking nightmare!!" He ran out of the room screaming as if he had a devil at his heels, his nose bleeding non-stop.
Just remembering what he had seen and felt in there made his stomach twist.
The whole room was made to plunge one into a VR world. It made one feel like they would really die! Heck, this shit was torture! Whatever it was, had to be 100% illegal!
Bob gently approached him, handing him a survey titled:
There were already answers from everyone before him. The more he read, the more shocked he became:
- Too fake!
- Sound is trash.
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- Not scary enough.
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- Visuals are okay at best.
- Doesn't really feel like dying.
- The statue with the bleeding eyes was cute.
- It stopped working mid-simulation. Very disappointed!
- The monsters don't look realistic enough, especially the zombies.
- I like the soundtrack. It really feels like an evil god is humming in my ears.
- Compared to AT, this is really freaking lacking. There is no sense of danger at all.
What the hell?! They pretty much all found it lacking. Had they not experienced the same dread he had?! Apparently not…
After seeing the merchant's reaction, the poor monks were now incredibly wary of that one door. Many decisively decided to avoid it, while others chose to face their fears head-on.
The result was a new nickname for the room: the Monk Traumatizer!
They'd go in there and exit, their teeth clattering, their legs shaking, blood drained from their faces, and even coughing blood at times.
Josh generously dropped a few healing pills by the door, seeing so many injuries. They'd suffer in there, but they wouldn't die, at least…
"So that ends the tour as there is no need to visit the control room," Bob announced at some point, a few nothing the peculiar term. Control room? In a monastery? What?!
As for Josh, he had already begun his new poaching plan.
"Elder, have you ever thought about coming back to the world?" He asked.
"We need a quiet place to practice, and this mountain is as good as it gets. We wouldn't fare well near a Metropolis." The elder sighed.
"What about the new training rooms? It should be quiet enough in there, right?"
"Perhaps, but it's hard to say. I'd have to test it along with the other monks to determine how effective it is truly."
"What if you guys stay inside a week to test it? If it works, you guys can open a branch near my school. What do you say?"
"I'm really not sure if—"
"I think it could work, and I reached rank six apparently. What do you say?"
"I guess you're right. We'll try it your way. But don't get your hopes up!"
Nope, his hopes were already up.
Step 1: Bring the monks to AT
Step 2: Use their teachings as an addition to his school.
Step 3: Get all the monks to step into the Tower and get a class.
Step 4: Profit?
Afterward, the two went back to the group as they planned what came next:
- The monks would go into isolation training.
- The soldiers would return to their duties
- Everyone else would return to D.L., even the merchant, as they'd discuss deals.
The monks were very cooperative and started their training on the dot. They collectively disappeared in the meditation room, and Josh's party was left alone.
"What now, Master?" The orc asked.
"Now we fly back home together, well, except for you." Josh pointed to the unlucky monk. "You can ask for a lift from the merchant."
The man wanted to state his case, but he couldn't argue. His bad luck had even made them crash their initial ship.
"Guess we join Bob's ship then?" Dale proposed.
That's when Josh gave a mischievous smile.
"No need. We're already in a ship right now." He simply pointed at the monastery surrounding them.
"Y-you don't mean?!"
"Yep. By the time they're out of their seclusion, we'll be there already. As to whether they decide to remain or leave, that will be up to them." Josh shrugged.
That's when he brought them to the only room they hadn't visited earlier: the control room.
It was filled with bright screens showing everything one needed to know: the ship's status, a feed of the exterior, controls over the few defense mechanisms too.
The whole thing was made as a transport first and foremost, but still would be far from easy to take down.
The monastery barely trembled as they rose in the air, and just like that they were gone. In a day, they'd reach Metropolis-D, and Josh would be able to resume Climbing.
That's when the orc chimed in:
"Master, isn't this technically a kidnapping?!"
"Yep!" In his voice, there was not an ounce of shame…