8 Chapter 8

Alex opened his eyes and looked around to see he was back in his room. Alex opened the door and walked out of the room. He entered the living room to see his father Howard sitting on the sofa he was wearing the same clothes he was wearing last night and judging by the dark circles under his eyes it was quite obvious that he was worried about Alex and did not sleep all night. Seeing Alex coming into the living room Howard got up from the sofa.

"How did it go? Did you fail? Come on we are going to the hospital now" Howard said hurriedly without giving Alex a chance to answer his questions.

Most of the people who enter the dungeon for the first time are not able to complete their missions and most likely die in a dungeon it takes a mental toll on them and they develop disorders like PTSD and that is why it is a rule that those who die or fail in their first mission must visit a psychiatrist.

"Calm down Dad, I am alright and I completed my first dungeon," Alex said trying to calm down his father.

"Alex it is alright even if you fail there are still many opportunities for you" Howard looked at his son for some time then sighed and said. Howard thought Alex was in denial. The old Alex wanted to become an adventurer it was his dream and now that Alex has failed he is not willing to believe that he could not become an adventurer.

"No really dad I am an Adventurer look," Alex said showing his right wrist which had the mark of the Tower.

Howard looked at the mark and rubbed it to see if it was real or fake and after examining it for a few minutes Howard was finally convinced that the mark was real and Alex had really completed his first dungeon.

"Congratulations! I am happy for you" Howard said while hugging Alex.

Even though Howard had a smile on his face but Alex could see he was worried. Howard did not want Alex to be an adventurer matter of fact he wanted Alex to stay as away from anything related to the Tower as possible. Howard, even though he was not a psychiatrist, had seen many adventurers coming to the hospital in different mental states. They have experienced things in a dungeon like death and torture which had left them mentally scared. He did not want this for his son but Alex was adamant about being an Adventurer so in the end Howard just decided to support his decision.

"Dad you do not have to worry about me I was able to complete my first mission with good assessment and was able to buy an ability," Alex said trying to dispel his worry. He walked towards a sofa and lifted it easily.

"See I am quite strong now I will be fine in a dungeon," Alex said while looking at the dumbfounded expression on Howard's face.

"So what is for breakfast?" Alex said while putting down the sofa and walking towards the kitchen.

The next hour went with them having breakfast and Howard asking some questions about the dungeon and Alex answering. After breakfast, Howard decided to take a leave from work and have some sleep and Alex went to school.

Alex's school was near his house so after walking for 10 minutes he was able to reach his school. Alex entered the class but found a strange atmosphere. Most of the students were sitting there quietly and only a few were talking with each other. Alex went to his seat as usual and after a few minutes, he tapped on his shoulder and turned around to see his friend Max Samwell. He also had dark circles around his eyes but was in relatively better shape than other students.

"So did you enter the Tower?" asked Max.

"Yes and you?" Alex asked even though he already knew the answer.

"Yes I did and I don't think I will ever enter again," Max said with fear evident in his eyes.

"Why did you fail?" Alex asked.

"No I completed my mission," Max said while rolling up his sleeve to show the mark of the tower on his wrist.

"Then what?" Alex asked curiously.

"Well, I chose [Resident evil] dungeon and was teleported to a city called Raccoon city which was filled with zombies. My mission was just to leave this city or kill 10 zombies. Long story short I was bitten by zombies and had to use the suicidal method of using a grenade to blow myself and the zombies up and luckily I was able to complete my mission" Max said with fear on his face.

Alex looked stunned and then looked at Max with pity. This must have left a mental scar on him.

"Are you alright now? " Alex asked with a little worry in his voice.

"Well, I have to go to a psychiatrist for some time and have to take some pills other than that I am alright but I don't think I will ever be able to enter the dungeon again," Max said.

"But at least I get to keep inventory which is better than nothing" Max added.

Inventory, a spatial bag of a sort in which time does not pass, is given to all adventures in the dungeons but only those who have the privilege to use it in this world who have completed their first dungeon.

"What about you?" Max asked Alex.

Alex rolled up his sleeve to show him the mark.

"I was able to complete it relatively easily," Alex said.

"Congrats," Max said to Alex.

Suddenly the door of the classroom opened and Mr. Williams walked in. He looked at the students and after seeing that all the students were present he sighed with relief.

"Good morning," Mr. Williams said while entering the class.

"I am sure most of you entered the Tower last night and I am glad to see everyone safe and sound. Now I have got two pieces of news for you. First, you all get a whole week of vacation to do whatever you want" Mr. Williams said

"And before I tell you the other news I want to ask whether someone completely the dungeon? " Mr. Williams asked.

Alex and Max raised their hand and all the attention was drawn to them. Mr. Williams and all the students looked at them quite surprised even though Mr. Williams had asked but he did not expect anyone to succeed not to mention two students.

"Congratulations both of you! I want you two to meet me after the class" Mr. Williams said with still surprise evident on his face.

"Now the Second news is for you two. After a week someone from the Adventurer Alliance will come to the City to register all those who have completed their first dungeon and they will be given their Adventurer I.D" Mr. Williams said.

"And that all enjoy your holidays" Mr. Williams added before walking out.

Alex and Max were immediately surrounded by classmates who did not enter the Tower and wanted to know about their experience in the dungeon. Max was telling them about the tower enthusiastically and even performing tricks by pulling things out from his inventory mostly to show off in front of the girls and Alex was just sitting there only answering the questions asked to him. After some time Alex pulled a reluctant Max with him to go and meet Mr. Williams. They reached the teacher's office and knocked on the door.

"Come in," Mr. Williams said from inside the room.

Alex and Max entered the room.

"Have a seat" said Mr. Williams after seeing Alex and Max.

"Congratulations to both of you! Now I won't take much of your time. I called you here to ask about your future plan. Do you plan on continuing your career as an Adventurer? " asked Mr. Williams.

"Well Sir I was able to complete this mission due to luck and after what happened in the dungeon I don't think I will be able to gather the courage to enter a dungeon again. My Dad wants me to join his company so I will be doing that." Max answered Mr. Williams.

A look of understanding flashed on Mr. Williams' face before he turned to Alex.

"What about you Alex what is your plan?" Mr. Williams asked.

"I will be entering the Tower again. It was a dream to be an Adventurer and now that I have achieved it I am not giving it up." Alex answered Mr. Williams saying what previous Alex would have said.

Mr. Williams sighed and looked at Alex for some time.

"Alright you have decided to be an adventurer you are gonna need information about Adventurer Alliance," Mr. Williams said while pulling out a book from a drawer and giving it to Alex.

The title of the book was ' Beginner Guide For Adventurers' and in place of the Author's name just Adventurer Alliance was written.

"This is just some basic information but since you are most likely going to join Adventurer Alliance so it is better to read it," Mr. Williams said.

"Thank you," said Alex.

"Alright this is all and be sure to register yourself with the Alliance," said Mr. Williams.

Alex and Max walked out of the office. Max decided to head home and Alex went to the library to read the book. Alex entered the library to find it mostly empty. Alex found a place to sit down and started reading.

When the Tower first appeared many people entered it but few succeeded to become Adventurers. At that time there was no law to control or manage them so some abused their abilities and it resulted in chaos all around the world. There was destruction of cities and millions of people died. To stop this the Adventurer Alliance was created which was composed of Adventurers who wanted to maintain the peace in this world. The Alliance was created with the support of all the Countries of the world. The purpose of the Alliance was not just to control the Adventurers who use their powers for wrong purposes but also to work for the betterment of the world as well and they did complete their purposes. The Alliance provided the world with many advanced technologies which caused massive progress in many fields such as medicine and robotics etc.

it was mandatory for all the Adventurers to register with the Alliance and those who do not register are prosecuted or if they have not committed any crime made to register this way the Alliance. The Adventurers also get benefits by registering with the Alliance the Alliance headquarters is created on an artificial island called Fantasy island. It is a very special place that only Adventurers are allowed to enter and is the gathering place for Adventurers. It is the most technologically advanced place in the world. The Alliance also provides many services there such as selling or buying items and Auctions are also held once in a while.

By the time Alex finished reading the whole book, it was already evening and Alex decided to return home. While walking back to his home he decided to think about what to do for the next week he had nothing to do for the whole week so he decided to enter the Tower again.

Alex entered his home and saw that Howard was up and looked much better now. Alex and Howard ordered pizza for dinner.

"I am going to enter the dungeon again tonight," Alex said while eating.

Howard stopped eating for a moment and looked at Alex.

"Just be safe," Howard said with a sigh and started eating again.

"I will be don't worry," Alex said while getting up from the table and picking up his plate, and taking it to the kitchen.

"It may take some time in the dungeon so don't stay up at night at most I will be back by a. week," Alex said.

Howard just nodded in response. Alex had already told him about the time flow difference this morning.

"See you in a week," Alex said while walking into his room.

Once inside the room, Alex decided to get ready to enter the dungeon. This time he already knew what he needed so he put a few of his clothes in the inventory and after doing that he put his left hand on his right wrist and said "enter"

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