The tour of The Great Wizard Pope King's Mighty Heaven Piercing Tower was a rather enlightening affair. Due to the wonderfully crafted tour led by Jerry, Billy was able to bear witness to the most delectable areas of the tower!
They began with the vault, next was the lounge, and continued with the torture chamber. This was followed by The Great Chamber of Karaoke, and then another, even larger, torture chamber. Next, they explored the Mighty Theatre Chamber, a jolly place full of song and dance. Of course, the next logical step was a quick tour of the torture chamber specialized in anal destruction titled Jerry's Mighty Room of Penetration.
As their delightful journey through the rest of the important rooms continued, which were largely horrific torture chambers, their tour would soon arrive at the room most squabbled over by the richest nobles;
The Live Monster Training Room
"Billy, are you really sure that your health is of a satisfactory state? You have been acting rather odd ever since we visited Jerry's Mighty Room of Penetration."
Billy was breathing heavily, and his cheeks were as red as cherries. "Oh no, don't worry, your majesty! I am fine, really! It must be my allergies..."
Jerry shrugged. "If you say so."
Suddenly, a mighty roar was heard throughout the grand halls of The Great Wizard Pope King's Mighty Heaven Piercing Tower. The tremendous sound shattered nearby glass, sent tables flying, and instantly slaughtered many of the weak peasants going about their duties nearby. It was the roar of a mighty, powerful beast in immense pain.
Billy fell to the ground, and covered his ears as he blead out all his orifices'. "What the hell was that?"
Jerry grinned. "That was my training area! It is filled to the brim with mighty monsters, and many pay heaps of gold to level inside. Now hurry up! I don't want to miss the next training session."
Billy coughed up blood. "Sounds epic. I'm excited, really. However, would you mind healing me first? I think I am going to die."
Jerry snorted, and waved his hand dismissively. "Get over yourself! It is just a minor case of internal bleeding, walk it off!"
Billy chuckled. "Oh yes. Just some internal bleeding, nothing serious. I'll just walk it off, of course!"
Thus, Jerry and Billy traveled to a place filled with pain and death.
The Live Monster Training Facility was a massive place; almost taking up an entire floor of The Great Wizard Pope King's Mighty Heaven Piercing Tower. Four massive arenas surrounded a golden, central pillar that connected the floors above and below. These arenas were painted in beautiful gold, blue, and red paint, and the walls were decorated with elaborate murals. The whole area was drenched in the smell of rotten, burned, and dismembered corpses, and was also intermittently speckled with large, deformed chunks of alien flesh.
Billy and Jerry sat on some fancy couches in the V.I.P. administration chamber, and waited eagerly for the training to begin.
Billy shuffled around on the sofa, and got himself situated comfortably. 'So, I am about to witness a battle against a monster? Getting to see how battles and leveling work should be useful for ensuring my survival...'
A large, crystal gate at the far edge of the arena screeched as it was forced open. Past the gate, in a room of pure darkness, all that could be seen were a pair of glowing, red eyes. A boom resounded throughout the whole facility as the gate fully opened, and the beast began to move forward. Each of the monster's steps crashed against the ground, sending shockwaves throughout the arena. Slowly, it marched closer and closer, until the beast's whole form was revealed for all to see...
The monster was a Dragon of Embers!
Billy stared, eyes wide open, at the monster. "It's a god damn dragon!" Billy squinted his eyes. 'But... what the hell is wrong with it?'
The dragon was bone skinny, and was covered in scars. Its legs trembled, as if barely able to support the body. The dragon was constantly shivering, and only moved when dragged around by a series of chains held by soldiers in plated armor.
The soldiers chained the dragon down to the ground, and forced their head onto the ground. After they were done, a young child walked out onto the arena while carrying a large, glowing hammer.
Billy cocked his head. 'That kid is so small... can he even hurt that thing?'
The kid walked right up to the dragon, and looked into its eyes. Then, he swung the hammer down on to its' skull.
The dragon began to screech in pain, and thrashed around; fighting against the chains.
The human lacked the strength to kill the dragon quickly, however. Each blow from the hammer could only leave a dent in the dragon's skull, and they only occasionally cracked a few scales.
With each strike, the dragon became more desperate. It struggled with all its might, and let out an endless stream of shrill screams.
Billy scratched his head. 'Well, this was not exactly what I was expecting... how is this supposed to be training?'
A single tear fell down Jerry's face. "Oh, the beauty! The efficiency and speed of our leveling techniques, all possible with only a bit of human ingenuity and cunning!"
After a few minutes, the dragon just... stopped moving, and went silent.
It had given up.
A few minutes later, the kid cracked through the dragon's skull, and crushed its' brain.
"... What did I just witness?"
Jerry quickly spun around. "It was art! This facility was designed with providing maximum leveling efficiency in mind! The energy gained through killing is determined solely by the creature's level, so we starve and torture the creatures until they are near death. Once the monsters are in that state, even a level five human given a magical weapon can kill them with enough time and effort. Do you know how many levels can be gained if a low level human kills a monster with the type of levels we breed here?"
"I do not, your majesty."
Jerry turned away, and smirked. "Enough for the nobles to pay me quite a hefty sum in order to use these facilities. The whole floor is booked for years ahead of time."
Jerry stood up, and dusted off his robe. "Well, that was fun. Now it's time for you to leave this tower."
Billy quickly jumped up. "Am I not going to use the training facilities?"
Jerry shook his head. "Sorry, you are far too low leveled, and it is already booked for the next five years. Don't worry though, I will keep you plenty busy, and your passive skills ensure that you will level up very quickly."
"My passive skills? What are those? Wait, you didn't really tell me much when you 'appraised', except that I have some Divine Ability that I can't even use..."
Jerry waved his hand. "Yes, yes... Your personal trainer will explain everything at the village I send you to. Now, goodbye!"
Jerry's staff released a blue energy, and Billy was teleported away to a local village. What stood before him was possibly the most awe-inspiring thing that he had seen that day.
It was the cutest man Billy had ever seen!
Deep in the forest, a monster feasted on the remains of a young human. It burped so loud that all the beasts nearby scattered away in terror. Then, the monster noticed the tracks that marked the path the child had taken...
