[ Welcome Player Fal to the Challenge Dungeon, The First Fall. ]
[ This is your fourth attempt. ]
[ Warning!!! Warning!!! Unawakened player detected, death protection will not be applied. Proceed with caution. ]
Fal entered the dungeon as he had three times before. This will be his final attempt before awakening.
[ Ah, you came in again. Heed my words this time. Just accept the results and pass this dungeon. ]
"Hmm, we'll see. I want to try something new this time."
[ Getting a perfect pass is not at all possible. This dungeon wasn't created with that in mind. ]
"So, who created this dungeon anyway?"
[ You don't have enough permissions. Level up and clear some more dungeons and you will get the answers you seek. ]
"If I clear this, I won't get to talk to you haha.", Fal chuckled to himself.
[ You... ]
...
He regretted his words back then. When Fal first entered the challenge dungeon, he was barely scraping by but this quick witted boy almost succeeded. Luckily, he managed to escape with his life. It was the second time that Fal had succeeded but he wasn't happy. Fal had pondered out loud, "Are these people mere projections or do they truly exist?"
The ever taciturn system showed a hint of personality for the first time.
[ They are merely soul remnants of the people that lived before. They do not feel anything. ]
Fal's eyes shone. "If they were real once ,then I owe then a perfect ending."
[ No, you don't! Finish the dungeon and continue on. ]
[ Confirm the end of the Challenge Dungeon, The First Fall. ]
[ Yes/No ]
Fal decisively pressed on [ No ].
...
Fal had pressed "No" on the third time. He had managed a better result than was ever expected but he hadn't saved all of them. This was driving the voice in the system insane.
[ The First Fall. ]
[ Once demons and mythological creatures were only legends. When they first arrived, we were woefully unprepared. The first city fell. With their sacrifice, we bought time and were able to counterattack. Remember them. Remember their sacrifice. Give them a better ending. ]
[ Objective: Protect the city of Aven. ]
The dungeon made the player relieve the last day before Aven fell and all citizens were massacred. The reason why Fal thought everything might be real was how realistically the citizens were behaving. He hadn't entered many other Dungeons since he wasn't awakened yet. He had read and learnt that usually NPCs had set responses and their interactions were often accompanied by system prompts. Rookies sometimes got killed by rogue killers because they failed to learn this fact. The exception were Players who got trapped and some exceptional NPCS.
Fal had thought of many ideas planned to finish this dungeon. In his first two runs, he focused on gathering information. The powerful professionals in the city, the location of the enemy forces, different secrets and strategies. In his third run, he knew he could do better but there were still things missing to perfectly clear the dungeon however.
First was a way to gain trust. When he had entered the dungeon, he had to gather forces and especially convince the city lord. He hadn't find a way to do that yet. The easiest way would be to become awakened. Everyone was skeptical of an unawakened who knew too much.
Second was the lack of a competent commander. He had to fight on two fronts. He had tried to give detailed instructions but it was insufficient to achieve total victory. It was impossible unless he could be in two places at once. Even when informed of the creatures they were going to fight, the soldiers lacked the perception and experience to del with them.
Third was the strength. The battle tilted heavily towards the monsters and no matter how much he tried to bolster their forces, he wasn't able to manage a complete win. If he could become stronger, he would be able to save more people. Maybe even every one in this Dungeon.
The second time he ran through the dungeon, the advance party did not manage to cut down all the monsters and the remnants had raided the city. Luckily, he had implemented traps in the city and managed to annihilate the monsters but the city had been turned to rubble and most citizens had died.
The third run the monsters were annihilated at the price of all the combatants' lives. The voice in the system had been persistently telling Fal to just accept the end. To no avail, of course.
The fourth run drew to an end. The few remaining scattered soldiers mourned the death of their friends. The other cities had also received news and were preparing for the upcoming invasion. He had destroyed the pathway from which the monsters had come. Yet, he knew he could do better.
[ Are you still not going to accept the results? I never thought so many people could survive. It makes me think if you were at the helm at the time instead, we might have won. Just clear the Dungeon and move on. You will not receive extra rewards anyways. ]
"Eh, don't worry. I will be awakened next week and will come back to clear the Dungeon. Perfectly this time."
[ Confirm the end of the Challenge Dungeon, The First Fall. ]
[ Yes/No ]
Fal decisively pressed on [ No ].
[ Warning!!! Warning!!! This is the third time you are refusing to clear the Challenge Dungeon, The First Fall. If you choose to refuse this time, you will suffer a penalty. ]
[ Oh no, I didn't know this could happen. Just accept the result boy. This could be bad. ]
Fal barely took anytime to press on "No" again.
"Penalty. Talent potential decreased SSS --> F."