Hellish Training
That was how HELL began.
Des had to wake up considerably early for his combat training, which involved him challenging the Bat, Worm, Colossus, and Centipede Horrors in the initial expanse.
Eve supervised to make sure he was properly training. Any time he failed to meet her expectations—whether by slacking off or making a mistake he should have known better not to—he would be forced to skip breakfast that morning.
If he was able to meet her standards, though, he would be fed breakfast by Eve while his aching body recovered from all the stress.
Afterwards, with that same exhausted body, he would be forced to mine all the materials he would need for his daily lesson at the Forge.
Since the spot that Eve showed him was too dangerous to Mine—as the Horrors that spawned there were too much for him to deal with—he had to get his materials from other places.
Once he gathered all the materials through hours of tireless Mining, he would carry all the ores to Eve's forge where his next lesson would begin.
He would learn smelting, as well as the purification methods for all the kinds of Ores—particularly the ones he was tasked with.
After hours filling his brain with all of that information, he would finally have the chance to rest and fill his belly. He could even take a light nap, if he wanted to.
But… after that, he would have to wake up for his mandatory evening exercise.
This involved tons of push-ups, squats, running, etc.
Des had thought he was done with these basic training, and that he was already training his body every morning when he faced the Horrors, but according to Eve, they were different kinds of training.
The initial one was to train his combat abilities—which mostly relied on his Horror Aspects.
As for his evening routine… it was to help his base physical abilities.
All in all, he would spend a few hours doing this too.
By the time he was done with this, his whole body would ache, and Eve would help massage his body while they told each other stories or enjoyed one another's company.
Once again, she would have to feed him.
These were Des' favorite periods of the day, since afterwards, he could sleep for a decently long period. Unfortunately, his sleep was always short for some reason… and he would repeat the same process the following day.
That wasn't the worst part, though.
Anytime he felt like he was getting used to this usual routine, Eve would switch things up a little.
She would either alter the requirements necessary to pass the Morning Combat Training, or change the Ores they would be dealing with that day.
From Mythril, Orichalcum and Adamantite, she could instead require the Red and Blue Crystals along with the Luminous Crystals—completely changing the routes he would have to take and the mining techniques he would use.
The most annoying part wasn't even the mining, but the purification process.
These Crystals were easier to mine than the metals, but they were a lot more difficult to purify, yet Des had to suffer through the change in its most brutal form.
"It's for your own good! You have to learn to adapt to these sorts of things!" Eve always said, anytime he let out even the slightest groan.
He never directly complained, of course.
Des knew that Eve was going out of her way for his benefit, and he was grateful for it.
But, there were days when it felt like she was simply punishing him, and he couldn't help his body's reaction to such stress.
Did he have a choice to rest at all, though?
NO!
Every day… for at least eighteen hours of every day… he was busy with one thing or the other.
He only slept for four hours, and used the other two to rest and eat.
All of this was experienced by Des for another two years.
*****************
"Happy birthday to me! I'm 23 years old today, Eve… won't you wish me?"
Usually, he would wake up with groans, having a tasteless frown on his face as he prepared for his daily life of hell, but this time there was a bright smile on his face.
Despite all the hardships that he experienced, Des never forgot to celebrate life.
He had survived a total of five years and a few months in this place, and that meant more to him than he could ever put into words.
"Yeah, yeah! You won't stop bickering about it." Eve was in the other room, away from their sleeping quarters, so he knew he had to leave to see her.
Her voice was still as loud and strict as ever, but Des was not going to fold this time.
He was determined to get his "Happy Birthday" wish from Eve no matter what. If she didn't give in to his demands, then… then he wouldn't go for trai—
"Did you just think about skipping training today?"
"No, ma'am!"
"Good! Get over here!"
Grumbling internally while dragging his feet on the ground, he made his way out of his sleeping quarters so he could greet the only human he could interact with in over five years.
Yawning as he pushed aside the curtain that separated the two rooms, he made his way to Eve's kitchen/dining area.
He wasn't expecting what he saw there.
A proper table was set at the center of the room, with what resembled a grand cake that seemed to be bursting with white and red cream. The cake had five layers—possibly representing the years he spent in the Dungeon, and it had two candles shaped as '23' sitting atop it.
The room was also filled with candles numbered twenty-three—the exact age he just turned—and there was even a huge box closely held by Eve.
His present, no doubt.
"HAPPY BIRTHDAY, DES!" She yelled as soon as she saw him, her wide smile forming on her bright face.
He was frozen in place as he saw all of these, not knowing the right words to say, or how to possibly react to the unexpected display before him.
"A-ahh… haaa…"
All he wanted was a "Happy Birthday" wish from Eve, but… to think she went all-out for him.
He didn't know what to say.
"I… I thought you said you didn't know how to make… c-cream…"
"I figured it out in secret! I told you I could do it if I wanted to, but you called that a bluff! See? I'm amazing, aren't I? I'm so aweso—!"
Before Eve could complete her words, he rushed to embrace her.
"T-thank you… thank you very much."
She instantly dropped his box and hugged him, a bright smile on her pretty face.
There were many words that could have been exchanged between the two of them, but neither of them chose to say anything for a while. As Des shed a tear, his lips curling upwards to form a comfortable smile, Eve remained in place and patted him on the back.
"You've done well, Des. Truly."
Silence.
The comfort of their silence radiated across the room, until Des whispered yet again.
"No one has ever celebrated my birthday for me before…"
"I know."
Eve's smile deepened as she closed her eyes.
"No one celebrated mine either. I still think it's pointless, but… since it means so much to you…"
She said these words as Des' only friend, and it went to the depths of his soul.
He wished he could remain in her embrace for much longer.
But…
"Alright! Time out! Time out!"
She pushed him away and carried the box she previously held in her hands, her smile now completely gone.
"Time to open your present. Hurry up, before you're late!"
"Late? Late for what?" Des chuckled, ready to take the box off Eve's hands, while still smiling like a little kid.
The next thing he heard caused his face to grow pale instantly.
"What else? Training, of course!"
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[A/N]
Thanks for reading!
I hope you enjoyed the chapter. The wholesomeness here just makes me smile every time.
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