"Alright, take care Rocky, I''ll see you in three months time then" Principal Liam said as after it was decided that Nagini was going to take Rocky in, he wished him the best and took his leave.


    Rocky felt very awkward, standing in silence with the tall snake-men leader after that, however, he patiently waited for her to instruct him.


    "Follow me-" she said eventually, as she wriggled ahead with Rocky in tow.


    "Listen to me carefully boy, and don''t take my criticism to heart, because I''m only warning you-" Nagini said in a kind voice as she talked to Rocky without looking towards him.


    "Usually we send more mature Snake-Men into that chamber. One''s that have a firm mind as the weaker ones go insane" Nagini said, as she repeated the warning that Liam gave Rocky in his chamber.


    "For Liam to send you in a ce so dangerous, he clearly has high hopes from you, so I won''t belittle you, however, I must express once more that it surely won''t be easy-" Nagini said, as she ensured to drive home the point that it''s not a field trip where rewards were guaranteed.


    "The snake-men treasure is a chamber, where you get punished and tortured, but in return gain something youck.


    Say your biggest weakness is being overweight, then perhaps if you enter the chamber, you will be presented with an opportunity to reach an optimal physique, however, in return you may be punished with hellish nightmares every time you close your eyes.


    At first you might not think it''s too much, but overtime it will corrode your will, you won''t be able to sleep and your entire personality will change.


    It''s a bnce between risk and reward, but with your sanity on the line.


    How much you can gain, depends solely on how much you can endure, but while everyone feels they have strong minds, I''ve seen the chamber break the minds of even the strongest over the years" Nagini said, as she gave Rocky an overview of the ce he was about to enter.


    "One can only enter the chamber for 3 months at maximum and are given the opportunity to remove 6 ws.


    Every 15 days, you can take one additional penalty for one additional w removal, however, you can decide not to torture yourself more and decline additional penalty if you feel you can''t take it.


    Most survive having removed 2 penalties, but even then some don''t.


    The highest one has survived is having removed 4 penalties without losing their mind, but nobody has ever returned sane after taking on more.


    My advice would be to not overdo it, even having a single w removed will be a great help to you, so just do as much as you can ande back sane.


    If you don''t, it will unfortunately be me who will have to kill you when you emerge" Nagini said, as Rocky gulped nervously listening to her words.


    Unlike what he first imagined, the Snake-men treasure was not a warm pool soaking into which would help him gain massive advantages, but rather a dangerous chamber where risk and reward went hand in hand.


    "Based on our past experience, warriors who enter below tier 2 are usually offered an immediate strength boost as their first reward, which is the most crucial.


    But it may be the second or third reward as well depending on whether or not you have any other evident ws that need to be worked on.


    Even if youe out having received that reward and nothing else, it will be still immensely helpful, however, if you can''t bear it, you can quit midway to walk out without any rewards whatsoever.


    Remember my words Rocky, walking out sane, is more important than some vain pride you have for quitting mid-way.


    So don''t overdo it" Nagini said, as she gave Rocky some earnest advice.


    "I''ll keep that in mind your highness, thank you for the warning" Rocky said, as he did take Nagini''s words to heart, feeling slightly relieved knowing that he could quit if things got too tough.


    "While only 3 months will pass in the outside world, to you it will feel much longer within the chamber as personal experiences varyrgely on how much time one feels has passed inside.


    For most, 15 days feels like 3 months, so you will feel like you have spent 1.5 years inside the chamber although you would not actually be inside that long" Nagini said, as Rocky felt fear rise in his heart the more he heard about this chamber.


    After what felt like walking for an eternity, the duo moved through countless hallways within the pce, passing many snake-men guards, before entering a basement where a huge sealed gate stood.


    "You won''t be needing your backpack, leave it outside" Nagini instructed, as Rocky dropped his backpack on the ground and took in a deep breath.


    "Please don''t make me kill you when youe out. I really don''t want to get into more trouble with your religion than I already am" Nagini requested, as she ced the jewel embedded in her forehead on the center of the gem-slot on the massive door, as the gates opened the moment that piece clicked in ce.


    "May Gemini''s grace be with you boy. Good luck" Nagini said, as Rocky walked into the secret chamber not knowing what future this mystical ce had in store for him.


    Would he return sane?


    Would he lose his mind?


    Would he remove his ws?


    Would he falter?


    Did he have the guts to see this through?


    Such questions clouded Rocky''s mind as he walked in, with the only way to find the answers being to see this opportunity through to the end.


    He had always felt that he had no achievements to his name; that he had nothing to be proud of, nothing that he ever did being worth mentioning.


    While he was unsure of how far he could go, Rocky knew that through this opportunity, he would finally get to find out just how deep his roots ran.


    —------


    /// A/N - Mass Release Chapter 2/8, hope you guys liked it! ///