John arrived at the second challenge location, a large warehouse with a sign that read "Programming Arena". He followed the green line to the entrance and was met by a stern-looking man in a suit.
"Name?" the man asked.
"John Kim," John replied.
The man looked down at his clipboard and checked off a name. "Alright, you're in group A. Your challenge is to program a fully functional chatbot that can engage in natural conversation with a user. You have two hours. Good luck."
John swallowed hard. This challenge seemed much more daunting than the first one. He had never created a chatbot before, let alone one that could hold a natural conversation.
He made his way to his designated workstation and began to work on his code. The clock ticked away, and John's anxiety grew with every passing minute. He struggled to come up with a natural conversational flow, but as he worked, he heard a voice in his head, a voice that sounded strangely familiar.
"Hey, John, you got this," the voice said. It was the same voice that had encouraged him during the first challenge.
John looked around but saw no one. He shrugged it off and continued to work on his code. As he typed, he heard the voice again.
"Remember, John, you're a genius programmer," the voice said.
John stopped typing and looked around again. This time, he saw a figure standing in the corner of the room, shrouded in shadows.
"Who are you?" John asked, his heart racing.
"I'm your inner voice, John," the figure replied. "I'm here to remind you that you have what it takes to complete this challenge. Trust yourself."
John took a deep breath and turned back to his code. With renewed confidence, he worked tirelessly for the next hour and a half. Finally, he was finished.
He tested his chatbot and was surprised at how natural and engaging it was. He had done it. He had completed the second challenge.
As he left the Programming Arena, John realized that his inner voice had been right. He was a genius programmer, and he had the skills and confidence to take on any challenge that came his way.