Introduction To Skills (Part 2)

The sun slowly made its way above the horizon, and with it were the citizens who slowly awoke from their slumbers. Akira lay on his bed, which was nothing close to comfortable, but yet, he made do with it.

His eyes were reddish, with the lower part, dark. He rose from bed, and with the little resources he had, he freshened up.

"Today, I'll meet up with Sota, and he'll finally tell us our next lesson," he spoke hesitantly making his way into a compartment that served as a bathroom.

It was truly startling, that a son of a renowned family, would be found in a tiny structure beside the main building which happened to be a mansion.

He kept pondering on his current situation, a life with no emotions, and nothing to look for. An aimless life.

"My life has no meaning. I wake up every morning to this shed and my parents who treat me like crap. Of course, that's only if they'll even want to see me".

He continued with his bath, took some leftover pieces of meat he had prepared for the day, and journeyed to meet Sota. His voyage was enjoyable, with bussing streets and landmarks worth seeing.

The sun shone with its heat around average, yet it emitted wonderful lights that transformed stale lakes into sparkling crystalline ones. With all these landmarks, Akira was unfortunate not to have visited a single one.

But, it was not his concern.

He paced towards the meeting place, expecting his next lesson. He was greeted by various female staff who worked there.

It seemed like a Church, a holy temple that was run by reverend sisters who were issued to work there. It stood tall and firm, with its beauty unparalleled, yet a group of newbies gathered at its gates.

"What are you doing? You are loitering which is strictly prohibited. This is a Church," a sister spoke disappointedly at the two apprentices.

They abruptly stood, looking back at the teacher, and began apologizing. Akira, who was still on his journey, observed them from afar as the sister addressed them.

"Oh my, hasn't Sota arrived?" he thought, ransacking the area with his eyes, in a desperate attempt to find him.

Sadly, his question was answered negatively, given that Sota hadn't made an appearance, and didn't seem to be arriving anytime soon. Akira was forced to wait upon his arrival at the Church.

After 10 excruciating minutes, a familiar face arrived. Sota had finally reached his destination, and as such, the students greeted him, welcoming him to the Church.

"Hi everyone, sorry I'm late."

He proceeded to the students joyfully, making physical contact with them. He circled the area making observations on the Church.

The Church's beauty was overwhelming, but he quickly reverted to his conversation with his apprentices.

"Right! Today, you'll learn how to discern the various levels of Goblins."

The threesome felt it was unnecessary, as they all had gone through a series of lessons, with their test, a major emphasis.

"Um, Sota, we already know the various characteristics of the levels of Goblins, meaning that we can automatically differentiate between Goblins," Minato spoke hinting at the teacher to refrain from the lesson.

"Yes, I know that. But, you have to learn it on instinct rather than pure brain power."

"There may be situations, where you would be prompted to discern the level of the Goblin to fully plan yourself for further actions."

Sota spoke, insisting that the students must embark on the adventure. Not only Akira, but his fellow apprentices fell reluctant but had to be obedient as they were his subordinates.

Sota took led them to a desolate area, filled with half-withered trees, and burnt grasses. The environment possessed an unusual amount of rocks, relatively small ones to be precise. A large hill stood to the north of the area.

Its peaks were filled with snow, contrary to the arid land beneath. Fogs roamed in the air, reducing the level of sight. The students felt uneasy, with the land being outstandingly large.

"Why were we brought here?" Masuyo asked, shuddering and quivering.

"For your lesson. I will subject you to an intense battle, there you will be forced to obtain the afore-mentioned skill."

"Don't worry, you will surely face more dangerous Goblins when you become Officials".

Luckily, amidst all their difficulties, light is still shown through the thick fog.

But their one ray of hope eventually vanished.

The area gradually lost light, and darkness swarmed in consuming the land. In addition, the fog still provided an extra layer of thickness preventing them from seeing further.

The darkness thickened and Sota directed them to the peak of the mountain. Slowly but surely, they walked eventually making their way to the mounting top.

They stood at an unimaginable height, phased with the fear of tragically falling to their demise. Akira looked around, sizing up the area. To his left, was a dark rectangular portal, with a height that stretched out to the firmament.

"Wait, are we supposed to head in there?" Akira spoke, backing up from the portal.

"Of course you will. I told you that you would face more Goblins, didn't I? This is the portal,"

"But unluckily it isn't a beginner's portal," he hinted.

The apprentices were stunned by his words, seeing as they hadn't fully recovered from the beginner's portal and were to face another one. Let alone, a non-beginner's portal.

They slowly moved away, strategically aligning themselves to make a quick escape from the peak.

But, Sota was skilled enough to know their actions and plans.

He swiftly moved, grabbing the three at once, and thrusting them towards the portal. They were thrown from the edge of the mountain into the portal, and they all fell into their doom.

"Finally, I've gotten rid of those kids," he sighed, walking away from the portal and slowly descending from the mounting.

The darkness increased, and the air thickened. The three apprentices, Akira, Masuyo, and Minato were now in the Shadow Realm, about to face their previous fears.