The Mission At The Abandoned Building

The night had passed, and a new day had dawned. It was the day Akira had eagerly awaited - his first adventure. Despite having no support from his parents, he had organized everything himself and was filled with happiness that only grew with each passing moment.

Looking out the window, he couldn't help but feel a surge of excitement. His eyes sparkled, his grin widened, and he soon found himself trembling in excitement.

"This is going to be a great day. I'm embarking on my first journey with a skilled fighter," he declared confidently, his smile spreading across his face.

After quickly freshening up, he set out to meet his team and their assigned Shadow Fighter, ready to take on whatever challenges lay ahead. As he walked down the streets, he whistled his favorite tune and smiled, feeling unstoppable.

This was a day that Akira knew he would never forget. And so, with a sense of unshakable confidence, he made his way to the designated meeting place. He arrived at the area, with a hunch of the turn of events in his mind.

Standing before him, was the Shadow Fighter who was assigned to their team, the same one who sparked fear into Akira's heart. Involuntarily, Akira trembled, his legs shook and everywhere seemed to darken for Akira.

The same stare, like a universe with no stars was directed to Akira from the shadow fighter. Beside him, were Akira's fellow teammates who seemingly feared him just as Akira did.

Akira stepped back, with each passing moment drawing him closer to certain doom, or so he thought.

"Why does this guy have such an ominous aura," he thought, still quivering in fear.

The teacher snapped his fingers, producing a sharp sound. He did it to restore Akira to reality. Suddenly, Akira shook his head, only to return to his typical environment, with his teammates lounging carefree.

"Was I hallucinating? No, that was real."

The shadow fighter, now their teacher positioned himself in front of the students and beamed out a smile. He had a smooth face and was clothed with a white robe and two swords at opposite positions on his waist.

His face was almost friendly. He looked back at Akira and conveyed a smile to Akira. After a few moments of happiness, the medium-haired man slowly opened his lips and spoke,

"I'm Masako Sota, but you can call me Kusai Baka. They're my third and fourth names," he spoke, with a slight hint of anticipation, as his eyebrows were casually raised.

All eyes were on him as Akira and his friends observed him for a brief moment. Suddenly, they all burst into laughter, their mirth increasing as they continued to stare at him. But he remained confident, unfazed by their amusement.

"Oh my, you're Kasui Baka. Like a smelly idiot. You realize that's the meaning of your name, right?" one of the students spoke, trying to hold his laughter while talking.

"Yes, but. . ."

"Wait, wait, wait. You're a Shadow Fighter and you're smelly, and to top it off, an idiot too. Man, you must be silly, to go around telling people that,"

"Hush up, now sit. We shall go to face a Goblin. You realize you work under me."

Momentary silence came over the arena, the wind blew, and following it, trees rustled. An intense gust of wind formed, and they soon came to understand that they were certainly not as skilled as him so, as a result, they followed his instructions afterward.

They set out on their first mission as apprentices. The walk was quite lengthy, but they eventually arrived at their destination - an abandoned building.

"Why are we here?" Akira thought as he confidently walked into the building.

It was awfully quiet, with sounds of dripping faucets, and squeaking of some rodents. It was most certainly poorly ventilated and different materials lay carelessly on the floor.

The building's exterior color was a darker tone of white from dirty and improper sanitation, with its interior, grey. It was completely isolated, and it possessed numerous floors, with the highest floor as the most dangerous one.

As they were all inside, the entrance behind them shut, signifying that they had been sealed off from the rest of the world.

"Okay, we're stuck. Great! Let's get to know each other. We'll start with you Akira," Sota spoke, caring not about the welfare of his apprentices.

"What the heck. We're stuck and you don't even care," Akira spoke.

"Yeah, that's exactly what I'm saying. So, get on with the introductions, I've done mine."

"Wha-, you know what, let's do this fast and get over with it. I'm Akira, what are you guys' names."

Beside him, were his two teammates, a tall girl, about the same height as Akira, and a guy, who by his face, didn't seem sociable. He directed his gaze at them and awaited their reply. At first, they were reluctant, but they eventually gave in.

"Okay, I'm Masuyo," she spoke nonchalantly.

"Yeah, and I'm Minato. I hope we'll be good friends in the future," he spoke with a tone of happiness and gratitude contradicting Akira's earlier belief of his attitude.

"Okay, you're done. Now, I'll tell you why we're here. This is an abandoned building, where high records of ominous activities have been noticed. We suspect it's a level 4 Goblin or higher."

"Why is that?" Akira asked, uneducated on the activities of Goblins.

"Well, just because only level 4 Goblins and higher can escape the Shadow Realm. But it's at a cost. They'll become relatively weaker during their time in the real world. But be cautious, because you're not strong enough to defeat it."

After hearing this, a memory in Akira's mind surfaced. He shivered at the thought, and he seemed to lose focus. It was so disturbing, that Akira failed to see the meaning in the world. His heart continued its race until he mustered up the courage to voice out a question,

"So, wasn't that the full strength of the level 5 Goblin?"

"You're right, a level 5 Goblin in the Shadow Realm can annihilate even the strongest of Officials. So, be careful when you become one, because you'll have to visit the Shadow Realm many times, and it's not the one you faced before."

"You'll see Goblins of different caliber over there," he replied.