Introduction To Skills (Part 1)

Akira and his friends raised their heads, blinking and turning, trying to understand their current situation. The concrete floor was stained with blood as well as their bodies. To their left, Sota lay dormant observing them from a distance.

The unusual scenery of blood mixed with their half-conscious state, initiated actions of the students, that weren't meant to be exhibited.

"What's going on? Am I dead?"

"It's you Sota, you're the one who killed us."

They continued questioning him, in a manner about that of one who had lost sanity. The shock was too much for the students. They vibrated, and their legs quivered as they watched Sota from the distance.

They eventually advanced, attempting to return the favor by killing him. They picked up stones that lay beside them and began throwing them at him.

Sota, after seeing the incident, and understanding the reason they acted weirdly, chuckled and laughed, enough to make his eyes water.

"Cool down, you are misunderstanding."

The students thought he made jest of them, and paced towards him, with their fists clenched. Sota looked back at them, but this time, with a rather offended expression.

"Those eyes," Akira thought, quivering as he finally ceased motion.

The effect wasn't only applicable to Akira. Masuyo and Minato felt the superiority, and they all pledged their allegiance to him.

"Now sit!"

"It seems you are not well educated," he declared authoritatively.

"System Initiate Command!"

The system was unresponsive for a while until the surroundings began glowing. The light became intense, different materials shimmered, and the concrete floor, which was originally stained with blood turned as white as snow.

[Command received]

They were now in a void world, with only each other's company. Instead of internal visualization, as the system had conducted originally, it switched to external visualization.

Pictures suddenly appeared, and a well-projected imagery of three-dimensional models assumed shape. With the students still shocked by the scene, the system intervened,

[Welcome to the External Structure Projection!]

[Here, virtualized, yet physical phenomena can be witnessed. It is an effective method of education, that involves stimulation of each sense of the body.]

[Command: Lesson 1]

>[Introduction to Goblins! (V4)]

[Based on commands received, I shall proceed with educating you on level 4 Goblins and higher]

[Goblins: Malevolent entities bent on destroying the human race]

>[Level 4 Goblins and higher possess 3 basic skills, all others are based on them, either in a refined point of view or addition. Meaning, new skills can be formed by refining basic ones, or adding other elements to them to create a new effect.]

>[3 Basic Skills: Utterance, Regeneration, and Manifestation]

>[Utterance: The ability to speak, hence providing the ability to use word utterances. Word utterances are special skills, that need to be uttered to be performed. They pose a greater danger in comparison to most other skills.]

>[Regeneration: The ability to regenerate a lost limb, or heal wounds. One with the regeneration ability can only be defeated once overwhelmed with attacks.]

>[Manifestation: Once a Goblin dies, it can implant itself internally or externally to a host, as a vessel for the Goblin's later reincarnation. Once the Goblin has successfully reincarnated itself it is called Manifestation. The main medium of manifestation is 'blood'. So be cautious when fighting a level 4 Goblin or higher.]

Sota who seemed to be magically sitting on air, stood and began speaking,

"Now, do you understand why I did it?"

The students, upon witnessing the series of images and lessons, claimed not to understand the reason for his actions. Their expressions - a raised eyebrow, and spread arms beside them, while looking up, thinking - gave their feelings away even before they spoke about their misunderstandings to Sota.

"Not exactly," they spoke uniformly.

"What don't you understand? It's simple facts,"

"I chased you down and struck you with sharp objects, all in an attempt to drain the Goblin blood from you all. So that you won't become evil and later manifest into a Goblin,"

"The lesson here is, don't let your guard down while fighting a level 4 Goblin or higher. I think I know your next lesson."

The students asked surprised, finally knowing the cause of Sota's activities, but the thought of manifesting into a Goblin still lingered in their minds, and just imagining the outcome, frightened them.

They were still in thought until Akira spoke up in response to Sota's previous comment.

"So, what's our next lesson."

"That's simple, meet up with me tomorrow, and you'll find out," Sota replied.

The students, upon hearing his reply, hesitantly looked away in uncertainty. They felt no need to participate in something they knew nothing of, but for a reason unknown, they had the urge to listen to his words and meet up with him the following day.

Was it the urge to fight, or the newly-found resolve to forge ahead that implanted such feelings in their hearts and minds? No one knew anything of the answer, not even themselves.

...

They quickly departed after the final words, heading to their various homes. Akira for one, wasn't excited about returning home, not even to the least bit. He would rather spend his life nomadically, or just fight for the rest of his life, instead of seeing the faces of both parents every day.

"Ugh, I have to see those guys again. My parents are such a pain," he spoke while walking down the streets.

The air was calm, and the streets in particular were desolate, with no passengers or vehicles in sight, allowing room for Akira's continuous thoughts. The chilly spring winds cooled down his body after the heated battle they previously had.

"What a nice evening. I'll sit at home and take a nap. Then, first thing in the morning, I'll leave that rundown tool shed my parents tagged as my home."

He finally arrived at his destination, the large mansion, but as a cursed one, he headed to the little compartment he was forced to live in.

As small or uncomfortable as it may seem, it served its purpose. The wooden shed, with few collapsing parts, gave Akira a place to lay his head in preparation for more adventures.