Don't Give Up. Slay! (Part 4)

"Sigh, those Goblins dealt major damage," Akira said frustratingly, as the pains all around his body escalated.

He sat on the floor, positioned in front of a firm figure invisible to the eye, which acted like a support to Akira's body. Eventually, Akira was moved to review his stats.

The usual gesture was performed, and he was greeted by an awful report from the system.

[Stats]

[HP: 14]

[Strength: 15]

[Fatigue: 85]

[Protection: None]

[Level: 1]

[Achievements: Shadow Realm Pass (Beginners), Ultimate Destruction]

[Skill: Stats1 (Activated), Destroy (Activated)]

[Talent: None]

"Oh, man. I guess I'll have to take even longer to recover," he spoke in disappointment.

Groans in the realm resonated, the voices of the remaining students searched desperately for help. Their bodies, worn out but, their minds were ready for the impending battle.

Hours passed, and thoughts began to surface in their minds. They looked around in search of Goblins but, all their efforts were to no avail.

"How'll we get the last skill the instructor talked about," they thought.

A series of suggestions was birthed in the realm, with all students actively participating in the discussion. But, even as teamwork was employed in the students, the answer to the question at hand was forged.

Gradually, their wounds healed, until their HP was increased to its maximum, and fatigue was reduced to nothing but history. They set off to the quest of seeking the skill for themselves.

"Every man for himself. Go ahead and look for the skill. Once you get it slay all the Goblins you can, and return here," a talented student spoke.

"But, there's no way to find our way back," another student replied

"Yes, your right," the talented student muttered.

"Ok, once you get the skill, slay all the Goblins you can and wait for others to kill the remainders," he concluded.

"Wait!!!" Akira shouted from the distance, as few had started departing to fulfill their quest.

"What do you want, Akira," a student in the group of departing students, spoke.

"We don't know the Goblin headcount," he replied.

Immediately, the students began to ponder the idea that Akira bellowed.

"He's right."

"The system usually announces it after every group of Goblins we defeat," they thought.

"You see, something is wrong," Akira said, urging them to notice the unusual event that had occurred.

After a brief consideration, they believed Akira's words. They tried numerous commands, but the system failed to respond. They eventually, decided to continue the hunt for the Goblins rather than continue their current endeavour.

Onward, they went, seeking for the skill. They slayed as much Goblins they could, but were unable to find it. The killings proceeded, but no trace of the skill was sighted. The students eventually began to doubt the words of the instructor.

"What did she mean by skill. There isn't anyone here," Akira thought.

He had set out individually, to hunt the skill down and activate it, but seeing the current situation, nothing good came of his search. He searched every area he came across, but wasn't shown a single clue.

Goblins had also stopped emerging, and remaining refrained from any form of combat.

"Where, where! Where can I get the skill!" he said, with impatience escalating.

...

Some students, crossed paths with each other, and exchanged informations, but... Of course, nothing came of it. At that point, the students walked mindlessly in a void.

The students set the skill aside, and continued their search for Goblins. The onslaught lasted for few minutes, and finally, the Goblins ceased appearance.

The realm finally became serene, with no Goblins in sight. The occurrence lasted for minutes and eventually began bothering the minds of the students.

"What's going on here?"

"Shouldn't we, at least get back home and out of this realm?"

"How long has it even been here. The time is distorted, I need to go home."

The students spoke frighteningly and were on the verge of panicking. Students ran around, seeking their fellow students, while some cooled down, and tried communicating with the system.

Akira's view on the matter was neutral. He merely sat, observing incoming students. He shook his head, and got into the adequate mindset. Performing the usual gesture, he was shown his stats,

[Stats]

[HP: 100]

[Strength: 15]

[Fatigue: 2]

[Protection: None]

[Level: 1]

[Achievements: Shadow Realm Pass (Beginners), Ultimate Destruction]

[Skill: Stats1 (Activated), Destroy (Activated)]

[Talent: None]

He was overjoyed upon seeing the information the system had shown him, but he knew it wasn't important at that time. It was during this, that a thought surfaced,

"Wait, the system responded to me."

Immediately, voices and cheers started reverberating in the realm saying,

"We're free."

"Finally, we'll escape this crappy realm and pass the test."

Akira looked around, with his body still glowing and thought,

"So, after this we'll be Officials?"

"No, that's only if we'll get out of here."

The system interfered, and a message was shown,

[Goblin head count: 45/45]

[Great job! You have completed the test]

[New skill attained!]

[Stats activated]

[Skill description]

[Stats: Lets you view statistics pertaining to you, and once upgraded, can show you the stats of nearby objects, persons, animals, etc.

Note: New options may form once you level up]

"Yes, we got the skill!" the students shouted joyfully.

After the announcement, a weird phenomenon occured. The once dark realm, let in a beam of light, the surrounding area around every student, started opening up, leaving them a path to the normal world.

"Yes, we can also leave now!" they spoke once again.

They immediately departed the realm with no hesitation, longing to experience the usual occurrences in the normal world.

But it wasn't over. They were all teleported in front of the instructor, who sat patiently, awaiting the arrival of the students.

"So, you passed the Shadow Realm? Some of your mates where to scared and ran off,"

"Well, they certainly failed," she spoke.

The students looked back at her, urging to question her. It was evident on their faces, and the instructor noticed it as well.

"We've passed the test right?" A student asked.

The instructor replied to the student's question with a hard, fixed gaze. She eventually let it off with a beaming smile, and chuckled while saying,

"No, of course not."