Power Beyond Comprehension

The suspense faded, and Sota quickly ordered them to advance cautiously into the building. As Akira's quickened pulse slowed down, the enigmatic feeling within him exited, and his mind was cleared.

With Sota thoroughly efficacious in his job of safeguarding his apprentices, the feeling of equanimity rested upon the students as they walked slowly further into the building.

The deeper they got, the darker it was. The air always seemed to thicken and strange sounds always resonated with every higher floor they reached. The eerie surroundings sent chills down their spines originally, but as calm as it was currently, they felt no need to panic.

"Hey, stay beside me, and don't move," Sota spoke authoritatively. He extended his arm with his index finger pointing up towards them, signifying a prompt silence.

The eyes of the students, upon hearing the teacher's words vibrated from side to side, and Masuyo in particular, began hyperventilating. Minato tried his best to calm her and eventually succeeded.

Sota advanced, and with efficient use of his body language, he instructed them to follow his steps. They stood quietly until an ominous sound of a being's steps reverberated.

"What could that be. . ." Akira's voice began to tremble.

"Shh! I can deduce by its energy, that that is a Goblin. And yes, a level 4. So, be cautious," Sota declared, steadily making progress towards the Goblin.

The rest of the team stayed back awaiting Sota's call. Akira observed the area, trying to see the paranormal being's activities. Finally, it was in his range of view. A tall, mysteriously dark-toned red figure, with something similar to a torn wing.

It was short compared to the level 5 Goblin but was still well above Akira's height. Its eyes shone bright red, and its body gave off an ominous glow.

After his observation, he turned towards his mates, and his fear was evident. He had wished weapons and armor were at his disposal, and that he could simply wish them into existence, but that wasn't the case.

He gazed upon Sota, who was weirdly having a fun time gazing at the Goblin. The slight grin on Sota's face slowly extended, and his urge to proceed increased with each second. In a second, Sota seemed to disappear and reappear.

"What?! Is he glitching," Akira thought ambivalently, whether to laugh or be frightened at the weird phenomenon?

He glared upon the Goblin once again and noticed a pool of blood in front of it, but it didn't seem to have lost a single limb.

"I don't know, but is it only me that sees that? I mean the blood that stained the floor," Akira whispered to Masuyo and Minato. Following that, they both glanced spontaneously at the Goblin and grasped the same idea Akira had.

"No, I see it too, but nothing happened to the Goblin. Well, apart from the spilled blood."

They looked back at Sota, with the fear that he was the one who had been injured. They scrutinized him but failed to notice any wounded area. Sota shifted his gaze to his apprentices, and spoke,

"I'm good. Check your stats. I'll guess, the fatigue of each of you is pretty high. Don't sweat it. I attacked the Goblin, but he simply regenerated. Level 4 and above have that ability."

Quickly, the students took the initiative and performed the usual gesture. They were amazed at Sota's prediction.

[Stats]

[HP: 100]

[Strength: 15]

[Fatigue: 48]

[Protection: None]

[Level: 1]

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

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

[Talent: None]

"But we haven't done anything yet. So why are our fatigue bars high?"

"Well, it's because you were frightened. The more frightened you get the higher your fatigue will be. So, anytime you're in this type of situation, try your best to maintain composure. It will help you in many ways, trust me. You'll find out soon enough."

"Now, it's time to be silent, unless you'll be slaughtered and get eaten. Once that happens, I'll flee from this crappy building because there's no need to kill the Goblin," he concluded.

They looked back at the Goblin, and it leaned forward about to advance. Its face was horrifying, dark with slight shades of red. To be candid, its existence could be doubted, as its eyes had no life neither did it have any emotions.

It advanced, creating sounds of steps, the area turned ghost-quiet with the wind whistling out the windows. The Goblin turned its head, but the exact direction it looked at was unknown, as it possessed no pupils but managed to see.

Finally, Sota decided to attack, he once again "glitched" in time and space, but the difference was the groan produced from the Goblin.

"Who the heck is doing this to me?!" It spoke, with an expression, hard to comprehend.

"Oh shoot!"

Sota, who was previously crouching behind the building's pillar, stood extending his body to be visible to the Goblin. He stretched out his arms and slowly proceeded towards the Goblin.

The Goblin had no clue as to why his malevolent aura failed to frighten Sota. His face squeezed, and soon the area turned dark. The students, who were still hiding behind a separate pillar, felt the ominosity that quickly sprung up from the Goblin, filling the story with a thick atmosphere.

They found it hard to breathe and were on the verge of losing breath. They shivered, with the sudden decrease in temperature. Sota experienced all these first-hand, as he was the closest to the Goblin.

"So, you're the one messing with me. You know I can see the three children who feel they can hide from me. I'll make you all pay"

The Goblin thrust forward, attempting to strike them. Akira and his mates took it as an opportunity to train, but the tight grip of fear hindered them. With only an inch of distance between the Goblin and the apprentices, a weird occurrence unfolded - the Goblin who had almost attacked the students was now back to his original position.

Its body stiffened, voiding any attempts to move. Sota looked at it, with his hair covering his eyes, and smiled weirdly. He clenched his fists and began approaching the Goblin.

"What did you say about making us pay? Now, who's in the odd position."

Sota teleported his in front of the Goblin, and with a pinch of mystery, he spoke,

"2nd Grade Crucifixion"