The sun rose for the 100th time, each day they did conditioning training, most of which was running and the rest was bodyweight training. It was fine until the training schedule became 12 hours long, and the 5% of being struck by lightning was an underestimate. Stark had experienced the joy of electrocution a grand total of 0 times. Either due to incredible luck or terrible luck because they get the day off if they get zapped.
Sirens blared startling everyone awake. Beams of lights from the ceiling overwhelmed the senses until the drowsiness was replaced by annoyance. 2 and a half scores of children were curling like startled pillbugs, covering their ears with their hands and their eyes with their knees. But the sound mercilessly still echoed penetrated their meager defenses while the light made them smell smoke. They all scurried out of the room to see the smiling Kwan, his eyes were the normal crescents showing his perfect set of teeth. However, the group no longer cared about the angelic appearance of the man, as this was the devil himself.
Tony looked dead into the eyes of the demon, full of indignation. He had been trying to convince the man to reduce the time and increase the load, saying this kind of training was not helping and that being struck by lightning every other day was not healthy. But it only ended up him taking the day off in a bed wrapped in bandages. The blonde man simply glossed over the angry youth and gestured to the man next to him, "This is Mr.Gate, he will bring you somewhere very fun."
The cloaked man had most of his face covered from his hood, only a set of lifeless black eyes could be barely made out through his dull grey hair. A deathly pale hand moved out of the robe and created sparks, while he moved it in circular motions. From his movements, a golden vortex slowly grew to the size large enough to fit an adult.
Although the children were cut off from a lot of the world, they had a vague idea of what this was. A dungeon gate! Most of them were blue, but even with the change in color, it was clear, that this was the legendary dungeon gate. A place where the most respected people enter to bring out mountains of riches, in the form of corpses. Just one trip has the potential to change your life forever. Dozens of pairs of eyes lit up, conveniently forgetting their fear of the unsettling man in the robe.
"Are we going inside?" an excited youth asked.
"Of course. Do you think I would just call you here to watch?" Kwan said. He clapped, "Everyone, now get into a line. Remember to be careful."
The children obediently got into a line and walked into the golden vortex. While most were filled with excitement, Misumi, Tony and a few others including Stark were on edge. Nothing good comes when that man is happy. Weightlessness overtook them and before they even realized it, the metal cage they were in, turned into a patch of grass. The kids lit up, seeing the greenery, some ran around while others sat down and petted the grass like an exotic animal.
Following the kids were Kwan, and a group of well equipt men all carrying a gun or a bow. Their aura was gentle when compared to the blonde angel, but their appearance was in resemblance to a phantom. The eyes have a tendency to gloss over them if not looking for them specifically.
"Breakfast is in 2 hours. If you want to eat, kill 1 goblin." Kwan said and before anyone could ask he walked out of the gate which swirled in reverse till there remained no trace of the golden gate.
"Did he say kill a goblin?" A bright green-haired boy asked. His pure eyes seemed to reflect everything he gazed upon
"Maybe we heard wrong, we don't have any weapons." A similarly green-haired girl replied.
Wet snarls sounded from the far-off trees. Small silhouettes with vertical eyes, walked toward the group of tender flesh. The meat subconsciously stepped back seeing the abnormal humanoid creatures.
Gale stepped behind his sister. At that instant, the fear on her face vanished. Sky patted her brother's head of green hair. "Don't worry, I will protect you." Her hands returned to her side as fists which trembled ever so slightly. She held her brother's hand and pulled him to the back of the crowd. Noticing the armed group of men, she asked them for a weapon but was met with silence. Her mouth felt dry. Her life was not the safest, but she had never had to fight especially unarmed.
The goblins slowly approached the tightly condensed pile of meat, saliva escaping their rotten mouth. Their skin was a healthy dark green, their stomachs were nice and rotund, clearly, they were well fed.
Stark stepped back further with the group, but a sudden emotion welled up from his mind. Regret. If he cowered now, he would definitely regret it. Normally he would not care about such a minor feeling but for some reason he felt that he must not back down. His eyes glinted with determination and looked around. There must be something for him to use. Goblins are weak, he knows this for a fact. If he just overcomes his terror he can easily kill them.
5 goblins bolted into a sprint. Stark's pupils contracted. He just needed to move. Just one kick, it would break as easily as a watermelon. He knows this.
A loud cry left the group of kids. The 5 goblins collapsed to the ground. Misumi, Oliver, Tony, Sky, and Stark were covered in purple blood. Stark's goblin had an arrow through its head. He turned his head, one of the silent men was lowering his bow expressionlessly.
"That was easy," Oliver exclaimed proudly.
Sky looked at her bloody fist and the goblin with a crushed skull on the floor, and smiled, "Yeah that was not bad."
Gale jumped up and down, "Sky that was amazing! You killed it in one hit!"
The kids clamored around the 4 youths who now turned into valiant heroes. Stark continued to stare at the goblin corpse. His nails were digging into his skin. He was the most knowledgeable of all of them. It should have been easy but right there, he could have just died for no reason. Stark stared at the arrow lodged in the goblin's skull. He reached for it, and it popped out easily. He gripped the skull and thrust the arrow back into the head. It really was as weak as he knew. He closed his eyes and told himself. "I can do it this time."
2 hours passed and over 40 kids sat eating from an array of baked goodies, while 5 stood at the side. Stark was watching the others eat. His head was lowered. Even Gale who was 2 years younger than him killed a goblin. The heroes ended up killing at least 10 and had stood high on their little social hierarchy. Even the mysterious men in the back smiled at them.
Stark was not upset for not getting attention, after all, he was used to it. 12 rounds. There were 12 waved of goblins each with 2 more than the last. However, he still did nothing. He stood there like an idiot waiting for death.
The golden gate sparked into existence and the blonde man came out with smiles and looked at the 4 outstanding youths, "You all did wonderfully. The 4 of you who killed the most, may come here and pick up a dagger. Those who have killed at least one may come here and take the bat." Kwan turned to 5 standing off to the side. His smile was dead, along with his eyes. "For the garbage that did nothing. You will stay here until the next morning."
All the kids who were excitedly clamoring to get their rewards fell silent. They looked to the 5, a mixture of pity, ridicule, and worry were in their gazes. Stark fidgeted uncomfortably under the gaze. He was always ignored, he never had to deal with this kind of negative attention.