First floor (part 2)

It took only about 2 minutes for each person in front of Joseph to enter the tower. There was no need to worry about crowding as this was a singular tower. Meaning each person was transported to their own instance of it. There existed group and raid towers but none were rated below D grade, as such they were deemed unfit for awakening trials.

When it was his turn Joseph quickly approached the tower door, taking a moment to steel himself, he grasped the handle and vanished entering the first floor.

Upon being transported Joseph found himself within a large dark cavern, with only a few patches of bioluminescent fungi lining the walls and ceiling, providing just enough light to see. Joseph stood still taking in his surroundings and trying to discover anything that may be near him.

"Seems like I was transported to a relatively safe place. No monsters in the immediate area that I can see, no obvious traps either."

He rummaged through his pockets, taking out a pencil and little note pad and began drawing a map. Marking down a square to indicate his starting point, and one line indicating the open tunnel directly in front of him.

Placing them back in his pocket he then drew his short sword, the polished metal dimly reflecting the pale blue light coming from the fungi. He then began to slowly advance down the tunnel, taking extra care to not make unnecessary noice so he could hear if anything was coming towards him.

He had been walking for a few minutes when he finally heard something coming from the path in front of him. He could also see a bright orange light coming towards him from around a bend in the tunnel.

Quickly taking position near the edge of the bend he waited patiently for whatever it was to get closer.

He could hear strange grunting noises and the sounds of shuffling feet, indicating that there were at minimum 2 individuals coming towards him. He hoped it wasn't to much more than that as it would be difficult to handle more than 4 at a time.

Tightening his grip on the sword, he waited until a green arm bearing a torch peaked around the bend. Without hesitation he swung his blade in an upward arch towards the arm severing it completely. Foul black blood came gushing from the wound accompanied by a shrill shriek of pain. Taking advantage of the momentary chaos he just caused, he whirled himself around the bend bring his sword down in a chopping strike towards the now dismembered goblin.

Still shocked by the sudden loss of a limb the goblin was unable to react to the swift strike, a look of bewilderment could be seen in his eyes as Joseph's sword planted itself in his head ending his life. Joseph had no time or thought to notice this as his focus was entirely on the second goblin who was now screaming at him unintelligibly. Using his sword as a lever he managed to throw the body of the dead goblin at his companion causing it to trip and fall. Wrenching his sword free in the process he then thrust his blade through the neck of the now prone goblin, quickly bringing an end to his first encounter.

Joseph panted heavily, not because he was tired, but because of the huge amount of adrenaline that was pumping through his veins. "This is so much more exciting than training!" He thought, still as his excitement threatened to overwhelm him he remembered Adens teachings.

"It's okay to be excited boy, but it's not okay to be stupid. Calm down before you get yourself killed by being over eager."

Just one of the many lessons that Aden had drilled into his body and mind, so much so that almost before he could consciously make a decision, his body automatically began to calm itself down.

Taking deep breath's to help regulate his heart beat and reassert control, he reminded himself what he was here for.

"This is only the beginning," he said gravely, "I will never find the truth if I'm so green that any little thing can shake me."

It never occurred to him that it was quite remarkable to be able to take down two goblins at once in under 10 seconds. But since he didn't have any other references than Aden, he thought it wasn't worth mentioning. If he could see how much his classmates were struggling he may feel differently.

Shaking himself to clear his head he continued onwards down the path, bringing the torch with him he held it low so it would be about the same height the goblin had held it. He hoped that by doing so he could perhaps trick the other goblins, into thinking that it was their companion returning from wherever they were going.

His thinking proved useful, as several minutes later he came across a barrier that prevented anyone from passing further into the tunnel. It was poorly constructed out of wood and garrisoned with 4 goblins, two on top and two in front. With the torch held in front of him the goblins couldn't make out who it was, the light in the dark tunnel interfering with their vision. The only thing they could be sure of is that someone was coming. They began to call out trying to verify who it was, the only response they got was the torch being thrown at them immediately setting the barrier on fire.

The two who were on top of it couldn't get away and were burned alive, screaming as the flames consumed them. The other two stood motionless in shock at the sudden turn of events, quickly recovering they charged at the intruder swinging their clubs wildly.

It was easy for Joseph to see them as the raging flame cast a lot of light brightening the tunnel significantly. He dodged the first goblin letting it pass him by as he kicked the second one in the chest, sending it rolling backwards for several feet. Turning back to the one that was behind him he parried the goblins club forcing an opening in its right side. He quickly used an overhead chop to nearly behead the goblin, spraying copious amounts of black blood all over the walls and floor of the tunnel, with a significant amount of it landing on Joseph's armor. He paid no attention to this as he whipped back around to deal with the remaining goblin who was just starting to get up.

The monster was visibly in pain, the kick it received having cracked a few of its ribs and perhaps punctured a lung. This was only a guess as Joseph could see a small trail of blood coming from the goblins mouth.

The courage of the goblin should however be commended, it did not run or try to hide, instead it charged madly at Joseph intending to take him with it. To which Joseph responded by pointing his sword directly forward towards its face, allowing the goblin to impale itself ending the conflict.

He stood still for a few moments, allowing himself to calm down, after which he wiped the blood from his blade and body as best he could and continued down his way.

This pattern repeated itself a few more times along his journey, with him making the best use he could of his surroundings and quickly dispatching the small groups he came across. Fortunately he hadn't come across any groups larger than 4, but he remained vigilant to the possibility.

After walking for a couple of hours he came across another large cavern space, it was nearly identical to the one he started from but with one key difference.

There was a very large goblin in the center of the room, guarding what appeared to be a staircase leading upwards further in the tower. The goblin was decked out in crude leather armor and held a large spiked club in its left hand. It's skin was the same motley green as the others but his body frame was nearly twice as large, standing nearly 2.5 meters tall and packed with muscle.

Joseph stared deeply at this new obstacle sizing it up in his mind. "Thank you Aden," Joseph mused to himself while stretching his muscles to improve mobility. "All that work you made me do fighting people bigger than me seems like it's finally going to pay off." A small smile could be seen on his face as he began to lightly jog towards his opponent shouting "Come on big boy! Let's do this!"