Even though it was not Solsday for the obstacle course, we were stopped by our sparring room knight instructor in that room. We all converged around the knight and spoke amongst ourselves. No one had any idea what was going on. As the final bell tolled and we gathered around she raised a hand, commanding us to silence.

"I know its been a rough season for you all. You've endured many hardships, but have pushed through these tribulations. A few of you have even reached tier 4 already. Now we will escort you to the reason the order is here. Everyone grab your preferred weapon from the next room and come back here. It matters not which you choose, just know that you will soon use it. Also grab a set of armor, the gambeson, helmet, everything. Do not delay. Return shortly." and with that she waved us off. No other explanation was forthcoming it seems.

The class as one kind of looked around at each other and began moving. We entered the room and all quickly picked out our weapons of choice.

Bea went for a bow, however she didn't choose something like a shortbow or even a longbow. She grabbed a giant warbow. She tested its draw and looked completely pleased. She paused and grabbed a shield as well.

Tom settled on a sword and shield looking immensely proud of himself. It was a very classical combination, even in this world it seems.

Now, as for myself, a shield was a must. There was a reason we trained it so much. I decided to be unconventional and I grabbed a one-handed warhammer. It gave me a side for bludgeoning if needed and on the opposite side a piercing option. It was something like a hammer from my world that was just as long as a sword. Since the instructor did not tell us what we would be using it for I wanted my options.

We then each headed across the way and grabbed a set of armor. We all looked at each other. The knight didn't explicitly say to put it on, but surely it was implied right?

"Well, I'm putting it on. If we're going to "soon use" the real weapons, surely we'll need armor, right?" I reasoned with them.

They nodded at my logic and began strapping everything on. We looked quite the humorous sight in my opinion, but maybe that's just because I wasn't used to seeing them with the full kit on. As a bonus this actually gave us straps for the armaments, so we didn't constantly have our hands full. Bea unfortunately had to carry her bow. It was just too massive for her to walk with it strapped anywhere.

As we made our way back to the instructor we saw Bella as well. She was carrying a massive two-handed partisan. I pitied whoever was fighting her next. She definitely had a high affinity for that weapon. During our training that was the weapon she was undoubtedly better at than me. Not just content with using basic moves like we were taught, she often swung it both ways and even hit me with the butt of the weapon. Whenever she landed a solid hit on me, she always backed away with a flourish, spinning the partisan over her elbows and shoulders.

We all met back up with the knight instructor. As the last of us gathered, she bid us to follow her and we walked all the way past the obstacle course and out the room at the far end of the room. As we passed through the hall it just kept going on and on until I realized we were actually heading into the mountain. This was evident as the sunlight disappeared and we relied more and more on the torches that had set in the walls.

I smacked my head in sudden realization. I never snuck out to examine these torches! I had begun enjoying myself so much that they completely left my mind. Scowling to myself, I tried making a mental note to examine them later and actually remember it.

Eventually the knight came to a stop in a massive room. We all gathered around in eager anticipation of what would come next.

She glanced around at all of us. "Stay. I will return in a moment." And then she blurred.

I waited just a moment before looking at my friends and quirking an eyebrow. Everyone else seemed just as lost except for Bella. She was staring down at the floor looking completely distraught. I reached over to tap her on the shoulder and get her attention, but before I got there the knight blurred again and was back. She came back with a loud thud that caught all of our attention. The thud was apparently something she brought along with her.

What she brought was a massive cage of metal. The cage seemed to be about an 5 foot square. If that was all I would already be shocked enough. That is a massive amount of metal that she was able to appear with so quickly. I mentally kicked myself a reminder than being a knight was no joke. Impressive as bringing the cage itself was, it also contained.... things.

Inside the cage were dirty green creatures, they stood approximately 3 foot tall. They were scrawny, gangly things that were humanoid. With oversized heads and pointy floppy ears, they were snarling at us and making the worst sounds. They looked like goblins from that anime known for its gruesomeness.

As we were all staring at the cage in shock, the knight blurred once more, but instantly returned and she had one of those things by the neck in her hand. She was holding it straight out in front of her in our direction.

"This is what the order is here for. This is a creature that coalesces further down under this mountain. As you go further and further down, the creatures get more ferocious, larger, and of course more deadly. We here at the order are constantly guarding this dungeon. It is one of the deepest of our world. There's a few scattered around the world. A lot are more tame than this one. But you here will be holding the line as members of the order."

The entire time she was giving her speech, the little goblin was grabbing at her hand, trying to claw it and anything it could do. Which was nothing actually.

Now that she told us all of this, and seeing the condition of these goblin things, I was starting to realize what we were going to do and why we had geared up.

She began instructing us on the anatomy of the goblin, weaknesses, what to watch out for as it attacked us, that kind of thing. Overall she said unless they caught us solo with exceedingly high numbers, there should be nothing for us to worry about as long as we kept our wits about us. They had the mana of tier 1 person, which means they would break very quickly under any assault from us. The worst thing they could do is actually pierce our skin with their claws or teeth which may cause an infection. Which is why we were armored up like we were with very little exposure.

As she finished her lecture she started speaking a bit lower in tone. "Now, this will be a lot to ask of you, but this is unfortunately the way the world works. If we do not keep the monsters in check in the lower levels, they start climbing this dungeon. There are some monsters in the lower levels that even a stage five knight struggles against. If one of those were to get out, consider any town you know of wiped away completely. Your journey on the path starts here, and you must go through these creatures."

As the final word fell there was an insanely sharp crack and the goblins' head separated from its body. She had squeezed right through its neck decapitating the thing. As both pieces hit the ground, there was a collective gasp amongst the class. I joined in of course because that was the most gruesome thing I had ever seen. Glancing at my friends, Bea looked sick, Tom was pale, but Bella just looked tired. This must be what she had meant earlier, she knew what was coming somehow.

The instructor woke us from our stupor. "We're going to go through the ranks one-by-one and have you each handle one of these goblins. You will not be fully on fighting them yet, we are just going to make sure you have the stomach for what is to come."

With that there was a quick slam of metal. The knight had opened the cage, grabbed another goblin, and shut the cage faster than I could follow. The goblins in the cage were wearing metal collars with just a few links of chain attached to them. Right in front of her on the floor was a metal hook, embedded in the floor. When she grabbed the goblin from the cage she had fastened the collar to the hook. Since there were only a few links, the goblin was stuck on all fours and only came up to 2 foot tops now. It immediately started clawing around trying to reach out to the class in a mad bid to attack them it looked like. It had some mobility, but very, very little.

"Now, I will call you up as I stated earlier and you will end this creature by your own hand. The creature should pose no threat for you like this, so do not worry about harm to yourself." With that, the knight and reappeared with a giant crate. She promptly threw the decapitated goblin in it.

The class all glanced around uneasily at each other. And with that, the instructor called out the top ranked trainee, and our next stage of training began.