The class proceeded to go up to the knight instructor as they were called and ended the life of the fresh goblin she chained up for them. As they went one-by-one to the front for this new regimen, they all had very grim and determined faces on them. Until Bella that is. As she approached she looked more resigned than anything else. When she got to the goblin she quickly decapitated it with her partisan.

As this gruesome scene played out, I realized I was not gonna have any easy time with this. I was already shocked by how unemotional and barbaric this was. Glancing again at Bea and Tom, I see that only a little has changed. Bea, while still looking sick, is now no longer holding her bow and is crouched down with her mouth covered. Tom, just as pale as before, has knelt down and is rubbing her back consolingly. Thinking to make my way over to them I suddenly had to stop as the knight called my name.

Turning back I see that I had the last goblin in the bunch as the cage was empty. Huh, that meant I was still ranked tenth then actually, right? Despite my pairing with Bella over the past month. Yet another thing to stow away and address later. I marched up to take my place, gripping my warhammer nervously. As I got there, I just stared at the little creature dumbly.

Up close it was even more disgusting. The skin had a sheen to it that made me think it extremely slimy, like a snail. Its mannerisms were truly feral, maybe even rabid. This particular one right now was stuck in a loop of lunging at me so hard that the chain would whip it around so that it did a 180 and was staring at the instructor. It would then lunge at her only for the same thing to happen and it would be back to staring at me. It was repeating this ad nauseam without slowing, tiring, and definitely without learning anything. Glancing at the instructor, she caught my eye and just waved me on before crossing her arms and staring at me.

Looking at my weapon choice, I realized this would not be as clean as the others who got a bladed weapon and went for slicing the head or stabbing it. The first trainee even bisected it top to bottom. He had decided to wield a massive two-handed weapon, a claymore, though. Compared to my warhammer I was either crushing this thing someway or poking it. Deciding that I didn't want to use the spike and risk it getting stuck I settled on having to bash it to death.

Gulping audibly, I took one more step and lined up my shot to time it well. Right as the little creature lunged and reached the end of its chain, I swung with all the might I could, fearing I would need to make several swings to make sure it was dead.

To my surprise there was practically no resistance. I've honestly felt more resistance hitting a volleyball back home. The head all but exploded from the impact. Blood and gore sprayed across the floor from the opposite side that my hammer impacted. As the body hit the floor and I stared at the mess in a bit of shock, I suddenly felt as if the room dropped in temperature and felt cold and clammy. I also felt really, really empty inside as if I not only skipped breakfast, but dinner last night as well, and I actually stumbled a bit as the wave of sensations hit me.

"Oh? Congratulations on the tier up.... William. Every now and then it happens on a page's first kill and is considered lucky if nothing else. You may want to have a seat over to the side as you get used to your new tier." The instructor then nonchalantly grabbed the goblin, packed it in the crate and blurred. Both the crate and cage disappeared.

I managed to stumble over to a wall where I began to vacate my breakfast from my stomach. Even after all the food was gone, I still stood bent over and dry heaving. Seeing everything up close as everyone else took their turn and then doing the deed myself were entirely different matters. As my heaving stopped, I took a few steps to the side and just slid down the wall until I was sitting.

As I sat there and took stock of my situation I watched the next people in line come and go with varying degrees of success. Some had no issues with the deed and others. Tom and Bea still looked the same, dreading their turn it seems. Bea was no longer looking at the procession and just staring at the ground however.

A slight cough sounded next to me. I glanced to see Bella there, leaning against the wall. "Hey..... mind if I sit?". I just nodded. We sat there for awhile in silence as the trainees just continued one after the other. "I find it settles quicker if you try thinking about something else. I could talk about Lucerne some more if you'd like?" I just nodded numbly.

As she rambled a bit more about her home town, she was interjecting some humorous moments and I did crack a weak smile or two. It was a nice distraction while it lasted. She got quiet as Bea was called up for her turn and we both focused on that. Bea pulled her warbow back and let her arrow fly. It didn't have to travel far and with the goblin chained as it was it essentially drilled straight through the skull and embedded into the ground. The creature struggled weakly for a bit before the movement stopped.

Bea drew herself up and let out a long sigh before heading our way and sat next to Bella, who proceeded to rub her back in an effort to soothe her.

Tom went for a stab through the heart on his turn. He then marched over and plopped down next to Bea. They both handled it so much better than I did. I guess I was the weakest link here in this situation.

The four of us sat there in a companionable silence for a bit as the rest of the class continued. No one seemed to have as an adverse reaction as I did. Most were handled like either of my three friends.

"So you really were tier 3 huh? I'll be honest, I had my doubts all the way up until then. I'm sorry you found out how your ascension to later tiers will work." Bella mumbled very melancholic like.

"That was what convinced you?" I asked incredulously.

"Yes. Only savants and occasionally some elders reach tier 4 without having to go through the process of culling a dungeon. No offense, but you did not come off as a savant Will." Bella chided with a soft elbow.

Tom and Bea perked up at this and said in unison "He sure isn't!", they finished with a soft chuckle.

I laughed weakly also, but then continued "That's kind of depressing isn't it? I mean, I've heard of defeating monsters and I thought I'd be okay with it, but now that I've actually done it.... I don't know."

"Well, the rest of our training is clearing this top floor from what I understand. That's about half a year of this. You can try getting used to it, I guess...." Bella explained.

We trailed off and stopped talking and just watched the class finish. Nothing else stood out, and as the knight instructor pointed out, no one else tiered up from the ... the kill.

When the last trainee was done, the knight disappeared with the cage and goblin bodies. She returned shortly and got our attention. My friends and I stood up and walked back over to the group.

"I know this has been a bit harrowing for you, but know this is a necessity. These hundred goblins were coalesced in the dungeon today. This is why a regular cleansing is done at every one we find. As a small concession to this duty, when a creature is defeated a small portion of the mana drifts into your spirit. Obtaining mana this way is leaps and bounds faster than how a layperson would cultivate it, by cycling their mana throughout their daily life." The instructor paused and looked around the room slowly, seeming to peer into each person's soul. " The power is earned and fought over to obtain it though, it is not free. This is the path you must tread as part of the order. Every single one of you have now experienced first hand your role in this process. With that, I am releasing you early to relax and then take lunch. I will see you back here after lunch as we fully delve into the floor and you continue your path in the order." With a final wave of her hand she dismissed us.

We trudged down the long hall that led us away from under the mountain. No one seemed chipper and we all were walking slow. As we passed through the obstacle course room, Bella stopped us. Tom, Bea, and I glanced at her inquisitively, but she just held a hand up to forestall any questions.

She waited until the rest of the class left us before beginning. "Tell you what guys, why don't you follow me to the sparring room real quick. Let's be honest, neither of you want to eat anything right now. And... I figured I could show you how to sense your mana within yourself. It would not be a concrete technique at this point, merely the first step to learn something. It's something they would not teach you until you're a squire..... but it would most likely ease your minds after this experience. What do you think?"