The gate illuminated the streets of Selun as Indexs surrounded the gate with yellow tape and cones. People murmured and complained as the gate had caused some of them a delay in where they were heading.
A man in a black suit yelled Barton's name as he and the kids approached the gate. The man had brown hair and wore an eye patch on one of his eyes; his name was Merl, a friend of Barton.
"Merl, it's good to see you. How's Cynthia?"Barton questioned with a smile on his face as the two men warmly embraced each other.
"Oh, she's doing fine. How long has it been 5 years?" Merl answered as he pulled back from the embrace and stared at Barton with a smile. They looked like friends reuniting after a long time; they felt a little happy as a wave of nostalgia hit them.
"It's really been a long time, friend," Barton confessed with a genuine smile on his face
"It really has… I got something to tell you… You see—"
"Sir, we've confirmed the level of the gate; it seems to be a first-grade gate!" An index interrupted Merl before he completed his statement; Barton was left wondering as to what his friend was about to say.
"A first-grade gate…I don't think we can allow kids into these kinds of gates." Merl said as he looked at Tristan and his friends who stood behind Barton.
"I see. If that's the case, then I'll just have the chauffeur take them back to their homes. I'll inform the school that the gate is way above their level." Barton said as he crossed the yellow tape.
"Sir, wait! We can handle it. I mean, we aren't pushovers; we know how to fight !" Alex yelled, grabbing the attention of Barton and the rest of the group.
"Yeah his right; we can take care of ourselves on the battlefield," Tristan added as he stared at Barton with pleading eyes.
"Please, you don't know what you're saying." Malachi hollered at both of them as he walked towards the bus. "Firstly, we're first years, and we don't even have proper training yet," Malachi added as he stopped mid-step.
"But at the exam festival—"
"There's a difference between knowing how to fight and having experience." Malachi explained as he interrupted Alex before he could finish speaking.
His right
Alex and Tristan thought as their enthusiastic nature vanished. Malachi was right; they didn't have the experience and skill required for being an index.
"So what do you suggest we do?" Tristan asked as he looked at Malachi with a confused and somewhat sad expression.
"We cut our losses and go home. We can try again when we get stronger. I mean that griffin that attacked us last time was enough to give us major injuries—"
"Yet I beat it!" Tristan barked as he cut Malachi off. He regained confidence as he stared at Malachi.
"First of all, that wasn't you; we don't even know what that was," Malachi replied
"But it was with my body." Tristan quickly added
"Still, you weren't in control," Malachi said in a stern tone. Everyone besides him, Tristan, and Alex was confused about what the two were arguing about, but before they could continue arguing.
*CLAP!*
Barton clapped his hands, making sure the two were listening to him.
"Alright, that's enough. I've had it with your complaining." Barton said as he placed his hands on his face in defeat.
"You can come along, but you'll only be watching us work. You kids will be at a safe distance, deal?" Barton explained as he proposed his condition.
"Deal!" Tristan and Alex said as they enthusiam returned; Malachi, on the other hand, was hesitant about the entire ordeal. He felt they were underqualified.
"Don't worry, Malachi. This might help them grow; it's important to learn practically," Mimi softly murmured as she gave Malachi a pat on the back, easing his hesitation while giving him a warm smile.
After 5 minutes, the entire team entered the dungeon with their gear and strange camping equipment. They were composed of 3 third-grade indexs, 5 second graders with Merl being amongst them, 1 first grader being Barton, and 4 newbies who were Tristan and his friends.
"Let's get going !" Barton announced to the team as he remained in front as the leader. Everyone aside from Barton and Merl was a little nervous as they walked in through the gate. Once they were in, it felt like they were in another location.
The bustling street they had once stood on was now a desert that was ruled by dust and sand.
"Looks like we entered a desert terrain," Merl explained as he dropped his bag and equipment that he took with him.
"What do you mean by desert terrain, Mr Merl?" Mimi asked as she stared at the place in wonder while remaining cautious.
"Good question. You see, gates aren't similar to each other; each gate is unique and special. Some might take you underwater, while some can send you falling from the sky." Barton explained as he set down his bag.
"Mr. Barton, can I ask something?" Tristan added as he stared at the entire place like a kid in an amusement park.
"Go ahead?" Barton answered as he looked at Tristan, wondering what he was about to ask.
"What is a gate?" As those words escaped Tristan's mouth, everyone was in utter disbelief at how Tristan didn't know one of the most basic and common occurrences in their world.
"What… did you just ask?" Malachi stuttered, not wanting to believe what Tristan asked.
"Oh, I said what's a gate since it's my first time seeing one and all." Tristan restated his question as he looked around like a child.
Where did this kid come from?
Everyone thought as they looked at Tristan like some kind of brain-dead child who just stepped out of the Stone Age.
*SCREECH*
Before anyone could say anything, a loud noise rang out as a large group of vulture-like monsters descended from the sky.