Nightly Adventure (1)
"How hard can it be to make a dungeon in the open?"
He sighed, looking down at his hands. They were still as small as ever. Aaran had hoped in the dream dungeon he would regain his lost adulthood. But it seemed it was too much to ask for.
"Dread?"
Aaran called out, but there was no response.
"Darius?"
Silence.
Aaran tried accessing the charm store as his last hope. Yet, nothing happened. He was in the dungeon all alone.
"Great… just great."
Aaran's frustration was understandable. He was trapped in a dungeon without Dread or Darius to help him. To top it off, he was a literal child with no stats other than charm.
How was he supposed to clear the dungeon under such circumstances?
There's no point in crying now.
Aaran pushed himself off the ground, brushing off the dirt on his clothes. He wanted to figure out what kind of dungeon it was before he encountered a monster.
Unfortunately, his luck was as shitty as ever.
He barely took a step when a light caught his attention. Aaran hugged the corner and peeked, only to see a strange sight.
A group of goblins were patrolling the area with flashlights. But it wasn't as strange as the fact they were wearing futuristic armor.
…did the UNSC offer Mjolnir armor to the goblins? What's next, Chief leading them to fight the covenant?
Dream dungeon was a place made by gods using Aaran's dreams and memories. He didn't expect the gods to pull such an absurd stunt.
"Right… Now I gotta fight goblins in power armor."
While Aaran was busy making peace with the situation, he forgot something important. The power armors were often equipped with sensors, lots of sensors.
Heat detection. Sound sensors. Motion trackers.
The goblins had access to it all. It didn't take long for one to find Aaran sitting in the corner.
Unfortunately for the goblin, Aaran was prepared.
Before the goblin could alert others or grab its weapon, Aaran latched on to it. He spat on the visor before smearing dirt all over it while his legs wrapped around the goblin's waist.
The goblin slammed its back against the cave's wall. But Aaran was like a leech, unwilling to let go. It slammed Aaran over and over, but the result remained unchanged.
Aaran had developed most resistances to the limit. While he didn't have the [Indomitable Body], his pain and fracture resistances saved him. Unfortunately, his grip wasn't as good as his resistance.
The goblin finally shoved Aaran off before taking off the helmet to see. But it only saw two golden orbs as everything went black.
[Skill: Hypnotic Gaze is active.]
[Target was hypnotized!]
Aaran breathed a sigh of relief as the goblin's body went limp.
It wasn't easy, but he did it.
The subdued goblin remained as still as a corpse. Aaran curled up his fist and hit it in the face. The goblin fell over. Sadly, it didn't appear his attack caused any damage.
Aaran clicked his tongue. He had thought he could eliminate them like this. But without proper stats, his plan was useless.
"…I can't kill them like this."
But Aaran smiled as another plan formed in his head.
"Bring me another goblin."
***
The goblins were frantically searching around the cave for their missing comrades.
"Keek kekee! Kek!"
The party leader yelled at the rest. But what could they do? Those missing had dropped out of the radar as if they didn't want to be found.
While the leader yelled at the rest, a second group of goblins appeared. Parts of their armor were missing, but otherwise, they looked fine. That's when the leader changed his focus on them and began barking while the others laughed at their state.
"Keek! Kekee! Kek kek!"
The leader admonished the other group for abandoning their posts without permission and asked where they had been. When there was no response, he walked to them, intending to slap them.
The following second, the leader stopped in his tracks as a glowing blade pierced his chest. The laughter died down as the first group watched on in stunned silence.
Before they could realize what was happening, the second group of goblins struck the first. They attacked without mercy, slashing and killing them all.
Soon, the only sound that remained was the labored breathing of the few who stood on the verge of death. The brainwashed goblins took the better weapons and stood at the side, their heads lowered.
"Done already? You guys are quite proficient," Aaran mumbled, emerging from the shadows. "It's a shame I can't take you outside, or taking down the academy would've been a breeze."
No one replied as Aaran turned his focus towards the corpses. He had seen many corpses, including the temple assassins, but something was strange with the goblin corpses.
"Can you see something strange there?" he asked a goblin, pointing at a corpse.
The mind-controlled goblin shook its head.
But Aaran could see a black wisp coming out of the corpses. Suddenly, he remembered something Darius had told him.
A necromancer can convert souls into mana.
Aaran had asked Dread about it and he told him it was possible. But he didn't explain how to do it. Dread only told him he should try absorbing weak souls, as they won't resist his control.
Despite having no knowledge, Aaran's instincts were screaming at him to do something. With nothing to lose, he manifested his core. To his utter shock, the wisps rushed towards the orb.
Unlike the time in the graveyard, Aaran didn't have to force the wisp, they willingly merged with his core.
[10 mana gained from absorbing low-tier goblin soul.]
[12 mana gained from absorbing low-tier goblin soul.]
Countless messages flashed before Aaran, as a smile formed on his lips.
This is easier and cheaper than buying mana from the charm store!
With mana to spare, Aaran was eager to use a necromancer's basic skill.
He extended his core's influence, selecting four goblin corpses in his mind.
[A level 1 unnamed corpse was added to the legion.]
[A level 1 unnamed corpse was added to the legion.]
[A level 1 unnamed corpse was added to the legion.]
Out of the four Aaran selected, only three were resurrected before he ran out of mana. But he didn't care about that. There was a bigger problem before him.
"Why do they smell so bad!?"