NOVEL NEXT Adventure 219 – Returning to the Goblin Forest
Liam had mixed feelings after he had left the confines of the Fiddler’s Spider Web. While he was excited and felt great from his long crafting sessions, that talk with Lady Arachne had dampened his mood a bit.
He knew there were plenty of people out there that had plenty of different types of magic out there. Some of the magic out there were basic common ones while others were rare. Like his Shadow and Lunar magic. When he had received the gift in the form of a Knowledge Theory Book that allowed him to receive both the Field of Lunar and Field of Shadows, she had warned him not to let people he didn’t fully trust know if it.
He had agreed to her warning and did his best not to use it so much around those he didn’t trust. There were two instances though where he had not followed her warning. The first was during his fights on the sixth floor with Aranis’, Jude’s, and Inyis’ teams. He didn’t have the luxury of holding back then and felt he needed to do as much as he could. Looking back on it now, he could have done things differently if he had learned and practiced combinations with his available abilities at the time like he learned in the Yellow Dungeon.
The other time was during his initiation tests for the Fiddler’s Spider Web. Eri had told him it was okay to use his Shadow Magic though. He wasn’t sure if she had known Lady Arachne had Shadow Magic as well and that was why she gave him the green light.
He had met three people in a matter of days that had both of the magics he was said to be rare. Not only that, but he was told by Lady Arachne that every branch leader of the Fiddler’s Spider Web had the Field of Shadows. Was it really as rare as he was told? Almost like she was listening to his inner thoughts, a message popped up.
“That was an oversight on my part. I did not expect someone to have the Field of Shadows. I thought maybe they would question it since not a lot of people have seen it before. However, now that I think about it; An association much like the Fiddler’s Web should have at least one person to have it. Let’s just be happy you didn’t reveal your Field of Lunar abilities. – Eri.”
Liam slightly frowned at her message. The way you and Nabal had described the association, I would have thought almost everyone who have it. Also, why is it good that I didn’t reveal my Lunar Magic? Besides the obvious that many would try and see how I got it so they can try and get it.
“It’s kind of like that. The only difference is they will want to find out why you have both and how that is possible. – Eri.”
Liam was a bit confused by that. He wasn’t entirely sure what she had meant by that. He wanted to ask her to elaborate on it. However, before he could ask, Eri was already on it.
“I know we haven’t talked much about magic and how it all works. It’s something you’ll learn eventually, but I guess we can talk a little bit about why I have been trying to have you not go around and showing off that you have both Shadow and Lunar Magic. – Eri.”
Okay. Liam nodded as he slowly approached the stairs of the Dungeon tower.
“What I have said to you before about the two being rare is correct. I know that since you’ve already had a run in with three people who have one or the other you probably thought it wasn’t as rare as I have been saying. However, that is not correct. It was just coincidence that you happened to find them so soon. – Eri.”
Liam slightly looked surprised at that. He looked at the guard and snuck past him using a passerby’s shadow going inside. After making his way over to a shadow that ran up the wall he looked at Eri’s next message.
“People would do anything to get their hands on a method to receive those Fields. It doesn’t matter if that method fails, they will still try to get it. – Eri.”
Why is that? And what do you mean by even if that method fails? Can someone fail trying to get a Field of Magic? Liam asked with a puzzled look on his face.
“*Sighs* Fields of Magics have tiers of rarities much like equipment, items, and more. They are Common, Uncommon, Rare, Mythic, and Divine Gifted. You don’t see the rarity because it is something the mortals have created. Things like your Field of the Craft, Field of the Elements, and such are considered Common Tier. Your Field of Shadows and Field of Lunar are more on the Rare side. – Eri.”
Liam thought about what she was saying. Following the logic he asked, If what you are saying is true then my Field of Discord would be in the Divine Gifted Tier right?
“Correct, but you’ll learn more about all that later. There is more to the tiers, I just don’t remember if any new Tiers were added over the years. You’re not ready to learn more about that. I only brought that up because it’ll help explain this next part. – Eri.”
Okay. Liam responded as he looked for the Green Dungeon. He noticed a few groups waiting to enter it, so he decided to wait a little longer.
“There are many people on the search for Rare Tier or above Fields of Magic. Some are searching as collectors of information while others want them for themselves. Having Rare Tier or above Fields of Magic will increase their power. At least that’s what the idiots believe. To answer your other question, yes…it is possible to fail to receive a Field of Magic. When you were in the Tutorial Area they spot often of not taking too many Fields of Magic right? – Eri.”
Liam thought about it. He did remember being told that often. Yes…I was warned not to get too many because it could harm my path or something like that.
“Yes. Everyone has Fields that are helpful and harmful. While many of the harmful ones you can still receive if they are Common or Uncommon Tier, anything above those tiers are different. You have to meet certain requirements to receive them. One such requirement is Knowledge. – Eri.”
Like how I received the Shadow and Lunar Fields of Magic right? Liam asked.
“Yes. To mortal knowledge the requirements to receive Rare kinds of Fields are Knowledge, Sub-stat levels, and Practice. However, there is one major requirement that they do not want to admit. That is affinity. You must have an affinity for that Field of Magic in order to be able to receive. That is the minimum requirement. You can study all you want and have a high Knowledge Theory on the topic of Field of Magic. The same goes for the sub-stats. Albeit, without an affinity you will not receive it. – Eri.”
Liam’s brows scrunched once more. He understood that she was saying that the only reason why he was able to receive both Field of Lunar and Field of Shadow was because he had an affinity for both. What he wasn’t understanding was what that had to do with her earlier comment.
“Now it is one thing to have an affinity with a Rare Tier Field of Magic, but to have two that are both opposites and similar to each other…that is rarer than rare. Lunar and Shadow have been seen with others separately never together on a single person. They are powerful when used on an enemy, but also harmful to the one who is using them both at the same time. There is a chance they can cause extreme damage on the user if they don’t know what they are doing. Look at what happened after you got back from your fight on the sixth floor. You had both Debuffs from using Shadow and Lunar Magic together. – Eri.”
Liam vaguely remembered using them both at the same time. It had taken some time for his memory to return from his time being Debuffed with Chaotic Mind. What he did remember was the pain that filled his body when his mind was no longer plagued with the Debuff. Not only did his inside feel like he had been hit by a truck, but his mind was filled with whispers. If he hadn’t experienced it before he would have thought he went mad.
“I’m over explaining things I know, but I have a point. Knowing what I have told you, what do you think would happen if someone, who didn’t really know you, saw that you could use both Shadow and Lunar? – Eri.”
Liam thought about it. He couldn’t think of anything but the people who were interested in the field would want to know even more. However, he felt like there was more to it than that. He couldn’t figure out what that was though.
“Their interest in wanting to receive those Fields would also turn into their interest in you as someone who can wield both. They will pester you and pester you. Maybe even try to blackmail and kidnap you. Who knows if there are worse things they would do. People can get a bit…crazy when it comes to things they want but can’t have. – Eri.”
Isn’t that an understatement. Liam agreed as he looked back at the Portal leading to the Green Dungeon. The group of people that crowded the portal, waiting for their turn, was starting to shrink.
“The point I am trying to make is it is super rare for someone to have both Lunar and Shadow. It would draw people’s attention…mainly in a bad way depending on the person. Just keep your Lunar Magic a secret whenever conducting business at the Fiddler’s Spider Web. – Eri.”
Sure thing. Liam responded before finally making his way to the Portal that led to the Goblin Forest.
He was still cloaked in his Veil of Shadows, so he approached the portal with a slow walk. As he made his way over to it his brows started to furrow a bit. He wasn’t entirely sure, but the shade of green that made the portal looked a bit…darker. He wasn’t entirely sure if that was true, but he could have sworn the last time he saw it, it was a little lighter.
He turned to look at the other colored portals, but even with his heightened vision, he wasn’t entirely sure if they had darkened a bit as well. The more he stared though the more it bugged him. After a few seconds he decided to enter the Dungeon before anyone walked out or wanted to go in.
He pressed his hand against it, waited for the notification, accepted it, and walked in. After he reappeared on the other side he focused on making sure his Veil of the Shadows was maintained and didn’t disperse. After he was assured his spell was still active he started to walk away. After taking a step he realized something else. He didn’t feel sick.
He was so used to fighting off the sickening feeling he normally felt every time he entered and left a dungeon that the absence of the feeling felt…off putting to him. Even when he didn’t upchuck, he still had that feeling of nausea or dizziness. Like he had a Vertigo attack of sorts. He wasn’t going to complain that he didn’t feel it this time. It was a welcoming thing that he wished it just never happened, but it still confused him.
“What’s wrong? Why do you have that strange look on your face like you received some sort of enlightenment? Also, what was up with your behavior before you entered the dungeon?” Eri asked.
I didn’t receive any enlightenment…I just found it strange that I didn’t feel sick after going through the portal. Liam replied as he made his way towards one of the paths that had less people walking on.
“That will happen,” Eri started. “When you start reaching certain levels in the Teleportation Sickness in the Mental Resilience the chances of you feeling sick lessens. That, however, depends on the level of Portal though. For example, the chances of getting sick or feeling sick from the lighter portals will drop considerably the closer you reach level twenty or higher. The chances don’t change for the darker portals if your around level twenty though so keep that in mind.”
Liam found that quite interesting. He had assumed that he would always feel sick each time he went through a portal. If the probability of him upchucking or feeling like he would dropped the more levels he got in the sub-stat for that mental illness, then he would welcome each level he received in it.
“And the other thing I asked?” Eri questioned, not letting Liam get deeper in his thoughts.
Hm? Oh…outside the dungeon. Liam said after thinking about what she had asked. I’m not entirely sure, but I thought the color of the portals looked a bit darker than they were the last time I saw them.
Eri didn’t respond right away. It had taken her a few seconds before she finally asked, “Are you sure?”
Liam shook his head. Not entirely. Like I said I thought they looked darker. If they did deepen in their respectable shade of color, it wasn’t by much.
“Still, even a slight bit of darker color can change a dungeon by a lot,” Eri stated. “Keep an eye out. That Lady Arachne said something about suspicious people being in here. If those suspicious people happen to be apart of the Seven Immoral Sins Cult then things can go badly very quickly.”
Liam nodded as he replied back mentally, Alright. If I come across any I’ll just keep my distance and report it back to Lady Arachne.
“Sounds like a good plan,” Eri said. “I know you are excited since your Stat Shatter Debuff is finally gone, but those people are still stronger than you by quite a lot. You wont be able to gain enough stat levels to make a difference so soon…Unless you used certain methods…”
What methods? Liam questioned with some interest and confusion.
“Don’t worry about it for now. You might not be able to use it so soon after finally shedding that Debuff, so I don’t want you thinking about it,” Eri vaguely stated.
Liam kept walking down the path he had chosen, not a single person in sight. He decided it was alright to let out a slight chuckle as he commented to Eri, You know…telling me not to worry about it and then adding that vague part so soon afterwards isn’t going to not make my curiosity pique.
“I know,” Eri stated with a slight chuckle of her own.
With a quiet whisper, Liam muttered to himself, “You are such a tease.”
Eri’s laughter was the only response he had gotten back.
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Liam spent a couple of hours roaming the Goblin Forest. During that time he trained himself to get reacquainted with how his body worked with his new sub-stats. There were some differences compared to how he was when the Stat Shatter Debuff was active. His Agility, Reflexes, and Speed had changed a bit allowing him to move faster, react quicker, and move his body a little bit smoother than before.
He found that he was able to dodge and move his arms easier against the goblins he came across than the last time he was in here. Sure their levels were low, and his sub-stats were probably a lot higher than theirs, but he needed a comparison between then and now.
His results spoke. Even his leveled up Power sub-stat helped his strikes cause more damage. He was excited from these tests. They helped him get a better feel of where he currently was now. That was, however, on the physical side of things. He hadn’t used any of his magical abilities during these tests.
Except for using his Soul Harvest to collect the Soul Orbs of his fallen prey, Liam decided not to use any of his magical abilities. He felt that they would attract people who were close by. He didn’t want anyone seeing him while he was in here.
As he tested his body out and collected the soul orbs, he also completed the Goblin Monster Hunting Quest he still had from the Adventurer’s Association. It didn’t take him long to complete that. He had also reached the amount of lesser monsters required to pass this dungeon. He just needed to kill the equivalent of an E.F.M. in this dungeon and he would be good.
He wanted to find one so he could have that completed before he left, but he decided not to do it yet. He still needed to search a bit further inside this free roam dungeon and see if there were any signs of suspicious people or activities.
During his time in here so far he hadn’t seen any signs or heard anyone mention anything. He was starting to think that maybe the dungeon was clean of an irregularities after he had defeated the Zombified Hobgoblin. That was until he heard a scream.
He had finished harvesting a group of Soul Orbs from a group of five Feeble Forest Goblins when he heard it. According to his heightened hearing, the cry was not too far from where he was.
He took off as fast as he could towards the direction the sound came from. As he ran, he activated his Spirit Weave to form the equipment his Shadow Moon Blades gave him. He didn’t want anyone recognizing him while investigating. This was the best way to prevent that.
As he got closer to the area he heard the scream, he felt something was off. He wasn’t sure what it was, but the air around him felt disgusting. He slowed down until he came to a halt and scanned his surroundings.
The trees around him looked different. The ones that surrounded him earlier looked healthy and full of life. The crowns up above were full of leaves. These ones looked like they were sick. Dark patches were scattered all over the trunks. The leaves above him were no longer green. They had a brownish grey tint to them and tried desperately to hang on to the branches they grew on.
The ground around him had a mixture of crunchy leaves and blackish brown dirt. He didn’t know why he was seeing this. he felt like he had stepped into a different dungeon compared to where he was earlier. He took in a deep breath and gagged. The air smelt foul and stale. Almost like dead bodies were close by. He didn’t like this. Liam activated Veil of Shadows and continued on cautiously.
It didn’t take him long to find a clearing. What he found inside the clearing surprised him though. Five people stood with their backs towards him. Judging by their armor and equipment, they had different classes that ranged from a tank like class to a healer type. These people were staring at a group of fifteen goblins. The goblins stared at the five people, but neither side made a move towards each other. Instead, they just stood there.
Not too far away behind the goblins was a cave mouth. A scream escaped the cave mouth that made Liam flinch. He didn’t flinch because the noise scared him. He flinched because he reflexively wanted to run towards the cave mouth and see if the person screaming needed help. However, before he could move, a figure slowly walked out from the cave. Liam’s brows scrunched at what he saw.
It was a Hobgoblin. However, this Hobgoblin didn’t look like the one he had fought in his test or a normal one. Instead it looked exactly like the Zombified Hobgoblin he fought last time he was in this dungeon.
He was about to assess the creature to verify his suspicions, but stopped as he got a better look at the goblins standing around. They, too, didn’t look like the normal goblins he was used to seeing in this Green Dungeon. They stood slightly taller, had bigger muscles that tore parts of their skin on their arms and legs. Their eyes looked clouded as well.
Liam felt the hairs on his arms and the back of his neck stand up. He quickly assessed the creatures and understood why he felt something was off.
“Zombified Hobgoblin Warrior. 955/955 HP. 0/0 MP. Level – 25.”
“Zombified Forest Goblin. 420/420 HP. 0/0 MP. Level – 13.”
“Zombified Forest Goblin. 467/467 HP. 0/0 MP. Level – 15.”
“Zombified Forest Goblin. 578/578 HP. 0/0 MP. Level – 18.”
The levels amongst the goblins were spread about, but the most were at these three levels. This shocked Liam. His shock didn’t end there as he realized something else. The Zombified Hobgoblin was dragging something by the leg across the ground behind it. It was a human male.
The man being dragged let out a cry for help. Liam stared at the five, who were just standing there. He didn’t know what the five people were waiting for. Even though he was hiding in the shadows and standing there, he wasn’t sure if the five people had some plan to save the man being dragged towards them. He didn’t want to ruin whatever they had planned so he waited.
However, the closer the tall monster got to the people, the more Liam noticed something strange from them. They weren’t in any stance. Their weapons remained sheathed. And they remained standing with a slight hunch. Liam was confused by their behavior. However, before he could look into it more, the Zombified Hobgoblin had reached the opened spot before the five people.
Four of the Zombified Forest Goblins walked forward. Two of them had gripped the man’s flailing wrists and dragged him in front of the Zombified Hobgoblin and the five people. The other two Zombified Goblins grabbed the man’s kicking legs. After reached a certain spot, the four creatures put all their weight down and held down the man.
Liam’s brows scrunched as he continued to watch. A feeling of dread crept down his spine as he wondered why the five people still hadn’t reacted. He was then taken aback as something crawled out from the Zombified Hobgoblin’s nostril.
It was small so Liam had to adjust his sight to be able to get a better look at what it was. What he saw made his blood run cold.
The creature had eight legs in total, a hairy bulbous abdomen that curved a bit, a thin upper body, two arms that extended from its upper body, a pair of fang like mandibles, and several eyes all over its head. It looked like something you would get if a person and a spider mated and had a baby, but a lot more frightening and disgusting.
Liam was taken out his thoughts on the creature as the man let out a blood curdling shrill. Liam refocused his attention before him. The Zombified Hobgoblin had lowered its hand closer to the man, bringing the horrifying looking spider creature closer to the man.
Liam looked back at the five people. They didn’t move. They remained the same as they were when he arrived to this place. Liam wasn’t sure if they were going to help the man, which made him worried about their state as well.
The cries from the man intensified the closer the spider creature had gotten to him. Again the five people didn’t move. Liam came to a decision. He reached for one of his throwing daggers. He slowly brought the arm back, aimed, and threw it.
He watched the dagger fly swiftly between the gap of two of the unresponsive people. Before anyone could react, the blade portion of the dagger sunk right into the chest of the spider creature. The blade was big enough to cover not just the chest, but also the stomach and dug right into its abdomen due to the angle it had landed.
This one action finally made the five people react. However, instead of them racing to free the screaming man, they had turned in the direction of where the dagger had come from and stared at Liam who was now completely visible.
Liam’s blood froze as he looked at them though. He now understood why they didn’t try to help the man. They were already dead. No…they were now Undead.