Alaster stayed crouched in the snow, holding Astrid close, as he watched the fires burn and spread.

He might have even been concerned about starting a forest fire, but it was the middle of winter with strong and wet winds and snow covered the world. Not only that, but it was known that when there was a large threat to their homes, the monsters and beasts would work together to stop it.

Even solitary monsters, that staked out large swaths of territory, would work with other creatures to stop fires, invasions, and even natural disasters. This was just one of the many reasons most civilizations tended to stay where they were. Any form of rapid expansion would cause violent opposition.

As the stench of burning bodies swept over Alaster, he picked up Astrid and carried her to the gap in the tree wall. Once there, he gently propped her against the tree trunks and pulled out a small mound of bones.

The bones he had harvested from the Goblins filled up quite a bit of the Ring. As he set to his next project, he promised himself to mold all the bones into cubes to save space in the Ring.

Using his [Bone Crafting], Alaster quickly molded a flat platform. Two meters long by a meter wide. He then sloped the edges up. Smirking to himself, Alaster laid Astrid onto the simple sled. Finally, He took some of the primitive rope he had taken from the Goblin Tribe and attached it to the front of the sled.

Alaster would have preferred to let one of the Night Children drag the sled, but he wasn’t willing to weaken his defenses for ease. He would drag the sled while the Children followed him from the tree branches.

Alaster put his snow shoes back on. He had taken them off before beginning the raid on the Tribe. They made it much easier to travel in the snow, and faster over distance. But in short distances, they were too cumbersome, and therefore slower. Besides, the snow was much more shallow in the walls of the Tribe.

Checking over himself, Alaster ensured that he was all set and wasn't forgetting anything. He took one last look at the towering flames and the pillar of dark smoke before he grabbed the end of the rope and turned into the forest.

From what Astrid had said, Alaster was able to figure out the rough direction of the city she had come from. Human settlements avoided mountains, and Goblins did not tend to stray more than a dozen miles from wherever they considered home.

As it was, Alaster was intrigued by this Goblin Tribe. Normally, Goblins would live in caves or similar holes they could hide in. They were naturally quite cowardly, and their dwellings reflected that. It was certainly not rare that a Goblin Tribe would dwell above ground, making huts much like this tribe had. But Alaster had never heard of them building defensive walls, as primitive as they were.

Not only that, but they actually had Goblins guarding the Tribe. Very few Tribes were that organized. And yet, the Goblins guarding were certainly not the best.

Goblins could typically be categorized into four types. The Peons, or servants, or even runts. They were the smallest and weakest of the Goblins. They usually didn't have any weapons. Then there were the Warriors. They were stronger and the most numerous of the Goblins. They were the hunters and fighters. Then there were the Elders. For such a weak and pathetic race, being able to survive long enough to be called old was an accomplishment. Most Tribes didn’t have more than one or two, and they usually used very weak magic.

Alaster had noticed each of those three types during the attack on the Tribe, but it was the fourth one that was missing. And the most crucial.

Every single Tribe of Goblins had a Lord Goblin. No tribe lasted very long without one, usually killing themselves off due to infighting. The Lord Goblin was the strongest and tallest of the Goblins, usually standing mid-chest height of an adult human male. They typically wore crude armor and used actual forged weapons. They were the smartest of the Goblins and always had an entourage following them. Their Bodyguards were the strongest of the Warriors.

And yet, Alaster did not see them. Something he was grateful for, as he doubted even his Night Children could kill them. They relied on speed to kill, and their attacks would not do much against actual armor. However, it was because he did not see them, that he worried. He did not want to fight them, he doubted he could. His spells seemed to have little to no effect against armor.

Of course, he was not too worried. After all, he had even killed a Bugbear, a creature that was much stronger than a Goblin Lord and his bodyguards. But he did recognize the strength of numbers. He had been confident in wiping out the entire Tribe if he had caught them sleeping. He had even been confident in fighting a few of them if needed. He had done so when he was just a small child.

But there was simply too much unknown about the Goblin Lord, and he would not have the element of surprise. He did not want to fight the Lord.

Alaster pushed himself to move faster through the snow. The Sled slowed him down, but Alaster forced himself to move faster. Goblins were known to dwell near settlements as they tended to supply easy prey, but they stayed far enough away to not attract attention from the Guard of the City. Even a group of prepared Novices were a threat to a Tribe of Goblins. Two or three Adepts could easily wipe them out.

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Luckily, the thick snow provided a smooth surface for the sled to glide over. The Night Children jumped from tree branch to tree branch on either side of Alaster, however, Alaster was not paying attention to them. He leaned forward as he dragged. Alaster only occasionally glanced up to make sure he was going in the right direction, and not run into any tree.

It was not long before the sun began to set. Taking care of the bodies had taken longer than Alaster had thought. He had only traveled for a few hours.

Alaster quickly set up the shelter and carried Astrid in. He put the sled into his ring and quickly built up a fire in the bowl. He gave the mental command for the Night Children to watch over and protect the shelter.

Alaster observed the surroundings of the shelter as the sun truly set. When the final rays of the sun vanished, Alaster entered the shelter. There, he found Astrid sitting upright and staring at him.

He sat down across from her, “How are you feeling?”

She nodded, “Better, actually. Thank you for making me do it.”

“I didn’t force you. I pushed you, but in the end, you did it yourself.”

The corner of her mouth rose a degree, “Thank you nonetheless. Sorry for making you take care of me while I was passed out. I promise that I will be more useful tomorrow.”

“That would be great. It wasn’t bad, but this deep in the woods, another pair of hands are great.”

“Don’t you have three pairs between you and your undead?” She tilted her head in confusion.

“Yeah, but they aren’t exactly the most intelligent. And since they have those blades on their arms, I don’t really trust them to do anything delicate.” Alaster explained as he took out some meat and sticks, handing one of each to Astrid.

They sat in silence as they cooked for several moments.

“So you can make things out of bones?”

“Yeah, it's pretty simple, and I can’t do anything intricate or complicated, but it was enough to make this shelter.”

“But you can make armor?” Astrid asked, pointing to the bone helmet Alaster had taken off and set to the side.

“Yeah, but that is all I’ve made so far. What level is your Class, by the way?”

“Five. Which isn’t great because my sixteenth birthday is in two months. I spent a little bit and came to the conclusion that I would need to be at least level seven to be able to afford living once I was removed from the Orphanage… At least, that was when I was still planning on living with the other Orphans my age. I don’t know what I will do now.”

“I’m sure that you’ll be fine. You can buff allies. No doubt that you’ll have multiple people asking to party with you.”

“But my single buff is so weak they don’t even notice it.”

“That just means that you have to level it up! How does the buff work? Does it require mana to keep up?”

“Yes, however, it is the only Mana ability I have. I can keep it up for little more than ten minutes.”

“And it only gets EXP when it is active and gets kills? Or does it get EXP just for being active?”

“No, either I or one of my buffed allies need to get Kill EXP.”

Kill EXP, basically just EXP that is earned from killing something. Spells similar to Alaster’s [Bone Crafting] got EXP for simply being used. While spells like [Necrotic Bolt] require it to hit a living foe. But some abilities, such as Astrid’s buff, required Kill EXP. There wasn’t any real way to know which way an ability leveled without testing it, or researching it if someone had already figured it out and shared it.

“What is your Buff called?” Alaster asked, taking a bite out of the meat.

Astrid actually chuckled, “Nothing amazing. Very simple. Strength Aura. It has a four meter radius, with me at the center.”

“What is the actual wording of the ability?”

“Strength Aura, Level four, sixty-two percent. Range, four meters. Slightly strengthens user and allies.”

“Wow, that really is vague. Well, tomorrow, if we get into a battle, activate it. Might as well level it as much as you can.”

She grinned at him as she began to eat as well.

They both ate in silence. When they finished, Alaster put the sticks back into his ring and pulled out a small mound of bones.

“Let's see here. Currently, I doubt that I can make a spear out of bone. But I have a hatchet you can use. Maybe I could make you a shield.” Alaster thought aloud, scratching his arm.

“Isn’t bone fragile?”

“Normal bone, yes. But I can strengthen it, making it more durable. It becomes heavier, and with my ability, it would still be fragile. But it should be strong enough to protect you from a few blows. I hope.”

“What about you?”

“No. I need to keep a hand open for spells, and would prefer to keep my other hand open to use my sword. Hmm, I should also make you a helmet.”

At this point, Alaster wasn’t paying much attention to Astrid. He was entirely enveloped in his process. Not that Astrid minded, she found it fascinating to see the solid bones be molded into different forms.

Alaster was completely absorbed in making the equipment. The helmet was simple enough, as he had already made one before and knew how to do it. But the shield was different. It was meant to be hit hard and numerous times. But if it was too stiff, it would simply shatter.

Alaster needed to remove the impurities, to make it more flexible, before he could strengthen it.