As Alaster traveled deeper into the tunnels, he noticed they were growing slightly wider. Which concerned him immensely. If they continued to widen out, the Goblins would likely be able to overwhelm his Undead. It was a gradual change, and currently, was wide enough for three of the Minotaurs to fight beside each other, so that's what Alaster did, leaving one Minotaur to guard the rear.

In addition to the change, Alaster made the Blackguards’ spears longer. They were so long, they nearly scrapped against the tunnel ceiling four meters up. However, their length allowed them to reach past the Minotaurs and attack the Goblins. Unfortunately, while the Blackguards were plenty strong enough to wield these long spears, there simply wasn’t enough maneuverability when they only used one hand. Only when they used two hands were they able to quickly move the head of the spear.

The Minotaurs didn’t have this issue because they didn’t need the tip of their glaives to be maneuverable. They just needed there to be force behind the blade, which they had plenty to supply.

Alaster encountered a few more groups of Goblins, but none were nearly as large as the ambush, and a few even ran away without attacking. Alaster was creating a reputation among the Goblins. That would only make the rest of his battles in the Dungeon that much harder. An enemy you knew was much less of a threat than the enemy you know nothing about.

He was reminded of his target. The people who had taken his Sister. He knew that they were powerful. They had killed his parents without a sound, and not just that, but had also labeled his family as heretics worshiping demons. And they never would have known about his Sister that quickly if they didn’t have someone high up in the City’s Rulers. Besides that, he had no idea who they were.

But they also didn’t know anything about him, he believed and hoped. The last time he had seen them, they had attacked him during his birthday party, before he had received his Class, and they haven’t attacked him since. This reinforced his belief that they couldn’t find him. And if they couldn’t find him, they wouldn’t know about him. He had never told anyone about his Abilities. Well, he had told Owen, but now the boy’s bones worked for Alaster.

They didn’t even know his Novice Class, and he was now an Adept. An Adept that could reliably wipe out a full squad of experienced Adepts if he was given even a bit of time to prepare. Unfortunately, his Abilities were skewered. His power at close range was impressive, even for a Summoner Type Class, but his Ranged powers were weak in comparison, especially if the target was wearing armor.

Alaster wanted to figure out some way for his Minions to have ranged capabilities. The Skeletal Mage could cast [Necrotic Bolt], but it was weak. Used against anything high Novice or stronger, it was nigh useless. Of course, it was a Minion created using the remains of a Novice. Alaster was interested in seeing what a Skeletal Mage created using Adept remains would be like.

Moving forward, yet another group of Goblins appeared through the dark to attack. They numbered over three dozen, but in the narrow tunnel only a ten at a time could attack, which the three Minotaurs in the front had no issue dealing with. However, Alaster noted that this group of Goblins didn’t have any crossbow users. Every other group had. The Goblins certainly weren’t running out of them either, because the Crossbow Goblins were always the first to run away, and usually without taking any loses.

After the Minotaurs dealt with the Goblins, sending less than a dozen running away, Alaster continued forward. From that point onward, the tunnel quickly widened to allow all four Minotaurs and two Blackguards to stand side by side. The ceiling of the tunnel also became taller, disappearing into the dark. Alaster had one of the Blackguards use their long spears to test the height and found that it had gone from four meters tall to nearly seven meters.

Only a few minutes later, Alaster came across more Goblins, except, they had built fortifications. The Goblins seemed to have taken advantage of the increased height and width of the tunnel, building a wall out of logs. There was no door, instead Alaster was able to spot the last of the fleeing Goblins crawl over the wall with the help of those on top of it.

They were soon spotted, which caused warning screams. The wall was four meters tall and clearly thick enough to allow the Goblins to stand on it. There were currently only four Goblins, but within moments there were a dozen, all armed with crossbows.

Alaster’s Undead raised their shields just in time for a volley of bolts to slam into them. Alaster himself stayed close to the Minotaurs, as their shields were wider, and more likely to protect him.

On his order, the Blackguards lowered their shields and charged forward. Their long spears would allow them to stab at the Goblins on top of the wall. But before they could get more than a meter, another volley slammed into them, and this time they didn’t have their shields up to protect themselves.

Out of the eight blackguards, two of them were knocked down while the rest stumbled from the force. Alaster immediately ordered them to close ranks and raise their shields. The two who had fallen rushed to comply, but another volley rained down on them, focused on them over the rest of the Undead.

This text was taken from Royal Road. Help the author by reading the original version there.

Their bone armor was protective, but it had its limit. A limit that was reached by over a dozen bolts in each of them. The armor shattered in multiple places and the two Blackguards halted their movements, their limbs going limp. Their armor kept their bones in roughly the same place, but Alaster knew it. Within moments of engaging, two of his Blackguards were destroyed. And it had been his foolish order that had caused it.

He had rushed through the Dungeon, attempting to level up as quickly as he could. In his rush, he hadn’t examined his enemy close enough. Or he would have seen the Goblins toss down their crossbows after using them and grabbing an already loaded one. This had allowed them to keep a near constant barrage of bolts streaming through the air. Such a simple mistake, that had cost him two of his Blackguards.

Alaster ducked behind the Minotaurs’ shields as another volley was released. Had he been commanding a group of living people, two of those people would be dead right now. Likely more, as the Undead didn’t have organs or bleed out. Alaster was furious at himself. He had little issue killing to survive. He had no issue with killing Owen, the boy had attempted to steal from him. But he did have an issue with those under his command dying due to such a simple mistake. His Undead weren’t alive to begin with, but that didn’t matter to him. They were his.

Alaster was temped to lob his new spell over the wall.

[Dead Bomb

Level 3: 84%

Create an Orb of volatile mana that explodes, leaving only bone untouched.

Range: 5 Meters

Radius: 2 Meters

Cost: 200 Mana]

He was so sorely tempted, but this was a learning experience. It wasn’t an actual fort, nor would it be an actual siege, but it was close enough to still teach him. He could simply eradicate the Goblins using [Dead Bomb] without much hassle, or even send all the [Horde] Skeletons at the wall. But neither would teach him much. Though, watching the Goblins attempt to handle twenty-two Undead would be entertaining. He even wondered how many of the Skeletons would fall.

But having two of his permanent Undead destroyed so quickly was like a kick to the stomach. He couldn’t save his Sister through overwhelming force. He knew that. He had known that. But this was a sore reminder. If he wanted to save and protect his Sister, it would have to be through cunning. If they saw him coming, they could simply kill her.

So instead of simply bombarding the wall or overwhelming them, Alaster looked for other ways. During this time, the Goblins continued to send bolts their way. The Blackguards gradually backed up, leaving their fallen, until they rejoined the Minotaurs. Alaster continued to examine the situation as more and more bolts stuck into the Bone of the Undead. The vast majority were sticking out of their shields, but occasionally a bolt would get past the shields and hit the Undead themselves.

Finally, after several minutes, Alaster had an idea.

Standing up, Alaster sent two simultaneous casts of [Necrotic Bolt] at the Goblins on the wall. His second mind, while it could cast magic, was not as accurate. Four bolt sailed through the air, but only three hit. Two in the chests of the Goblins, while the one cast by his second mind hit the Goblin’s thigh.

Regardless, it had the desired effect, causing the rest of the Goblin Crossbows to duck in fear. It was at that moment that Alaster sent his Blackguards forward. They charged towards the wall uncontested. Their shields were attached to their backs, allowing them to use their spears with both hands.

Many of the Crossbow Goblins stood up just in time to get speared. A few fell off the wall with cries of pain, on both sides. Four of the Blackguards dropped their spears and lowered their hands, creating a foothold for the other half of the Blackguards to jump into. In this way, four Blackguards were on the wall within moments, stabbing down at what must have been the Goblins loading the crossbows.

The other four Blackguards grabbed their spears again and climbed the wall. It was much slower, but the wall had been secured now. With no more bolts coming at him, Alaster ordered his Minotaurs forward. As Alaster got closer, he realized that while the wall was strong, it wasn’t stable enough to support the Minotaurs, at least not all of them.

Instead, he ordered two of the Minotaurs to hold out a shield, so Alaster could step on it. Alaster was surprised when the Minotaur ran its glaive over the shield first, breaking off the numerous bolts stuck in the bone, before passing the other side to its brother. They lowered themselves down to one knee, allowing Alaster to step on, and they slowly stood up. He had them stop as his head peeked over the edge of the log wall, allowing him to see, but making himself as small of a target as possible.

Alaster’s head was protected by a bone helmet as reinforced as he could make it, but while he was confident in its protective qualities, he didn’t want to test it.

What he saw was a veritable sea of Goblins. All using spears, and all pushing forward to attack the Blackguards atop the wall. But that wasn’t all. As the Goblins went further back, more and more of them were wearing armor made out of wooden branches. At the very back, just before the tunnel began to turn, blocking Alaster’s sight, he could see the glimmer of metal.

The Goblins were using metal equipment, and those that used them, were clearly more trained and disciplined as they pushed and shoved the other Goblins forward. Alaster took them as a hint that he was nearing the edge of the Dungeon. But to reach it, he would have to kill at least a hundred more Goblins, and he had already lost count of how many he had killed.

Alaster was already tired of this Dungeon.