My Aura Sensing picked up something. Despite it being two in the morning, someone seemed way too energetic for this hour.
Lately, my Aura Sensing had expanded significantly, which meant that keeping it constantly active was quite troublesome, especially since it could wake me up even while sleeping, like this time. To avoid this, I set it only to alert me when detecting hostile entities. Despite it being the middle of the night, the sheer number of entities I detected was unusual.
For a moment, I wondered if humans were attacking, but quickly dismissed the idea. The dark forest at night was the domain of monsters, an environment far too disadvantageous for humans to launch an assault. So, what could it be? The answer was immediately clear: kobolds. The names of the detected entities appeared on my mental map.
I momentarily thought the kobolds had come for revenge, but it seemed unlikely. Thirty-eight blue dots were chasing fifty-three red dots representing kobolds. Additionally, there was a single slightly larger gray dot farther away. The same color indicated the same species, so three different species were present.
While the identities of the blue and gray dots were unclear, one thing was sure: the number of kobolds was steadily reducing upon encountering the blue dots. It seemed the kobolds were under attack. Usually, this wouldn’t concern me, but the kobolds were heading straight for our cave and showed no sign of stopping.
I roused everyone and prepared for a potential confrontation. While the kobolds could be easily dealt with at any time, the current threat was the entities represented by the blue and gray dots. Soon, the number of kobolds had decreased to thirty-six. They rushed into the cave with desperate expressions. Unlike the kobolds I had previously eaten, there were females, children, and elders among them. The armed male kobolds were at the rear, desperately holding off the blue dots—skeleton soldiers equipped with swords, shields, and armor.
For a moment, I was speechless.
I hadn’t seen a single one in the dungeon thanks to Returner, so this was my first time seeing them in person, but these skeleton soldiers had to be the same kind of magical creatures guarding Velvet’s Vault.
Why are they here? Oh, one of the kobolds just got cut down. Seems like I don’t have much time to think.
I gave orders through my communication ear cuff, and crossbow bolts were fired as a preemptive strike into the group of skeletons. It slowed them down a bit but didn’t do much damage. Skeletons are already hard to hit because they lack any flesh, and even when the bolts did hit, they couldn’t break the bones. Instead, the projectiles bounced harmlessly off the unusually tough skeletons. They must have had some ability protecting them.
Realizing that crossbows were ineffective, I had the long-range Regret attack unit cease fire. I instructed them, along with the Pleasure support unit, to guide the fleeing kobolds to the cells and have Gobjii provide them with basic medical treatment. They’d be in the way otherwise. Plus, it served as a watch measure.
Long-range attacks wouldn’t work, so I sent in the Rage and Hatred units, along with the dark wolves. Swords struggled to break the skeletons’ bones initially, making the battle unexpectedly challenging. But then Hobsato, using quick thinking, crushed the bones with the sword hilt. That changed everything. We’d discovered that while skeletons had resistance to slashing attacks, they were vulnerable to blunt force.
I quickly relayed this information. With that knowledge, the tide of battle quickly shifted, and we began to defeat the skeletons at a much faster pace.
We could have managed even without knowing their weakness, though. Gobkichi’s appearance, roaring and charging with his massive battle-axe and tower shield, was like a moving fortress. A thunderous sound and clouds of dust followed him as he plowed through the skeletons, crushing them in his path—a strangely satisfying sight.
Gobei, still equipped with a pickaxe, delivered what could only be called a fatal blow. Her overhead swing smashed the skull with a single strike, and the force continued down to shatter the sacrum. Gobmi’s relentless headshots caused cracks to spread, finally shattering the skeleton soldiers. Hobsei’s magic then incinerated them, reducing them to ashes. Using wide-area destruction spells risked hitting our allies, but with her evolution enhancing all her magic, even her basic spells were more powerful than ever.
Naturally, I was also more than capable of handling these skeletons. Unlike the kobolds, we had plenty of countermeasures. There was no way we could lose against this level of skeleton soldiers.
With the additional support of our familiars—the hind bears and triple-horned horses charging into battle at our command—we had more than enough strength to be getting on with. I thought I might not even need to step in. However, that didn’t turn out to be the case. The number of skeletons didn’t seem to be decreasing. Inside the cave, skeletons crumbled into heaps of bones, forming white piles. Yet, more and more kept pouring in from the entrance as if there was an endless supply.
I recalled what Returner had told me: “Greater skeletons, higher-tier versions of skeleton soldiers, can create more skeleton soldiers. By absorbing the natural mana that settles in the darkness, they can produce an almost infinite number of skeletons.”
She had finished with a boast: “Master Velvet was a genius who could do what ordinary people couldn’t.” Now that I understood the situation, I considered going out to destroy the source immediately. However, I realized that defeating skeletons was a way to earn experience, so I held back. This situation was perfect for my comrades to level up.
Thus, our sudden midnight experience-gathering festival began. The grey dot outside—likely the greater skeleton generating the others—hadn’t moved, which meant the threat level was low for now. Initially, I worried someone might get killed by the skeletons. But as time passed, everyone adapted to the combat, and injuries became rare. To prevent exhaustion-related accidents, we took turns in the battle, ensuring everyone had a chance to rest.
The long-range attack unit and the rear support unit found that smashing the skeletons with blunt weapons made them relatively easy to destroy. I had them work in pairs, ensuring each skeleton was taken down methodically. While watching the battle, I casually munched on the heaps of bones. Redhead Shorty, who had joined me after taking a break from fighting, munched on her own supply of bones beside me.
The sound of roars and swords clashing had awakened the blacksmith, the chef sisters, and the alchemist. I asked them if these white bones could be used as materials for something. They told me that these high-quality bones were quite rare and valuable, so we decided to move a significant amount to a secure location for storage. If sold in the right place, they could fetch a good price. I had high hopes that this could become a future source of funds. Having someone with the job of Peddler was certainly reliable when it came to business matters.
[Ability learned: Slash Resistance!]
[Ability learned: Thrust Resistance!]
[Ability learned: Sunlight Weakness!]
[Ability learned: Bludgeoning Weakness!]
[Ability learned: Sleepless!]
[Ability learned: Bone Fusion!]
[Ability learned: Magic Fusion!]
[Ability learned: Equipment Manifestation!]
[Ability learned: Miasma Life!]
[Ability learned: Negative Energy!]
[Ability learned: Status Ailment Immunity!]
[Ability learned: Cold Attack Immunity!]
[Ability learned: Electric Attack Immunity!]
[Ability learned: Light Damage Weakness!]
[Ability learned: Holy Damage Weakness!]
[Ability learned: Fire Damage Weakness!]
[Ability learned: Oxygen Independence!]
Given the sheer number of skeletons, I was able to secure many abilities. Although there were some negative ones mixed in, they wouldn’t pose a problem as long as I didn’t activate them.
Approximately four hours had passed since the experience-gathering began.
It was getting close to dawn, and everyone had gained a substantial amount of experience and significantly leveled up, so it was about time to wrap up this impromptu event. Besides, I wanted to sleep. I could endure a few nights of staying up, but this wasn’t the time to push myself that hard.
With that in mind, I decided to bring the experience-gathering festival to an end and got to my feet.