Chapter 05: Goblin cave
Aron, this is the name that The nameless man chose to identify himself. Raum clapped his wings with happiness as he sat there. On Aron's shoulder.
"Aron….Nice to meet you"
Raum was delighted to be out of that damn cage, and for the first time in his life. He met someone who didn't harbor hatred or negative feelings toward him. Raum had the ability to sense people's emotions to some extent. When Aron became angry at the humans' actions towards him, it melted the ice in Raum's heart, bringing tears to his eyes.
Aron, on the other hand, was pleased to see the raven in good spirits, and he didn't mind letting him sit on his shoulder.
Aron opened the system message and checked the latest one—a new skill.
…
[Mana manipulation: "Mana flows like water, It can give Life or can take Life" You can control the mana within you to infuse weapons and armors and boost their status, as well as manipulate the mana in any object that contains it to some degree, based on skill level and user knowledge.
Current skill level 1]
…
"Hmm, an interesting skill," Aron noted. "So, I can make my weapons do more damage and my armor take less damage." Aron sighed as he looked at what remained of his spiked club. "It's a pity I didn't have this skill before I lost my club."
Seeing the frown on Aron's face, Raum chose to provide some information that might give Aron hope. "Aron, my friend, I saw some weapons and armor when I escaped the goblins. Although they were in bad shape, maybe you can use them."
Aron's eyes sparkled with excitement at Raum's words. Yes, weapons would be great to have, but more importantly, Aron needs armor or something so he can cover himself since, well, he's completely naked right now.
The more he thought about it, the more he felt like burying his head in the ground out of embarrassment. He was lucky that no one saw him, and the whole place was dark. The thought of armor brought a warm smile to his face as he patted Raum's head.
"First, let's find some weapons and armor, and then we'll leave this place for good. Do you know the way out?" Aron asked.
Raum raised his head proudly. "Of course, but we need to be careful since we're in a goblin cave."
Goblins. If what Raum said was true, then the green monsters that Aron killed were called goblins, and he was currently in a cave full of them. Aron had barely been able to slay the last one if not for his "Wrath" skill.
Wrath is a great skill to have, but against multiple opponents, especially if they have some intelligence, they can stall the fight and use hit-and-run tactics, not to mention the drawback of using the skill's active ability.
Aron needed to find a way to use the skill to its full potential, so for now, he decided to save it as a last resort. Aron's wounds from the previous fight had healed, surprising him with the speed of his recovery. He checked his status.
…
[Status]
Name: ????
Race: Dragon
Level: 01
Experience: 20/100
Class: ????
Health: 100/100
Mana: 50/50
Strength: 10
Stamina: 5
Agility: 5
[Skills]: [Wrath] [Mana manipulation Lv1]
…
"All good, everything is in order. Until I find some equipment, I need to be careful,"
He took a deep breath before turning to Raum, who had spent the whole time gazing at Aron with admiration.
"Alright, Raum, lead the way, but let's be slow and stealthy," Aron instructed.
Raum nodded and flew to the other side of the room, leading Aron to a small wooden door. The door was barely holding in place, with rotting wood and missing planks.
As Aron slowly opened the door, it made a loud and annoying noise that startled him.
'Damn,' Aron muttered internally.
[Master, I think…*Hey dumbass Stealthy, in my opinion, refers to not letting anyone know you're there, Right!*... Precisely Master]
Aron frowned at the system's comment, as if he didn't know what stealth meant. However, now both system voices seem to agree on the same thing.
'It won't be long before I go crazy,' Aron exhaled deeply
[...*Pfff, you're already crazy*...]
Aron chose to ignore the system completely. He opened the door slowly, leaving enough space to pass through. As he stepped inside, he found himself in a completely different place. It was like a natural opening in the earth, large enough for a creature twice the size of a horse or a cow to pass through freely.
To Aron, that small wooden door acted as a gateway into two different planes of existence. Apart from the burned room, desk, bookshelves, and bed, everything Aron saw was made of dark-stone material. This place, however, was a natural cave—dark, cold, and dry—where only a few creatures could survive.
Raum hopped onto Aron's shoulder to further explain the directions. "At the end of this path, there are two pathways. We should take the right one, which leads to where I saw the weapons. From there, we proceed to the exit."
Out of curiosity, a question immediately sparked in Aron's mind. "What's on the left path?" he asked.
When Raum heard this question, he turned to Aron and started poking his cheek with his beak. "Don't you think about it. When I was fleeing for my life, I sensed a terrifying presence of a strong monster. I knew if I took that path, I would die. So don't go there."
Aron swallowed his saliva and nodded silently. The last thing he wanted now was to fight a strong monster, risking his head being crushed like a bug.
After ten minutes of walking, Aron reached the two pathways. He turned his head to glance at the left path out of curiosity, gazing into the darkness. He felt a slight pressure on his shoulders, and he also caught a glimpse of some sort of barrier.
Aron noted to himself, "Interesting, so this is the presence of a strong monster. He's clearly a different one."
Despite the strong presence, Aron felt neither dread nor panic. On the contrary, his heart raced with excitement. A cold chill ran down his spine, making the hair on his skin stand up. Every fiber of his soul wanted him to face this strong presence. However, his excitement was interrupted as Raum bit his ear and gave him a gaze that said,
"I told you not to take this path."
Aron raised his hands in defeat and proceeded on the right track.
Just a few steps in, the path took a turn to the right. Unfortunately, as Aron turned, he bumped into one of those green monsters Raum called goblins.
Aron felt something bump into his belly, and when he looked down, he saw the green monster staring at his belly in confusion. The goblin placed his palm on Aron's belly and began rubbing it.
Clearly, this goblin was either blind or in a drunk-like state to not notice the blazing crimson eyes staring at him in rage. The goblin's actions brought rage and disgust to the man standing in front of him.
As anger boiled inside Aron's chest, his black eyes turned a flaming pure crimson. This change didn't go unnoticed by Raum. In this dark cave, a pair of flaming crimson eyes were hard to miss. There was only one thought in Raum's mind as he gazed into the eyes of his savior.
'Demon'
Out of rage, Aron used his torch to slam the goblin's head, forcing him to take a couple of steps back and grab his head
The goblin didn't scream or react; he just stood there holding his head. Clearly, something was wrong with this goblin, but Aron didn't care. He just wanted to kill this damn monster.
He noticed that the goblin was wielding a small knife as his weapon. Aron wasted no time and immediately performed a strong kick to the monster's jaw, throwing him to the ground. Aron placed his foot on the goblin's throat, cutting off his breath and stopping him from making any sound.
The goblin reacted by trying to stab Aron's leg with his knife, but Aron was faster. He grabbed the goblin's arm that held the knife and forced the strike to bypass his leg, landing on the goblin's chest.
The strike wasn't lethal, but Aron wouldn't pass up this opportunity. He slammed the knife handle multiple times, forcing the knife deeper into the goblin's chest. The goblin struggled to free himself from Aron, using his free hand to punch and scratch Aron's leg, but it had no effect. This goblin was far weaker than Aron.
[You have killed Unknown Monster]
[+20 XP]
It was not until this message appeared that Aron stopped. He gazed upon the dead goblin before retrieving the knife from his bloody chest. It was a small, rusted iron knife that wasn't even sharp.
Aron was even surprised that this knife managed to pierce the goblin's chest at all, but having this knife was better than nothing, as Aron had destroyed the spiked club when he struck the cage.
"Are you going to leave that inside or what?" Raum spoke from behind.
Aron turned to see that Raum was standing on top of the dead monster. "Leave what inside?" He Asked
Raum tilted his head, surprised that Aron asked this question. "The core, of course! Aren't you going to take it out of him?"
This caught Aron's interest. The last core that Aron consumed had given him a skill, and if these cores existed inside monsters, it was big news for him. This Raven knew something about it, so Aron decided to inform the little Raven about something and explain his condition.
"Raum, my friend, I must tell you something... I lost some of my memories. Can you explain to me what you mean by 'core'?"
Raum was shocked to hear this, as the existence of cores in monsters was common knowledge. However, he chose not to dwell on the subject since he could see the sorrow on Aron's face. He simply answered his question.
"The cores are magic crystals that exist in every living creature, usually in the chest. Each core has a different tier, starting with, basic. You can sell the cores at any guild store or merchant or use them to make better equipment. The higher the tier, the better the equipment you can craft."
Aron listened with interest, picking up a few details. Importantly, he remembered the cage core and how he consumed it.
'Are they the same or not?' Aron wondered if he could do the same thing with monster cores.
Without delay, Aron used the knife to cut the goblin's chest. The process took some time due to the old knife, but Aron managed to find what he was looking for.
A small white crystal, about the size of two fingers. Aron held the small core in his hand, and in that moment, a message appeared.
[Basic Core obtained]
[would you like the consume it]
[Yes/No]
Without thinking, Aron chose to consume the core. He watched as the basic core shattered into tiny fragments, heading directly to his chest. Piece by piece, Aron absorbed them all.
[Basic Core consumed]
[knowledge granted: Goblins]
[Dragon Core Unlocked]
Aron felt a surge of power within him, and his body became much healthier. A wicked smile curved on his lips, and he turned to Raum before speaking his mind.
"Tonight we hunt"