A choice

In the aftermath of the fight, Adam stood over the incapacitated hobgoblin, his eyes gleaming with a cold resolve. The creature quivered, fear shining in its eyes as it gazed up at its captor.

"Dream Stones," Adam asserted, his voice bouncing off the nearby rocks. "Your village has them, doesn't it?"

The hobgoblin seemed to hesitate for a moment, its eyes flickering with panic. Then, with a nod, it conceded, the fear in its gaze overruling any instinct to deceive. "Y-yes, our village has Dream Stones. We've been in the mountains a long time and found some."

Adam's face momentarily broke into a satisfied smile, but he was also taken aback by the hobgoblin's straightforward admission. 'Is it because of my high charisma or perhaps the earlier use of [Soul-Piercing Strike II] that sapped its will to resist?' Adam pondered. Regardless, the outcome was what mattered.

"And the highest-level hobgoblin in your village? Who is it?" he asked next.

"The chieftain is Tier 2!" the captive declared quickly, attempting to sound assertive. However, fear lingered in its voice, and Adam noticed it instantly.

"Don't lie to me," Adam cautioned, his icy stare intensifying. The hobgoblin recoiled under his gaze, its pretense falling apart.

"It...it's the Shaman!" the creature confessed, its voice quaking. "Level 30... and our Chieftain is Level 25."

Adam had initially intended to gradually wear it down, perhaps resorting to force if needed. However, it had succumbed far more swiftly than he had anticipated. His charisma was proving to be exceptionally effective, bringing Adam a sense of contentment; it was, after all, his most prominent attribute.

This prowess opened doors to a multitude of possibilities, making him question his previous thought process. In hindsight, he realized, none of the attributes were useless.

He kept the interrogation going, pressing the hobgoblin for every morsel of information he could get, from village defenses to the location of the Dream Stones. The hobgoblin, too frightened to resist, readily gave up everything he wanted to know.

Once satisfied, Adam ended the hobgoblin's life, contemplating the successful encounter. The thrill of battle had long gone, replaced by anticipation for what lay ahead and satisfaction over the valuable intelligence he'd gained.

Adam needed to confirm if the hobgoblin was telling the truth. When he got to the village, he planned to capture another one. This way, he could make sure the facts he had were right.

'Feels like I've been doing a lot of capturing and interrogation recently. I'm really starting to act like a cult leader,' Adam thought. This idea made him smile. He knew he needed to be smart in his actions and didn't want to end up dead because he wasn't careful.

He wished he had the power to raid the village and take what he wanted. But he wasn't strong enough yet. The way things were going, he thought he might soon have a group of followers doing the raiding for him.

Adam stood in the middle of the chaos he had caused. He knew he had to wipe away any signs of his involvement. Since he had chosen to attack the hobgoblins, he was determined to do things right. He wouldn't repeat the mistakes that had let Skab ambush him.

"I need a scapegoat," Adam said. The goal was to trick anyone investigating into thinking one of the mountain beasts caused the massacre. He quickly looked around, then dashed off to find the right beast for his plan.

He was in luck when he found a hungry predator in the area. Feeling a bit nervous, he got its attention without directly confronting it. Fighting with the beast would use up his already low energy. Instead, he led the creature back to the bodies.

Running back towards the gruesome scene, the beast hot on his heels, he veered off at the last moment, allowing the creature to stumble onto the remains of the hobgoblins. As anticipated, the sight of the dead bodies triggered its predatory instincts, and the beast promptly lost interest in Adam, instead turning its attention to the feast laid out before it.

Adam retreated to a safe distance, watching the scene unfold with a strange mixture of satisfaction and disgust. The beast's feasting successfully muddied the evidence, making it appear as though it was the one who'd dispatched the hobgoblins. His plan to cover his tracks worked.

But his brief rest was over. Now he had to deal with the next task: getting into the hobgoblin village. What he learned from his captive didn't look good. "I'm in over my head with a Level 30 Shaman and a Level 25 Chieftain," he thought sadly. He needed a quiet approach instead of a face-to-face fight.

His last method of dealing with such infiltrations, the hive parasites, were unavailable at the moment. 'Things would be a lot easier with a drone infiltrator,' Adam thought, regretting their absence. Still, if he wanted any chance of getting a dream stone this was his best bet.

He felt a rush of excitement. The chance to get Dream Stones, finding hidden treasure, the thrill of a heist – these were all driving him forward. Despite the big hurdles ahead, Adam also saw big rewards. It was a risky bet, but the potential gains were too tempting to turn down.

Feeling a burst of anticipation, Adam paused to understand the importance of what he was about to do. 'Time to act like a thief, those dream stones are calling me,' he thought.

The hard part wasn't just sneaking into the hobgoblin village. It was getting the Dream Stones without anyone noticing. He didn't want all the hobgoblins in the village chasing him. His hunting trips in the Ventcroft mountains would become a hassle and he'd likely have to move to a new area to level up.

Adam had a bunch of skills he could use, but none really helped with being sneaky. The situation called for careful movements and agility, testing his stealth skills. His recent focus on charisma wouldn't really help him much.

It's not like he could just ask the hobgoblins for the dream stones. That would probably end with him waking up back on Earth in pain. "This is going to be tough," he thought, smiling grimly. "Probably the toughest thing I've done so far in the dreamverse. But if I want to level up fast, I need to steal the dream stones."

---

As he drew closer to the hobgoblin village, Adam slowed his pace, taking a moment to familiarize himself with his surroundings. His plan was to scout the area, locate the hobgoblin's stockpile of Dream Stones, and extract them without alerting the entire village. He knew he would have to be patient, observant, and above all, silent.

'How fitting,' Adam mused to himself, 'for a Cult Leader to also become a thief.' The irony of the situation wasn't lost on him. It was as though his skills as a leader were being put to the test in a whole new way.

The openness around the village was problematic. Adam knew he needed a good spot to watch and study the village's defenses.

He found a hidden location with a clear view of the village, Adam watched the hobgoblin village closely. He shook his head at the village's defenses. They seemed like they had been tested many times. Blood spots were scattered around the wall, showing signs of many battles.

Looking further into the village, he saw that the buildings were simple. He also noticed tents made from animal skins. It was clear that life in the village was tough.

The village showed what it was like to live on a dangerous mountain. High-level beasts were always on the prowl, looking for their next meal. The hobgoblins had to live and fight in such a harsh place every day.

His gaze continued to scan the bustling settlement. It was teeming with hobgoblins of varying sizes and strength, yet he found his stature comparable to theirs, albeit slightly shorter. A thought sparked in his mind. 'Could I pass myself off as one of them?' he wondered, 'As a young hobgoblin perhaps?'

Embracing the idea, Adam realized he needed two crucial things: a convincing disguise and a way into the village. His plan, risky as it was, began to take form. He needed a model, a hobgoblin who would unknowingly provide the means for his deception.

Adam watched, waiting for his opportunity. Hobgoblins, despite their vigilant nature, seemed to carry an air of relaxed assurance, their confidence possibly stemming from the vast open terrain and sparse tree cover that allowed an unobstructed view of incoming threats.

His patience bore fruit when he spotted a lone male hobgoblin, slightly distanced from the village, perhaps on a routine patrol or a casual stroll. A quick [Inspect] revealed it to be a Level 10 hobgoblin, well within Adam's capabilities. It was the perfect target and heading to Adam.

Adam waited patiently for the hobgoblin, his body poised for action. When the creature was close enough, he quickly moved. He grabbed the hobgoblin's mouth from behind, making sure it couldn't shout for help. He then poked the hobgoblin in the back with his sacrificial knife, letting it know he meant business.

"Walk, or else," Adam threatened. The hobgoblin seemed to understand and began to comply. Adam led it away from the village, careful to make sure no one noticed them.

He needed to get far enough away from the village to question the hobgoblin without getting caught. Each step was careful and measured, ensuring he left no signs of their passage. Adam knew this was a critical part of his plan. One wrong move could ruin everything.

---

Secluded in a thicket far from the village, Adam closely observed his captive. The hobgoblin kept his head bowed, offering no resistance.

"What's your name?" Adam inquired, his voice icy yet steady.

"G-Gundug," was the tremulous answer.

Adam's cool blue eyes fixed on the hobgoblin, making Gundug squirm uncomfortably.

"What level is the Shaman?" Adam asked, scrutinizing Gundug for any hint of dishonesty.

"S-shaman is Level 30," the hobgoblin admitted, fear lacing his voice.

"And the Chieftain?" Adam persisted, his tone unyielding.

"Chieftain... Level 25," Gundug responded, now visibly tense.

Adam breathed an inward sigh of relief. The data aligned with his earlier findings. The previous hobgoblin hadn't deceived him.

"Where are the Dream Stones kept?" he asked, his mind already assembling potential strategies.

"In the central hut, under the Shaman's watch," Gundug revealed.

"And your village's defenses?" Adam continued, eager for every detail.

Gundug hesitated before revealing more about guard shifts, patrol routes, and other defensive tactics. He was clearly terrified, but something about Adam's presence urged him to talk. Adam listened intently, absorbing each word.

When Gundug finished speaking, a tense silence hung between them. Adam pondered Gundug's fate. He had no further use for the creature, having extracted all the required information. It would be easier, even safer, to erase this potential risk.

However, a nagging thought surfaced, compelling Adam to satisfy his curiosity. "Why are you so cooperative? Hobgoblins usually aren't so submissive."

Gundug's gaze flicked around anxiously before landing on Adam. "Fear," he confessed. "I fear death. That's why I'm still level 10... scared of dying in the mountains. Please... I'll do anything. I…I don't want to die."

Adam was surprised by the hobgoblin's candidness. He had expected some resistance, but this raw fear was unexpected. It wasn't often that he encountered someone terrified of dying to such an extent.

'My Immortal trait has really distorted my perspective, I've forgotten the fear of dying. I guess the consecutive deaths during my fight against Skab's goblins have desensitized me to death.'

A new idea sparked in his mind.

"Gundug," Adam began, his frosty demeanor warming slightly, "What if I offered you a way to avoid death? Would you be interested?"

Gundug's eyes snapped up, meeting Adam's gaze with a mix of confusion and apprehension. "What... What do you mean? You'll let me go?"

Adam grinned, "No. I'm giving you a choice. Join my cult or die."