Rise of the Nightmare Crestmaster

After the show many people went to shake hands with the alluring sirens, Aldrich was one of them.

Apparently the sirens weren't travelers like himself instead they worked aboard the ship as entertainers. Aldrich was fascinated that such jobs could exist, in Wakefield there was no such entertainment.

Aldrich wanted to ask the sirens for a dance but couldn't quite get the courage to ask. Tsk. Maybe next time.

Aldrich returned to his room late at night and threw off his clothes.

Name: Aldrich

Age: 15.5

Strength: 3

Agility: 1+

Endurance: 1+

Vitality: 2+

Intelligence: 3

Spirit (black): 3

Essence: 12

Abilities: Eyes of Insight Lv.1

Condition: blood of ######

Aldrich looked at his attributes and used his orbs to upgrade vitality to three and endurance to two. Doing this reduced his essence orbs to zero.

Immediately after he felt an electrical shock all over his body.

Aldrich could feel almost all the accumulated exhaustion fleeing his body like a startled rabbit. His body which hadn't felt quite right since his forced expulsion once again felt right.

No it was not just right but better. Aldrich punched the air and imagined killing a husk with a single punch. Though he wasn't quite sure that he could do that yet, however he keen to give it a try soon.

Aldrich remained awake for longer than he should have out of excitement. But he did fall asleep.

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Aldrich woke up in the nightmare realm on his couch. He looked around and found himself completely naked. Come to think of it, the second time he charged into the Ahuizotls horde he only equipped himself with a short sword.

After he recalled this shameful behavior he wanted to go back in time and give past Aldrich a good punch.

Because he was naked, without even a rag, he was easily devoured by the horde. To be fair its not like wearing another leather armor is enough to protect him but it still could've bought him some time.

Aldrich prepared himself and was glad that he had multiple armor sets in the base, after all he did loot every one he encountered till now. Thanks to that he had more than three more sets.

Aldrich planned to finish the remaining husks in the last house he hunted in but decided to retreat due to his broken knee. That experience also made him realize that he was in great disadvantage in the dark.

The ambush from last time was not fatal but it also left a deep impression on Aldrich. What if the husk that ambushed him had a better weapon? Then he would have lost a life for sure.

This did not bode well for him as he encountered more and more powerful husks, better equipped and with a disadvantage in numbers and in the dark. If only he could see as well as the Vendari in the dark.

The Vendari were said to be able to see clearly even in the subterranean world. Forget about the Vendari just a vision as good as the dwarves and halflings was more than enough to turn things around.

Come to think of it the first time he saw the base was when he was desperately escaping from the skinned dogs was different than it was now. It was lit with even the fence lined with burning torches.

But when he woke up the torches were off. At the time Aldrich didn't pay that any attention, mostly because he was preoccupied with other things.

It was like the torches burned that day to lead him to this house. Certainly that was an outlandish idea.

In fact even if he had a torch it wouldn't matter since he couldn't go into battle while carrying a torch.

Aldrich walked the streets and didn't turn to check on the place of his latest deaths. He had no plans to fight with the Alhuizotl horde any time soon even though they might have already left the area he didn't want to risk it.

The streets were as loud as ever or perhaps they got even louder? Or was it only his imagination?

Aldrich stood before the target house and pondered, a minute later he decided to try something out. He looked around and saw many chunks of fallen wall material.

He picked one that was half of his head's size and hurled it at the wooden boards that sealed the windows. The impact completely destroyed the wooden seal.

This was the idea he came up with. In the past he was afraid of causing too much noise but now that didn't really matter anymore.

The wooden boards were actually very tough but with Aldrich's increased power they were no problem. After most of his attributes reached three the overall power he could exert was greater than simply having only strength at three.

Seeing that his plan was working Aldrich went around and destroyed all the sealed windows in the house letting in the intense moonlight of this nightmare realm. Like this he was able to solve the darkness problem.

Aldrich picked up his long sword and shield and entered the house cautiously. He headed to the second floor and found the corpses of the two husks that gave him a tough fight last time.

He actually couldn't loot their belongings because of his broken knee last time but he definitely will this time, but only after he was done clearing the rest of the house.

He opened one of the rooms on this floor and found a husk charging at him. First type husk, unarmed and clumsy. Aldrich blocked with the shield and that was enough to send it flying backwards.

Aldrich charged after it and finished it off with one attack, he actually did it. Aldrich collected his orbs and moved to the next room. Here he encountered two first type husks and made easy work of them.

After all this time his power, skill and experience had reached a point where previously dangerous opponents were now easy pickings.

But Aldrich didn't let this get to his head, it was but the weakest type. He moved on to the third and last floor.

The third floor was well lit, as far as well lit as you can be in the current circumstances at least. The hallway was guarded by one spearman. A second type husk.

Aldrich wasn't impatient, he kept his shield raised and blocked as he advanced on his opponent. The husk waited and waited and finally it went in for an attack.

Aldrich blocked one thrust after another, at last he advanced and closed the distance between them while the husk was in mid-motion. Aldrich slashed open its throat while diverting the spear to the side but it wasn't dead yet, it was too shallow.

It went crazy and sent a barrage of chaotic attacks. Aldrich simply blocked and backed away. The spear got lodged in one of the walls. Aldrich charged in and finished the husk off.

Aldrich picked up the coin pouch from the husk's belt but then returned it. He wasn't done yet. The third floor only had three rooms two of which he found out were empty.

The last one had the voices of at least two husks coming out of it. Aldrich rested for an hour before he decided he was ready.

He kicked open the door and jumped in. He was greeted by the sight of three husks. One was an archer, the second was a swordsman and the third wielded only a shield.

All of them were wearing chain mail armor over leather. Upon witnessing this sight Aldrich turned around and escaped. The husks followed.

Aldrich ran all the way to the second floor where he hid behind the corner cloaked by shadows. The husks frantically chasing after him were coming down and closing in on him.

Aldrich listened for their footsteps keenly and waited, he calmed his breathing to a still. When the husks were about to pass by him and head into the first floor he ambushed them.

Using his shield as a cover he tackled the first husk that came his way. The impact sent the husk crashing into the hallway wall.

Aldrich didn't waste time at all, he held his sword over the fallen husk and decapitated it in one blow. Only then did he have time to see that the one he killed was the archer.

Some good luck for once.

But Aldrich knew he didn't have time to celebrate when a sword's edge almost decapitated him in return as he did to the archer husk a moment ago.

Aldrich dodged away, and turned towards his next targets. The shieldman and the swordsman. The swordsman dealt a second attack, Aldrich blocked.

The attack pushed him back and he grimaced, it was a heavy blow. But Aldrich had no plans to just sit there and take a beating.

After the third attack that he blocked he sent a stab at the swordsman's legs. But it was blocked by the shieldman perfectly. The shield that the husk used was much bigger than Aldrich's own shield.

While his shield was small and circular in shape it had an outward bulge at the center. On the other hand the husk's shield was twice as big as his and it was flat.

A sword struck his left upper chest, it hurt but it didn't break through his armor and his bone didn't crack from the impact. These high stats payed off. Aldrich saw the sword coming but he wasn't fast enough to recover his stance in time. Thankfully he still retained use of his left hand.

Aldrich retreated and felt grateful that he finished off the archer first. This combination was extremely deadly. Even now he was put on a difficult battle.