Chapter Title: Forest (2)
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The goblins were perched in the trees, but the Skeleton Warriors instantly used the trunks as springboards to leap up and begin massacring the goblins above.
Even the goblins charging from the ground couldn't evade the Skeleton Warriors' attacks. The skeletons blocked the goblins' arrows with their shields and mercilessly cut them down.
Watching this, Dante sensed that his mana had nearly fully recovered and spoke.
⚡ SKILL ACTIVATED ⚡ Dullahan Summon
One additional Dullahan summoned
A single Dullahan materialized beside Dante. He instructed it to guard him, then turned his gaze back to the skeletons slaughtering the goblins.
At that moment.
Uwaaaah!!!
With a mighty roar, orcs burst onto the scene, smashing through trees. Frowning at the sight, Dante said,
"You. Go kill every last one of those orcs."
The Dullahan Dante pointed at gave a slight bow, hefted its massive greatsword, and charged toward the orcs. Seeing the Dullahan bearing down on them, the orcs rushed forward as well, swinging their axes down toward its shoulder.
But the Dullahan's armor didn't even get scratched. With a mighty swing of its greatsword, four orcs were cleaved in two, their upper and lower bodies separating as they collapsed to the ground.
After that, it was a one-sided massacre. Every time the Dullahan swung its greatsword, orcs were bisected along with their axes, dying on the spot.
The orcs began dropping at an astonishing rate, and soon enough, all twenty-six that had appeared targeting Dante lay as corpses on the ground.
As the Dullahan returned to Dante's side, the Skeleton Warriors, having finished off the goblins, gathered around him as well.
Ribel, who had witnessed everything, now truly believed Dante was a Necromancer who had emerged from seclusion. The display of overwhelming power left no room for doubt.
"Then we should collect the loot, so please wait just a moment."
"Of course. Take your time. We've got plenty."
Dante nodded at that. He first headed to the goblin corpses and activated his Harvest skill, reducing them to dust and collecting their byproducts.
Then he moved to the orc corpses, thoroughly gathering their byproducts before returning to Ribel.
"Alright, let's get moving again. I doubt this is the only totem around here."
"Mm. You're probably right. Totems only affect a limited range. One wouldn't be enough to influence the entire forest."
"So we need to hunt down the others. What do you think is behind totems being placed here?"
"This spot is one of the places in the forest where mana strangely gathers. Monsters have fought over it before to claim control. It's also a prime area for medicinal herbs."
Dante was well aware of those facts already. He hadn't asked for such trivial details.
"There are a few other spots like this in the forest. The totems might be there too."
'Yeah, that's what I wanted to hear.'
Strange spots where mana pools in the forest. Ribel suggesting totems would be there. And his guess was spot on. There were seven totems in total in this forest—they'd only just destroyed one.
In other words, six more to go.
"Let's head to the next spot, then. We should destroy as many as we can today. Every one we take out weakens their influence."
"Thank you so much for stepping up to help with something you didn't have to, Dante. I'll be in your hands. I'll lead the way."
"Yeah. Let's go."
"Got it."
Ribel took the lead once more, scanning the forest ahead. They dispatched any monsters that appeared as they walked, eventually reaching the site of the second totem.
"That's..."
The second totem came into view from afar. Unlike the first, it was surrounded by monsters.
"Are they guarding it?"
"That's the only explanation. Otherwise, there's no reason for that many goblins to cluster together like that."
Ribel nodded at Dante's words. Eyeing the horde—at least a hundred strong—he said,
"We should bring villagers next time. There are too many goblins."
"Then we'll just increase our numbers too."
"Pardon?"
Dante smiled as he regarded the goblins. On the way here, he'd leveled up, boosting his stats—including his max mana—and fully restoring it.
'I can summon up to 130 Skeleton Warriors now. At full strength, numbers won't be an issue.'
⚡ SKILL ACTIVATED ⚡ Multiple Summon (x2)
70 Skeleton Warriors summoned
Total: 100 Skeleton Warriors
Using Multiple Summon twice, Dante poured all his mana into summoning as many Skeleton Warriors as possible—seventy in total. Ribel stared in awe at the sudden appearance of so many.
This cemented Ribel's conviction that Dante was an exceptionally skilled Necromancer. Even Skeleton Warriors aside, summoning that many at once single-handedly was nearly impossible.
"Now we're not short on numbers either."
Dante grinned at the hundred Skeleton Warriors. Ribel nodded vigorously.
"Indeed, Dante."
"Then let's get started. Destroy the second totem."
Dante turned to his Skeleton Warriors.
"Kill every goblin there and smash that totem."
At his command, the Skeleton Warriors charged the goblins en masse. Their speed was blistering, and by the time the goblins panicked and scrambled to respond individually to the incoming horde...
The Skeleton Warriors were already upon them, swords flashing. Goblins began dying left and right under the onslaught.
The goblins resisted fiercely, but the skeletons silently blocked with shields and cut them down.
Like waves crashing relentlessly, the Skeleton Warriors overwhelmed the goblins without mercy, pushing all the way to the totem. They shattered the protective barrier that appeared and successfully destroyed the totem.
Red smoke billowed up, accompanied by eerie sounds echoing everywhere—just like with the first one. Dante hurried to his skeletons and used Harvest on the goblin corpses as he issued new orders.
"Kill anything that approaches. Dullahan, keep close and guard me."
The Skeleton Warriors obeyed, slaying the monsters drawn by the totem's destruction noise. Dante neatly Harvested those corpses too before turning to Ribel.
"On to the next spot."
"Yes, Dante!"
Ribel's voice brimmed with conviction now as he headed with Dante to the next suspected totem site.
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As the sun began to set, they returned to Wizley Village from the forest. The villagers were stunned to see Dante arrive with a hundred Skeleton Warriors but marveled at his power once they realized they were his summons.
Ribel explained everything that had happened in the forest. They worried upon hearing about the totems but cheered at the news that Dante had destroyed them.
Three totems in total that day. They couldn't do more as night fell, and the sites were quite spread out.
Instead, they decided to check and destroy the rest tomorrow.
Dante unpacked monster byproducts from his inventory into a prepared new cart, filling it to the brim.
The cart was stuffed, but he still had leftovers in his inventory. No helping it with the cart full.
As Dante lamented that, Ribel assured him they could go again after the city trip tomorrow.
Dante expressed his thanks for doing so much for him, but Ribel insisted he was the grateful one for helping their village.
Their warm exchange wrapped up in a feel-good atmosphere. After dinner at the village's only eatery, Dante returned to his room for the night, showered, and hit the bed.
"Leveled up more than I expected."
Goblins and orcs weren't strong by any means, but bagging hundreds in a single day would've been weirder if he hadn't leveled.
"Hope I rack up a bunch more tomorrow."
With those thoughts, Dante closed his eyes. Exhausted from trekking the forest all day, he fell asleep in moments, ending his second day in the game.