Rise of the Nightmare Crestmaster

Aldrich passed through the majority of the hoard of enslaved pirates but unfortunately they just kept coming so he summoned his great sword from his crest cleared them up.

He would have liked to use more sophisticated moves but he still couldn't control his body properly so he had to limit himself to simple movements.

Abruptly Aldrich used the [Aurora veil], and soon after he felt that he was struck with a mild headache. He had managed to react and block the [Psychic Lash].

This was an invisible attack that targeted the mind directly, this attack almost killed him not long ago. He was able to sense it and reacted in time.

The [Aurora veil] did not only block physical attacks. However it didn't block the two tentacles that stabbed at his heart and head respectively.

Aldrich couldn't control the Aurora with him properly, so he couldn't have the skills activated all the time. This also helped lower his consumption of Ether and Aurora.

However Aldrich didn't need the skill to block every attack aimed at him. His fast reflexes and enhanced senses warned him of the attack, and he caught the two tentacles in a firm grasp.

However, he did not know that the tentacles were charged with [Spark Shock], the moment he got into contact he was shocked from head to toe with that strange energy.

But it didn't stop Aldrich from smirking, he still grabbed the tentacles and pulled. There was moment of tension but then it relaxed, Aldrich could see the unsuspecting Aberrant acolyte flying towards him in the air.

The power of the shocking energy suddenly increased, Aldrich had some blood dripping out of his mouth as he jumped in the air to meet his prey.

The Aberrant acolyte was trying to do something with it's extra eye, the eye on the forehead was starting to glow.

Aldrich slashed and cut that thing in a clean half, even the skull and bones in it's body were like tofu, as it fell down black and red flames burned it until it stopped writhing.

Aldrich looked at the last acolyte, it was currently trapped in a sphere of holy light as golden words formed a chain around it.

The monster was kneeling down and holding it's head between it's hands as if it was undergoing an internal struggle.

Nathan was kneeling down too, he was sweating all over.

"Hurry up… I can't hold it for long!"

Aldrich was impressed with this skill, he may have heard of it, apparently it works incredibly well against mind control. Unfortunately it needed the right circumstances.

If Aldrich didn't attract the rest of the pirates and one of the Aberrant acolytes Nathan could have been killed as he was defenseless while using the skill.

Aldrich didn't waste anymore time, he beheaded the monster and picked up a red ring from his hand. With only a little bit of strength he crushed and yellow gas was released from it into the air.

Nathan breathed out a sigh of relief and stood up, together they finished off the remaining pirates.

Aldrich experienced the insatiable hunger once again but he maintained his rationality. However, suddenly red essence orbs floated out of the bodies of the slain pirates and converged into him.

Aldrich didn't lose his rationality this time because he didn't have to fight it, he was well aware that he needed every single orb he could get his hands on. 𝑓𝗿𝐞𝘦𝘄ｅ𝘣n𝘰𝘷eƖ.c𝘰𝗺

But he didn't expect that something seemed to have changed, he no longer needed to physically touch the bodies to get the orbs, now he no longer needed to.

He got four green essence orbs out of each of the grade one monsters. And the rest of the pirates gave a collective of one green essence orb, two for each one so that means he killed fifty of them.

"What are you guys still doing over there?" Aldrich called to Cole, Hellen and Frank who were still hiding the bat cave.

"Get moving! These pirates have so much loot, collect it all! Now it belongs to me—ahem! To Us!" Aldrich's tongue slipped there for a moment.

"What are you going to do?" Cole, asked intending to slack off.

"I'm going to get the most important things, here look at this." Aldrich pulled up one of the Aberrant acolyte's tentacles and showed them.

"Ew! What the fuck! Put it down, burn it." Hellen backed off like she saw the lord of Undeath himself.

"This is gold," Aldrich said wriggling the slimy tentacle around, "these things can be used to make sea Charms! And this eye can be used to make a grade one wondrous item!" 𝒇𝑟e𝙚𝑤𝙚𝐛𝗻𝐨ν𝚎𝘭.c𝐨m

"My god!" Cole sucked in a cold breath. Hellen's disgust was still there but there was some change in the way she looked at the tentacle.

"Wow, Aldrich you're pretty knowledgeable, huh." Nathan walked over, "do they teach these kind of stuff in the academy?"

"You didn't study there?" Aldrich asked in confusion, he thought that Nathan would have been a remarkable student there.

"Nah, they have nothing to teach me there. I learned everything in the lab with my master."

"Well, anyway get moving! If you want to be adventurers then you have to make the most out what you have."

The others scattered and Aldrich started working on the Aberrant acolyte when he suddenly noticed something, floating out of the dead acolyte's body.

It was a smooth red stone. Deadman's Remnant.

Aldrich didn't have to use his Eyes of Insight to know what it was but he still did so out of disbelief. In the real world… of course, he could get essence orbs so he shouldn't have been taken aback.

Aldrich swallowed down his apprehensions and after making sure no one saw that he pocketed it in his coin pouch.

Suddenly multitude ghosts appeared to phase through the cave walls and surrounded them. The whole party got tense and took out their weapons.

Aldrich narrowed his eyes in caution. The ghosts parted and the ghost of the keeper came to the front.

"Thank you brave heroes for freeing us and saving Ebrict!"

"No problem, we did what we thought was right," Aldrich nodded heavily, "even if it was not a quest we wouldn't have been able to leave without doing anything!"

The ghosts showered praised on them at that remark.

"We will go now, we will move on…"

"Wait!" Aldrich stopped them.