Zayn found himself standing in front of a small cavern entrance, tightly gripping the iron pole in his right hand.
He didn't waste any time and left the town now that he had graduated.
The town was a good place with a few merchants and comfortable Inns but those were all things he didn't need, right now.
If possible, he would have applied to the adventurer examination but he was a Normie without any Soulrings. His body didn't even have any soul particles right now, which meant that his physical strength ought to be below average.
Every existence harbored soul particles, a mysterious type of energy that could be perceived within everything. These mysterious soul particles strengthened the human body.
The more soul particles the body could hold the better the enhancement.
However, the amplification in strength granted from soul particles was rather small, while possessing a Soulring distinguished ordinary human from the Elite.
Soulrings strengthened the powers one possessed and they increased one's physical strength to a certain degree. There were a few additional benefits of Soulrings but they varied according to the individual who created the Soulrings.
A Soulring could be weaved around the heart once one possessed an appropriate amount of soul particles.
The difference between possessing loose soul particles and being able to create the foundation of the first Soulring was already tremendous. It would be enough for a Blessed to go out and start earning money for themselves. Hunting weak Soul Monsters wouldn't be an issue anymore as long as the Blessed were in possession of a combat-related ability and basic combat training.
A single Soulring would be enough for a Normie to get accepted in society as well. They wouldn't be regarded highly even then but they wouldn't be frowned upon. It was as if one were to say that a dish looked unappetizing but it did its job, filling the stomach.
Zayn found that weird but he didn't really mind that. Receiving too much attention was cumbersome, especially since he had gone out to hunt.
He hoped that nobody would bother him for the time being and leave him alone to concentrate on his task.
His attention was on the cavern entrance that was illuminated by Soul torches. As long as the surrounding environment was not dried of its soul particles, the torches would never extinguish.
But even with the soul torches fully brightening and providing some heat, it was chilly.
It was already late afternoon but it shouldn't yet be cold.
'So that's the mysterious cave that once belonged to Goblins? This shit is not for the weak!'
Zayn stepped inside the cavern entrance, fully aware that he wouldn't encounter any Goblins.
A few adventurer teams had entered the mysterious cave after the number of Goblins had decreased drastically. The numbers were so low that it was hard to supply both Adventurers with monsters to hunt and citizens with Soul Shards. However, nobody ever returned from the mysterious caves.
Something was definitely wrong and it was about time for stronger Adventurers to find out what was going on.
But before that happened, Zayn would take a look at the situation first. Not only was he in dire need of money and a bit desperate to start working on himself but the goblin cave had been the closest to the town.
He took that as a sign that this cave was a great opportunity for him to grow!
He went deeper inside the cavern and came across an intersection where it was divided into three tunnels after a few meters. All three tunnels were illuminated thanks to the hard work of the adventurers who wanted to have an easy time raiding the Goblins until only a few remained.
The mysterious cave Zayn had made his target was one of the 'grinding' spots of many adventurers. Grinding spots were places where one could easily kill a large number of Soul Monsters and earn a small fortune without putting in a lot of effort as long as one's strength reached a certain threshold.
'...arrogant fools!'
Zayn thought in between two breaths. When he exhaled, he could see his cold breath, the air was stale and droplets of water trickled down the ceiling of the tunnel he had chosen.
There was more than enough space for four fully-grown adults to walk next to each other but it was hard to breathe, almost as if one was imprisoned in a small place without much oxygen.
However, the amount of oxygen was not the problem here. It was the pressure that came from the deeper parts of the Goblin cave, and it was unrelated to the Goblins.
Zayn forgot about the Goblins when he sensed the pressure that was somewhat familiar, yet also unknown.
It felt like he should know what he was sensing but he didn't!
'That should be…yep, I figured!'
Only when he heard clattering noises resounding from around a turnaround in front of him did realization struck him.
He took a deep breath and stepped forward. The clattering noises were constant and rhythmic, telling Zayn that they had not noticed him yet.
They were not vigilant of his existence, but that was not a surprise. He didn't possess a single soul particle, which made it hard for existences that relied on their deteriorated senses to perceive him!
Thus, Zayn was at an advantage when five bony figures the size of children appeared in his sight.
'Goblin Skeletons!'
Zayn moved the moment he saw the shadows of the Goblin Skeletons. He lifted the heavy iron pole above his head, grasped it with both of his hands, and smashed it down on the head of the closest Goblin Skeleton.
The Goblin Skeleton's Skull gave in to the tremendous force that impacted on it, giving the Undead no chance to retaliate.
Unsure whether his opponent was dead, Zayn took a stride forward, while twisting the iron pole within the skull of the Goblin Skeleton.
Zayn didn't intend to eliminate the Goblin Skeleton with that move. Instead, his action was a means to change his stance and hurl the Goblin Skeleton toward its brethren.
Three of the remaining four Goblin Skeletons were smacked in their faces when the injured Goblin Skeleton had been thrown toward them.
This left only one Goblin Skeleton just a tad over a meter away from Zayn, whose expression turned serious as he lunged forward.
The Goblin Skeleton he targeted had already moved in response to the surprise attack.
Zayn's ocean-blue eyes mirrored the blazing red soul flames that flickered in the eye sockets of the Goblin Skeleton as it pierced out with its stone spear.
With a weaker physical strength than others, Zayn could only watch the spear tip shooting closer. It was about to pierce his chest and would soon penetrate his heart if he wouldn't start moving soon.
However, Zayn observed the situation calmly.
'So even trash is faster than I am?'