Unfortunately for them, Atlas had become deadlier than before.
Heedless of the danger, Astra tore the flesh of the two magical creatures many times and killed the two beasts with two well-aimed blows, ending his first bloody battle.
Exhausted from the brutal battle, the young man paused briefly and inhaled deeply, ignoring the disgusting stench of blood hovering in the air.
"It was hazardous... Damn... What an idiot I've been!"
Caught up in the pressing and exciting battle, he only now realized that his life had been subjected to an incredible challenge during the confrontation. His life force had reached a critical level, placing him before an unprecedented risk.
He had been so close to the frigid hands of the death because of his foolish arrogance.
And realizing his previous situation, the young man's heart inevitably jolted.
"I was a fool!"
It took him a while to recover, but fortunately, the forest had returned to its tranquility because the wolf pack had been exterminated.
Unfortunately, Atlas could only rest for a brief moment because he knew well that all that blood could attract other creatures, so he quickly gathered the corpses and distanced himself from the battlefield.
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The adventurer ran away for a long time and stopped to rest only when he encountered a small stream.
The battle had significantly tired him, so after a quick check of the surroundings, Atlas sat on the back of the stream.
He was curious about his current situation, so he calmly checked his internal energy. After all, the previous battle had brought fantastic benefits.
"Woah... it's way more abundant than before..."
His core was stable now, and for the next stage, it needed even more energy to cleanse his Chaotical Core.
"Well... I'm advancing very fast, but it's a powerful manual that relies on slaughtering other living beings. If I am not careful, I risk falling into the jaws of a demon..."
Nothing in this world was utterly pure and holy. In fact, Atlas was constantly searching for balance. He could not allow the thirst for power to corrupt him, just as his fortune had done in the past.
After all, luck had brought him incredible opportunities over the years, but never had such events been without danger.
His internal energy was still a bit chaotic from the sudden advancement, so he dedicated the next few minutes to slowly condense and placate that power.
Thanks to the Flask of the Immortal Camel and all the other resources at his disposal, it didn't take him much to recover and stabilize his energy, so he resumed his journey back to cave.
|||
In the next fifteen hours, Atlas crossed the forest rapidly.
Along the expedition, he encountered many chaos creatures and troubles. Still, he overcame them all and didn't let them stop him even a single time, giving him the opportunity to progress into the Advanced Stage of the Primordial Chaos Realm.
Just like Nihilir had told him, He didn't need even a whole day to reach the destination.
The cave was not located inside a mountain but extended a mile underground. In fact, its entrance was hidden among a thick cluster of bushes and rocks, almost impossible to notice without a keen eye.
Atlas lingered outside for only a couple of minutes to check the surrounding area and then moved inside, following the narrow passage, slowly leading him into the mountain's depths.
During the journey, the careful adventurer noticed small, well-marked footprints on the ground, clearly of smaller creatures than normal humans.
Unfortunately, the young man couldn't quantify the exact number of enemies from the footprints because the path mainly consisted of hard rock, and only a small amount of wet earth covered it.
In addition, the footprints were too many, mostly one on top of the other.
The passage was long and formed a single tunnel carved through the hard rock.
Atlas paid particular attention to any secondary tunnels hidden in the shadows but found no trace of them, for this was probably not the only entrance to the underground.
It took the young man a couple of hours to reach the end of the tunnel. No enemies had shown up during the journey giving the young man some peace, something much appreciated considering the oppressive place he was in.
Unfortunately, a few steps from the exit, strange noises came from afar.
Because of the narrow passage, every sound passed there was distorted and amplified, so Atlas did not immediately understand the origin of those noises.
Without delay, he turned off the magic torch, letting the darkness envelop him.
Skrii...Skrii...Skrii....
Immersed in that dark world, Atlas focused his hearing entirely on those noises and finally, though with difficulty, understood the origin of those sounds.
'How unfortunate... Something is coming from the tunnel... I must hurry!'
The noises were not coming from the exit but from behind him!
Skrii...Skrii...Skrii...
Fighting an unspecified number of enemies in such a small space was a suicide, so he wrapped the cloak around his body and activated his incredible ability.
The young man was not convinced of its actual power, so he leaned against the wall and waited patiently for the enemies to arrive.
It was not a safe move, but the situation did not allow him otherwise.
Skrii...Skrii...Skrii...
Skrii...Skrii...Skrii...
The strange noises and the hurried sound of footsteps became more transparent and closer.
Not even a minute had passed when a group of small creatures with bright green eyes appeared in the distance.
'Goblins...' he thought, surprised by the appearance of those devious monsters.
Surprisingly, Atlas did not notice them because they were accompanied by flaming torchs but because he could see their eyes shining back into the darkness.
It was evident that this particular breed of goblins could move freely without the aid of a light source.
The situation became very dangerous.
Perhaps it was better to take a chance and run toward the exit to find a better hiding place than to be trapped in such a cramped position.
Doubt gripped Atlas's fearless heart...
There was still time, but he had to decide quickly...
One, two, three, four, and five...
Atlas counted five pairs of eyes...
The enemies were too many.
What could he do?