Dain walked out of the cave, and everything around was different. His vision became clearer and sharper.
He could see objects tens of meters away from him as if they were right before him.
Additionally, his hearing was a lot better than before; even his thin body had changed.
His muscles became firm, filled with hidden power. Without using his Soul Construct, he could thrash his previous self without breaking a sweat.
"So, this is what it feels like to become a Soul Warrior," he whispered, and a faint smile tugged at the corner of his lips.
With his breakthrough, he had finally joined the ranks of Soul Warriors– Awaken Realm Stage 1.
Although he was only at the lowest rank, he was far different from ordinary people.
As long as he could return to Fayburgh City, his standing in the city would be different.
He wouldn't have to worry about eating or where to live. He looked at his backpack, and his gaze locked on the few remaining Soul Cores.
There were fewer than fifteen Soul Cores, and among them was a Peak Juvenile Feral Monster core.
Three were Middle cores, while the others were Early Juvenile Feral Monster cores.
"I should keep the Peak and Middle Soul Cores and sell the others," he muttered as he strode into a charged wasteland.
Inside the rift was unlike anything. The land bore the scar of a terrifying battle with carcasses of feral monsters scattered everywhere.
Even without the presence of the feral monsters, the tense atmosphere was enough to make one's leg turn into jelly.
After walking for hours, Dain did not encounter anything. Everything was quiet and desolate.
He did not know how far and how long he had been walking. He was getting drained mentally. He had drunk the last little bit of water in his bottle during his journey.
The dark sky was not even helping. Wiping off the bead of sweat from his forehead, he saw a valley in the distance.
He creased his brow and walked toward it.
This was the first time he saw something different from the bland battlefield filled with carcasses.
Arriving inside the valley, the air reeked of fresh blood. A suffocating tension hung in the air.
Without hesitating, he summoned his Soul Construct. Inside his Soul Construct, Dain had a semblance of security as he continued to move forward.
Each step was measured and silent.
Gradually, he began to see many mutilated human bodies. Fresh flesh dripping in blood was scattered everywhere.
The tension was palpable.
Dain held his breath as he moved forward. 'What happened here?' he wondered in confusion.
As he delved deeper, he saw bodies covered in bite marks and claws. None of the dead bodies had a complete body.
Suddenly, Dain halted in his tracks and stared at one of the dead bodies. He recognized the body.
This was the body of one of the kids from the Adventurer Organization.
Although he did not interact with the kids, during his spar with Ronan, he still remembered those that came to watch their spar.
Looking at his corpse, Dain sucked in a cold breath. This was the horror of the rift. It is no man's land.
Recovering from his shock, he continued to move forward. He saw the dead body of a rat-like feral monster with its Soul Core missing.
He continued forward, and the corpses of the feral monsters increased with many human bodies.
But there was one thing that confused him. With the number of bodies he saw so far, this should not have resulted in their deaths.
At best, they could have escaped.
Suddenly, his steps froze as he stared at the scene in front of him.
In front of him was a castle covered in battle scars. The castle was draped in darkness and blood.
The thick stench of blood coming out from the castle was enough to suffocate any ordinary person.
The gate entrance was cleaved into, with markings of sharp, terrifying claws.
"Is this the source of the massacre?" Dain wondered as he approached the castle with caution.
Holding his breath, he entered the castle and saw many feral monster bodies. Some were fresh, and some were old.
Apart from that, everything was eerily silent. It was so silent that he could hear his pounding heartbeat like a war drum.
He followed the battle traces and arrived in front of a massive ancient door entrance. The ancient door bore many strange markings and characters.
Dain only glanced at the strange markings and characters before he entered what looked like a grand hall.
Even though everything was in ruin, Dain could still imagine the grandeur of the hall when it was not destroyed.
At the end of the grand hall was a giant tall throne and seated on it was a skeleton. It was a humanoid with two horns, three eyes, and a long tail.
Staring at the humanoid skeleton, Dain was shocked. He did not expect to encounter a humanoid skeleton in the castle.
Suddenly, his Soul Construct chimed with danger.
His Soul Construct had been silent since he entered the castle, and he even had the illusion there wasn't any danger in the castle.
But he was wrong.
The moment he entered the grand hall, it seemed to have awakened those in the dark.
Without hesitating, Dain jumped and performed a perfect acrobatic move in the air. He landed softly a few meters from his original spot.
At his original spot was a massive feral monster staring at him with primal savagery.
The feral monster was the rat-like monster. However, compared to the previous ones he encountered, this was different.
It stood over three meters tall with eight deadly tails and its red eight eyes locked on him.
Each tail was like a whip with jagged sharpness that could tear through anything. He knew better than to let himself be hit.
A guttural cry escaped from the feral monster's mouth as it lunged at him. Its deadly eight tails spread like a spider web, covering all of Dain's escape routes.
However, Dain was not intimidated. He unsheathed his sword and dashed forward, raising his sword above his head.
****