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Forgotten Lands - Chapter 36 (Book 2)
🕑 Added 2024-05-24 10:00:06 +0000 UTCHis body was getting used to the Foundation Orbit breaking through the following ranks. That made it easier to adjust to the newfound strength coursing through every corner, invigorating Zayn.
The difference in power was massive, demonstrating that the Rank upgrades were one of the most efficient ways to gain strength. A single increase in a Basic-rank Foundation was more valuable than three Soul Essences invested into a Novice-rank Foundation Star. That was also why Zayn needed to upgrade his Star of Spirit to the Basic rank.
The Star of Spirit upgraded three Foundation Stars equally but required ten times more Soul Essences to upgrade to the next Rank. Fortunately, it was worth the effort. Zayn felt stronger than ever – since he went back in time – and had many Spirit Souls to fight by his side.
With the Champion Spirit joining the ploy, Zayn could focus on restraining and poisoning his enemies. He had the necessary Cards, speed, and energy to spare. Last but not least, Zayn was still getting the benefits of the potions he’d consumed before, excluding the Minor Card Bonus potion.
He grasped the Verdant Saber and got up from the foldable chair when he was ready to leave. The chair disappeared in his storage ring, and he began moving to the tunnels at the end of the training hall.
“Nobody came here after hearing the commotion,” Zayn murmured, his eyes falling upon the four massive tunnels that stretched far before him, “Either they don’t care about their brethren, or they didn’t hear me. Or there is no one else left, but I doubt that. Maybe something else is attacking them from another entrance. I’m probably not the only one attacking the Goblin Lair.”
He shrugged and discarded the theories. There was no need to overthink them. As long as he was strong enough to deal with the monsters at the bottom of the cave, there wouldn’t be an issue. Considering that Zayn invested the remaining Soul Essences into the Goblin Champion.
Integrate 46 Soul Essences into the Goblin Champion’s Star of Dexterity.
149/195 → 195/195
Integrate 8 Soul Essences into the Goblin Champion’s Star of Agility.
196/351 → 204/351
Maybe it would have been better first to increase the Champion Spirit’s other Foundation Stars. Still, he'd invested so many Soul Essences into the additional augment of reaching the Foundation Limit of Champion’s Star of Dexterity. Combined with Champion’s massive Vitality, Strength, and Agility, it could now execute a wide variety of attacks that would have been impossible before.
Zayn considered giving the Champion Spirit a few more weapons, but he’d decided against it for the time being. Champion was stored in the Spirit Card, where nothing but the Spirit Soul could be stored, either way.
He craned his neck and tried prying deep into the cavern tunnels, only to acknowledge disgruntledly that he couldn’t figure out which path to choose.
“Which one should I take? I want to go where most Goblins are gathered,” Zayn asked the Spirit Souls.
Why did they do that? There was no particular reason. Asking them was probably better than taking a random path downward.
The Spirit Souls, other than the Hellhound, simultaneously pointed to the same tunnel.
“Here we go,” He murmured, storing the Hellhound and two Assassin Spirits in the remaining Empty Spirit Cards. The remaining Spirit Souls followed him into the path they’d pointed just a moment ago.
**
Half an hour of boredom passed slowly. Zayn was ready to jump into battle at all times, but there was no fight. Not a single Magma Goblin waited for him.
“Was the training hall the Goblin Lair, or did I choose the wrong path?” He murmured, glaring at the Spirit Souls, who continued moving. Zayn felt like punching them, but they couldn’t feel any pain. Punching them might harm him more than them.
A sigh escaped his lips, only for a flicker to course through his eyes when he heard something. His ears perked up, and Zayn shot forward alongside the Assassin Spirits. He was ready to dash and dine – or something like that!
At last, a familiar hideous grimace emerged behind some stones. His expression lit up and widened even further since one hideous face rarely traveled Alone. A group of Magma Goblin Warriors and Archers emerged, with two Hobgoblins leading them.
There was no reason to smile from one ear to another. The enemies weren’t particularly strong. Nonetheless, Zayn smiled vibrantly as he charged them. The Goblins noted him, but he vanished when the first Archers retrieved arrows from their quivers. Zayn appeared behind them with a thunderous crash. A massive Spirit Soul emerged beside Zayn alongside a huge War Axe.
Champion roared in defiance toward Zayn, who suppressed the Spirit Soul with a single command. He willed Champion to strike the Goblins, which is exactly what the Spirit Soul did. It slashed out, severing the Hobgoblins with one mighty strike. Simultaneously, the Hellhound and Spirit Assassins emerged from the Spirit Cards. The Hobgoblin Warrior and the other Assassins were also ready to kill the remaining Goblins, but no enemy was left to strike. They were already dead.
Zayn didn’t pay much attention to the others. He reached out for the two Hobgoblin Soul Wisps and used Soul Link. His focus didn’t linger on the Soul Wisps for long, though. He reached out for the other Soul Wisps and devoured them. They were split up and used to nourish the Lord Rune and Rune Engraving.
“Collect the ears and armaments,” Zayn ordered lightly before checking the notifications.
[Soul Link succeeded. The connections to two Hobgoblin Warriors have been established]
Spirit Souls have slain 16 enemies. +17 Soul Essences, +1 Uncommon Card.
He obtained fewer Soul Essences than expected, but he figured it made sense. Champion’s drop rate was bound to be low. It was much stronger than the Hobgoblins. He nodded slowly, collected the loot, and continued moving.
More enemies awaited him.
**
Three hours later, Zayn was still smiling vibrantly.
He encountered far more enemies than he’d hoped for. There were so many Magma Goblins and their evolutions that Zayn wondered how fast they could breed. It was no wonder it required a large team of Tier-1 and Tier-2 Players to wipe out the Goblin Lair in the last cycle.
Goblins were like cockroaches with knives, hideous faces, and foul breath. At least they were strong enough to reward him with some Soul Essences upon dying. That was a lot better than most cockroaches would give.
After three hours of fighting dozens of Magma Goblin groups, Zayn procured a massive haul of Ranked and Unranked Armaments alongside hundreds of Magma Goblin ears and tusks. The fortune would reward him with a decent amount of reputation for the Golden Age guild, alongside a great fortune.
The treasures were neatly stored in the storage ring, which was almost half-filled.
The armaments and goblin ears were quite valuable, but their worth paled compared to the Soul Essences he’d procured. Yet, even the Soul Essences were insignificant compared to the gains made through the Soul Wisps of the Goblins he and his Spirit Souls’ had slain.
He procured more Soul Essences and stronger Souls Wisps from the stronger Goblins, and as Zayn had suspected, the deeper parts of the Goblin Lair had the strongest Goblins. Even the ordinary Magma Goblins and their evolutions were several times stronger than before. Their Soul Wisps were incredibly useful, nourishing Rune Engraving and the Lord Rune properly.
Unfortunately, Rune Engraving required much stronger Soul Wisps to create the 5th Spirit Card. It wouldn’t be easy to mass-produce Spirit Cards, which was a shame. It made sense, though. If one wanted to declare it such, the Sou Lord Class Path was incredibly powerful and overpowered, but it wasn’t comparable to a God’s Divinity. There was a between those powers…for now…
The creatures he encountered grew stronger as time passed, and their numbers increased. That was perfect, even though it drained Zayn’s Stamina rapidly. Fortunately, he didn’t have to move too much. He focused mostly on collecting Soul Wisps, resurrecting Spirit Souls, controlling the Spirit Souls, and restraining the strongest enemies to minimize the casualties.
It was also quite interesting to use his Spirit Cards properly mid-battle. He stored four Spirit Souls in the Spirit Cards and released them where the Magma Goblins expected them the least. The Goblins thought they’d gained an advantage over Zayn and the Spirit Souls, only to end up trapped in a pincer attack. They died miserably, leaving behind their Soul Essences, Soul Wisps, and bodies for Zayn to plunder.
His strength skyrocketed, pushing him to a point no other Player should have reached yet.
[Foundation Orbit]
[Star of Vitality – Basic 140/1000] [+10%]
[Star of Strength– Basic 138/1000] [+10%]
[Star of Agility – Basic 240/1000] [+10%]
[Star of Dexterity – Basic 125/1000] [+10%]
[Star of Spirit– Novice 850/1000] [+10%]
His perception, wisdom, and energy skyrocketed while the space of his Soul expanded rapidly. He had more than enough space for Spirit Souls at this point.
But, of course, Zayn wasn’t satisfied.
He wouldn’t be satisfied before the Primordial Pantheon’s influence would leave Earth forever.
It would be even better if the Primordial Pantheon was destroyed and its members annihilated, but he figured this wouldn’t be easy.
For now, Zayn had to deal with the Goblin Lair. Fortunately, he reached their settlement.
“That was about damn time!”
