Shadow Cave was located 5 km northeast from the human settlement. To arrive quickly, Thoren had to jog lightly.
With the increment in his attributes, the distance was covered in less than two hours.
The Shadow Cave was a natural, cave-like labyrinth. Inside the cave, there are many tunnels that are difficult to identify. Each tunnel stretched for thousands of meters.
In the Shadow Cave, everything was shrouded in darkness. The cave housed many powerful beasts ranging from level 5 to level 10.
Arriving before the Shadow Cave, Thoren saw many teams rushing in, while some stood to the side, looking for teammates to join them.
"Brother, come join our party," a slim girl walked up to Thoren with a bright smile. "I promise you can level up quickly with us."
Before he could respond, a young man stepped forward. "Don't fall for her trick. Many who joined their party ended up losing their lives." He sneered.
"Join our Night Owl Warriors and we can all grow stronger together," Freddie said with a confident smile.
"Stupid Freddie, with such a pathetic team. How can anyone grow stronger with you?" Isla fired back. "All of you have been stuck at the same level for over a week. Disgusting."
"Humph! What do you know? We're being cautious, unlike you," Freddie retorted before he turned to look at Thoren.
"Brother, if you join our group, you'll have to worry about fighting a powerful beast and potentially losing your life. In this world, safety is the most important thing."
"See. Spineless bastard," Isla muttered, glancing at Thoren. "Join us and grow stronger quickly, and we can clear this floor."
Thoren watched the two without changing his expression and spoke. "Sorry, I don't plan on joining any team."
With his talent, why would he join a team? That would only slow him down.
He left the two behind and walked forward, entering the massive cave.
"Another arrogant boy," Freddie snorted. "Did he think he's some kind of powerful awakener?" He clicked his tongue in annoyance.
Isla wore a slight frown before she shook her head. She did not care what happened to him.
Quickly, she shifted her gaze to the other warriors and continued her recruitment.
Meanwhile, Thoren had already forgotten about the short exchange. His gaze narrowed as he summoned his only human skeleton.
[Human Skeleton]
[Level: 2 (250/600)]
[Attributes: Strength 7, Constitution 5, Agility 3]
[Trait: None]
Although the skeleton was weak compared to others, its purpose was to scout ahead while increasing its experience.
After walking for ten minutes, the tunnel split into many smaller passages. Looking at the maze of tunnels, Thoren did not hesitate to choose one.
The tunnel was strangely quiet, the air humid, and the only sound was the soft thud of his footsteps.
Howl!
Suddenly, a deep howl echoed from the distance, and the ground trembled.
[Shadow Cave Bear]
[Level 4]
[Attributes: Strength 12, Constitution 9, Agility 7]
[Trait: Charge – Increases its attack by 5% and reduces its damage taken by 1% in darkness]
The Shadow Cave Bear was enormous, towering over four meters, with glowing eyes.
Thoren did not hesitate and summoned five level-4 skeletons. With four level-4 skeletons, he commanded them to attack the Shadow Cave Bear.
Bang! Bang! Bang!
The Shadow Cave Bear roared fiercely but was quickly subdued by the relentless skeletons.
[Experience Gained +60]
[Summoned Entities: Experience +30]
[Spirit +0.08 Copper+8]
To Thoren, this was nothing, and he quickly added the Shadow Cave Bear to his growing skeleton army.
"Should I keep the skeletons or withdraw them?" Thoren wondered, but he could not decide.
With his talent, he wanted to be cautious and not draw attention to himself. Displaying many skeletons at once would draw unwanted attention he was not ready to face yet.
Shaking his head, he decided not to overthink it and withdrew all the skeletons, leaving only the human skeleton and the cave bear skeleton.
He proceeded deeper into the cave. Along the way, he encountered many Shadow Cave Bears, but each was killed in less than a minute.
Soon, he arrived at an open space. The space was as large as a football field, with many tunnels connected to it.
"What happened here?" he mused, noting the fresh blood on the ground.
Apart from the fresh blood, there were claw marks and weapon marks everywhere. Without anyone telling him, he could tell a great battle had taken place there.
Just as he prepared to depart, he heard faint footsteps coming from one of the tunnels. He furrowed his brow and looked toward the tunnel.
"Finally, we met. Thoren Starfall," a tall young man announced with a wild smile.
Behind him were five others with evil grins.
They were all dressed in black robes bearing an insignia.
Looking at them, Thoren was confused. "Who are you and what do you want?" he asked with a deep frown.
Instead of answering, the tall young man regarded the skeletons. "So the intel is true. You're a Necromancer."
"Boss, how much do you think we'll earn after this mission?" one of them asked with a chuckle.
"Do you need to ask?" The tall young man grinned and stepped forward. "Surrender easily, and I won't make it difficult for you."
Watching the group, Thoren's expression became grave. He did not know why he was being targeted. He had been careful, concealing his talent.
Yet, he had still been discovered.
But how?