Atticus was currently in a cave like space. It wasn't wide, only about 8 meters.
But what had shocked him was the intense amount of mana radiating out of every part of the cave.
Atticus had felt the increase in mana in the air when he had crossed the barrier, but what he was feeling was way more intense.
'This will make things hard,' Atticus thought.
The intense amounts of mana radiating out of every parts of the cave was making feeling everything around him clearly, difficult.
Atticus wasn't sure what exactly was what.
It was as though the whole area was just a huge bright canvas.
Atticus was almost tempted to brighten up the place so he would be able to see clearly, but he knew better than to do that.
He had no idea what was in this cave, and he would rather not turn himself into a live target.
'I'll just have to make do,' Atticus eventually decided.
With a simple focus, a cloak of mana suddenly enveloped his form as he activated his ethereal cloak art, his presence becoming faint until it completely melded with the environment.
Atticus had no plans of letting his guard down for even a single moment.
Using the ethereal cloak, he began moving through the cave. Although he couldn't accurately identify what was what because of the intense amounts of mana blanketing the cave, he could still tell the layout of the cave.
Atticus moved fast without making a single sound through the cave, and after a few minutes of running, he finally saw a change in the layout ahead of him.
'An open space?' he pondered.
Unlike the narrow layout of the cave he had been running in since, it was as if there were no walls or ceiling ahead.
After a few seconds, Atticus finally got to the end of the cave, and confirmed that his assumption had been right.
He was currently in an expansive open area within the cave.
Just like the cave had been, this area was also completely dark, and the mana blanketing the cave had gotten even more intense in this space.
Atticus released mana pulses from his core, trying to determine the layout of this new space, and was a little shocked to see that he wasn't able to accurately measure how large it was.
'Looks like it's larger than 50 meters,' Atticus deduced.
Atticus could only feel everything from a 50-meter radius away from him, and he wasn't able to feel the end of the space when he released a pulse. It was the same upwards. Meaning even the ceiling was higher than 50 meters!
'What should I do?' Atticus's thoughts raced as he tried to figure out his next actions.
If the space was larger than 50 meters, it was possible there were beasts at the edges. Atticus had no doubt that for any beast to live here, they had to be able to perfectly see in this environment.
They could attack him from a distance, and he wouldn't even know until the attack entered his 50-meter radius.
It was a dangerous situation.
Apart from feel, Atticus had also tried to smell earlier when he was moving through the cave and had regretted it instantly.
The foul stench emanating from every part of this cave was so potent that he was almost brought to tears.
He had also tried to listen to any subtle sounds in the area, but it was all for naught—the only sound he could hear was the sound of multiple drops of water hitting the earth, creating an eerie backdrop.
'Feels like I'm in a horror movie.'
If not because he had come too far just to turn back, he would have already left.
'But why am I so calm?'
No matter how brave one claimed to be, being alone in a place where you couldn't see a single thing, knowing very well that there was a terrifyingly strong beast with you in the cave.
And not having any idea where it was and when it would attack, was enough to terrify most people—or at least increase the heart rate of many.
But since he had entered this cave, Atticus's heart rate had remained its constant normal rate, not changing for even one second.
It was enough to baffle him.
Atticus knew himself well enough; although he had gone through a lot of things in this life, he wasn't this brave.
But regardless, he wasn't complaining. It was actually a good thing for him.
Being able to remain calm in difficult situations was very important.
Atticus took in a deep breath; it was an instinctual action. He wasn't trying to calm himself; he was already calm.
'Here goes,'
Still maintaining his ethereal cloak, Atticus stepped into the expansive cavern, his movements utterly silent, with only the soft echoes of water droplets resonating through the space.
After covering a few meters, Atticus abruptly halted his steps.
What made him pause his steps was because of what his sense of feel had just detected.
In front of him was a large outline of a figure. Standing at 30 meters in height and half as wide.
Atticus struggled to discern its nature because the same intense mana in the cave also blanketed the figure.
'Is it a rock?'
Immediately he noticed it, Atticus had used all his senses to probe it, but he had turned out blank.
The figure was completely stationary. Having the same potent stench emanating from the whole cave, not making even a single sound.
There was no indication whatsoever that would indicate that it was a living entity.
Coming to this conclusion, Atticus decided to keep moving. Seeing as the boulder was blocking his way, he circled around it.
'This space is really big.'
As Atticus continued forward, he marveled at the vastness of the space, oblivious to the two sinister, red reptilian eyes that slowly flickered open within the supposed boulder he had just passed, instantly locking on to Atticus's form.