Chapter 364: Interesting Rift

Julius didn’t know if he was excited or bothered when he found himself getting swarmed by even more goblins. He liked that there were enough to at least get his blood pumping, but they smelled horrible, much worse than the Flowering Ginkons in his opinion.

There were enough of them that he was beginning to suspect there was some kind of encampment or rift nearby.

However, they weren’t too much of a threat. Despite him primarily using kinetic energy to attack with, the goblins weren’t that difficult to take care of. Unlike more advanced variations, these goblins seemed quite weak, and he was more worried about their stench than their actual threat to his health.

Luckily for him, kinetic energy had always been very efficient to use. Unlike his fire or life affinities, kinetic energy had the amazing benefit of being quite low-cost. Add that to his ability to siphon kinetic energy from other targets, and it was even more so.

He could likely continue to use it all day without getting tired. It was more likely that his mind would be the first to get weary.

After he pummeled another group, he looked around at the surrounding area. He then used [Absolute Spatial Perception] and narrowed his view toward the location where the goblins had been coming from.

Only then did he spot where he believed they were coming from. It was a small cave hidden on the side of a rocky hill, not too far away.

He ultimately decided not to go after the encampment. He had other things he still wanted to do today and honestly, he could sell this information to the guild. They hated goblins as well and he would likely be rewarded well for the information.

Who knows, he might even be able to rank up again in the near future.

The fact that he wanted something a little more interesting to fight played a large part in his decision as well. It definitely wasn’t because he could smell the goblins all the way from here.

That would be silly.

He noted down the location on a map he had gotten from Terus the night before. He doubted it was the most accurate map and Julius doubted he knew exactly where he was in relation to it, but it was better than nothing.

He then gave one last look at the encampment and continued searching for a rift.

***

Fortunately, it didn’t take him too long to find what he believed to be a rift. However, it would appear that he wasn’t the only one who had found it either. There was a group of young men and women huddled around the rift as they prepared to delve into it.

He suspected they were around Lily’s and the others’ age. Perhaps, they were also preparing for the Inter-School Tournament. He sensed that their auras were quite powerful for their age, and they did a good job of keeping them controlled.

He wasn’t exactly hiding his presence, so it didn’t come as a surprise when one of them noticed him standing off in the distance. The girl who had sensed him alerted her teammates and they all stood up at the ready.

He gave a cheery wave to them, trying to let them know that he wasn’t a bad person. But this seemed to only make them more wary for some reason. It was only when they got a clear view of his face that they settled down.

“Just so you know, we already have dibs on this rift, kid,” One of the guys called out to him with a little abrasiveness.

“Calm down, Cage,” the girl who had sensed him rebuked her teammate.

“What? I was just letting him know,” Cage argued.

Julius put both of his hands up. “No worries. I was just walking around when I noticed this rift. I don’t have any plans of interrupting your plans or anything like that,” he assured them, already walking in the other direction without saying another word to this group.

They all watched him walk off and didn’t relax until he disappeared from their sight. He didn’t blame them for their wariness. The forest was a dangerous place, and there was no need to take chances.

While a part of him wished to just enter the rift regardless, he reminded himself to stay patient. He was certain that he would be able to find another rift eventually. The deeper he went in the forest, the more likely rifts became.

However, he was curious whether or not he would come across a safe zone before he found another rift.

Safe zones were quite common in the Endless Forest. With how large the forest was, it was inevitable that people had to establish a base here and there. Terus was nice enough to mention where he and his team had been staying while they had been delving into rifts for the past week.

It shouldn’t be that far ahead. He said that it was hard to miss since it was placed in one of the larger clearings in the forest. He also said that if he were to follow the map, it would take him there.

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Julius was hoping that he would find something before that. He wasn’t looking to stay the night in the forest. He just wanted a place to delve and train some of his skills.