Chapter 2: Ambush

Xia Nan was a farmer; his true occupation lay in dealing with the golden wheat in the fields.

Those so-called "adventures," which usually appeared only in the tales of bards and the gossip of village elders, might never have anything to do with him in his entire life.

But at this very moment, sitting in this crude camp as a member of the "Rotten Fish and Shrimp" squad, Xia Nan naturally possessed some extraordinary qualities.

According to the memories left by his predecessor, the story could be traced back five years, to when he was thirteen.

At that time, his family had hosted a down-and-out bard for the night.

Besides performing magic tricks before the village children and opening the door to a fantasy world for the young Xia Nan,

thanks to his predecessor's mother, who was famous throughout the region for her stinginess and tendency to pluck feathers even from a passing goose,

the bard, upon leaving the village, was compelled to leave behind a single page of a skill book for their family.

Calling it a "book" was somewhat of a stretch.

In appearance, it was merely half a sheet of paper recording a certain training technique.

But regardless, it had once been part of a genuine professional skill book.

The whole family treasured it like a priceless gem.

Even the youngest daughter in the household, "Beatrice," who was only seven at the time, practiced along with them for a while.

Unfortunately, perhaps that half-page of a skill book was just scrap paper hastily concocted by the bard to make his escape, or perhaps none of the family possessed any talent related to it.

More than half a year passed, yet not a single person made any obvious progress.

Coupled with the King's tax increases and the busy farming season, the matter was quietly dropped.

It was also because his predecessor had a straightforward nature, and the magic tricks displayed by the bard had left an overly deep impression on him.

So even during the autumn harvest, when they were so busy they could hardly straighten their backs, after finishing a whole day of hard labor, he would still drag his exhausted body to the field ridges and swing the crude wooden sword, which had taken him three days to carve, at the straw.

Thus, day after day, year after year, he broke countless wooden swords.

No one knew where this boy from the fields found such perseverance; he never took a single day off, as if swinging the sword had become part of his life.

Finally, one afternoon three months ago,

just as Xia Nan was swinging his wooden sword at a scarecrow woven by himself on the field ridge near his home, like he had done for thousands of days and nights before,

he experienced a wonderful sensation he had never felt before.

A nameless power suddenly surged from his legs, which were firmly planted in the mud, rising upward.

Through his spine, chest, and arms... finally transmitting through his fingertips to the wooden sword in his hand.

It was as if all the strength in his body and his entire mind were twisted into a single knot in an instant, pouring out immediately.

Hum—

The broken wooden sword spun and fell to the ground, while tiny, scattered straw fragments danced wildly in the air.

The scarecrow, split in two, slowly toppled over.

The cut was clean and neat.

[Whirling Slash]

In that moment, Xia Nan knew its name.

Xia Nan had completely mastered that technique which only "Knight Masters" could employ.

What followed then proceeded naturally.

An ordinary farming family, whose entire assets consisted of nothing more than a mill and a few poor fields,

was raising three sons and one young daughter.

The eldest and second sons had just reached the age to start families and establish careers.

Naturally, the struggle for the pitifully small inheritance rights began, both openly and secretly.

From the distribution of profits from the mill to the scheduling of kitchen stove usage...

All sorts of nonsensical quarrels and disputes filled every inch of air within that small wooden house.

Watching his two respected elder brothers argue irreconcilably over a single candle left his predecessor, who had just come of age, filled with deep doubt.

Thinking that in another two years, when he himself reached marrying age, such things would happen to him all over again,

Xia Nan could not help but develop the intention to retreat.

Coinciding with his acquisition of the professional skill [Whirling Slash], and driven by the recklessness and spirit unique to youth,

his predecessor registered his name at the Adventurers' Association in a nearby town and subsequently joined the "Rotten Fish and Shrimp" squad.

"Sigh..."

Recalling his predecessor's rash actions, Xia Nan could not help but sigh.

When he transmigrated to this world, his predecessor was already part of the team.

By the time he had dazedly absorbed the memories and realized what he was doing, the squad had already entered the Misty Forest, leaving no chance for regret.

Since matters had come to this, complaining would only increase internal friction.

Lowering his head, he wiped the blade on his knee with a cotton cloth.

Speaking of which, although his two elder brothers were deeply embroiled in the family property dispute, they treated him, their younger brother, extremely well.

This one-handed sword was purchased with the savings both brothers had pooled together for him.

His predecessor cherished it immensely and maintained it frequently.

As a result, even though it should have been scrapped long ago, the blade remained quite sharp.

Perhaps it could still endure a few tough battles?

"Hey, kid?"

Perhaps Xia Nan's prolonged silence led Captain Ma Ji to mistake it for excessive nervousness, so Zhang Zui comforted him, saying:

"There's nothing to fear; they're just a few goblins."

"Things like these, even a few of them, couldn't beat the stray dogs in town."

Xia Nan said nothing, merely grinning at the hunter to indicate he was fine.

Nervous?

Of course he was.

After all, this was his first adventure out as an "adventurer."

The "Glorious Achievements" listed on the one-handed sword's attribute panel were left by its previous owners and had nothing to do with him.

That this battle-hardened longsword had fallen into his hands perhaps foreshadowed, to some extent, the fate of those previous owners.

Whoosh—

A chill brushed against the back of Xia Nan's neck, making him shudder involuntarily.

The Misty Forest lived up to its name.

Even at high noon under fierce sunlight, a thin layer of mist always permeated the air.

Let alone now that the sun had set; the slender moonlight had nearly merged with that mist, reducing visibility to an extreme low.

Even sitting right beside the bonfire, he could barely make out the blurred outlines of the surrounding weeds and shrubs.

"Farm boy, first time in the Misty Forest?"

A voice tinged with amusement rang out beside his ear.

Looking over, he saw that on the other side of the camp, about five or six meters away, the dwarf Elki was watching him with a teasing expression.

"You've been here many times?" Xia Nan nodded and replied.

"Of course!"

As if waiting precisely for him to ask that, Elki immediately became animated and lively.

"You have no idea, I have a distant cousin who once served as an attendant to an Arcanist for two years; tsk, that was a proper big shot who graduated from the Hawthorn Royal Academy and registered with the Spellcasters Association!"

"Hey, don't tell me you've never even heard of the Hawthorn Royal Academy? Let me tell you—"

The voice cut off abruptly.

Even if it contained some exaggeration, Xia Nan remained very interested in the dwarf's topic.

Having just transmigrated to this world, anything involving supernatural power held an extraordinary attraction for him.

However, at least for today, he was unlikely to obtain any more information regarding the "Hawthorn Royal Academy."

Because just a second ago, Xia Nan had watched with his own eyes as a crooked wooden club studded with many iron nails stirred the mist and emerged from the darkness behind Elki's head.

Then it swung down violently, smashing squarely onto the dwarf's face, which had been brimming with high spirits and immense enthusiasm.

Rust-red metal spikes instantly pierced the fragile flesh on the side of the victim's skull.

Like a watermelon accidentally dropped on the ground, dazzling blood mixed with some nauseating white viscous fluid burst forth from the wound.

"ENEMY ATTACK!!!!!!!"

(End of Chapter)