Chapter 23: Footsteps (4k)

The Mist Forest is located in the heart of the Aifala Continent. The secret remnants from ancient times and its own unique natural terrain give this place a rich magical energy distinct from other regions.

And what follows, naturally, are the dangerous magical beasts bred from the pale, thin mist.

Living in a high-concentration magical energy environment for a long time, enjoying the nourishment of abundant magical energy, these magical beasts either possess robust bodies far exceeding ordinary creatures or are born with the ability to manipulate natural laws.

They occupy the highest ecological niche in the entire forest.

But similarly, their ability to sit firmly at the top of the pyramid is inseparable from the support of the massive base below.

In this forest, which is filled with thin mist all day long, there also live a vast number of ordinary creatures not listed in the magical beast compendium.

"Clatter."

A light breeze blew, and leaves drifted down.

The brownish-tan bark was like a dried-up waterway, rough and covered with cracks and gullies.

Looking from afar, this seemed to be just the most common oak branch in the forest.

But if you were a bit more patient and observed a bit more carefully,

you would gradually discover the scarlet snake tongue flashing in the air and the slender outline vaguely protruding and extending from the surface of the tree trunk.

This was a Rosalind Pit Viper.

The mottled patterns of light brown on its dense scales and the patience and slowness unique to cold-blooded animals made it practically blend into the environment.

And its inverted triangular, sharp, long head also hinted from a natural perspective at the lethal toxicity possessed by this type of snake.

It waited quietly.

The Mist Forest never lacks prey.

A unique body structure capable of swallowing prey several times its own size, a body length of nearly five feet, and two sharp fangs beneath its skull capable of injecting venom at any time.

Made its list of prey not limited to frogs and lizards, but also including some small and medium-sized mammals.

And if it encountered those creatures with overly large bodies, the survival instinct from deep within its bloodline would also cause them to stay away from this dangerous creature that controlled lethal toxins.

"Squeak."

A long-eared mouse covered in velvet moved its body cautiously through the fallen leaves.

Those clear and foolish mouse eyes seemed to have already foreshadowed its fate.

Gradually approaching.

There was no emotion in the cold, vertical pupils of the pit viper; its neck arched and contracted, and its muscles tightened.

The muscles filled with explosive power beneath its scales allowed it to inject its venom into the other party's body in just a fraction of a second, followed by coiling and constricting, waiting quietly for the prey's death.

The small brown scales trembled slightly under the expansion of its muscles.

This was the precursor to its attack.

Then,

Hum—

The iron-grey, sharp radiance flashed past in the air.

Accompanied by fine wood chips splashing out from the tree trunk, the panicked long-eared mouse fled deep into the bushes.

The pit viper's body still maintained the tightened, arched state from before the hunt.

But its head had already been sliced off by the cold, sharp blade.

"Damn! Scared the hell out of me!"

With lingering fear, Xia Nan exerted slight force with his right hand, pulling the decapitation longsword that had been thrust straight into the tree trunk.

It was already the second day since he had returned to the Mist Forest.

Contrary to expectations, the complex environment of the forest, filled with mist and countless similar trees, made it very difficult to distinguish directions even with a professional compass and a simple map bought from the sundry shop.

Plus, being alone, even the slightest movement around him could make Xia Nan feel alert and move cautiously.

Back and forth, his progress was even slower than the previous Rotten Fish and Shrimp squad—

He hadn't felt it at the time, but thinking about it now, it was probably because Maji possessed some kind of professional combat technique for exploring directions.

Fortunately, the location of the Glow Garlic Vines in his memory wasn't very far from Hegu Town; after wandering around for an afternoon and half a morning, he was almost there.

Digging a small hole in the ground, Xia Nan threw the snake head into it with a look of disgust using the tip of his sword.

A piece of trivia he had read somewhere in his previous life made him clear that even after having its head cut off, a snake could still open its mouth and inject venom under the action of muscle memory.

Therefore, to be safe, it was best to find a hole to bury its head to avoid getting hit.

In Xia Nan's view, the most dangerous things inside the Mist Forest were naturally those strange magical beasts;

But if one were to talk about disgusting, the various snakes and insects seen everywhere on the road were second to none.

Even though he carried antidotes and insect repellent with him, being bitten by such a small thing by accident was definitely no joke.

Standing in place, he swept his gaze carefully around the surroundings.

Confirming there was nothing unusual, Xia Nan relaxed slightly, took off the backpack behind him, and rummaged through it to find a piece of gauze.

While taking a short break to recover his strength, he also carefully performed maintenance on the new longsword in his hand.

Actually, according to what the "Rock Hammer" shop owner Ba'en said yesterday, unless he went through a major battle, he only needed to maintain this sword once every three days.

But after all, having just gotten it, even though he knew that after a period of time, the sword would have many hard-to-clean traces of use, he still couldn't help but want to keep it in a "brand-new factory" fresh state.

The soft gauze wiped gently, and the few stains on the surface of the blade were cleared away.

Feeling the tough and cool touch of the sword handle in his hand, Xia Nan's thoughts drifted.

Speaking of which, as an adventurer who often had to face various battles, a suitable weapon was practically equivalent to his second life.

Therefore, when choosing a weapon, one must carefully confirm whether its balance and center of gravity fit one's combat habits.

At the time, Xia Nan hadn't considered so much; he had just bought the longsword with a mentality of picking up a bargain.

Looking at it now, while he couldn't say it was wrong, he should have considered it more meticulously.

Fortunately, after a day and a half of breaking it in, Xia Nan could be sure that this decapitation longsword and his own compatibility were quite good.

It was heavier than an ordinary two-handed sword, but still within the range he could control with his current strength;

The four-foot blade and double-edged design allowed 【Circle Slash】 to perfectly exert its power;

Even its low-key iron-grey blade fit his aesthetic.

The current Xia Nan even wished for a few more encounters to slash a few Goblins to prove the sharpness of the sword.

"Er…… Bugbears don't count."

He joked in his heart.

Standing up, he put the slightly heavy bundle on the ground back on his back.

Just as he wanted to leave, his peripheral vision caught the snake corpse in the fallen leaves.

As if suddenly remembering something, he took out the somewhat wrinkled 【Adventurer's Handbook】 from his bosom.

……

21. 【An Adventurer's Hands Should Be Stained with Some Blood】

Hey! What's there to be disgusted about? Those are all fragrant, shiny gold coins!

—— 21.3 【Regarding Those Crawling Insects】

……Remember to remove their snake gallbladders; these can usually be sold for a decent price at herbal shops and alchemy stores (the specific price depends on their size and species).

Some special species, such as the horn on the head of an Ice Trace Horned Snake or the snake skin of a Cylinder Python, can all be sold for a price.

Of course, all these only apply to ordinary creatures; for magical beasts……

……

"Sure enough, almost missed out on earning a few more gold coins."

Xia Nan pulled a dagger from his waist and, comparing it with the example image in the handbook, clumsily cut open the snake's body covered in scales.

"Got it!"

On his hand, covered in mucus and blood, was an ink-black sac-like organ.

"A snake gallbladder from this size of viper in the Mist Forest can probably sell for 3 silver coins?"

Recalling the price list he had seen when shopping at the pharmacy earlier, he guessed in his heart.

In his previous life, Xia Nan had once heard someone ask a very interesting question.

With the same monthly income of 5000, why was the experience of living in the countryside and the city like heaven and earth?

The cost of living is of course different, but in his view, the temptations from the surrounding environment were also one of the important reasons.

If it were the Xia Nan who had just crossed over to this world, with only the simple memories of the predecessor's eighteen years of accompanying wheat ears in his mind, 100 gold and 10 gold seemed to have no difference (both were massive fortunes).

But when Xia Nan truly carried over a hundred gold coins of spoils and strolled around Hegu Town, seeing 500-gold potions and four-figure armor……

His understanding of this world underwent a clear change.

At least, when he pressed down on the wriggling, twitching snake body and removed the gallbladder from the mucus and blood.

Besides disgust, there was more joy at being able to sell it for a few more gold coins after returning to the city.

Especially under the premise that he only had 24 gold, 2 silver, and 7 copper left on his entire body.

Yes,

Xia Nan, who once had a net worth as high as over 130 gold coins, now had less than a fraction left.

The 35-gold decapitation longsword and the 10-gold leather armor were only part of the bill.

And the culprit behind the shrinkage of his savings was now lying quietly in the depths of his waist pouch, which was the safest and most convenient to use.

50 gold.

A whole bottle, unopened, emitting a faint fluorescent glow when shaken—

Healing Potion.

Xia Nan ultimately couldn't hold back.

After completing all necessary preparations before going out, he used his remaining savings to add another trump card to his adventure.

But he didn't regret it.

Because he knew clearly what kind of effect this bottle of healing potion could exert.

The luster unique to metal flashed past his eyes, and the surface of the iron-grey blade reflected Xia Nan's own image.

His gaze condensed, and translucent text appeared before his eyes:

……

【Name】: Xia Nan

【Attributes】:

Strength: 6

Agility: 6

Constitution: 5

Intelligence: 5

Perception: 5

Charisma: 5

【Specialty】: Slashing Expert

【Skill】: Circle Slash lv5 (Max)

【Equipment/Items】: Dead Line, Sturdy Decapitation Longsword, Healing Potion*1……

……

This was Xia Nan's second adventure.

But without a doubt, compared to the self who had just crossed over to this world, he had undergone tremendous changes in both mental and physical levels.

If the current him were to return to that dark and bloody Goblin cave.

Not to mention a complete victory, at least when he solved those four Goblin minions, Gagu shouldn't have completely lost his combat ability yet.

Throwing the still-twitching snake corpse on the ground, Xia Nan was calm, taking out the compass and map from his bosom.

"Hmm…… this direction."

As the destination drew closer, the memory that had originally seemed to be covered in a layer of mist like the air in the forest gradually became clear.

His footsteps became faster and faster.

About two hours later, as Xia Nan pushed aside the dense bushes in front of him with his hands, an open space appeared before his eyes.

Honestly, this clearing wasn't actually very large; even adding the increasingly lush vegetation at the edges, it was only the size of a quarter of a basketball court.

But in the Mist Forest, which was filled with towering trees, it appeared exceptionally abrupt.

In the center of the clearing was a dark oak tree about the thickness of two people hugging.

It couldn't be called tall, nor was it particularly majestic or thick.

From the appearance alone, the only thing that could distinguish it from the trees around the clearing

was those clusters of pale white vines hanging from its branches.

Xia Nan's eyes lit up.

The memory of passing by a few days ago told him that these strange-colored vines would emit faint fluorescent light like fireflies at night.

"Glow Garlic Vine!"

He cheered in his heart.

But he didn't rush to approach.

A clearing suddenly appearing in a dense forest, strange plants emitting fluorescent light, and even the potential for huge gains……

In such a scene, any adventurer with a bit of common sense wouldn't rush forward rashly.

Xia Nan, who was still in the state of a novice adventurer and constantly alert to everything around him, was even more so.

He saw him gripping the decapitation longsword with both hands, his half-squatting body leaning slightly forward, maintaining the posture most convenient for exerting force.

With the least amount of movement, he spent a full ten minutes circling the edge of the clearing.

Grass, canopy……

Only after checking everything and confirming there was no ambush did he cast his gaze toward the oak tree in the clearing.

His expression appeared somewhat hesitant.

There were many trees in the forest; although it was often easy to block the line of sight, making it impossible to capture potential dangers in time, they could also be used as cover when necessary.

If there were potential enemies, coming to an open space meant exposing his entire position to the other party.

After pondering for a moment, Xia Nan finally made a decision.

There was no point in staying in a stalemate like this; he had to take the initiative!

Gritting his teeth, he took a step with his right foot, and his whole body rushed out.

Until he approached the vines, he suddenly stopped his body.

The longsword was held horizontally, and iron-grey cold light flashed across the surface of the blade.

One second, two seconds, three seconds……

A light breeze blew, and the branches swayed, making a "rustling" sound.

Having confirmed that he had just been fighting with the air, Xia Nan decisively sheathed his sword—anyway, no one else saw it, so there was nothing to be embarrassed about.

Then, with the fastest speed, he took out his dagger and cut down the clusters of Glow Garlic Vines.

After all, since only he knew this location, even if he didn't know how this type of vine plant grew, he still left behind some immature branches and leaves, holding the idea of recycling.

In just five minutes, 32 clusters of Glow Garlic Vines were carefully and quickly stuffed into the backpack he had specially prepared.

"Perfect!"

Tightening the somewhat heavy bundle behind him, he was just about to leave.

But he only heard two rapid footsteps coming from the forest on the right.

"Hmm!?"

(End of Chapter) ===== CHAPTER 24 =====