Chapter 23: Footsteps (4k)

The Misty Forest was located deep within the heart of the Eufala continent. Hidden legacies from ancient times and its own naturally unique topography endowed this place with a concentrated magical energy distinct from other regions. Consequently, the natural byproducts were the dangerous monsters bred from within the pale, thin mist.

Living in a high-concentration magical environment for a long time and enjoying the nourishment of abundant magic, these monsters either possessed sturdy bodies far surpassing ordinary creatures, or were born with the innate ability to manipulate the laws of nature. They occupied the highest ecological niche in the entire forest.

Yet by the same token, their ability to sit firmly at the top of the pyramid was inseparable from the support of the massive base below. Within this forest where a thin mist drifted all day long, there also lived a sea of ordinary creatures that were not listed in any monster illustrated index.

“Rustle.”

A gentle breeze brushed past, and leaves drifted down. The brownish-brown bark resembled dried-up waterways, coarse and full of cracks and gullies. Looking from afar, it seemed to be just an ordinary oak branch, the most common sort in the forest.

However, if you were a bit more patient and observed a bit more carefully, you could gradually discover a crimson snake tongue flashing in the air for a fleeting instant, along with a long, slender outline vaguely protruding and extending along the surface of the trunk.

This was a Rosalind sharp-nosed pit viper. The light brown mottled patterns on its fine, dense scales, combined with the patience and slowness characteristic of cold-blooded animals, allowed it to blend almost entirely into the environment. Furthermore, its long, inverted-triangular head subtly hinted from a biological perspective at the violent toxicity possessed by this species of snake.

It waited quietly. The Misty Forest was never short of prey. Its unique physical structure capable of swallowing things several times its own body size, a length of nearly five feet, and two sharp fangs beneath its skull ready to inject venom at any moment allowed its prey list to not be limited to frogs and lizards, but even include some small and medium-sized mammals.

And if it crossed paths with creatures that were too massive, the survival instinct originating from the deep recesses of its bloodline would also cause them to stay far away from danger unless it was a matter of life or death.

“Squeak.”

A long-eared mouse completely covered in downy fur carefully nudged its body through the fallen leaves. Those clear and foolish rodent eyes seemed to have already foreshadowed its fate.

Approaching gradually. Not a shred of emotion existed in the pit viper’s cold vertical pupils; its neck coiled back and its muscles tensed. The explosive muscles beneath its scales meant it only needed a fraction of a second to inject its venom into the opponent’s body, followed by coiling tightly and waiting quietly for the prey’s demise.

The tiny brown scales trembled slightly under the expanding muscles. This was the prelude to its attack.

Subsequently,

Hum—

An iron-grey, sharp gleam flashed past in the air and vanished. Accompanied by fine wood splinters splashing out from the tree trunk was the long-eared mouse fleeing in panic into the depths of the bushes.

The pit viper’s body still maintained its tensed, coiled posture from the moment before hunting. However, its head had already been cleanly lopped off by the forest-cold, sharp sword blade.

“Fuck! Scared the shit out of me!”

Carrying a heavy trace of lingering fear, Xia Nan exerted a bit of force with his right hand, forcefully pulling out the Beheading Longsword driven straight into the tree trunk.

Presently, it was already his second day returning to the Misty Forest. Different from his expectations, the complex environment within the forest—which was filled with mist and countless similar trees—made it exceptionally difficult to distinguish directions even with a professional compass and a crude map bought from the general store shelves in hand.

Added to being entirely alone, the slightest rustle in the surroundings could cause Xia Nan to become alert, pacing slowly in a defensive posture. Back and forth, his progress was actually quite a bit slower than that of the previous bottom-of-the-barrel party. At the time he hadn’t realized it, but thinking about it now, it was probably because Maji possessed some kind of professional combat skill for scouting directions.

Fortunately, the location of the Firefly Garlic Vines in his memory wasn’t considered too far from Rivervale. After wandering around for an afternoon plus half a morning, he had roughly arrived.

Digging a small pit in the ground, Xia Nan used the tip of his sword with a look of intense aversion to pick up and toss the snake’s head inside. A piece of trivia gleaned from who-knows-where in his past life made him fully aware that even when a snake’s head was severed, it could still open and close its mouth parts to inject venom due to muscle memory. Therefore, to be safe, it was best to find a pit to bury its head to avoid getting bitten.

In Xia Nan’s view, the most dangerous things in the Misty Forest were naturally those bizarrely shaped monsters. But if one were talking about disgusting, the various snakes and insects visible everywhere along the path unhesitatingly took the crown. Even if he carried antitoxins and insect repellents with him, getting accidentally bitten by this kind of little thing was absolutely no joke.

Standing in place, his gaze carefully swept a circle around the surroundings. Confirming there was nothing unusual, Xia Nan only then relaxed slightly, took down the backpack behind him, and rummaged through it to pull out a piece of gauze.

While taking a brief rest to recover his physical strength, he also seriously performed maintenance on this newly bought longsword in his hand. Actually, according to yesterday’s words from the “Rock Hammer” shop owner Barn, unless he experienced a major battle, this sword of his only needed maintenance once every three days. But having just obtained it, even though he knew in his heart that after another period of time, many hard-to-remove traces of usage would appear across the sword body, he still couldn’t help wanting to maintain its “fresh-out-of-the-factory” crisp state.

The soft gauze wiped gently, and the only few traces of grime on the surface of the sword body were removed along with it. Feeling the resilient and slightly cool tactile sensation of the hilt in his hand, Xia Nan’s thoughts drifted accordingly.

Speaking of which, as an adventurer who frequently needed to face various types of combat, a suitable weapon was practically equivalent to his second life. Therefore, when picking a weapon, one must carefully confirm whether its feel and center of gravity fit one’s own combat habits. At the time, Xia Nan hadn’t considered that much, merely buying the longsword with a mindset of picking up a bargain. Looking at it now, although it couldn’t be called wrong, he reasoned he should consider things more meticulously in the future.

Fortunately, after a day and a half of breaking it in, Xia Nan could confirm that this Beheading Longsword had an excellent compatibility with him. The weight was a bit heavier compared to a normal two-handed sword, but it still resided within the scope that his current strength could control. The four-foot sword body and double edges allowed 【Whirlwind Slash】 to perfectly unleash its power. Even its low-profile, iron-grey sword body fit his aesthetic.

Now, Xia Nan even wished for a few more encounter battles to chop a few goblins to prove the sword’s sharpness.

“Uh… let’s skip the bugbear though,” he joked in his heart.

Standing up, he once again strapped the slightly heavy bundle on the ground behind his back. Just as he wanted to leave, his peripheral vision caught the snake corpse in the fallen leaves on the ground. As if suddenly remembering something, he drew out the already somewhat wrinkled Adventurer’s Handbook from his chest pocket.

……

【An adventurer’s hands ought to be stained with a bit of blood】

Hey! What is there to be averse to? Those are all fragrant, glittering gold coins!

——21.3 【Regarding those crawling things】

……Remember to harvest their snake galls. These can usually fetch a decent price at herbal shops and alchemy stores (the exact price depends on their size and species).

Certain special species, such as the single horn on the head of an ice-trace horned snake or the shed skin of a cylinder python, can all be sold for a price. Of course, the above only applies to ordinary creatures; regarding monsters……

……

“Sure enough, I almost missed earning a few more gold coins again.”

Xia Nan yanked out a dagger from his waist and, cross-referencing the illustrations in the handbook, somewhat amateurishly cut open the viper’s scale-covered body.

“Got it!”

Held in his hand, which was covered in mucus and blood, was an inky black, sac-like organ.

“A viper gall of this size in the Misty Forest can probably sell for about 3 silver coins?” Recalling the price list he had seen while purchasing supplies at the herbal shop earlier, he speculated in his heart.

In his past life, Xia Nan had once heard someone ask a very interesting question. Given the same monthly income of 5,000, why was the experience of living in the countryside and the city completely as different as heaven and earth? Prices naturally differed, but in his view, the temptations originating from the surrounding environment were also one of the important reasons.

If it were the him who had just translocated into this world, his brain only containing his predecessor’s simple memories of spending eighteen years accompanied by ears of wheat, 100 gold and 10 gold didn’t seem to have any difference to him (both were massive sums of money). But once Xia Nan truly strolled a lap through Rivervale town clutching the spoils of over a hundred gold coins, witnessing 500-gold potions and four-figure armors, his understanding of this world underwent a distinct transformation.

At least, when he pressed down on the writhing and twitching snake carcass to harvest the snake gall from the mucus and blood, aside from aversion, what filled his heart more was the joy of being able to sell it for a few more gold coins upon returning to town. Especially on the premise that his entire net worth now only consisted of 24 gold, 2 silver, and 7 copper.

Yes, the Xia Nan whose net worth had once been as high as over a hundred and thirty gold coins now had less than the pocket change remaining. The 35-gold Beheading Longsword and the 10-gold leather armor were only a portion of the bill. The main culprit that caused his savings to shrink to such an extent was currently resting quietly in the deepest recess of his waist pouch, which was both the safest and most convenient to use.

50 gold.

An entire, unopened bottle of—emitting a faint fluorescence when shaken—a potion of healing.

Xia Nan ultimately hadn’t been able to hold back. After completing all the necessary preparations before heading out, he used his remaining savings to add another trump card to his adventure. But he didn’t regret it, because he clearly knew what kind of efficacy a bottle of healing potion could unleash.

The characteristic luster of metal flashed across his eyes, and upon the surface of the iron-grey sword body was Xia Nan’s own reflection. His gaze focused, and semi-transparent text materialized before his eyes:

……

【Name】: Xia Nan
【Attributes】:
Strength: 6
Agility: 6
Constitution: 5
Intelligence: 5
Perception: 5
Charisma: 5
【Feats】: Slashing Adept
【Skills】: Whirlwind Slash LV5 (Max)
【Equipment/Items】: Deadline, Sturdy Beheading Longsword, Potion of Healing * 1……

……

This was Xia Nan’s second adventure. But without a doubt, compared to the self that had just translocated into this world, whether on a mental level or a physical level, he had undergone a transformation that could be called massive.

If the current him were to return to that gloomy, bloody goblin cave from back then, leaving aside a grand victory, at least by the time he resolved those four goblin lackeys himself, Gagu probably wouldn’t have completely lost his combat capability.

Tossing the still-twitching snake carcass on the ground at random, Xia Nan’s expression was calm as he drew out the compass and map from his pocket.

“Hmm…… this direction.”

As the destination grew closer and closer, the memories that originally seemed to be covered in a layer of thin mist, much like the air in the forest, also gradually became clear. His footsteps grew faster and faster.

About another two hours passed. As Xia Nan used his hand to part the dense bushes before him, an open clearing appeared in his sight. To be honest, this clearing wasn’t considered large; even including the gradually flourishing vegetation at the edges, it was only about a quarter the size of a basketball court. But placed within the Misty Forest, which was teeming with towering trees, it appeared exceptionally conspicuous.

At the center of the clearing stood a dark oak tree roughly as thick as two people wrapping their arms around it. It couldn’t be called tall, nor was it particularly majestic or stout. Judging solely from its appearance, the only feature that could distinguish it from the trees surrounding the clearing was the clusters of pale white vines hanging down from its branches.

Xia Nan’s eyes lit up. The memories from passing by a few days ago told him that these strangely colored vines would emit a glimmer like fireflies at night.

“Firefly Garlic Vines!” he thought with joy in his heart.

Yet he didn’t rush to approach. A clearing suddenly appearing in a dense forest, eerie plants emitting fluorescence, and even the potential massive profits it could bring…… Such a scene, for any adventurer with even a modicum of common sense, wouldn’t cause them to step forward rashly. Xia Nan, who was still in the state of a novice adventurer and constantly vigilant against everything around him, was even more so.

He gripped the Beheading Longsword tightly with both hands, his semi-crouched body leaning slightly forward, maintaining the posture most convenient for exerting force. With the minimum amount of noise, he spent a full ten minutes circling the edge of the clearing. Bushes, tree canopies…… until he had thoroughly checked everything once and confirmed there was no ambush did he cast his gaze back toward the oak tree in the clearing.

His expression appeared a bit hesitant.

The forest was dense with trees. Although they frequently blocked one’s line of sight, making it difficult to capture potential dangers in a timely manner, they could also serve as cover when necessary. If there were potential enemies, stepping out into the open clearing meant entirely exposing his whole body to the opponent.

After deliberating for a moment, Xia Nan finally made a decision. Continuing to stall like this was meaningless; he must take the initiative! Gritting his teeth, his right foot stepped out, and his whole person dashed forward.

Not until he neared the vines did he abruptly halt his body. He brought his longsword across horizontally, the iron-grey cold gleam flashing across the surface of the blade.

One second, two seconds, three seconds……

A gentle breeze blew past, and the branches swayed, making a rustling sound.

Having confirmed that he had just been outwitting the air, Xia Nan decisively sheathed his sword—anyway, no one else saw it, so there was nothing to be embarrassed about. Then, using the fastest speed, he yanked out his dagger and began cutting down the clusters of Firefly Garlic Vines.

Since only he knew of this location, even though he wasn’t clear on how this type of vine plant grew, he still left behind a portion of the immature branches and leaves based on the idea of sustainable harvesting.

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

“Perfect!”

Tightening the quite substantial bundle behind him, he just wanted to leave. Yet he only heard two rushed footsteps coming from the woods on the right.

“Hmm!?”
(End of Chapter)