Chapter 6: Bugbear

Xia Nan carefully examined his attribute panel.

Compared to the pleasant surprise of having his attributes quantified, the specific numbers themselves were nothing extraordinary.

All his six attributes were at “5,” which was likely just the level of an average human.

The panel itself was incredibly bare, resembling something from an unfinished third-rate game, leaving little to be discerned.

The only element worth noting was the lone entry in his skill column:

Whirlwind Slash Lv4 (99/100)

“Just 1 point away from leveling up?”

Xia Nan murmured to himself.

Though he knew he could not rush it, being a single point of experience away from reaching level 5 still left his heart itching with anticipation. He was eager to find out what kind of benefits this level increase would bring him.

His mind replayed the moment his proficiency had increased during the recent fight.

“I wonder if using skills in actual combat provides a bonus effect compared to regular practice.”

Having transmigrated into this world only recently, he was a complete novice adventurer, possessing only a single skill inherited from the original owner of this body.

With only a few lines on his attribute panel, no matter how much he stared, he could not make anything more out of it.

Xia Nan glanced at it a few more times, then composed his mind, returning his focus to his duty of keeping watch.

…

The next day.

Just as the sky was beginning to brighten, the bottom-of-the-barrel party finished packing their various bags and supplies, leaving the campsite.

In the early morning, the visibility within the Misty Forest was barely any better than at night.

The thick mist permeating the air, combined with the dense vegetation that all looked completely identical to Xia Nan, made it impossible for an ordinary person to recognize a path.

After walking for half the day, he even developed an illusion that they had been walking in circles.

Yet the two men in front maintained a thoroughly confident stance, as if they possessed a mini-map inside their heads.

Xia Nan said nothing, merely following closely behind like a little tail.

Whenever the two stopped their steps, he would stand still; whenever the two lowered their voices, he would also follow suit and act stealthily.

As for why bottom-tier adventurers like the bottom-of-the-barrel party could stroll through the Misty Forest as if walking in their own backyard, and even pin down the vague direction of a goblin nest within such complex terrain.

Xia Nan had a few vague guesses.

On one hand, it must be their past experience as veterans, allowing Maji and the other to distinguish directions based on certain forest details unknown to him.

On the other hand, judging by the way this exiled hunter would occasionally halt his pace and crouch down close to the ground, twitching his nose like a hound.

He likely also mastered some kind of class-specific preliminary skill similar to Whirlwind Slash.

But just as Gagu and Maji had not mentioned the skill he had displayed after the battle ended, acting as though they had not seen it, Xia Nan likewise did not ask any questions about this.

He simply noted in his mind that when meeting other adventurers in the future, he should avoid touching upon such subjects and keep his mouth shut to prevent unnecessary disputes.

After trekking through the forest for roughly another three hours, a small earthen mound came into their view.

In the center of the mound was a dirt and stone cave clearly excavated by creatures, and the entrance bore a large amount of tracks from biological activity.

A faint stench could be smelled in the air.

“We’re here!”

Maji said in a lowered voice, unable to suppress the surge of excitement on his face.

“What’s the plan, do we go straight in?”

Gagu held his iron axe with both hands, his pupils slightly bloodshot, clearly fully prepared for battle.

“This kind of cave shouldn’t have any escape routes.” Maji carefully scrutinized the small mound ahead and hesitated for a moment before saying, “We can go straight in.”

“In a moment, you take the front line, Xia Nan stays in the middle, and I’ll cover the rear.” He weighed the longbow in his hand. “Everyone be careful, do not grow careless!”

Hearing this, Xia Nan, who was about to follow the team into the cave, could not help but voice the doubt in his heart:

“The size of this cave entrance is large enough for two adults to walk side-by-side standing upright, isn’t it?”

“Is digging such a massive entrance a habit of goblins?”

“Uh…”

This question seemed to catch Maji behind him off guard. His voice paused, and he said nothing for a long while.

“The main force has already been dealt with, why do you care so much?!”

With the goblin treasure right before his eyes, Gagu’s tone sounded exceptionally impatient.

“If you’re scared, beat it! When the time comes, there won’t be a share of the loot in the cave for you!”

Amidst these words, their paces did not stop, and they had already stepped into the cave.

“Damn it!” Xia Nan cursed inwardly, glancing at the scale of the surrounding cave, suddenly feeling a sense of foreboding.

“These two bastards have me sandwiched from front to back.”

“If I back out now, I’m afraid I’ll be the first one to suffer.”

At this point, he could only follow the two all the way to the end.

In truth, it was merely because Xia Nan had not been in this world for long and lacked deep understanding of the adventurer profession.

Had he interacted with it for just a few more days, he would have understood.

The reason bottom-tier adventurers were labeled as “bottom-tier” was partly due to their inadequate strength, but on the other hand, it was also because of their ill-timed courage, their “just right” cowardice, their consciences that could be blinded by a few sacks of gold coins, and their brains manipulated by greed.

Frequently replaced teammates, still wearing tattered equipment after adventuring for many years, a squad consisting entirely of the bottom of the barrel, and allowing a pure newcomer like Xia Nan to join the team so casually…

Based on these signs alone, one could actually discern a few clues.

But considering these things now was far too late.

All Xia Nan could do was tighten his grip on his longsword and remain thoroughly vigilant of everything around him.

The cave was not deep, and it very quickly showed signs of reaching the end.

“Grumble…”

Accompanied by a faint glint of fire, a peculiar sound traveled from the corner ahead.

Unable to contain the excited emotions in his heart any longer, Gagu, who was walking at the very front of the team, expanded his muscles as both his eyes turned bloodshot.

Roar—

Uttering a wild roar that completely lacked discipline, he charged forward with his two-handed axe held high.

Subsequently,

Like a stray dog having its neck choked,

The roaring stopped abruptly.

Though Xia Nan was startled by Gagu’s voice, his feet were not slow either, and he followed tightly behind.

Consequently, in the next second, he also witnessed the scene that had struck Gagu speechless.

As mentioned previously, although goblins possessed a unique reproductive system distinct from other creatures, as a single-sex species, if they had the opportunity to abduct the opposite sex of other races, they did not mind returning to primitive ways, inflicting their tyrannical, bestial nature upon those poor souls.

And humans, being sentient beings distributed more widely across the multiverse than goblins, possessed a level of high-end combat strength that could be described as exaggerated, but the number of their ordinary individuals was likewise the highest among all races.

This massive base number meant that among those groups abducted by goblins for the purpose of reproduction and abuse, most of the victims belonged to the human race, particularly females whose individual strength was relatively frail.

And these naturally base bastards would certainly not hold any funerals for them.

Goblins, who spent the entire year hovering around the borderline of survival, would naturally prioritize filling their stomachs when facing those poor women.

Thus, resulted the scene that Xia Nan now witnessed.

Predictably, this sight would bring a explosive shock to Xia Nan, an ordinary person from modern society.

Even after becoming a veteran adventurer in the future, this would remain deeply etched in his memory.

Of course, what could cause a half-orc like Gagu, who had grown up living a primitive life, to lose his capacity for speech out of sheer terror was certainly not this kind of scene that they were already long accustomed to.

Instead, it was the burly figure sitting in the deepest part of the cave, concealed behind the shadows.

From behind, came Maji’s terrified, panic-stricken shriek that sounded like the crowing of a rooster:

“A bugbear!”

(End of Chapter)