Over the following days, Matthew repeated this routine: checking his traps, practicing his swordsmanship, and training with his bow in the morning, helping out at the mill in the afternoon, and sparring with Fabian in the evening.
A week later.
Standing in the faint light of early morning, Matthew drew the 【Old Wooden Shortbow】. The bowstring let out a familiar creak, but his arm was steady as a rock. His gaze followed the arrow shaft, locking firmly onto a newly carved mark on a tree trunk thirty paces away.
“Whoosh—Thwack!”
The arrow flew from the string and pinned itself precisely onto the edge of the mark, hitting the bullseye. His stability and accuracy were far superior to what they had been a week ago.
He slowly exhaled and lowered his bow, pulling up his panel to check:
【Basic Archery: Novice (96/100)】
【Basic Swordsmanship: Basic (18/200)】
【Vine Trap: Practiced (32/500)】
As for his attributes, his Strength had reached 4.8, his Constitution was at 4.9, and his Agility had risen to 4.7.
Continuous practice and sparring were making his body tougher at a visible rate.
“My archery progress is a bit faster than expected,” Matthew calculated internally. “At this rate, I might be able to break through today!”
As for his swordsmanship... Matthew could only pray for the day he would get a Green quality sword to practice with.
With those thoughts in mind, he packed up his bow and arrows, picked up his sword, and headed toward the place designated by Instructor Calm.
It was a relatively open clearing in the woods on the eastern side of the village entrance. Villagers rarely came here, making the location both secluded and convenient for observing any movement from the forest.
When Matthew arrived, he found that there were five people in total, including himself.
Instructor Calm's tall figure stood at the very front, his grey eyes calmly scanning the edge of the forest.
Behind him stood three young men, all familiar faces Matthew had seen during the village training.
Among them was Fabian. Carrying a heavy two-handed sword on his shoulder, he grinned at Matthew as a greeting when he saw him arrive.
Of the other two, one was named Reynard, who had a lean build and a one-handed sword at his waist.
The other was named Olson, a taciturn man carrying a leather-covered wooden shield on his back and a short spear, looking like he was in charge of defense.
Matthew stepped forward quickly, stopped in front of Instructor Calm, and said respectfully, “Instructor, I have arrived.”
Calm nodded slightly and said, “Everyone is here.”
“This trip to the edge of the forest is not for training, but for reconnaissance. Our goal is to confirm the range and scale of goblin activity and clear out any sporadic threats we encounter, but try to avoid going too deep or getting bogged down in prolonged fights.”
Calm said no more, turning to face the Shadow Forest. “Move out. Keep quiet and stay alert.”
...
Although it was a reconnaissance mission, the others did not seem overly tense, perhaps because they had experienced this many times before.
Fabian carried his sword with steady steps. Though his eyes scanned the surroundings alertly, there was not much tension on his face; instead, he had a calm demeanor, as if he were used to it.
He even found a moment to wink at Matthew, as if to say, “Don't worry too much.”
“Hey, Matthew.”
Perhaps Matthew's prolonged silence made Reynard think he was too nervous, so he spoke up to comfort him:
“They're just goblins. They look intimidating, but they can't even take a single strike from you.”
“As long as a massive horde doesn't swarm us, the few of us are more than enough to handle them. Instructor Calm is leading the way, so nothing will go wrong.”
“You should stay close to Olson. Once he raises his shield, you'll feel completely safe.”
The mentioned Olson did not speak. He merely turned his head, gave Matthew a look with his steady eyes, and gave a slight nod. It was his way of agreeing with Reynard's suggestion, indicating that Matthew could follow him.
Matthew smiled and accepted the gesture.
Nervous?
This was his first time entering the Shadow Forest. Even though it was currently noon, a thin mist still hung in the air.
Seeing this, Matthew's heart did beat a bit faster than usual, and his palms sweated slightly. This was a human's instinctive physiological response to the unknown and potential danger.
Yet beneath this “nervousness,” there was more of an irrepressible anticipation.
Matthew was eager to kill goblins!
Because he had a faint feeling that there were still aspects of his cheat that he had not fully explored.
For example... the Spirit attribute.
Since the panel had appeared, his Strength, Constitution, and Agility had been steadily rising, and his Perception also seemed to have enhanced with training and alertness.
Only his 【Spirit】 attribute had remained completely unmoved from its initial 6 points, always standing by like a silent spectator.
Since there was a sword technique like 【Spin Slash】, did this world truly have...
Magic?
Wizards?
Bards had visited the village before, speaking of a fantasy world beyond, filled with spells, wizards, and all kinds of incredible extraordinary power.
Those stories had once left the village youth spellbound, but most of them treated them as nothing more than distant, unreachable legends.
Of course, all of this was still mere speculation.
A borderland like Stone Mill Village could barely produce a decent archer, let alone a legendary mage.
At that moment, Instructor Calm, who was walking at the very front of the group, suddenly came to a halt.
He raised his single arm and made a fist, signaling the team to stop advancing.
The surroundings instantly fell dead silent, save for the faint rustling of the wind blowing through the bushes and leaves.
Instructor Calm did not turn around. His gaze was fixed on a spot on the ground where decaying leaves had piled up.
On the ground, a clear set of footprints bearing some kind of strange claw marks was starkly revealed.
The footprints were smaller than an adult's foot and had an odd shape... and there was more than one. They were chaotic, clearly left behind by a small group of creatures.
They were indeed goblin footprints!
Reynard was the most impatient. His tone carried a hint of urgency and joy: “Goblins?!”
“A small pack. The tracks are very fresh; they were active nearby. Their numbers are around fifteen to twenty.”
Instructor Calm briefly explained the situation.
This meant that the group would only need to deal with about four of them each.
“Prepare for battle,” Calm said after a brief moment of thought.
Everyone immediately adjusted their stances and drew their weapons, the atmosphere instantly turning grim and solemn.
They slipped deeper into the forest, following the messy trail of footprints.
Matthew took a deep breath and immediately followed.
He had no reason to refuse. Although this was the outer edge of the forest, the risk of acting alone was far higher than that of teamwork, especially after discovering traces of goblin activity.
Moreover, since he had agreed to participate in the patrol, he naturally had to shoulder this responsibility. Fleeing before a battle and abandoning his teammates was something Matthew knew he could never bring himself to do.
Besides, his heart was also filled with doubt.
He clearly remembered Reynard's joyful look just now.
Although goblins were the lowest class of monsters, they were still dangerous creatures that could harm and kill people. While finding their tracks was a success for a reconnaissance mission, showing a joyful expression right before an impending battle was somewhat abnormal.
There had to be some information that Matthew did not know about.
Rate on N.U.
