During the first few days after setting the traps, he had checked them every day. Several times, he found signs that they had been triggered, but they were completely empty.
Clearly, prey had taken the bait but managed to break free and escape before he arrived.
“Back then, my 【Vine Trap】 skill was only at the ‘Novice’ stage. The slipknot wasn't delicate enough, and the vine's durability and camouflage were far inferior to what they are now.”
But that was half a month ago. Matthew's proficiency with the Vine Trap had now reached “Practiced,” allowing him to bring home a wild rabbit every day.
However, if Matthew wanted to take his 【Vine Trap】 a step further, it would likely take some time.
With a thought, a panel appeared before his eyes:
【Name: Matthew
Age: 15
Strength: 4.4, Agility: 4.3, Constitution: 4.4, Perception: 5, Spirit: 6
Equipment: Worn Standard One-Handed Sword (Bound)
Skills: Basic Swordsmanship: Basic (5/200), Vine Trap: Practiced (31/500)】
Half a month quietly slipped away amidst the daily grind of millwork, village training, and setting traps.
Matthew could clearly feel the changes in his body. It was not just an increase in the numbers on his panel, but a tangible growth in strength and endurance reflected in every muscle, every breath, and every sword swing.
His Strength and Constitution had increased from their initial value of 3 to 4. Matthew had been quite surprised by such a massive increase at the time.
After all, the average value for a normal adult male was only 5.0.
These changes were not only due to his nightly training, but were also heavily related to 【Basic Swordsmanship】 breaking through to the Basic rank.
“Going from Novice to Basic granted me a whole point in my attributes out of thin air.”
“And this is only the ‘Basic’ rank... If I can raise 【Basic Swordsmanship】 to the ‘Practiced’ level or even higher, the attribute boost it brings will probably be even greater.”
He clenched his fist, feeling the strength surging in his palm, which was far more abundant than it had been half a month ago.
“As for my Agility reaching 4.4...” Matthew's gaze fell on his Agility attribute. “Most of the credit goes to 【Vine Trap】.”
From Mastered, Novice, Basic, and now to “Practiced,” every breakthrough in skill level was accompanied by a small but steady increase in his Agility attribute.
Matthew skillfully snapped the wild rabbit's neck and placed it into his old cloth bag. He stood up, patted the dust off his hands, and cast his gaze toward other directions along the edge of the forest.
There were still a few more traps to check. Although today's early success had already put him in a good mood, having more harvest was always a good thing, especially driven by the dual demands of food and attribute growth.
He quickened his pace.
The second trap's camouflage was perfectly intact, with no signs of being triggered.
The third was equally quiet.
The fourth...
It wasn't until the sixth trap that Matthew harvested another wild rabbit. Smiling with satisfaction, he snapped its neck and tucked it away.
“Two wild rabbits in one day. What a bountiful harvest!”
Arriving at the next trap location, Matthew paused, his brow furrowing slightly.
The vine trap in front of him showed signs of violent struggle.
A large portion of the surrounding camouflage had been torn away, two of the low shrub branches securing the vine had been snapped, and there were clear drag and struggle marks on the ground. As for that carefully woven slipknot...
It had snapped completely.
“This is definitely not the strength of a wild rabbit,” Matthew immediately concluded upon seeing this. “The children in the village wouldn't come here, let alone ruin a trap set by someone else.”
He squatted down, his eyes scanning the area around the ruined trap.
His gaze searched carefully, and finally, on a small patch of soft soil about two paces away from the trap, he locked onto a clear footprint.
The footprint was a size smaller than an adult's sole, roughly the size of his palm, but its shape was exceptionally bizarre...
“This is definitely not a human footprint.”
Matthew's heart sank.
The shape and characteristics of this footprint were identical to the marks left by those green-skinned monsters he remembered seeing killed and displayed at the village entrance by Instructor Calm!
“Goblins...”
Although they were only the lowest-tier monsters, their presence alone meant danger.
They traveled in packs, cunning and cruel. They would destroy villages, pillage food, and even abduct isolated villagers.
Matthew quickly stood up and scanned his surroundings. The edge of the forest in the early morning remained quiet, with only the rustling of the wind blowing through the shrubs.
“I can't check any more traps. I need to go back immediately,” he decided on the spot.
Although there were still a few traps unchecked, safety came first.
With his current weapon and skills, he could easily slaughter a lone goblin, but no one knew if its companions were nearby.
Reporting this to Instructor Calm was the best choice.
Matthew tightly tied the cloth bag containing the two wild rabbits, picked up his short sword, and took one last look at the ruined trap and the goblin footprint on the ground, committing the details to memory.
He did not linger. Turning toward Stone Mill Village, he left the buffer zone cautiously and swiftly, moving much faster than when he had arrived.
Back at home.
Matthew carefully put away the cloth bag containing the two wild rabbits, took out a pouch from his shirt, retrieved a piece of dried meat, and began to chew on it slowly.
The coarse yet chewy dried meat softened in his mouth, bringing a hint of saltiness and precious protein, which slowly restored the stamina he had expended while running.
As the food entered his stomach, his thoughts became much clearer.
Sitting on his straw bed, he began to calmly analyze his discovery.
“First of all, having goblins appear in that area is indeed rare, but it doesn't pose too much of a threat.”
For one, the location was close to the village. For another, goblins did not possess high intelligence and wouldn't patiently wait in ambush for him.
Therefore, there was no need to abandon that hunting spot just yet.
After all, bringing in one wild rabbit a day was already a luxury, and Matthew was willing to take some risks for it!
With his current attributes, his proficiency in 【Basic Swordsmanship: Basic】, and the white-quality one-handed sword in his hand, he was confident he could escape safely even if he encountered a few goblins.
At this thought, Matthew felt a faint surge of excitement...
However, the real trouble lay in the hidden crisis...
Goblins were social creatures. While there was a chance of a lone wanderer, the appearance of one usually meant a small tribe was nearby, or at least other companions were active in the area.
With these thoughts, Matthew decided to report it to Instructor Calm tonight and let the taller folks deal with the trouble.
As for him, he had more important things to do right now...
Namely, processing the rabbits and practicing his swordsmanship.
Rate on N.U.
