Matthew put the dressed rabbit into his travel pack and set about resetting the trap.
He reinforced the camouflage at the pit opening, covering it with thicker branches and dense dry leaves to ensure that only prey of sufficient weight would trigger it, preventing it from being easily set off by small animals again.
Once everything was set up, he carefully inspected the surroundings to make sure everything was secure.
“This should do it.”
He looked up at the forest. Through the canopy, he could see the sky darkening as dusk approached.
Wasting no more time, he turned and retraced his footsteps, walking steadily toward the outer edge of the forest.
Snow was piled high among the trees. Matthew's steps were light yet alert, one hand holding his bow, keeping a close eye on his surroundings.
Yet, as Matthew was gradually withdrawing, deeper in the forest where the mist was much thicker, a wolf the size of a bear silently hid behind the shadows of the trees.
Its eerie green eyes stared intently at Matthew's retreating figure until he slowly vanished into the mist and the gathering twilight...
On the other side.
Matthew dashed out of the forest, only stopping once he was far from its edge.
He panted heavily, his heart hammering against his ribs like a drum, a chill of lingering fear creeping up his spine.
“Just now in the forest... that feeling of being watched was definitely not an illusion.”
Leaning against a withered tree in the snow, he took several deep breaths of the freezing air, trying to calm himself down.
“Could it be that unknown giant beast...?”
But as soon as the thought arose, Matthew dismissed it. After all, it was common sense that the larger a creature was, the harder it was to conceal its tracks.
Not to mention, how could a massive creature almost completely hide from Matthew, who practiced a meditation method?
At this thought, a wave of appreciation for his meditation method washed over him.
“If I hadn't practiced the meditation method, and if that gaze hadn't carried a faint trace of killing intent, I probably wouldn't have sensed it at all...”
“However, that gaze didn't make a move...”
He calmed down, pondering the reasons.
Perhaps it was because he had remained strictly on the outskirts of the forest and had not stepped into its territory.
Or perhaps... the creature was observing from the shadows, assessing the risks, and was not entirely confident in taking Matthew down.
“For now... it's best not to return for a while. Visiting once every two or three days would be best. It's a shame to lose such a perfect training ground, but compared to my safety, a slightly slower increase in archery proficiency is a price worth paying. I must prioritize caution.”
Once the thought took root, Matthew made his decision immediately.
While the edge of the Shadow Forest was indeed an excellent training ground for archery, a slightly slower pace of improvement was a completely acceptable trade-off compared to the unknown threat lurking in the depths of the mist—one that had almost escaped his perception.
Furthermore, the pitfall trap had been reinforced, its opening covered with thick branches and heavy leaves. Now, unless it was large prey, there was no way it would be triggered!
Besides, in this heavy snow, even if there was a catch, it wouldn't rot or smell anytime soon.
Coming back once every two or three days was definitely the smart move.
He looked back toward the Shadow Forest. In the twilight, the trees loomed dark and dense, as if harboring a silent threat.
Gripping his hunting bow, he turned and walked quickly toward his cabin.
A dense trail of footprints was left in the snow, only to be quickly covered by the fresh snowfall.
...
Just like that, the days slipped by in a cautious and orderly routine.
A month passed, and the snow season deepened. The mist on the outskirts of the Shadow Forest remained thin, and Matthew never again sensed that hidden gaze from the depths.
His schedule also maintained its usual rhythm.
Initially, Matthew had wondered if he should reduce his daily practice time for 【Melting Slash】 to free up more energy for archery.
However, since he began eating the magical beast meat he occasionally harvested from the Shadow Forest, that thought was completely discarded.
He discovered that just a single pound of magical beast meat was enough to replenish the life energy consumed by an entire day of high-intensity training.
The abundant energy contained within the magical beast meat not only drastically increased his recovery rate while practicing 【Melting Slash】, but also allowed his progress in this combat technique to far exceed his expectations.
Because of the rapid progress of 【Melting Slash】, the time he needed to dedicate to its practice each day actually began to decrease.
With the saved time, Matthew invested more effort into practicing 【Basic Archery】.
Although he could only venture into the outskirts of the forest once every two or three days, his proficiency progress was not slow in the slightest.
A few days ago, Matthew had trained his 【Basic Archery】 to the "Practiced" rank, and his physical attributes had increased quite a bit.
The only thing that troubled him was that he still had no lead on an archery combat technique.
His thoughts drifted there.
Matthew bent down to carefully inspect the snow prints and camouflage around the trap. Confirming there were no signs of tampering, he stood back up, looked at the deepening twilight in the woods, and muttered to himself:
“Looks like no big harvest again today...”
Over the past month, this pitfall trap had caught prey only twice.
Excluding the first small wild rabbit that had triggered it by accident, the only substantial catch had been a wild boar.
Still, that was normal. At least the trap had paid for itself.
Matthew had experienced direct combat with a Shadow Wolf and had since deeply understood the cunning nature of these beasts.
Therefore, he reasoned that the probability of catching a Shadow Wolf with such a simple pitfall trap was extremely low. Being able to secure some large animals was already quite a decent harvest.
He was even somewhat amazed by the intelligence of the Shadow Wolves, as if they had gained sentience!
The cold wind blew past, swirling fine snow particles against Matthew's face. The chilly sensation helped clear his cluttered thoughts.
Snapping out of his reverie, Matthew brushed the snow from his hands and began his journey back.
Although the trap had no new prey, there was at least no loss. This outcome was acceptable.
The only thing that truly worried him was not the harvest from hunting, but the progress of his training.
“It seems this archery combat technique isn't something I can comprehend just by training blindly.”
Gripping the 【Forest Shadow Hunting Bow】 in his hand, Matthew kept a watchful eye on his surroundings as he walked back, pondering in his mind.
He recalled how he had mastered 【Melting Slash】. His ability to quickly pick it up and reach the Novice rank was largely due to the system panel.
But to a great extent, it was also because he had personally witnessed Flynn and Instructor Calm perform similar sword moves. He had a clear "form" in his mind to reference and mimic.
This allowed him to copy their moves, using practice to figure out the underlying exertion techniques and energy flow.
“But archery is different...”
Matthew had never seen anyone use an advanced archery combat technique, so he could only try to comprehend it on his own, which was why his progress had slowed down.
Furthermore, bows and swords were fundamentally different.
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