The next day.
Rustle—
Rustle—Rustle—
The sound of leaves rubbing together, stirred by the morning breeze, echoed and surged above the jungle.
Nolan rested his legs on a thick branch, leaned against the trunk, opened his eyes, and took out his pocket watch.
"Eight oh-seven. I wonder if the time in this world is exactly the same as in my previous life." Nolan closed the pocket watch, looked up, and gazed at the forest, which was still shrouded in a dim atmosphere.
Even though the sun had long since risen, little sunlight managed to penetrate due to the dense canopy.
However, visibility was much clearer compared to the night.
Nolan had been awake for a while—more accurately, he had been half-asleep all night, perhaps due to the physical enhancement brought by his level.
Although he hadn't slept for long the entire night, he felt neither drowsy nor fatigued.
If the visibility in the jungle hadn't been so poor, Nolan would have started moving much earlier.
Whoosh!
Nolan, sitting on the thick branch, leaned his shoulder, and his body immediately dropped from the tree.
Just before hitting the ground.
Thud!
Nolan adjusted his posture and landed steadily on his feet.
"Time to move."
Nolan held the Iron Sword in his hand, his gaze calm as he spoke softly.
Having fully entered the territory of the Trolls.
The number of Goblin encountered in the jungle gradually increased. At the same time, a large number of Goblin were converted into Nolan's experience points.
One day!
Two days!
...Four days!
Over the course of several consecutive days, hundreds of Goblin were turned into Nolan's experience, along with some wild beasts and ordinary Magical Creatures.
The level of the "Sword Saint" increased once again, reaching Level 9!
The number of Goblin killed seemed quite high, but in reality, it wasn't much. The entire Tob Forest is exceptionally vast, and a hundred Goblin are only a tiny fraction of the many Goblin residing within the Trolls' territory.
Moreover, these Goblin killed were only those Nolan encountered normally in the jungle, averaging only twenty Goblin per day.
Therefore, it was not much at all.
Furthermore.
Nolan discovered that not all Goblin lived in tribes; many gathered in small groups of a few individuals to live and hunt.
It wasn't that Nolan wasn't trying to kill more Goblin.
Rather, the constraints of the jungle environment were too significant, especially the thirteen hours each day when the forest was in complete darkness.
This was quite unfriendly to Nolan, who was human. Although Goblin are weak, they possess the innate racial ability of "Night Vision."
Nighttime was simply unsuitable for hunting.
Furthermore, the dense jungle posed some obstruction to Nolan's movements, severely limiting the distance he could cover daily and further restricting his mobility.
In the time that followed.
Nolan's daily routine became monotonous: he was either killing Goblin or on his way to kill Goblin.
If he was lucky, he would encounter an Ogre.
Because wherever Ogres exist, there are inevitably Goblin settlements nearby.
As time passed.
Nolan himself didn't realize that the large increase in dead Goblin caused a faint, bloody stench to begin permeating the outer area of the forest.
The smell gradually emanated from the rotting bodies of numerous untreated Goblin.
This did not attract the wild beasts in the jungle; instead, many beasts began fearfully fleeing the outer area, migrating toward the central region of the jungle.
The beasts were beginning to realize that a terrifying monster had appeared in the outer parts of the forest!
4th Year Before the New Calendar.
Lower Wind Moon, June 11th.
Ten days have passed since entering the Tob Forest on the 2nd.
In a small Goblin settlement.
"Waaah!!"
"Waaah—"
"..."
The Goblin' desperate screams and wails rang out densely.
Nolan expressionlessly swung the Iron Sword in his hand, the sword light continuously flashing through the air.
Whether due to the sheer number of Goblin killed or the leveling up of "Sword Saint," Nolan's sword skills became increasingly proficient.
With a lift of his foot and a kick.
The heavy force directly sent a Goblin flying, where it crashed into several other Goblin attempting to escape in the distance.
Nolan pushed off the ground, covered the distance in a few steps, and with a flick of his blade.
Several Goblin heads flew into the air and dropped to the ground.
Moments later.
All the Goblin were dealt with. Nolan followed his usual routine, cutting off their ears, putting them in his pouch, and storing them inside the Item Box.
Glug~
Glug~
Nolan picked up the waterskin from his waist, took several large gulps, and finally exhaled.
Immediately after.
Ignoring the corpses on the ground and the bloody smell permeating the air, Nolan took out a piece of cooked wild boar meat and began chewing large bites.
"This small Goblin settlement didn't have an Ogre? What a pity."
Nolan's cheeks were puffed out as he chewed, thinking silently.
The surrounding Goblin corpses didn't affect his meal at all; after all, he had grown somewhat accustomed to jungle life during this period.
Thinking this.
Nolan simply squatted down on the ground, placed the Iron Sword aside, and used one hand to hold the waterskin and the other to bite the wild boar meat, replenishing his stamina and resting.
The wild boar caught a few days ago was cooked directly by Nolan using the Heat Up magic, sliced, and stored in the Item Box. He could just take it out and eat it whenever he wanted.
At this moment.
From a distance, Nolan looked almost like a savage.
His sturdy hemp clothes were somewhat ragged, covered everywhere with leaves and traces of branches from the bushes.
His originally short black hair had grown much longer and looked messy.
This was actually the fifth set of clothes Nolan had changed into; the previous ones were even more tattered than the current set.
If he hadn't mastered the magic "Odorless," Nolan's entire body would likely be emitting a sour smell right now.
However.
Through the ragged clothes, it was clearly visible that Nolan's exposed skin had, without him realizing it, developed a sense of sturdiness and muscle definition.
"Status Panel."
Nolan silently recited this in his mind.
[Status Sheet]
Player: Nolan
Justice Value: 35 [Neutral]
HP: 113 (8%) MP: 13 (1%)
Physical Attack: 113 (8%)
Physical Defense: 13 (1%)
Agility: 113 (8%)
Magic Attack: 13 (1%)
Magic Defense: 13 (1%)
Overall Resistance: 0 (0%)
Speciality: 0 (0%)
Total: 28%
...[Ability Sheet]
Innate Ability: [Player]
Overall Level: 11Lv
EXP Slot: 1721/5000
Classes:
Basic Class: Genius 1Lv (Warrior...)
Intermediate Class: Sword Saint 10Lv
Skill Points: 19
Passive Skills: Item Box, Slash Enhancement (10%)
Active Skills:
Warrior: Instant Reflexes, Quadruple Light Slash, Quick Slash, Stealth
Magic: Papermaking Art (Tier 1), Heat Up (Tier 1), Minor Healing (Tier 1), Magic Arrow (Tier 1), Odorless (Tier 1)
Class Skills: Pharmacy, Alchemy