Coward

Now that she knew the two of them really were adventurers who had come to save her, the girl finally breathed a sigh of relief. The heart she had kept suspended for days could finally settle.

"Thank you..."

She sincerely thanked the people who had saved her life, then looked awkwardly at the two men staring at her with burning gazes. "Um... could you untie me first?"

"Yes, boss! No problem, boss!"

Lin Mo immediately stepped forward with a grin, cut through the ropes with his short knife, and helped the girl to her feet.

Having been tied up for so long, her limbs had gone numb. It took quite a while before she regained her strength.

Before leaving the camp, Lin Mo and Bern carefully inspected the area. Only after making sure they had not left behind any traces that could lead back to them did they hurriedly depart.

They were all injured now, so they had to be especially careful as they traveled. Their pace naturally slowed, and by dusk, they were still quite some distance from town.

Traveling at night was out of the question, so they could only spend the night in the forest. Everyone set up their own tents. The merchant guild owner's daughter did not have one, so she squeezed in with Miriam.

Lin Mo started a campfire with flint and took some bread from his pack.

They would not have to eat that salty, tough jerky tonight, because he had caught a rabbit on the way here.

Evan volunteered to skin and gut the rabbit, rub salt over it, skewer it on a snapped-off branch, and roast it over the campfire.

Under the bright flames, sizzling oil crackled as the aroma of fat drifted through the air, making everyone—who had not eaten anything good in days—swallow involuntarily.

The rabbit was not particularly fat, but it was fairly large. Divided among them, it still gave everyone a decent amount of meat.

While gnawing on a rabbit leg, Lin Mo checked his panel.

After the battle during the day, Stealth was now at Lv2 (7/20), while Slash had reached Lv2 (15/20)!

Killing the Blood Sea Gang captain, a quasi-professional, had added 5 proficiency points—the same as that Mutated Goblin back then.

This made Lin Mo marvel once again at the luck and courage he had had at the time.

Faced with an opponent comparable to a quasi-professional, if he had not seized the perfect opportunity to blind the enemy, then even his current self would have stood no chance.

His strength was still far too low!

Lin Mo keenly felt his own weakness. Even with two skills, he could only barely be considered above average among bottom-tier adventurers. At the end of the day, he was still a rookie who had not escaped the bottom rung.

If he wanted to survive better in this world, he still needed to improve his strength as quickly as possible.

Fortunately, with the attribute panel, not only was improving his strength far easier than it was for ordinary people, but he could also clearly see every bit of progress he made. That was highly motivating.

Slash was only 5 proficiency points away from leveling up.

Lin Mo recalled what Bern had said earlier.

Aside from when skills were first acquired, they could also grant attribute bonuses once they were used proficiently and fully mastered.

Full mastery naturally meant raising a skill to its maximum level, while proficient use likely referred to the intermediate levels.

For example, from the already maxed-out ordinary-quality skill Slacking Off, he knew that the maximum level was 5. Then for Slash, another ordinary-quality skill, the standard for proficient use was most likely level 3.

In other words, after grinding another 5 proficiency points, Lin Mo's attributes would increase once more!

"Everyone worked up quite a sweat traveling today. Remember to clean your wounds again and reapply the medicine."

After they finished eating, Bern reminded them.

Lin Mo's injuries were not serious, and he could handle them himself.

Evan was much the same, but Bern and Miriam's injuries were more troublesome.

After tending to his own wounds, Lin Mo helped Bern with his as well.

As for Miriam...

"Miriam, I'll help clean your wounds!"

Evan eagerly volunteered. From the way his eyes practically gleamed, even an idiot could tell he had ulterior motives.

"Get lost!"

Naturally, Miriam answered him with a disdainful glare.

"I... I can help..."

The merchant's daughter, who had been silent for a long time, finally spoke up.

The Yori Merchant Guild was only a small guild in Roland Town, and she was not truly some rich young lady. Naturally, she had learned basic things like treating wounds.

"Thanks."

Miriam nodded.

"It's nothing, it's nothing..."

The girl waved her hands repeatedly. After all, these adventurers had been injured trying to save her.

It was getting late. The watch order remained the same as the night before: Bern would take the first half of the night, while the younger members would split the latter half among themselves.

The exhaustion from battle, combined with the weakness from his injuries, made Lin Mo fall asleep quickly.

Of course, it was still only a light sleep, and he kept his weapon at hand... Though they had grown fairly familiar over the past two days and he did not think Bern and the others were bad people, there was always a chance. More than a hundred Gold Coins was no small amount—enough to make most bottom-tier adventurers entertain greedy thoughts of keeping it all for themselves.

As it turned out, his worries were unnecessary. The night passed peacefully once again.

Lin Mo woke before it was time for his shift. Rubbing his slightly aching eyes, he got up and looked ahead.

The campfire still burned brightly, as though someone had added wood not long ago. The crackling of the flames was endless. At the edge of the firelight, Miriam sat with her arms around her knees, while Evan crouched beside her. The two were speaking quietly.

The Ranger girl held the severed White Oak Bow in her hands, gently stroking the break in its middle.

Evan noticed her regret and comforted her. "Don't worry. We'll earn lots and lots of Gold Coins from this mission. Once we get back to town, we can buy a new one. This time, we'll buy the best one from the second floor of the Association. It'll be sturdier than this one!"

"Don't waste money."

Miriam lightly smacked him. "There's no need to use the team's funds either. We need to save that money for more important things. The Iron Thornwood Bow at Edgar's shop is perfectly fine. Once the captain hands out the reward, if you lend me a little, it should be enough..."

"Oh, okay!"

Evan nodded without hesitation.

Miriam looked into his eyes. "You agreed so readily. What if I can't pay you back?"

"If you can't pay it back..."

Evan met her gaze. Looking at the rare gentleness in her eyes, the air itself seemed to turn intimate in that moment.

Though he called it a loan, he had never intended to make Miriam repay it.

"If you can't pay it back, then... then..."

He stammered and hesitated, but in the end, he did not dare voice the bold thought in his heart.

Luckily, the campfire concealed him. Otherwise, his face would probably have been terrifyingly red.

"Coward~"

Miriam chuckled softly, the corners of her lips lifting as her voice slowly drifted away on the wind.

"Thank you."

Watching the scene from afar, Lin Mo felt both warm and a little bitter.

When would it be his turn to have a moment like that...?