Bear Goblin

Xia Nan carefully examined his Attribute Panel.

Compared to the surprise of having his own attributes quantified, there was nothing particularly remarkable about the individual values.

All six dimensions were "5," presumably around the level of an ordinary person.

The Attribute Panel itself was also extremely bare-bones, like something from an unfinished third-rate game. There was nothing to make of it.

The only thing worth mentioning was the lone entry in his skill bar:

[Whirlwind Slash] Level 4 (99/100)

"Just one more point before it levels up?"

Xia Nan muttered to himself.

Though he knew there was no point rushing, he was only one experience point away from Level 5.

His heart itched with anticipation, and he desperately wanted to know what benefits this level-up would bring him.

He recalled when his proficiency had increased earlier.

"I wonder whether using the move in battle gives more than ordinary training."

He had only arrived in this world not long ago. He was a novice adventurer, and the only skill he had was the one inherited from the original owner of this body.

There were only a few lines on the Attribute Panel. No matter how much he stared, he could not glean anything more from it.

After another glance, Xia Nan steadied himself and returned to his night-watch duties.

The next day.

At first light, the Stinky Fish Rotten Shrimp squad packed up their supplies and left camp.

The Thin Mist Forest was no more visible in the early morning than it had been at night.

With the dense fog filling the air and the lush vegetation that all looked the same to Xia Nan, ordinary people would never have been able to make out the path.

After walking for half a day, he even felt as if they had been circling the same spot.

Yet the two men in front looked completely certain of their route, as if they had a little map in their heads.

Xia Nan said nothing and merely followed them closely like a little tail.

Whenever they stopped, he stopped as well;

whenever they lowered their voices, he too began sneaking around.

As for why bottom-tier adventurers like the Stinky Fish Rotten Shrimp squad could stroll through the Thin Mist Forest as though it were their own backyard, even pinpointing the rough direction of a Goblin Nest amid such complicated terrain—

Xia Nan had a vague guess.

On one hand, Maji and the others' past experience as veterans likely allowed them to identify directions through details in the forest that he did not know about.

On the other hand, judging by how this Hunter who had left his homeland would occasionally stop, bend down like a hound, and twitch his nostrils against the ground—

he likely possessed some profession-specific prerequisite skill similar to [Whirlwind Slash].

But just as Ga Gu and Maji had not mentioned the skill Xia Nan used after the battle, as though they had never seen it—

Xia Nan did not ask about it.

He simply made a mental note to avoid discussing such matters around other adventurers in the future, lest he stir up unnecessary disputes.

After roughly another three hours of moving through the forest, a small earthen slope came into view.

At its center was a mud-and-stone cave clearly dug by living creatures, with abundant traces of activity around its entrance.

A faint stench lingered in the air.

"We're here!"

Maji's face was unable to conceal his excitement as he lowered his voice.

"What do you think? We going straight in?"

Ga Gu held his Iron Axe in both hands, his pupils faintly reddened. He was clearly ready to fight.

"A cave like this probably doesn't have another exit." Maji carefully inspected the slope ahead, hesitating for a moment before saying, "We can go in directly."

"You take the front, Xia Nan stays in the middle, and I'll bring up the rear." He weighed the Longbow in his hand. "Stay sharp. Don't let your guard down!"

Hearing that, Xia Nan, who was about to follow the team into the cave, could not help voicing his doubt.

"This entrance is big enough for two grown adults to walk through side by side without ducking, right?"

"Is digging such a huge entrance a Goblin habit?"

"Uh..."

The question seemed to stump Maji behind him. His voice faltered, and he said nothing for a long while.

"The main force has already been dealt with, so why do you care so much!?"

With the Goblin treasure practically in sight, Ga Gu sounded especially impatient.

"If you're scared, get lost! You won't get a share of the loot in there!"

Even as they spoke, they did not stop walking and had already entered the cave.

"Fuck!" Xia Nan cursed inwardly. Taking in the scale of the cave around him, he immediately felt something was wrong. Those two bastards have boxed me in from both sides.

If I try to back out now, I'll probably be the first one to get screwed.

At this point, he could only follow the two men to the bitter end.

Really, Xia Nan had only been in this world for a short time and did not understand the adventurer trade very well.

If he had spent a few more days around them, he would have understood.

The reason bottom-tier adventurers were called "bottom-tier" was partly because of their lack of strength. But on the other hand, it was also because of their poorly timed courage, their perfectly convenient cowardice, consciences that could be blinded by a few bags of Gold Coins—

and minds ruled by greed.

Frequently changing teammates, adventuring for years while still wearing tattered equipment, a team full of Stinky Fish Rotten Shrimp that would casually let a complete novice like Xia Nan join them...

Those signs alone should have revealed a few clues.

But it was already too late to consider such things.

All Xia Nan could do was grip his Longsword tightly and remain alert to everything around him.

The cave was not deep, and it soon seemed as though they were nearing its end.

"Gurururu..."

Along with the faint glow of firelight, a strange sound came from around the corner ahead.

Unable to restrain his excitement any longer, Ga Gu, walking at the front of the group, had his muscles swell and his eyes turn red.

Roar—

With a wildly undisciplined bellow, he raised his Hand Axe and charged forward.

Then—

like a wild dog whose throat had been seized—

his roar came to an abrupt stop.

Although Ga Gu's shout startled Xia Nan, his feet were not slow, and he followed right behind.

Thus, a moment later, he too saw the sight that had rendered Ga Gu speechless.

As mentioned earlier, Goblins were a single-sex species and needed the opposite sex of other races to reproduce.

Humans, as intelligent beings spread even more widely across the multiverse than Goblins, possessed an astonishing number of high-level fighters. Yet their ordinary population was also the largest among all races.

Therefore, most of those taken by Goblins for breeding were human women.

And due to the frail Constitution of ordinary humans, most of these women lost their lives before bearing a second child, owing to the Goblins' brutal and inhumane breeding methods, the harsh environment, and numerous other causes.

Naturally, those vile mongrels would not hold funerals for them.

Goblins, who lived year-round on the edge of hunger, would naturally choose to fill their stomachs first when faced with those pitiful women.

And so, Xia Nan saw what lay before him.

It was easy to imagine the explosive shock this sight would bring to Xia Nan, an ordinary person from modern society.

Even after becoming a veteran adventurer in the future, it would remain deeply carved into his memory.

Of course, what had robbed a Half-Orc like Ga Gu—who had grown up eating raw meat and drinking blood—of his ability to speak in terror would not be such a familiar sight.

It was the burly figure seated at the deepest part of the cave, hidden behind the shadows.

Behind him came Maji's terrified shriek, shrill as a rooster's crow:

"Bear Goblin!!!"