Ravenwood Forest

Ronan, riding his horse and checking the newly unlocked Achievement System, was completely unaware that danger had arrived.

The Achievement System was unlocked when Ronan killed his first enemy. Any action Ronan took could trigger an achievement quest, and completing achievements would reward him with skills, specializations, titles, and a series of other rewards.

Ronan had just triggered an achievement:

Hundred Man Slayer: Kill one hundred people. 8/100. Reward: Title of Hundred Man Slayer.

Upon reaching the edge of the forest, the terrain was no longer suitable for horses. Ronan had to release the reins, unload his horse, and pat its rear to let it go.

"I hope you can live a good life."

After releasing the warhorse he had taken from the Eagle Kingdom, Ronan tidied up his equipment and supplies before entering the forest. Crossing the forest would take nearly a month, and the forest was home to many fierce beasts and tribes of other races. Ronan had been an ordinary citizen who grew up under the red flag before crossing over, and his experience in surviving in the wild was limited to documentaries and novels he had watched. Fortunately, the luggage of those Eagle Kingdom corpse collectors contained a simple tent and insect repellent incense, which would make things a little easier for Ronan.

As Ronan entered Ravenwood Forest, the Eagle Kingdom riders pursuing him also arrived at the site of their previous engagement. One of the riders dismounted to examine the bodies of the soldiers Ronan had killed, and then checked the tracks in the direction Ronan had left. After his inspection, he returned to the group and spoke to a rider beside Amuda.

"My lord, the target is very strong. Although these men were conscripted shepherds before the battle and are not professional soldiers, our country's customs are martial, and most people have some skill. I examined the bodies; the wounds are thin and not deep, not like the weapons commonly used by Gaoling people. The target is swift and mostly kills with one blow, and his archery is good."

"Hmm, I see. It seems he's a tough one. He faked his death when he couldn't win, and then killed them and left after our main force departed. But where did he get his weapons and armor? We should have taken all his weapons and decent armor when we left. Which direction did he go?" the rider mused.

"Based on my examination of the surrounding tracks, he should have gone towards Ravenwood Forest, likely intending to cross the forest and enter the heartland of Gaoling. This place is less than a day's journey from Ravenwood Forest. If we pursue him now, we should be able to catch up."

After hearing his subordinate's explanation, the rider turned to Amuda. Amuda pondered for a moment and said, "Pursue him. If we can't find him within five days of entering the forest, we'll turn back."

The rider nodded and waved to the team behind him. The person who had dismounted to inspect turned and mounted his horse again, and the entire team set off in the direction Ronan had gone.

At this time, Ronan was walking with great difficulty in the dense forest. Normally, only hunters from nearby villages would enter this forest, and they wouldn't venture too deep. Ronan had no memories of the deep forest, only hearing that it was very dangerous, inhabited by savage tribes and foreign races such as Lizardmen and Gnolls.

The forest edge was overgrown with bushes, making Ronan's progress extremely difficult. He could only hold the curved saber he had captured from the corpse collectors, hacking at the branches blocking his path as he moved forward. The branches scraped against Ronan's wooden armor, making a "rustling" sound.

As the sky darkened, Ronan finally emerged from the bush belt and entered a more spacious woodland. Trees were scattered across the land, and it was late spring, with everything thriving. There were not many fallen leaves on the ground, revealing the firm black earth.

These trees had been growing freely for thousands of years, unmolested by humans. Many of them were centuries old, with the thickest requiring nearly ten people to embrace, and the thinnest being as thick as two people hugging. Therefore, to avoid competing for nutrients, the spacing between them was large, with many open spaces between the gnarled, exposed roots.

It was already very late, and the forest at night was much more dangerous than during the day. Ronan did not dare to travel at night and found an open space surrounded by tree roots on three sides. He took out his tent, insect repellent incense, and other items from his backpack to set up camp.

He pitched the tent, sprinkled some snake repellent powder around the tent, and lit the incense inside. Then, he went outside to collect some dry branches and scattered dead leaves.

He piled the dead branches together, surrounded them with a circle of stones to form a simple campfire, and then threw the dead leaves on top as tinder. Ronan took out the fire starter he had found in the corpse collectors' luggage and lit the fire. Although it was close to summer, the forest nights were still cold, and without this fire, Ronan would likely have a difficult night.

After starting the fire, Ronan took out his dry rations and began to eat. The dry rations that the Eagle Kingdom issued to soldiers were hard, dry flatbreads made from coarse flour mixed with some wild vegetables. They tasted bland and were difficult to swallow. The rough flatbread felt like swallowing sand as it passed down his throat, causing a burning pain. Ronan had to wash it down with water to barely finish it.

The dry rations and water he obtained from the corpse collectors were not enough to sustain Ronan through the forest. Fortunately, their luggage also contained some cooking tools like pots, allowing Ronan to find his own water and food.

After finishing his dry rations, Ronan opened the system's mission panel. The missions had already refreshed.

Weekly Mission 1: Forest Calamity Kill ten wild animals. Reward: Fine Hunting Longbow, 500 experience.

Weekly Mission 2: Eliminate Pursuers Eliminate the pursuit team sent by the Eagle Kingdom. Reward: Unlock recruitment function, five Veteran Nord Archers.

Weekly Mission 3: Fearless Kill one of Ravenwood Forest's top predators: Feral Black Bear. Reward: Bear Strength Belt, 1000 experience.

System Upgrade Mission: Renowned Possess high reputation within a kingdom. Reward: System upgrade to Glory Calradia 2.0.

"Mission 1 is easy to complete, but Mission 2, the Eagle Kingdom actually sent a team to pursue me? Well, I did let the leader go earlier. That guy looked like a noble, so he must have gone back to the main force and found people to retaliate against me. I need to be careful. Although I could carefully erase my tracks so they can't find me, the rewards for this mission are really tempting. I was wondering why the system name had 'Calradia' in it but I couldn't lead troops. Turns out this is what it was waiting for.

As for the black bear, the reward of so much experience suggests it won't be easy to deal with. If I complete Mission 2 first and get the help of the Veteran Nord Archers, I should be able to complete it. As for the last one, can the system even be upgraded? However, becoming renowned in a kingdom is still a long way off for me. I'll take it slow."

After thinking for a while, drowsiness began to set in. Ronan took out a blanket from his backpack and covered himself. He slept directly in his armor, as it was safer in case wild beasts wandered into the area at night.