Ravenwood Forest

Ronan rode onward while checking the newly unlocked Achievement System, completely unaware that danger had already arrived.

The Achievement System had been unlocked when Ronan killed an enemy for the first time. Anything Ronan did could potentially trigger an achievement quest, and completing achievements would grant him skills, specialties, titles, and a series of other rewards.

Ronan had now triggered an achievement:

Hundred Man Slayer: Kill one hundred people, 8/100. Reward: Hundred Man Slayer title.

Upon reaching the edge of the forest, the terrain inside was no longer suitable for horses. Ronan could only loosen the reins, remove the gear from the horse's back, pat its rump, and let it leave.

"I hope you live a good life."

After releasing the warhorse he had taken from the Eagle Kingdom, Ronan sorted out his equipment and supplies before entering the forest. Crossing it would take nearly a month, and it contained plenty of ferocious beasts and nonhuman tribes. Before transmigrating, Ronan had merely been an ordinary law-abiding citizen raised under the red flag. His survival knowledge came solely from documentaries and novels he had seen. Fortunately, the baggage of those Eagle corpse-collection squad members contained a simple tent and mosquito-repelling incense, which would make things a little easier for Ronan.

As Ronan entered Ravenwood Forest, the Eagle riders pursuing him also arrived at the site of the previous battle. One cavalryman dismounted to inspect the corpses of the soldiers Ronan had killed, then examined the traces leading in the direction Ronan had left. Once he finished, he returned to the group and said to a rider beside Amuda:

"My lord, the target is very capable. Although these men were herdsmen conscripted before the war rather than professional soldiers, our people value martial skill, and most have some ability. I examined the bodies. The wounds are narrow and shallow, unlike the weapons commonly used by the Highlanders. The target struck quickly, with most blows being fatal, and he is also a decent archer."

"Mm, I understand. He seems to be a tough one. He feigned death when he saw he could not win, then sprang up to kill people after our main force had left. But where did his weapons and armor come from? When we left, we should have taken all the weapons and any decent armor with us. Which direction did he go?" the rider asked after pondering for a moment.

"After examining the traces nearby, he appears to have headed for Ravenwood Forest. He is likely planning to cross the forest and enter the Highland heartland. It is less than a day's journey from here to Ravenwood Forest. If we pursue now, we should be able to catch up."

After hearing his subordinate's explanation, the rider turned to Amuda. Amuda thought for a moment and said, "Pursue him. If we cannot find him within five days of entering the forest, we return."

The rider nodded at that, waved to the group behind him, and the man who had dismounted to investigate swung back into the saddle. The entire group once again moved in the direction Ronan had gone.

At that moment, Ronan was struggling through the dense forest. Usually, only hunters from nearby villages entered this forest, and they never ventured too deeply. Ronan's memories held no knowledge of the depths either. He had only heard that the deep forest was extremely dangerous, inhabited by Savages tribes and nonhuman races such as lizardmen and Gnolls.

The forest's edge was thick with shrubs, making Ronan's progress exceptionally difficult. He could only wield the curved sword seized from the corpse-collection squad, hacking through the branches blocking his way as he pushed deeper inside. The branches scraped against Ronan's wooden armor with rustling sounds.

As the sky darkened, Ronan finally emerged from the thicket and entered a relatively open woodland. Trees stood scattered across the earth. It was late spring, and all things flourished. There were not many fallen leaves on the ground, exposing the firm black soil beneath.

No one had felled the trees here, and they had grown freely for thousands of years. Many were several centuries old. The thickest would likely require nearly ten people to encircle them, while even the thinnest were as wide as two people embracing them. To avoid competing for nutrients, they stood far apart, leaving plenty of open ground between the massive exposed roots that twisted together.

It was already quite late. The forest was far more dangerous at night than during the day, and Ronan did not dare travel through it after dark. He found an open patch surrounded by tree roots on three sides, then took out his tent, insect-repelling incense, and other supplies from his backpack to set up camp.

He pitched the tent, scattered snake-repelling powder around it, and lit the incense inside. Then he went outside to gather dry branches and scattered dead leaves.

He piled the dry branches together, surrounded them with a circle of stones to make a simple campfire, then threw the dead leaves on top as kindling. Ronan took out a fire starter he had found in the corpse-collection squad's baggage and lit the fire. Though summer was near, the forest nights were still cold. Without this fire, Ronan would likely have had a hard time through the night.

Once the fire was going, Ronan took out his rations and began eating. The rations issued to Eagle Kingdom soldiers were hard, dry flatbreads made from coarse flour mixed with wild vegetables and the like. They had little taste and were difficult to swallow. After chewing, the rough bread scraped his throat like sand as it passed down his esophagus. Ronan could only barely finish it by washing it down with water.

The food and water he had obtained from the corpse-collection squad were not enough to support Ronan through the forest. Fortunately, their baggage also contained cooking tools such as pots, so Ronan could search for water and food himself.

After finishing his rations, Ronan opened the system's quest panel. The quests had refreshed.

Weekly Quest One: Forest Calamity

Kill ten wild animals.

Reward: Fine Hunting Longbow, 500 experience.

Weekly Quest Two: Eliminate Pursuers

Eliminate the pursuit party dispatched by the Eagle Kingdom.

Reward: Unlock recruitment function, five Veteran Nord Archers.

Weekly Quest Three: Fearless

Kill one of Ravenwood Forest's apex predators: a dire black bear.

Reward: Bear Strength Belt, 1,000 experience.

System Upgrade Quest: Renowned Far and Wide

Gain considerable renown within a nation.

Reward: Upgrade the system to Glory of the Saber 2.0.

"Quest One will be easy enough, but Quest Two... the Eagle Kingdom actually sent a team after me? Makes sense. I let that leader go before. He looked like a noble, so he probably ran back to the main force and found people to take revenge on me. I need to be more careful. I could erase my tracks so they cannot find me, but the reward for this quest is really tempting. I had wondered why the system had 'Saber' in its name but could not let me command troops. So this is what it was waiting for.

"As for the black bear, the experience reward is so high that it is probably not easy to deal with. If I complete Quest Two first and have Veteran Nord Archers helping me, I should be able to finish it. As for the last one, the system can even be upgraded? Still, becoming famous throughout a nation is far beyond me for now. I'll take it slowly."

After thinking for a while, sleepiness gradually washed over him. Ronan took out a blanket from his backpack, covered himself with it, and went straight to sleep in his armor. He did not know whether wild beasts might come here during the night, so sleeping in armor was safer.