"Damn it! Beast! Bastard!"
The young nobleman gritted his teeth and endured the pain wracking his entire body as he staggered forward with one hand braced against a tree trunk.
Blood kept seeping from his wounds, making his consciousness grow hazy, but his anger supported him and drove him onward.
"How did so many monsters suddenly appear near the manor? Were all those guards sleeping?"
He cursed under his breath, his voice trembling from the pain.
"When I get back... No, wait."
Darko shook his heavy head, desperately trying to stay conscious.
"I have to get them to rescue Roland first before settling the score with them!"
Dragging his heavy feet, he finally reached the edge of the forest.
Just as he was about to call for help, he suddenly caught a strange smell mixed with roasted meat and blood.
After the life-and-death battle he had just endured, Darko instinctively became alert.
He fought off his dizziness, lowered his body, and cautiously peered outside.
The two guards left behind had already collapsed in pools of blood. Their bodies were covered in savage wounds, and they had clearly been dead for some time.
Several fine horses had suffered the same fate, their bellies slit open.
A group of goblins was carving up the horsemeat with rusty knives and roasting it over a bonfire, producing a nauseating, charred stench.
"Damn it."
Darko held his breath and warily scanned his surroundings. His already pale face lost what little color remained.
With trembling fingers, he used the cover of the bushes to count the figures in the distance.
"One, two, three... More than a hundred goblins!"
Cold sweat trickled down his temples.
"How did these beasts suddenly appear here? When we came, there clearly..."
He saw several groups of goblins patrolling the outskirts, their rust-covered weapons gleaming coldly in the sunlight.
Darko endured the dizziness and inched backward until the nauseating smell of roasted meat finally faded from the air. Only then did he slump against an oak tree and slide down to sit.
"Hah... hah..."
His ragged breathing rang especially clearly through the silent forest.
Excessive blood loss blurred his vision, and every breath tugged at the wounds covering his body.
The young nobleman tilted his head back. The mottled sunlight filtering through the leaves stabbed painfully into his eyes.
"I never thought I'd die in a place like this... die at the hands of goblins... How ridiculous."
In his daze, Roland's calm voice seemed to echo beside his ear.
"Young Master Darko, something isn't right. We should prepare to escape."
If only he had listened to the advice then...
If only they had conserved their strength...
Even without horses, the two of them might truly have escaped by watching each other's backs.
Darko shut his eyes in pain.
Roland's handsome face surfaced before him.
That young man he had known for less than a day, yet had sincerely come to admire.
Exceptionally talented, humble, and courteous.
"It's all my fault..."
His fingernails dug deeply into his palms.
"If I hadn't acted on my own... Roland... he would definitely have made it back alive."
Guilt surged through his heart like poisonous fire, making Darko's throat tighten and his eyes grow hot.
"Young Master Darko?"
"Hah... Those old men in white robes at the church really weren't lying."
Darko murmured with his last shreds of strength.
"Hallucinations really do appear before death."
"Young Master Darko!"
Something was wrong!
This wasn't a hallucination!
Darko suddenly opened his eyes, which had been on the verge of closing. His unfocused gaze gradually sharpened.
In the morning light, the young man who had just filled him with guilt stood before him.
Dew clung to his short black hair. Though his figure seemed somewhat slender, he stood perfectly straight.
Apart from a few scratches, his handsome face was unharmed. Only his bloodstained robes revealed the battles he had endured.
"Young Master Darko?"
Seeing Darko standing motionless and staring fixedly at him, Roland unconsciously furrowed his brows and thought to himself,
"Strange. With his injuries, he shouldn't have lost consciousness."
Just as Roland bent down to examine him, Darko suddenly sprang up as if struck by lightning and seized Roland's shoulders with his bloodstained hands.
"Roland! You're alive!"
Darko's voice trembled with disbelief.
It seemed it had only been a false alarm.
Feeling the strength of Darko's grip on his shoulders, Roland's anxious heart finally settled.
He raised an index finger to his lips and lowered his voice.
"Please keep your voice down, Young Master Darko. There are goblins all over this forest."
"Oh, right. Right."
As if awakening from a dream, Darko nodded. In the morning light, he carefully examined Roland and then, for the first time in his life, spoke with heartfelt reverence.
"Thank the Heavenly Father for bringing you back alive."
Yet after sighing with emotion, Darko's heart suddenly lurched.
He had clearly seen that, apart from a few scattered bloodstains, Roland was completely unharmed.
"There were at least thirty or forty goblins over there just now."
"Roland actually escaped that group of goblins unscathed. That's simply..."
Recalling the fierce swordsmanship Roland had displayed while wielding his iron sword, Darko swallowed with difficulty, and his estimation of Roland rose another notch.
"How old is he? Sixteen or seventeen?"
Thinking of how he had performed at that age, Darko could not help sighing. A complicated expression appeared on his face.
"Young Master Darko, what happened to those two guards? Why are you here alone?"
"Hah..."
The question made Darko recall the scene he had just witnessed, and his stomach immediately cramped.
He forced down his discomfort, let out a deep sigh, and slowly recounted everything he had seen and heard.
"Tsk."
After hearing Darko's account, Roland's brows drew tightly together, and he clicked his tongue unconsciously.
He pondered for a moment, then warily looked around and lowered his voice.
"You should be familiar with this area. Is there somewhere nearby where we can hide temporarily?"
"Hmm... Let me think."
As his excitement gradually subsided, the pain in his body returned.
Darko supported himself against the rough tree trunk beside him, his brows furrowed as he thought.
A moment later, his eyes suddenly lit up.
"I've got it! Roland, follow me."
As he spoke, the young nobleman limped toward a small path on the left.
"Last winter, I hunted a brown bear in the cave a short distance ahead with the guards. That cave is quite spacious and an excellent place to rest."
Perhaps because he had seen that Roland was safe and sound, Darko's originally faltering steps became several degrees lighter.
However, the journey to the cave was far from peaceful.
Although it was not far away, the two encountered several goblin patrols in succession.
Fortunately, Roland reacted swiftly. Whenever he spotted traces of goblins, he struck first, immediately cutting them down with his sword.
But the clash of blades still inevitably alerted nearby enemies and drew more pursuers.
The two had no choice but to fight while retreating, weaving through the dense forest and hiding wherever they could.
After a series of twists and turns, they finally broke through the encirclement, pushed through layers of dense bushes, and arrived before a hidden cave.
"Phew."
The prolonged fighting had drained Roland's stamina like water flowing away, and he could not help gasping heavily.
He raised a hand to signal Darko to stop. After catching his breath, Roland entered the cave first and carefully inspected it.
Just as Darko had said, the inside of the cave was very spacious, large enough to accommodate seven or eight people.
After confirming that there were no signs of recent animal activity, Roland returned to the entrance and carefully helped Darko inside, letting him lean against the rock wall to rest.
"Hiss."
The motion of sitting pulled at his wounds, and Darko could not help drawing in a sharp breath.
Roland looked at the wounds covering him, especially the makeshift bandage on his leg, which was soaked through with blood, and his brows drew tightly together.
The injuries were not fatal, but if they delayed any longer, they might cost him his life.
With that thought, he spoke softly.
"Young Master Darko, let me bandage your wounds again."
"Just call me Darko, Roland..."
Darko adjusted his sitting position and managed to force out a bitter smile.
"All right, Darko."
Seeing the sincerity in his expression, Roland raised his brows slightly and said no more. He simply tore off several pieces of clean fabric from his underclothes.
Compared with the hurried circumstances during the goblin attack, they had far more time now.
As Roland recalled the basic bandaging techniques he had learned before crossing over, he carefully treated the wounds and asked in a low voice,
"Darko, have you ever encountered monsters when hunting around here before?"
"No."
Darko gritted his teeth against the pain, his voice trembling slightly.
"If there were monsters here, my father would never have allowed me to come."
"Is that so?"
Roland rinsed the wounds with clean water from his waterskin. As he recalled what had happened earlier, he pondered for a moment before speaking again.
"I can't shake the feeling that those goblins were searching for something."
"Searching?"
"That's right."
Roland nodded solemnly.
"If we were their target, they should have pursued us relentlessly. But look at what they're doing now. They're patrolling all over the forest and setting up a perimeter. They're clearly searching for something."
"You're right."
Darko responded thoughtfully.
He recalled the goblins that had pursued them halfway before giving up and turning back, and he could not help frowning.
He tried to sort out the clues, but after a moment, he could only shake his head helplessly and give up.
"But I can't imagine what they could be looking for in this forest. Believe me, Roland, there's nothing in this damned place except wild beasts. Besides, compared to that..."
Darko obediently turned onto his side to cooperate with Roland's bandaging while cursing in a low voice.
"I want to know even more what that old bastard Beckham and all those guards at the manor are good for! How could they let so many monsters appear near the manor?"
Roland's hands did not stop as he continued bandaging Darko's wounds with the torn fabric, but his brows gradually furrowed.
It was not that he disagreed with Darko. Rather, he had caught something unusual in his tone.
Darko seemed to hold a trace of disdain and contempt for Beckham, the only knight in Blackwater Territory.
This surprised him somewhat.
Ever since crossing over, whether from rumors he had heard or from those close to him, such as Sean and John, everything Roland had heard was full of respect and praise for Beckham.
That formed a sharp contrast with the contempt Darko was displaying now.
Although nobles ranked above knights in the Golden Valley Kingdom, this was ultimately a world with supernatural powers.
At the very least, Roland felt that even nobles with the highest Noble Titles should show sufficient respect when facing a knight like Beckham who possessed supernatural power.
Yet Darko's attitude was as if he were dealing with an insignificant servant.
That was rather unreasonable.
But since it had nothing to do with their present situation, Roland chose not to ask further.
He merely carefully bandaged the final wound on Darko's body, his movements gentle yet efficient.
As he treated the wound, he spoke in a deep voice.
"Your injuries, especially the one on your leg, can't be delayed any longer. Although I've given you a simple bandage, without medicine, you may suffer permanent damage."
He paused, thinking of the goblin patrols constantly weaving through the dense forest outside, and lowered his voice further.
"Moreover, the goblins' search area is constantly shrinking. It's only a matter of time before they find this place. By the time the manor discovers what's happening and sends guards to rescue us, it will probably be too late. I suggest we move immediately after resting briefly. What do you think?"
"You're right, but..."
Darko furrowed his brows tightly as he recalled the scene in the forest.
"You saw it too. There are far too many goblins. Once we encounter them, they'll quickly swarm in from all directions."
"Unless... we can learn their movements in advance, I'm afraid it'll be very difficult to avoid those bastards."
Roland nodded heavily.
Although with his current strength, dealing with a few goblins alone and escaping this jungle would have been easy, carrying the injured Darko was an entirely different matter.
As he pondered this, he tied off the last bandage in his hands.
The next moment, a line of golden text suddenly appeared in his field of vision.
[Emergency Treatment mastered. Current Level: Lv.1]
"Emergency Treatment."
Looking at the golden words before him, Roland ignored the drowsy Darko beside him and opened the Profession Panel instead.
When he saw that the survival skills required for becoming a Hunter had changed from 1/2 to 2/2, Roland slowly exhaled.
"It really came without any effort at all."
"Become a Hunter."
As he silently recited the words, the text before him began to change continuously.
[Detection complete. You may take the basic profession: Hunter.] [Requirements: Strength 1, Agility 2, any Level 1 archery-related skill, two survival-related skills 2/2] [Would you like to take the profession?]
"Confirm!"
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