Book of Truth (1)

In a clearing within the forest, Donald held an iron sword, advancing with cautious vigilance.

In this dangerous forest, human perception cannot compare to the innate sharpness of beasts, let alone magical beasts endowed with special abilities. If he did not remain constantly alert, a magical beast might leap out from some hidden spot at any moment and claim his life.

Lowering his head to look at the tear in his trousers caused by the thorns near his feet, Donald cursed inwardly: "Damn this forest, and damn these magical beasts!"

This was the only pair of trousers he owned that wasn't riddled with holes. As a noble heir, appearing before others in patched clothing would mean losing all dignity and face; even if he were to rise to greatness in the future, he would never be able to shake off the shame of today.

Although Donald, now destitute, no longer cared for the rigid rules of nobility, his subconscious pride still rankled, making his desire for wealth and power all the more intense.

He comforted himself in his heart: "Once I successfully hunt a magical beast core, I will have everything I need. It's just a pair of trousers; by then, I shall have the most magnificent formal wear and hunting gear custom-made!"

With this thought, Donald continued to monitor his surroundings, stepping deeper into the forest, one pace at a time.

After shooing away a few small animals foraging for food, Donald finally discovered traces of magical beasts near a gully downstream from a mountain creek.

Magical beasts are beasts nonetheless, and they all require water and food. He could not yet handle carnivorous magical beasts, but if he encountered a herbivorous one with little offensive power, he would have a real chance of success!

"What incredible luck! To actually see a Horned Deer Beast here!"

Observing the movement from the bushes on the other side of the creek, Donald quickly spotted a group of shifting figures. It seemed they were preparing to drink from the stream, so he held his breath and waited patiently.

The Horned Deer Beast is one of the most common herbivorous magical beasts in this world, though they typically live in forest zones adjacent to grasslands. The Green Cloak Forest, as an extension of the Cloud-Rising Mountains, has no signs of grasslands for thousands of kilometers in any direction. Thus, encountering a low-aggression herbivore on the outskirts of this forest was truly Donald's good fortune. Compared to the nimble and petite magical beasts common to this area, the bulky Horned Deer were undoubtedly excellent targets.

In this world, herbivorous beasts known as Wild Deer generally do not grow horns. They possess high fertility and large populations, providing a vast food source for many carnivores and low-level magical beasts. Humans even raise a small number of them, though they are not as common as livestock like cattle or sheep.

This world is saturated with elemental energy, and many low-level magical beasts evolved from ordinary beasts over thousands or tens of thousands of years, while more powerful mid-to-high-level magical beasts mostly inherit their strength through bloodlines. Given the massive population base of Wild Deer, the probability of them evolving into the lowest tier-one magical beast—the Horned Deer—is quite high, making them one of the most common low-level magical beasts.

Because they evolved from Wild Deer—creatures at the bottom of the food chain with no offensive capabilities, knowing only how to flee when faced with danger—the Horned Deer possess no combat power other than the menacing-looking horns on their heads.

Yet, even those horns are merely for show. With their timid and cowardly nature, they react to danger just like their Wild Deer relatives: they have no thoughts other than to run and scatter. As low-level magical beasts, they possess the ability to manipulate faint wind elemental energy to propel their movement, which grants them a faster escape speed than their unevolved kin.

Therefore, to hunt a Horned Deer, one must either possess speed greater than theirs or rely on traps and tools. Experienced hunters most commonly use thrown short spears and skilled archery.

The hardwood bow on Donald's back was the trump card he had prepared!

A meal's time passed, and seeing no movement by the water, Donald began to grow anxious. After all, he was not a veteran hunter who had spent years roaming the mountains and forests; he lacked the patience, and he was neither an experienced, powerful ranger nor a marksman. In terms of hunting, he was purely a clumsy novice.

This was Donald's third time entering the Green Cloak Forest, his goal being to hunt low-level magical beasts and obtain the cores within them.

Due to certain circumstances, he urgently needed a magical beast core for an experiment. Unfortunately, having only undergone superficial swordsmanship training and lacking a strong physique, he had returned empty-handed both previous times, relying only on a family heirloom iron sword.

Last time, he hadn't encountered any traces of magical beasts. After all, the outskirts of the Green Cloak Forest were frequented by visiting Adventurers and local hunters, causing any magical beast with a shred of intelligence to gradually migrate deep into the forest. Thus, encountering one on the outskirts required immense luck.

Consequently, Donald had to venture deeper into the dangerous forest. This time, he did encounter a magical beast, but it was a Long-tailed Demon Ape—a creature he could not handle. Although also a low-level magical beast, its tier-three strength made it a formidable existence among low-level beasts, and they were pack animals to boot. Not only did he fail to make a catch, but he also nearly fell into a desperate situation. If the Long-tailed Demon Ape hadn't preferred wild fruits and tender leaves, showing little interest in hunting large animals, and simply toyed with Donald before returning to its lair, his life would have been forfeit in the forest.

That life-or-death sprint and his subsequent experience of resurrection allowed Donald to fully grasp the level of danger in this world.

At the time of the incident, Donald, struggling with poverty, had snuck into the Green Cloak Forest alone to hunt low-level magical beasts for money, hiding his intentions from his Steward. However, having no hunting experience and only basic knight training from his youth, Donald had recklessly blundered into the deeper reaches of the Green Cloak Forest.

At that moment, the Book of Truth, carrying the soul from another world, happened to land in a forest on the edge of a mountain range on this vast continent. By sheer coincidence, it crushed a creature of this world to death.

That creature was a mid-level magical beast, the Gale Wolf King, which had just hunted the original teenage Donald of this world.

After being defeated by a new wolf king and driven from the pack to become a lone wolf, it had been forced to roam the outskirts of the Green Cloak Forest, the domain of low-level beasts. While starving, it had encountered a human youth hunting in the forest. As a former wolf king, how could it pass up such a delicacy? With a few lunges, it had severed the youth's carotid artery.

Just as the magic wolf prepared to carry its prey back to its temporary lair to feast, a dim golden light descended from the sky and smashed into its wolf skull.