Seeing Lance turn around, Damian broke into an exceptionally happy smile.
He quickly climbed the steps, stopped two paces away from Lance, and gave him a deep bow.
"Senior!"
The young man straightened up, unable to hide the excitement in his voice.
"I took your advice and joined an established team to learn. The captain thought highly of my swordsmanship foundation and made me the team's secondary attacker."
"Thank you for scolding me awake back then. Only after following the team on missions did I realize how much there was to learn to become a qualified adventurer."
At this point, Damian scratched his head sheepishly.
"The captain even taught me how to track Goblins by judging how wet or dry their droppings are..."
Though somewhat embarrassed, his eyes sparkled as he shared his experiences from this period.
From coordinating with his teammates to surround lone Goblins, to narrowly escaping death during a Gnoll ambush, to setting traps to deal with a rampaging demonic boar.
Lance did not interrupt him.
The hand that had instinctively rested on his sword hilt slowly relaxed as well.
He could tell that since the so-called captain was willing to teach the kid life-saving skills like tracking, he truly regarded him as a teammate rather than cannon fodder sent ahead to scout the way.
A team willing to train its juniors like this was considered a high-quality team among adventurers.
It showed that they had long-term plans and goals.
Only after Damian finished speaking did he look at Lance expectantly, like a puppy hoping to be praised.
"Since that captain is willing to teach you, it means you've met good people."
Lance spoke in a gentle tone.
"Learn well. These are the things that can save your life at critical moments."
As he spoke, he reached out and lightly patted Damian's shoulder, which was not broad but had grown much sturdier.
That simple gesture seemed to give Damian immense courage.
The young man took a deep breath, as though he had made up his mind about something.
"Um... I still don't know what to call you, Senior."
"If it hadn't been for what you said back then, I might have already rushed stupidly into Copper Creek Forest to die."
Lance fell silent for a moment.
The shadows beneath his hood hid his expression, making it impossible to see clearly.
"Just call me Raven."
"Raven..."
Damian quietly repeated the name twice, firmly committing the alias to memory.
Then, he fumbled around in the somewhat worn pouch at his waist.
It was an ornament woven from thick blue hemp rope. The weaving was far from skillful, even somewhat crooked, and it looked rather awful.
A smooth white pebble was tied to the end of the knot, with a talisman-like pattern drawn on it in clumsy strokes.
"Senior Raven, this is for you."
"Thank you for teaching me how an adventurer should survive."
"The way you scolded me back then... you really reminded me of my older brother."
When he mentioned his deceased relative, Damian's face no longer held the grief and pain it had last time. Instead, there was a little more relief.
The child was slowly moving on from the loss of his family, learning to carry those memories forward.
"This is a homecoming knot from my hometown's customs. It represents safety. Whenever I went out before, my brother would weave one for me."
Damian flashed a brilliant smile.
"I made this a long time ago. I looked for you at the Adventurers' Guild for several days but never ran into you. Luckily, I met you before setting off today."
"Otherwise, I would have left with the vanguard."
He held the talisman-like object out before Lance.
"I also hope that every time you take on a mission, you'll return safely."
Lance froze for a moment.
Through the gap in his hood, he looked at the ugly knot, then at the young man's hopeful eyes.
He did not refuse.
Lance reached out, took the knot, and hung it from the clasp of the leather pouch at his waist.
The vivid blue hemp rope clashed sharply with his old brown-gray leather armor, yet it was unexpectedly eye-catching.
"Your craftsmanship really isn't much."
Lance gave his assessment, though there was laughter in his voice.
"But the sentiment isn't bad."
"Stay alive."
"Don't push yourself in the forest. You only have one life."
Damian nodded vigorously and shouted, "Yes! Senior Raven!"
Just then, a shout came from the distance.
"Damian! What are you dawdling for? We're leaving!"
Lance looked over and saw a well-equipped adventurer team forming up nearby, with several seasoned warriors waving in this direction.
"Okay! I'm coming!"
Damian called back, then turned around to say goodbye to Lance.
"Senior Raven, I'm heading back!"
"Wait."
Lance suddenly called out to him.
Under the young man's puzzled gaze, Lance pulled an unlabeled little clay jar from his waist pouch and casually tossed it over.
"Catch."
Damian clumsily caught the jar, looking utterly confused.
"This is Hemostatic Ointment I made myself. It's about as effective as the Troll's Blood sold on the market."
Lance explained.
"You can use it on external wounds. Use it sparingly."
Damian tightly gripped the jar of ointment, a huge smile spreading across his face as he waved his arm vigorously.
"Thank you! I'll live like a cockroach!"
Watching the young man happily run away, Lance lowered his head and touched the blue knot swaying at his waist.
Like a cockroach?
This kid really learned fast.
In this unfamiliar world, besides exchanges of interest, there seemed to be other bonds beginning to form.
Perhaps a sense of belonging slowly grew from these seemingly insignificant connections between people.
Only half an hour after the massive vanguard force had departed did Lance set out with his pack on his back.
With the vanguard clearing the way ahead and dealing with the wandering monsters along the route, his journey would be much easier.
As he headed toward Copper Creek Forest, he summoned the system panel.
[Knowledge Experience: 30]
This was the nest egg he had accumulated through diligent collection quests during this period.
He could use this trip into the mountains to add all the points he needed.
Lance's gaze swept across the panel.
The once lonely knowledge tab had now become dazzlingly full.
[Knowledge: Botany LV1, Monster Anatomy LV1, Monster Ecology LV1, Pharmacology LV1, Wilderness Survival LV1, Mineralogy LV1]
These were the riches brought to him by those three expensive books.
Without the slightest hesitation, Lance willed all 30 precious points of Knowledge Experience into [Wilderness Survival].
Before you continue