The blazing sun began its gradual descent.
The light within the Great Forest of Tob dimmed visibly, the jungle growing ever darker.
After shaking off the pursuing ogres, Adam quickly found a spot with sparse trees and low underbrush to rest.
Such an area made it easier to monitor his surroundings. At the very least, an ogre's massive frame would be spotted immediately.
"Minor Healing!"
A soft white glow emanated from Adam's hand, merging into his body.
Instantly, the small cuts on his cheeks and body began to heal at a visible rate.
His wounds didn't seem severe, but in the wild, untreated injuries could fester or become infected, a far greater danger.
According to the wilderness survival experience of the Rock Team, this was the real threat.
Fortunately, a single "Minor Healing" was enough to restore these wounds.
Adam felt a warm current flow through his limbs, easing the tightness in his chest considerably.
"What's going on?"
"How did those ogres manage to team up like that?"
A troubled expression crossed Adam's face as he pondered, perplexed.
He knew that slaughtering so many goblins would eventually draw the attention of the ogre tribes in the jungle. After all, goblins were a backup food source for them.
But the current situation?
It shouldn't have been enough to provoke the ogres' notice.
"Could there be a unique individual among the goblins or ogres?" The thought flashed through Adam's mind.
Unlike a game, where all members of a race were identical, in a real world like this, it was normal for individuals within a race to vary.
While the anime hadn't shown such a case, that didn't mean it was impossible.
As the saying goes, two fists can't block four hands!
One or two ogres were no concern, but a group like the one earlier could easily overwhelm him.
His physical attack was high, but his physical defense was pitifully low. A few more hits, and he wouldn't be able to hold out.
"I'll need to be more cautious from now on." Adam murmured to himself.
As the sun set, Adam followed his usual routine, climbing a large tree and slipping on his black robe to blend into the already dark environment.
Midnight.
Adam, dozing lightly with his eyes closed, twitched his ears.
Rustle~
Crinkle~
The faint sound of grass and leaves crunching underfoot grew closer to the tree where Adam rested.
Half-awake already, Adam snapped to full alertness but kept his eyes shut, maintaining the appearance of sleep.
The jungle was lively at night.
Wild beasts or monsters passing nearby were common, and he'd encountered this several times before.
Adam didn't open his eyes to check because, in the pitch-black environment, human vision was useless unless the creature was extremely close.
After a moment, the soft footsteps paused directly beneath Adam's tree, then resumed, fading into the distance.
Adam's breathing steadied, and he drifted back into a light doze.
Though he spent the entire night in a shallow sleep, the Great Forest of Tob's twelve-plus hours of darkness each day meant that extended rest didn't leave him drowsy or mentally drained.
The next day.
Warm sunlight filtered through the leaves, spilling onto the ground.
Adam leapt down from the tree, stowing his black robe in his item box, and began his daily routine.
Munching on rye bread, he set out to hunt goblins and monsters.
Time ticked by.
From the sun's peak to its descent in the west.
Adam raised his iron sword, carving a mark into a tree, a helpless expression on his face.
"My luck was awful today. Only ten goblins?" Adam grumbled, exasperated.
These goblins were the solitary kind, not part of a tribe.
Beyond goblins, he'd encountered a few monsters and several wild beasts.
Giant snakes were common, and his item box held several three-to-four-meter-long snake corpses.
But ordinary beasts gave negligible experience, and as for monsters, he'd faced a half-meter-long giant beetle, only for it to escape.
Monsters yielded decent experience, roughly equivalent to three or four goblins combined, but they were far more troublesome to kill.
Adam had grown fond of goblin hunting lately. One swing, one kill, simple and efficient. With luck, he could follow a group back to their tribe for a hefty experience haul.
Over the next few days, the number of goblins Adam encountered remained low. He even started killing ordinary beasts he'd previously ignored.
Before, he'd averaged around 30 goblins a day, netting 500 to 600 experience points.
Now, goblin encounters sometimes dropped to single digits.
It was more than a little frustrating.
Though he'd killed a fair number.Concurrent goblins, it was a drop in the bucket compared to the hordes that plagued the Re-Estize Kingdom's borders annually.
Failing to find decent goblin numbers for days, Adam could only chalk it up to bad luck.
Lower Wind Month.
June 16th.
Adam had arrived in this world on May 16th, exactly one month ago.
He'd entered the Great Forest of Tob on June 2nd, spending half a month in the jungle.
Perhaps because it marked his one-month anniversary in this world, Adam's luck took a turn for the better. Goblins, scarce for days, began appearing in droves.
His iron sword, long thirsting for action, saw heavy use. In a single day, he slew 21 goblins, boosting his experience significantly.
[Experience: 2620/5000]
Moreover, Adam noticed that this area had an unusually high number of goblins, suggesting a large tribe nearby.
Nightfall.
Rustle~
A beast brushed against the underbrush beneath Adam's tree, producing a faint sound.
Leaning against the trunk, head resting on his arms, left leg casually crossed over his right, Adam paid little mind to the noise below the dense branches.
The Odorless Spell erased all traces of his scent, making him undetectable even to beasts with the sharpest noses.
***
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