Naturally, Dorian's pockets contained more than just gold coins.
Orum emptied the bulging pockets, and the contents spilled out along with the coins, scattering across the ground.
Besides the seventy-eight gold coins, the pockets were crammed with various items: fire bombs, insect repellent, quicklime, skinning knives, bandages, and other essential supplies.
Though these were common survival resources, their sale value was negligible.
Setting aside these low-value items, what caught Orum's eye most were two worn books written in the common tongue.
The first was a drow elf holy scripture.
Its cover was tanned from the belly armor of an adult shadow spider, and a cold aura emanated from between its pages.
It recorded everything about worshipping Lolth, the Spider Queen.
Lolth, the Spider Queen, also known as the Queen of the Dark Elves, led the drow elves in dwelling within the Underdark beneath the earth.
She poisoned others' thoughts with profound evil and ruled her followers through fear and tyranny. Like Beshaba, the Maid of Misfortune, she belonged to the chaotic evil alignment.
Facing such a thoroughly wicked deity, Orum's attitude was to keep his distance.
He quickly moved the gold coins away from this evil scripture, leaving the book lying alone with a wide empty space around it.
After setting the scripture aside, Orum picked up the other book from Dorian's pocket, and shock flooded his eyes.
"Could this be... a combat manual?!"
This was an exquisitely crafted handbook, made from expensive vellum.
Its cover was bound with wooden boards and supple leather, with polished copper corner guards mounted at all four corners to prevent damage and deformation.
Just holding it, Orum could feel its substantial weight, the heavy burden of money.
Even someone as inexperienced as his predecessor, a lowly farmer, could tell at a glance that this book was worth a fortune.
However, what amazed Orum even more were the large characters on the cover:
Combat Codex: The Way of the Sword!
Seeing these words, Orum's heart felt like it had been struck by a heavy hammer, and his eyes lit up instantly.
His fingers trembling slightly, Orum hastily opened the handbook and began leafing through it.
The further he read, the harder it became to suppress the wild joy in his heart!
As expected!
This was a handbook specifically teaching combat techniques!
The entire manual was fifty-two pages long, recording the training methods for three combat techniques and listing in meticulous detail every aspect to note during the training process, minimizing the difficulty of learning these three techniques as much as possible.
The three combat techniques were: Thrust, Sword Dance, and Jade Slash.
After a quick browse, Orum could confirm that the technique Dorian had used was precisely the "Thrust" recorded in this manual!
Looking at the Combat Codex in his hands, Orum's hands trembled with excitement.
A genuine combat technique manual might be worth even more than Dorian's head!
You see, as a bandit leader, Dorian had a bounty of one hundred gold coins on his head, yet this combat manual gave Orum the feeling that its value exceeded even one hundred gold coins!
Of course, Orum wasn't currently considering selling this hard-won manual.
At the very least, he needed to thoroughly study its contents first and memorize everything inside before thinking about anything else.
"Wait, something feels... a bit off."
As Orum leafed through the Combat Codex, a strange, indescribable feeling suddenly welled up in his heart.
Moreover, the more he flipped through the book, the stronger this strange sensation became.
"Could there be poison on these pages?"
Orum's heart lurched. He looked down at his fingers, which were neither blackened nor painful.
Well, it probably wasn't poisoning.
Relieved, Orum continued browsing the manual.
He discovered that whenever he focused on reading the first thirteen pages, the section about the "Thrust" technique, that strange feeling would emerge from his heart, as if something was trying to break free from its shell.
Orum calmed himself and continued reading, until ten minutes later...
A semi-transparent panel notification suddenly appeared!
[You have learned Combat Technique: Thrust]
[Current Technique Level: LV1 (0/50)]
"Huh?!"
Orum was stunned on the spot.
Panel Mommy, you can do this too?!
Those high and mighty noble children spent over a decade training hard and paid countless gold coins to learn combat techniques, yet Orum had simply read through the book a few times and the panel had directly taught it to him?!
Orum was so shocked his jaw nearly dropped. He could hardly imagine how much money he could save with this terrifyingly efficient learning ability!
Filled with irrepressible excitement, Orum immediately sprang into action. He picked up Dorian's longsword and, following the movements in his memory, assumed the starting stance for "Thrust."
Then he lunged forward!
Combat Technique: Thrust!
Orum's body blurred for an instant, like a shifting phantom.
In the blink of an eye, he appeared a foot away, his longsword already thrusting out, its tip piercing the imaginary enemy's forehead in midair.
"It really is Thrust... I've mastered it!"
Ignoring the severe pain in his muscles, as if they'd been torn, Orum was so happy he nearly jumped for joy.
The Thrust that Orum executed, though short in range and somewhat slow in speed, was far inferior to Dorian's "Mastery" level Thrust.
But clearly, it already possessed the quality expected of a combat technique.
He had truly learned a combat technique in just half an hour!
Immediately after, another panel notification appeared:
[Combat Technique: Thrust Proficiency +1]
[Current Technique Level: LV1 (1/50)]
Seeing the semi-transparent notification, Orum's eyes brightened.
"Each time I use the technique, it increases proficiency?"
"That means as long as I grind hard enough, I can train any technique to mastery?"
Orum pondered briefly, then picked up the manual and began reading again.
This time, however, he skipped directly past the "Thrust" section and read the chapters recording "Sword Dance" and "Jade Slash."
But to Orum's disappointment, while reading about "Sword Dance" and "Jade Slash," his heart remained completely calm. Not even a trace of that previous sense of "enlightenment" appeared.
After repeatedly trying for half an hour, Orum reluctantly set down the manual and temporarily abandoned learning these two techniques.
"Why can't I learn them? Do these two techniques have something special about them?" Orum frowned in thought.
"Or is there some prerequisite condition I haven't met?"
Orum considered various possibilities when suddenly a hypothesis formed in his mind:
"Could it be because... I haven't personally witnessed these two techniques, so the panel can't analyze and learn them?"
"The reason I could learn the Thrust technique is that Dorian completely demonstrated this technique right in front of me!"
"But I haven't seen 'Sword Dance' and 'Jade Slash,' so I can't use the panel to learn them!"
At this thought, hope rekindled in Orum's heart.
As long as he could find adventurers proficient in these two techniques and somehow get them to demonstrate, he'd be able to master two more powerful combat techniques!
At this moment, night had fully fallen and the sky had turned leaden and dark. Pattering raindrops fell as a cold night rain descended from the sky.
Orum hastily closed the manual, carefully fastening the metal clasp and placing it in his pocket to protect it from the rain.
The cold rainwater washed away all the blood stains on Orum's face and hands, but also made him shiver.
"So cold."
Orum braved the rain falling from the sky and began gathering all his belongings. These were his entire fortune.
As long as he could endure tonight's rain, he could set off again at dawn and return to Blackwater Town.
Life in the forest was simply a long ordeal.
Every day and night he had to endure damp clothes and bedding, ubiquitous mosquitoes and venomous snakes.
A single beast's howl at night was enough to startle any high-strung adventurer awake.
Orum had had enough!
He desperately missed a dry bed, a warm hearth, and a bowl of steaming hot, fragrant, tender stewed meat.
Finally, Orum curled up in a corner of ruins that could barely shelter him from wind and rain. He blocked the gap in front of him with rubble, his body completely hidden in darkness.
He placed the two bulging pockets under his body, and then, accompanied by the pattering rain outside, Orum gradually drifted into sleep.
...
The next day, after the rain cleared and the sky brightened, Orum stretched his body in the morning sun, feeling refreshed and invigorated.
Sleeping in ruins wasn't comfortable, but the two magical beast organs had greatly enhanced his constitution.
Even in the worst environments, he could quickly recover his strength and energy, maintaining full vigor.
Before setting out, he thoroughly inventoried all the gains from this adventure (escape):
From the half-orc Garr: eleven gold coins, healing potion, compass and map, plus various miscellaneous items.
From the blighted treant: a purple crystal.
A half-orc greataxe, a snow-pattern steel sword, one complete leg guard, one damaged chain mail.
From the drow elf Dorian: seventy-eight gold coins, one Combat Codex: The Way of the Sword, and Dorian's severed head.
Carrying two heavy pockets, Orum remained on edge throughout the return journey, afraid of encountering some accident that might rob him of his spoils.
Today was truly fine weather. The blazing sun dispersed much of the darkness in Misty Forest, and the previously rampant monsters all cowered in their caves to avoid the scorching sunlight.
Throughout this journey, Orum encountered no more accidents. Several times he sensed magical creature auras ahead and detoured in advance to avoid them.
Once, Orum discovered another goblin camp. Seven or eight green-skinned goblins surrounded a large cauldron, stewing the bones and flesh of some unknown creature.
Orum had planned to ambush them and take out all these greenskins, but in the blink of an eye, three towering figures over two meters tall swaggered out from deep within the camp.
They were unmistakably three bugbears with muscular builds and rough yellow skin.
The three bugbears showed no courtesy, slapping away the goblins gathered around the pot with a few swipes, then surrounded the cauldron and began feasting heartily.
(/n: Bugbear: Medium Humanoid (Goblinoid), Chaotic Evil)
Orum estimated that the strength of each of these bugbears exceeded that of the half-orc Garr!
"Are the goblins in Misty Forest on steroids? They've multiplied everywhere, and there are quite a few elite individuals like bugbears now?"
"I'm afraid Blackwater Town won't be peaceful for a while."
Orum secretly noted this camp's location, planning to come back and kill all these goblins and bugbears when he wasn't carrying so much baggage.
After trekking through the forest for most of the day, Orum finally reached the edge of Misty Forest.
This place was less than twenty kilometers from Blackwater Town.
With increased human activity, the number of magical beasts had become sparse, and adventurers' footprints could occasionally be seen in the mountains and forests.
Orum felt that he wouldn't be surprised at all if he encountered a team of resting adventurers by the roadside.
He suddenly stopped in his tracks.
Not far ahead, on a weed-overgrown wasteland, stood an ancient, weathered tombstone.
The tombstone was quite ordinary, like the ancient ruins found everywhere in Misty Forest.
However, what shocked Orum was that sitting atop the tombstone was a white skeleton.
Even more bizarre, this skeleton's hollow eye sockets were locked directly onto him!
"This skeleton isn't alive, is it?"
Orum frowned and experimentally walked five steps to the left.
The skeleton turned its head left, staring at him.
Orum then walked five steps to the right.
The skeleton turned its head right, staring at him.
"Holy crap, it really is alive!"
Alarm bells immediately went off in Orum's mind.
In this desolate wilderness, a living skeleton had appeared and was staring straight at him!
"Swoosh!"
The snow-pattern steel sword instantly left its sheath, cold light flashing. Orum gripped the hilt, sword tip pointing directly at the skeleton's forehead.
Without any hesitation, Combat Technique: Thrust activated instantly!
The snow-pattern steel sword became a blurred, bright silver phantom, piercing through the skeleton's forehead almost instantaneously.
However, the expected resistance didn't occur. The sword seemed to pierce into nothingness, causing no damage to the skeleton whatsoever!
No physical form, immune to physical attacks!
"An illusion? Or a spirit?" Just as Orum's heart filled with doubt and suspicion, the skeleton remained motionless, frozen in place.
Orum didn't dare act rashly and retreated continuously to ten meters away, observing the skeleton from a safe distance.
However, in the time that followed, the skeleton remained dazed.
Dazed.
Only after several dozen seconds did it slowly raise a bony hand and touch its forehead in confusion.
Then the skeleton showed an expression of "sudden realization," as if only now becoming aware it had been hit.
"Your reflexes are way too slow, skeleton!" Orum was completely stunned.
Hit by a combat technique, yet taking dozens of seconds to react, what incredibly slow reflexes!
"You... can see me?"
The skeleton's hollow eye sockets stared blankly at Orum.
Immediately after, that hoarse voice that hadn't been heard for who knows how many years slowly echoed through the quiet forest, carrying a tremor of disbelief:
"You can actually see me!"
Orum was equally stunned.
Deep within that hoarse voice, besides shock, Orum even caught a special emotion. That seemed to be... a trace of hope?