After making arrangements to meet Raygore in the evening, Orum checked the sky.
It was just past noon, leaving him an entire afternoon of free time.
So Orum spent the whole afternoon moving through the marketplace in Blackwater Town's center, stocking up on essential supplies for entering the forest.
For provisions, he chose hard bread and salted jerky. Both had long shelf lives, were lightweight, provided basic calories, and the jerky's intense saltiness could also replenish electrolytes.
For portable cookware, he selected a small iron pot, convenient for boiling water in the forest or heating food.
For torches, he chose wood soaked in pine resin. They were more portable than lanterns.
Though they couldn't compare to flashlights from Earth, they were already excellent lighting tools.
Herb pouches, coarse linen bandages, and antidotes were naturally essential as well.
The real world was equivalent to the most realistic survival game. Once a person got injured in the forest, if not treated promptly, infection could easily set in.
Even a small scratch could lead to an entire arm rotting away.
And adventurers who died from poisonous insect bites were too numerous to count.
Beyond these survival supplies, Orum also noticed that three entire magic potion shops had opened on Blackwater Town's most prosperous street.
Each magic potion shop's decor was extremely eye-catching and left Orum amazed.
The first shop's main structure was actually a living, towering ancient tree, lush and green, emanating a faint botanical fragrance.
The shop was set within a massive hollow in the tree's heart.
Looking up, he could even see budding new shoots. He could feel the ancient tree breathing steadily.
When the potion shop owner brewed potions, smoke even rose from a tree hollow at the top, with that hollow serving as a chimney.
The second shop was constructed from brilliantly glowing gemstones.
Its exterior looked like a palace of flowing, colorful gems, sparkling brilliantly under the sunlight, stunning every passing pedestrian into slack-jawed amazement.
However, Orum heard that this shop's exterior was created with illusion magic.
The gemstones were actually fake and couldn't be pried off.
The third magic potion shop was actually carried by a massive, heavy turtle.
It crouched on the ground with its limbs and head withdrawn into its shell.
Customers had to step onto the turtle's back to enter the stone cottage that sold magic potions.
Through Orum's investigation, the three magic potion shops had different decor styles and sold different types of potions.
However, regarding potion pricing, all three shops were remarkably consistent:
Expensive!
Even the cheapest bottle of healing potion cost a whopping 50 gold coins!
This immediately reminded Orum of the half-orc Garr's dying gaze, looking at that healing potion with eyes full of reluctance and heartache.
It was probably because healing potions were too expensive! The half-orc Garr's financial situation only allowed him to afford one bottle to keep in his pocket as backup!
Additionally, Orum saw flying potions priced at 800 gold coins, invisibility potions at 400 gold coins, hill giant elixirs at 300 gold coins...
Coming out of the magic potion shop, Orum once again felt the gravity of money and walked silently along the long street.
Returning to the Oak Inn, Orum ate two full signature combo meals. Feeling the happiness of a full belly, he finally swept away the gloom in his heart.
Those frighteningly high magic potion prices, as well as the unpleasant encounter with Torred's team earlier, were all temporarily cast to the back of his mind.
"Mr. Orum, your appetite remains excellent today."
A plump figure swayed over, a pair of smiling eyes that seemed able to see through people's hearts, highly distinctive.
It was Sophia coming to collect the plates from the table.
"I'll soon be going deep into the forest to hunt magical beasts. These delicious meals, I'm afraid I'll have one less with each one I eat."
Orum answered with a regretful tone.
"Listen to you talk. When Mr. Orum returns triumphant, Lila and I will continue cooking delicious food for you.
You can eat as many meals as you want, no problem."
Sophia said with a laugh, covering her mouth.
Orum smiled faintly, read the tavern's "Kingdom Gazette" for a while, then got up and returned to his rented second-floor room.
Inside the room, curtains tightly closed, candlelight flickering, only Orum alone.
After confirming everything around him was very quiet, Orum called out softly in his heart.
"Panel."
Buzz—
A translucent panel radiating a faint glow silently unfurled before Sherlock's eyes:
Name: Sherlock
Strength: 7 (5+1+1) (Muscular strength, explosive power)
Agility: 6 (5+1) (Physical flexibility, reaction speed)
Constitution: ? (5+3+?) (Stamina, resistance to blunt force, resistance to slashing, resistance to piercing, vitality)
Intelligence: 5 (Memory, reasoning, mental power)
Perception: 5 (Senses, intuition, judgment)
Charisma: 7 (Temperament, affinity, appearance and physique)
Mana: 1 (Mana capacity, Weave affinity)
Magical Beast Organs: Goblin Sinew (Effect: Strength +1), Heart of the Ancient Tree (Effect: Constitution +3, extra vitality X3)
Combat Skills: Thrust LV6 (Max)
Spells: ? Ring Spell: "Symphony of Life"
Faction Reputation: Fairy (100)
Goblin (-50)
Current Status: Mark of Benshaba
...
This detailed attribute panel was a panel function Orum had only figured out today. It recorded all his special attributes.
Strength 7 (5+2) meant Orum's current total strength was 7.
The +1+1 represented his current two bonuses: the attribute reward from reaching proficient level with Combat Technique: Thrust, and the strength boost from the magical beast organ [Goblin Tendon].
Agility 6 (5+1) worked the same way. This 1 point agility bonus came from the attribute reward of reaching proficiency with Combat Technique: Thrust.
The proficiency bonus of the combat technique simultaneously brought Orum a 1-point increase in both strength and agility.
Though it was only a 1-point bonus, attributes going from 5 to 6, Orum could clearly feel that his body's strength had improved by far more than 20%.
This attribute amplification wasn't simple numerical addition.
It was more like comprehensive refinement, optimizing the structure and upgrading the material of every inch of muscle fiber and every bone in his body, elevating Orum's physical quality to a more complex and powerful level.
As for the Constitution column, the final total value was actually a "?", which left Orum quite surprised.
However, after brief consideration, Orum understood the panel's judgment logic.
Because Orum's body had fused with a powerful magical beast organ [Ancient Tree Heart], this organ not only functioned as a secondary heart, greatly enhancing Orum's constitution, but could also release surging vitality three times at critical moments, bringing him back from death.
According to the [Ancient Tree Heart]'s description, as long as Orum's body wasn't instantly shredded into pieces, he could be saved and restored to perfect condition!
Therefore, after comprehensive consideration by the panel, Orum's constitution couldn't be simply calculated as 8 (5+3), but was defined as a question mark.
"This panel's logic is surprisingly rigorous."
Orum nodded to himself, his gaze continuing downward.
"Charisma 7? Ridiculous!"
Orum raised an eyebrow and scoffed inwardly: "Someone as devastatingly handsome as me should have a charisma of 99. How could it only be 7?"
"This panel is broken."
Next, Orum browsed down and suddenly froze.
"Mana 1..." Orum fell silent.
Mana represented the mana capacity and Weave affinity.
The lower the value, the harder it was to communicate with the Weave, and thus the harder to cast spells.
A mana attribute of 1 was basically the same as a muggle, about as low as it could go.
"At least it's not 0. I'll figure out a way to increase it later." Orum consoled himself, his heart settling slightly.
Combat Techniques: Thrust LV6 (Max), this line had nothing particularly special.
When Orum had practiced Thrust to proficient level, he'd already seen this "Max" indicator.
However, deep in Orum's heart was a vague intuition that [Combat Technique: Thrust] seemed to have even broader room for improvement after proficiency.
"Perhaps I must break through mortal limits.
Only after advancing to become a professional can I take Thrust further, advancing it to a level beyond proficiency."
Orum's gaze moved down, landing on the [Spells] column.
Orum wasn't too surprised that 'Symphony of Life' was defined as a "?" circle spell.
After all, 'Symphony of Life's power was far too formidable. While comprehensively boosting attributes, it also enchanted each of his attacks, adding a full seven different mixed magical effects.
Orum had never heard of any low-tier spell blessing that could achieve such an absurdly powerful effect at the same level.
More critically, casting 'Symphony of Life' consumed no mana and had no usage conditions.
Even though Orum knew nothing about magic, he only needed to whisper in his heart to activate this incredibly powerful spell and summon fairies to aid him in battle.
Such a spell that defied common sense was almost like a priest's divine magic, directly communicating with powerful deities from the upper realms to obtain various divinely granted magical powers.
Therefore, 'Symphony of Life' was also difficult to simply define as "first circle," "third circle," or other conventional spell types, but was set by the rigorous panel as the indefinable "? circle."
Continuing to browse down, Orum had already seen the "Faction Favorability" column before, but now he had completely new insights.
Faction Favorability: Fairy (100)
Goblin (-50)
"Since reaching 100 favorability with the fairy faction gives generous rewards, then other powerful magical species, such as legendary dragons, mysterious liches, deep-sea krakens, etc., can they also provide rewards of the same level?"
Orum pondered, suddenly grasping a spark of inspiration:
"No, wait. This column on the panel provides even more important information."
"The core term the panel uses is 'faction'... and the most classic, most widely known faction division in this world, shouldn't it be Heaven and Hell?"
In this instant, Orum felt enlightened: "Since the fairy faction can give generous rewards, then Heaven definitely can too.
If I go help angels beat up demons, there must be rewards!"
"However, I currently have no way to access methods to quickly increase Heaven faction favorability... this matter requires long-term planning."
Orum recalled that Blackwater Town had no church, while Roan City possessed a magnificent, solemn cathedral.
Although Orum had never been there, Lila had mentioned that the paladin teams dispatched to the Everdusk Forest each year to subjugate undead creatures departed from Roan City's great cathedral.
Finally, Orum's gaze fell on the very bottom column of the panel:
"Current Status: Mark of Benshaba"
Orum: "?"
He thought he was hallucinating. He rubbed his eyes and looked carefully.
However, what appeared before his eyes again was still:
"Current Status: Mark of Benshaba"
Orum's eyes suddenly widened.
What does this mean? How could I have the "Mark of Benshaba" status? When did I get it?!
A lightning-like thought suddenly split open Orum's mind.
He remembered!
A few days ago when looking in the mirror, Orum had discovered a blurry black mark on his shoulder.
At the time, Orum had thought it was just a bruise from bumping into something. He hadn't carefully examined this mark and hadn't taken it to heart.
Right now, Orum quickly went before the mirror and rapidly removed his shirt.
Orum's body was now smooth and clean. The previous scars had all healed and fallen off due to the [Ancient Tree Heart]'s restorative power, revealing flawless, healthy skin.
Orum looked in the mirror and examined the shoulder area carefully.
On his bare shoulder was unmistakably a mark with a blood-red background, its center outlining a pitch-black stag antler pattern, identical to the black stag's antlers Orum had once seen!
"It really is Mark of Benshaba... this goddess of misfortune is clinging to me?!"
At this moment, Orum felt like he'd been struck by lightning, his mind blank.
He never imagined that after parting ways in the Misty Forest, Benshaba would target him again.
Orum's face was somewhat pale now. He glanced at the time. There was still some time before his appointment with Raygore.
"I must find a scholar who understands deities and get answers quickly."
Orum splashed water on his face, dressed properly, then left the Oak Inn and walked straight toward a building beside Blackwater Town's monitoring station.
This wooden building was beautifully decorated but overall only half the height of a normal house.
On the door of this compact building hung a sign with clear writing:
"Scholar Hal of Blackwater Monitoring Station. Non-working days, visitors declined."
Orum couldn't care about such things. He crouched down and knocked on the wooden door: "Scholar Hal, Scholar Hal!"
From inside the door came a voice with obvious displeasure, high and thin:
"Hey! Can't you read?! The sign clearly says not to disturb me on non-working days!"
Immediately after, a gnome scholar with a messy large beard, wearing pajamas, angrily opened the door.
Hal had originally wanted to scold this rule-breaking fellow, but when he saw clearly that the visitor outside was actually Orum, a miraculous adventurer he'd been paying much attention to, the anger on his face instantly melted like ice and snow, softening.
"Ahem, Orum, do you have some urgent matter? Coming all the way to see me so late."
Scholar Hal's tone became much gentler, looking at the young man before him seriously.
After all, in the academic report he was about to submit to the kingdom, much of the information about the Misty Forest's anomaly required detailed verification with Orum, who'd experienced it firsthand.
Additionally, Hal also appreciated Orum's manner of speech and thirst for knowledge.
At that meeting at Blackwater Town's monitoring station, Hal had noticed the way Orum looked at books.
He could feel from that gaze that Orum truly respected knowledge from the heart.
This was completely different from those crude adventurer warriors who only knew how to swing weapons.
Compared to a swordsman charging into battle, Orum gave Hal the feeling of being more like a calm mage.
Orum was silent for a moment before speaking:
"Scholar Hal... I have a friend who recently encountered a problem."
"You have a... friend?"
Seeing Orum's hesitant expression and tragic gaze, Hal's eye twitched. Years of cultivating knowledge allowed him to hold back words about to burst out, not cursing directly.
"Yes, my friend. He discovered that on his shoulder, there appeared a strange mark that won't wash off no matter what."
"From the pattern, he determined this mark seems to come from a powerful deity. Moreover, not a deity of the good alignment." Orum slowly said, "I... no, this friend of mine wants to know what this mark truly means and what consequences it will bring."
"Hiss—"
Scholar Hal's sharp intake of breath sounded especially clear in the silent night.
But after all, he was a two-hundred-year-old adult gnome who'd seen such things before, so he didn't lose his composure too much.
Hal pondered for a moment, taking paper and pen from his pajama pocket: "Can you roughly sketch this mark on paper?"
Looking at the simple drawing Orum sketched on the paper, Scholar Hal closed his eyes in pain.
It was an evil-aligned goddess whose name couldn't be mentioned lightly. Orum also couldn't speak it openly.
But Hal still recognized through the simple drawing's pattern, confirming without doubt that this was the mark of the Goddess of Misfortune, Benshaba.
"This friend you're talking about, is it actually yourself?" Scholar Hal looked at Orum with piercing eyes and asked.
"No," Orum answered.
"Regardless of whether it's you personally, let me answer your doubts first..."
Two flashes of light gleamed in Scholar Hal's eyes. He stared into Orum's eyes, his voice becoming extremely serious:
"This mark typically appears in ceremonies and rituals, involving countless complex meanings.
But when it appears on a person, it represents only one thing."
Orum's fingertips curled slightly, his heartbeat skipping half a beat at that moment.
Scholar Hal's voice dropped lower, carrying a weight that felt almost like a sentencing:
"Bearing this mark means you've become one of Her chosen."
A chosen of the Goddess of Misfortune, Benshaba.