As he entered the village, a quiet atmosphere immediately settled around him.
The village was not large. All the houses, only about thirty in total, could be seen at a glance.
A small portion of the ground was covered with gravel and relatively clean, but most of the area was overgrown with wild grass.
Judging from the varying heights of the grass, someone must have been trimming it regularly.
All the houses were low, single-story buildings. Some of the better ones seemed to be built from brick, but judging from the grayish-white color of the walls, these houses were already quite old.
"Our village is rather small, but we have a few empty houses. If you do not mind, you can rest in that one over there,"
the village chief said, his thick grayish brown beard trembling as he spoke.
"Thank you, village chief," Saelran replied gratefully, glancing at the house the chief pointed to.
"Hehe, it is nothing. Our village has not had visitors in a long time," the chief chuckled softly.
As the two of them spoke, curious eyes and heads peeked out from the doors and windows of the surrounding houses.
Naret Village was not large, so any commotion would spread quickly.
Saelran offered a brief word of thanks and under the gaze of the villagers, entered the empty house.
Naret Village was actually quite ordinary, and nothing about it stood out to Saelran.
If he had to point out something, it was the girl named Rinelle.
She was a girl with an extraordinarily powerful Innate Ability, one of the most valuable humans in the game Oblivion Gate.
In the game, Rinelle was depicted as one of humanity's last hopes, and indeed, she was. Even Gurath Goat Govenant and the Nine Gate of Helldusk were extremely wary of her.
Rinelle possessed a unique Innate Ability. She could equip all kinds of magical equipment without restrictions and nullify all negative effects from that equipment.
It might sound simple, but in theory, Rinelle could equip all kinds of Ultimate Artifacts without limits and would never lose any equipment slots.
In Oblivion Gate, powerful equipment usually carried strong negative status effects. That was why players and NPC characters could not equip things carelessly.
But Rinelle could bypass all of that. For now, however, she was just an ordinary girl.
Creeaak.
The wooden door groaned as it was pushed open, the hinges letting out an old, worn sound.
Saelran entered the empty house. It was rather bare, furnished only with a wooden bed, and a thin layer of dust covered the floor.
Tattered cobwebs clung to the beams overhead and the four corners of the ceiling.
The wooden boards in the corners where the planks met the floor were slightly darker, likely because of moisture.
In this impoverished frontier village, Saelran did not expect much in terms of accommodations. He had come to Naret Village because it was the closest village to the Arkenwald Forest.
And since the village belonged to the territory of the Forest Guardian, Karaman, its safety was actually quite high.
The journey from "Antara" to Naret Village took about one day, so a round trip would require at least two days.
Although Saelran had replenished his supplies, he still needed to prepare for unexpected situations, such as leaving the forest earlier than planned or running out of supplies.
In such cases, having a place to rest was extremely important.
Naret Village was perfect.
"I should have prepared 'Cleansing' scrolls." Saelran glanced at the dust in the room and the cobwebs on the beams, then shook his head slightly.
As expected.
Even with the knowledge he obtained from the Guard team about what adventurers typically prepared before traveling, there were still things he overlooked.
Saelran could only clean the room himself, clearing out the less dusty areas.
He then took out a ceramic jar the size of a basketball from his supply box and set it on the floor. Next, he pulled out a piece of preserved meat, broke it into small pieces of various sizes, placed them inside, and then poured water from his waterskin.
"Heating,"
Saelran said, pointing his finger at the ceramic jar.
In less than half a minute, the water inside began boiling, slowly turning into a pot of meat broth that emitted the aroma of simmered meat.
"Setting everything else aside, this spell is at least practical for heating food," Saelran said, a faint smile appearing on his face as he smelled the salty scent in the air.
A minute passed in the blink of an eye, and the simple meat broth was ready.
Saelran took out a bowl, scooped some for himself, and grabbed a piece of black bread to eat with it.
Even after cooking, the preserved meat still had a strong salty flavor, but it did not taste bad when paired with the dry and hard black bread.
Preserved meat was one of the staple foods for adventurers in the wild. Since it was cured with extremely high amounts of salt, it was nearly impossible to eat directly.
It was often used to make broth or as a substitute for salt, serving as an important way for adventurers who performed physical labor to replenish their salt levels.
The slightly salty aroma of the broth drifted out the window, immediately causing a small stir in Naret Village.
The village's main source of income came from growing wheat and gathering herbs along the forest edge.
Hunting magical beasts?
This was far too dangerous for villagers who were mostly only level 1.
Saelran recalled that there was supposed to be one hunter in Naret Village with the basic class "Guerrilla Soldier," but the man was at most level 2.
He glanced at his attribute panel. The experience he gained from killing two members of The Gilded Fang, combined with goblins and small magical beasts he killed along the way, had allowed Saelran to level up again.
His progress was not slow.
Saelran felt he should be able to raise his intermediate "Sword Saint" class to its maximum level within a few days, after which he would focus on improving his "Genius" skill.
Vesveria's Priestess skill and the Goddess of Death's skill were both at level 10.
Although Saelran was not sure whether this was the required Priestess level for the "Red Apostle" class, maintaining consistency was always a good idea.
The next day
2 June
At dawn, Saelran packed his things and left Naret Village.
Before leaving, he made sure to visit the village chief and pay 5 copper coins for lodging.
The people of Naret Village were quite honest. The chief had no intention of accepting the money, but Saelran insisted.
He would likely return to Naret Village later, so he wanted to build goodwill and develop his interpersonal skills.
He could afford five copper coins.
...
The air was filled with the characteristic scent of the forest, a mixture of foliage, soil, and decay from the Arkenwald Forest.
Rustle. Saelran stepped on the thick layer of leaves and moss, each step producing a soft crunching sound.
From deeper within the forest, the cries of various animals and birds echoed from time to time.
Saelran gripped his iron sword and advanced along the outer boundary toward the eastern area of Arkenwald Forest.
Of the three rulers of the forest, the strongest and most difficult to face was the Forest Guardian, Karaman. Even with Saelran's strength, he would not be able to escape if he encountered him.
Do not be fooled by his cute appearance in the game. That was only from the perspective of the character being played. In reality, the Forest Guardian Karaman was a terrifying magical beast.
The other two rulers, Slythar of Lake Abel was highly intelligent and also a mage, making him a significant threat.
Grunnfang, although equally powerful, had low intelligence and a simple mind.
Most importantly, he was a warrior, possessing only extraordinary regeneration and physical attacks, without any other forms of offense.
In an unexpected encounter, the chances of escaping from Ogloo the Grunnfang were much higher than escaping from Aris the Slythar or the Forest Warden Karaman.
Lush, towering trees surrounded the area, with sunlight piercing through the layers of leaves and illuminating the ground below.