Leaving E-Rantel at dawn, Adam followed the intelligence and crude map obtained from the Adventurers' Guild.
He headed northwest, toward the Re-Estize Kingdom's frontier, near the edge of the Great Forest of Tob.
There lay Carne Village.
A border settlement with nearly a century of history, it remained impoverished despite its age.
In the kingdom, it was utterly unremarkable, easily overlooked. Yet in the anime, it was tied to a series of pivotal events.
In truth, the village had little direct connection to those plots, serving more as a narrative waypoint.
"Graah!"
From the bushes on a desolate hillside, a goblin sprang out.
Adam's gaze flicked over. He drew his iron sword in a flash, sidestepping the ambushing goblin and slashing downward.
Splurch!
The blade gleamed, cleaving the goblin in two with a scream.
[Gained 30 Experience]
Adam expressionlessly flicked the green blood from his sword, scanning the surroundings. Four more goblins emerged from the bushes.
"Annoying creatures." With a thought, he spoke: "Magic Arrow!"
Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!
Expending 5 MP, Adam added 1 more, conjuring four magic arrows to target the goblins.
Four sprays of green blood erupted.
As they fell, his attribute panel updated.
[Gained 27 Experience]
[Gained 25 Experience]
[Gained 30 Experience]
"About the same as wild beasts. I should gain a level by the time I reach Carne Village. Early levels do come quickly."
Adam approached, cutting off the goblins' ears. They could be exchanged for coin at the Adventurers' Guild, a decent income.
On the journey, Adam encountered several more waves, not just goblins but small magical beasts as well.
Under these conditions, he reached a small village encircled by wooden palisades, wisps of smoke rising, by evening.
A glance revealed the flimsy defenses. Such palisades offered little protection against the forest's monsters.
Yet Carne Village, so close to the Great Forest of Tob, persisted without being overrun, a curious fact.
Having faced frequent monster attacks along the way, Adam felt this keenly.
After leaving E-Rantel, the number of monsters and goblins increased, but nearing Carne Village, their presence dwindled.
This was due to the three "Forest Rulers" dominating the Great Forest of Tob.
The southern ruler, a great magical beast, the Wise King of the Forest, Hamusuke.
The eastern ruler, an ogre, Guu, the Giant of the East.
The western ruler, a Naga, Ryraryus Spenia Ai Indarun, the Demon Snake of the West.
These three collectively reigned over the forest, and Carne Village fell within Hamusuke's territory.
This explained the lack of monster attacks on the village.
All three rulers hovered around level 30, with Hamusuke slightly higher. By human standards, they were in the realm of heroes.
Yet even human heroes stood little chance against them one-on-one.
Such was the advantage of demi-humans and heteromorphs.
Adam shifted his gaze from the village's palisade to the vast, primeval jungle in the distance, its dense canopy obscuring all.
His eyes grew heavy with caution and wariness.
The true terror of the Great Forest of Tob wasn't the three rulers.
It was a being in the forest's depths.
Two hundred years ago, during the era of the Thirteen Heroes, one of the world's calamities descended: the "Demon Tree." A level 85 entity. Never fully vanquished, it was sealed deep within the forest.
At the start of the anime's plot, Shalltear's clash with the Slane Theocracy's strongest unit, the Black Scripture, wielding the World Item Downfall of Castle and Country, was sheer misfortune.
The Black Scripture's true mission, armed with the World Item, was to address the loosening seal on the Demon Tree.
They aimed to unseal it and control it with Downfall of Castle and Country, only to encounter Shalltear.
The result was an inexplicable battle.
The anime glossed over it, but the light novels detailed the Black Scripture's heavy losses. The human wielding the World Item was killed by Shalltear's desperate counterattack before being controlled.
This explained why Shalltear, though controlled, became a "wild monster", the item's user was dead.
"Who are you!"
At Carne Village's entrance, two middle-aged villagers wielding pitchforks appeared, eyeing Adam warily.
"My apologies. I'm a traveler passing through, hoping to stay the night." Adam said softly, maintaining a gentle demeanor.
The villagers exchanged glances, their guarded expressions unchanged. They first checked behind Adam.
Seeing he was alone, their tension eased slightly.
"Wait here."
Unable to decide, one villager spoke and hurried into the village.
Soon, he returned with a man in his forties or fifties, skin darkened and rough, with gray-brown hair.
By his bearing, this was likely the village chief.
The chief scrutinized Adam, lingering briefly on his black hair.
"You're here to stay the night?" His voice was gruff.
"Yes."
Adam nodded.
"Come in, then." The chief didn't probe further, agreeing readily.
This surprised Adam.
Carne Village rarely saw outsiders, except for tax collectors and herb merchants in late autumn.
"Chief?"
The two villagers spoke up, startled by the chief's swift agreement.
It was evening, and a stranger arriving now unsettled them.
"These past couple of months, the forest's beasts and monsters have been restless." The chief sighed, opening the palisade.
The villagers caught on. Though their village was peaceful, the road here was perilous.
For someone to arrive alone spoke to their strength. The village's wooden palisade couldn't stop such a person.
Since he hadn't forced his way in, the black-haired youth likely meant no harm.
Understanding this, the villagers' initial wariness faded.
Led by the chief, Adam entered Carne Village.
***
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