Starting with the goblin extermination

The scorching sun overhead shone on Logan's face, making him sweat slightly.

His hands groped over the corpse, a slight smile playing on his lips. Although what he was doing was hardly dignified, it was his favorite part of the post-war cleanup.

He didn't find it disgusting at all.

"Am I really becoming a bit of a pervert?" Logan muttered.

It's no wonder he sighed.

He had never personally interrogated anyone before; this was the first time. Yet, when he chopped off fingers, he was ruthless, his hand not even trembling.

Perhaps I am a pervert, this modern soul that has been suppressed for so long, perhaps I am born to be in this dangerous world.

Logan pulled the second Bloodhound badge from the bald man.

He held up the badge and waved it at Elsa, who nodded, so Logan put it in his pocket.

Now he can also access the black market.

This mission was very rewarding. If I sell the [Fire-Defeating Staff], I can definitely earn enough gold to learn the new combat skill, and I might even have some left over.

Magical items, especially staves specifically for spellcasters, are sure to fetch a high price.

We're rich!

We need to find an opportunity to have Elsa take him to that underground black market to have a good look around.

Elsa, standing to the side, was still somewhat dazed, not yet recovered from the interrogation she had just endured.

They're so skilled.

Logan's expression and movements when chopping off his finger were as simple as picking his teeth.

She was certainly aware of this appalling custom in North Nordland, but she had never witnessed it firsthand, let alone participated in it as an assistant.

Who exactly is he?

"abnormal."

Elsa muttered to herself as she pulled the money pouch from the corpse. The clattering sound of the coins brought her back to her senses.

Regardless, at least he's a reliable teammate, and they made a lot of money this time.

A ransom of 200 gold coins doesn't seem so far out of reach.

The happy cleanup phase is finally over.

Aside from the equipment and weapons, Logan and his companion found a total of 6 gold coins, which wasn't much.

But the money came easily, without fierce fighting or bloodshed; they were lucky.

They do not intend to return the way they came.

The mine is located deep in the western part of the forest. Instead of turning back, continuing westward and then turning north would allow us to leave the forest more quickly.

Elsa tapped on the map and then pulled Logan along as they continued onward.

The forest remained quiet.

Logan could sense that Elsa wasn't as tense as before.

She continued to wander through the woods, occasionally reaching out to touch the gray-spotted wildflowers beside her, and looking up to follow the birds flying overhead.

As she turned her head, sunlight fell into her sapphire-like eyes, and at that moment, Elsa finally looked like an eighteen-year-old girl.

It seems she's really short of money.

This put Logan at ease.

While bonds of affection are beautiful, chains built on shared interests are far more unbreakable.

It now seems that the relationships among the members of their [Black Beast] squad have become even stronger.

The relaxed atmosphere didn't last long.

After walking for about half an hour, Elsa stopped.

The dagger slipped back into his palm.

She raised her right hand and pointed to a shady slope in front of her. It was a shady slope, surrounded by ferns that were about waist-high.

Logan squinted and turned his head to the side.

He saw blood. Dark red blood, slightly dried and blackened, was haphazardly splattered on the open ground in front of the earthen slope.

After confirming that there were no other creatures around, Elsa breathed a sigh of relief and nodded to Logan.

Pushing aside the ferns, a strong smell of rust wafted out.

This is a grizzly bear's den, or rather, their graveyard.

The carcasses of two adult grizzly bears lay at the entrance of the cave.

They were less like corpses and more like two piles of minced meat. Their throats had been ripped out, their flesh torn into pieces, and their ruptured internal organs were crawling with flies.

And among that pile of rotten flesh were a few smaller clumps of blood.

Those are grizzly bear cubs.

They didn't even have time to grow up before they were chewed up by some more brutal force.

Elsa frowned, took out a small bottle, sniffed it under her nose, and reluctantly stepped forward.

She picked up a piece of minced meat and looked at the deep footprints on the ground.

"Two wolves."

Logan rubbed the huge claw marks on the chunk of meat.

Grizzly bears have a challenge level of 1/2, meaning they are ferocious and brutal. What kind of wolf can so easily slaughter them without having a numerical advantage?

Challenge a monster of level 1.

"It's a dire wolf; the claw and footprints match what I saw in the book."

"That's impossible."

Logan licked his lips, feeling incredulous.

There's a reason why the Ash Forest is strictly divided into the Deep Layer and the Outer Layer by the Adventurers' Guild.

Based on the percentage of gray spots covering the leaves, once more than half are covered, it signifies entering a perilous deeper region. In this deeper region, ferocious monsters with a challenge level of 1 or higher will frequently appear, while the number of weaker monsters will rapidly decrease.

On the outskirts, records over the centuries show that no monster of level 1 has ever appeared. This has provided a valuable testing ground for low-level adventurers of the Iron rank, lowering the barrier to entry for collecting herbs and materials, and indirectly supporting the prosperity of Riverwood.

As for why powerful monsters never set foot on the outskirts, no one knows the exact reason; all that is known is that the forest has always been this way.

But now it seems that the convention is about to be broken.

"Shouldn't they only be active in the deeper layers? How could they have wandered to the outer edges...?"

Elsa's gaze slowly followed the footprints forward, her expression becoming serious.

"How long have they been dead?"

Logan used his sword to cut open the corpse.

The fur was all torn to shreds; even if you managed to peel it off, it wouldn't fetch much of a price...

"No more than two hours. And..."

She pointed ahead to a path through bushes that had been clearly crushed by a massive object.

"They went that way."

Logan looked in the direction she was pointing, his brows furrowing.

"Are you going the same way as us?"

"That's right." Elsa nodded.

Logan paused for a second.

There's nothing to hesitate about.

If he were to unfortunately encounter a dire wolf, with the [Abyssal Thorn Ring], his advanced combat skills, and Elsa's cooperation, he might be able to barely hold his own.

But two?

Preserving one's life is the most important thing.

"We'll take a detour."

The group quickly veered off the main road and turned onto a denser, more difficult, undeveloped path.

Thorns caught on my clothes, and the ground became muddy, making each step more difficult.

I thought I could leave the forest faster, but I encountered another accident. Now it seems that it would be better to go back the way I came.

About another long hour passed, just when they thought they had gotten around the two dire wolves.

Trouble has come knocking again.

A mournful scream was carried on the wind from afar.

"Damn it! Kevin! Push up! Stop them!!"

Those were human screams, a mixture of despair and fear. It was less about directing teammates to hold off the enemy and more about feeding them first so that he could escape.

What followed was a long, chilling howl.

"Awooo—!!!"

The sound was coming from not far ahead.

Logan and his companion were positioned on higher ground, and through the obscured vegetation, they could vaguely see the dark figures moving about on the slope below.

It seems that some troubles are unavoidable.