After leaving Heitai Town and following a gravel road past several wheat fields, Lu Wei and Furen soon entered Gelan Forest.
The midday sun poured down generously. Its rays, filtered through the high canopy, became countless golden pillars of light slanting through the air, which was filled with the refreshing scent of grass and damp earth.
Underfoot, the gravel road gave way to a dirt path—part of the unfinished "Great Trade Route" project. Years later, it remained flat and solid, making it the best route for most newcomers entering the forest.
Although this was Lu Wei’s first time entering Gelan Forest, the body’s previous owner had been here many times. As a result, Lu Wei was extremely familiar with his surroundings, even remembering clearly where to find small paths, streams, and wild fruit.
Furen, by contrast, was far more curious. He constantly looked left and right, as if everything was filled with a sense of novelty.
Anyone who didn’t know better would have thought he was a tourist.
After walking along the dirt path for about another hour, the two arrived at the base of a giant fir tree nearly a hundred meters tall.
The giant fir itself wasn’t particularly special. After all, towering trees like it were a common sight deep within Gelan Forest.
However, perhaps because of its location by the path and the fact that it was the first truly massive tree one encountered upon entering the forest, many newcomers carved their names on its trunk as a memento.
Over time, the tree came to be known by a name: the Tree of Origin.
The Gelan Forest Adventurer’s Manual describes it as such:
[The Tree of Origin, located 5 miles along the forest path on the northern side of the forest. The south-facing side bears an emblem chiseled by an axe, left by the first captain of the forest patrol, Alger Iron Boots, in the year 137 of the Starlight Calendar. It is regarded as the symbolic boundary marker for Adventurers officially entering the core region of the forest.]
"Are you going to carve your name?"
Lu Wei turned to Furen, but as soon as the words left his mouth, he realized the question was entirely unnecessary.
’For someone who doesn’t even know if female goblins exist,’ Lu Wei thought, ’the point of adventuring is definitely not about making money or fighting. It’s about fulfilling their fantasies of what an adventure should be.’
’An enchanted forest, companions to face life and death with, a mysterious and beautiful female Elf, and any act that carries a "sense of ritual"... That’s what people like him expect.’
"Of course!"
Just as he’d expected. Without a moment’s hesitation, Furen excitedly drew his Longsword.
Immediately after, however, he scratched his head in embarrassment, apparently just realizing that a Longsword wasn’t the best tool for carving.
"Here, use this." Lu Wei sighed, unclipping the Dagger from his waist and handing it over.
"Thanks!"
Furen took the Dagger and turned his attention back to the tree trunk.
The trunk was covered in a dense thicket of names, some large, some small. Some carvings were shallow and faded, while others were clearly fresh.
Some even overlapped, forming strange and occasionally hilarious new words.
In short, thanks to the multitudes of Adventurers, there was hardly an untouched spot on the bark, which made one worry about the giant fir’s health.
"Right here!"
After searching for a good while, Furen finally found a clean patch of bark. He then very seriously carved a line of small characters:
"The Golden Dawn That Pierces the Darkness, Furen Delaroca"
"..."
’I knew it...’
Lu Wei silently rolled his eyes and took back the Dagger.
"Alright, my job is done. You’re on your own for the rest of the way."
"Huh?" Furen was taken aback. "This is as far as you’re going?"
"That’s right. It gets a bit dangerous any deeper in."
"Oh, alright then..."
Furen glanced toward the deeper parts of the forest, clearly hesitant.
In the end, however, he didn’t make any difficult requests. He quickly looked away and, as agreed, poured twenty Copper Coins from his coin purse.
"Oh, right, I almost forgot. Here are the twenty Copper Coins we agreed on."
"Thanks. Good luck to you, and I hope you make it back safely."
Lu Wei accepted the Copper Coins, throwing in a sincere blessing free of charge.
He then took off his backpack, pulled out a leather groundcloth, spread it on the ground, and began laying out his wares one by one.
Furen watched, a little dumbfounded. "What are you doing?"
Lu Wei answered truthfully, "Setting up shop."
Furen’s eyes widened. "Setting up shop?"
"That’s right."
Lu Wei looked up, his eyes glinting with expectation. "Care to buy something?"
"I..."
Probably unable to comprehend the logic of setting up a shop in the middle of a forest, Furen stared blankly for a long moment before his gaze fell upon the goods on the ground.
A moment later, he actually picked up a Flint Box.
[Flint Box]
[Category: Sundries]
[Level: Ordinary]
[Value: 5 Copper Coins]
[Introduction: Contains flint, a steel striker, and dry tinder. A reliable fire-starting tool.]
"I actually forgot to pack any fire-starting tools. It’s a good thing you have one, or I’d be in trouble tonight."
Furen explained, a bit sheepishly, and untied his coin purse again.
"So, how much do I owe you for this?"
"Well... it’s a bit more expensive than in town. After all, I’m the only merchant out here."
"Of course. That’s perfectly understandable."
"Great. In that case..."
Lu Wei gave a slight smile and held out his hand.
"Fifty Copper Coins, please."
...
...
[1. Accumulate one hundred Gold Coins through legitimate, mutually acknowledged transactions. (0.07/100)]
[2. Master at least three Skills from other Professions. (0/3)]
[3. ??? (Unlocks after completing conditions 1 and 2)]
Five minutes later, Furen left with his 50-Copper-Coin Flint Box.
Though he had clearly been ripped off, he didn’t say a word. He just paused for a second, then paid readily.
This, in turn, made Lu Wei feel a bit embarrassed.
’It is my first day as a Crafty Merchant, after all. My conscience hasn’t been completely snuffed out yet.’
’I’ll probably get used to it in time.’
"Sigh... when will I ever earn enough?"
Looking at the "0.07" on the panel, Lu Wei sighed in resignation.
The currency exchange rate in this world was 1 Gold Coin to 10 Silver Coins, and 1 Silver Coin to 100 Copper Coins.
That meant 100 Gold Coins was one hundred thousand Copper Coins.
Business would surely grow in the future, but it still felt like a goal that was impossibly far away.
The good news, however, was that income from providing services also counted toward the total.
That opened up quite a few more avenues for making money.
By Lu Wei’s calculations, relying on his cheat-like ability, Precise Identification, and a bit of luck, he should be able to complete this goal within a year.
But that was still a far cry from meeting the conditions for a Professional Promotion.
Never mind the third condition, which was still locked.
The difficulty of the second condition alone was on par with earning 100 Gold Coins.
This was because Professional Skills were not like Universal Skills, which anyone could learn. They were exclusive, High Tier abilities that one had to become a Professional to master and use.
Take the common Warrior’s Professional Skill, Tornado Slash, for example.
For an ordinary person to learn Tornado Slash, they would need to take three steps.
1. First, through diligent study and hard practice, they must master an offensive or defensive Universal Skill. They must also train their Physique, Power, and reflexes to meet the minimum standards to become a Warrior.
2. They must pass the assessment of the Warrior Professional Association and wait in line for the blessing of the God of Power and Storms to officially become a Warrior Professional.
3. They must purchase a Tornado Slash Skill Book, then practice constantly to build proficiency and finally master the Skill.
Each of these three steps could take several years of arduous effort.
Of course, since Lu Wei was already a Professional and possessed the Professional Talent "A Little of Everything," it seemed like he could skip the first two steps.
In reality, however, it wouldn’t be that much easier for him than it would be for an ordinary person.
This was because many Professional Skills had minimum Attribute requirements for the learner.
This meant there was a significant portion of Professional Skills he simply couldn’t learn at present.
And beyond that, there was one more crucial point:
regardless of the Profession, Skill Books were all incredibly expensive.
So, in the end, his most immediate and important task was still to make as much money as possible.
’I have to get moving right away!’
’I can’t just sit around while waiting for customers!’
A sudden sense of urgency washed over him.
Picking up the Monocular Telescope from the ground, Lu Wei immediately began scanning his surroundings, looking for any nearby resources like herbs or berries.
His luck was good. He soon spotted a patch of Sunberry bushes next to a small stream.
The golden berries were quite beautiful. They could be used for brewing wine and had a slight mood-enhancing effect. In town, they could sell for around 10 Copper Coins per pound.
They were considered a relatively expensive type of berry.
’About half a pound’s worth,’ he thought.
After roughly estimating the yield from the bushes, Lu Wei stood up, planning to pocket the berries first.
However, just a second before he lowered the telescope, he suddenly noticed one of the Sunberry bushes tremble unnaturally.
Immediately after, a pair of sharp, green ears flashed through his field of view.
"..."
’Holy shit!’
’A Green-skinned Elf!’