Morse Forest.
It took just over ten minutes for Vili and Vincent’s group of five to enter the outskirts of Morse Forest.
In that short time, Vili had already learned the identities of Vincent and his companions.
They were a small mercenary party. This trip deep into Morse Forest was to fulfill a commission to find a certain item.
Vincent was the party’s leader, and under him were Vilin, Kariel, and Lanni.
Vilin was the young woman who had invited Vili to share her horse earlier. She had a lively personality and was quite interested in Vili, who seemed different from others.
Kariel was a burly man of about thirty. He wasn’t one for words and barely spoke during the journey, nor did he interact much with the others in the party.
The remaining girl was named Lanni. She was the youngest member of the mercenary party, looking to be about sixteen or seventeen.
"Those fruits look like they’d be delicious."
Vilin said to Vili, glancing curiously at the fruits on the trees as the five of them passed through a grove of Sweet Fruit trees.
"Those are Sweet Fruits. They’re quite good for quenching thirst and beating the heat."
Vili explained to Vilin.
Vilin’s eyes lit up at his words. She pulled on her reins and looked at Vincent. "Boss, I think we should pick some to stock up on supplies for our journey deeper into the forest. We can also take a short break. We’ve been on the road for so long and haven’t eaten yet."
The four of them had set out from the town’s inn before dawn, traveling nonstop.
"Alright."
After a moment of thought, Vincent nodded. "Don’t pick too many. It’ll slow us down."
Once they were deep in Morse Forest, they probably wouldn’t have such easy opportunities to gather supplies. They would need to be constantly on guard against all sorts of potential dangers.
The horses halted, and the five of them dismounted.
Vilin took a cloth bag from her pack, her eyes on the Sweet Fruit trees, eager to start.
"Let me go pick them. I can tell which ones are the tastiest."
Vili said as he took the bag from her.
Vilin nodded. This was perfect. While Vili was picking the Sweet Fruits, she could eat something to fill her empty stomach.
After careful observation, Vili chose a Sweet Fruit tree with lush branches and leaves.
He climbed it with ease and began to focus on picking the Sweet Fruits.
"He’s not like the other country folk I’ve met."
It was Lanni who spoke. She took out a block of compressed white bread from her pack, broke off a piece, and handed it to Vilin.
Vilin took it and stuffed it into her mouth with a large bite, completely unconcerned with her image. "I think so too," she mumbled, her words muffled by the food. "He gives me the impression of a merchant’s child—steady and educated."
Vincent heard the two women’s conversation and smiled subtly.
Kariel, however, remained stone-faced and silent.
Vili worked quickly, and the cloth bag was soon almost full of Sweet Fruits.
"Do you want some bread?"
Lanni asked, waving the white bread in her hand at Vili.
"Yes, please. Thank you."
Vili wasn’t one for false modesty.
The black bread from breakfast had been so sour and bitter it was hard to swallow. He had only eaten enough to take the edge off his hunger and was now genuinely feeling it.
Lanni covered her mouth and smiled. This Vili had none of the bashfulness expected of a young man.
"I’ve got to try one of these Sweet Fruits."
Vilin took the cloth bag from Vili and tossed a Sweet Fruit to each of her three companions.
Without even wiping the fruit’s surface, she took a big bite.
Instantly, cool and sweet juice burst from the pulp, flowing between her lips and teeth.
Vilin’s eyes lit up in pleasant surprise. "Wow, this is so delicious."
It wasn’t just Vilin; Lanni and Vincent were also full of praise. Only Kariel remained expressionless.
Vili was feeling the exact same way at that moment—the white bread in his hand was also surprisingly delicious.
Compared to the meals at home, this was practically a delicacy.
After finishing the white bread, Vili felt full. Seeing that Vilin’s group was still resting, he got up and wandered around the area.
As he wandered over to Vincent’s horse, a flicker of curiosity appeared in Vili’s eyes.
Hanging from the side of Vincent’s saddle was a crossbow made of refined steel.
Its surface showed some wear and tear, suggesting it had seen a few years of use.
"This crossbow has been with me for over ten years."
At some point, Vincent had walked up behind Vili. "If you like it, you can try firing a few shots."
Vincent took the crossbow and two crossbow arrows from the side of the horse and handed them to Vili.
The cool metal spread through Vili’s fingertips. The arrowhead was slightly reddish and carried a faint smell of blood.
As an Earthling transmigrated from the modern era, he felt a special kind of curiosity about such a cool-looking cold weapon.
"Then I’ll give it a try."
With Vincent’s help, Vili loaded a crossbow arrow onto the crossbow.
He scanned his surroundings and spotted a sparrow on a branch.
The sparrow glanced in Vili’s direction before looking away indifferently.
’You’ll do.’
The sparrow was very close, so Vili was more confident he could hit it.
Vili held his breath, rested the crossbow on his arm, and slowly raised it, aiming at the sparrow.
SWOOSH!
Vili pulled the trigger. The crossbow arrow became a black shadow, instantly flying toward the sparrow.
THWACK!
The crossbow arrow pierced straight through the sparrow’s body.
The sparrow let out a pained cry and fell to the ground.
It thrashed desperately, staining the ground red with its blood. But after a few breaths, it stopped moving altogether.
"Not bad at all!"
Vincent said with a laugh, patting Vili on the shoulder.
At that moment, however, Vili froze. To Vincent, it looked like Vili was simply surprised at hitting a target on his first try.
But that wasn’t what Vincent thought.
In Vili’s field of vision, a few lines of text slowly appeared.
"First prey captured. Title acquired—[Junior Hunter]. Reward: 0.3 attribute points."
"With the [Junior Hunter] title, you will now understand the habits of various beasts, their weak points, and their threats. In addition, you will master various hunting techniques and gain hunting experience, making you a qualified hunter."
[Vili Ferren—Constitution: 1.0; Intelligence: 1.2; Remaining attribute points: 0.3]
The Title Attribute Panel had appeared again.
Vili hadn’t expected that a simple test of the crossbow would unlock another new title.
Moreover, the [Junior Hunter] title seemed even more valuable than his previous [Basic-level Gatherer] title.
After all, the last reward was only 0.2 attribute points, but this time it was 0.3!