The soft rustle of leaves filled the air as a morning breeze stirred the dense jungle canopy.
Rustle... Rustle...
The faint grinding sound of branches brushing together carried through the forest.
Sakeer sat on a sturdy tree branch, legs dangling lazily as he leaned against the trunk. Slowly, he opened his eyes and reached into his pocket, retrieving a silver watch.
Click.
He flicked it open and glanced at the time.
"8:07..." he muttered. I wonder if time in this world matches the time back in my previous life.
With a quiet sigh, he snapped the watch shut and tucked it away.
The forest around him still felt dim and oppressive, even though the sun had long since risen. The dense foliage above choked out most of the sunlight, leaving only faint beams to pierce the gloom.
Still, compared to the pitch-black darkness of the night, his vision was much clearer now.
Sakeer had been awake for a while — though awake wasn't exactly the right word. He'd spent most of the night in a state of half-sleep, drifting in and out of consciousness. Yet despite the restless night, he felt no fatigue — a sign that his improved physique from leveling up was taking effect.
Even with so little rest, his body felt sharp and energized.
If not for the poor visibility in the jungle, Sakeer would have set out much earlier.
Swoosh!
With a slight tilt of his shoulder, Sakeer shifted his weight and let himself fall from the branch.
Thud!
Just before landing, he twisted his body mid-air and adjusted his posture, landing steadily with both feet on the ground.
"Time to get moving."
He drew his iron sword, gripping it firmly as his gaze hardened.
As Sakeer ventured deeper into the trolls' domain, the number of goblins steadily increased. Each encounter ended the same way — with goblins turning into experience points.
One day... Two days...
Four days...
By the time nearly a week had passed, hundreds of goblins had fallen by Sakeer's blade. Along the way, he had also encountered various beasts and ordinary monsters.
His class, Sword Master, had now reached Level 9.
Despite the rising body count, the sheer number of goblins in the Great Forest of Tob barely seemed to dwindle. The forest's vast expanse made the hundreds he'd slain feel like a drop in the ocean.
In truth, the goblins he had encountered were merely scattered groups — stragglers or small packs wandering the outskirts. On average, Sakeer encountered only about twenty goblins per day.
Hardly enough to make a dent in their population.
Sakeer quickly learned that not all goblins formed organized groups; many lived and hunted in loosely gathered clusters.
It wasn't that Sakeer lacked the drive to kill more — it was the environment that worked against him.
The jungle itself was a constant obstacle.
With its dense undergrowth, limited visibility, and oppressive darkness, the forest seemed to work in the goblins' favor. For up to thirteen hours each day, the forest remained shrouded in near-total darkness.
For Sakeer — a human — this was a severe disadvantage. Goblins, on the other hand, possessed a natural racial ability: Night Vision.
Fighting them in the dark wasn't just dangerous — it was suicide.
As a result, Sakeer's daily range of movement was heavily restricted. His routine boiled down to one thing:
Hunt goblins by day... and hide by night.
If luck was on his side, he'd stumble across an ogre.
Wherever there was an ogre, a goblin community was almost guaranteed to be nearby — making ogres an unexpected shortcut to finding more targets.
Time dragged on, and Sakeer hardly noticed the change taking place around him.
Unintentionally, the mounting number of slain goblins had begun to alter the outer region of the forest. The air now carried a faint, putrid stench — the unmistakable scent of blood and decay.
The corpses Sakeer had left behind had begun to rot, and the smell had grown stronger with each passing day.
But instead of attracting scavengers and predators...
The beasts of the jungle had started to flee.
The overwhelming scent of death seemed to terrify them, driving them away from the outer forest and forcing them deeper into the jungle's heart — toward the trolls' domain.
Unknowingly, Sakeer's actions had shifted the balance of the region.
And with the beasts retreating inward...
The real dangers were beginning to stir.
The beasts had begun to sense it — a terrible monster now lurked at the forest's edge.
Four years before the New Calendar.
Lower Wind Month, June 11.
It had been ten days since Sakeer first entered the Tobu Forest.
In a small goblin settlement...
"WAAAH!"
"Gyaaah! Ahhh!"
The panicked cries of goblins filled the air, their shrieks overlapping in a chaotic chorus of fear.
Sakeer's iron sword flashed coldly in his hand, slicing through the air with relentless precision.
His movements were fluid — calculated — almost instinctive. Whether it was the countless goblins he'd slain or the steady improvement of his Sword Master class, Sakeer's swordsmanship had grown sharper, faster... deadlier.
He raised his foot and lashed out with a powerful kick.
Bang!
A goblin was sent hurtling backward, crashing into several others who had been scrambling to flee.
Sakeer lunged forward, his blade tracing a cold arc through the air.
Swish!
Several goblin heads tumbled from their shoulders, their bodies collapsing in a heap.
Moments later, the settlement was silent.
The only sounds remaining were the faint rustle of leaves and the steady drip of blood pooling on the ground.
Sakeer knelt down and began cutting off the goblins' ears — his usual practice. He bundled them into a cloth pouch before storing them in his Item Box.
Gulp... Gulp...
Sakeer lifted his waterskin to his lips, taking several deep swigs before exhaling deeply.
Still ignoring the blood-soaked ground around him, he reached into his Item Box and pulled out a slab of roasted boar meat. Without hesitation, he tore off a large chunk with his teeth.
"This group didn't have an ogre either... What a waste."
His voice was muffled as he chewed, his mind running through the possibilities.
It wasn't that he particularly wanted to face an ogre — but where there were ogres, there were usually larger goblin groups. More goblins meant more experience points.
Finishing his thought, Sakeer dropped to a squat. He set his iron sword beside him, one hand gripping the waterskin, the other still holding his half-eaten boar meat.
The roasted boar was a kill from several days ago. Sakeer had cooked it using his Heat Up spell, cutting the meat into portions and storing it in his Item Box for convenience. With this method, he could eat fresh, hot food anytime he needed.
From a distance, Sakeer's appearance was far from heroic — he looked more like a wandering savage.
His coarse linen clothes were tattered, torn by branches and stained by mud. Leaves and twigs clung stubbornly to his garments.
His short black hair, now unkempt and overgrown, gave him a wild and rugged appearance.
This was already the fifth set of clothes Sakeer had worn since entering the forest. The previous sets had been reduced to rags long before.
If not for his Odorless spell masking his scent, Sakeer was certain he'd be reeking of blood, sweat, and grime by now.
Yet despite his disheveled look, something else stood out — the hardened muscle lining his frame.
His exposed arms, streaked with dirt and faint scars, bore clear signs of strength. The once-average physique he'd brought into this world had long been replaced by firm muscle, honed by constant battles and survival.
"Attribute Panel."
Sakeer summoned his status screen mentally.
[Attribute Panel]
Player: Sakeer
Justice Value: 35 [Neutral]
HP: 113 (8%)
MP: 13 (1%)
Physical Attack: 113 (8%)
Physical Defense: 13 (1%)
Dexterity: 113 (8%)
Magic Attack: 13 (1%)
Magic Defense: 13 (1%)
Combined Resistance: 0 (0%)
Specialty: 0 (0%)
Total Progress: 28%
[Ability Panel]
Innate Ability: [Player]
Overall Level: Lv11
Experience Points: 1721/5000
Class: []
Basic Class: Genius Lv1 (Warrior)Intermediate Class: Sword Master 10Lv
Skill Points: 19
Passive Skills:
Item BoxSlash Enhancement (+10%)
Active Skills:
Warrior Skills: Instant Reflex, Four Light Slashes, Quick Slashes, StealthMagic Skills: Papermaking (1st Tier), Heat Up (1st Tier), Minor Healing (1st Tier), Magic Arrow (1st Tier), Odorless (1st Tier)
Class Skills: Pharmaceutical, Alchemy