Leaving Blackmos Town and walking along the gravel path through several wheat fields, Lu Wei and Furen soon entered the Gran Forest.
The midday sun generously poured down, its rays filtered through the treetops, transforming into countless golden beams that slanted into the air filled with the scent of grass and damp earth, a truly invigorating sight.
The gravel path beneath their feet had become the dirt road of the unfinished "Great Trade Route" project. Years later, it remained smooth and sturdy, the best route for most newcomers entering the forest.
Although this was Lu Wei's first time in the Gran Forest, his predecessor had been there many times, so everything was very familiar to him; he could even clearly remember where the paths were, where the streams were, and where the wild fruits were.
In contrast, Furen was much more curious, constantly looking left and right, seemingly filled with a sense of wonder at everything.
An outsider might have thought they were on a tourist trip.
After walking along the dirt road for about an hour, the two arrived at the foot of a massive fir tree nearly a hundred meters tall.
The giant sequoia itself wasn't anything special; after all, such towering trees were commonplace deep within the Gran Forest.
However, perhaps because of its location by the roadside, and because it was the first truly large tree encountered upon entering the forest, many newcomers would carve their names on its trunk as a memento.
Over time, this tree acquired a name: the Tree of Beginnings.
The Gran Forest Adventure Handbook describes it thus: "
[The Tree of Beginnings, located 5 miles north of the forest road, bears the axe-carved insignia left by the first forest ranger captain, 'Alger Ironboot,' in Starlight Calendar 137. It is considered a symbolic boundary marker for adventurers officially entering the core area of the forest.]
"
Turning to Fren, Lu Wei asked, realizing immediately that his question was completely unnecessary.
For someone who didn't even know if there were female goblins, the meaning of adventure wasn't about making money or fighting, but about fulfilling their fantasies of adventure. A
fantastical forest, teammates who would share life and death, mysterious and beautiful female elves, and everything imbued with a sense of "ritual"... these were what they longed for.
"Of course!"
Sure enough, Furen drew his longsword excitedly without hesitation.
However, he then scratched his head somewhat awkwardly, seemingly realizing that a longsword wasn't a good tool for carving.
"Use this." Lu Wei reluctantly took his dagger from his waist and handed it to him.
"Thank you!"
Furen took the dagger and turned his gaze back to the tree trunk in front of him.
The densely packed names varied in size, some were very shallow, and some were clearly recently carved.
Some even overlapped, forming some inexplicable, even somewhat comical, new words.
In short, thanks to the many adventurers, there wasn't a single intact spot on the bark, making one worry about the health of this giant sequoia.
"Here it is!"
After searching for a while, Furen finally found a clean piece of bark and then carefully carved a line of small characters—
[The golden dawn piercing the darkness, Furen Dela Roca]
"..."
I knew it...
Lu Wei secretly rolled his eyes and took back his dagger.
"Alright, my work is done. You'll have to walk the rest of the way on your own."
"Huh?" Furen was taken aback. "Is this all?"
"Yes, it gets a bit dangerous going any further in."
"Okay then..."
Furen hesitated, glancing at the depths of the forest.
However, he didn't make any unreasonable demands and quickly looked away, emptying twenty copper coins from his purse as agreed.
"Oh right, I almost forgot, these are the twenty copper coins we agreed on."
"Okay, good luck, and I hope you come back safely."
Lu Wei accepted the coins, offering a heartfelt blessing as a free bonus.
Then he took off his backpack, laid out a felt rug on the ground, and began placing his items on it one by one.
Seeing this, Furen was a little confused: "What are you doing?"
Lu Wei answered truthfully, "Setting up a stall."
Furen's eyes widened: "Setting up a stall?"
"That's right."
Lu Wei looked up, his eyes expectant: "Would you like to buy something?"
"I..."
Probably unable to understand why someone would set up a stall in the forest, Furen stared blankly for a long time before finally looking at the goods on the ground.
After a moment, he actually picked up a tinderbox.
[Tinderbox]
[Type: General Goods]
[Level: Common]
[Value: 5 Copper Coins]
[Description: Contains flint, steel sheet, and dry flammable material, a reliable fire-starting tool.]
"I just forgot to prepare a fire-starting tool. Luckily you have one here, otherwise tonight would be troublesome."
Furen explained somewhat embarrassedly, then opened his money pouch again.
"So how much more do I need to pay you?"
"Hmm... it will be a little more expensive than in town, after all, I'm the only merchant here."
"Of course, I completely understand."
"Okay, then..."
Lu Wei smiled slightly and extended his right hand.
"50 copper coins, thank you."
...
...
[1. Accumulate 100 gold coins through genuine transactions acknowledged by both parties. (0.07/100)]
[2. Master at least three other profession skills. (0/3)]
[3. ? ? ? (Unlocked after completing conditions 1 and 2)]
Five minutes later, Furen left with a fire tinder box worth 50 copper coins.
Although he was clearly ripped off, he didn't say anything, only paused for a moment, and then readily paid the money.
This made Lu Wei feel a little embarrassed.
After all, it was his first day as a swindler, and his conscience hadn't completely disappeared yet.
He'd probably get used to it after a while.
"Sigh, when will I ever earn enough?"
Looking at the "0.07" on the panel, Lu Wei sighed helplessly.
The currency exchange rate in this world is 1 gold coin = 10 silver coins, 1 silver coin = 100 copper coins.
So 100 gold coins is 100,000 copper coins.
Although he knew his business would grow bigger and bigger, it still felt like a distant goal.
The good news, however, was that income from providing services to others would also be included.
This would significantly increase his earning potential.
According to Lu Wei's estimate, relying on his "Accurate Appraisal" cheat code and a bit of luck, he should be able to achieve this goal within a year.
But this was still far from meeting the requirements for career advancement.
Not to mention the third requirement, which he hadn't yet unlocked.
The difficulty of the second requirement alone was no less than earning 100 gold coins.
This was because [Professional Skills] weren't [General Skills] that anyone could learn; they were high-level exclusive skills that one had to become a professional to master and use.
Take, for example, the most common warrior's professional skill, [Whirlwind Slash].
An ordinary person would need three steps to learn Whirlwind Slash:
1. Through diligent practice, master a general offensive or defensive skill and rigorously train their physique, strength, and reflexes to meet the minimum standards for becoming a [Warrior].
2. Pass the [Warrior Professional Association]'s examination and wait in line for the blessing of the "God of Strength and Storm" to officially become a [Warrior] professional.
3. Purchase the [Whirlwind Slash] skill book, then practice continuously, accumulate proficiency, and finally master it completely.
Each of the above three steps takes several years and is extremely arduous.
Of course, since Lu Wei is already a professional and has the professional talent of [knowing a little bit about everything], the first two steps seem like he can skip them.
But in reality, it won't be much easier for him than for an ordinary person.
Because many professional skills have basic requirements for the learner's attributes.
This means that he simply cannot learn a considerable number of professional skills right now.
In addition, there is the most crucial point—
regardless of the profession, skill books are extremely expensive.
So, in the end, his most important task right now is to make as much money as possible.
"I have to act immediately!" "
I can't be idle while waiting for customers!"
Suddenly, a sense of urgency arose.
Picking up the monocular telescope on the ground, Lu Wei immediately began to look around, trying to see if there were any herbs, berries, or other supplies nearby.
Lucky him, he soon discovered a patch of sunberry bushes beside the stream.
The golden berries were beautiful; they could be used to make wine, which had a slight mood-boosting effect and could sell for about 10 copper coins a pound in town.
That was considered a relatively expensive berry.
"About half a pound."
After roughly estimating the number of sunberry bushes, Lu Wei stood up, intending to collect them.
However, just a second before he put down his binoculars, he suddenly noticed one of the sunberry bushes tremble unnaturally.
Then, a pair of bright green, pointed ears flashed across his vision.
"..."
Holy crap!
A green-skinned elf!