Leaving the village fence behind, Raymond headed toward the dangerous forest the elder had mentioned. There was an open stretch of more than two hundred meters between the village gate and the forest's edge. Although this open area was relatively safe for the villagers, Raymond advanced carefully with every step until he finally arrived at the forest.
Because the enormous trees blocked much of the sunlight with their dense branches, the interior of the forest appeared incredibly dark, mysterious, and filled with hidden dangers.
Taking a deep breath, Raymond stepped into the forest.
Near the entrance, the trees were not particularly dense. They stood roughly three to four meters apart, making movement relatively easy. Although he ventured some distance inside, he found no sign of the cunning creatures the villagers had warned him about.
Other than a few wild rabbits darting between tree roots and hiding from the darkness, there wasn't a single living creature in sight.
However, this false sense of peace did not fool Raymond.
Determined to thoroughly investigate the forest and eliminate any uncertainty, he continued deeper inside.
Every second, every step, he remained highly alert.
He paid attention to the slightest rustle of leaves or crack of a branch. His sharp dagger was firmly gripped in his right hand, while his left remained ready to react to any sudden attack.
As Raymond moved forward cautiously, he noticed something strange ahead.
At the base of a large tree, an unusually large pile of dry leaves had been gathered and spread flat across the ground, as if someone had deliberately arranged them.
Seeing this suspicious sight, he approached carefully.
His experienced eyes immediately sensed that something was hidden beneath the leaves.
Rather than taking a risk, Raymond picked up a stone and threw it into the center of the leaf-covered area.
The moment the stone landed with a rustling sound, the ground collapsed inward.
It was indeed a pit trap.
However, it was extremely crude and easy to spot.
"So this is their trap?" Raymond muttered with a faintly arrogant smile.
"It's incredibly simple and obvious."
"As the elder said, the goblins are smart enough to build traps, but they don't seem to know how to hide them properly."
"They're not as terrifying as I expected... Still, being cautious won't hurt."
Satisfied with his own perception, he stepped to the side, intending to bypass the exposed pit using what appeared to be safe ground.
At that exact moment, the earth beneath his foot suddenly gave way.
The seemingly solid ground had been disguised with a thin layer of grass.
The real trap was there.
Losing his balance, Raymond plunged into the darkness below.
Thud!
The first trap—the one that had been so easy to discover—had merely been bait.
Its sole purpose was to make the victim lower their guard and step directly into the second, hidden trap.
"Damn it!"
Raymond cursed bitterly as he lay among dirt and dead leaves at the bottom of the narrow pit.
His entire body ached from the impact.
"I got fooled by a simple monster's scheme."
"I underestimated them far too much."
Angered by his own carelessness, he tried to stand.
Fortunately, the pit wasn't very deep, nor were there any sharpened stakes at the bottom.
Otherwise, another one of his lives would have ended right there.
Raymond attempted to climb out, but the walls were extremely narrow.
His body was practically wedged inside.
The pit was roughly shoulder-deep, making movement incredibly difficult.
According to common knowledge about monster behavior, the goblins who had set the trap should have appeared by now to kill or capture their prey.
Yet strangely, nothing happened.
No movement.
No sounds.
Nothing.
Fortunately for Raymond, whatever had created the trap was nowhere nearby.
Gathering all his strength, he managed to scramble out, suffering a few scrapes in the process.
Once outside, he detected a faint scent of blood in the air.
Looking around, however, he found no living creature.
After climbing completely free, Raymond took a deep breath and brushed the dirt and dust from his black clothing and steel armor.
Then he readied his dagger and began searching for the goblins who had tricked him.
But the forest remained unnaturally quiet.
There were no footprints.
No voices.
No signs of life.
Refusing to give up, he pushed deeper into the forest.
After walking for some time, the scenery gradually changed.
Sunlight began filtering through the trees, illuminating the surroundings.
The forest was becoming noticeably less dense.
Raymond repeatedly scanned the area without lowering his guard, but still found nothing.
"Has something happened?"
"There isn't a trace of any living creature."
"The elder and the soldiers both said goblins were here, but there's nothing."
Frowning, he pondered the situation.
The silence felt suspicious.
Before abandoning the guild mission and returning empty-handed, he decided to investigate a little further.
He advanced roughly eight hundred meters deeper into the forest.
After walking some more, he suddenly stopped.
Holding his breath, he carefully surveyed the surroundings.
He checked both sides thoroughly.
When he became convinced there were no immediate signs of danger, he finally decided to head back.
However, after turning around and walking less than ten meters, a strange rustling sound suddenly echoed behind him.
Raymond froze instantly.
Every instinct in his body screamed danger.
Without breathing, he slowly turned around.
But there was nothing there.
Only tree branches swaying gently in the breeze.
Maintaining his vigilance, Raymond inspected the area once again.
Finding no suspicious activity and becoming fully convinced the region was safe, he turned back toward the road leading to the city.
Yet only a few seconds later, he heard the mysterious sound again.
This time, however, it was completely different.
It wasn't rustling.
It was unmistakably a human voice.
Raymond spun around with lightning speed.
What he saw shocked him.
A young woman was sprinting through the trees directly toward him.
"Help me! Somebody help!"
Her terrified screams echoed throughout the forest.
She was badly injured.
Bright red blood flowed from a wound in her abdomen, staining her clothes.
The girl was approximately 170 centimeters tall.
Despite her disheveled black hair and frightened expression, she was remarkably beautiful.
Behind her, nearly ten goblins charged forward while emitting savage cries.
They carried clubs and small knives in their hands.
The very monsters Raymond had spent all this time searching for had apparently been pursuing her instead.
The strange part was that the girl possessed both a shield and a sharp sword.
Yet she seemed completely incapable of using either weapon.
Rather than fighting back, she had surrendered entirely to panic and was focused solely on escaping.
The moment Raymond witnessed the scene, he did not hesitate.
Despite the lessons of his first death and all the caution he had learned since then, a mission target and a person in need of help stood before him.
Tightening his grip on his dagger, Raymond immediately sprinted toward the approaching goblins.