"Goblins?"

Roland stared at the figures emerging from the dense woods.

They had long, pointed ears, protruding fangs, and ugly, vicious faces.

The only difference from his memory was their skin. It should have been green, but now it was covered in strange crimson patterns.

People often said Goblins were the lowest class of monster, even weaker than Kobolds, but Roland did not lower his guard.

The bloodthirst in those triangular eyes was nothing like the cowardly creatures described in rumor.

Even more unsettling was their number.

"More than ten... no. That's not right."

As more Goblins appeared from the forest, Roland tightened his grip on the sword hilt until his knuckles paled.

It was not fear.

With his current strength, he could kill ordinary Kobolds with ease. Naturally, these smaller Goblins did not frighten him.

But enough numbers could make up for weak bodies.

He was still flesh and blood. His stamina had a limit.

Roland swept his gaze across the surroundings, searching for a route of retreat as he spoke.

"Young Master Darco, something is wrong. We should prepare to run."

"Hey! So it's these green-skinned scraps!"

Darco ignored the warning. Excitement lit his face, and he licked his lips.

"Roland, have you ever encountered Goblins before? This is the first time I've seen them outside a book."

His hand tightened around his sword hilt, his whole body poised to rush forward.

"I heard the estate guards say that on the Adventurer's Guild bounty list, one ear from these bastards is worth eight copper coins."

"Not only that, if you hunt enough of them, you'll win the cheers of everyone present..."

He seemed to imagine himself surrounded by a cheering crowd, and heat flared in his eyes.

"Don't be reckless, Young Master Darco."

Roland watched the Goblins form a crude formation and press closer. His voice dropped.

Darco only grinned.

In his eyes, these green-skinned monsters, barely half a man's height, were not even as dangerous as the wild wolves he had hunted before.

"They're only Goblins. What's there to be afraid of? Watch me!"

Before Roland could stop him, Darco drew his sword and charged. The bright silver blade carved a sharp arc under the sunlight.

The Goblin at the front was still raising its rusty short blade when its head flew into the air, filthy blood spraying out.

"Excellent!"

Darco ignored the blood splashing across his face. With a proud shout, he kept pushing forward.

His sword style was broad and sweeping, each strike carrying the elegance and precision of noble training. Wherever the edge passed, Goblins holding crude wooden clubs screamed and fell.

But Roland saw the young nobleman's fatal weakness at once.

Darco's swordsmanship was indeed superb, and his strength far exceeded an ordinary person's, but his movements were too standard. Too rigid. He clearly lacked real combat experience.

Every swing and every step seemed to follow a swordsmanship textbook, with little flexibility for a living battlefield.

After Darco killed five or six Goblins and pushed deep into their formation, three Goblins attacked from different directions at once.

They coordinated well. One swung a nail-studded club in a frontal feint, while the other two thrust rusty short spears from the left and right.

Darco turned his sword back to block the front, but the attacks from both sides caught him unprepared.

He barely dodged. Even so, a bloody line opened along his left arm.

"Damn bastards!"

He gritted his teeth and prepared to counterattack, only to find five more Goblins closing around him in a semicircle.

They bared their fangs, cunning gleaming in their eyes.

At the critical moment, a dark figure cut into the battlefield.

"Back!"

Roland's low shout struck beside Darco's ear.

Darco retreated half a step by reflex. In the next instant, Roland's sword swept past like a gale.

No flashy moves. Only the most direct chops and thrusts.

The first strike severed the wrist of the Goblin on the left. The second pierced the throat of the attacker on the right. The third horizontal slash cut the enemy lunging from the front in half at the waist.

"This... what incredible swordsmanship..."

Darco's eyes widened.

This swordsmanship, born purely for killing, was completely different from the noble style he had learned.

Roland did not pause. "Don't stand there! They're surrounding us!"

Only then did Darco notice that the remaining Goblins had already shifted formation.

They spread out. Some climbed into the trees, preparing to throw stones. Others circled to the rear, trying to cut off their retreat. Five of the strongest approached with crude weapons raised.

"These beasts... they actually know tactics?"

Darco tightened his grip on his sword hilt and cursed.

"Keep moving. Break out toward the rear left!"

Roland stepped forward, his sword point driving neatly into a Goblin's eye socket.

"Take out the ones with throwing weapons first!"

The two began rotating back-to-back.

Darco had learned his lesson. He no longer chased perfect sword posture, but imitated Roland's practical combat methods.

It was clumsy, but enough against Goblins who knew no refined technique.

Great strength paired with simplified moves became increasingly lethal. Every strike could cleave through a Goblin and its weapon together.

Roland's Lion Swordsmanship also displayed its power in the battle.

Whenever golden text appeared in his vision, his understanding of Lion Swordsmanship deepened another layer. The iron sword felt more and more like an extension of his arm, moving wherever he willed.

Blood sprayed. The fighting grew fiercer.

Once the Goblins realized their usual tactics were failing, they began throwing themselves forward in savage, disorganized rushes.

"Damn it!"

Darco endured the sharp pain from the wound on his arm and swung his iron sword with all his strength.

But blood kept seeping out. His movements slowed, and he began struggling to withstand the Goblins' increasingly brutal attacks.

Roland sensed his predicament and had to handle the enemies before him while also blocking fatal attacks aimed at Darco.

The battle that had favored them was turning against them.

At that moment, a Goblin that had been standing in a tree and throwing stones dropped down, its rusty dagger aimed straight for the back of Darco's neck.

"Above!"

Roland roared, drew the dagger from Darco's waist with his off hand, and hurled it with all his strength. The blade pierced the ambusher's throat.

The Goblin corpse fell in front of Darco, and cold sweat broke out across his back.

"Thanks, Roland! Your skill is simply..."

"Save the praise for later!"

Roland cut him off and pointed at the dozen or so Goblins blocking the escape route ahead.

They had begun forming a shield wall. Several held broken wooden shields in front, while those behind gripped spears and thrust them through the gaps.

The formation was crude, but it was effective against two enemies trapped deep in their ranks.

"We can't let them stabilize the formation!"

Roland no longer cared about the difference in status between them. "Darco, stay close to me!"

He accelerated into a sprint. Just before meeting the shield wall, he changed direction and found the flaw in the formation.

His longsword swept in from the side, cutting down the outermost Goblin along with its shield.

The moment the gap opened, Darco understood. He roared and charged into the formation, his iron sword spinning like a windmill and crushing the Goblins before him.

Then the edge turned and stabbed into another Goblin's chest.

Darco was about to laugh at the green-skinned monster twitching in agony when the dying Goblin released a shrill scream. Its bloodstained claws clutched the blade and refused to let go.

"Wha... what?"

Darco froze for an instant and pulled hard on his sword.

That split-second hesitation was enough.

At his feet, a Goblin that had nearly been cut in half at the waist used its last shred of savagery to thrust out the short spear in its hand.

The rust-covered spearpoint caught the sunlight.

Then it drove deep into Darco's calf, and blood sprayed out.

"Ah!"

Darco cried out, endured the pain, and beheaded the Goblin. Then he dropped to one knee, cold sweat covering his forehead.

"Damn it!"

Roland drove his longsword into the throat of the Goblin before him, then turned back and hauled Darco to his feet.

"Can you walk?"

"Ba... barely..."

Roland looked at the Goblins still pouring out of the forest, his face tightening.

Without hesitation, he pulled the short spear from Darco's calf and tore off the hem of his own clothes.

Taking advantage of the brief gap before the distant Goblins closed in, he bandaged Darco's wound, then shoved him backward.

"Run! Don't look back!"

"But... Roland..."

Darco looked at the thin back before him, a back belonging to someone several years younger than himself, and froze.

His lips trembled. Then he gritted his teeth.

"Don't worry about me! Escape on your own!"

"Cut the crap!"

Roland had already taken down the bow and arrows. He nocked an arrow and drew the string.

"Go find the guards and bring help!"

Darco still wanted to argue, but the determination in Roland's eyes forced the words back.

"Roland! Stay alive until I come back!"

He staggered away and disappeared into the depths of the woods.

Only after confirming that Darco had withdrawn did Roland breathe out.

If it had been anyone else, Roland would have escaped alone at the start of the battle.

Aside from the days when the original Roland had worked as a stable boy, he and this young nobleman had known each other for only half a day. Their relationship was nowhere near the point where Roland would risk his life to protect him.

But Darco was Baron Forsling's only son.

If the young noble died while Roland survived, even with Hawk's protection, he would probably struggle to escape Baron Forsling's wrath.

Of course, Roland had no intention of truly sacrificing himself to hold the rear.

Without Darco as a burden, these short green-skinned monsters were not enough to threaten him.

Even if their numbers were astonishing.

Roland closed his eyes and focused as the green tide rushed toward him.

When he opened them again, the world seemed to slow around him.

[Focus] trait, activate!

"Damn it! Beasts! Bastards!"

Darco gritted his teeth against the sharp pain wracking his body and staggered forward, using tree trunks for support.

Blood kept seeping from his wounds. His consciousness began to blur, but anger kept him moving.

"How could so many monsters appear near the estate? Were those guards asleep on their feet?"

He cursed under his breath, his voice shaking from pain.

"When I get back... no, wait..."

Darco shook his heavy head, fighting to stay awake.

"I have to make them rescue Roland first... then settle accounts with them afterward!"

Dragging his steps, he finally reached the edge of the forest.

He was about to shout for help when a strange odor drifted over, a mix of roasted meat and blood.

After the life-and-death battle just now, Darco became alert by reflex.

He forced down the dizziness, lowered his body, and peered outside.

The two guards who had stayed behind had already fallen in pools of blood. Their corpses were covered in hideous wounds, clearly dead for some time.

The fine horses had suffered the same fate. Their bellies had been cut open.

A group of Goblins were using rusty knives to carve up horse meat, roasting it over a bonfire and filling the air with a nauseating burnt stench.

"Damn..."

Darco held his breath and swept his gaze around. His already pale face lost another shade of color.

Using the cover of the bushes, he counted the distant figures with trembling fingers.

"One, two, three... over a hundred Goblins!"

Cold sweat slid down his temple.

"How did these beasts appear here? When we came, there clearly..."

He saw several squads of Goblins patrolling the perimeter, rusted weapons catching the sunlight.

Darco endured the dizziness and inched backward. Only when the nauseating smell of roasted meat faded did he slump against an oak tree and slide down to sit.

"Hah... hah..."

His ragged breathing sounded too loud in the silent forest.

Blood loss blurred his vision, and every breath tugged at the wounds across his body.

The young noble raised his head. Sunlight pierced through the leaves and stabbed his eyes.

"I never thought... I would die in a place like this... die at the hands of Goblins... how ridiculous..."

In his daze, Roland's calm voice seemed to sound beside his ear again.

"Young Master Darco, something is wrong. We should prepare to run."

If he had listened.

If they had preserved their strength.

Even without the horses, if the two of them had watched each other's backs, perhaps they really could have escaped.

Darco closed his eyes in pain.

Roland's clean, handsome face appeared before him.

That young man he had known for less than a day, yet sincerely admired.

Outstanding talent. Humble and polite.

"It was all my fault..."

His nails dug into his palm.

"If I hadn't acted on my own... Roland... he definitely could have made it back alive..."

Guilt flooded his heart like poison fire, tightening his throat and burning his eyes.

"Young Master Darco?"

"Hah... so those old men in white robes from the church weren't lying..."

Darco murmured in a voice thin as thread.

"Before death... hallucinations really do appear..."

"Young Master Darco!"

No.

This was not a hallucination.

Darco forced his nearly closed eyes wide open, and his scattered gaze focused again.

In the morning light, the young man who had just crushed him with guilt was standing right before him.

Dew clung to Roland's short black hair. His figure looked lean, but he stood straight and steady.

Aside from a few scrapes, his clean, handsome face was unharmed. Only his bloodstained clothes proved the killing he had gone through.

"Young Master Darco?"

Roland frowned at Darco, who sat dazed and motionless.

"Strange... with his injuries, he shouldn't have lost consciousness yet."

Roland bent down to check on him, but Darco sprang up as though struck by lightning. His bloodstained hands seized Roland's shoulders.

"Roland! You're still alive!"

Darco's voice trembled with disbelief.

So it had only been a false alarm.

Feeling the powerful grip on his shoulders, Roland finally settled the worry that had been hanging over him.

He raised an index finger to his lips.

"Please keep your voice down, Young Master Darco. Right now, this forest is full of Goblins."

"Oh... right... right..."

Darco nodded, waking from his daze. In the morning light, he looked Roland over carefully and, for the first time in his life, spoke with sincere piety.

"Thank the Heavenly Father for letting you come back alive..."

After that relief came shock.

He could clearly see that, aside from scattered bloodstains, Roland was actually uninjured.

"There had to be at least thirty or forty Goblins back there..."

"Roland actually managed to retreat from that group unharmed. This is simply..."

Thinking of the sharp sword skills Roland had displayed, Darco swallowed with difficulty. His evaluation of Roland rose again.

"How old is he? Sixteen or seventeen?"

Thinking of his own performance at that age, Darco sighed, his expression complicated.

"Young Master Darco, where are those two guards? Why are you here alone?"

"Hah..."

The question brought back what Darco had just seen, and his stomach clenched.

He forced down the discomfort, released a heavy breath, and explained everything he had seen and heard.

"Tch..."

After hearing Darco's account, Roland's brow locked tight.

He thought for a moment, then looked around warily and lowered his voice.

"You should know this area well. Is there anywhere nearby where we can hide for now?"

"Hmm... let me think..."

As his excitement faded, the pain in Darco's body returned.

Leaning against the rough trunk, he frowned in thought.

A moment later, his eyes brightened.

"I've got it! Roland, follow me."

The young noble limped toward a narrow path on the left.

"Last winter, I brought some guards to a cave not far ahead and hunted a brown bear there. The cave is quite spacious. It's an excellent place to rest."

Perhaps because he had seen Roland alive, Darco's unsteady steps became a little lighter.

But the path to the cave was not peaceful.

Although the distance was not far, the two encountered several Goblin patrols one after another.

Fortunately, Roland reacted quickly. Every time he discovered traces of Goblins, he struck first and cut them down with his sword.

But clashing blades inevitably alerted nearby enemies and drew more pursuers.

The two had no choice but to fight while retreating, weaving through the forest and hiding whenever they could.

After several turns, they finally broke through the encirclement, passed through thick bushes, and arrived before a hidden cave.

"Huff..."

The long battle had drained Roland's stamina like water from a cracked jar, leaving him gasping for breath.

He raised a hand, signaling Darco to stop. After catching his breath, Roland entered the cave first and inspected it.

As Darco had said, the interior was spacious enough to hold seven or eight people.

After confirming there were no recent traces of any creature moving inside, Roland returned to the entrance and helped Darco into the cave, letting him lean against the rock wall.

"Hiss..."

Sitting pulled at Darco's wounds, making him suck in a breath.

Roland looked over the injuries covering him, especially the temporary bandage on his leg that had already soaked through with blood.

These wounds were not fatal yet, but if delayed much longer, they might endanger his life.

Roland spoke softly.

"Young Master Darco, let me bandage your wounds again."

"Just call me Darco, Roland..."

Darco adjusted his posture and forced out a pained smile.

"All right, Darco."

Seeing the sincerity in his expression, Roland raised his brows and said nothing more. He tore several clean strips from his inner lining.

Unlike during the Goblin attack, he had more time now.

While recalling the simple bandaging techniques he had learned before transmigrating, Roland treated Darco's wounds and asked in a low voice, "Darco, when you hunted around here before, did you ever encounter monsters?"

"No."

Darco gritted his teeth against the pain, his voice shaking.

"If there were truly monsters here, my father would never have allowed me to come."

"I see..."

Roland used clean water from a waterskin to rinse the wounds. Remembering their earlier encounters, he thought for a moment before speaking again.

"I keep feeling... that group of Goblins is searching for something."

"Searching?"

"That's right."

Roland nodded gravely.

"If their target were us, they would pursue us relentlessly. But look at their behavior now. They're patrolling throughout the forest and setting up watchpoints. They're clearly looking for something."

"You're right..."

Darco thought of the group of Goblins that had chased them halfway, then given up and turned back. He frowned.

He tried to sort out his thoughts, but after a moment, he could only shake his head and give up.

"But I can't imagine what they could be looking for in this forest. Believe me, Roland, this damned place has nothing but wild beasts. And compared to that..."

Darco turned sideways to cooperate with Roland's bandaging, lowering his voice as he cursed.

"I'd rather know what that old fellow Beckham and the estate guards are doing. How could they let this many monsters appear near the estate?"

Roland's hands kept moving, but his brow tightened.

It was not that he disagreed with Darco. Rather, he caught something unusual in his tone.

Darco seemed to hold disdain, even contempt, toward Beckham, the only knight of Blackwater Territory.

That surprised him.

Since transmigrating, whether from hearsay or from people close to him like Sean and John, everything Roland had heard about Beckham had carried respect and praise.

It formed a stark contrast with Darco's contemptuous attitude.

In the Golden Valley Kingdom, nobles held higher status than knights in terms of rank, but this was still a world with transcendent power.

At least in Roland's view, even a noble with a higher title should show enough respect when facing a knight like Beckham.

Darco's attitude was more like he was speaking of an insignificant servant.

That did not seem reasonable.

But it had nothing to do with their current situation, so Roland chose not to ask.

He finished bandaging the last wound with gentle, efficient movements.

As he worked, he said, "Your injuries, especially the wound on your leg, cannot be delayed much longer. I've done a simple bandage, but without medicine, it may leave permanent damage."

He paused. Thinking of the Goblin patrols moving through the forest outside, his voice lowered further.

"And the Goblins' search range is shrinking. Finding this place is only a matter of time. By the time the estate discovers what's happening and sends guards to rescue us, it will probably be too late. I suggest we rest briefly, then move at once. What do you think?"

"You're right, but..."

Darco recalled the scene in the forest and frowned.

"You saw it too. There are too many Goblins. Once we run into them, they'll swarm in from every direction."

"Unless we can grasp their movements ahead of time, it will be difficult to avoid those bastards."

Roland nodded heavily.

With his current strength, dealing with a few Goblins and escaping the forest alone would not be difficult. Bringing the injured Darco was another matter.

As he thought, his hands tied off the last bandage.

The next moment, a line of golden text appeared in his vision.

[You have learned Emergency Treatment. Current level: Lv.1]

"Emergency Treatment..."

Roland looked at the golden text, ignored Darco, who was growing drowsy beside him, and opened the occupation panel.

When he saw that the survival skills required for becoming a Hunter had changed from one out of two to two out of two, Roland breathed out.

"Well, that came without any effort at all..."

"Become a Hunter."

As he silently recited this, the text before him began changing continuously.

[Upon inspection, you qualify for the base occupation: Hunter]

[Requirements: Strength 1, Agility 2, any Lv.1 archery-related skill, two survival-related skills 2/2]

[Proceed with job change?]

"Confirm job change!"