My monster cards can evolve infinitely.

Xiuqi remained silent and offered no further response.

In many cases, there is no response, or rather, no positive response.

It means negation.

Only after watching the hunter grandfather and grandson disappear down the road they came from did he slowly turn around and turn his gaze back to the deep and unfathomable forest before him.

The old hunter's solemn words as he departed kept echoing in my ears;

"Normally at this time, there would be at least some birds or wild animals, but today..."

There's nothing there but air!

Even the air feels thick and sticky...

Politely declining the other party's well-intentioned reminder did not mean that one was unaware of the forest's abnormality or that one was presumptuous.

But he couldn't wait any longer.

The day after tomorrow is the day of the duel with Fernand. They have signed a magical contract, and there is no possibility of going back on it unless both parties agree.

It has already taken nearly three hours to get from the town to the border, and another day will probably be gone by then.

There's no time to gamble on whether other places are safe, or rather—

In this vast forest of monsters, where is there any place that is truly safe?

"Thanks for the reminder, but there are some things I need to get done today!"

Xiuqi's fingertips caressed the hilt of the "Bavarian Moonlight" sword, which had been reattached to his waist, as he glanced down at the forest floor.

As far as the eye could see, apart from the footprints of the three of them and the "princess," there were no other traces on the ground.

Or rather, his eyes couldn't detect any signs of life passing by.

He took a deep breath.

A warm current flowed into his chest from the meditation stone, surging into his sea of ​​consciousness.

Instantly, I felt a clearing of my mind, my thinking became more agile, and my senses became more acute.

The air was crisp and clear, carrying a rich aroma of grass, trees, and humus.

There were no chirping insects or birds, nor the howling of wild animals; only the rustling sound of the wind passing through the branches and leaves.

Xiu Qi slowly closed his eyes and groped his way forward like a blind man.

This wasn't the first time he had tried this as a mage apprentice.

With 7 points of perception, his sense of awareness is much sharper than that of ordinary people.

At this moment, under the effect of the high-quality meditation stone with its full psionic power activated, his sense of perception was at least 30% higher than usual.

The "princess" carried a large stick and stood guard behind him with a wary expression. Her sharp ears twitched with her steps, and she would occasionally bare her teeth at the tall haystacks by the roadside, as if there were monsters hiding inside.

He did not venture deep into the dense forest rashly.

Instead, they started from the old oak tree and began meticulously searching for any traces within a straight-line distance of one thousand steps.

He crouched down, his fingertips brushing against the soil, fallen leaves, and grass stems on the ground.

They searched diligently for any clues or hints that might provide a lead.

Footprints, feces, broken grass stems, or any trash not of nature—such as broken bones or rags.

Once he had taken a thousand steps, Xiuqi returned straight to the old oak tree and started walking another thousand steps in a different direction from the starting point to continue his search.

After several detours, when the sun had reached its zenith, he decided to choose the most likely direction based on his perception.

This is also the direction of the path leading from the western suburbs into the gray forest.

He planned to follow this most likely search direction straight ahead until he found the goblin.

As for why we go straight ahead, the answer is simple—

To prevent getting lost.

For an apprentice with an extremely poor sense of direction, a compass is an essential tool.

It was already noon, and before entering the gray forest, he prepared to replenish his and the "princess's" physical strength once again.

Opening the bag of dry food that the landlady Adeline had prepared for him, the dazzling array of specialty dry food items all demonstrated her exquisite and skillful hands.

Air-dried swamp lizard jerky is made from the tenderest leg meat of the swamp lizard. It is marinated with secret spices and then slowly air-dried in the cold smoke of fruitwood.

Dwarf Energy Cookies are made from nuts, oats, honey, and a rare "earth vein root powder" that is compressed and baked.

Grey Forest Dried Fruit, a paste made from a blend of silver leaf berries, sunberry, and golden thorn, is delicately shaped into bite-sized cubes.

Wine-infused Flame Candy: These small red candy balls are made by boiling fruit wine and maple syrup.

Fairy Black Tea, served in a kettle sealed with beeswax.

Although these two days' worth of dry rations were expensive, Xiuqi, who had always lived a simple life, surprisingly did not experience any negative emotions.

After all, exquisite and delicious food is just as unpredictable as magic—

They are all priceless!

puff--

After a satisfying meal, the man and the goblin resumed their search.

On the forest path in the afternoon, there were only two lonely figures.

After arriving at the Old Oak in the morning, they hadn't seen a single living creature for several hours.

There was nothing there, neither adventurers nor monsters.

Xiuqi walked slowly along this deserted forest path.

I don't remember how many steps I took, three thousand steps, five thousand steps, ten thousand steps, or maybe more.

The scenery on both sides of the road seemed unchanged, yet it also seemed to repeat itself every so often; in any case, that was how it appeared to him.

Suddenly, Xiuqi felt a tugging sensation from his waist. Looking down, he saw that it was the "princess's" left hand tugging at his robe.

Its little finger pointed to a patch of ground to the right of the path, partially obscured by dense bushes and fallen deadwood.

Following the direction indicated, Xiuqi lowered his center of gravity and crept slowly closer.

Parting a few broad fern leaves, he saw several clear footprints belonging to small humanoid creatures.

These small footprints were haphazardly imprinted on the damp soil, pointing towards the dense forest ahead.

The edges of the footprints were not yet completely blurred by the dew, suggesting that these footprints were likely made today.

"Well done, good girl!" Xiuqi stroked the "princess's" smooth forehead.

This time, the little guy unusually showed no resistance; instead, he seemed to be enjoying it.

His big eyes sparkled with a bright light, and his small chest was held high.

Xiu Qi felt a slight sense of frustration. His 7 points of perception, plus the blessing of the meditation stone, were still not as good as the little guy's spiritual sense.

Of course, a "princess" is one of a kind in this world.

Other goblins could not possibly possess this kind of perception.

From this moment on, his way of making judgments changed.

Instead of relying solely on their own senses, they let the "princess" walk ahead to track them.

Although the little guy can't speak like a human, the amazing thing is that the two of them can communicate freely.

A single glance or a simple word is enough to quickly understand the other person's meaning, as if they were telepathically connected.

The "princess" walking in front began to change her expression frequently, stopping every now and then to look warily in a certain direction.

As they walked to a slightly lower depression, a faint fishy smell began to fill the air.

At Xiuqi's signal, "Princess" also slowed her pace and, using a thick tree trunk as cover, approached the edge of the depression.

He crouched down, parted the dense grass, and looked down—

At the bottom of the depression, fruit pits and broken bones were scattered on the ground, and a campfire was burning with wisps of smoke. His target—a small group of goblins—was sitting around it.

Xiuqi's gaze swept quickly across the area, his brain assessing the threat level at lightning speed.

One, two, three, four, five!

No goblins or bear goblins...

They're all goblins!!!