The scorching sun was beginning to set.
The light within the Arkenwald Forest also started to fade.
After escaping from the pursuit of the orcs, Saelran quickly found a place with widely spaced trees and low bushes to rest.
The environment made it easier for him to observe his surroundings. Considering the large size of orcs, they would be easy to spot if they came close.
"Minor Healing."
A soft white light flowed from his hand and seeped into his body.
In an instant, the small cuts on his cheeks and body healed rapidly.
The wounds were not serious, but in the wilderness, untreated injuries could easily fester and become infected.
According to the survival experience of the Guard team, this was the most dangerous situation of all.
Fortunately, a single cast of Minor Healing was enough to deal with them.
Saelran clearly felt a warm current sweep through his body, and the tightness in his chest loosened.
"What exactly is going on?"
"How could the orcs be this united?"
A troubled expression appeared on Saelran's face as he pondered in confusion.
He knew very well that as the number of slain goblins increased, it would inevitably attract the attention of the orcs, since goblins were considered backup food for them.
However, the current situation should not have been enough to stir the orcs so suddenly.
Arkenwald Forest was vast, home to tens of thousands of living creatures, and the number of goblins alone likely reached into the thousands.
"Could there be special individuals among the goblins? Or among the orcs?"
The thought flashed through Saelran's mind.
This world was different from the game.
In the game, all races and their individuals were identical, but in a real world like this, it was only natural for unique individuals to exist within the same race.
Just because something did not appear in the game did not mean it could not exist in reality.
As saying goes, no matter how strong you are, numbers eventually catch up.
One or two orcs were not a problem, but if many of them appeared, the situation would become like this.
Although his physical attack was high, his physical defense was far too low. If he took a few more hits, he would not be able to withstand it.
"I need to be more cautious in my next operations," Saelran muttered to himself.
As the sun set, Saelran, as usual, found a large tree, climbed up, and put on his black cloak, making him even harder to detect in the growing darkness.
Late into the night.
Saelran, fast asleep with his eyes closed, suddenly twitched his ears.
A faint rustling sound, footsteps brushing through grass and leaves, slowly approached the tree where Saelran was staying.
Half-asleep, Saelran instantly became alert, but he did not open his eyes and remained in his sleeping position.
The forest was quite lively at night.
It was normal for wild animals or magical beasts to pass by. He had experienced this many times.
Saelran did not open his eyes to observe, because in this pitch-black environment, unless they were extremely close, human eyesight would not be enough to see anything clearly.
As he thought about it, Saelran found himself wondering when he had grown accustomed to a life like this.
During the day, he hunted monsters, and at night, he slept in the wilderness surrounded by creatures that could easily kill him if he let his guard down.
Soon after, the light footsteps stopped directly beneath the tree, then gradually faded into the distance.
Saelran's breathing steadied again, and he closed his eyes once more.
Although he slept soundly through the night, Arkenwald Forest had more than twelve hours of darkness each day.
Such a long period of rest actually prevented drowsiness and even mental fatigue.
The next morning.
Warm sunlight filtered through the leaves once again, lighting up the ground.
Saelran leapt down from the tree, tucked his black cloak into his Inventory box, and began his daily routine.
He chewed on a piece of black wheat bread while searching for goblins and monsters.
Time passed slowly, from sunrise until sunset.
Saelran raised his iron sword and marked a large tree, looking helpless.
"What a terrible day. Only ten goblins," Saelran complained, his head throbbing.
These goblins were the unorganized type.
Of course, aside from goblins, he also encountered several monsters and many wild beasts.
Giant snakes were common. Saelran still had several snake carcasses three or four meters long inside his Inventory box.
However, ordinary beasts gave far too little experience. As for monsters, he encountered a half-meter-long giant beetle, but unfortunately, it escaped.
Although such monsters gave decent experience, they were only equivalent to three or four goblins, yet much harder to kill.
For that reason, Saelran enjoyed hunting goblins lately. They were easy to kill with a single sword strike, and if he was lucky enough to find a group, he could follow them back and earn a massive wave of experience.
Over the next few days, Saelran rarely came across any goblins. He also started hunting the wild beasts he had been too lazy to bother with before.
Before this, Saelran could kill around thirty goblins in a day, usually gaining about five to six hundred experience points.
Now, he only found small numbers of goblins.
This irritated Saelran. Even though he had killed many goblins lately, it was still far from enough to cause any major impact on the Arkenwald Forest.
This is the goblins' mating season, and during these months their numbers surge uncontrollably.
Because their usual prey consists only of smaller forest animals, and they are unable to hunt larger beasts, they quickly run out of food within the forest.
As a result, during this period, they often leave the forest to raid livestock and even attack villagers living in the settlements surrounding the Arkenwald Forest.
Eventually, the Border city "Antara" , would usually dispatch an extermination team to reduce the excessive number of goblins.
Saelran simply went ahead of them.
After several days without finding a decent number of goblins, Saelran could only blame it on bad luck.
16 June.
Saelran arrived in this world on 16 May, making today exactly one month.
He entered Arkenwald Forest on 2 June, and had now been inside the forest for half a month.
Perhaps because it was the one-month anniversary of his getting Isekai'd, Saelran's luck improved dramatically that day.
Goblins, which he had hardly seen for days, finally began to appear again.
His iron sword was eager to fight, and he killed twenty-one goblins in a single day, gaining a huge amount experience points.
[Experience Points: 2620/5000]
In addition, Saelran noticed that there were even more goblins in this area, suggesting a high chance that a large goblin colony was nearby.
Nightfall.
Rustle.
A wild beast passed beneath the large tree Saelran was resting on, its body brushing through the bushes and creating faint noises.
Saelran leaned against the trunk with one arm as a pillow, his left leg casually crossed over his right, paying little attention to what was moving below him.
The Odorless spell was enough to remove all traces of his scent. Even creatures with the sharpest noses would not be able to detect him.