006 Level Up

Nif's maturity was far beyond what Karen had expected, despite her deep fear of the Goblin Forest. Though she dreaded the idea of Karen venturing there, Nif never once tried to persuade him otherwise. It wasn't that she coveted the rabbits Karen brought home each day; rather, she understood all too well the circumstances he was in.

This was practically Karen's only means of livelihood now, so Nif simply couldn't bring herself to ask him not to go to the Goblin Forest. When Karen returned, Nif, for once, didn't put on her usual proud, feisty demeanor. Instead, she wore a worried expression as she helped him prepare the two rabbits he'd brought back.

Even as they worked, Nif kept busy with her words, not quite nagging but speaking with earnest concern. She urged Karen to be careful, to skin the rabbits as neatly as possible, since their pelts could fetch a decent price. If they collected enough, they could sell them in town. With the money, Karen could buy a piece of land or start a small business—anything so he wouldn't have to keep risking his life in the Goblin Forest.

Under the deep cloak of night, in a dilapidated little wooden hut, by the dim glow of a humble fire, two figures sat side by side, busy with their tasks. The smaller of the two—a young girl—wore a maturity that seemed entirely out of place on her childish face, her brows furrowed as she chattered on, planning Karen's future with utmost seriousness.

The scene was so tender it was almost overwhelming. Karen hadn't expected Nif's proud persona to crumble so quickly, but seeing her solemn little face, he couldn't count how many times this girl had warmed his heart.

Of course, alongside the warmth, there was also a deep ache. He couldn't quite fathom what kind of world this was, one that forced Nif—who, in his previous life, would have known only how to act cute and playful at her age—into such heartrending maturity.

That very maturity made Karen reach out to ruffle her hair. Yes, he actually did it, only to be rewarded with a swift kick from Nif, who, cheeks flushed red, stormed off in a huff after calling him a perverted loli-con.

After Nif left, Karen didn't idle. He finished preparing the two rabbits, ate half of one himself, split the other in two, and brought half to Nif and her grandmother. After spending a short while at their home, he took the remaining half and headed toward a small cottage in the village that lingered in his memories.

Karen's destination was the home of an elderly man who lived on the village's edge—a neighbor of sorts. But Karen wasn't going there out of pure kindness; though he wouldn't call himself a bad person, he wasn't exactly a saint either. The reason he brought half a rabbit was that he needed a favor.

Before crossing over, Karen had been something of a recluse, but to his credit, he was remarkably adaptable. This wasn't just evident in how he'd handled John with an axe the previous day, but also in his efforts to gather information about this world.

From the moment he'd arrived, Karen had worked hard to absorb the memories of his predecessor and glean as much as he could from Nif. He knew that information was crucial if he wanted to truly integrate into this world. But both his predecessor and Nif were born and raised in the village, their understanding naturally limited.

Once he'd exhausted his predecessor's memories and Nif could tell him no more, Karen began searching for new sources of knowledge. That was when the old man caught his attention.

The man, Jack, was about fifty years old—perhaps not even that. In Karen's previous world, that would have been middle-aged at best, but here, for a peasant, it was practically venerable. Jack was a common name in this world, as ordinary as "John Doe" in his past life, but his experiences were anything but common in this village.

Rumor had it that Jack had been a mercenary in his youth, bold and formidable, famous for slaying many beastmen. Three years ago, after losing an arm in a fight, he could no longer make a living outside and was forced to settle in this remote village.

Karen didn't know if Jack's stories were true and had no intention of digging too deeply. He simply hoped to learn more about the world from him. But Jack was not easy to approach. He wasn't exactly welcoming to Karen, and even when Karen offered him half a rabbit, his manner remained curt and cold.

In the past, Karen would have turned and left immediately, but circumstances change people. Now, his skin had grown thicker. Despite Jack's lackluster reception, Karen lingered for a bit, exchanged a few words, and only then returned home to rest.

On the third morning, Karen rose early as usual, shouldered his hatchet, packed up the remaining half-rabbit from the day before, and headed into the Goblin Forest. Unbeknownst to him, as he entered the woods, old Jack watched him through his window, his clouded eyes revealing a flicker of something unspoken.

Karen's third day in the Goblin Forest proved far more fruitful than the previous two. There were indeed plenty of small animals in the forest, and it was clear they hadn't yet learned to be wary of traps. That night, all ten of Karen's traps had been triggered, mostly catching rabbits and mice.

He kept only two rabbits for himself, burying the rest in the grave, which brought its completion to 63.5% and raised his energy to 9 points. Although there was still some way to go before the grave would be fully activated, he was now only 1 point away from the 10 needed to upgrade himself. Elated and full of anticipation, Karen quickly reset all his traps and crouched by his half-finished grave, waiting for more prey.

He didn't have to wait long—within two hours, two mountain rats stumbled into his traps, delivering the final point of energy he needed.

At last, with the required energy accumulated, Karen, weary of his own frail body these past few days, immediately opened his status panel and upgraded his level.

[Ding! You have consumed 10 energy points. Your rank has increased!]

As the system prompt sounded, Karen felt a cool surge of power flow from his heart, coursing through his body before returning to his heart, completing his upgrade and strengthening him anew.