Adventurer of Many Professions-Chapter 103: Gains from the Trip!

"This is it!" Raymond exclaimed, instantly recognizing the significance of the stone.

As a skilled craftsman, he could tell immediately that this was no ordinary rock. He quickly set his sword aside and crouched down, picking up the smooth, jet-black stone with both hands.

The stone was about the size of a human head. While it wasn’t cold to the touch, it gave off a slightly chilling sensation when held. Its surface was uneven, and it looked rough at first glance, but as Raymond rubbed his hands over it, he noticed how surprisingly smooth it was. The stone also emitted a deep, metallic sheen that drew the eye.

Raymond had seen this kind of gleam before, from a dwarf craftsman. This was "Black Iron," a rare magic-conducting material often used in crafting powerful items like the "Death Gloves" he had once heard about.

"This is definitely Black Iron," Raymond thought, his craftsman instincts kicking in. As a "craftsman," he could easily recognize materials he’d encountered before.

The characteristics he felt from this stone matched the descriptions he had read about in the temple library. However, this wasn’t quite Black Iron yet. It was Black Iron ore, which still needed refining to remove the impurities. Only after that process would it become pure Black Iron.

Even as raw ore, though, Raymond could tell it had significant value. Judging by its size and quality, there would be enough Black Iron to craft a pair of gloves or even a longsword for a swordsman.

Looking around, Raymond realized this place was the treasure trove of the crazy baboons; a storage area for the spoils they’d collected. Besides the Black Iron ore, there were also brightly colored stones scattered across the ground, sharp fangs from other creatures, and the battered armor, weapons, and backpacks of fallen adventurers.

Raymond’s trained eye quickly recognized the colorful stones for what they were, just regular rocks. Some of the monster bones could be useful for crafting, but the creatures the baboons had killed weren’t strong enough to yield valuable materials.

The adventurers’ gear, however, was in poor condition; torn, broken, and nearly useless. As Raymond searched his backpack, he realized it was empty. But there were a few items worth taking.

He found an intact longbow, which he slung over his back. He also picked up a warrior’s greatsword, though it was damaged. Still, the material looked promising, and it could be reforged and repaired. If nothing else, it could be sold as valuable scrap.

The protective gear was beyond repair and too cumbersome to carry, so Raymond left it behind. He stuffed the Black Iron ore into his backpack and then made his way to the adventurers’ remains, searching for their identity tags.

The adventurers who had ventured into this part of the Moonlight Forest weren’t weak, they were seasoned, with two carrying bronze tags and two with black iron tags. Sadly, they had all perished here.

That was the harsh reality of adventuring. Every quest came with the risk of death, and it wasn’t always just the monsters that posed the greatest threat. Raymond had narrowly escaped death himself when his throat was slashed by a baboon’s claw the day before. If not for Lorene’s quick thinking, he might not have made it.

"I guess the priest’s healing powers are truly life-saving when needed," Raymond thought to himself, securing the adventurers’ nameplates.

With the treasures packed away, he didn’t linger. The sentry baboon had already followed the others, so Raymond felt it was safe to leave. He retraced his steps, making his way back along the same path. Though he encountered a few monsters along the way, his keen hunter’s senses allowed him to spot them early.

Before any creature could spot him, Raymond quickly dropped into cover, activating his disguise skill and continuing on his way without being noticed.

Raymond made it through the rest of the journey without a hitch. As soon as he exited the heart of the Moonlight Forest and reentered the area where the Vine Demon Trees grew, he finally relaxed.

"With my hunter skills, this forest feels like home," Raymond thought, a sense of accomplishment settling in.

He wasted no time and quickly returned to the spot where he had buried the seven blood vine plants earlier. After digging them up, he retraced his steps to collect the herbs he had marked but hadn’t had the chance to gather the day before.

As he placed five different kinds of herbs into his backpack, Raymond couldn’t help but smile. "Five more herbs, plus the five from yesterday; that makes ten. I should be able to awaken the ’Pharmacist’ skill now!"

The trip had been quite fruitful. Not only had he tracked down the crazy baboons and learned about the strength of their tribe, but he’d also secured a valuable piece of Black Iron ore, two usable weapons, and completed the herbal collection for his ’Pharmacist’ skill.

Raymond mentally counted the baboons in the group: fifteen males, eight females, and five young ones, making a total of twenty-eight wild baboons. That was the strength of the tribe.

"It’s a shame I have a bow but no arrows," Raymond muttered. "If I had arrows, I might have been able to awaken the ’Archer’ skill too."

He glanced at the requirements for the Archer skill on his panel:

[Archer] Awakening Requirements: Kill ten monsters with a bow and arrow from at least 100 meters away, with a single shot.

Raymond knew that while hunters were skilled with bows, their accuracy wasn’t quite at the level of true archers. Still, for targets within 100 meters, hunters could shoot with pinpoint accuracy. Beyond that, though, accuracy would drop. If the target was over 150 meters away, it would be mostly luck.

"Archers, on the other hand, can hit targets up to 200 meters away with perfect aim," Raymond thought. "For warriors, though, their archery skills are limited to short-range shots 20 to 30 meters, and anything beyond that is a shot in the dark."

"Too bad I don’t have arrows," Raymond sighed, realizing the challenge ahead if he wanted to meet the requirements for awakening the ’Archer’ skill.

He turned his attention to the next skill on the list, the ’Assassin’ skill, which required: In a dark environment, kill the target with a dagger in one strike without being detected.

"With my ’disguise skill, I should be able to avoid detection if I’m patient and act quickly," Raymond thought. "But doing it in the dark? That might be trickier without night vision."

His mind drifted to the sewers, where the mutant rats thrived in pitch-black darkness. With night vision and his camouflage, Raymond figured he could easily take them out without being spotted.

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"Night vision..." Raymond thought for a moment, then glanced at the ’Thief’ awakening requirements. His fingers twitched with anticipation. "But let’s focus on that when we get back."

On the way back to Moonlight Village, Raymond encountered a few monsters, but he dispatched them easily with the giant sword he had picked up earlier.

After each kill, Raymond couldn’t resist checking his panel, a habit that had become second nature.

Skill points: 4, Cumulative Value: 75%

"Looks like I’m getting closer," he thought, pleased with his progress as he continued on his way.

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"Hmm?" Raymond frowned as he opened his panel, intending to check the awakening requirements for the ’Archer’ and ’Assassin’ skills. But when his eyes caught the skill points section, he immediately noticed something was off.

He had just killed the crazy baboon’s former leader and a few monsters, but when he checked his skill points, he saw that he had gained 2 skill points and 20% toward his cumulative skill value.

Raymond quickly did the math. According to his previous assumptions, defeating a leader-level monster should only have added 1 skill point, not 2.

"Could it be that the crazy baboon leader was special in some way?" he wondered aloud.

Then, it hit him. The crazy baboon leader had been able to severely wound the other baboons and fight back, even after being covered in injuries. Raymond considered this possibility—"Could it be that the former leader or baboons had mastered a skill like ’Rage’?"

That seemed to be the only explanation. No ordinary baboon, no matter how strong, could inflict that kind of damage, let alone kill four adventurers. If the leader had indeed mastered ’Rage,’ it would explain the strength difference.

Raymond shuddered at the thought of facing such a powerful baboon leader in the future. If a ’Blood Rage’ and ’Rage’ baboon worked together, it would be a nightmare.

"Am I just getting lucky today, or is this some kind of sign?" Raymond suddenly felt a chill run down his spine. He quickly scanned his surroundings, uneasy. "I need to leave, fast."

Without a second thought, Raymond turned and made his way out of the Moonlight Forest, his steps quickening as he neared the village.