"It has to be a suckling pig…"
Adult wild boar meat is tough and gamey, but young wild boar meat is firm and free of any strange flavors, especially with Yang Tao's now masterful cooking skills.
Thus, a wild boar feast was born in the forest.
The Great Forest of Tob at night was incredibly dim; even the moonlight from the sky couldn't penetrate the thick canopy to reach the ground.
The enticing aroma attracted some uninvited guests.
A huge python.
Giant Serpent.
It possesses decent intelligence, is highly venomous, and enjoys constricting its prey. It is one of the lowest-level magical beasts in the forest.
Of course, its fate was to become a delicacy for Yang Tao to practice his cooking skills and increase his health.
After simply putting away his various cooking utensils, Yang Tao headed towards the northeast of the forest.
Whether night or day, this magical beast forest, similar to those in traditional novels, was full of all sorts of dangers.
A faint rustling sound reached Yang Tao's ears, and he watched as a vine with a health bar waited for him on his path forward.
Strangling Vine.
A plant-type magical beast, extremely skilled at hiding.
"The materials for refining intermediate recovery potions are delivering themselves right to my doorstep…"
Some things, though dangerous, are also treasures.
As he approached, the Strangling Vine shot towards his body like a venomous snake.
It was clearly preparing to use its familiar rope skills to tie Yang Tao up and slowly 'discipline' him, but as a straight man, how could Yang Tao let it succeed so easily?
He directly uprooted it and cut off a small section, throwing it into his mouth to taste.
The next moment, Yang Tao's face turned dark.
Bitter, it was so damn bitter.
Delicious food makes you feel happy, Max HP +1.
"Where did you get the idea that this thing was delicious?"
Looking at the Strangling Vine in his backpack, Yang Tao pondered cutting it into slices to steep in wine; it should be drinkable then. If not, it could only be used as an alchemy material.
Overnight.
Yang Tao was like a cleaner of nature, clearing out all the living creatures that could move in the forest, and even if there were fruits, whether on trees or bushes, he would taste them.
However, it wasn't without gain. In one night, his maximum HP increased by seventeen points.
He held a fruit shaped like an apple, but it tasted sour and very appetizing.
Whoosh…
An arrow landed on the ground not far in front of him.
Yang Tao looked up at the two creatures in leather armor not far away; one of them, holding a longbow, was aiming at him.
The other also held a longbow, but a brown giant wolf stood beside him.
Two green Goblins.
However, compared to ordinary demi-human Goblins, their bodies were very strong, and their eyes showed the unique intelligence of sentient races.
"Human, what are you doing here?"
"Yang Tao, I came to the Great Forest of Tob to do a quest."
Goblin…
In the Great Forest of Tob, Goblins with this quality of equipment could only be those from Carne Village.
It was clear that he had already entered Carne Village's sphere of influence.
The rising exploration value also confirmed this.
"adventurer?"
The Goblin who had been pointing an arrow at him lowered his bow, but his hand remained on the bowstring, ready to attack at any moment.
"Where did you come from?"
adventurers heading to the Great Forest of Tob from the east would basically pass through Carne Village for supplies, which was an important source of income for Carne Village.
Yang Tao pointed to the path he had taken and explained: "I came north from E-Rantel and then walked here…"
"E-Rantel straight north? Human, your luck is truly good!"
The Goblin holding the longbow looked impressed, gazing at Yang Tao as if he had seen something incredible.
"My name is Shurin, and this is Jorsk. We are hunters from Carne Village. If you want to rest, I can take you to our village; there's a great inn there!"
It's normal to be enthusiastic when earning money.
Yang Tao bent down to pick up the arrow stuck in the ground and walked towards the two of them: "Perfect, I also want to get some good rest."
Carne Village was an important plot point in the early stages, equivalent to Ainz Ooal Gown's starter village.
He returned the arrow to the Goblin named Shurin, and praised him: "Good archery."
"You're probably far better than me. To walk here alone from the north, even if it was just on the outskirts of the forest, is an admirable feat. By the way, what level of adventurer are you?"
"Copper-ranked."
Even a god, once he enters the adventurer's guild, has to obediently level up for me.
"Copper-ranked?"
Shurin looked at the copper-colored plaque in Yang Tao's hand, smacked his lips, and said nothing.
Following behind the two Goblins, they soon walked out of the Great Forest of Tob and arrived at a bustling village surrounded by wooden walls.
[World Exploration Value 7.652%]
Seeing the rising exploration value, Yang Tao smiled.
"Yang, over there is our Carne Village's inn. You can go have a drink and something to eat first, then get some good rest to replenish your energy before continuing your adventure."
"Hmm, Shurin, Jorsk, want to come for a drink?"
Jorsk stroked his companion and said with a smile: "If you're still here tonight, then we'll have a good drink. Right now, we still need to go hunting in the forest."
Yang Tao nodded gently.
"Alright then, you two go ahead and be busy. I'll look around the village and then go have a drink."
At this moment, Yang Tao suddenly saw a figure, Nfirea.
Nfirea Baralare is E-Rantel's best apothecary and the grandson of Lizzie Bareare.
Some residents of this world are born with extreme talent in a certain area, and their corresponding professional levels are appended with the 'Genius' attribute. Nfirea is a genius alchemist.
After he was rescued by Ainz Ooal Gown, he moved from E-Rantel to this Carne Village.
Nfirea had well-defined features, but his golden hair hung down, almost covering half his face. Yang Tao was very curious if this guy could even see where he was going.
"Hey, handsome young man over there!"
In an instant, all the men in the village turned to look at him; even the white-haired old men were no exception.
Yang Tao: "..."
Are the people in this village really this thick-skinned?
Unbelievable!
If he could see their attributes, they would all definitely have Defense +3.
"Golden-haired adventurer!"
Yang Tao walked over to Nfirea's side, and instantly the surrounding men began to busily attend to their work.
Nfirea's personality was a bit introverted, especially when facing strangers. He looked at Yang Tao, who had walked up to him, pointed at himself, and asked: "Are you calling me?"
"Yes, I wanted to ask if the village buys herbs? I want to sell some herbs, and I also want to learn alchemy."
Nfirea immediately said: "We buy herbs, please follow me."
Following Nfirea, they arrived at a house closer to the edge of the village. Before even entering, Yang Tao smelled a special herbal scent.
"Grandma, an adventurer wants to sell some herbs."