Xia Nan is a farmer. His primary job is dealing with the golden wheat in the fields.
The so-called "adventuring" that often only appears in the tales of minstrels and the village elders might never have anything to do with him for his entire life.
But at this moment, being a member of the "Stinky Fish and Shrimp" team and sitting in this crude camp, Xia Nan naturally has his own outstanding qualities.
According to the memories left by his predecessor, the earliest tracing of events can go back to five years ago, when he was just thirteen.
At that time, a destitute minstrel once stayed with his predecessor's family.
Besides performing tricks in front of the village children, which opened the door to a magical world for the young Xia Nan,
due to his predecessor's mother's notorious stinginess, which was famed for miles around,
the minstrel had to leave a page of a skill book with their family when leaving the village.
To call it a "book" is somewhat of a stretch.
In appearance, it was just half a page recording some kind of training technique.
But no matter how you put it, it was once a part of an actual professional skill book.
The whole family cherished it as a treasure.
Even the youngest daughter, "Beatrix," who was only seven at the time, practiced it for a while.
Unfortunately, perhaps the half-page skill book was merely a piece of nonsense the minstrel made up to escape, or maybe none of the family had the talent for it.
More than half a year passed without anyone making noticeable progress.
Coupled with the king's tax increase and the busy farming season, the matter was left unresolved.
His predecessor was straightforward by nature, and the tricks shown by the minstrel left too deep an impression on him.
So even during the harvest season when he was too busy to stand up straight, he would still wield the crude wooden sword he spent three days carving, swinging it at straw bundles at the field path after a long day of exhausting work.
Day after day, year after year, until countless wooden swords were broken in his hands.
Nobody knew where this field boy got his perseverance, as he didn't rest a single day, as if swinging the sword had become a part of his life.
Finally, one afternoon three months ago...
When Xia Nan, like countless days and nights before, was swinging his wooden sword at the straw man he fashioned himself near the fields by his house,
he experienced a wonderful sensation he had never felt before.
A strange power suddenly emerged from his legs, firmly planted in the muddy ground, rising all the way upward,
from his back, chest, and arms, finally reaching the wooden sword in his hand through his fingertips.
It was as if all the strength and concentration in his body were twisted together into a single entity and instantly poured out.
Buzz—
The broken wooden sword spun and fell to the ground, while tiny, messy bits of grass danced freely in the air.
The straw man, cut in half, slowly toppled over.
The cut was perfectly smooth.
[Vortex Slash]
At that moment, Xia Nan knew its name.
...
Xia Nan had completely mastered a technique that only "Knight Master" could use.
Following that, the rest naturally developed from there.
An ordinary farming family whose entire assets included only a mill and a few patches of meager land.
Raising three sons and a little daughter.
Among them, the eldest and second son had indeed reached the age suitable for starting a family.
Naturally, the fight over the pitifully small inheritance, both openly and secretly, started to emerge.
From the distribution of profits from the mill to the usage time of the kitchen stove...
Various trivial disputes and arguments almost filled every inch of air in that small wooden house.
Seeing his two revered elder brothers fighting fiercely over a candle, the predecessor, not long past adulthood, started to doubt deeply.
Thinking that two years later, when it was his turn to start a family, such things would happen again with him.
Xia Nan started to have thoughts of retreat.
Having just acquired professional skill [Vortex Slash], driven by the reckless bravado unique to youths,
the predecessor registered his name at the adventurer association in a nearby town and joined the "Stinky Fish and Shrimp" team.
"Sigh..."
Recalling the reckless actions of the predecessor, Xia Nan couldn't help but sigh.
When he traversed into this world, his predecessor was already part of the team.
By the time he groggily absorbed the memories and realized what he was doing, he had already entered Mist Forest with the team without a chance to back out.
With things as they are, complaining would only add to internal consumption.
Looking down, he wiped the blade of his sword again with a cloth.
Speaking of which, although his body's two older brothers were deeply embroiled in family estate disputes, they were exceedingly kind to their younger brother.
This one-handed sword was pooled together by the two brothers with their savings.
The predecessor cherished it greatly and maintained it often.
Thus, even though it was long overdue for discarding, the sword blade still retained quite a sharp edge.
Perhaps, it could still hold out for a few more hard battles?
"Hey, kid?"
Perhaps due to Xia Nan's prolonged silence, captain Magi mistook it for excessive nervousness and comforted him:
"Nothing to fear, just a few goblins."
"These creatures, a couple, can't even beat the stray dogs in town."
Xia Nan didn't reply, only showing the hunter a wide grin to indicate he was fine.
Nervous?
Of course, he was.
After all, this was his first time going on an adventure as an "adventurer."
The "glorious deeds" on the attribute panel of his one-handed sword were left by its previous owners and had nothing to do with himself.
And that this battle-tested long sword ended up in his hands perhaps indicated to some extent the fate of its previous owners.
Whoosh——
A cool breeze brushed past the back of Xia Nan's neck, sending a chill down his spine.
Mist Forest, true to its name.
Even during the intense noontime sunlight, a faint mist pervaded the air.
Not to mention, the sun had already set, and the thin moonlight almost merged with the mist, significantly reducing visibility.
Even sitting next to the campfire, he could barely distinguish the vague outlines of the surrounding weeds and shrubs.
"Farmer boy, it's your first time in Mist Forest?"
A voice with a slight teasing tone whispered in his ear.
His eyes followed the voice, and he saw on the other side of the camp, about five or six meters away, the dwarf Elki grinning at him with an amused look.
"You've been here many times?" Xia Nan nodding, replied.
"Of course!"
It seemed he was waiting for Xia Nan to initiate the conversation, as Elki's face immediately lit up with excitement.
"You have no idea, I have a distant cousin who once served as an attendant to an Arcanist for two years. Tsk, that was someone who properly graduated from Hosone Royal Academy and registered with the Caster Association!"
"Hey, you haven't even heard of Hosone Royal Academy, have you? Let me tell you—"
The voice abruptly cut off.
Even if there was a bit of boasting involved, Xia Nan was still very interested in the dwarf's topic.
Having just traversed into this world, anything involving supernatural powers had an exceptional appeal to him.
However, at least today, he probably wouldn't get any more information about "Hosone Royal Academy."
Because just a second ago, Xia Nan witnessed with his own eyes a crooked wooden club with numerous nails embedded in it stirring the mist and emerging from the darkness behind Elki.
It suddenly came down, smashing brutally onto the dwarf's exhilarated face, which was beaming with infinite enthusiasm.
The rust-colored metal spikes instantly pierced through the delicate skin on the side of the opponent's head.
It was like a watermelon accidentally dropped on the ground, as the glaring blood mixed with some nauseating white viscous fluid splashed out from the wound.
"Enemy attack!!!!!!!"