Helag distinctly felt the surroundings grow quiet the moment he stepped into the forest.
The animals in the forest noticed the intruder; the chirping birds and insects went silent.
Helag lightened his steps, adjusted his breathing, and began searching for his target.
Soon, a gray rabbit appeared ahead.
Helag drew his bow and nocked an arrow: "Deep Blue, activate aim assist."
[Calculating wind speed…]
A blue auxiliary line appeared in his vision. Helag adjusted his shooting angle, aiming at the rabbit.
Whoosh!
The rabbit's ears twitched, but it didn't have time to jump away before an arrow pierced its head.
Helag cautiously observed his surroundings. After confirming there were no abnormalities, he went to retrieve the rabbit.
He picked it up and weighed it; it was about 2 or 3 kilograms.
He wiped the arrow on the rabbit's fur and put it back in the quiver for reuse.
"My control over my body is still too weak."
Helag felt his control over his body was insufficient, lacking stability when shooting.
A few minutes later, Helag found another target.
In the northeast, two birds, a pair of red-spotted finches, were grooming each other on a tree.
Helag held his breath, drew the longbow silently, and aimed the cold, gleaming arrow at the lovebirds.
Whoosh!
One arrow, two birds!
The arrow pierced through both finches' heads, stringing them together like candied hawthorns.
The red-spotted finches were small, with little meat.
Wild animals were abundant here, to the point of being overrun.
Naturally, no one talked about animal protection.
By the end of the afternoon, Helag had a fruitful harvest.
Three rabbits, seventeen red-spotted finches, and two fish.
If his body could sustain it, and he had the strength to draw the bow, he could have continued hunting.
At dusk, as the setting sun cast its glow over the forest, Helag heard strange beastly roars from the depths of the forest.
He immediately sensed danger and quickened his pace to leave the forest.
***
At the castle gate.
"Did you catch all these?" The castle guard was dumbfounded, incredulous.
"Of course, here's the red-spotted finch you wanted. Pay up!" Helag said proudly.
The guard, seeing the string of red-spotted finches around Helag's neck, swallowed and awkwardly said, "I'll just buy five."
"Fine." Helag didn't expect him to buy them all. He would take whatever he could get.
Servants in the castle didn't have salaries, only receiving some reward money on certain holidays.
The guards had salaries, but not much.
Helag returned to the castle with his haul, attracting a lot of attention along the way.
"Where did this kid pick these up?"
"Rumor has it he hunted them himself."
"I'd rather believe those animals ran into trees and killed themselves."
***
"Old Henry, look at this!" Helag showed off his rabbits and fish.
"This…" Old Henry saw the arrow wounds on the prey and doubted his eyes.
"These rabbits and fish are for you, as a fee for borrowing your bow. Eat well and delay meeting the gods; they're always there anyway." Helag put down the rabbits and fish, smiling.
Old Henry didn't refuse, silently nodding, reminiscing while looking at the bow.
"Can I borrow the bow for a few more days?" Helag asked.
Old Henry, slightly dazed, said slowly, "It's yours."
"Huh? Mine?" Helag knew this longbow was Old Henry's treasured possession. Did he just give it away?
Old Henry waved his hand, "Take it. I can't draw it anymore. It's good someone can use it."
***
Back in his small house, Helag began skinning the rabbits and processing the red-spotted finches.
By nightfall, a rabbit and several red-spotted finches were roasting over the fire, and a fish was kept in a basin for later.
This world had few seasonings. Helag found some spicy wild herbs in the forest and used a bit of salt from the salt jar to make do.
Rabbits took longer to roast, while the red-spotted finches, with little meat, cooked quickly.
Helag took a bite of a red-spotted finch. It wasn't as sour as he expected; instead, it was particularly fragrant and crispy. The guard was right; the red-spotted finch was indeed delicious.
[Detected food compatible with physical enhancement. Consuming 150 red-spotted finches can increase strength by 1 point.]
Helag was shocked by the chip's prompt.
One point of strength meant he would go from a weakling to a strongman.
This world was indeed extraordinary. In his previous life, no food could drastically change one's physique.
The castle had official knights, said to handle dozens of ordinary people easily.
Baron Buck was a great knight, rumored to have extraordinary strength.
Helag had never seen it himself, having only been here a few days, always thinking that these were exaggerated rumors.
But now, he had more thoughts.
After eating off the red-spotted finches and rabbits, Helag finally felt full for the first time.
"Being full feels great." He lay on the bed contentedly and soon fell into a deep sleep.
***
The next morning, after finishing his chores, Helag again carried the longbow and entered the forest.
This time, his goal was clear: only hunt red-spotted finches.
At the same time, he paid attention to various plants in the forest, many of which were not found in his previous life and were unidentifiable.
Whenever he encountered a new plant, he would cut a bit and apply it to the back of his hand. If there was no reaction after a while, he would lick it and let Deep Blue analyze the components.
After a few days, Helag discovered a plant that could enhance his physique.
[Detected food compatible with physical enhancement, named Redleaf Fern. Consuming 5 Kilos can increase constitution by 1 point.]
In seven days, Helag ate 200 red-spotted finches and 7 Kilos of Redleaf Fern.
"Query current body status."
[
Helag Merlin:
Strength 1.4
Agility 0.6
Constitution 1.4
Spirit 1.2
]
After eating 150 red-spotted finches, further consumption had no effect, as his body developed resistance.
Redleaf Fern was extremely bitter, but Helag forced himself to eat it to become stronger.
He also found that after increasing strength and constitution by one point each, agility automatically increased by 1, but spirit remained unchanged.
Helag clenched his fists, feeling the explosive power within.
During this time, Helag gained some fame, as he always returned from hunting with a full load.
He earned the nickname "Red-Spotted Finch Hunter."
Every time he returned from the forest, he was adorned with a string of red-spotted finches, hence the name.
"Helag, come out!" Old Henry's long voice called from outside.