Chapter 37: Kate Green

“It seems they might have other accomplices.”

Mel Carlo stood up.

He analyzed this because the belongings found on these five people weren’t much, and to avoid attention, Mel had only secretly stored a knife in his system space.

From the way they acted and took positions, it was clear this wasn’t their first time attacking people.

“Only 300 Orun. If they often killed in this area, it shouldn’t be that little.”

“If we retreat further, it’s a bit too far. If we want to cross this forest during the day, we need to set out from the town at night.”

Kate voiced her thoughts.

Staying here was dangerous.

If these bandits had more accomplices, or a stronger leader…

Claire was startled, but quickly suppressed her emotions, trying not to look at the mutilated corpses on the ground.

She carefully stood up.

“Why don’t we just go straight through! Crossing the forest is safer than staying here.”

“I’m thinking the same.”

Freli brushed the dust off his clothes.

He had been on watch, but the enemy approached so quietly it was almost impossible to notice.

The only thing to be thankful for was that they hadn’t killed him outright.

If anything else happened, they might have been beheaded in their sleep.

At this distance, the only choice was to cross the forest.

On the other side of the mountain was a small town.

“Then let’s go through! Slow down, and be careful of tripwires—even an Earth Dragon can’t withstand a fall!”

Kate reminded them again.

After the recent bloodshed, no one dared let their guard down.

The terror of humans was no less than that of monsters.

The group boarded the carriage again and slowly moved into the forest.

In such small mountain ranges, there were dedicated roads, but monsters and bandits also liked hiding in these dense woods.

Inside the carriage, Mel Carlo spoke again.

“Since the road is already built, why not cut down all the surrounding trees? At least that way you wouldn’t have to worry about being ambushed by strange things.”

Kate laughed, as if she’d heard a funny joke.

“Haha, your idea was once tried by a noble.”

“And then?”

Mel Carlo grew interested.

If someone had done such a thing, why wasn’t it adopted elsewhere?

“Did someone kill him?”

“No. Because all the trees around were cut down, later when it rained, the mountain collapsed and buried that fool and his territory.”

Mel Carlo frowned slightly.

He had indeed thought simply before.

Cutting down the trees would widen the view, but it also meant soil erosion.

In heavy rain, it could lead to landslides.

In his previous life, roads could be built because of cement, which could reinforce mountains and protect roads.

But even with protective walls on both sides, it didn’t guarantee a landslide wouldn’t occur.

No wonder Miss Kate laughed.

“Hello, let me introduce myself again. My name is Mel Carlo.”

Moonlight shone into the carriage.

The little ghost extended his right hand.

“Kate Green.”

Their hands clasped together—a new introduction.

“Your throw just now was very precise.”

“Thank you. It’s the thief’s [Flying Blade] skill.”

Miss Kate stretched her ankle a bit and turned to look at Mel Carlo again.

“You’ve learned a lot, but don’t you know the more you learn, the harder it is to master? You should focus your energy on a single path.”

Mel Carlo thought for a moment, but couldn’t quickly reach a conclusion.

If it were in a game, level 100 was the cap, and each level gave only 5 skill points, so the skills you could allocate were limited.

It took 30 points to max out a skill, and 495 points could fill up to 16 skills.

But if leveling gave four or five types of attribute points, he could allocate them to [Intelligence], since each point increased skill points by one.

Even then, if each level gave one attribute point, the most extra skill points you could get was 99.

Everything needed to be tested in practice.

Without practice, it was just speculation.

Right now, he hadn’t even figured out the correct way to level up.

Was he just too young?

But these doubts could be resolved once he reached Oak City.

The carriage moved very slowly, out of fear of ambush.

If the Earth Dragon ran too fast and tripwires were hidden in the forest, it could easily result in disaster.

But this slow pace only made Mel Carlo more uneasy.

He had no scouting skills and didn’t know how to acquire them, nor what level of investigation was needed.

The moonlight gradually faded as the thick leaves blocked it, reducing visibility on the road.

Freli lit a torch, but even its faint glow couldn’t illuminate far ahead.

“Claire, are you afraid?”

Mel shifted his gaze to the girl inside the carriage.

For a child her age to see someone die right in front of her—mutilated at that—would probably leave a shadow in her heart.

“Mm.”

Claire replied softly.

This reaction was normal for her age.

Almost being killed was tense enough.

Seeing someone sliced apart could turn that tension into fear.

“Yeah.”

Mel scratched his head.

He seemed to have forgotten what fear was, because he had been too afraid when he was young.

After growing up, he forgot fear, since just surviving took all his strength.

Instead of fearing so many things, it was better to think about what to eat for breakfast the next day.

He used to be afraid of being beaten as a child.

But back then, he didn’t even understand what death was, so he wasn’t really afraid of dying.

An unhappy childhood creates emotional deficits, but it also breeds mental resilience.

In his past life, he had to live like a loser, but in every way, he still wanted to be a good person.

Thinking of these things, he leaned against the carriage and unconsciously fell asleep.

A child’s body always needed more rest.

When he opened his eyes again, he was already inside an Inn.

Beside him was Kate, and the muscle in her arm was hard.

Mel’s movement woke her up.

Kate slowly sat up, letting out a long yawn.

“Ah, Mel, you’re awake.”

“What happened yesterday? Did I fall asleep?”

“Mm. We made it through the mountain safely, but since you were asleep, we didn’t wake you.”

“I mean, why am I staying with you?”

“Heh, little brat, do you want to stay with Claire instead?”

With that, Kate tied her hair into a ponytail—simple and quick, completely unlike a noble.

Mel said nothing more.

After all, he wasn’t losing anything and didn’t want to share a room with a sly uncle like Freli.

“Eat some breakfast. We’re leaving again soon.”

Kate reminded him.

Mel didn’t think much of it and just went downstairs.

After all, the Inn served food.

Spending some Orun was no big deal.