***

The Next Morning.

Blood-Cursed Tribe Village.

Ethan looked ahead as each small patrol team returned from their night watch. Ethan and Nok rose from their cross-legged seats on the ground, watching all of them come back safely without a single injury.

"There were no enemies. Only monsters, but they didn't attack us," one of the men said.

"Good. Nok will explain many things about the best defensive strategies for this village. You must listen to him," Ethan replied.

The man cleared his throat and then walked away from the village entrance to get back home and rest.

Staying on patrol the whole night had left them exhausted and sleepy.

Right after the patrol teams returned, Risa stepped out of her house with a fresh and bright face.

She softly called out to Ethan, and he immediately turned toward her.

"How are you feeling?" Ethan asked.

"Good. My body feels refreshed, and the sleepiness is gone," Risa answered.

Ethan nodded. Risa walked down the stairs until she stood on the ground in front of her stilt house.

Nok remained near Ethan —the two of them had stayed awake the entire night to keep watch over the village.

During their watch, Ethan had explained several defensive strategies the villagers could apply.

He realized that one major weakness of the villagers was that most of them couldn't use magic. Because of that, they relied mainly on weapons and physical attacks.

After observing their abilities, Ethan suggested that Nok and the entire village begin learning archery.

They were skilled at creating poison liquids; if they coated their arrows with poison and fired quickly, enemies wouldn't be able to anticipate the attack.

Ethan also emphasized that they shouldn't use direct attacks. It wouldn't be ideal against outsiders.

Their greatest strength was their extraordinary adaptation to the forest ecosystem. Ethan told them to maximize that advantage by applying guerrilla or hit-and-run tactics.

At first, Nok refused because she viewed such tactics as cowardly. However, Ethan explained that battle doesn't distinguish the brave from the cowardly —only the clever from the reckless.

Given the village's current situation, choosing to be clever was the only correct choice.

Slowly, Nok realized Ethan was right. She would discuss it with the village elders, then teach the strategy to all villagers if Ethan's plan proved suitable.

Risa approached them, now fully dressed with her accessories and magic staff. She was clearly ready to resume her floor exploration.

"You look ready to explore the floor again," Ethan said.

"Of course. I'm more than ready," Risa replied.

Nok didn't mind at all —in fact, she supported her. Ever since Risa had been with Ethan, she had grown significantly, and that was something Nok welcomed.

"You two should go. The elders and I will guard the village well."

Risa nodded. After saying their farewells, she and Ethan left the village. Several people waved at them, sending them off as they began their floor exploration once again.

Risa was excited for this exploration. She had learned several new magic spells that suited her abilities —she had learned them directly from Nok.

They walked together along the forest dirt path, occasionally encountering groups of kobold monsters blocking their way.

"Kobolds," Ethan muttered.

"Let me defeat them," Risa said.

Ethan was taken aback —Risa confidently volunteering to fight the three kobolds ahead was unexpected. He needed to help her, at least to protect her from the monsters' attacks.

The kobolds charged at Ethan. Risa closed her eyes, focusing on her chant. Ethan struck at the kobolds using Tempest Reaver, deliberately avoiding fatal blows.

At the very least, the damage he dealt would still count in the battle. If Risa delivered the killing blow, Ethan would still receive his share.

Ethan injured them without killing them. When he sensed Risa's spell nearing completion, he quickly retreated and stood beside her.

A crimson magic rune appeared in the sky, and the energy from Risa's staff surged upward into the rune.

Within seconds, the rune activated and fired multiple fireballs resembling small meteors that rained down on the kobolds.

Their HP rapidly dropped until all three monsters collapsed. Risa had defeated them with impressive strength —enough to make Ethan genuinely impressed with how much she had improved.

[Congratulations, you obtained loot:]

[+600 EXP || +150 Gold || +150 Contribution Points]

Ethan received his share, but something was off —the EXP wasn't what he expected.

Normally, one kobold was worth 250 EXP, but now he had received only 200 EXP per kobold. Risa must have contributed significantly to the battle.

He turned to her, noticing that no system panel had appeared in front of Risa. Ethan grew confused; he didn't know how they leveled up.

"Can you increase your level?" Ethan asked.

"I'm not sure. I've never tried," Risa replied.

"Did you feel anything after defeating those monsters?"

Risa smiled brightly, her eyes fixed on him, "I felt happy, of course."

So she had no idea.

"All right. We'll challenge the floor boss today, and tomorrow we'll head to the second floor," Ethan said.

Risa agreed. They continued forward. Reaching a fork in the forest path, Ethan moved north toward the boss castle.

Along the way, Ethan encountered three more groups of kobolds.

He explained his need for Contribution Points and the system behind it; Risa nodded, understanding.

She was willing to help if he needed her. Ethan felt relieved at how well she understood the situation.

Ethan slashed down the last kobold in the third group. By applying the throw-and-swing technique, he managed to increase his sword-swing count for the Crimson Slash skill.

[Talent Quest: Swing Skill 1 800 times]

[Count: 421/800] [Duration: 40:01:25:41]

[Congratulations, you obtained loot:]

[+1000 EXP || +500 Gold || +500 Contribution Points]

He gained EXP, gold, and Contribution Points from the fight. Risa had helped during the second battle, but Ethan delivered the finishing blows —which meant Risa received her own share, too.

They continued walking through the forest path until Ethan stopped. His eyes focused ahead —a massive castle stood in front of them, housing the kobold boss inside.

This would be Risa's first time participating in a floor-boss challenge. And beyond that, she was mesmerized by the size and grandeur of the castle —something she had never seen before.

"What is that?" Risa asked.

"Inside, there's a large monster much stronger than the kobolds we fought earlier," Ethan replied.

"S-Stronger? Can I really help you defeat it?"

Ethan smiled and gently patted her head, "Of course. We'll defeat it together."

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