Winterseed -XIV-

After the goblin's death, Rowan witnessed a shocking scene unfold beside its corpse. First, a small metal piece, about the size of a baby's fist, suddenly appeared. Then, within seconds, the metal piece multiplied a hundredfold, forming a small mountain of metal beside the goblin's lifeless body.

Almost simultaneously, several prompts appeared before him:

[ You slayed x1 goblin | +20 Evolution Points, +1 chunk of crude iron. ]

[ 100x Reward activated; you have received 2000 Evolution Points, 100 chunks of crude iron. ]

[ You've received your first item and unlocked INVENTORY. ]

[ INVENTORY (STAGE 1): Store all items here... Slot: 0/10. ]

[ You can now access INVENTORY from your character status. ]

'This is incredible! A hundred chunks of crude iron from just one goblin? This feels like a cheat code! If players back on Earth heard about this, they'd be so jealous they might hang themselves!' Rowan thought with excitement.

But his jubilation was short-lived; the battle was still raging. He stretched his hand over the mountain of crude iron and muttered, "Store." As he spoke, a dim glow enveloped the crude iron, and the next second, it vanished.

[ X100 Crude Irons stored in Inventory ]

Rowan turned back to the battlefield. His soldiers were beyond exhausted after battling the goblins for more than thirty minutes. Surviving that long against these vile creatures was a miracle, given the ghastly injuries many had already sustained.

Hungry for evolution points and more crude iron, Rowan stepped onto the battlefield and began slaughtering every goblin in his path.

Standing at a distance, Brandon watched in shock as Rowan dominated the battle, his mouth agape. How could this be?

Brandon had known Rowan since he was an infant and had watched him grow into the man he was today. But never had he seen Rowan lift a weapon, not even a kitchen knife, and yet here he was, dominating the battlefield like a seasoned sword emperor who had fought countless battles.

He couldn't help but wonder what had happened. Since Rowan recovered from his illness, he had become invincible. He was now exceptionally intelligent, even outsmarting his own father, who was considered a great lord. His decisions left everyone in awe of his newfound wisdom.

Not just Brandon, but the soldiers were also puzzled by how extraordinary their lord had become.

They watched him fight, each swing of his sword making them wonder if their young lord had suddenly gained the memories of a thousand-year-old sword emperor.

While they were in awe of this fantastic moment, Riela came dashing towards them, her beautiful face filled with worry and remorse. Tears gathered in her eyes, threatening to fall at any moment.

As she approached, she couldn't help but notice the heated battle between humans and goblins, the same goblins that had taken the life of her beloved father. Their ugly faces reminded her of the day her father's mutilated corpse was returned from the border, his body barely recognizable after being brutalized by those vile creatures. It was a day she could never forget—the day she lost her only family and gained a new one in Rowan.

But on this chaotic night, she feared she might lose yet another family to the same monsters.

"Rowan!" she called out in panic, her voice quickly catching Brandon's attention.

Brandon and the injured soldiers beside him turned toward Riela, concern etched on their faces. It was not a good idea for a woman to approach a battlefield filled with goblins!

"Riela? What are you doing here? You should be at the north side with the other villagers!" Brandon hurried towards her, trying to caution her.

But Riela was too worried about Rowan to heed his warning. "Where is Rowan? I went to his place and was told he's here! Why did you let him come? Have you forgotten that he's not ready yet? Do you want him dead?" She vented her frustration and anger at Brandon, unable to believe that someone as wise as him would allow Rowan to take such a risky move.

Brandon, knowing how close she was to Rowan, quickly understood her worries as he too was concerned from the start and even tried to stop Rowan from joining the battle.

But now, he decided to reprimand her for coming to the battlefield.

"I understand how much you care for Lord Rowan, but you need to care for yourself as well. Goblins are not creatures women should get close to, especially young, beautiful women like yourself..."

Brandon went on, reminding her of the horrific past where women had been kidnapped by goblins and R**** until they lost their sanity and became nothing but useless vessels of their past selves.

Riela listened, but her eyes were scanning the battlefield, searching desperately for Rowan. Her heart pounded, refusing to rest until she saw that Rowan was alive and well. As she scanned the area, her eyes locked onto a figure moving skillfully across the chaos, swinging his sword at every goblin he encountered, cutting them down with a single, clean slash.

The darkness made it hard to recognize him at first, but she could see his blade gleaming, dancing harmonically in the night, obliterating his opponents with ease.

After about ten seconds of desperate observation, she finally recognized him.

"Is that Rowan?" she asked, interrupting Brandon's ongoing fatherly advice.

'What! She wasn't even listening to me!' he thought.

"Yes, that's Rowan. See, you had nothing to worry about," Brandon replied. "The young lord is impressive... there was no need for you to worry. You should leave now before those vile creatures set their eyes on you and try to capture you."

He tried his best to make Riela listen to his words, but it was futile—her eyes were glued to Rowan.

[ Your soldiers are motivated by your valiant actions... ]

[ Your followers are astonished ]

[ Your followers wonder if you are another person ]

[ One of your followers wishes that you get stabbed in the heart and die! ]

Meanwhile, as Rowan fought, incessant messages from the system kept popping up every second.

He ignored them all until his eyes landed on one.

'WTF! Someone wants me dead in this battle? Who could that be?'