Realizing these two were indeed adventurers coming to rescue her, the young woman finally relaxed, her heart that had been suspended for days finally settling down.

"Thank you both..."

She expressed her gratitude to her saviors with utmost sincerity, then looked somewhat awkwardly at the two whose gazes were burning with intensity. "Um... could you help untie me first?"

"Right away, boss! No problem, boss!"

Lin Mo cheerfully stepped forward, using his short knife to cut through the ropes, then helped the young woman to her feet. Having been bound for so long, her limbs had gone somewhat numb, and it took quite a while before she regained her strength.

Before leaving the campsite, Lin Mo and Bern specifically checked the area to ensure they hadn't left behind any traces that could lead back to them, then hurriedly departed.

Given that everyone was injured, they had to proceed with extra caution, which naturally slowed their pace. By evening, they still had considerable distance to cover before reaching the town.

Traveling at night was naturally impractical, so they had no choice but to spend the night in the forest. Everyone set up their own tents, and since the merchant guild owner's daughter didn't have one, she squeezed in with Miriam.

Lin Mo used flint to start a campfire and took bread from his pack. Today they wouldn't have to eat the salty, tough jerky because he had caught a rabbit along the way.

Evan volunteered to handle the rabbit, removing its fur and internal organs, rubbing salt on the surface, skewering it with broken branches, and placing it over the campfire to roast.

Under the bright flames, sizzling sounds emerged as oil dripped, and the aroma of fat dispersed, making everyone who hadn't eaten well for days swallow their saliva involuntarily.

The rabbit wasn't particularly fat, but it was decently sized. Divided among several people, everyone could enjoy a fair amount of meat.

While chewing on a rabbit leg, Lin Mo checked his status panel. After the battle during the day, his Stealth proficiency had reached Lv2 (7/20), while his Slash proficiency had climbed to Lv2 (15/20)!

Killing the Bloodsea Gang captain, who was quasi-professional level, had granted 5 proficiency points—the same as that mutated goblin from before.

This made Lin Mo once again marvel at his luck and courage back then. Facing an opponent comparable to quasi-professional level, if he hadn't seized the perfect moment to blind his enemy, even if he went back now, he would stand no chance of victory.

His strength was still too low! Lin Mo deeply felt his own weakness. Even with two skills, he was merely considered "tall" among bottom-tier adventurers—essentially still a rookie who hadn't escaped the lower ranks.

To survive better in this world, he needed to improve his strength quickly.

Fortunately, with the attribute panel, not only was his strength improvement much simpler than for ordinary people, but more importantly, he could tangibly see his gradual progress, which provided strong motivation.

His Slash skill was only 5 proficiency points away from leveling up.

Lin Mo recalled what Bern had said earlier. Skills not only provided attribute bonuses when acquired, but also when used proficiently and when fully mastered.

Full mastery naturally referred to leveling a skill to its maximum, while proficient use likely referred to intermediate levels. For example, from the already max-level Slacking Off skill, he knew that common quality skills had a maximum level of 5. Therefore, for Slash, another common quality skill, the standard for proficient use was most likely level 3.

This meant that after grinding just 5 more proficiency points, Lin Mo's attributes would experience another growth!

"Everyone remember to clean up and reapply medicine after sweating so much from today's travel," Bern reminded after the meal.

Lin Mo's injuries weren't serious, so he could handle them himself. Evan was similar, while Bern and Miriam's wounds were more troublesome.

After tending to his own wounds, Lin Mo also helped Bern with his. As for Miriam's side...

"Miriam, let me help clean your wounds!" Evan enthusiastically volunteered, his almost glowing eyes making his ulterior motives obvious even to a fool.

"Get lost!" Naturally, he was met with Miriam's disdainful eye-roll.

"I... I can help..." The merchant's daughter, who had been silent for a long time, spoke up proactively. The Yori Merchant Guild was only a small-scale guild in Roland Town, and she wasn't exactly from a wealthy family, so she had naturally learned basic wound treatment.

"Thank you for your trouble," Miriam nodded.

"No trouble at all..." The young woman repeatedly waved her hands, after all, these adventurers had been injured while rescuing her.

As it was getting late, the night watch order remained the same as the previous night—Bern would take the first half, while the several younger members would divide responsibility for the second half.

The exhaustion from battle combined with his slightly weakened body from injuries allowed Lin Mo to fall asleep quickly. Of course, it was still only light sleep, with his weapon placed conveniently within reach... Although they had become relatively familiar after two days of interaction, and he didn't think Bern and the others were bad people, anything could happen. Over a hundred gold coins was no small amount—enough to tempt the vast majority of low-level adventurers with thoughts of keeping it all for themselves.

As it turned out, his worries were somewhat unnecessary, as the night passed peacefully once again.

Lin Mo woke up early before his shift change, rubbing his somewhat swollen and painful eyes as he stood up and looked ahead.

The campfire remained vigorous, apparently having been fed firewood not long ago, with the crackling sounds of burning flames continuous. At the edge of the firelight's reach, Miriam sat with her knees hugged to her chest, while Evan squatted beside her. The two were speaking softly about something.

The ranger girl held that broken white oak bow in her hands, gently stroking the break in the middle.

Evan, seeing her distress, comforted her: "Don't worry, this mission will earn us lots and lots of gold coins. When we return to town, you can buy a new one—this time we'll get the best, buy from the association's second floor, something sturdier than this!"

"Don't waste money." Miriam lightly patted him. "There's no need to use the team's funds either—that money should be saved for more important things. The ironthorn wood bow at Edgar's shop is quite good. When the captain distributes the bonuses, just lend me some, that should be enough..."

"Oh, okay!" Evan nodded without hesitation.

Miriam looked into his eyes: "So eager to agree—what if I can't repay you?"

"Can't repay..." Evan met her gaze, seeing the rare softness in her eyes. The air seemed to grow ambiguous at that moment.

Though she called it a loan, he never actually intended to make Miriam repay him.

"If you can't repay, then... then..." He hemmed and hawed, wanting to speak but ultimately not daring to voice his bold thoughts.

Fortunately, the campfire provided cover, otherwise his flushed face would have been frighteningly red.

"Coward~" Miriam chuckled lightly, the corners of her mouth lifting as her voice slowly drifted away in the wind.

"Thank you."

...

Watching this scene from afar, Lin Mo felt both warmth and a slight ache in his heart.

When would such a scene come his way...