It is located in the Kingdom of Temeria, in a domain called Baron's Meadow, under the jurisdiction of Baron Raymond.
"Good morning, new day! Night City... Uh, Temeria!"
A black-haired boy with blue eyes and a slightly boyish face shouted loudly.
Then he stretched towards the sun before turning back into the house.
When the boy came out of the house again, this time he had an extra crossbow on his back and a cold-glint dagger in his hand.
He gripped the handle, twisted his wrist, spun it a few times, and finally thrust the dagger into the sheath on his thigh.
"Jack, I'm going to check the traps I set yesterday, see if any game got caught."
"Alright, Karl, be careful. There have been a lot of monsters roaming the wilds lately."
"Don't worry, if I can't beat a monster, can't I just run away?"
Meanwhile, a white-haired old man in the house chuckled and nodded, saying nothing.
He watched Karl leave, his back reflected in his eyes, and suddenly a hint of sadness flickered across his brow.
Only when Karl's figure was completely hidden in the bushes did Jack look away and continue wiping down an iron sword with an oilcloth.
Karl walked quickly through the trees, the morning sun shining on him, offering not a hint of warmth.
A look of distinct pleasure was on his face, because he didn't feel hot in the sun, but rather found it very comfortable.
At that moment, on his retina, as if between illusions, a faint curtain flickered, and a stream of information kept scrolling.
[Absorbing sunlight, Energy +0.1]
[Absorbing sunlight, Energy +0.1]
Yes, he did indeed have a golden finger.
However, over the years, aside from constantly prompting energy absorption, the system hadn't manifested any other functions.
Besides that, he had discovered many strange things about himself, like his physical recovery rate being faster in sunlight, and his constitution being stronger than ordinary people's.
For the first time in his life, his food intake was so large that the household couldn't sustain it, so he could only pretend to be full.
What's more, he never got sick; he was incredibly healthy, never even catching a cold.
......
As Karl ventured deeper into the woods, he could hear the chirping of birds and insects, and the sound of a river nearby.
Karl's eyes focused, his heart gradually becoming more alert, his peripheral vision scanning the surrounding grass, watching for any movement.
He took the crossbow off his back, held it in his hand, and moved slowly, following the trail he had previously marked on the tree trunks.
After walking for more than twenty meters, the surrounding trees gradually thinned out.
He finally arrived at the spot where the trap had been set the day before. The trap had been triggered.
However, upon seeing the scene nearby, Karl's expression, which had initially looked happy, quickly darkened.
He saw a medium-sized wild wolf, weighing about twenty kilograms, its right leg caught in the animal trap, blood flowing from the wound.
Looking only at that, this trip should have been a great gain.
After all, a good, relatively intact wolf pelt was worth one or two silver coins, equivalent to the income of ordinary people for the past two months.
But now, four creatures, entirely blue, were lying on the wild wolf, feasting.
They appeared similar in size to humans, but upon closer inspection, one could see they had scales and fins.
Their hands and feet were webbed like a frog's, their eyes seemed to bulge from their sockets, and their entire bodies emitted a rancid, sour stench.
This disgusting smell, piercing straight into one's nostrils, could be detected even from several meters away.
Seeing such obvious features, how could Karl not know what kind of monster this was?
His expression was extremely grim, his eyes full of disgust, and he cursed inwardly.
"Damn it, you fucking Drowners! This is at least twenty meters from the river, can they really smell blood that well?"
"My money... and I have to pay the tithe in a few days, when will this life get any easier?!"
......
Just as Karl was glaring viciously at the Drowners, about to quietly leave and check the traps elsewhere,
suddenly, under the sunlight, an object next to the Drowner caught the light and flashed, piercing his eyes.
"Huh? What's that reflecting?" He frowned, then looked towards the corner.
Seeing the object clearly, his mouth fell open in astonishment, his eyes unable to hide their surprise.
He saw a necklace lying quietly on the ground, stained with blood and wrapped in dust.
Looking closely, there were dozens of incomparably white pearls on the necklace, connected by an unknown silk thread.
The pendant below it was dark and deep; if not struck by strong sunlight, it barely reflected any light, looking like obsidian.
Occasionally, a blue light flickered within the obsidian pendant, clearly indicating it was no ordinary trinket.
However, due to the distance, as well as the blood and dust on its surface, Karl couldn't see it clearly.
"Shhh... that jewelry, that's definitely a precious gem! I've got to get my hands on that."
"Even if the necklace is a little damaged, it's worth dozens of Orens. I didn't expect such a windfall."
Realizing the necklace's high value, he stared fixedly at it, afraid it might sprout wings and fly away.
Karl's breathing unconsciously quickened, his chest heaving violently.
But soon, he took a deep breath to regulate his emotions and forced himself to calm down.
The more critical the moment, the calmer he had to be – he was only stronger than ordinary people, but far inferior to a Witcher.
Therefore, he couldn't be blinded by greed, or he might stumble and fall into a ditch.
Karl leaned on his elbow against his cheek, lowered his head slightly, and began to think of countermeasures.
If he remembered correctly, Drowners were monsters, much like Ghouls, and they were all social monsters.
Since there were four Drowners here, it could be assumed that at least one Drowner nest was in the nearby river.
Although Drowners had low intelligence, one might even call them stupid, they still used the traditional method of calling for help from companions.
Drowners often gathered in groups, and even monster hunters didn't want to provoke them unless necessary.
If he were to act, he would need to ensure he didn't give the other Drowners the slightest chance to cry out or call for help.
Otherwise, if a nearby Drowner nest detected the disturbance, it would be like poking a hornet's nest.
Thinking this, he frowned, and an expression of embarrassment involuntarily appeared on his face.
After a few seconds of contemplation, a spark of inspiration flashed in Karl's mind, and he suddenly lifted his head.
"Right, if there's no opportunity, I'll create one."
"Since I'm not sure I can kill them all at once, why not find a way to separate these four Drowners and kill them one by one?"
Immediately, Karl's eyes rolled as he looked at the Drowners still devouring the wild wolf.
He reached into his pants pocket, felt an object shaped like a whistle, only as big as his thumb, and brought it to his mouth.
Just as the whistle was about to sound, Karl hesitated, and a sense of unease arose in his heart.
"What if the Drowners don't act as expected, but instead move as a group..."
"However, despite the risks, they're not unacceptable... Worst case, I can always run."
Having thought this through, Karl's wavering gaze became completely resolute.