A day had passed since Rowan’s fled the flower field.

  Despite the horrifying encounter, there was one thing he had to admit.

  Whatever the flowers did, it worked wonders on his body. Once Rowan calmed down and returned back to his camp, he decided to just sleep. He woke up more refreshed than he felt in a long time. The flowers may have gone past his guard and relaxed his mind, but somehow that seemed to have also released the tension in his body at the same time. Rowan didn’t think it was possible to feel so good waking up, but he did. He didn't think it was possible to wake up so energetic. Rowan actually began to feel like there was a slim chance of escaping the Forest of Death. What was this feeling? It took a bit for him to figure it out.

  Hope.

  A word that felt foreign to him for many years. However, it was a welcome feeling. It felt different and nice.

  As the new day started, Rowan decided to try again to figure out the flower means of offense. He had done some reasoning and analysis on his way back, but his mind was in no state to think about it any further so he had stopped midway. Now that he was awake and feeling much better, it was time to tackle this problem once again.

  Only that there was one issue he did not account for.

  No matter how much his brain turned, Rowan could not think of how the flowers attacked his mind. If there was a physical attack, he could easily deduce it. He didn’t know if it was magic or some strange plant feature that the Forest of death was known for. The problem was it was invisible. He did not know when he came under attack.

  There was something missing. Knowledge that he did not know or overlooked. In the end, no matter how much he tried to determine what kind of attack it was, Rowan just could not understand. It could be the lack of intelligence Rowan’s part.

  In simpler terms, it was Rowan’s stupidity that stopped him from figuring out the flower's method of attack.

  It couldn’t be solely blamed on Rowan’s brain. After all he was stuck in the Forest of Death for three years. Lack of experience, lack of resources, lack of teachers, and lack of, well, everything in general. Rowan was still fumbling his way through and learning on the go.

  While he may have prepared for exploring the dangers of the forest, it pleasantly surprised him that he survived this long. Determination and preparation fueled his desire to leave, but he was realistic at the same time.

  If you can’t figure out the answer, give up and stay as far as possible from the problem.

  Not the best solution, but it was the only one he could currently think of. It wasn’t as if he needed to go through the flower field after all. Now that he knew the reason why monsters avoided it, he would do the same. There were many more places Rowan needed to explore in order to find out the general direction to escape. If he ever did need to go through the flower field once again, then he’ll deal with the problem when it comes down to it. For now, the flower field was just another name on the list that he needed to avoid. The Forest of Death was teeming with monstrosities and strange plants, what was adding another one to the avoidance list? Rowan was sure that list would only increase as time went on.

  Speaking of general direction, Rowan decided to go in the complete opposite direction of the flower field. While he may have decided a temporary solution to deal with the flowers, the fear still lingered from the day before.

  Just as it was necessary to personally inspect the goblin village and flower field, he needed to see some places for himself. He was going to take a look at the limits of his mana detection ability.

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  Sure, he could use the Mother Tree to help. The only problem was whenever he pushed his senses, just even a little bit, he could feel something disappearing. A feeling that he once felt when he first encountered the Mother Tree. He didn’t know if Mother Tree helped him return to his body or if it was just luck, but he didn't want to ever experience that again. Besides, personally taking a look may also help him determine the direction he needed to travel in.

  That was how Rowan met his old buddies, the goblins, after walking for an hour.

  The second Rowan picked up their presence, he immediately hid himself. However it seemed there was no need for that as they were already busy.

  The goblins were on a hunt, if it could be called that. They were facing the lowest degree of monsters that the goblins could possibly face in the forest. However that did not mean the two sides were equal.

  It was a slaughter for the goblins.

  The goblins were facing Rowan's old time foe, the wolves. There were three wolves against six goblins. The goblins were using handcrafted spears and other weapons, basically sharpened sticks and stone to hunt. There had been more goblins based on the amount of green bodies that laid on the ground. The wolves hadn’t gotten away unscathed as various injuries of different degrees covered their bodies. From the looks of it, Rowan had walked into the middle of a fight between the two species.

  Based off his own experience, Rowan believed that the wolves had the upper hand. The wolves could easily take care of the goblins. It would take at least five goblins to fight off a wolf. It looked as if the goblins had the same realization and paid a heavy price based on the number of bodies on the ground. Both sides were too invested in the battle to notice their hidden observer, which suited Rowan just fine. Both sides suffered injuries that showed the battle would soon come to a conclusion.

  One goblin mustered up the courage and took a stab at a wolf that was heavily injured on its left leg. This earned the goblin a quick death as the wolf bit its head off. The goblin attempt was not in vain as its spear impaled its leg and remained there.

  Seeing a fellow goblin killed and the multiple bodies strung on the floor, the other goblins decided enough was enough. They all turned around and ran as fast as their legs could carry them.

  The wolves did not agree to that decision.

  The monstrous canines pounced on the retreating goblins and made short work of them. Rowan judged that if the goblins hadn’t run, they might have stood a chance. Seeing that the goblins were finally dead, one wolf decided to give off a victory howl. Just as it raised its head and was ready to pronounce the end of the battle, its legs suddenly gave way and it collapsed.

  The other two wolves looked at their suddenly fallen kin in alarm. Before they could do anything else, their legs also gave way beneath them.

  Rowan watched as the wolf's bodies weakened and finally stopped functioning. Their chest that had just been rising and setting as they laid helpless on the floor a few moments ago had stopped completely.

  Rowan observed the wolves a bit longer to make sure they were completely dead. His mana detection showed that the already minimal mana they had was already disappearing.

  What happened? Why had the wolves suddenly collapsed?

  Sure they were injured, but the injuries were not to the extent that they were life threatening. Given time, the wolves could have healed themselves after a few days.

  The answer came to Rowan after he did a short and close up inspection of the scene.

  Poison.

  The weapons that the goblins used were covered in a liquid he did not recognize. It was so unnoticeable that Rowan had to squint and raise the weapon towards the sun. If the weapon was used against Rowan, he doubt he would have noticed until it was too late.

  Thank the gods that wooden hands seem to be able handle poison. A thought that came a few moments too late after he realized he should not be handling poisonous weapons barehanded.

  While the goblins lost the battle, they had not gone down easily. The wolves paid the price in the end.

  For monsters known for their stupidity, poisoning their weapons was pretty smart of them. Of course, unless the goblins had been planning to use the wolves for food. If the goblins had been planning to eat the monsters later, then the poison would make their prey uneatable. That would make their whole hunt pointless.

  As Rowan appreciated the sneaky wits of the goblins, he soon came to a realization.

  If the goblins could use poison on their weapons, why couldn’t he?