Chapter 15 | Bound by Gear, Forged by Power

Instructor Calm's words eased the tense expressions of the group.

Although the mystery remained unsolved, the battle before them had ended cleanly, and none of them were injured, which made it a successful operation in its own right.

Reynard was the first to move. He walked over to a goblin corpse, squatted down, and expertly sliced off its long, pointed left ear, tossing it casually into a dirty-looking coarse cloth pouch at his waist that was clearly meant for this purpose.

Then, he walked to the next corpse and repeated the action.

Matthew watched this with a trace of confusion in his eyes.

Just then, Instructor Calm's voice sounded beside him, explaining, “A bounty issued by the town. Every goblin's left ear is worth five copper coins.”

Matthew turned his head and saw that Instructor Calm had walked up next to him at some point and was looking at him.

“First, it's to prevent these green-skinned bastards from multiplying without limit. After all, if left unchecked, there are historical precedents of them destroying nations.”

“Second, it serves as a little extra subsidy for people like us who often have to enter the forest edge to scout and clear them out. After all, weapons need maintenance, leather armor needs repairing, and training and combat require better food.”

He glanced at the sword in Matthew's hand.

“After all, relying solely on the village's finances, there is no money to provide weapons for you.”

“According to the rules, the spoils go to whoever made the kill, and those from teamwork are split evenly. You killed six.”

Matthew understood and nodded. “I'll follow your lead then. I'll get to work as well.”

He drew his short sword and walked toward a goblin corpse he had slain. Mimicking Reynard, he sliced off the ugly left ear. It felt cold and slightly rubbery, carrying a heavy stench of blood.

He quickly calculated in his head: six of them, at five copper coins each, made thirty copper coins... Every little bit helped!

Thirty copper coins was by no means a small sum for the villagers of Stone Mill Village. It could buy a lot of black bread, or even some decent-quality dried meat.

More importantly, Matthew realized that Instructor Calm's method of distribution was extremely fair and generous.

This operation had been led by Instructor Calm, who did the scouting and initiated the battle, and the entire fight had basically been carried out under his control and deterrence.

Logically speaking, even if he took most or even all of the spoils, no one could object.

“Following an instructor like this is definitely worth it,” Matthew thought to himself.

He focused his mind, stopped overthinking, and concentrated on the task at hand.

Just as he cut off the last goblin's ear, his gaze accidentally swept over the goblin's skinny, dirt-covered wrist, and his movements paused.

Wrapped around the wrist was a crude bone bracelet, made of several dark brown bones of varying sizes and irregular shapes strung together.

Matthew frowned slightly and used the tip of his short sword to carefully pry up the bone bracelet, as it had a greasy sheen to it...

Nevertheless, he still picked it up to examine it.

...

【Filthy Bone Chain

Quality: White

Equipment requirement: Slay living beings (5/5)

Description: A simple creation by a kobold priest, tainted with a touch of spiritual aura, but inherently low-grade and unstable.

Effects: Slightly increases training efficiency of basic skills, weakly improves resistance to negative mental influences;】

...

On the way back, Matthew was somewhat absent-minded.

So much so that his responses to Instructor Calm's words were a bit slow.

“Matthew, just give me the goblin ears. I'll give you the copper coins directly.”

“Matthew?”

“Ah?” Snapping back to reality, Matthew hurriedly pulled the six bloody left ears from his cloth pouch and handed them to Instructor Calm.

Instructor Calm took them, stuffed them into his breast pocket without looking, and then counted out thirty heavily worn but still heavy copper coins from a small leather pouch at his waist, placing them one by one into Matthew's open palm.

“Count them.”

“No need, Instructor. Thank you.” Matthew carefully tucked the thirty copper coins into an inner pocket.

He did not go home immediately. Instead, he turned and walked toward the clear stream not far outside the village.

He needed to wash the 【Filthy Bone Chain】.

After all, it had been worn on a filthy goblin's wrist and was covered in blood and grime. Without washing it, Matthew really could not wear it with peace of mind.

Arriving at the riverbank, he found a flat rock to sit on and took the bone chain out of his cloth pouch.

He submerged the bone chain in the cool river water, carefully scrubbing each bone with his hands to wash away the blood and grime.

The river water quickly became a bit murky, but the bone chain itself did not seem to absorb much water. When he scooped it out after washing, only water droplets clung to its surface, and it quickly regained its dull luster under the sunlight.

Matthew placed it on a clean rock to dry, then washed his face with the river water and cleaned the blood off his hands and short sword.

Weapon maintenance.

Reynard had just taught him this: if the blood on the blade was left uncleaned for too long—especially the blood of monsters like goblins—it would not only easily corrode the metal, causing the blade to rust and dull, but it could also leave a lingering stench that was hard to remove, affecting one's grip and swing at critical moments.

Only after doing all this did he pick up the now much cleaner bone chain again.

【Inferior equipment 【Filthy Bone Chain】 detected. Equip?】

【Yes/No?】

Matthew silently thought, Yes.

Instantly, he felt a faint, subtle connection form between himself and the bone chain in his hand.

At the same time, the panel before his eyes quietly changed.

In his equipment slots, besides 【Worn Standard One-Handed Sword (Bound)】 and 【Old Wooden Shortbow (Bound)】, another line appeared:

【Filthy Bone Chain (Bound)】

After equipping it, Matthew began practicing right there by the river.

Having pay-to-win gear really made a difference. Matthew could feel that, compared to before, his mind seemed a bit clearer.

Moreover, he could clearly feel himself making progress.

With every swing of his sword, he gained some insight.

“And is this what ‘slightly increases training efficiency of basic skills’ feels like?” Matthew thought to himself.

“Although the effect is subtle, it definitely exists. Especially at the 'Basic' level, which requires a lot of repetition and comprehension, this small boost in efficiency will accumulate over time, and the benefits cannot be underestimated.”

He practiced his swordsmanship for about half an hour until the soreness in his arms grew significantly heavier. Only then did he stop to rest for a bit, pulling some dried meat from his shirt to replenish his strength.

Yet, joy still filled his heart.

After all, his progress over the past few days had been incredibly slow. The night after his sparring session ended, his proficiency had jumped by a full four points.

But those good days didn't last long, and he was soon dragged back to reality, returning to gaining only one or two points a day.

“This is perfect now,” Matthew calculated in his head as he chewed on the dried meat, feeling the cool touch of the bone chain on his wrist. “With the boost from this 【Filthy Bone Chain】, combined with daily training and sparring, gaining a steady three to four proficiency points a day shouldn't be a problem.”

“At this rate, in less than two months, my 【Basic Swordsmanship】 will definitely break through to the 'Practiced' rank!”

After Practiced comes becoming a Class holder!

That is the Class level!

Instructor Calm was at this level.

It would be enough to handle many unexpected situations.

Matthew remembered the matter of the kobolds in the forest very clearly. Instructor Calm's analysis made perfect sense, and Matthew did not dare to delay for even a second.