I'm not a goblin Frankenstein's monster.

The old pastor, Far, noticed the subtle changes in the expressions on everyone's faces.

He softened his tone and reassured everyone: "You don't need to be too pessimistic."

Based on past records, even if the barrier weakens, those who manage to escape are mostly not ancient dragons or legendary demons capable of destroying the world.

More likely, they are small to medium-sized otherworldly monsters with strong adaptability and rapid reproduction, or variants of native monsters severely corrupted by mutated energy.

For example, some subspecies of dragon beasts, although they also have dragon blood, are far from being the size and strength of a real dragon.

To deal with this type of threat, organizing a well-equipped and experienced team of professional hunters is entirely feasible.

These words brought a slight sense of relief to Ward and the others.

Unless it's a completely insurmountable disaster, there's always room for maneuver and resistance.

But Xia Lin still wasn't sure.

He quietly communicated with Woody, who was dozing on his shoulder: "Hey, according to the old pastor, with my current strength... do I have a chance against that 'dragon beast subspecies'?"

The crow nodded, and Xia Lin's eyes lit up.

"No doubt about it, you're dead."

The crow didn't even bother to open its eyes; its voice rang directly in his mind, filled with undisguised contempt.

"Small and medium-sized are only relative to giant dragons that are like hills."

For you now, even the weaker versions of most dragon beast subspecies still mean thick hides that are impervious to blades and spears, and claws strong enough to shatter your shield.

Greed, ferocity, and vengefulness—they have inherited most of the "advantages" that dragons should have.

Your wisest choice right now is to run as far away as possible before they clearly appear and target you.

Xia Lin, now "awakened," was speechless.

It seems that the plan to buy a house in the small town is really going to be put on hold.

He sighed helplessly, but his eyes gradually hardened.

Running away is one of the plans, but before that, they need to return to the town, cash in their spoils, replenish their supplies, and then gather more accurate information.

If the situation really deteriorates to the point where an immediate evacuation is necessary, he will also make his escape with enough money and equipment.

The campfire continued to burn, illuminating the faces of the people, each with their own thoughts.

For Xia Lin, improving his strength to protect himself as soon as possible became a more pressing "issue" than finding a place to settle down.

The next day at noon, the group, exhausted from their early morning journey, finally dragged their weary bodies back to the rough yet reassuring stone walls of the town of Elwyn.

Upon arriving at the town entrance, the group temporarily separated.

The old pastor Farr, the guard captain Ward, and the surviving Bill needed to go to the guard's camp immediately to give a detailed report.

The deaths of several guards are a serious matter, and a report must be submitted to the town authorities.

Druid Griffin then took the monster materials he had collected on this trip to his familiar channels to sell them.

He and Xia Lin agreed to meet at the Dwarf Tavern two days later to "divide the spoils".

As for Xia Lin, he has more practical needs right now.

Repair the short spear damaged in battle and give your entire set of equipment a basic overhaul, completely removing the ghoul odor from your body.

Head straight to the familiar "Anvil and Fire" blacksmith shop.

As Xia Lin passed by the general store that was always filled with strange and unusual items, she suddenly remembered something the druid had said when he was collecting ghoul materials.

Some general stores in the Upper Town sell "Materials Gathering Beginner's Guide" specifically for adventurers.

The manual is richly illustrated and provides detailed steps, which is much better than figuring it out on your own!

Xia Lin's heart skipped a beat.

"I wonder if there's a general store in this town?"

This relates to the actual benefits when acting alone in the future; investing a small amount of money to acquire systematic knowledge is definitely worthwhile.

He turned around and went inside, deciding to give it a try.

The shopkeeper was busy sorting through a pile of suspiciously colored powder when he heard the wind chimes. He looked up and immediately recognized Xia Lin.

It's also possible that they recognized Woody, the black-feathered, bright-eyed bird on his shoulder.

The boss's face immediately broke into a warm smile.

Just when he thought this returning customer had finally come to his senses and was buying the color-illustrated hardcover monster encyclopedia, he was figuring out how to make up for the price increase he hadn't been able to make up for last time.

"Oh, adventurer, you're here to patronize me again? I've been saving that encyclopedia for you; the craftsmanship, the content..."

"Boss," Xia Lin interrupted his sales pitch directly, getting straight to the point.

"I'd like to ask if you sell any manuals here that teach adventurers how to gather and process monster materials?"

"Collection manual?"

The boss's smile froze for a moment, clearly showing some surprise.

"Yes, this is it. Do you have it?" Xia Lin asked.

"Uh... now that you mention it, I think I did get a batch of this stuff when I was buying goods from the Upper City a few years ago."

The boss scratched his thinning hair and recalled.

"But as you know, most adventurers here have learned their own tricks through trial and error."

These poor bastards would rather spend their gold coins on gambling tables and women's bellies than on money for learning.

Very few people are willing to spend money to buy books to learn.

Most professionals with some skill have already established themselves in the upper city and acquired everything there.

So this book... didn't sell many copies, and later we felt it took up space and wasn't profitable, so we stopped ordering more.

Seeing the disappointment on Xia Lin's face, the boss suddenly changed the subject: "Wait a minute! I seem to... remember there were a few copies left in stock, which I couldn't bear to throw away, so I don't know where I put them."

After he finished speaking, he turned around and crawled into the storage corner behind the counter, which was piled with clutter and had almost no room to step.

"Look, is this it?"

After a commotion of rummaging through drawers and cabinets, he emerged coughing, holding an old booklet with a thick layer of dust on the cover and slightly curled corners.

The boss handed the booklet to Xia Lin and brushed the dust off his clothes.

Xia Lin took it, brushed off the dust from the cover, revealing the words "Guide to Material Gathering and Processing for Beginner Adventurers (First Edition)".

Turning to the slightly yellowed inner pages, the content was surprisingly substantial.

The collection process is categorized into major monster types such as beasts, undead, elements, and monsters, and is detailed in the following sections: safe stripping techniques for specific monsters, the best time to collect them, and pre-treatment methods (such as bleeding, cleaning, and preliminary preservation).

Detailed Explanation of Collection Tools – This section specifically introduces the selection of various collection tools (peeling knives of different sizes and toughness, bone saws, tweezers, corrosion-resistant silver or special alloy knives) and storage containers (sealed glass bottles, lead boxes resistant to magical interference, antiseptic solutions with different formulas, and moisture-absorbing packets).

For materials that are toxic, self-destructive, or carry psychological pollution, risk warnings are also thoughtfully provided.

Although the printing is rough and the illustrations are simple, the book is well-organized and the key points are clear, making it exactly the "practical textbook" that Xia Lin needs right now.