Duncan
Lv.2
Strength: E418
Endurance: C622
Dexterity: D547
Agility: D511
Magic: C617
Development Ability: Keen Senses
Magic: Metronome
Skills: Outworld Wanderer / Lucky One? / Sky-Step
Bell
Lv.1
Strength: A818
Endurance: S972
Dexterity: S947
Agility: S911
Magic: I0
Skill: Hero Longing
After finishing their preparations, Duncan and Bell went to Zeus's room for one last status update.
Two more months of training had pushed Duncan's parameters into the range of a solid, mid-tier Lv.2 adventurer—and brought Bell's status right up to the threshold.
It was obvious why: over the last half month, Bell's stat growth had slowed significantly, as if his Falna itself was telling them he was ready for his first real adventure.
They didn't talk much that night.
At dawn the next morning, after breakfast, Chardo led the team again as the three of them headed back to the Great Tree Sea.
This time was different. The outer area closest to the cabin had been practically wiped clean by Duncan during his earlier survival trial, so Chardo deliberately avoided that region and drove them straight inward.
The Great Tree Sea was one of the Lower World's three great secret realms—and the broadest in surface area. The three were famous for different reasons: the Tree Sea for its sheer vastness, the Dungeon for its depth, and Dragon Valley for pure danger.
There were stories of adventurers riding wyverns for weeks without crossing the Tree Sea—and nearly being shot out of the sky by the monsters lurking deeper inside.
Compared to Dragon Valley or the Dungeon, the Tree Sea's monsters were slightly less lethal, but the sheer scale of that primeval forest was enough to make most people back away. Only the outer forests—where monsters were scarce—could support villages and human settlements at all.
Part of that was logistics: adventurers needed the nearest resupply point. Adventurers were always the wealthiest demographic, so merchants and opportunists naturally gathered to do business. Ordinary people followed for work and safety, and over time those clusters became villages.
Life in the Lower World was brutal. Without the protection of a Familia or adventurers, regular people could handle at most wild animals. Even in places where monsters didn't appear as frequently as a "secret realm," once they did appear, an unprotected settlement could be massacred. So people gravitated toward places with adventurers—especially strong adventurers.
Orario was the biggest example: the largest city in the world, stuffed with the largest concentration of adventurers. People moved there for safety; then the need for services pulled in even more people chasing livelihoods. That loop was simply how the Lower World worked.
The three of them, as adventurers, moved fast.
The cart that served as their guide only took them to the forest's edge. From there, they marched into the Tree Sea—and kept going for a full day. The endless trees swallowed all sense of direction; Bell was thoroughly lost. Chardo, on the other hand, walked as if he had a compass in his bones, continuing deeper without hesitation.
Hostile presence saturated the forest. Having survived the wilderness once already, Duncan could practically smell the threat—intimidation, greed, hunger—predatory intent in the air itself. The only reason nothing attacked was the human tower walking in front of them.
Because he wanted to reach a specific destination quickly, Chardo didn't bother hiding his aura. Monsters weren't smart, but they understood death. Instinct made them retreat. To Duncan and Bell, Chardo was a powerful senior.
To the monsters, he was a literal grim reaper.
The pressure rolling off his body and weapon was enough that even the local "lord" of this territory wouldn't dare provoke him.
At last, as night fell, Chardo stopped.
"We're here. You two—come help. Starting tomorrow, the real trial begins: one month of wilderness survival."
He set down the pack he'd been carrying, calm as if he'd simply completed a stroll. It was like he'd chosen the location by scent and "feel," gauging the local monster density before deciding to camp.
Thanks to prior experience, Duncan wasn't nearly as flustered as last time. With Chardo present, the biggest fear—being ambushed in the dark—simply didn't exist.
Bell was nervous—this was his first real outing—but he was still a farm kid who'd been beaten into shape by Alfia's training. He took the pack and helped.
Neither boy needed to unpack their own bags yet. Chardo swung his massive greatsword a few times—like cutting noodles—and cleared a wide open space. In short order they had a rough camp: tent, campfire, and a few stumps made from the trees Chardo felled.
It wasn't as meticulous as Duncan's solo setup had been, but Chardo clearly didn't care. He wasn't afraid of anything creeping up on them.
By the fire, Duncan fed in sticks and finally asked what had been bothering him.
"Uncle Chardo… can you tell what monsters are around us by smell?"
The earlier movements hadn't escaped Duncan—nor had Chardo tried to hide them. Also, since they were in the same Familia, Duncan had been told to stop calling him "sir," and with their ages the "uncle" title stuck.
As for Alfia—she'd wanted Duncan to address her the same way Bell did, but Duncan refused outright. Mentally, he was far too close to her age to casually call her "Mom." And after seeing how badly Bell suffered for jokingly calling her "Aunt," Duncan had settled on calling Alfia "big sister."
"Yeah," Chardo said. "Between Skill and habit, I can roughly distinguish what's nearby—levels, numbers, even general type—by scent and feel. But that's not something I can teach. I learned it through years of real combat. Once you grow into first-class adventurers, you'll understand it naturally."
When he wasn't "training" them, Chardo was unexpectedly talkative, and he liked teaching practical adventuring knowledge. Duncan and Bell had never lived inside a normal Familia structure before; their sense of "companions" still leaned toward "friends" or "comrades."
Chardo was different.
He genuinely treated his Familia as family—which was common in the Lower World… even if some "family" relationships down here were twisted in ways you didn't want to think too hard about.
Around them, beasts howled—warnings that these outsiders were brazenly occupying someone's territory. But the creatures kept their distance, crushed by Chardo's presence. A few suicidal ones tried to test the perimeter; Duncan casually cut them down with his spear.
Between Lv.1 and Lv.2 was only a single level on paper, but in reality it was a gulf—especially for someone like Duncan, whose Lv.2 parameters were already well-developed. If he fought the Wolf King again, he couldn't promise a clean win… but he absolutely wouldn't get humiliated the way he had before.
Finally, Chardo tossed a few more branches into the fire.
"You two sleep. I'll take first watch tonight. After tomorrow, the trial officially starts. The Tree Sea is huge—plenty of monsters for you to burn through. I want you to find the adventure that's yours."
Duncan's stomach tightened.
"…Uncle Chardo. You've already smelled what kind of monster owns this area, haven't you?"
His instincts were screaming. Chardo hadn't dragged them this deep "for no reason." Last time, the destination had been the Wolf King's territory—there was no way this place wasn't the domain of something similarly nasty.
Chardo grinned, bright and innocent.
"There's a bear."
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