The campfire lit up the Great Tree Sea's night. For Duncan, this was the first time he had ever camped inside the Tree Sea with so many people.
With enough hands, setting up camp became fast—and, more importantly, it meant some people could actually get proper sleep, instead of the light, half-alert dozing Duncan and Bell used to force themselves into.
Artemis Familia had twenty members in total: one Level 3, seven Level 2s, and the remaining twelve all Level 1. Every last member was female. Even among search-oriented familias, that lineup was solid—good enough to "sit at the table," so to speak. They weren't comparable to Orario's top factions, but outside Orario, they were the kind of force you rarely saw anyone match.
"So this forest has been rooted in mana-rich soil for a long time, and that's why the trees regrow so quickly?" Duncan asked.
Sitting by the fire, he listened to Artemis's explanation and finally understood. No matter how endless a forest looked, continuous deforestation should eventually erase it. Yet the Tree Sea didn't seem to shrink. For a thousand years, the core region had remained largely unchanged.
Other than the one recorded incident—when massive destruction triggered a monster tide—the Great Tree Sea appeared to obey rules similar to the Dungeon's: don't devastate it on a grand scale, and it won't retaliate.
"Yes," Artemis said, eyes lowering to the ground beneath their feet. She picked up a twig and drew three simple sketches on the soil. "The reason the Great Tree Sea stands beside the Dragon Valley and the Dungeon as the Three Great Wilds isn't only because powerful monsters exist here. No—if anything, the reason so many monsters can inhabit these places is because of this land."
She tapped her drawing as she spoke.
"Most surface monsters came from the Dungeon long ago. Once they left the Dungeon, they gained the ability to reproduce. But because the surface lacks mana, their descendants steadily degrade. That's why surface monsters are generally weaker than their Dungeon counterparts."
"But the Dragon Valley and the Great Tree Sea are different. These lands resemble the Dungeon: not only is the soil infused with mana, they also repair themselves—and they can generate monsters. Their recovery and mana density don't compare to the Dungeon, but the two essential conditions are still there."
"Not every place can be called a 'wild.' Over a thousand years of effort by the children of the surface and the gods, the three greatest environments that still haven't been fully tamed are called the Three Great Wilds. The Dungeon is infamous for its depth. The Great Tree Sea for its vastness. And the Dragon Valley…"
"It's because of the Black Dragon," Duncan cut in, voice turning heavy.
Artemis nodded. "Yes. One of the Three Great Quests—and the last one left unfinished. Even the factions that completed the other two quests were helpless before that calamity. The Black Dragon lies dormant in the Dragon Valley now, but no one can say when it might tear through the valley's boundary again and ravage the land."
She tossed a chunk of wood into the fire. As one of the benevolent gods, Artemis had always protected the children of the Lower World—but the moment black monsters were involved, divine power meant nothing. They were like creatures designed specifically to counter the gods. To deities, they were the most bitter kind of natural enemy.
In the past millennium, aside from the legendary Mercenary King—who left the Black Dragon with a wound that would never heal—no one had ever done recorded damage to it.
"Lady Artemis, it's getting late. You should rest as well," Letsa said softly as she approached, having finished patrol and task assignment around the camp. "I've already had Lanti and the others arrange the night watch."
"I can take a watch shift too," Duncan offered.
"Thank you, but not yet," Letsa refused gently. "For now, we'll have our Level 1s handle the outer watch. You're one of only two Level 3s in the team—you need your mind clear. Once we reach deeper territory, we'll rotate watch between the two of us."
Whether out of courtesy or tactical sense, making a Level 3 stand watch the moment they entered was unrealistic.
On the outskirts, the twelve Level 1s rotated watch. Each half of the night also had a Level 2 assigned, in case something happened that a Level 1 couldn't handle immediately. Once they pushed further in, watch duty would shift to Level 2s—while Level 3s would serve as the anchor.
It wasn't just about letting the lower-level members sleep. The deeper they went, the stronger the monsters became, and a sudden strike could easily injure a Level 1. This was hard-earned experience.
Originally, Letsa and multiple Level 2s would rest in batches. Duncan's arrival eased the rotation, and that was why Letsa explained the arrangement to him right away.
Duncan had no objections. He had always operated by a simple rule: as a guest, follow the host. Besides—he wasn't some punishment addict. If he could sleep comfortably, only an idiot would volunteer for extra watch duty.
Adventurer camping was simple. Unless the weather was cold, most teams set up open tents, laid blankets or mats, and slept on the ground. It blocked wind and rain while still allowing quick movement if attacked.
Familias with both men and women usually split tents. Women often used closed tents for privacy. But Artemis Familia was all female—so they normally slept together in one large tent. Duncan's presence broke that convenience.
Thankfully, Duncan had brought his own tent, so he wouldn't be forced to squeeze in with the others.
Perhaps because he still looked like a child, and because Artemis Familia had lived for years without guarding themselves around men, some of the members had no sense of "male and female shouldn't mix." When they washed at the stream, no one acted as if it mattered. After dark, some even invited Duncan to sleep with them.
It only stopped after Artemis's eyes turned frighteningly cold and she issued a sharp order.
It wasn't that Duncan was some saint. His body might be young, but his mind had long since reached adulthood. What he lacked was not "knowledge," but experience.
The real reason he refused was survival. The women of Artemis Familia were women who had gone for years—some for over a decade—without any contact with men. That long restraint hadn't made them calm and detached. They were in the prime of youth, hardened adventurers besides. Even when they looked at someone as young as Duncan, the strange intensity in their eyes was enough to make a man's skin crawl.
So, for the sake of his continued existence, Duncan declined in the most righteous, upright tone he could manage.
That refusal earned him Artemis's approving look. She treated children very differently from grown men—but Duncan was still male, and his behavior, presence, and even his level were nothing like what someone his age should have had.
....
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