Deep within the endless sea of trees, two nimble figures weaved through the forest. A pack of magic wolves that had tried to surround them found itself being outflanked and encircled instead.
"Right side!"
Duncan shouted to Bell as his spear-hand never paused—his left hand thrust cleanly through a wolf's eye, the point punching straight into its brain.
The white spear, forged from the Wolf King's fangs mixed with other metals, pierced even the wolves' hard skulls as if it were striking a soft vital point. Part of that was Duncan's improved stats after leveling up, but the weapon itself was simply excellent—among third-tier weapons, it counted as a very good piece.
It wasn't that Chardo and the others were unwilling to spend money. This region just wasn't Orario—there were no world-class craftsmen here, and materials and skills were limited. Producing a spear of this quality was already lucky. If Duncan had actually had to pay for it, he'd have needed to live in the Great Tree Sea for a long time just to work off the debt.
The "backed-by-a-giant-tree" advantage—having a powerful patron—showed itself in moments like this. Since arriving here, Duncan hadn't truly worried about money, weapons, equipment, medicine… any of it. And two supreme-level sparring partners? That alone would be priceless.
Chardo had even accounted for Duncan's smaller frame, having the artisan make the spear to match his height. It was shorter than an adult's by a section, and that only made Duncan's agile, technical style even sharper.
Hearing Duncan's warning, Bell didn't even think. His wrist flipped, blade edge turning, and he slashed hard to the right—partly because his peripheral vision caught the wolf trying to sneak him, but even more because he trusted Duncan so completely that his body moved before his brain fully processed the command.
For adventurers, muscle memory beats cognition. It's the residue of repeated near-death combat, carved into the body. Duncan and Bell were still "newbies," yet they already had that kind of coordination and reflexive teamwork—proof of how brutally two Lv.7 monsters at home had been drilling them.
In less than a minute, the pack—more than a dozen wolves—was wiped out.
After they finished cleaning up, Duncan spun his spear in a flashy flourish and swept it back behind him. Unfortunately, no one was watching. The only living spectator, Bell, was busy collecting the magic stones scattered across the ground.
Back in his old world, anyone who learned martial arts wanted to show off at least once. Duncan was no exception.
But here, even "peerless" techniques by Earth standards were… just normal. If he tried showing off in front of Zeus's group, the best outcome would be getting scolded. The most likely outcome: scolded and made to train more.
"Duncan—seventeen wolves. That makes two hundred monsters total, counting the earlier kills."
Bell reported after pocketing the stones.
It had been seven days since Chardo left them. Bell had gone from tense and uneasy to gradually adapting to the rhythm of adventuring. It helped that Zeus had always raised Bell like a poor rural kid—Bell's ability to regulate himself, endure discomfort, and keep moving was genuinely impressive.
"Rest twenty minutes," Duncan said, nodding. "I'll keep watch."
"I think I can still fight," Bell replied, all baby-calf bravado.
Duncan shook his head. "We've still got a long way to go. And in the Tree Sea, night is when the fighting really happens. We have to squeeze every bit of rest out of daylight. Also—Uncle Chardo said there are bears in this area. With how he and Sister Alfia do things, those bears are definitely magic beasts. Don't get cocky."
Their mentors' intentions were good: if Duncan and Bell wanted to grow quickly, they needed strong opponents. But when people were too strong, they tended to assume others could handle what they handled. Chardo and Alfia were the apex of Orario—their idea of a "trial" was naturally an apex-level trial.
The deep Tree Sea was nothing like Duncan's first outing.
It was a full-on monster paradise. Beyond beast-type monsters, there were insects, plants, and all kinds of strange creatures appearing one after another. It wasn't just more complex in species—it was on an entirely different scale in sheer volume.
The outer forest likely had lower ambient magic density, making it hard for large numbers of monsters to thrive. Packs like this—dozens strong—were rare out there.
Chardo's explanation had been simple: Duncan had "good luck." In places where magic was scarce, magic beasts were scarce too, and "territorial lords" were even rarer. For a first adventure to run into a pack leader like the Wolf King… it was like winning the lottery.
Considering Duncan's weird "Lucky One?" skill, it was an annoyingly convincing argument.
The upside of having so many monsters was obvious: the odds of getting magic stones and usable materials skyrocketed. With Duncan's level-up and with Bell now fighting at roughly Duncan's former level, the two of them easily earned, in a single week, nearly the amount of magic stones Duncan had gathered in almost a month last time.
Even by the system shop's conversion rate, their current total was approaching what Duncan had made before including the Wolf King's stone—though it didn't count the Wolf King's fangs, since those had already been turned into Duncan's weapon.
Monster materials were often worth even more than the monster's magic stone—especially for higher-rated monsters. And among materials, the most valuable were the ones that could be turned into weapons: fangs, claws, ores, gems. Those were typically far more valuable than the ingredients used for potions.
Duncan finally understood why Chardo had insisted they bring lots of food.
In this region, ordinary animals were the rare ones. There was basically nothing "normal" to hunt. Supplies had to come from what they carried—just like the Dungeon. The only real differences were that you could still see the sun… and the terrain was monotonous.
Monsters weren't edible. Unless you were at the brink of death, no adventurer would even try. Even Chardo—under Alfia's murderous stare—had been forced to tell Duncan and Bell to stop entertaining the idea.
Their routine had stabilized:
Daytime: search and sweep the area
Afternoon: return to camp and rest
Night: brace for near-daily attacks, conserving focus unless the camp was actively hit
At first, Bell had been shaky—his sleep schedule was wrecked, and he was stretched thin from constant tension. But his stats were already impressive, and with Duncan's help he gradually stabilized.
While Bell rested, Duncan kept watch, carefully scanning the surroundings. From day one to now, they'd repeatedly gone out to thin the local monsters—not only to protect the camp, but also to map what was nearby. Duncan wasn't about to treat Chardo's "there are bears" comment as a joke.
Yet… from what he could see, there were no signs of a large monster nearby.
A large monster's presence always changed the environment. It couldn't leave no trace.
Which meant only two possibilities:
Either the land's true owner was currently away—
Or it was deeper in the Tree Sea than they had dared to go.
-------
April Special Days *Sale 20%*
Start April Days 1 - 15
My : pat*eon*com/RuneA
I, Herta's Fiancé, the Universe's Number One Male Fist (114 Chapter (Simulpub-Full) )
Zenless Zone Zero: I'm a Succubus in Sixth Street (400 Chapter)
Reborn in Type-Moon, My Sister is Aoko Aozaki (254 Chapter)
MyGO!! A Story Voiced by Me (140 Chapter)
BLEACH: Blade of Purification (158 Chapter)
Konoha: Starting the Game as Yoriichi (400 Chapter)
My Real Job is Spying on Konoha, but I'm Also its Hokage (140 Chapter)
The Pinnacle of the Navy! Starting from Being Captured by Garp (172 Chapter)
Watching Yu-Gi-Oh! short videos is making the veteran players lose...(80 Chapter)
Uma Musume : The Trainer Who Just Wants to Live (261 Chapter) (Ending)
Zenless Zone Zero The Random Kamen Rider (200 Chapter)
Genshin Impact: It All Began With Me Being Stepped On by Arlecchino (120 Chapter)
Naruto: I Can Synthesize Summoning Beasts (96 Chapter)
Demon Slayer: The Great Swordsman's System, Disciple of Yoriichi (140 Chapter)
My Wife is a General, but I'm an Emanator of Abundance! (160 Chapter)
Type-Moon: My Nine-Fold Path (140 Chapter)
Uma Musume: They're Peeking at My Diary, and All of Tracen is Panickin (Ending)
The Wild History of Type-Moon world (70 Chapter)
Reborn in Conan, But I Refuse to Be the Bad Guy (80 Chapter)
Ruan Mei is begging me to go back? But there's no going back anymore (140 Chapter)
Just a Slacker at Tracen Academy (165 Chapter)
Survival in Blue Archive (70 Chapter)
Kimetsu no Yaiba: Doma Wasn't Hated Today, Either (100 Chapter)
The Vibe of This Chat Group is a Little Off (100 Chapter)
Heartbreak Simulator: I Broke Them and Made Them Cry (80 Chapter)
The Talentless Trainer Doesn't Want to Restart (80 Chapter)
A Journey Starting as a Quincy (80 Chapter)
Uma Musume: The Master of Romance Obstruction (80 Chapter)
Uma Musume: You Can't Be a Hero Without a Little Chemical Enhancement (40 Chapter)
Honkai Impact 3rd Your Boyfriend is Really Amazing (40 Chapter)
Warhammer 40K: My Fiancée, Fulgrim (180 Chapter)
Classroom of the Elite: Trying to Capture Me! (120 Chapter)
Genshin Impact My Named Senji Muramas (150 Chapter)
A Chef, the Vice-Captain of the Rocks Pirates? (160 Chapter)
Naruto : My Uchiha Girlfriend is Too Tsundere (130 Chapter)
Type-Moon: Reincarnated in a Lostbelt, I Became the Alien God (90 Chapter)
The Way These Horse Girls Look at Me Is Terrifying! (160 Chapter)
Naruto: Tsunade's Deskmate (130 Chapter)
I Just Want to Live a Normal (50 Chapter).
Genshin Impact: A Hundred Confessions? It's Just a System Task (70 Chapter)
OnePiece : Starting as a Veteran of the Roger Pirates (60 Chapter)
Uma Musume : I Have Special Horse Taming Techniques (190 Chapter)
Uma Musume : My other self is a Horse Girl (130 Chapter)
Jujutsu Kaisen : All Affection Stats Maxed Out (200 Chapter)
Satou Kazuma's Decision to Live by Swindling, Starting from Re:Zero (60 Chapter)
Bleach : Ichigo! Take Over the Soul Society (89 Chapter)
Crossover Anime: The Master of Plagiarism with a 'Love Obstacle (140 Chapter)
Arknights Succubus Nurturing System, But I'm a Quiet Office Worker (90 Chapter)
Genshin Impact: Using My Personas to Break the Hearts of Players (50 Chapter)
One Punch Man : i am King? (150 Chapter)
Genshin: My Stats Are Irresistible (70 Chapter)
Naruto: Master of Dream Fulfillment! (70 Chapter)
Why Are All My Chat Group Friends Spin-Off Characters? (130 Chapter)
Arknights : Batman System (30 Chapter)
Chat Group: Swapping Bodies with the Bad-Ending Herta from the Start (80 Chapter)
DanMachi: Why Did My Dungeon Turn Into a Soulslike Game? (130 Chapter)
Losing Money on Uma Musume...What Do You Mean You Actually Won? (120 Chapter)
I'm Gotou Hitori—Who Are You? (40 Chapter)
Were You Ever Even a Uma Musume? Stop Making Things Up! (78 Chapter)
Moon Project: A Full-Time Love Adventure for the Lobotomy Corporation (75 Chapter)
The Leisurely Days of the Hyuga Main House (65 Chapter)
Arknights : A Draco Surviving in a Matriarchal Terra (189 Chapter)
Arknights: What if My Luck Is Too Good? (135 Chapter)
Honkai: The Romance System Only Shows Up After I Marry Mei (55 Chapter)
Arknights: Who Are You Calling Repressed, X?! (145 Chapter)
The Chat Group Only Arrived After I'd Cleared the Game (102 Chapter)
Gojo Satoru Flat-Out Refuses to Admit He's a Supporting Character (40 Chapter)
Chat Group Isn't Supposed to Be Like This! (30 Chapter)
If You're Moriarty...then Who Am I? (140 Chapter)
Uma Musume: Since I "Can't See," They Take Turns Stealing My Underwear (50 Chapter)
Arknights: Why Are All My "Brothers" Girls? (54 Chapter)
Danmachi: Start Training Haki (59 Chapter)
Emiya Shirou's Rebirth (30 Chapter)
I Can Get Stronger Just by AFK'ing—So I Joined a Chat Group (50 Chapter)
Endfield: I Can Always Pull Out One Yuan (65 Chapter)
Limbus Company : I Started a Company in Project Moon (50 Chapter)
Lobotomy: Do Cooks of Alley 23 Dream of Bloodfiend Knights? (50 Chapter)
DanMachi: Freya Familia's "One-Blade Shura" (60 Chapter)
DanMachi: Emiya, the Great Hero Becomes the Protagonist (90 Chapter)
TYPE-MOON: One Special Instance Every Week (40 Chapter)
From Danmachi: The Abundance Apothecary (70 Chapter)
Lord Shadow Descends on DanMachi (90 Chapter)
Fuse with Me, Exusiai! (41 Chapter)
Honkai: Star Rail — After I Die, I Forge Their Madness (60 Chapter)
DanMachi: The Last Zeus Familia (95 Chapter)
Endfield: Arknights Heroic Spirit Summoning (75 Chapter)
Toyokawa Family Finances (105 Chapter)
Starting From DanMachi to Become Stronger (90 Chapter)
DanMachi: My Familia Is Made Up Entirely of Heroines from Every World! (75 Chapter)
Arknights: My Intel Refreshes Daily (110 Chapter)
Digimon : I Never Meant to Do Evil, Even Though I Wasn't Chosen (40 Chapter)
Miss Holmes Could Never Be the Losing Heroine! (40 Chapter)
Takayama Gamu at Tracen Academy (40 Chapter)
Legendary Trainer Takes on MYGO (40 Chapter)
Arknights : Yandere Game: The Operators Have Come Knocking (100 Chapter)
Arknights: This Dating Sim Is Seriously Wrong! (120 Chapter)
Arknights : Ch'en Hui-chieh, I'm Done Being the Good Guy! (50 Chapter)
Type-Moon: Wasn't This Supposed to Be a Family Simulator? Why Am I the Family Heirloom? (40 Chapter)
Honkai: Star Rail : The Trailblazer Only Wants a Peaceful Life (45 Chapter)
Arknights: The Unlucky Dad? But I've Got the Chronicle of Time! (55 Chapter)
The Wheelchair War God Is Speedrunning Hogwarts (50 Chapter)
DanMachi: The Elemental Blaster of Orario (45 Chapter)
Playing Honkai in Star Rail (30 Chapter)
As an Alien, I'm Solo Leveling in Warhammer 40K (30 Chapter)
Arknights: A Symbiote's Survival Guide (70 Chapter)
My Yu-Gi-Oh! Deck Is Built Entirely from Stuff I Picked Up (30 Chapter)
I Can Hear the Thoughts of Uma Mutsume (30 Chapter)
Dead-Men Chat Group: Winning the Resurrection Bracket (40 Chapter)
Zenless Zone Zero: Saving the World While Falling in Love! (40 Chapter)
Demon Slayer: My Breathing Techniques Can Be Leveled Up (50 Chapter)
If there's a particular novel you're enjoying on Patron, please give it a 'like' so I know to focus on it