Published: July 3, 2025
"Who would have thought that the success or failure of the negotiations would rest on our shoulders..."
"We can't afford to fail."
"A one-way trip of ten kilometers means a round trip of twenty kilometers; that’s five hours of walking."
"Should we clear all the trees along the way to the area where the World Tree is located using ‘Guillotine’ and go in a straight line?"
Nils understood the serious situation, Eto confirmed, Amon calculated, and Ryo suggested the best method.
Of course, Ryo was the only one who thought it was the best idea.
"No, I want us to resolve this peacefully..."
The leader, Hugh McGrath, rejected Ryo’s solution.
"It can't be helped then. It seems we’re going to walk normally, Nils."
"That's right. Everyone but Ryo was planning to just walk through the forest."
Ryo sighed as he spoke, and Nils responded with a deep sigh of his own.
The four of them set off at seven in the morning.
Yesterday, they received the request to explore the World Tree from Hugh and chose to depart after spending the night.
Even in a normal forest, the nighttime woods are not a place for humans to venture.
Especially in the ‘Forest of Jet Black’.
Even Nils, the B-rank scout leading the scouting unit ‘Coffee Maker’, strongly opposed reconnaissance in the nighttime Forest of Jet Black.
A forest so dangerous that even scouts refuse to enter at night.
Risks should be minimized as much as possible.
Great disasters should be reduced to small ones, and small ones should be made safe.
If you don’t want to die, assessing risks is absolutely necessary.
"The forest is actually quite close to the walls."
While looking at the walls surrounding Aiteke Bo and the forest from outside the walls, Nils said.
"The walls are about five meters high, right? But the trees in the forest are also quite tall."
Eto commented as he compared the heights of the walls and the trees.
Ryo remained silent, tilting his head.
Seeing this, Amon asked,
"Ryo-san, what’s wrong?"
"Well... There are no monster responses within a one-kilometer radius..."
Ryo's passive sonar could pick up information within about a one-kilometer radius.
However, there were no monsters at all within that area.
Additionally, there were also no responses from ordinary animals.
"That’s certainly strange," Eto replied.
This was the forest.
Forests typically host many monsters and animals compared to flatlands.
Yet, having nothing within a one-kilometer radius is abnormal for any forest.
"Anyway, let’s proceed carefully."
Nils stated, and the other three nodded.
They were the fit members of ‘Room 10’.
Even though they were in a forest, a twenty-kilometer round trip shouldn’t tire them out.
However, they didn't know what could happen.
That's why these four were chosen...
The abnormal occurrence happened at the midpoint between Aiteke Bo and the World Tree.
"A tremendous number of monsters are coming this way. There are... over five hundred wolfmen."
"What the heck?!"
Nils exclaimed in disbelief at Ryo's report.
Wolfmen do tend to act in groups, but usually, they number around fifty at most.
Over ten times that? What kind of joke was that?
"What are they after? Ryo, is it possible to pass by with an ice wall?"
"Probably..."
Nils assessed the situation, and Ryo nodded.
He nodded, but... he couldn't say for sure for another reason.
"From behind the wolfmen, now there are... snakes... so many..."
"Ehh..."
Priest Eto grimaced and was left speechless at Ryo's additional report.
It seemed Eto had a dislike for snakes.
Of course, Ryo wasn't too fond of them either...
"For now, let's use the Ice Wall 10-layer package."
A wall of ice appeared, surrounding the four of them, and after a while, ‘it’ appeared.
Countless wolves, their eyes gleaming, were heading straight for them.
However, it seemed the four weren't the focus, as they crashed into the ice wall and flowed backward.
Bang.
Bang.
Bang.
It felt like an endless stream of wolves.
And then came the flow of snakes.
And then...
"Ah—next are the wild boars... the boa types are coming..."