Chapter 19
The Great Forest.
That was the name given to the enormous mountain range east of the empire.
To the north, it stretched all the way to the frozen polar region.
To the south, it connected with the scorching desert.
Its harsh terrain and endless forests created an atmosphere that felt almost mystical, beyond ordinary nature.
On top of that, the powerful mana flowing from the mountains gave birth to countless monsters and magical beasts, preventing people from entering freely.
There were stories that races other than humans lived beyond the Great Forest.
Occasionally, such races even appeared inside the forest.
But the Great Forest stood like an iron wall, refusing to let the people of the empire pass through to the other side.
Among the adventurers wandering the Great Forest, some dreamed of crossing it and finding the lands where those other races lived.
However, no one had yet been heard of achieving that dream.
"We're already struggling this much just to reach a dungeon practically right in front of us. Crossing the entire Great Forest is impossible."
Several hours after departure, Jessica was explaining the Great Forest to Jake.
The group had only just entered the Central Mountain Range known as the Great Forest.
After leaving the Great Wall, they crossed gentle open plains for a long time before finally entering a dense forest.
Once inside, the group changed formation just as they had discussed before departure.
The guide mercenaries led the way at the front.
The knights and soldiers followed behind them.
Behind the soldiers walked Amber, the mage, together with the Rangers.
After them came the workers carrying heavy loads.
And at the very rear were the remaining mercenaries, excluding the guides.
On the surface, it was a formation designed to protect the mage in the center from both the front and rear.
In reality, the badly organized mercenaries had simply been pushed to the back.
The meaning was obvious.
If they did not want to die, they should deal with anything attacking from behind.
Still, that arrangement suited the mercenaries too.
They preferred staying away from the knights.
"From here on, you should start paying attention."
Jessica looked at Jake.
"We're still near the entrance, but that doesn't mean monsters and magical beasts never appear here."
Several mercenaries snickered at her words.
"You sound like his mother."
"Shut up. What, none of you were ever rookies?"
"Sure, but none of us had someone standing beside us feeding us everything with a spoon."
The mercenaries here did not belong to proper mercenary companies or established parties.
Naturally, there was jealousy and envy.
Add in the usual hazing toward a newcomer, and the teasing only became worse.
But it did not last long.
"Shouldn't you stop now?"
Jessica narrowed her eyes.
"We also need to think about what happens inside the dungeon."
As the teasing became more excessive, Jessica's atmosphere changed.
The mercenaries who had been happily joking immediately shut their mouths.
There was another thief in the expedition besides Jessica.
Still, the name Jessica was not something to take lightly.
There was a reason mercenary companies and skilled parties had tried so hard to recruit her.
If they angered her and she chose to ignore them inside a dungeon...
Their lives could actually be in danger.
After silencing them, Jessica looked back at Jake.
Then she sighed again.
Jake did not seem bothered by the dangerous surroundings at all.
He was looking around almost like a tourist.
"I told you to stay alert."
She sounded irritated because he looked far too relaxed.
Jake merely shook the crossbow in his hands and answered calmly.
"That's why I've been checking the surroundings."
Then he added,
"Now that everyone's quiet, please continue explaining."
Jessica no longer had the energy to be angry.
She had no choice but to continue.
Jake looked relaxed because he really was relaxed.
This was his first time inside the Great Forest.
But it was not his first time fighting monsters.
More importantly...
He had once been chased by creatures dozens of times more terrifying than monsters or magical beasts.
Compared to that, even the unfamiliar Great Forest did not make him feel particularly nervous.
Maybe my ability to feel fear is a little broken.
That might also explain why he had remained calm enough during dangerous situations to survive until now.
Even so...
The thought that some part of his fear had been cut away did not feel pleasant.
"The place we're going is called the Valley of Dead Trees."
Jessica continued.
"It's about eighty thousand steps northeast of Lutetia City."
That was roughly forty kilometers.
"Compared to the entire Great Forest, it isn't very far."
"But for an expedition route, it's fairly deep."
The dungeon Jake wanted...
And the dungeon the knights wanted...
Were both located in a valley about forty kilometers from Lutetia City.
Inside normal imperial territory, the distance would take less than two days.
Inside the Great Forest...
It would take several times longer.
Still, forty kilometers inside the Great Forest near the empire could not exactly be called untouched territory.
Lutetia City had only existed for a few generations.
Even so, enough time had passed.
Countless mercenaries and adventurers had risked their lives searching the Great Forest during those years.
Because of that, most of the areas near the territory had already been explored to some extent.
"But most dungeons are underground."
Jessica explained.
"So even if they're nearby, finding one is like searching for a needle in a haystack."
She glanced at Jake.
"And the Valley of Dead Trees has very little mana, so people rarely bothered searching there."
"Even now, I don't really understand why there would be a dungeon in a place like that."
To everyone nearby, it sounded like Jessica was talking about the dungeon their expedition was searching for.
In reality...
She was talking about the dungeon that she and Jake planned to visit.
Before the imperial knights arrived...
Jessica had even doubted whether Jake's dungeon actually existed.
Jake ignored her indirect question.
Instead, he asked one of his own.
"But if someone is a Magus-level mage, couldn't they just fly there?"
"Even an Archmage-level Magus can't fly while carrying a large group of people."
Jessica shook her head.
"And there are plenty of flying monsters inside the Great Forest."
"If you're flying with magic and run into one of those monsters, you're finished."
Apparently, there had once been mages who tried to fly across the Great Forest.
None of them had ever returned.
All they had done was prove how useless the idea was.
"Everyone, be careful! Monsters are approaching!"
A Ranger near the center of the group suddenly shouted.
Those who could sense mana could detect other mana.
Of course, if the other side deliberately concealed it, detection became difficult.
But the monsters approaching them now did not possess such advanced techniques.
"Oh."
Several mercenaries drew their weapons with pleased expressions.
"Looks like one of the Rangers with us is deputy commander-class."
Having someone strong inside the expedition was always good news.
And a deputy commander-class Ranger was especially reassuring.
Unlike knights who mostly fought humans...
Rangers were experts on the Great Forest.
"Still, we ran into something pretty early this time."
"Bad luck today?"
"There's no such thing as 'early' in the Great Forest."
Another mercenary scoffed.
"Clear a place out and it'll be back to normal one day later."
The reason the empire had failed to conquer the Great Forest was not the harsh mountain terrain.
It was the endless number of monsters.
