Ch.8Night in the Forest

After defeating the black panther, we maintained a pace of walking for about 2 hours and resting for 1 hour as we traveled.

I was somewhat tense, wondering how many more monster encounters I would need to prepare for, but apart from briefly crossing paths with a Scavenger Deer around 2 PM, our march continued without any significant dangers. Even that Scavenger Deer either wasn’t hungry or judged it couldn’t win against two well-equipped adventurers, as it quickly fled upon seeing us, so no battle ensued.

“We don’t seem to fight monsters as often as I expected?”

“That’s because we’re near Mothertown. When they build cities, they conduct major monster extermination operations in the surrounding areas, so the monsters around here probably know that armed humans are threatening opponents.”

“Does that mean we might fight more aggressive monsters more frequently in unexplored territories far from cities?”

“In my experience, generally yes. More importantly, the sun’s starting to set, so let’s prepare to make camp.”

The distance to Oxville is roughly 2-3 days, but this obviously doesn’t assume 24-hour travel. According to Jessica’s explanation, in Grantis, sunrise typically occurs around 8 AM and sunset around 6 PM, with complete darkness falling by 8 PM.

Following this schedule, adventurers typically begin their march after 9 AM when the sun has fully risen and temperatures start to increase, moving at a pace of 2-3 hours of marching followed by 1 hour of rest. When the sun begins to set, they stop traveling and find a suitable spot to set up camp before darkness falls. Night travel is not only difficult due to limited visibility, but also risky because many monsters have dark-colored bodies, creating a significant disadvantage in detection.

“What criteria do you use for selecting a campsite? Should we go to a wide open area?”

“That’s what most people think, but in reality, we prefer clearings in forests with plenty of trees. Let’s go into that forest over there and look for a spot.”

“Huh? Isn’t it dangerous to have trees all around? It would be hard to spot approaching monsters or wild animals.”

“That would be the common-sense thinking, but… I’ll explain the details after we finish setting up camp.”

We moved about 200 meters off our travel route into the forest and spent about 10 minutes searching before finding a suitable clearing where we began setting up our tent. Unlike Jessica, who set up her tent skillfully, I struggled with the instructions that were roughly described in text without any illustrations, having almost no camping experience. I finally managed to set it up after much difficulty.

Afterward, while I gathered branches suitable for firewood, Jessica prepared the area for the campfire. Once our basic camp preparations were complete, Jessica began her delayed explanation while preparing to light the fire.

“Now, about why we set up camp in the forest.”

“Yes?”

“First, Will’s opinion that open areas are advantageous for spotting approaching monsters or wild animals is correct. Yet we still set up camp in forests for two main reasons… the first being this.”

Jessica took out a magic stone from the pouch at her waist and showed it to me. I immediately recognized it as the magic stone we obtained after defeating the black panther earlier today. Holding it in one hand while opening her grimoire with the other, she cast a spell that engraved what looked like a geometric pattern on one side of the magic stone.

“This is a downgraded version of the barrier magic based on the barriers installed in cities. Unlike the barriers around cities, it doesn’t purify black mana, but if I put it in the fire like this…”

When she threw the engraved magic stone into the campfire, the flames that had been flickering unstably in the wind became as calm as an indoor candle flame, with no sparks or ash scattering. What caught my eye most was the geometric pattern from the magic stone now floating above the center of the calmly burning fire, as if projected by a hologram device.

“It creates a magical field that monsters and wild animals instinctively avoid approaching. Anyone can use this magic, not just mages, by using scrolls sold at tool shops. It’s the most effective countermeasure against approaching monsters and wild animals. A magic stone of this size should be usable about three times.”

“I see. If we solve the disadvantage of being vulnerable to monster and animal attacks, then only the advantage of easily finding firewood in forests remains. What’s the second reason?”

“The risk you take when camping in open areas… the approximate composition of our party becomes exposed to ‘people’.”

People. That obviously meant “people with harmful intentions toward others.”

After completing our registration in Mothertown yesterday, we briefly discussed how Grantis, like the Wild West era on Earth, has outlaws who operate outside the law, committing theft, robbery, murder, and other crimes.

“Considering Grantis’s temperature fluctuations and monster threats, we can’t spend the night without a campfire. But if we camp in an open area, people moving through the darkness can determine roughly how many of us there are by counting the number and size of tents. In a forest, though, while they can tell someone is camping from the light, it’s harder to immediately gauge our numbers, and if a gunfight breaks out—”

“We have plenty of cover around us. That’s definitely a good reason to choose the forest.”

According to Jessica’s explanation during our daytime travel, there are several unwritten rules among adventurers that, while not legally mandated, are observed like etiquette during journeys. These include putting away firearms and magical tools and moving away from the road when mail transport carriages pass by, or maintaining a distance beyond the range of magic bullets from other parties’ campsites.

There are other minor courtesies as well, but they generally serve as gestures to communicate “I have no intention of harming others.” The reason such manners have become established is, naturally, because there exist groups “with the intention of harming others.”

“Then we should also decide the order and duration of night watch shifts for tonight.”

“Hmm~ I don’t think that will be necessary while traveling with me.”

“Huh? Why not?”

Doesn’t that contradict the explanation I just heard? Even if the simplified barrier magic solves the monster problem, night watches seem essential for guarding against outlaws.

“Actually, the magic I used is an improved version of the standard outdoor barrier spell. If anyone not pre-designated approaches within the effective range of the spell, or if the spell’s effect is interrupted for any reason, a linked awakening spell activates, instantly waking us from sleep.”

“Oh, that’s convenient.”

“So don’t worry about night watches and rest comfortably in your tent. But first, we should have dinner, right?”

Tonight’s dinner menu is—the same as what we had for lunch—hard-crusted bread and jerky made from some unidentifiable meat. It feels like exemplary travel rations prioritizing lightness and preservation, but the combination of plain bread and salty jerky isn’t bad. If I had to find something to complain about, it would be that the jerky is in stick form rather than flat pieces, giving me the feeling of eating pet treats.

“Feel free to drink as much water as you want, even though we have plenty of bread and jerky. Before bed, I’ll fill the empty space with ice using freezing magic, and by morning, it will have melted into water.”

“Ah… I was wondering if these canteens would be enough, but that’s how it works.”

Jessica and I each carry a flat canteen purchased from the tool shop. While it might be sufficient for the relatively close journey to Oxville, I was concerned about longer travels later. However, unlike bread or jerky, water is quite heavy, so we can’t simply increase the amount we carry. Jessica has fundamentally solved this problem through magic.

The usefulness of mages doesn’t end with securing drinking water. If Grantis doesn’t have easy ignition tools like gas lighters, lighting fires when camping would require considerable effort, and without specialized knowledge and proper medical equipment, treatment would be limited to minor wounds at best. Add to that magic that allows for safe camping without the need for night watches, and I can’t even imagine how much the cost and effort required for travel would increase if I weren’t traveling with Jessica.

“I’m realizing anew that mages really are all-purpose problem solvers. It makes sense why they’re given a higher rank from the start.”

“Ahaha, it’s not that significant. Especially for a Codex Mage like me, the evaluation among adventurers tends to be lower…”

“Come to think of it, that guy Hector we met in Mothertown said something similar. Treating someone as a fool just for carrying a heavy book.”

“It’s not that simple… Since we have this opportunity, you should probably know about this too, Will.”

“Hmm?”

Jessica let out a short sigh and then slowly looked at me as she continued speaking.

“I’ll tell you. The reason why I’m called a talentless, old-fashioned mage.”