"That’s right, all the trees in this forest are this massive, some might even be larger." Sera said as if it were a normal matter.
Of course, for them it was a normal thing, they had grown up here and such trees were normal for them, but not for Lian.
"The Forgotten Tree is much farther and larger than anything you can see from here. Even the mountains near its roots look small compared to its trunk." Ravian answered with a more serious tone.
"You’ve seen it yourselves?"
Ravian shook his head.
"No. Only the old Elders and some hunters from past generations have gone as far as the main rivers. None of them reached the tree itself."
Sera added.
"Some say if someone reaches the highest point of the Forgotten Tree, they can see all three forests from above. They even say from there you can see the edge of the world."
"And no one has tried?" Lian asked, from its description, this tree seemed like the heart of this world.
"Many people have tried. None of them returned." Ravian made a very short and joyless laugh.
Lian looked again at the branch beneath his feet.
The tree he was now standing on was so massive that a bird several hundred meters long had built a nest on it and placed four giant eggs inside it.
However, for the people of this world, such a tree was considered just one of the large trees of the Forest of Giants.
If the Forgotten Tree really was even larger than this, imagining its dimensions was difficult even for Lian, then he asked after a few moments.
"You said you are one of the three lizard species of this region. How exactly do you live? Is your tribe just a few houses, or something larger?" He had obtained the necessary information about the Forgotten Tree.
Now it was time to understand the civilizations of this world and their level of development and advancement.
"Our tribe is not small. Several hundred families live there. We built our homes among the roots of a Stone Tree; a tree whose bark and roots are almost as hard as stone." Ravian answered this time without hesitation.
"The roots of that tree naturally formed a large ring, and our people built homes, storage, and workshops among those roots. There are also wooden and stone walls around the tribe."
"Against these monsters, do wooden walls really help?" Lian asked, he couldn’t imagine any civilization surviving in this forest.
Ravian gave a brief look at the Giant Sky Bird.
"Against something like that, no. But the giants usually don’t come close to the tribe’s location. The walls are for smaller monsters, hunting packs, and creatures that come looking for food at night."
"Do you have farming?"
Sera nodded.
"Yes, but not much. Near the river, we grow root fungi, swamp grains, and a few resilient plants. Most of our food comes from hunting, fishing, and gathering forest fruits."
"Each family usually does several tasks, but we also have specific groups. Hunters find food outside the tribe, guards protect the walls, craftsmen make weapons and tools, and healers treat the wounded."
Lian’s gaze moved over their equipment.
Their tools were not primitive, but they also didn’t resemble the federation’s industrial equipment.
Their light armors were made of several layers of monster leather, reinforced with bone plates on sensitive parts of the body.
These parts were connected with root-like strings, and on some of them, small and complex marks were carved.
This showed that their craftsmanship was not bad, but not at the level of theirs, and it seemed they could also use runes...
"Are these marks for directing mana?" Lian asked, pointing at them.
"You can understand that?" Ravian looked at him with real surprise.
"Just guessed." Of course he could guess, guessing about it wasn’t hard.
Runes were magical symbols that contained various powers, and craftsmen gave them different but limited powers by inscribing them on armors and weapons.
"The craftsmen carve marks on weapons to make mana flow through them more easily. Some marks make the blade harder, some make the weapon stay sharp longer, and some are used to store a small amount of mana." Sera said.
"Don’t you have metal?" Lian asked, because it seemed their equipment was made of leather and at best bone.
"We do, but very little. Most metals are either found in the territory of dangerous monsters or have to be extracted from stones that are hard for us to break." Ravian said and sighed.
"That’s why metal is usually only used in important tools, the tips of strong spears, or the guards’ weapons."
"And your government system? Do you have a tribe chief?"
"We have a Chief, but he doesn’t make important decisions alone. There are five Elders who decide about war, water, migration, trade, and punishments." Ravian nodded.
"The Chief is the commander of the hunters and guards, but if most Elders disagree with his decision, he can’t force the people. The Mother Healer also has a separate position, and even the Chief can’t interfere in the healers’ work." Sera added.
Lian looked at them, they had an organized civilization, not at the level of the complex and advanced civilizations of their world, but still a civilization.
But this still made him curious to know how these civilizations trained their forces and soldiers? Did they have an academy system like them?
He had become so engrossed in curiosity about a new civilization that he had completely forgotten the main topic.
"How do they train?"
"When they reach the age of seven warm seasons, training begins. First, we learn to recognize tracks, identify poisonous plants, memorize river routes, and hide when monsters approach." This time Nemi answered cautiously.
"Then, those who have more mana are trained according to their talent. Some become hunters, some healers, some craftsmen, and some guards. Not everyone needs to fight, but every person must be able to defend themselves in times of danger." Sera continued.
"Do you also know how to write?"
"Yes. The tribe’s history, river routes, territorial borders, and main laws are recorded on wooden tablets or dried skins. Most people can read simple signs, but old writings are only understood by the Elders and memory keepers." Ravian said.
Lian nodded calmly, their civilization was not backward.
They did not have industrial cities, machines, or advanced technology, but they had built an organized society. They had limited farming, group hunting, mana weapon crafting, division of labor, a governing structure, and a written language.
For a species living among giant monsters, this level of progress was remarkable.
After a few moments, Lian turned his head toward the edge of the nest, beyond the branch, only clouds could be seen.
No ground was visible, no tree trunk, and no way down.
Even though he wanted to learn more and more about this civilization, he had to return to the main topic, and he asked.
"Is there a way down from here?"
The three Lacerians just stared at him for a moment.
Ravian said with an expression that seemed to say the answer should be completely obvious:
"There is no way."
Lian raised his eyebrow slightly, he had expected this answer, and it seemed these three were also hopeless, he had to think for himself.
Sera explained more quietly:
"No one can survive a fall from such a height. Even if you find a way not to fall, many flying creatures live among the lower branches. Some of them are small, but they can smell blood and fear from a great distance."
"From the moment this bird caught us, we knew our fate was sealed. We didn’t expect to get out of here alive." Ravian looked around the nest, fear was clear in his tone.
But it was still clear that he had also accepted his fate and knew there was no way out...
"I understand." Lian sighed briefly.
From the moment he had seen the tree’s true height, he had understood that normal descent was almost impossible.
There was no rope of the necessary length, no clear path on the trunk or branches.
And even if he could climb down the tree’s surface, moving at such a height and through the territory of flying creatures without attracting attention was difficult.
But one path being impossible didn’t mean all paths were nonexistent.
Lian was still sure there had to be a way.
Before thinking about it, he asked another question, and his gaze fixed on the bird’s massive body.
"Is this Giant Sky Bird the most powerful monster in this part of the forest?"
For a few seconds, Ravian was completely silent, then a very faint smile appeared on his face, and Sera also, despite their deadly situation, made a short and quiet laugh.
That laugh was not out of mockery, it was more like the reaction of someone who had heard a question very far from reality.
"Of course not. This bird is powerful in its own territory in the sky, but it doesn’t even dare to go far from its nest and hunting grounds." Ravian said.
"Why?" Lian’s eyes narrowed slightly, if a Fallen level 50 is not the strongest in this forest, then how the hell did the federation allow awakened ones below level 20 to enter?
The smile disappeared from Ravian’s face.
"Because in this forest, every powerful monster has its own territory. They mark their borders with smell, mana, sound, or the corpses of their prey. Most of them don’t cross their territory borders even when food is scarce."
"They’re afraid of the other monsters?"
"Not exactly." Sera answered with a lower voice.
She paused for a few moments, her six eyes unconsciously turned toward the distance, somewhere behind the wall of clouds.
"They might fight each other. One of them might be stronger and take over another’s territory. But the main reason they don’t go far from their own territory is not fear of each other."
Sera pressed her lips together, and Ravian lowered his gaze, Nemi wrapped her tail tighter around her legs, and all six of her eyes trembled for a moment.
"Because they might encounter it." The surrounding air became heavier for a moment.
Even the sound of the Giant Sky Bird’s breathing no longer seemed as important as before.
"What is it?" Lian asked immediately, he couldn’t understand why these three were speaking so fragmented.
No one answered, Ravian fixed his gaze on the nest’s surface, and Sera avoided looking at Lian.
Nemi unconsciously placed both her hands on the antennae above her head, as if even hearing the question frightened her.
"It’s better not to ask its name." A few seconds later, Ravian only said.
"You don’t know its name, or you don’t want to say it?"
"It doesn’t matter, just it’s better not to ask its name..." Sera raised her head, this time fear was visible in all six of her eyes.