The Great Ark Monkey was surprised by how quickly Mamadou accepted his proposal, which made him smile.

"I see, you accept. I suppose you’re going to ask me questions about how to undo this seal. Let me share some information with you at the same time that might interest you."

Mamadou nodded. It wasn’t a bad deal for him. There were limits to what he could accomplish alone, especially in an unfamiliar place. Besides, he felt a strange sense of nostalgia. It was the first time in ages that he had held a conversation with someone other than himself.

The chair on which Mamadou sat began to rise, and where the Ark Monkey stood, a branch lifted upward. Mamadou compared the sensation to an elevator. This time, instead of a motor pulling him upward, it was roots and branches.

Once again, he found the ability fascinating.

The two of them rose into the sky. Mamadou was surprised. It was the first time he had seen the forest from above. It seemed endless. They were several meters above the ground, and the wind was cool.

"To begin with, the information you’re looking for. I don’t know what this forest is called nowadays, but in the past it was known as the Forest of Austral. As you can see, this place is immense, making it ideal for the proliferation of many forms of life. To put it simply, this place is divided into three major zones.

"The last zone is the one closest to a particularly troublesome place. Every monster living there is a walking catastrophe.

"Then there is the middle zone. There are all sorts of interesting things over there. We’ll come back to that later. I doubt it interests you much since your objective is to leave this place.

"And finally, there is the zone where we are right now. This zone is essentially the gateway to the Forest of Austral."

"It has nothing to envy from the other zones since it possesses its own ecosystem and extremely powerful monsters. Look behind me."

Mamadou looked in the direction the Great Ark Monkey pointed.

All he saw were trees stretching endlessly into the distance.

"If you continue in that direction, you’ll eventually leave this place. However, I have no idea how long it will take you. Quite a while, most likely. Even though this is merely the entrance to the forest, it is still an enormous expanse."

"By breaking the seal on Mount Meru, making you leave this place much faster would not be impossible. Consider it proof of my goodwill. Later, once you know the direction, you can decide whether you wish to flee or not."

How can he say things like that while keeping the same expression?

Did this monster really want to break the seal?

The question lingered in Mamadou’s mind. The more he thought about it, the more he wondered whether freeing these monsters was truly the right thing to do, even if it was a System quest.

Whatever.

I’ll leave that problem to my future self.

I thought I had already cleared my mind. I need to focus on getting home and nothing else.

"Since you’ve shown your goodwill, I can only do the same. In a way, our interests align anyway. So, regarding this seal, how exactly am I supposed to undo it?"

From anyone else’s perspective, especially that of the Great Ark Monkey, Mamadou should have appeared suspicious. After all, he was supposedly from Mount Meru, yet his actions could only be described as strange. Mamadou himself understood that.

Because of that, he was rather grateful that the monster wasn’t making things difficult for him.

That was also why, since he had things he wished to hide, he chose not to ask questions about why Mount Meru had been sealed in the first place. It was something he would discover sooner or later.

"The seal on this mountain is maintained by four steles. You simply need to destroy all four of them."

"That sounds a little too easy," Mamadou remarked.

"Yes, if that were all there was to it. Since it was something we could not destroy ourselves, they became careless. They assumed a few monsters and a guardian would be enough."

"It will be somewhat dangerous, but if you manage to defeat the guardian, you’ll be able to destroy the stele it protects."

Mamadou calmly analyzed the situation.

He didn’t know how strong these guardians were, but he doubted they were stronger than the Great Ark Monkey. Otherwise, why would the monkey be sending his ticket to freedom straight to his death?

There was a good chance the guardian would be powerful.

But there was also a path to victory.

More importantly, he wondered how much stronger he would become after defeating them.

The monsters surrounding the steles would certainly be powerful as well, since the Great Ark Monkey seemed confident about that.

"For each stele, the guardian is stronger than the previous one. That should suit you rather well, shouldn’t it?"

"I have no information to share regarding the guardians. That’s something you’ll discover on your own. However, I will give you a means of locating the first stele."

"And I will also tell you about the territories."

The Great Ark Monkey explained everything Mamadou needed to know about the territories surrounding Mount Meru. Their danger levels, the types of monsters that inhabited them, and various details that could prove useful.

For someone who couldn’t leave Mount Meru, he knows far too much, Mamadou thought.

When the discussion finally seemed to be reaching its end, the roots slowly returned to where they had come from, lowering Mamadou back to the ground and returning the Great Ark Monkey to the branch where he had originally been sitting.

"Since you’re still weak, and since this is not a matter that requires immediate action, prepare yourself however you see fit. I’d also appreciate it if you spent some time with the others. I think they’ll be useful to you sooner or later."

Mamadou accepted the suggestion.

In any case, even though he had received the necessary information and the object that would allow him to locate the first stele, he had no intention of heading there immediately.

He needed to get organized first.

"May I cut down a few trees on this mountain?"

Mamadou asked the question, not wanting to do so and later discover he had made a mistake.

"As long as you don’t touch the central tree, do whatever you want."

His worries proved unfounded, as the Great Ark Monkey didn’t seem to care.

Good.

It’s time to build a cabin.