Chapter 655: Down the mountain

After storing away their newfound fortune, chest included, Elion and the others made a thorough sweep of the crumbling cavern.

Unfortunately, they found nothing else of use, and there were no hidden doorways or compartments to be found.

’I really did hope we’d find something else, though,’ Elion thought as he looked at the beautiful but half-destroyed murals on the walls.

The others joined him in examining them, though none could make much sense of what remained.

"They seem to be telling a tale of some sort," Mayumi said, resting a hand on her waist as her gaze travelled across the faded images. "Though what that tale is about is anyone’s guess..."

The images bore no resemblance to any stories they had heard, and the fact that the murals were incomplete did little to help.

And so, after deciding they had spent enough time admiring them, the group finally made their way out.

"Unfortunately, the undead skeletons’ bones are of no use to us, but I guess we can’t complain too much," Maya said as she stepped out of the tower first. The others readily agreed, considering the fortune they had already found.

Of course, they made sure to check the surrounding ruins as well, but found nothing of note beyond a few B-grade monsters, which they dealt with without difficulty.

Elion had been tempted to investigate the anomaly around the barrier, but given the fact that they had more pressing things to do, he decided to put his curiosity to rest.

The ruins were still fairly close to the mountain’s peak, and although quite some time had passed since they left the lake farther up, it was still early in the morning.

"Okay, it seems we’re done with the mountain. There’s nothing left for us here," Maya said, looking toward the descending terrain. "Since we didn’t leave anything back at the camp, we’ll make our way down to the foot of the mountain. We’ll follow the river, or at least stay close to it, since it’s our clearest landmark to follow. We’ll probably run into more monsters because of that, but hopefully nothing that’ll give us too much trouble."

And so, they did just that. Finding the ridge and the river was easy enough, and they followed the water’s winding path down the mountain.

The greenery grew sparser the farther they descended, gradually opening up their view of the surrounding landscape.

It soon became clear that the mountain they had arrived on was the tallest in the area, and their route was taking them into a steep-sided valley surrounded by smaller hills.

The journey from the caldera to the ruins had covered about two thousand feet, and although the terrain hadn’t been particularly steep, it had taken them an hour to get there.

The descent from the ruins was considerably longer, and with the earlier battles adding to their fatigue, Elion soon noticed that Maya, Uta and Nora were looking rather worn out.

They didn’t have particularly good stamina, it turned out. Neither complained much, but their steps had grown slower, and both were breathing more heavily than the others.

The walk from the ruins to the foot of the mountain covered at least six thousand feet and took them a good three hours at their leisurely pace. By the time they reached the valley below, it was early afternoon.

’If only Yaana could share some of her endless energy with those three,’ Elion thought, chuckling to himself as he gave her a sideways glance.

She hadn’t stopped running her mouth since they began descending the mountain, even during the few easy battles along the way.

Walking down a steep mountain was tiring enough on its own, as Maya, Uta, and Nora made quite clear, yet Yaana somehow had enough energy to keep talking as well. Elion himself still felt refreshed, though he couldn’t help finding her enthusiasm amusing.

He was still lost in his thoughts when they entered a wide-open clearing. Looking up at the sky, he quietly took note of the heavy clouds gradually obscuring the sun.

He had noticed them earlier, but the sky was growing more overcast with every passing hour.

"What are the chances it’ll rain?" he asked, glancing toward Maya.

Maya shrugged. "Your guess is as good as mine, but if it gets any cloudier, we should find somewhere to set up camp."

If it really did rain, they would have no choice but to call it a day unless it stopped early enough for them to continue.

It rarely rained in the kingdom of Veloria, which was why water mages were so important for agriculture, and probably why Elion had been accepted into the academy despite his lack of talent at the time.

’I hope it doesn’t suddenly start pouring...’ he thought as his view of the sky was once again obscured by the canopy of the scattered trees.

Unfortunately, things unfolded exactly as he had feared, with the clouds gathering more quickly until, within thirty minutes, a light drizzle began to fall.

Fortunately, they had already found a suitable spot to camp near the river and managed to set up their tents before the drizzle turned into a heavy downpour.

Elion sighed from the comfort of his tent, sitting near the open entrance as he listened to the persistent patter of rain against the canvas.

Water streamed from the edge of the canvas in thin, unbroken lines, striking the ground outside and steadily darkening the soil.

Beyond the entrance, the other tents had become blurred shapes behind the rain, with only the occasional movement beneath their openings suggesting that anyone was still awake.

Elion rested an elbow on his knee and watched a small puddle slowly spread beside a fallen branch.

He had been looking forward to seeing more of the valley, but there wasn’t much point in complaining when the weather clearly had no intention of cooperating.

At least Maya, Nora, and Uta would have a chance to rest.

The thought made him glance toward their tents, though he couldn’t see much through the downpour. After the battles that morning and the long descent, they would probably appreciate a few hours without having to fight something or keep walking.

As for himself, he wasn’t particularly interested in lying down.