Chapter 462 Not You Again

Mel stared in mute shock for a moment. He could barely believe what he was seeing. But there was no doubt about it. It seemed nobody had told the climber that the only way to ascend was by walking the path.

His mouth felt dry.

Now that I think about it, when did I get the idea that the only way forward was the one along the path?

“You can do that?” Yuria asked in disbelief. “I thought we had to remain on the path!”

“I did too,” Mel muttered.

The two of them watched in mute disbelief as the young man clambered up the side of the side of the mountain like a spider. He grabbed right onto jagged, razor-sharp stones full of the mountain’s magic that should have torn even System-strengthened hands right open and continued on without even blinking. Black fluid seeped from his palms where blood should have come.

“Have you seen this one before?” Yuria asked. “I don’t recognize him.”

“No,” Mel replied with a shake of his head. “But I don’t see a Crest anywhere. I think he’s Crestless.”

Yuria smiled, and her tongue flicked out to taste the air once more. “Then let us greet him. Perhaps he will be one of the companions we seek.”

They didn’t have to wait long. By the time they’d stood and made their way over to the edge of the path, the young man had already dragged himself up to the level of the second rest point. He let out a grunt as he arrived upon the path, shaking a few droplets of black sludge from his palms before glancing at them curiously.

“You blocking me?”

“No,” Mel said. “We are not here to fight. On the contrary. You’re a new climber, right?”

“This is the second checkpoint,” Yuria added. “But what lies beyond is a great threat. We have both tried and failed many times against it. Ascending with a group is far more likely to succeed.”

The young man squinted at them for a moment. “You’ve climbed this mountain before?”

“Many times,” Mel said with a nod. “I am Mel, and my friend is Yulia. We have experience. I see that you’re Crestless. We, too, are not affiliated with a family. I can give you my solemn promise that we only seek to climb. Neither of us will betray you.”

***

Alex tilted his head to the side slightly as he studied the two people before him. They seemed sincere enough. Despite that, his initial instinct was to turn them down. Working together with anyone else meant he’d get less reward… but this wasn’t some random level 1 dungeon anymore.

The farther he got up the mountain, the better the rewards would be. And who knew when he’d have time to get 10 more Cracked Coins. Making the best of this run was probably the most he could ask for. Working together with people that had some experience would genuinely be beneficial so long as they actually kept to their word.

And especially since I had Amelia kill herself so I could use her power… I’m slightly down in strength at the moment. A bit of backup would actually be pretty convenient for at least an hour or two.

“Why me?” Alex asked.

The man nodded down the mountain. “Because of that.”

“Of what?” Alex asked, glancing back.

“You stepped off the path,” the black-scaled woman said. She crossed her arms in front of her chest. “Ingenuity and a new perspective. It will be useful. When mixed with our knowledge of the next two checkpoints, I believe we will all be able to go farther than we would alone.”

Alex nodded slowly. That was a fair argument. But he was still caught up on something else that Mel had mentioned.

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“You said you’ve climbed the mountain many times,” Alex said slowly. “Is there a way to get off once you start? To cash out your rewards after a certain point?”

Mel burst into laughter. “Yes. Death.”

“Death?” Alex blinked. “You have to either succeed or die?”

“The Cracked Steps are the sole place in the Infinium where death isn’t the end,” Yuria said. “There is no path off this mountain other than dying.”

Only isn’t the word I’d use. The Empty Court has something basically identical in the form of their arena. I guess the main difference is you’ve got to win 10 fights per run here, while you can just use the arena as much as you want on your own and only have to pay to bribe someone stronger to fight you.

“I see,” Alex said. “Then I only have one more question. Was me climbing up here really enough to prove that I’m strong enough to ally with? Why choose me specifically? Wasn’t getting here the point of the trial?”

Mel and Yuria exchanged a glance. Then Mel let out a snort.

“Typically, people actually just walk up the path. I had no idea you could scale the side of the mountain itself.”

Wait, seriously? The mountain was impossible to climb. It was taking forever. Wasn’t the whole point of the trial to realize following the path was for idiots and you should just take the direct way up, even if it seems harder?

“I… see,” Alex said. “Well, thank you for the information. I think I’d be okay grouping up for a little while. I won’t promise to stick around forever, but I get the feeling that I could use a guide.”

“So you’ll join us?” Mel asked.

“I will,” Alex confirmed. “For now, that is. If you slow me down, I won’t lie and say that I’ll hang back. I’m here to climb. That doesn’t mean I’m going to toss you off a cliff the first chance I get, of course. I’m not an asshole. I’m just here to get my rewards and nothing more. As long as we’re all on the same page about that, I’m fine to work together. ”

Yuria let out a hissing laugh. “I like this one. Arrogant and polite at the same time.”

“I think we’re quite okay with your terms,” Mel said with a chuckle. “We’ve gotten this far for a reason. Your honesty is refreshing and appreciated. But I think you’ll find both of us more than capable. Nobody gets this high on accident.”

“I figured as much,” Alex said with a nod. “So how does it work from here? Can you tell me what we’re looking at, or are you banned from revealing the challenge or some shit like that?”

“Two legs between us and the first major milestone,” Yuria said. Her forked tongue darted out to taste the air. “The first is a horde of opponents that will ambush us along the path. It is simple, but wears you down. The second is the Guardian. A gargantuan machination. It is highly resistant to all forms of attack and moves far faster than it should. There is nothing overly complex about the fight. It is a pure challenge of strength and skill.”

“And beyond that?” Alex asked. “You said it was the first milestone. There’s something else?”

“That is the realm of the Great Families,” Yuria said with a shake of her head. “I am not foolish enough to dream of entering the Lower City until I can defeat the guardian on my own. But the mountain’s greatest challenges rest within the city, not outside it.”

“And how do rewards work?” Alex asked. “They pop up when we die?”

“Exactly,” Mel said with a nod. “They’ll be waiting for you back when you return to the Cracked Steps. If you do well enough, they’ll appear in a pretty nice Spatial Ring, pre-stored. I got this from my last climb.”

He held his hand up. There was a reddish-gold ring on his pinky, pulsing with faint purple lines of energy.

“Perfect,” Alex said. He cracked his neck. “Then let’s get going.”

“You should rest for at least a little more,” Yuria said with a shake of her head. “Advancing too hastily will result in poor results for all of us. You must be exhausted from your climb.”

“How many hours are left to get to the Guardian, by your best guess?” Alex asked.

“Two. Maybe three,” Mel said.

“Then I should be fine,” Alex said with a grin. If he was going to have to wade through a bunch of enemies, having Princess dead so he could use her powers would probably actually be in his benefit. “No worries about that. Let’s just get moving.”

“Eager,” Yuria said. “Rest for at least a few minutes. We should find one other before we depart. It was with four that I last defeated the Guardian. The way will be easier for all of us with an extra member.”

“Might be more than a few minutes before we land one,” Mel grumbled. “She’s optimistic. Finding people that are sane enough to be willing to trust your back with is difficult. And most of the people here are connected to Families. They’re not going to go up with a Crestless.”

Alex blinked. He glanced around the camp. Mel was right. Pretty much everyone in the thin crowd behind them were all wearing the colors and metal insignias of one family or another. Alex even recognized a few of the crests.

Members from Crimson, Firesong, and Nightmarch were scattered about. It was fortunate that none of them were looking too close in their direction. There was a small chance that some of them might have recognized him.

“Three is probably enough,” Alex said. “I don’t mind going as we are. There’s no reason that we need four people, is there?”

“No,” Mel said slowly. “But it would be much more optimal if we had a fourth. Our chances of success would be much higher. We just…”

Mel trailed off, his eyes lifting past Alex’s head.

“Congratulations,” a man said from behind Alex, his cold voice sounding horribly familiar. “Your search is over.”

Alex nearly choked on his own saliva.

You’re kidding. There’s no way, right?

Alex turned, but it was almost pointless. He knew who had spoken well before he’d even started moving.

Standing behind him was Absolution.