Chapter 157- The Climb Begins

Chapter 157: Chapter 157- The Climb Begins

Chapter 157- The Climb Begins

For the rest of the night, Rize kept waking up every 20-30 minutes to make sure everything was in order. He couldn’t really rest or let himself feel comfortable, knowing the mist could attack at any given second. Granted, Baragon could alert him to the incoming danger, but Rize naturally didn’t want to relax until he got to the top and regained their souls.

Sleeping next to these two while knowing they might never wake up again filled him with so much dread that sleep became impossible. Eventually, the night passed with nothing of interest happening, and the sun started rising in the sky.

Rize immediately started preparing himself, eating something and then picking everything up before he started the journey again. He felt a bit nauseous from the lack of sleep and soreness from all the battering he received yesterday, but he ignored that pain and continued toward his destination.

’I should be able to reach the second part of the mountain by the end of today if I hurry my steps and nothing stops me.’ He thought to himself as he stared at the ever-growing, massive wall before him that he had to somehow climb with two girls strapped to him.

The weather was even worse that day, as it was cloudier and the temperatures were way colder. Rize felt his fingers slightly hurting from the cold, so he used the essence around him to warm himself and the girls strapped to him.

The trip didn’t go much differently from yesterday except for the slight increase in the number of monsters attacking Rize. It wasn’t a big enough change to make it a huge problem, but it was big enough for Rize to notice it.

"RAWR!!"

A large cat leaped at Rize, and he had to quickly jump to the side, dodging the attack before he sliced with his sword, cutting the cat’s arm off. The wild monster screeched as it fell before Rize swiftly severed its head off with a single move.

"Fuuuh... This is the third monster to attack me this hour alone. It’s definitely a bit more than yesterday." He muttered under his breath as he looked around him. "What am I supposed to do now?"

Rize looked left and right before he sheathed his sword and continued moving. He didn’t know if this was a sign that he was getting close to the danger zone or if things were still completely abnormal.

Meanwhile, Baragon seemed completely quiet and uninterested as he floated after Rize. The boy kept sneaking looks at him every now and then, wondering what was going through his mind at that moment.

He was surprised Baragon was still following him this entire time and didn’t leave to wander the world or even try to understand where he was or where his people went. He just kept following Rize as if he didn’t want to leave his side, which was a bit reassuring, as this man was extremely strong but also nerve-racking, knowing that an ancient being was casually wandering with him.

’This entire trip somehow feels like a really bad fever dream.’ Rize sighed as he looked ahead and continued walking at the same pace he used for the entirety of the last two days. At the same time, he knew the candidates were now within the forest, and the true massacre would begin once they encountered their first enemies.

Rize was lucky to have already cut a major part of the journey up, even if it was barely half the way through.

As hours passed and as the number of monsters he had to kill increased, Rize found himself being drained more and more. At some point, he was even injured by the attack of one of the monsters, leaving a deep gash in his arm that he had to drink a healing potion to stop from bleeding too much.

"Dammit..." He grumbled as he stared at the dead corpse of the giant sloth that attacked him. "Sigh, I’m almost there." He muttered under his breath.

The sun was setting in the distance, and Rize was finally a mere mile away from the giant wall. It looked terrifying from up close, and climbing it alone was bound to take days at least. Luckily, there were protrusions in the wall where he could possibly set up a tent to rest for the day, so he didn’t have to worry about that, at least.

’I need to push myself even further. I can’t be too safe about this because I don’t have enough time in the first place.’ He thought to himself as he scanned the wall.

Rize’s goal was to climb to the peak in the next 3-4 days at most, and maybe even less if he is required to. He knew it was going to push him beyond his limit, but he had to do that or he might really lose them. Rize was paranoid about that idea, and he was ready to take risks to stop that. Even if that meant his life would be on the line.

But for the time being, he decided to settle near the wall and get some rest before the long climb tomorrow. His body had fortunately recovered a bit from the brutal exhaustion he sustained across the entire journey, and his injuries were faring better, but he was still far from his peak state, and no amount of potions could get him back to that peak.

He sadly needed days to fully recover, a time he couldn’t afford. That night passed as quietly as the first one, which put Rize at ease while also keeping him on the edge... The question of where the mist is remained with him the entire time.

Why didn’t it attack him yet, even though he was getting so close to its source? Was it waiting for him at the top? Or maybe it was planning something else. The question kept swirling in his mind endlessly, and that fear didn’t leave him even as the sun rose into the sky and the morning of the new day began.

Rize woke up and prepared himself as usual before he finally looked at Venera and Rose. This time, instead of putting them on his shoulder as usual, he did something different. Pulling two ropes out, he tied them around his body before he wrapped them around Venera and Rose, making sure they were strapped to his back very well.

’This should let me move a lot more freely.’ He thought to himself as he looked ahead before he inhaled a long breath.

He closed his eyes and took a second to gather his thoughts before he nodded his head. ’Here goes nothing. We either make it to the top or fall to our death.’

The weather that day was extremely cold, to the point where every breath felt a bit painful. Rize then started walking toward the wall, finishing the last mile between him and this behemoth.

When he made it there, he touched it; it was immensely cold and painful to the touch. But he still nodded, trying to get accustomed to the feeling before he pulled the first pin and slammed it into the rock.

He grabbed another and did the same before he climbed over them and grabbed a rock protrusion as he pulled himself up. Slowly, he moved from one rock to the other, going up at a steady pace while keeping his eyes ahead.

Rize was strong enough to carry two people on him while climbing, so that didn’t really make it harder. However, the cold weather and the rough rocks made grabbing onto them trickier.

’Hng, this isn’t... too bad, I guess...’ He thought to himself as he sucked a deep breath. Bit by bit, the distance between Rize and the ground increased as he reached several hundred meters in the air within the first hour alone.

He felt excited at that pace as he knew it could mean he would make it in time, but he was also aware that this was just the beginning and things were only going to be much more difficult from here on out.

A few hours passed rather uneventfully, during which Rize was able to cut some distance in his climb before finally reaching the first resting spot in the climb. It was a decently big rock hanging from the wall.

Rize made sure to check if it was stable enough before he finally got on top and sat down. Beads of sweat formed on his forehead even in that cold weather. He stared into the distance, and the view was naturally ridiculous, as he could see far away.

"This isn’t too bad, actually..." He muttered. "Already made a good distance." He muttered to himself as he stared up. It was still a fraction of the distance, but it was still progress, something he took pride in with everything in consideration.

’I just hope nothing happens mid-climb or I’m truly screwed.’