Chapter 159- Winds Of Calamity (Part 2)

Chapter 159: Chapter 159- Winds Of Calamity (Part 2)

Chapter 159- Winds Of Calamity (Part 2)

Even with his mountains of determination, the storm was still only growing stronger and stronger by the second. Rize’s vision was getting obscured by the rain and the wind, so he had to rely almost solely on his instincts to move up and find the next ledge to grab onto as he continued fighting the natural disaster with every fiber of his being while keeping the two girls away from the danger.

Rize wasn’t sure how he was able to hold on for so long, but he didn’t bother to think about it. The adrenaline and the desire to survive were far more intense than the threat of death, and so, at that moment, he was defying nature itself and winning.

Rize continued his climb slowly; each move felt so hard and dangerous that it pushed him beyond his limit. Rize didn’t even realize that he was using every ounce of his being to keep himself hanging on and moving up. His instincts were being pushed to the extreme; every muscle and bone in his body was being exerted as if he was being crushed under a hydraulic press.

Then, as if things weren’t already bad enough, Rize suddenly heard a noise coming from above him. It was loud enough to reach him through the horrible whistling of the wind. He clenched his teeth as he peeked up, trying to fight the water that was falling on his face endlessly.

However, even through that rain, Rize was able to see something in the distance approaching him rapidly.

"Human! Move now; a rock is coming down your way!" Baragon’s voice alerted him to what he was seeing as the boy’s eyes widened.

’You have got to be kidding me!’ Rize panicked as he instantly looked to the side and jumped to the next ledge without thinking twice. A split second later, a large boulder came tumbling down where he was. Rize’s eyes widened as he watched it fall to the ground, exploding into a thousand pieces.

Rize stared at the scene as his heart sank. ’The storm is breaking rocks and sending them down...’ He clenched his teeth. ’I’m really struggling here, and you’re still adding more things I need to avoid?!’

Rize cursed as he looked up, just as he witnessed another rock tumbling down in a different direction. Then, several more came after it, all coming from different angles and at different speeds and sizes. Rize was luckily out of their way, but he knew it wouldn’t be long before another one came down his way.

’I can’t wait and see if it’s coming. I need to keep going! The storm is getting worse and worse!’

Rize’s vision was getting obstructed even more, so he had to use more of his hunch and his hearing to guess where the rocks were coming from. The more he moved, the more rocks fell down.

"Another one coming down your way," Baragon said, making Rize leap to the side again. His fingers almost slipped as he barely held on. Using his other hand, he continued climbing.

His hands were a bloody mess from all the cuts and bruises he sustained during the climb. The cold temperatures made every move and every touch even more unbearable and painful.

"Ugh..." Rize kept slipping and losing balance as he got more and more exhausted. His shoulders and arms were so sore that he lost feeling in them and his stamina was running dangerously low with barely any energy left in him. He couldn’t even pull a stamina potion out to drink since pull his hand away from the wall for just a second would make himf all immediately.

But even then, the ledge he was hoping to get to was still so far away that it was basically 30 minutes of climbing up.

It started slowly dawning on Rize how impossible this task was. He already knew that the storm had lowered his chances astronomically, but seeing how far he had to climb when he could barely move a bit in all this chaos was a huge blow to his spirit. He was still moving; he was still dodging every rock coming down his way, but his realization that death was far closer than survival hit him like a truck.

’What am I even supposed to do? I’m not strong enough to fight all of this...’ He asked himself as he tried to leap out of the way of a rock. However, as he tried to grip the next ledge, his fingers slipped off.

Rize snapped out of his daze as he quickly tried to grab another one. However, he was a split second too late... His heart sank, and his face paled. He was falling to the ground. Almost instinctively, he activated Endless Hunger as he launched the black matter into the air and made it grip into the ledge he missed.

*BANG*

"Ugh!" Rize slammed against the wall violently, shaking his entire body to the core as he tried to regain his balance.

"Ugh... This... is... fucked!" He cursed under his breath as he looked up. Endless Hunger can’t really handle that much weight, certainly not for an extended period of time. He could see it slowly losing grip and slipping off.

So, he quickly used the nearest ledge. At that moment, Endless Hunger lost balance and fell off.

’Thank you for saving me, Endless...’ Rize exhaled as he looked down. ’That would’ve been certain death. I need to focus!’

"You can’t just give up now, human. Straighten up." Baragon said. "You said it yourself: this won’t kill you. Are you going to let it do that?"

"..." Rize listened to Baragon’s words before he exhaled.

"Now, focus, and I will tell you where the rocks are coming from." He said.

Rize pursed his lips before he nodded his head. ’He has a point. I’m still alive, and I still could move. I can’t give up now.’

The doubt that crept into Rize’s heart disappeared as he focused again and started climbing. For a while after, Baragon kept guiding Rize, telling him where to move while the boy tried to execute those orders to the best of his abilities.

He was beyond his limit, and if he were on the ground now, Rize was certain he would pass out from sheer exhaustion and stress. But the will he carried with him made what was usually impossible possible.

Rize slowly and steadily moved up with sheer desire. He didn’t have any energy left in him except his refusal to fall. One would wonder if the boy lost his mind during that climb. But Rize was sane... Perhaps even more sane than ever.

Minutes passed slowly for the boy, every second like an hour. But what he didn’t notice was that he was making progress... Really good progress. Baragon watched as he made his way closer and closer from the ledge.

’He could do it.’ The man thought to himself in disbelief. He also had his doubts that the boy would survive this, even when he tried to encourage him, but the fact he was doing it in that state was nothing short of ridiculous.

Before Rize knew it, a shadow suddenly loomed over his head. He looked up, expecting another boulder, only for his eyes to widen when he saw the ledge. For a second, he couldn’t believe his own eyes.

Then, he quickly moved up and climbed over it as he fell on his face, motionless.

’I made it... I actually made it!’

Those thoughts crossed his mind before...

"Blurgh...." He threw up right there and then. All the exhaustion and nausea hit him like a train. So, Rize quickly grabbed a healing potion and a stamina potion before he chugged them down rapidly. His body consumed them in an instant and asked for more so he gave it more.

After chugging three or four potions of each kind, the horrid feeling subsided as he finally put thye two girls down and stared up. ’This place looks like a cave carved into the mountain; it should protect us from...

*BANG*

"The rocks..." He muttered as he rested against the wall, breathing heavily. He disconnected from reality for a second as he tried to understand what he just did. This was the hardest thing he ever pulled off and it wasn’t close either. The feelings he experienced during those hellish hours, he won’t forget for the rest of his life.

’I don’t know what got into me, but I was able to move while my entire body was collapsing.’ He thought to himself. ’It was such a weird sensation. I didn’t even know I had that in me.’

Rize felt proud and naturally relieved that he was able to make it. Even if this wasn’t even the hard part done yet, he had taken a huge step forward, and he felt proud of that.

’Gotta take all the wins I get... Am I right, hahahaha?’