Chapter 121: Fall, and Then… Part 1

"Ah!"

Because of the snow mountain monkeys, the snow lotus stem broke off and that caused my legs to wobble instantly. And then came the ensuing fall. I was in the middle and tried to jump towards the opposite side as hard as I could, but it was already too late. It felt like riding a rollercoaster during a sudden drop, so my whole body felt cold. I held onto the snow lotus stem tightly and blew the seeds in my pocket. But thanks to the [Breath of the Forest] skill that had become as natural as breathing for me …

-Poof!

-Whoosh!

-Wham!

Just before I crashed on the cliff, bed reeds grew at an incredible speed and size.

-Fluff!

Instead of crashing into the hard rock of the cliff, I sank into the soft, fluffy bed reeds. It was a huge relief. A moment later and I would have hit the cliff and become a bloody mess.

"Haa, haa… Huff!"

As I removed the reeds stuck to my face and looked up, I saw my companions looking down at me from a dizzying height.

"Maa…ster!"

It's too far to hear El's voice clearly. In fact, it was hard to even make out their faces. I waved one arm broadly to signal that I was okay.

"I'm fine!"

I shouted loudly but I doubted it reached them properly.

-Crack…

Once again, I heard that ominous sound.

Oh no, the steam is making the snow lotus stem soften.

The snow lotus was strong enough to grow even in the cold of the Silver Mountains, but it was weak against heat. It held up well while the others crossed the bridge, but the continuous exposure to the geyser's steam was gradually weakening the stem. I quickly moved to the cliff and carefully descended toward the ground.

It's hot…

The lower part of the geyser valley was so hot from the constant steam and heat that it was hard to believe this place was in the middle of a snowy mountain. It felt like being a dumpling in a steamer.

I need to get out of here quickly.

Let's see, a useful seed…

– Howl…

While I was rummaging through my pocket, a sudden chill ran through me, making my bones freeze. My teeth chattered from the eerie cold.

A ghost…

A semi-transparent, blurry figure passed right through me. Two more followed which sent chills down my spine. Although I wasn't attacked, having a ghost pass through my body was highly unpleasant.

"This is too much. Can't you avoid me a little?"

Of course, there was no body to hurt further… I glared at the shameless ghosts. It seemed they had been wandering here for so long that most of their forms had disappeared, making them look like faint blobs. They neither understood nor seemed to want to understand what I was saying.

It's good at least that they're not aggressive mobs…

As I thought about how unsettling this was and tried to move away,

-Clatter!

Something caught my foot.

"..."

It was a human skeleton.

The skeletons that were gathered in one place were in a state almost crumbling to dust. The part I had kicked had already broken. Damn… Fortunately, the ghosts weren't coming to complain. I cautiously withdrew my foot.

-Glint.

At that moment, I saw something glinting beneath the bone pile.

This is…

Carefully, I pushed aside the bones and picked up the shining object. It was a necklace with a large crystal locket. Inside the locket, a small magic stone spun and shone.

And when I looked at the back, I saw a sentence written in the ancient Ansgar language.

[Spirits shall not see you.]

When I opened the locket, a very intricate magic circle glowed inside. Judging by the words I recognized here and there, this was probably…

"A spell to maintain an awakened state."

The magic stone was from the sand oliphant of Altan. I had seen it in the market district of Roshan. It wasn't this small, though… Judging by its size, this was probably a magic stone from a baby sand oliphant. To catch a baby, you would need to kill at least twenty adult sand oliphants… It was an extremely luxurious magic stone.

The sand oliphant was a mysterious monster that slept less than an hour a day. It was also famous for dreaming even while awake. Every part of this mystical monster—the hide, tusks, eyes, and other materials—was highly favored not only by wizards but also by the nobility. Because of this, the sand oliphant had become almost impossible to find. And a baby sand oliphant…

This magic stone alone is worth the trip.

What an extravagantly luxurious item.

The skeleton that owned this necklace was probably a noble or royalty of Ansgar. They must have fallen into this valley by accident. Even though the item's effect allowed them to stay awake without rest and not tire, it wouldn't have been enough to survive in this valley.

Taking turns wearing the necklace to endure and endure…

They met such an end.

A lonely death in a place where no one would ever find them.

Spirits shall not see you. True to this inscription, they seemed to have escaped even eternal "sleep". How pitiful.

"…"

Aside from the necklace, there were many expensive treasures. Unlike the traps in the zombie cave, these were "real" treasures. Jewelry in the rare Ansgar style. I put them in my space ring. They were useless to the dead.

I took out black ivy seeds and scattered them over the bone grave, then used [Breath of the Forest]. The black ivy that rooted itself in both the corpses and bones began to grow rapidly and soon bloomed pale white flowers. The flowers whispered the murmurs of the dead; I heard something like "Finally…", before they fluttered like smoke. After listening to their long lamentations that must have echoed through the valley, I set fire to the dry roots of the black ivy.

– Crackle, crackle.

"Go to a better place now."

I folded my hands and prayed. I prayed that Nemeya would guide their souls. When I finished my prayer, I felt the gaze that had been watching me disappear.

"I will make good use of this."

Sand Olaphunt's magic stone. To think I'd find such a legendary item in a place like this. Life is indeed full of unexpected turns; falling into the valley wasn't all that bad.

"Just changing the string will make it good enough."

I threaded a moonlight tree branch through the crystal locket and immediately hung it around my neck.

"Wow…"

As soon as I put on the necklace, all my fatigue vanished. Honestly, ever since I started climbing the Silver Mountains, the quality of my sleep had deteriorated and that was subtly affecting me…

This feeling of instant mental clarity.

As expected from a Sand Olaphunt's magic stone.

With this, I wouldn't have to sleep to avoid getting tired!

I'll be able to do countless things.

Well, my immediate priority was to climb up the cliff. Looking up at the top of the cliff, I took out the Sage's Flask from my pouch and drank a sip of the potion that had accumulated. Timely mana replenishment!

"Whoo… Now, let's climb up."

The heat was intensifying. In this environment, growing snow lotus would be difficult. So, the answer was a "frontal breakthrough".

"I should still have some stickyweed seeds left…"

I took out two millet-sized seeds from my seed pouch, planted them in a coin-sized clump of compressed soil, and used [Breath of the Forest]. When I placed it on my wrist, the stickyweed grew around my palms and fingers like a glove.

"Good. This should be enough."

Stickyweed was a kind of carnivorous plant that secreted sticky mucus from small protuberances. It survived on insects and other seeds blown by the wind, and its instant adhesive properties were quite useful in many ways.

The only drawback was that prolonged use made the skin insanely itchy.

I'll just have to bear with that.

I could use the stickyweed to climb halfway up the cliff, and then use the snow lotus from the point where the geyser's heat subsided. I held on to a protruding rock and slowly and carefully began to ascend the cliff. All the while trying my best not to look down.

How long had I climbed like that? The heat of the geyser which had been making me sweat started to wane, and I began to feel the chill of the snowy mountains. I grabbed onto one of the large protruding stones and peeled off the stickyweed that was covering my other hand. I could already feel the itchiness setting in.

I must have almost used up the snow lotus seeds…

As I rummaged through my pocket, I suddenly felt an ominous vibration.

– Thump!

– Thump!

– Thump!

"Huh, what?"

I was startled and looked up. No way, another avalanche?! My hand hurriedly searched for the seeds.

– Crack!

With a sharp sound, something heavy stopped right beside me. Familiar limbs, a torso, and…

"… A golem?"

It was Khalid's golem. It looked at me with its characteristic empty eyes before grabbing the nape of my neck and hoisting me onto its back.

"Whoa, whoa! Be careful!"

I quickly used the snow lotus stems to connect my body firmly to the golem.

"Phew…"

Whether I was scared or not, the golem silently began climbing the cliff.

…This makes me feel like I'm in kindergarten.

Thanks to Khalid sending down the golem, I was able to scale the cliff effortlessly. As we got closer to the top, I saw El and Ayla peeking out and waiting for me.

"Master!"

– Kuuun!

I waved at them to show I was alright. Beepy who had been perched on Ayla's head leaped and fluttered down to my shoulder.

– Beep!

It seemed to be scolding me for some reason. I stroked under its beak and whispered.

"Don't be mad, I made it up safely and got something good."

I showed Beepy the necklace dangling from my hand before tucking it back into my clothes. I didn't want to share this particular find. It was too precious, and I was the one who discovered it…. Is that too selfish? I plan to share other treasures, but the Sand Olaphant's necklace is too valuable.

– Thud!

After climbing the cliff, I cut the snow lotus that connected me to the golem and jumped to the ground. Khalid who had his arms crossed spoke to me.

"You're much later than expected."

"You could have sent the golem a bit earlier."

"How cheeky."

"Haha, just kidding. It was tough, but you sent it at the perfect time. Thank you."

"How was it below?"

"Hmm…"

I replied with a sly smile, one that Khalid often wore.

"Nothing much to see down there."