Chapter 120: What Lurks in the Darkness Part 2

"That's something they would do."

-Crack!

When Didier clenched the shattered gem fragments tightly, they turned to dust and scattered. It almost sounded like a faint scream could be heard.

I picked a special morning star and tossed it over the treasure chest. Then, a silver flame erupted and burned intensely inside the chest. It seems every gem was cursed with some kind of undead spell. It's a common type. Like a curse that drains all energy and turns one into a zombie… it was once a popular assassination method among royals and nobles.

"To think they climbed this high mountain and died just for this…"

El muttered and kicked the burning treasure chest lightly.

"…It's a pointless death."

I murmured almost inaudibly, then suddenly reached into the chest as the flames subsided. "Ah! Master!" I heard El shout in surprise, but I ignored it and grabbed a handful of ornaments.

"Don't worry. It seems the curse is tied to the gems."

The burned necklaces, bracelets, rings, and other ornaments no longer emitted any energy. Although they wouldn't be as valuable without the gems, they would still fetch a good price if sold. I swept the ornaments into my space ring.

"We'll split these when we get back."

"Not interested."

"Don't need it."

As expected, Khalid and Didier showed no interest. That was even better. Lloyd, El, Aquila, and I could divide it among ourselves.

-Rumble!!

-Crash!!

The weather outside was still tumultuous. Fortunately, the sturdy plants blocked the cave entrance well enough to prevent us from getting caught in the snowstorm. I inspected the trees, vines, and grass one more time before checking the inside of the cave. It was all solid rock. It didn't seem to have a double structure.

"It's a bit uncomfortable, but it looks like we'll have to spend the night here."

I wonder if there was anything useful. After rummaging through my belongings, I found some soft bed reed seeds. These were useful for sleeping on mud or hard rock instead of an ordinary forest or mountain. They thrived without soil, like Tillandsia, and had feathery soft leaves at the ends. Once they sprouted, it felt like lying on a bed, just like its name suggested.

I scattered the seeds where the others would lie down and used [Breath of the Forest]. With a bit of water, the bed reeds quickly grew and created soft spots for us.

"This should be comfortable enough for the night."

Ayla was the first to jump onto the softest spot. She sniffed around and scratched at the bed reeds before settling down and purring herself to sleep. The goats cautiously nibbled on the bed reeds beside her.

The rest of us found our places and laid out our sleeping bags. Leaving just a small campfire burning, we comfortably fell asleep, so much so that the sound of thunder outside felt like a lullaby.

…Everything's gone.

All the painstakingly crafted ornaments had disappeared because of a single druid.

Rubaf couldn't contain his rage and slammed his head against a cliff. Blood gushed from his cracked forehead, turning his vision red and overwhelming him with pain, but this was nothing.

He was a Sherpa.

A proud Sherpa who wouldn't blink an eye even if his limbs were broken and his fingers and toes fell off from frostbite. But this failure was a pain incomparable to any of that.

"They" had promised to reclaim the Silver Mountains….

Ironically, the obstacle was "Tondra" who had protected the Sherpas until now.

Tondra must not wake up.

According to those who bestowed wisdom upon Rubaf, Tondra was not the guardian of the Silver Mountains. Tondra was the tyrant and exploiter of the Silver Mountains. If Tondra were to sleep "forever" only then would the Silver Mountains regain their freedom.

And then, the Sherpas could roam the Silver Mountains freely once more.

"We are the rightful owners of this place…"

Rubaf grabbed a handful of snow from the beautiful snow field. The snow crystals sparkled as they caught the light.

"..."

The avalanche alone had not been enough.

At first, he thought the witch would take them down. But the witch joined forces with them instead. Things had turned out differently than he expected. Moreover…

This won't do.

The zombies created based on the wisdom imparted by 'them' had vanished meaninglessly. They had worked well until now, but they were useless against the druid.

Therefore…

A different approach was needed. A more certain and more brutal method to show the arrogant druid the greatness of the snowy mountains.

Rubaf scattered the snow he had been holding back onto the snowy field again.

"Yeti."

He decided to go to the Yetis.

At dawn.

We set out diligently. As we passed through the cliffs that could barely be called a path, we came across Geyser Valley which was famous for being dangerous. From here, the snow mountain monkeys began to appear, but there was no sign of a larger group yet. Were these scouts? So far, they were only observing us, so we didn't bother to drive them away or provoke them.

But something feels off.

Maintaining a moderate distance while continuously watching us was quite different from the behavior of typical wild animals. If they realized we weren't going to attack them, they should have just left…

It feels like we're being watched.

Unlike ordinary animals, the snow mountain monkeys were highly intelligent and cunning. Therefore, it was important not to attack them carelessly or underestimate them.

"Those things are annoying."

Khalid murmured as he lit a green flame on his fingertip. I grabbed his finger tightly, extinguished the flame, and forced a smile.

"Let's wait a little longer."

If they sensed something was wrong, we would have to take action, but there was no need for unnecessary attacks at that moment. Drawing attention and provoking a snow mountain monkey horde would be a bigger problem.

"We need to cross here…"

Aquila trailed off. It was because the bridge crossing the Geyser Valley had long since broken. The broken bridge dangled precariously at the edge of the cliff, swaying in the wind.

"Beepy."

-Beep!

Beepy, who had been resting in my arms and regaining energy, responded energetically. I attached a small seed pouch to Beepy's ankle and sent him flying to the other side. As always, Beepy flapped his small wings vigorously and flew to the opposite cliff.

-Fwoosh!!!

-Bang!!!

-Fwoosh!!!

From below the valley, bursts of hot steam and boiling spring water erupted intermittently. Beepy dodged them narrowly and reached the opposite cliff.

"Phew…"

I was so worried that Beepy might become soup midway. After reaching the other side, Beepy pecked at the seed pouch with his beak. Snow lotus seeds spilled out from the opened pouch. After planting the snow lotus seeds on this side of the cliff, I closed my eyes and focused my mind.

-Thud!

-Swook!

-Swoosh!

-Swoooosh!

The snow lotus flowers sprouted at the same time from where I was and where Beepy had landed and started growing towards each other. Though the thick stems swayed in the wind as if they might collapse, they were fortunately strong enough to meet at the midpoint without breaking. The stems intertwined like a sturdy rope and supported each other. Using this as a foundation, I planted more snow lotus seeds and created a fairly solid bridge. Ah, this does consume a lot of magical energy.

"Phew, let's cross one at a time. It's sturdy, but we don't know what might happen if we put too much weight on it."

"I'll go first."

"Thank you, Lloyd."

Lloyd crossed the snow lotus bridge first. Despite the wind and the steam and hot spring water from the geyser causing the bridge to shake severely, there were no other issues.

"Aquila, stop if steam rises. Cross again when the hot spring water stops. If you make a mistake, you'll get a terrible burn."

"Got it."

Next were Aquila and El. Though they were nervous, they crossed quickly and without any issues. There was no need to worry about the goats. When we tied a tasty pea to Ayla's tail and sent her across, they displayed impressive balance and crossed the bridge perfectly.

"Now, it's your turn."

Khalid and Didier seemed quite uneasy. They repeatedly touched and tapped the snow lotus stems as if to verify their sturdiness, then crossed the bridge with reluctant expressions. It took them the longest time, needless to say.

The last one was me.

There was always one of these weird bridges whenever I went hiking.

Bridges made only of rope or entirely transparent ones where you could see everything below… the hiking paradise of South Korea had all sorts of bridges. I miss those times.

I used to grumble a lot back then, but those were nothing compared to this.

I carefully grasped the snow lotus stem and started to take one step at a time. The snow lotus stems were tightly intertwined together, and thanks to the use of magic this time, they had grown as thick as a human arm, which made it not too difficult to step on. Could I cross quickly? Should I just close my eyes and run? As if sensing my thoughts, warm steam started to rise. I checked the location of the geyser and crouched down. Then,

– Pshhh!!!

Hot spring water shot up like a fountain and disappeared. The surroundings blurred with mist and then cleared up again. Forget running. Let's proceed carefully, very carefully. I moved forward carefully once more.

– Crack!

At that moment, a strange and ominous sound came from behind me. Crack, crack… That sound sent chills down my spine. Holding tightly to the snow lotus stem, I slowly turned around.

"…Those crazy monkeys…!"

A curse slipped out of my mouth. It couldn't be helped!

– Uuukiie!

– Kirirkkkiiie!

Two snow monkeys were biting, tearing, and scratching the snow lotus rooted on the cliff. The cracking sound was the snow lotus stem gradually being torn apart.

– Crack!

"Crazy bastards …."

Oh my god.

Cold sweat ran down my back.