Chapter 81: An Audience with the Queen

Perhaps I thought climbing trees was too simple.

After leaving the ground by fifteen meters, Lyle thought as much, his hands gripping the notches cut into the tree, a mix of panic and exhaustion inside him. The cold sweat beneath his mask gathered at the bottom, and Lyle felt somewhat short of breath, ready to faint at any moment, but thankfully, the odd smell of herbs dispelled the drowsiness.

Lyle looked towards Echel, who wasn't using the evenly spaced grooves in the trunk. Instead, he took out two arrows and carved his own path, like using climbing picks.

Climbing this tree was hardly easier than rock climbing, with no safety measures and no natural footholds to stand on. Lyle had overestimated his physical stamina, and the energy he regained during rests was like water wrung from a sponge, insufficient and unsustainable.

"Echel, why don't you make these notches bigger and build a ladder or something?"