Crossing the Mountain
Yvette didn't really mind the young man checking the corpses here since they will have to leave them anyway.
However, as soon as she realized that he was collecting some pocket money from them, she felt a bit of pity and thought that he had probably lived a very poor life.
She immediately assured him that he would be rewarded with gold coins after this.
"Ahh… Yes. Are you finished resting? Should we go now?" Vincent asked as he pocketed the last silver coins he collected. He wasn't looking forward to the money she promised.
He'll be satisfied as long as she helps him with his concerns about his traveling necessities.
He actually brought his grandfather's savings so he has a pouch of gold coins. It is around 50 coins and it can surely allow him to live a lavish life even in a large city.
But he still felt that it would be too much of a waste if he let those silver coins get lost here in the forest. They aren't planning to bury them after all.
Apparently, Yvette was thinking of leaving the bodies here in case his father decided to send investigators.
Anyway, it's not like they can do much for them.
"We can go now. I've recovered a bit of my Mana. I should be able to help you if we were attacked by Savage Beasts." Yvette said as she stood up and went to Tara's side.
"You don't have to. Just focus on recovering your Mana while we travel." Vincent replied after realizing that Yvette has a slower mana recovery rate than him. It seems that he's still someone special even though he's incapable of advancing to Master Class.
***
Two more hours had passed before they managed to find a resting place in the middle of the Withered Mountain. Unlike what its name says, it wasn't really a withered mountain where no grass or trees are growing.
Instead, many of the trees growing here are actually called Grey Acacia Trees. If seen from afar, the canopy of the trees would look like ashes, thus, gaining the name of the Withered Mountain as it feels like there are only dead trees around here.
'She's tougher than I expected.'
Vincent looked at Yvette and realized that she seemed to have gotten used to Tara. Though they weren't talking much with each other, they can easily understand each other. It was quite an interesting sight.
'I wonder how would she react if she learn that Tara is a Celestial Being…' Vincent smiled at the thought.
Even though their journey wasn't easy as they met several Savage Beasts from time to time, Yvette would still act protectively toward Tara as she probably thought that she doesn't have good combat abilities.
While Vincent would bring down the bronze bears, savage apes, or stone salamanders living around here, Yvette would stick to Tara to protect her at all times.
At the moment, the three of them decided to take a rest before they continue on their path. It was quite tiring going up after all.
"Yvette, are you uncomfortable with that dress? I have some extra clothes here. Just in case you wanted to change." Vincent offered after realizing that she might be uncomfortable wearing her dress.
Yvette was still wearing her slightly torn blue dress since she has no other clothes to wear.
"Ahh… I'm fine. This dress has enchantment so I feel safe wearing this." Yvette answered as she tied up her brown hair allowing Vincent to see her nape.
"Ehem… I understand." Vincent replied as he checked his small bag containing a total of 12 Beast Cores.
Apparently, it requires him 8 Beast Cores of this level to try a +10 enhancement.
Currently, all his items are stuck at +9 right now. He has been trying to get through this barrier for months now and he has failed numerous times already.
Of course, he still has one 75% Success Rate Boost Voucher but he still wanted to save it once he gets an item that is above Rare Rank.
"Hmm… I should probably wait until I reach the city. I'll most likely just fail anyway." Vincent thought as he returned the cores to his bag.
He then briefly looked at Yvette as he wanted to find out whether she already rested enough.
'I'll probably have a crush on this woman if I'm on my original body.' Vincent just randomly thought after observing her for a bit.
She has a kind face, pale skin, and red lips. Her green eyes are also very attractive to him. She may not have an outstanding beauty like Tara and most people might think that she's quite an average one, however, this is definitely his type in his previous life.
Anyway, he realized that Yvette is actually 25 years old already. She's ten years older than him, at least physically. She's also a noblewoman while he's a commoner so he wanted to keep some distance from her as well. He's quite unsure about her upbringing after all.
She might even be just acting kind right now since he's her savior.
'Ugh… Why am I being so suspicious of everything? I don't want to think like this…' Vincent shook his head as he looked ahead of them.
He furrowed his brows as he felt some beasts watching their group.
"It seems that there is no time for rest. Tara, Miss Yvette, there are Stonebreaker Wolves ahead. We need to be careful… I heard that they are Savage Beasts close to becoming genuine Magic Beasts."
Vincent said as he recalled his grandpa's teachings.
"You're right. They're very dangerous… But they shouldn't be living around here." Yvette felt confused since these wolves weren't normally living on top of the mountains.
Nevertheless, she has no time to think about anything else but to fight for their survival! The wolves started charging toward them!
"I'll support you, Vincent. I have enough Mana to cast a Tier 3 Mana Art. Let me show you what I can do."
Yvette confidently said as she started casting her spell. Her Mana Arts may not be suited in a duel fight but fighting against a crowd is a simple matter!
"Pyro Blast!"