Trail of Death(1)

It's for the good side I have been working on my physic and stamina for the past week or else I wouldn't be able to climb this mountain. If nothing had changed it would be in between these two huge mountains. But the problem arises after that as I don't have any prior knowledge about that. All I know is that it would be extremely hazardous.

Sigh.

I hiked all the way to the top of the mountain. It took me nearly half a day without me taking any break.

"Tsk, What a pain."

I need to go to the location as soon as possible before it gets dark. After dusk, when the demon wolves prowl the area, this region becomes extremely hazardous. Even if it was a low-tier monster, would I be able to withstand it? That is the point here, and the response is a resounding 'NO.' Because I have no past combat experience, my odds of surviving when confronted with them are slim.

After a brief respite, I resumed my descent down the mountain.

It doesn't take me as much time as I spent climbing the mountain. I was able to get down fairly fast, but my fatigue was obvious on my face. I'm completely exhausted at this moment, but I've decided to keep moving forward while clenching my teeth.

Some might argue that why am I pushing myself instead of taking it slowly. But only I am aware of how cruel this world can be. The weak would eventually become prey to the strong in a world motivated by strength. I know how chaotic it would be in the near future, those who aren't powerful enough or don't have any potential backing will perish.

My only way to get out of that mess that would have potential death flags raised towards me is to get myself strong as much as possible.

A large forest covering several kilometers appeared in front of me as I progressed further down the path. I approached the woodland's entrance and entered it without any hesitation.

By the time I walked in, it had turned dark. Despite becoming dark my eyesight didn't get affected. This could be how the people of the world are built. I continued to move forward.

It didn't take me long before I arrived in front of a river. I was totally exhausted at this point. Even though I was exhausted, I can't take any break. It is the time when the monsters would be lurking in the forest. I can't let my guard down and get myself killed.

I arrived at the river and immediately refilled my water bottle.

'Tsk'

The amount of exercise I've done in the last few days is more than I did in the preceding ten years of my life combined. I've never done so much physical work in my life. I doubt my mental state could keep up even if I had condensed mana and this body could keep up. With each passing second, I could feel my mental process deteriorating.

After hours of struggling, at last, I found the spot that I was mentioned in the novel. Fortunately, I didn't come across any monsters till I arrived here. If I had met one, it would have been disastrous.

At the entrance, there is a cave. To get that power, I need to go in there and pass the trails. I don't know anything that is gonna occur after this.

"Oof, here goes nothing,"

I entered the cave.

****

It was pitch black as I entered the cave. Even my enhanced eyesight is not useful in this situation. I got my torch out of my bag. Even then nothing changed, all I can watch is infinite darkness dwelling upon me with no end.

'Gulp'

It appeared as if it was about to devour me whole. Even the light seems to have been suffocated by the darkness.

It's extremely terrifying.

I prepared myself before entering the cave; if I succeed, I will gain a rare power that will be extremely beneficial to me in the future.

Sigh.

I started to walk again. While I'm moving forward, I'm surrounded by darkness. It seemed as if fear had begun to take root in my body.

Then, all of a sudden, I slipped and plummeted into a massive chasm.

"Fuck!"

I was fast to react. I grabbed the rope from my rucksack and hurled it at the nearest wall. This is a unique rope that, when released, drills into the wall and won't come off easily.

Then I immediately knotted the rope's rare end around my waist. It's a customized rope with a length of more than 2-3 kilometers.

I thought that some unavoidable situation might occur and prepared accordingly. Surely that came in handy. If I don't have the rope I might have died right now.

A few minutes have passed, but I kept falling down. There is nothing visible down there. It's again pitch dark.

Slowly my surrounding is getting hotter and hotter. Even though I can't see it I can feel it. There is lava flowing down there. My body is sweating prosperously.

"Holy shit."

I could see the finish line. The scorching crimson lave may be seen streaming down there. My heart rate continued to increase at an exponential rate.

What am I supposed to do now? There is no means to come to a halt in mid-flight. Will I be sucked into that abyss?

As I approached the lava flow, I closed my eyes.

'Tak'

I finally came to a halt near the lava.

I was suspended in mid-air, dangling horizontally in the lava flow track.

I was just a few meters away from the lave.

My sweat is dripping down into the molten lava.

'Man that scared the shit of me.'

Sigh.

I was dangling horizontally in the lava-filled rocky path. I looked around me there is no area where I could land on. Before coming I read about this place and there was no mention of active lava that is flowing underneath this mountain.

'Who would have thought that there would be such kind of thing in the first place?'

I was thinking about how to get away from this situation.

'Should I try to reach the top by climbing the rope?'

Tsk, in my current state, it's impossible. Both physically and mentally, I'm completely exhausted.

"Fuck! I'm not sure what I've gotten myself into. Tsk."

I'm not sure how much longer I can keep going like this. I need to devise a strategy as soon as possible.

Suddenly, a cross blade went by my ear on the side. Because of the abrupt change in circumstances, my thoughts were cut short.

'Wait, what just happened?'

In mid-air, I was terrified and unable to grasp what had happened. My heart began to skip a beat.

Then, as I turned to glance around, I saw something that nearly stopped my heart.

Cross blades are raining down on me from all directions.

"Holy Fuck," I cursed aloud.