The journey began once again. This time, there was one more companion.

This was the most difficult journey so far. Whether they could reach the summit safely remained unknown.

“Hey, my legs are really tired~~ Let’s take a break.”

“We’ve been walking for over five hours already. And we’ve only managed to go about 300 meters.”

“What?!! It’s already been five hours?”

“Stand up! This is only the beginning. There are still many challenges ahead. Today, we can rest at the 1172-meter point.”

“That’s still more than 800 meters left. I’m really tired. Is there any faster way?”

“There is. In fact, there are many. The simplest way is to use 【Physical Boost】.”

“Huh? What is that?”

“What? It’s a basic spell. Simply put, it has the ability to enhance your physical condition—like physical strength, speed, endurance, energy, and even your senses.”

“Oh, so that’s how it is. Why didn’t I know about such an interesting spell earlier?”

“…Hey, are you serious? Do you know that climbing that mountain requires consuming a huge amount of magic? At this rate, I might not be able to help you much.”

“Hey, are you looking down on me?”

“I’m just worried about you. I think you’re someone who doesn’t have enough magic.”

“Hey, I do have enough magic!”

“…Alright then. I’ll share a bit of my magic with you so you can use the spell.”

Rihito raised his hand in front of his chest. A golden circle slowly began to form and started transferring magic to Kun.

Suddenly, Kun’s body was filled with energy. There was no trace of exhaustion left. On the contrary, Rihito looked much more drained than before.

“Alright, now you need to focus your magic and activate 【Physical Enhancement】.”

Kun closed his eyes, trying to concentrate his magic.

After putting in effort, Kun felt that his body had become lighter. He could move much faster than before.

“So this is why you reached the foot of the mountain before me?”

“Yeah. If we keep this up, the progress to the summit will definitely be faster.”

“But now that I think about it, why are there no monsters around here?”

“They’ll appear soon. From around the 500-meter mark onward, monsters will start appearing.”

“Then let’s hurry up.”

“Hey, you’re only talking confidently because you’re under my protection.”

“Haha… By the way, can we go even faster than this?”

“The strength of magic depends on each person’s amount of magic. If only I were using it alone, it would definitely be faster.”

With the help of 【Physical Enhancement】, their speed increased by more than twice. In just two hours, they had already reached the 500-meter mark.

“Hey, slow down!”

“Huh? What’s wrong?”

“We’ve reached the 500-meter mark. From here on, every single step must be taken carefully. Monsters will start appearing more frequently.”

“So that means you’ll have to protect me then.”

They slowly moved forward another nearly 100 meters.

“Rihito, be careful!”

“Huh—?!”

Right behind Rihito, a monster suddenly appeared. It carried the same aura of death as the monsters below the mountain. Its body was formed from countless eyes and skulls of many bodies.

“【Fire】”

A flame instantly burned the monster.

“That was close…”

Kun let out a sigh of relief.

“Run immediately!! They’re coming!”

Rihito shouted and quickly led Kun away. They ran quickly and searched for a place to hide. In the end, they hid behind a large rock.

Just as Rihito predicted, the place where the monster had died now became food for dozens of other monsters. If even for a moment they let the existence of those creatures enter their minds, the two of them could instantly die from fear. Becoming the next meal for the monsters.

“There are 500 meters left. We need to be more careful.”

“Got it.”

They continued their journey in silence, constantly staying alert and carefully observing their surroundings.

Suddenly, they saw a large cave.

“Hey, do you see that cave? We should go in there and rest for a bit.”

“That’s strange. I’ve never heard that there was a cave like this here.”

“Why bother caring about that? We should rest for a bit. Don’t you feel tired?”

“…Alright. If you say so, we’ll sleep one night in that cave.”

The two of them approached the cave. Rihito was still very suspicious and cautious.

“Rihito! Be careful!”

By the time Rihito realized it, he was already near the edge of a cliff. Because he lost his balance, he slipped.

There was no time to think. Kun gathered all his magic into his legs and rushed toward Rihito, afraid that he would lose the only companion he had.

Fortunately, he managed to grab Rihito’s hand in time. Looking down below, there was only a silent void.

Suddenly, a screeching sound came from below.

No, it wasn’t coming from below—it was something filthy rushing upward at a speed faster than the eyes could follow. In an instant, the ground below became dark, and something black was rising.

An arm appeared right in front of them. A massive hand, larger than both Kun and Rihito combined. On it was a large eye along with dozens of smaller eyes surrounding it.

There was no time to think before the monster could swallow both of them. Kun used 【Physical Enhancement】 on his arm and pulled Rihito up, then poured all his magic into one arm, forming a layer of magic covering it before throwing a punch.

The impact caused the bones in his arm to shatter into many pieces.

Unexpectedly, the monster did not die, but was only heavily injured. More than half of its body had been destroyed.

From behind, Rihito chanted 【Electric • Shock】. A bolt of lightning shot rapidly toward the monster while avoiding Kun. The monster was struck by the lightning and immediately became paralyzed, losing its ability to move. It gradually sank back down.

“That was close…”

“Hey, are you injured anywhere?”

“My arm is broken.”

“Thank you. That means you’ve repaid the life you owed me. Let me heal you.”

“…Yeah. So now we don’t owe each other anything anymore.”

“Hey, are you still sitting there? Hurry up and move. This cave doesn’t seem safe.”

After that, they continued for a long distance without facing too many difficulties. Thanks to Rihito’s help, Kun’s arm gradually healed. The monsters here could be handled more easily.

“Hey, are we close to the resting point yet?”

“Not sure yet. When we see a large crack, we’ll know we’re close.”

“By the way… why is it that when I faced that monster earlier, I didn’t feel the same as when I encountered them below the mountain? That feeling of fear and my body being torn apart…”

“When I found you, how long had you been here?”

“Probably a few hours.”

“…Seriously? You don’t even have enough magic to compare to the mages down there.”

“I’m that weak?”

“Of course! Soldiers like us have more magic than others to guard this area. That’s why we aren’t affected by them. I shared just enough magic with you so that you wouldn’t be affected either.”

“Huh? I don’t really understand. Why?”

“You’re so annoying 😡. I’ll explain when you have more magic.”

“Hey~~…”

Right after that, in front of them appeared a deep chasm with no visible bottom.

“Hey, how deep is this hole?”

Rihito didn’t answer, instead he said:

“We’re close to the resting point now. Currently we’re at 1114 meters. Once we get past this, we can rest.”

“That fast? Then let’s hurry.”

Rihito quickly used 【Physical Enhancement】 and jumped across the gap easily.

“Hey, can you do it? Come on.”

Kun was trembling. He didn’t dare look down into the hole, and even less dared to jump.

“Just close your eyes and jump.”

“…Alright, I’ll try. Stop talking.”

“1… 2… 3…”

Kun rushed forward, put all his strength into his legs, closed his eyes, and jumped.

When he opened his eyes, he was already on the other side.

“Rihito, I did it!”

“Kun, what are you doing?!”

Before Kun could react, he was already being grabbed by a bird-like monster, flying above Rihito.

< O power of the lightning spirit • Tear them apart >【Lightning】

A bolt of lightning from the sky struck directly at the bird monster. Although it didn’t die, it was stunned.

Taking that chance, Kun gathered magic into his hand and punched the monster’s claw.

He began to fall from the sky, but fortunately, Rihito caught him.

“Hey, you need to be more careful.”

“…I’m sorry.”

After continuing for a while, they finally reached the first resting point.

“Wow… this cave is really big. Are we going to sleep here today?”

“Yes.”

“But we don’t have tents or blankets.”

“We’ll have to use what the previous people left behind.”

Looking inside, Kun saw many skeletons along with some old beds. The two of them took two and lay down.

Very quickly, they both fell asleep after a long exhausting day.

…

“Huh? Why did I suddenly wake up? It’s not even morning yet?”

It was easy to tell day and night here. Daytime had a blood-red sky. Nighttime was a much darker red, almost black.

Kun suddenly woke up in the middle of the night. Looking beside him, Rihito was still asleep.

He remembered that he still had the paper given by “that person.”

He went outside the cave and opened the paper.

At first glance, the writing looked like an ancient language that couldn’t be understood or read.

But when he poured a bit of magic into it, the words gradually transformed into something familiar.

『If one day you want to find me, or if you are in a life-threatening situation, read this incantation. It won’t give you power to destroy the world or make you invincible, but it may help you live longer.』

After reading it, Kun let out a sigh and began chanting.

< O evils around me • Obey the command of the mighty angels • Break the bond between origin and end • Fade into the endless void >

Right after finishing the chant, Kun ran out of magic. His face turned pale, and he didn’t even have the strength to stand.

He collapsed and lost consciousness.

In the darkness, there was still a pair of eyes watching him closely.

Rihito had seen everything.