Chapter 93

As we began to climb the mountain, it was just around midnight.

The pace of progress was not particularly fast. No, rather, because there were people like us with low-level climbing skills, we sometimes couldn't reach the next handhold and had to retreat, grab a different spot, and start climbing again. Our arm fatigue and stamina were not as good as those of the two experienced climbers, so we often had to lean on the rope and rest, with our feet hooked onto the rock face.

The higher we climbed, the fewer the markers in our field of vision became. We managed to climb by following the route Hiyama had taken and following Ivan's instructions.

With each repetition, the pace of progress increased due to level-ups and getting used to the environment.

And now—

"From here on, this is where the enemies will attack. Let's take a short break and then resume."

Saying this, he placed several lanterns in a slightly open area, securing a light source different from a campfire. The artificial light, which felt bluish-white compared to incandescent light, gave a cold impression, contrary to the warmth of fire.

"Hmm, I'm going to take a bathroom break and then rejoin."

"Alright, Hiyama, go ahead."

"See you."

"See you~"

Hiyama logged out for a break, leaving only his avatar behind. Taku, who had been tense all the time to avoid falling, seemed to relax a bit during the break.

"You're slacking off, Taku."

"No, I thought it would be more like a hobby or a casual game, but it's too serious. There's no game-like fantasy element so far."

He seemed to have been seeking the kind of absurdity that games offer, but so far there was none, and he was just repeating the physical strain.

"Hahaha, rather than direct enjoyment, this is part of the fun of climbing."

"I'm not like Yun, who enjoys hard work."

"Hey, when did I become a hard worker? You guys are the ones causing trouble."

I protested, but Ivan laughed as if it was amusing.

"Well, up here, you'll have a harder time than a persistent girl. From here on, it's an unknown territory for those who don't know the air."

"Wow, that sounds exciting! A battle while clinging to the rock face. That kind of battle in a place you can't normally experience."

"Exactly, the usual ground formations are meaningless on this mountain. There's a mountain battle for mountain men."

I watched the two men talking enthusiastically with half-closed eyes.

What exactly is a mountain battle?

Behind us was a rock wall, and under our feet was an unstable surface. One wrong step and we would fall into the abyss. Moving forward was difficult, and so was retreating. I wondered if it was even possible to fight properly in such an environment.

Hiyama used a striking weapon, and Ivan seemed to use his bare hands. In such an environment, the distance to the enemies in the air, who attacked and retreated, was significant.

Long-range attacks like magic seemed to be the easiest to handle...

"Hey, I'm back."

"Alright, Hiyama, you're back. From here on, enemies will appear. There will be fewer attacks at night, but we'll have to deal with those that do come."

"Understood."

Hiyama led the way as we started climbing again. After a while, looking up, we saw a dark green snake with red eyes in the sky. It had bat-like wings and was a super-small wyvern-like creature without hands or feet.

I turned my head as much as possible to spot the enemy.

"Enemy approaching. Two snakes from the upper right, two from the lower left!"

"Hiyama! Use that! Knock them down! Taku, don't overexert yourself, just sweep them away!"

At my voice, Ivan gave instructions, and the three of us took a defensive stance. In Hiyama and Ivan's hands were ropes with metal attachments at the end. They used the metal as a weight, creating centrifugal force by spinning it.

They could only see the enemies within the range of the lantern's light, but they immediately reacted to the intruders. The metal, accelerated by the spin, drew a fast arc and wrapped around the target, entangling the enemy in the air. The enemy, entangled in the rope, collided with the rock face due to the momentum of the thrown weight.

The damage from the metal piercing and the collision with the terrain. Then, they skillfully pulled the rope and crushed the head with their weapon or bare hands.

They defeated one snake with a fluid motion. However, during that time, another air snake approached and bared its fangs at Taku—

"---Not a chance."

Taku, in an unstable position, swung his longsword downward and cut off the air snake's head. This allowed him to knock down the air snake heading towards Ivan. On the other hand, I couldn't attack the air snake that approached Taku, and the remaining one latched onto Hiyama's arm.

Hiyama immediately crushed the head of the snake that had latched onto him, but he seemed to have received the status effect from the poison he had mentioned earlier.

"Yun, please heal and detoxify."

"Understood. What was that just now?"

"Was it? Well, that was an Aero Snake."

Hiyama, who had been healed, said something irrelevant to me. What I wanted to know was about the equipment he used just now, but the timing was bad. I resolved to ask later.

After several attacks and pauses, we finally reached a place wide enough to rest again. The battles so far had been made easier by their experience in mountain battles.

We reached a space where about ten people could sit, and with the break, I had the chance to ask my question.

"...I want to say it's difficult, busy, and nerve-wracking, but there's one thing I'm curious about."

"What is it?"

"Those metal ropes, what are they?"

"Grapple ropes, of course?"

"No, I mean, even if you say it's obvious..."

I had never heard of grapple ropes before, and the skill with which they slid and threw the rope, and the ability to use it in combat, reminded me of the knife skills in the [Cooking] sense.

"Hmm, they are one of the weapons used in climbing equipment. They are versatile items that can be used to climb as long as there is something to hook onto. At first, the places to throw them were unstable, but as our levels increased, the accuracy improved, making them more convenient."

"Wow, that's interesting. Can this technique be applied to other weapons?"

"For example?"

Taku also seemed interested in the grapple ropes and was discussing them with Ivan, who was looking at his grapple rope.

"Well, if we consider the rope as a chain, there's the [Kusarigama] from the [Scythe] sense, or a short sword with a chain from the [Sword] sense, which can be thrown and used in close combat. On the other hand, it would be a weapon with strong quirks and lower stats."

"Hmm, that does sound interesting. After this, should we try to get that sense and weapon? What about you, Hiyama?"

"Then, I'll go with the kusarigama, I guess?"

The three of them started talking without me.

They discussed their new combat styles, points to improve while climbing, and how far they could climb at this pace.

I couldn't find a good time to join the conversation, and I didn't have the energy to force my way into it.

Feeling so excluded, I wondered if I was even needed here, but quickly dismissed the thought.

"---Calm down. If you let this get you down, it's a problem."

"Hey, Yun. By the way, you were doing well—‘Whoa! Don't talk to me suddenly! I got a shock!’... I got a shock too. You yelled when I talked to you."

"That's... not it."

Taku scolded me, and I hesitated. There was no reason to be surprised, and I was at fault for not listening, but I felt a bit annoyed with Taku for making me feel excluded.

"...Taku, why is Yun upset?"

"I don't know."

Even though I tried to lower my voice, it was clearly heard. When I glared, the two of them fell silent. Ivan, the older one, looked at us with a sigh and spoke.

"Basically, the reason is that we were so engrossed in our conversation that Yun was left out."

"...It's not that."

"I'm sorry for not being considerate of the party members."

I was surprised to be seen through, but I wasn't the type to admit it. However, I was even more surprised to be directly apologized to.

At the same time, I was impressed by the older person who, despite being engrossed in his hobby, was still observant of his surroundings.

"Yun, you... I'm sorry, honestly, I'm really sorry."

"When you apologize, it makes me... Ah, my back itches."

"That's not true. Look me in the eye."

Taku stared at me intently. I could tell he was being serious, but his usual behavior made him seem untrustworthy.

No matter how sincere or teasing the words, I would probably forgive him with just a sigh, without giving it much thought.

I didn't want to waste energy thinking about it.

"It's fine. I'm being childish. What were you trying to say?"

I pressed my forehead, feeling self-disgust for feeling excluded. But self-disgust alone wouldn't improve the situation, so I decided to change the topic.

Since I hadn't been following the conversation, I asked Hiyama for an update.

"Exactly... What were you talking about?"

"I heard that Yun came to this area for leveling up and gathering materials. Have you achieved your goals yet?"

Thanks to Hiyama's explanation, I understood why Taku had asked me. I put my hand on my chin, compared my inventory and status, and answered.

"I'm not too focused on leveling up, but I want to gather materials. It would be helpful to get minerals and gems from this area."

"Then, from here on, it's a place we don't know. We'll slow down our pace and gather materials while resting, and help you with your material collection, okay?"

"Is that alright? You guys are aiming for the summit of this mountain, right?"

"Rushing up the mountain will only lead to setbacks. I'm not the type to rush. Besides, if this mountain doesn't work, we can look for another one and climb it!"

His pleasant laughter echoed in the dark night.

"Then, I'll freely indicate the gathering points along the way. Please lead the way."

"Leave it to me. I'll make sure to create a clear path."

It's reassuring to always be led. A good leader is probably like this.

While there are equal relationships and shared interests like with Magi and others, and the camaraderie of fellow crafters, there's a different kind of reassurance in an adventure party.

However, enemies will come when you're feeling sentimental.

This time, there were six air snakes.

The other three didn't see them, but the enemies were coming towards us, moving their wings up and down unstably.

"Six snakes. Three from the upper right, two from the lower left, one from the front."

I quickly took out my bow and shot into the dark night. The three of them probably couldn't see, but I could. The targets were easier to aim at than bees, and I shot as many as possible.

Taku and the others either performed a series of actions or a single strike to defeat the enemies, but the Aero Snakes had a pattern where they would retreat for a certain time after being hit.

I judged that I couldn't attack all of them and chose the three from the upper right, shooting them down one by one as quickly as possible.

"Three are heading your way. Take care of the rest!"

Unlike the previous mountain face, the foothold here was solid, but not wide enough to take evasive actions. What was needed was control and role division.

It took four arrows to deal with one snake. I shot in sequence, taking them down one by one.

"Remaining, five, four, three."

As the three snakes fell in sequence, Taku and the others used sweeping strikes and grapple ropes to pull them in and crush them.

This was the largest number of enemies so far, but with my participation, the elimination power increased significantly.

Before that, the main factor was the preemptive attack from the range where the light didn't reach, I analyzed.

"Elimination complete. No enemies detected in the surroundings, safety secured."

I fulfilled my role in a matter-of-fact manner, stated the facts, and exhaled.

"...That's amazing, Yun."

"Girl, you're cooler than a clumsy man, aren't you?"

The two of them, who hadn't seen my combat skills during the climb, expressed their admiration sincerely.

I wasn't sure if being a bow user was impressive, given their rarity and the lack of recognition. And Ivan's comment about "clumsy men" was irrelevant since I am a man.

Finally, Taku said:

"...I really want you in a fixed party."

He looked as if he had renewed his resolve.

"I can use a bow on the ground, but when we're on the mountain face, please protect me properly."

"Of course, Yun."

"Alright, from here on, it's a new area. First