Traces of Kashipa
Even as the surrounding warmth climbed and the ice began to thaw, the snow-blanketed white mountain alone refused to surrender its cold.
The wind that swept down was cold as a sheet of ice, sharp enough to slice skin.
“Haa…”
The moment a white breath left my lips, I spotted the throng of adventurers camped at the mountain’s foot. They had clearly raced here from directions other than the capital.
Everyone watched everyone else. Temporary camps dotted the frozen ground, each nursing a small fire.
Drawing stares had long since become familiar. Hauling Nightmare around meant enduring it every time. I tugged on the reins and approached a merchant peddling wares nearby.
“O-oh…”
The merchant, mid-pitch with his goods, froze at the enormous shadow that fell across him—Nightmare—and simply gaped. He swallowed hard, eyes darting, looking so nervous it was almost funny.
“N-need something…?”
I scanned the spread he had laid out. His shop was a cart converted with a little awning stretched over the top.
Easy preserved rations, oil, rope, small pickaxes—everything needed for climbing this mountain was piled high. Remembering I was out of oil, I spoke.
“One bottle of oil, please.”
Only then did his gaze finally shift past Nightmare to me. The horse had been blocking his view of me entirely.
“Uh… heh…”
He glanced at Nightmare once, then at me again, letting out a faint sound of wonder before fishing a small oil bottle from the back and holding it out.
“Three silver.”
I handed over the coins without fuss and asked,
“Why aren’t those adventurers up ahead climbing the mountain?”
“Waiting to see which way the wind blows, I’d wager.”
“The wind?”
“Waiting for some strong adventurer to blaze the trail first. Distribution of loot’s another headache. Or maybe they’re just hoping to jump whoever comes back down loaded with treasure.”
“Hmm…”
“Anything else you need?”
“No. That’s all.”
As time passed, more adventurers kept arriving. Yet few dared set foot on the mountain itself. Now and then the cries of monsters drifted down on the bleak wind, sounding uncomfortably like the screams of those who had gone ahead.
The footprints of those who had left vanished almost at once. The winds raging inside the mountain drove white snow over every trace, swallowing them whole.
I quickened my pace. Adventurers lingering at the entrance threw glances my way, but none spoke.
Whoooosh—
The instant I stepped onto the snowy mountain, a biting wind drove snow into my face and blurred the world. Even at the foot of the slope, strange movements prickled at the edges of my senses. Not human.
Those trailing presences vanished just as quickly. Nightmare exhaled a rough breath and let his aura roll free.
He had long since left the category of “horse.” His presence was no weaker than the giant monsters I had faced on Monster Island, so the lesser beasts tucked their tails and fled.
This was no place for the Guiding Star. I had never been here, knew no one, so even if I called a tiny star there was nothing for it to chase.
Which meant I simply had to climb. Straight up this hazy white mountain.
Those who had gone ahead would already be ascending. Even if curiosity had been thin at first, no one came this far only to turn back empty-handed.
“Let’s go!”
Nightmare and I raced up the snow-covered slopes.
Beyond the white ridges, monster presences flickered in and out—testing whether we were prey they could handle.
Senses that had transcended the human made every nearby presence grate on my nerves.
Then, through the murky snow-fog, a small light appeared. A shadow wavered above the flame that danced in the wind.
The light was a campfire burning inside a cave. Yet no human presence lingered near it, as there should have been.
Only a faint scent of blood hanging in the air hinted at the fate of whoever had lit that fire.
As I climbed I began drawing the mountain’s mana into my heart with each shallow breath. The sluggish pace was frustrating, but I could not simply gulp down a vast quantity at once.
This mana was arrogant—refusing change, determined instead to reshape its surroundings to suit itself. Force a Mana Circle into existence too quickly and it would clamp around my heart and freeze it solid.
I was still absorbing the new mana, advancing carefully, when my sharpened senses caught several large and small presences at once.
A sizable group of humans. Their killing intent was thick. Even if they were not deliberately projecting it, the stench of blood seemed to cling to them.
Footsteps drew nearer through the swirling blizzard. Black silhouettes emerged one by one—seven in total.
“Just one? A kid alone?”
“Is that even a horse…?”
“Gear looks expensive, though.”
They appraised me while casually fanning out, movements smooth and practiced. Escape routes sealed, weapons leveled, pressure applied as naturally as breathing. This was not their first time.
I rested a hand on my sword and asked,
“Just checking—has any of you found Kashipa’s lair?”
“Kashipa’s lair?”
“No idea… never heard of it.”
The seven surrounding me halted. The blades pointed at me were close enough to cut at any moment.
I let out a long sigh. They say the line between adventurer and bandit is thin, but I never expected to run into adventurers who made a living robbing people right here.
Their real interest was clearly not some hard-to-find dragon’s lair, but the purses of treasure-hunting adventurers.
Perfect timing. I had been looking for a chance to test a new spell I had been imagining. These men had already piled blood-stink onto themselves by killing people; no need to hold back.
Kiiing—!
The spinning of my Mana Circles rang out, audible only to me. Amplified mana raced through my body and poured straight into the sword in my hand.
Ever since the changes on Monster Island I had kept wondering:
Could I use the Fear that monsters wielded? My body had already transcended the human. Closer to monster than man, it should not be impossible.
I had even gone to quiet places, tensed my gut, and practiced screeching “eeek eeek” trying to force out a monster’s Fear.
All of it had been useless. Monster Fear rode a peculiar low-frequency wave loaded with mana, and human vocal cords simply could not produce those frequencies.
Krrrrrng—!
A scraping sound as the blade cleared its sheath. Mana flowing along the drawn sword amplified its vibration still further.
Wooooong—!
At first it was only the drone of a swarm of bees, but the sound deepened. The moment a razor edge entered the hum, a true roar burst from the blade.
“Looks like you don’t understand the situation. Usually people beg for their li—”
“G-ghhk…!”
The man who had been speaking with a smirk froze mid-sentence. The rest of the circle around me reacted the same way. The worst of them foamed at the mouth and collapsed.
They would not be able to move. They would not even be able to breathe. Right now they were staring pure, crushing terror in the face.
If human vocal cords could not produce a monster’s low-frequency wave, then find another way. The method I had discovered was to use the sword’s own vibration.
Mana kept pouring out through the trembling blade. As it scraped along the steel, the resonance only grew louder with every passing second.
Eyes rolled white in the faces of the men sprawled across the pure snow. The way they clutched their chests and gagged told me their breath would stop any moment.
When the last faint gasps around me finally ceased, I flicked the sword lightly and killed the resonance.
Taaang—!
An excellent spell for facing many alone. Anyone within range of the sound—no matter how many—could be dropped without caring about numbers.
Of course, against someone strong enough to wield mana the effect would be far weaker.
The seven corpses began to cool. I rifled their clothes, pocketed their coin purses, and stuffed them into my bag.
Only then did I notice how unnaturally quiet the surroundings had become. The monsters that had been flickering into view earlier had all vanished.
They must have sensed the artificial Fear I had created and fled.
Round and round, back to square one.
Leoniss, still hunting Ceris, arrived at the capital of the Karuma Empire. Having wandered the entire world in pursuit of the cheeky girl who went around impersonating a Magic Tower mage, his mood was foul.
He had crossed the Karuma Empire, climbed the Hairan Plateau, and reached Burning Road. After traversing the scorching desert he had been certain he would finally arrest the girl pretending to be from the Tower—yet no girl named Ceris was there either.
So Leoniss had been forced to set out once more.
He had passed through the Holy Kingdom and Greenfall as well. And now he stood here: the capital of the Karuma Empire.
Matching the little girl’s absurd travel speed had left him barely able to sleep. Rubbing his gritty eyes, he once again asked after Ceris’s whereabouts.
Once again he was a step too late. Ceris had already left.
“Kashipa’s snow mountain…?”
His next destination was set. Leoniss left the capital at once. The time he had spent inside its walls amounted to barely an hour.