Act 3. Northern Continent, Arktera (4)

In the third try, we finally succeeded in getting them on a leash. The process wasn't entirely smooth, but since they were people who didn't want to die either, this not-quite-a-threat worked.

"11 o'clock, 1 o'clock, 3 o'clock—suicide bombers! I'll slow 'em down, so take 'em out!"

Thanks to that, we climbed the mountain at a completely different speed from before. Marian looked troubled, but her face was better than last time thanks to the rapid pace.

"Hoo... Let's rest here."

We'd surpassed the best record from the second try and reached about 70% up the mountain. I had no idea what would pop out next, so from here on, we'd have to be even more careful. The paladins seemed unfazed, but I could tell. Deep down, resentment was probably building in them, whether they admitted it or not.

So what are they gonna do about it?

I had their lifelines in my grasp. In a situation where one twitch from me would bring divine judgment down on them, there wasn't much they could do.

...Still plenty of ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠leeway.

Climbing so fast had drawn threats from the monsters below, slowing the death rate increase considerably. With hope that we could break it this time, I smiled quietly to myself.

But time passed, and night began to approach. The new moon rose, signaling the start of night, and monsters started pouring out in greater numbers.

"Curse: Flame."

"Curse: Metastasis."

The monsters burst into flames, lighting up the dark path ahead. I could feel the gazes of countless monsters glaring at us from the shadows.

"...Nah. This is manageable."

The special gimmicks like magic suicide bombers were the problem. In straight-up combat, we weren't struggling much. Our party was stacked with holy attributes that had an absolute advantage over demons, after all.

Just as we were about to start the fight—

Puuk—!

A white blade pierced my heart. Looking back, one of the paladins, eroded by demonic energy leaking from his armor gaps, had stabbed me in the back.

"...Ha. Ha, ha..."

Third point.

Fourth try. I calmed my rising anger and got the saintess's mark just like in the third try. There was no other way. All I could do was make the body checks more thorough. Nothing else came to mind. And honestly, this method was the most effective.

However.

Puuk—!!

Even with a thorough body check, the end was the same.

Third save.

Fourth try. I analyzed the cause, but got nothing.

Third.

Fifth try. This time, I dodged the paladin's sword. After subduing the eroded paladin, I looked around—half the paladins were already eroded. We couldn't handle the incoming monster firepower.

...

I stared blankly at the save point selection screen.

What the hell is this bullshit?

I'd put in all this effort to climb together, and now everyone around me was an enemy. I'd forced leashes on them to control them, and these bastards were hiding their pain like it was nothing. I was starting to get disillusioned with them.

"Do I really have to go this far? For real?"

I started questioning if I had to put up with this much stress just ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠to play the game. Already in the worst conditions, struggling to push through, and I couldn't even call these people allies. The saintess? Honestly, I had no idea what she was thinking anymore. She said nothing to the paladins, and now she even looked hateful.

"...Maybe I should just quit."

This level of difficulty was grounds for a direct complaint to the devs. If it weren't for me being Noel, the server rank 1, I wouldn't have lasted this long—anyone else, and the outcome was obvious.

"But."

Who am I? First to conquer all legion commanders, season 1 full-class max level, first to take down Demon King Kazea. Compared to the trials I faced back then... well, I couldn't say this was nothing, but it was just something I had to bulldoze through.

Fuck these bastards. I'll whip them into shape somehow.

This was a matter of pride. Giving up like this wasn't me.

Noel's eyes filled with venom and grit, her purple eyes igniting darkly.

Sixth try, seventh, eighth, ninth. All failures. We made it to 80% of the mountain, but escalating variables made it brutal.

Tenth try. No more gentle包容 route. I treated them like mindless dogs from the start. Leashed their necks again and pushed the forced march.

Stamina wasn't an issue for hero Marian or player me. If the paladins lagged, we'd leave them behind.

"Huff... huff... W-wait, slow down just a bit..."

"Can't keep up? Go back down. Not too late."

Her blazing purple eyes met the paladins'. They gritted their teeth and followed me and Marian.

Marian didn't stop them when they talked back to me, nor me when I snapped at them. We shattered the previous record far faster.

To prevent more injuries, I ramped up rear support, easing the burden on the paladins.

I'm doing fucking everything.

Rear guard, buffs in meals, cleaning up stragglers, bursting low-HP mobs, even CC for easy swings. Spoon-feeding them like prying their jaws open and working the hinge myself. All they had to do was swallow, swing their swords right, and block ranged attacks.

At 80% up, we had tons of buffer. No rest, though. No idea how the paladin order trained these screw-ups, but they needed more whipping. Holy knights of the faith at this level? Bellanova's future was worrying.

"Uh, um. Noel-nim? Maybe rest a bit..."

"What?"

Marian hesitated, glancing at me, but cowered under Noel's venom-filled glare.

Wh-what kind of eyes are those...

Even the paladins shrank back, suddenly obedient.

Beating fixes people, like they say.

Physical punishment existed for a reason. Some types only learned through bodily strain, no matter where you went.

Oh!

Unlike my worry that no save points would appear until the summit, one popped at over 80%.

Second save point.

Saving the point, I checked the time—uptime over 10 hours already. It was dawn, but plenty watching my stream. Chat was full of curses, but I let it slide today. I was barely holding back my own swears. Still, concern for me popped up amid the rage.

I closed chat and refocused on advancing. The exhausted paladins? Not my problem. Marian kept glancing back at me nervously.

But definitely, monster numbers thinned compared to mid-mountain.

...Why?

Conventionally, it should ramp up nearing the goal. Just as I sensed something off, the reason hit soon after.

Ku-gu-gu-gu—

"What... is that sound?"

"...This can't be real."

A massive wall of ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠snow rushed from the summit toward us. Monsters flailed amid it here and there.

"No!! We're almost there!!! An avalanche?!!!"