Mountains Upon Mountains

With Sarah joining his party, Luden could finally put the Party System's abilities to full use.

When he had first discovered the fact, he couldn't help but be stunned.

"I never imagined I'd be able to view my party members' status windows."

Anyone who joined him as a party member could now have their status window laid bare before Luden's own eyes. Having experienced firsthand just how useful the status window was, he understood exactly how significant that was. If he set his mind to it, he could train Sarah to become far stronger by playing to her strengths.

But the Party System's abilities didn't end there.

"Sarah. Want to try this?"

"Ahh! It's sweet candy, yep!"

At the sight of the red elixir, Sarah opened her mouth wide. With a crisp crunch, the elixir slid down her throat in no time.

Certain rewards—the Growth Elixirs included—had originally been usable only by Luden, the Quest Player. He didn't know the exact criteria, but when he had tried them on Count Kaisar and Kevin, they'd had no effect whatsoever.

With the Party System unlocked, however, that restriction had vanished. Limited to party members though it was, the circle of those who could receive the quest's blessings had grown.

So that's what it meant—raise your party members.

Having discovered a way to develop Sarah, Luden decided to revise his plans a little. He had originally intended to head straight for the Kingdom of Bedia, but before that, he would complete a quest first.

"Hunting! I can't wait, yep!"

Sarah looked to be in a wonderful mood as she climbed the mountain. And she had every reason to be. Unlike the forest, where she had hunted to her heart's content, she had spent all her time in Talon quietly behaving herself—she must have been terribly restless.

She did behave well, at least.

Sarah loved to hunt—a great deal, in fact. Most of the Black Wolf clan shared the tendency, but Sarah had been born with it in uncommon measure.

And her talent matched it.

All manner of monsters made their home in the Cobalt Mountains. Travelers therefore usually crossed the border by safe routes the beasts rarely frequented—but where would be the fun in that?

"It would be a waste not to make use of them, with such a rare opportunity at hand."

At the thought of clearing two quests in a single stroke, the corners of Luden's mouth ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠curled upward.

"Hah, heeh. Hah……"

Hugo ran.

For a man who had never trained a day in his life, scrambling up a steep mountain slope left his breath clawing at his throat—but he never stopped. No, it would be more accurate to say he couldn't stop.

Sssaaa—!!

A giant snake, one that could swallow a grown man without effort, was closing in behind him.

A Mother Snake.

A fearsome monster said to swallow even a bull in a single gulp.

Hugo desperately forced his legs, which felt as heavy as lumps of iron, to keep moving. Any thought of collapsing right there had been blasted away by the maddening terror of death. Driven by nothing but the single-minded will to survive, Hugo fled past his limits.

"S-save me. Hrk!"

Crash!

But reality was cruel. His foot caught, and Hugo went down hard.

The Mother Snake, apparently deciding he was prey already caught, reared up its long neck and flicked its tongue.

"Uuuggh."

Hugo shook like a leaf. His mind screamed at him to get up and run, but his body refused to obey. Tears streamed down his dirt-caked face.

Sssaaa.

The Mother Snake advanced, its jaws gaping wide.

It was easily large enough to swallow something like him whole, with room to spare.

Ah……

So this is how ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠it ends?

As the pitch-black cavern of its mouth loomed ever closer, Hugo squeezed his eyes shut.

And in that moment—

"Whoa! It's a great big snake, yep!"

A bright voice, utterly at odds with the situation. The next instant, with a resounding crash, sunlight broke over Hugo's head once more.

"Huh?"

He wasn't dead?

More than relief at being alive, a question swelled up inside him: what on earth had happened? Then, moments later, he witnessed something unbelievable.

"Hraaah!"

Sssaaa—!

It was a girl.

Small even by Hugo's standards.

And that girl was hurling herself at the fearsome monster that had been about to devour him.

The Mother Snake, evidently finding her a nuisance, tried to brush her aside with a writhe of its long body, but the girl darted nimbly this way and that, toying with the beast at every turn.

At the utterly surreal sight, Hugo rubbed his eyes.

"What on earth—"

"Honestly. I told you not to run ahead."

?!

Hugo nearly jumped out of his skin. He turned to find a man he had never seen before—when had he arrived?—watching the battle between the girl and the monster.

Perhaps sensing Hugo's astonished stare, the man turned his head.

"Are you planning to stay there?"

"Pardon?"

"It's dangerous, you know."

What was that supposed to—? Before he could ask, the man frowned and suddenly hurled himself at Hugo.

"Hrk!"

KWA-BOOOM!

The instant his body went flying, a thunderous roar split the air. Rolling across the ground yet again, Hugo saw it: a massive wooden barrel, embedded in the very spot where he had been standing moments before.

"So there was more than one."

"What?"

At the words of the man who had seized him, Hugo came back to his senses. If the man hadn't grabbed him and leapt away, he would have been crushed to death beneath it.

Thud! Thud!

Baaah!

What had appeared without warning was a monster with the face of a goat—a Goat-Headed Giant.

"Wait just a moment, please."

"Wha—w-wait—"

Before Hugo could get a word of protest out, the man had already drawn his sword and advanced on the monster.

Faced with a scene so utterly divorced from reality, Hugo closed his eyes.

It had to be a dream by now. No—he hoped it was a dream.

Today is such a strange day.

And with that, he fled reality altogether.

She's doing well.

Glancing sideways at Sarah as she fought, Luden nodded. She was handling the Mother Snake well enough that, for now at least, there seemed to be no cause for worry.

After all her time downing Growth Elixirs and hunting the monsters of the Cobalt Mountains, Sarah had certainly changed.

Her stats haven't jumped noticeably, but she's growing.

Even so, he couldn't figure out why the quest still wasn't complete. Was she still falling short somehow?

Baaah!

"Whoops."

Having drifted into other thoughts for a moment, Luden hastily ducked. A huge shadow whooshed past just above his head.

"Tch."

Letting out a short breath, Luden surged forward.

The Goat-Headed ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠Giant swung the wooden barrel it clutched like a club once more.

Springing high into the air, Luden evaded the Giant's blow. His sword was wreathed in frost-blue Aura.

The next instant, his blade shot out like a flash of light.

Shrrk—!

Baaah!

Its arm severed, the goat's head let out a mournful wail.

Impressive.

A Unique skill Luden had received as a quest reward for winning the knight tournament. Aura, which ordinarily required one to reach 4-Star rank, had become available to Luden simply by acquiring the skill.

And that wasn't all.

His aura-wreathed blade split the air like a bolt of lightning and sheared through the Goat-Headed Giant's neck.

Thud. With that dull sound, the headless body toppled to the ground.

"Good grief. This is genuinely absurd."

Shaking the blood from his blade, Luden clicked his tongue in disbelief.

The power unleashed when Aura was combined with his other skills was beyond anything he had imagined. It came with the drawback of heavy mana consumption, but as a trump card to unleash at the decisive moment, nothing could have suited him better.

Luden looked toward the side where the fighting had yet to end.

"Sarah seems to be having a rough time of it."

The Mother Snake's scales were so hard that piercing them appeared to be a struggle. Luden turned to join the fight.

"Hhk! Thank you so, so much. If not for the two of you, I would have—"

"There, there. It's over now, so please calm yourself."

A short while later, with both monsters slain, Hugo wept his thanks to Luden and Sarah. Just when he had thought it was truly the end, he had been brought back to life as if by a miracle, and a wave of profound relief came crashing over him.

"Sob. I really thought I was going to die. I cannot thank you enough."

"Whew."

Left to his own devices, he looked ready to keep weeping and thanking them indefinitely. Luden sighed and cut him off.

"If you'd rather not stay here, I'd suggest we move somewhere else before we talk."

"O-of course. I wholeheartedly agree."

Eager to get away from the monsters' corpses and the blood soaking the ground, Hugo nodded vigorously.

Luden called out to Sarah, who was standing before the dead Mother Snake wearing a victor's smile.

"Sarah. Let's get going."

"Okay, yep! Hm?"

Sarah, who had been answering like an obedient child, suddenly tilted her head. Then she wrinkled her nose and walked up to Hugo.

"Sniff, sniff."

"Um, excuse me. Is something the matter?"

Hugo balked at the girl who had abruptly begun sniffing at the air around him.

Ah. I did sweat an awful lot earlier.

A flicker of embarrassment crossed his mind, but since this was the girl who had saved his life, he had no idea how to react.

Then Sarah's eyes went wide.

"There! There's a weird smell coming from over there, yep!"

"Wha—? Y-you mean me?"

"Hmm."

What Sarah was pointing at was not Hugo, but the worn backpack he carried.

Sarah pinched her nose and glared at the bag, while Hugo reeled from the shock of a young girl declaring that something about him stank.

Watching the two of them, Luden spoke up.

"Let's move somewhere else first."

Before nightfall, Luden found a spot suitable for camping and took their rest there.

"Allow me to introduce myself, belatedly. My name is Hugo Bilsketter. Thank you once again for saving my life."

"I'm Luden, a knight."

"I'm Sarah, yep!"

"Sir Luden and Miss Sarah, then."

Hugo expressed his gratitude to Luden and Sarah yet again. Having narrowly escaped death, his appearance was wretched beyond words. The thought that he would have become nothing more than a monster's meal had it not been for the two of them sent a shiver down his spine.

"I swear on the name of Hugo Bilsketter that I will repay this debt."

"Repay it, you say."

"Even though I have nothing to my name at the moment, I will repay it. I swear it."

He ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠really didn't have to, you know.

Thinking this, Luden ladled the freshly finished soup into a bowl and handed it over.

"Here. You must be exhausted—eat first, and we can talk after."

"Ah, thank you."

Now that the tension was draining from his body, the hunger he had forgotten came rushing back. At the fragrant smell of the soup, Hugo swallowed without thinking.

"It's—it's delicious."

The soup was so good it was hard to believe it had been made in the middle of the mountains. Ingredients must have been difficult to come by, and yet the flavor was so deep he could only wonder how it was possible.

Watching Hugo wolf the soup down, Luden smiled faintly.

It was worth stocking the inventory pocket with all sorts of cooking ingredients.

There had been a time in his past life when he had gone hungry, and so Luden took eating seriously. When he had first learned what the inventory pocket could do, his very first thought had been, Ah. Now I'll never go hungry, no matter where I go.

"There's plenty more, so take your time."

"Ahem. Pardon my manners. It's simply too delicious."

In truth, it was nothing more than whatever ingredients he had on hand, seasoned to taste—but to Hugo, it tasted better than any soup he had ever eaten. After the ordeal he had been through, that was hardly surprising.

"This meat in particular is excellent. The texture is superb—you must have stored it very well. Might I ask what kind of meat it is?"

"The meat? It's over there."

"Over there...?"

Hugo turned his head in the direction Luden was pointing—and froze on the spot.

Before his eyes was Sarah, roasting strips of the Mother Snake flesh they had gathered earlier over the fire.

"Y-you can't be serious—"

"There's more if that isn't enough. Just don't eat it grilled the way Sarah does. Mother Snake meat is tough—it's hard to eat unless you boil it thoroughly."

"Hrk!"

The color drained from Hugo's face mid-bite.

No matter how he looked at it, eating the flesh of the very monster that had tried to devour him was a step too far.

In the end, Hugo could not bring himself to take another mouthful, and his meal came to an end.