CHAPTER 256.2 - MOUNTAIN CROSSING II

I see, he could use the same method this time to get through this dangerous situation without any issues.

However, it felt less like he was hiding and more like he had been deliberately overlooked… Could it be that he could negotiate directly with monsters via the spirits?

Watching how Hayama-kun interacted with Kinako and Beniwo, it didn’t seem far-fetched to think he could do something like that.

「If you can do that, you should've just told us earlier.」

「My bad. I can only do it in places with a lot of spirits, and even then, I'm not entirely sure they'll listen.」

「That part of your spirit arts is pretty inconvenient, Hayama-kun.」

It was a pretty unreliable ability.

However, that ability worked perfectly this time. Spirit arts really had the potential to be a game-changer.

「Hey! Let’s hurry up and descend while those monsters have flown off somewhere.」

「Yeah, let’s hurry. Anyway, you really saved our bacon this time, Hayama-kun.」

「No problem. Gotta shine every once in a while too!」

After exchanging a crisp high-five with Hayama-kun, who wore a refreshingly bright smile on his face, we followed Kyouko.

With that, we successfully avoided the salamanders residing at the mountain peak, which had been our biggest concern, and made it safely to the other side of the ridge.

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「Ha~~~h, so tire~d.」

After nearly a week, we finally completed the mountain crossing. Now that we had finished one milestone, I threw my arms and legs out and lay down.

Thanks to Hayama-kun, we were able to avoid the salamanders and cross the ridge, which was great, but… after that, during the descent, we were attacked by waves and waves of monsters.

Red dogs, raptors, insects—those creatures we had seen before were scattered everywhere, forming packs and charging at us. Why was it only this side so jam-packed with monsters?

Although they were all monsters we had fought before, the constant battles wore us down mentally and physically. There were even some close calls, like when our mount, Jaja, was caught and eaten.

If it hadn’t been for the two grimgores, we definitely would have had casualties. That was just how cornered we were back then. The wave after wave of attacks, with separate packs appearing almost intentionally, seriously had to stop… 𝖗ÁΝо฿Ěŝ

By the time we were so exhausted that we didn’t even have the energy to talk, we finally managed to reach the foot of the mountain.

After resting for three days and resupplying at the base of the mountain, we finally set off toward our destination: the dungeon entrance.

「Kotaro, do you know the path we have to take from here?」

「The shortest entrance from here is our destination. So, we can just use the compass.」

Before we crossed the mountain, the compass magic circle would point in the direction of the route where we defeated the giant skeleton—that one was the closest.

But once we crossed the mountain and reached this point, it responded to the entrance with a magic power density of 4, the place we were aiming for.

The direction it was pointing was roughly our destination, so there shouldn’t be any issues.

And so, we continued to advance through the forest for another three days.

Compared to crossing the mountains, moving through the flat forest was simpler.

It seemed that Hayama-kun had leveled up significantly through the previous marches, as the current him could handle groups of weak monsters without a hitch.

Moreover, Rem and Kinako, who fought together as our vanguard, were now perfectly in sync. Even the corpse doll that used to scare Kinako wasn’t affecting him that much now.

Our coordination wasn’t too bad either. Gradually, I could feel that we were becoming a great team.

And then, after crossing the forest, we finally arrived.

「Woah, there really is an entrance in this kind of place!」

—"So you were actually doubting me all along, Hayama-kun?" I’d like to say that, but honestly, I was relieved we found it safely.

The place we arrived at was a small valley with towering sheer cliffs, and right in the middle of that, an entrance to the ruins gaped open as if carved into the cliff.

The compass of the magic circle was unmistakably pointing deeper inside.

「Listen up, everyone. This dungeon in front of us isn’t a gentle area with just small fries like skeletons wandering around. It’s a high-risk zone where enemies on the level of Living Armor or Crystaurs can appear out of nowhere.」

Unlike crossing the mountains, the difficulty beyond that entrance multiplied due to the higher density of magical power.

Since our party was in dire need of firepower, we simply couldn’t afford to fight opponents like Living Armor or Crystaurs. However, we might encounter a situation where escape wasn’t an option.

More than anything, the question was whether this group could defeat the boss monster that occupied this area with a magical power density of 4.

There were various worries, but since we had come this far, I had no intention of retreating. I would press forward no matter what until I caught up with my classmates.

「Let’s go.」

Thus, we entered the dungeon.

Near the entrance, a familiar stone corridor stretched on.

Fortunately, the width and height were just right, so the two grimgores and roirops, who had been a great help along the way, could come through without a hitch. By now, everyone had developed a fondness for the three corpse doll monsters.

「Woah, there’s a staircase, eh… Oi, this looks pretty deep.」

「Woah… I can’t see the bottom.」

The place we arrived at wasn’t a fairy plaza, but a massive spiral staircase.

Could it be that this zone was part of an enormous tower? Since the center of the spiral staircase was hollow, and upon looking, the height was so great that the bottom couldn’t be seen.

「Everyone, let’s move to the walls and descend.」

Just to be safe, we moved closer to the walls and started to descend in a single-line formation.

They should’ve at least put up railings or fences. Well, couldn’t expect modern safety standards from ancient architecture.

「This staircase doesn’t seem to end yet, Kotaro.」

「It’s not an endless loop, right?」

「There don’t seem to be any traps around here… I hope there aren’t any.」

Unfortunately, I didn’t have any thief-type skills, so if we really were trapped, the chances were high that I wouldn’t even notice it.

But the fact that we had been descending for over ten minutes and still couldn’t see the bottom was more than enough reason to feel uneasy. How deep was this place, anyway?

「Hey, don’t you think the air is getting kind of chilly?」

「Now that you said it, it feels cold since a while ago.」

「So we're back on wearing the fur gear again.」

As we continued, the air did felt much colder, just as Kyouko had said.

We paused for a moment and each put on the fur coats we had worn during the mountain climbing.

「Hey, this is bad, the air is really freezing…」

「Y-Yeah, white vapor came out of my breath.」

「Man, it's seriously that cold huh…」

The breath I exhaled turned white, and upon a closer look, frost had formed on the walls. The temperature suddenly became incredibly cold, probably low enough for snow to fall. Could it be below zero?

「I had a bad feeling about this area.」

Muttering to myself, I took a torch from the cargo loaded on the roirops.

I had prepared it as an additional light source besides Sakura-chan's lantern since I didn't know what might happen, but I never expected to end up using it just for its warmth.

Each of us held a torch in hand and, warming ourselves with its blazing flames, resumed descending the spiral staircase.

「I can see the bottom!」

Said Hayama-kun as he ran merrily toward the bottom of the stairs.

I get how he feels, but I wish he would stop scattering remarks that smell like death flags like that.

「H-Hey, Momokawa! This is bad—the door's shut tight you know!?」

Hayama-kun, who arrived at the bottom of the staircase first, shouted in panic.

The door was shut after we wasted all this time coming down here? You've got to be kidding me. In that case, let's break it down by force.

「Step back for a bit.」

The door was double-hinged and didn't seem to be the sliding type typical of ancient ruins. It looked like an ordinary door with hinges.

Yeah, in the worst-case scenario, I could disassemble the hinges through alchemy and remove the door by force.

But since that sounds like a hassle, let's try brute force first.

「Okay then, those who are confident with their strength, please raise your hand.」

「Pugaga!」

「GUGAAA!」

Kinako raised his hand with a lively roar along with Dark Knight Rem.

Well, since the person(?) himself seems to be eager to try, let him be.

「Okay then, Grilin, it's your turn.」

「PUGA!?」

『GUGA.!?.』

After letting out a ferocious roar, the grimgore unleashed its full power as a medium-sized carnivorous dinosaur, slamming its sturdy body against the door with a powerful charge.

With a loud bang, both metal doors were blown off their hinges and went flying, opening the entrance leading outside.

And then, beyond the sealed doors were,

GOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!

Raging, pure white blizzard that covered my entire field of view.

「Uwooo… It's a snowy area…」

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My first CN project, why waifu though? Well, coz the main heroine's job is buying soy sauce till the end of act 1

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