Finding a Way

Throughout the night, the sound of the waterfall echoing nearby provided a reassuring feeling. Although we alternated, both of us managed to get some decent sleep. Inside the small leafy tent, as I heard Kimishima's sleeping breath while leaning against me, I reflected on the events of the day.

That Iaido with the wind magic. It seemed to possess an unimaginable power. I couldn't tell if it was the sword strike itself or a shockwave that hit... I remembered the water in the basin splitting in two, which made me realize its strength.

If I could master that technique, it could become an even more formidable weapon. The problem was, in the current state, I couldn't afford not to save any magical power for practice.

And then there was Kimishima. Would it be tough to fight with a Naginata with Kimishima's magical power, as I have heard? Even if they mentioned high-level monsters, I honestly had no idea what qualified as high-level. Perhaps creatures like that Hippo might also be mid-level in terms of strength. We lacked the knowledge.

However, that didn't mean I could recklessly put her in danger. It was like betting lives. If anyone was going to bet their life, it would be mine. I remembered that Kohinata said something about climbing two steps on the ladder being relatively easy... If we could hunt down monsters, it might be better to do that now for a smoother escape later on...

... But was it possible that we were starting to get used to the fear a little?

Fear was like an alert system for human survival instincts. Of course, if fear became too strong and immobilizing—like my acrophobia—it wasn't good, but losing it entirely wasn't good either. The key was to be able to act calmly despite the fear. Finding that balance was crucial to escaping from here.

I suddenly noticed the sky starting to lighten. It looked like the stormy weather had cleared for today.

—Grrrrrr

A growl from a monster emanated from the direction of the waterfall.

I gently pushed aside the tent's leaves and observed a water-drinking monster resembling a hippopotamus. ... Was that the same hippopotamus that was here yesterday at the waterfall? I cautiously scanned the surroundings, but it appeared to be the only one.

... What should I do? Could I handle it? ... My heartbeat quickened — thump thump thump. As I reached for the propped-up sword, a hand gently grabbed mine.

"No..."

Kimishima whispered softly. She was awake... No, did I wake mher up? As I turned around, Kimishima shook her head as if she knew what I was about to do. Feeling as if I'd been caught trying to do something wrong, I awkwardly nodded in agreement.

Kimishima's arm wrapped around my left arm that she was leaning on. It was as if she was holding onto it tightly to stop me from doing something reckless.

... Yeah, that's right. If I were to fail and die, Kimishima would be left alone again.

…

…

With the sun fully out, under the transformed clear blue sky from yesterday, we finally set out.

After walking for a while and distancing ourselves from the waterfall, I could somewhat make out what looked like the remains of a city wall. It seemed that the city had been constructed on a relatively flat area on the mountainside. There were blocks where blacksmiths gathered, so there might have been mines around as well.

However, although I could see the remnants of the city atop the cliff where the waterfall was, it was probably around 1-2 kilometers away due to being carried quite far by the water flow. Maybe even farther, considering the strength of the current. Judging from the terrain, if we walked east from the river, we might run into a road...

We decided to change direction slightly and search for a path while pushing through the brushes.

The area around the river was like a valley, slightly lower than the surrounding land. It seemed to be a sort of terrace. We climbed a bit as we walked. Since there was no established path, after some consideration, I took the short sword out from my bag and used it like a machete while moving forward. I think my grandfather would get really angry if he saw me doing something like this, but there was no other way.

Although I considered using Kimishima's magic, I didn't know how far we would go, and magical power shouldn't be wasted. What could be done manually, should be done manually.

Kimishima's naginata would also be obstructive in this kind of environment, so she ended up stowing it in her bag.

However, we didn't know where the monsters were. As we advanced a little at a time, I carefully perked up my ears, checking for any sounds of monster activity around us.

"Haah, haah... By the way, mountains untouched by human hands like this..."

Due to my university friends' influence, I occasionally engaged in mountain climbing, but the paths were always properly maintained, so I had never experienced this kind of bushwhacking. It was quite tough.

"Kimishima... Are you okay?"

"Yes, since you're clearing the way, Sensei."

"I see. If you sense any presence of monsters or anything, let me know."

"Yes."

Monster Parades were phenomena that had occurred many times throughout this world's history. The reasons behind them were not entirely clear; various explanations were given, like angering the bosses of the surrounding monsters or disturbing cursed ruins. However, the Monster Parade at Temple of the Galal Blue was said to be unprecedented in scale. While cities had been devastated a few times, the impact on the country at this scale and the increased level of the inhabiting monsters—it was a major disaster that they hadn't been able to recover from.

The Hodgkin Federation, where we were, was a nation that united several small countries to defend against invasions from other nations. The former small countries had now become states, and the nation consisted of six states. Due to this, there was a main temple in each state capital as a vestige of the time when they were small countries. One of these main temples, situated in the state capital of Durham, was the Temple of the Galal Blue.

The State of Durham was barely intact now, with the people who managed to escape to the few remaining towns and villages struggling to maintain a provisional government.

"I was just thinking, maybe we could both move up the Ladder."

"The Ladder…?"

Though Kimishima had stopped me this morning, I still believed that to make this escape safer, it would be important for both of us to raise our ranks even more and increase our baseline strength.

"With my current magical power, I can only draw my sword twice with Iaido. If we were to end up in a situation like when we were surrounded in the city the other day, it would be quite tough. Even I played role-playing games when I was a child. I'm thinking, maybe by leveling up a bit, we could find some peace of mind."

"… You going to try again this morning."

"Yeah... I'm getting a bit impatient."

"...But I understand what you're trying to say. However, I can't defeat the monsters here..."

"If... we end up fighting, try some kind of attack. Whether it's plant magic or water magic, there might be something like experience points that we could gain."

"Yes, I see... I'll give it a try."

In reality, when we first fought that giant, Kimishima participated in the battle by using vines. Later, only I advanced on the ladder, but perhaps there was some kind of experience-based reward involved. If this world also had different combat styles for roles like attackers, tanks, and healers, it wouldn't be balanced otherwise.

If those kinds of things accumulated, it might be possible to manage without landing a finishing blow.

After that, we occasionally spotted the shadows of monsters here and there, but there was anxiety about battling on the uneven terrain of the mountainside. Also, due to the poor visibility, it was hard to determine whether there was only one monster or more, leading us to continue hiding and avoiding them.

Eventually, the uphill climb came to an end, and we emerged onto a level ground on the high plateau.

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