Munch, munch.
We devour jerky as we march.
Every single mber of the expedition.
"I... I think I'm going to puke... I can't eat anymore..."
So mbers groan, their stomachs full to bursting.
But they are a minority.
Most of us force down the jerky, even as we push ourselves to our limits on this uphill climb.
We all know.
This is our last chance to eat our fill.
"Schuitz! Ah, no, Viscount Bjorn Yandel!!"
Marone, the female mage from Kaislan's team, rushes towards .
"The detection magic we set up ten minutes ago has been triggered!"
"Damn it, they were closer than I thought."
Close enough to reach us in minutes if they were running at full speed.
"Everyone, ditch the food boxes!"
I shout, throwing the box of jerky I was holding over the cliff.
We need to lighten our load if we want to increase our speed.
Whoosh!
Most of the mbers follow my lead without hesitation, tossing the boxes over the edge.
But so are reluctant, their hands trembling as they cling to the boxes.
The warriors, the knights, the paladins...
"Damn it, I can still eat more...!"
A warrior complains, his pockets stuffed with jerky.
It's a comical sight, but I understand his frustration.
I'm feeling the sa way.
'Why am I already hungry again?'
This damn body is a bottomless pit.
No matter how much I eat, it's never enough.
'Well, that's it for our feast.'
"Marone, set up another detection magic. We need to gauge their speed."
"Yes, sir!"
Marone sets up another detection magic, and we increase our pace.
It's not a drastic change.
We were power-walking before, now we're jogging at a slow marathon pace.
Seven minutes later.
"The detection magic has been triggered!"
The gap, which had been seven minutes, has shrunk to three.
"This is a problem."
The mages and ability users are already being carried by the stronger mbers.
There's only one option left.
Survival is about knowing what to sacrifice.
"We're ditching the heating stones. Everyone, throw away the backpacks with the heating stones. Keep your weapons and shields, but everything else goes."
"What?!"
I don't wait for their reactions.
I toss my heavy backpack over the cliff.
"Are you serious? We're throwing away the heating stones?"
"You were complaining about dying just a mont ago. Are you suddenly attached to them?"
"No, but..."
"Then throw them away. We can buy new ones when we get back. We'll have plenty of money from the loot."
"Ugh... To think we're throwing away equipnt while being chased by the enemy... You're insane."
The warriors grumble, but they follow my orders.
They reluctantly remove their backpacks and toss them over the edge.
And the result?
"Six minutes! The gap is back to six minutes!"
We've managed to maintain the six-minute gap.
They must be confused right now.
'What's going on? Why aren't we catching up?'
'I wonder what their faces will be like when they see us running naked.'
That thought brings a smile to my face.
Thump, thump.
We continue our uphill climb.
"...I never knew you could sleep while running."
"Just one minute... I'd give anything for one minute of sleep..."
Our speed is decreasing.
Days of nonstop marching, without proper rest or sleep, are taking their toll.
But...
"Six minutes... still six minutes..."
We've managed to maintain the six-minute gap.
They're getting tired too.
But then...
"Six minutes... no, five minutes...!"
The wall of six minutes has crumbled.
It's down to five minutes.
What happened?
Why are they suddenly faster?
"I-I used ntal trance to check... their numbers have decreased! There are only twelve of them now!"
So they gave up.
They abandoned their nurical advantage.
'Did they send the rest back after redistributing the food?'
That seems like the most likely scenario.
Those who were sent back will be hungry, but they'll be able to eat their fill once they reach the bottom.
'Twelve... that ans we outnumber them now.'
But...
'I'm not sure if we can win.'
We'll have to fight them eventually.
But not now.
"W-what should we do? They'll catch up to us soon!"
They gave up on one thing.
So we'll give up on another.
"Warriors, ditch your plate armor. Keep your shields and weapons, but everything else goes."
"What?!"
I don't waste ti explaining.
I remove my heavy breastplate and throw it over the cliff.
"Are you serious? We're throwing away our armor?"
"You were complaining about dying just a mont ago. Are you suddenly attached to it?"
"No, but..."
"Then throw it away. We can buy new ones when we get back. We'll have plenty of money from the loot."
"Ugh... To think we're throwing away equipnt while being chased by the enemy... You're insane."
The warriors grumble, but they follow my orders.
They reluctantly remove their armor and toss it over the edge.
And the result?
"Six minutes! The gap is back to six minutes!"
We've managed to maintain the six-minute gap.
They must be baffled.
'What's going on? Why aren't we catching up?'
'I wonder what their faces will be like when they see us running half-naked.'
That thought brings a smile to my face.
Thump, thump.
We continue our uphill climb.
"...I never knew you could sleep while running."
"Just one minute... I'd give anything for one minute of sleep..."
Our speed is slowing down.
Days of nonstop marching, without proper rest or sleep, are taking their toll.
But...
"Six minutes... still six minutes..."
We've managed to maintain the six-minute gap.
They're getting tired too.
But then...
"What's going on? The detection magic isn't activating..."
The detection magic, which had been triggering every six minutes, is silent.
Twenty minutes have passed, and still nothing.
Could they be using so thod to avoid the detection magic?
'No, they would have used it from the beginning if they could.'
Ten more minutes pass, and still nothing.
I reach a conclusion.
'They're at their limit.'
They've stopped to rest.
Which ans...
"Halt!"
We can rest too.
____________________________
"Everyone, rest! Sleep if you can! I'll wake you up when it's ti to move!"
My order is t with silence.
The exhausted mbers collapse to the ground, so falling asleep the mont they hit the ice.
"Aren't you going to rest, Mister?"
"I'll just look around for a bit."
"Sorry, I'd like to stay with you, but I can't hold on any longer..."
"Don't apologize. Go and get so rest."
"Okay..."
Erwen drags her weary body towards Alia and collapses beside her. They huddle together for warmth, falling asleep almost instantly.
Well, we don't have the heating stones anymore, so sharing body heat is the next best thing.
I chuckle, watching them sleep, and then I patrol the area.
Most of the mbers are either eating or sleeping, but one man is doing sothing different.
"Kaislan, what are you writing?"
"Ah! I was just recording what you said earlier, Schuitz... I an, Yandel."
"What I said...?"
Kaislan hands his notebook without a word.
[The most difficult tasks, I'll take care of them. The dirty work that no one wants to do, I'll do it. I'll be the first to face danger, and I'll be the one who gets hurt.]
[So... follow .]
[If you're going to die anyway, might as well die with !!]
Ugh, reading it like this makes cringe.
But I can't scold him for being diligent, especially since he's sacrificing his sleep to write this down.
"...You have a good mory."
"Well, it's not about mory. I'll probably never forget it."
He has strange hobbies.
I sigh, wondering why he's even writing this down.
"What are you going to do with it? It's not like it's going to be recorded in history."
"You never know."
"Huh?"
"This might beco a part of history."
He's obsessed with history.
I rember that he was always like this.
I pat his shoulder, hoping he lives long enough to see his dream co true.
"You'll have to survive first. If you want your record to be a part of history."
"Ah, right. We have to survive..."
"Get so rest. You can write it down later."
"Alright."
I leave Kaislan and head back towards my teammates.
As I'm walking, the female mage from Kaislan's team wakes up.
"Bjorn Yandel."
It's Bersil Gowland.
"Ah, did I wake you? Sorry—"
"No, I should be the one apologizing."
"...Huh?"
"I'm sorry for abandoning you back on the 1st floor."
She's bringing up sothing from years ago.
"You said you regretted it back at the banquet. You don't have to apologize again."
"I ant it. When I heard about what you did in the Crystal Cave, I felt so ashad and miserable."
"There's nothing to be ashad of. You were the leader, you had to make a decision. I would have done the sa."
I an it.
If I had been given the choice between fifteen escape tickets and being left behind, I would have chosen the forr without hesitation.
But Bersil doesn't agree.
"Don't joke. You wouldn't have done that."
She's giving too much credit.
I stare at her, speechless, and she smiles wryly.
"You're like the eye of the storm. No matter how strong the winds rage around you, you never get swept away."
She's using taphors now?
I'm a barbarian, I don't understand these things.
"It just... happened."
"...I guess I shouldn't have said anything. I didn't an to burden you. You were on your way to rest, weren't you? Sorry for taking up your ti."
"It's fine. You should get so rest too."
Our conversation ends, and Bersil goes back to sleep.
I lie down next to Erwen and Alia.
'The eye of the storm...'
It's a strange complint.
I'm more like a black hole.
My bad luck sucks everyone around into misfortune.
"Mister! Wake up!"
Erwen's voice jolts awake.
What? Already?
"Did the detection magic activate?"
"No, but..."
Then why did she wake up so urgently?
"What the hell! Why are there monsters here?!"
"Wait, these aren't the ones we saw before!"
"Skeletons... are there skeletons here too?"
I open my eyes and see a horde of monsters swarming towards us.
And they're not the ones we encountered on our way down.
"Yandel, do you know anything about this?"
Alia asks, her voice tense.
Know anything?
Of course, I do.
There's only one reason why monsters would respawn in a cleared area like this.
「The Glacier Witch, Kariadaea, has appeared in this area.」
'The boss monster... it spawned.'
We've hit the 10% jackpot.
'This damn ga...'
It's like the ga is telling us to just give up and die.
Why now, of all tis?
My vision blurs, and I sigh in despair.
But I quickly check the ti.
[00:12]
It's just past midnight.
Which ans...
We're one day away from the end of Ice Rock.
"Viscount Bjorn Yandel! The detection magic has been triggered!"
Marone shouts, her voice trembling.
They're back.
And so is...
"Heh heh heh..."
...my laughter.
My instincts are screaming.
Today is going to be a very, very long day.
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