Chapter 96
Silver Fox’s Charms (3)
“Yap!”
Aro activated her sorcery with a confident attitude. A small fla appeared above the red talisman she had taken out.
The second shelter we barely reached was also a cave. Unlike the first shelter, we didn’t have enough firewood, so we planned to light a fire later.
“How is it.”
“Wow. That’s amazing.”
It was Aro who stepped in at that mont. Winter played along with Aro’s show-off. To , it was nothing more than a trick, but it was indeed helpful.
“As long as there’s mana, it keeps burning.”
“Ugh. It’s warm.”
I narrowed my eyes as I looked at Winter. The one who had been lively just a mont ago suddenly went limp.
“Are you sick?”
“Huh? N-no. I think I just relaxed since we’re at a shelter. I’m really tired.”
Winter replied with a faint smile. Aro, who had been sniffing beside her, tilted her head.
“Let’s eat dinner early and rest.”
For the exhausted Winter, I prepared dinner earlier than usual. I had originally planned to gather more firewood, but thanks to Aro’s sorcery, we had extra ti.
“If you’re tired, sleep first. I’ll wake you later for the night watch.”
“…Thank you.”
Winter looked apologetic but didn’t refuse. I thought she must be that tired, but then another possibility ca to mind.
“You’re not sick, are you?”
“She isn’t.”
As soon as Winter slipped into her sleeping bag and fell fast asleep, Aro quietly approached .
At my firm answer, she widened her eyes in surprise.
“They say that the closer you get to the holy ground, the more Divine Power disappears.”
“Divine Power?”
“Yes. The higher the altitude, the worse it gets. In the end, it completely vanishes.”
Aro’s expression turned uncertain. Divine Power was like mana for a mage. It was what made a priest a priest.
“Should I think of it as similar to a mage’s mana?”
“Yes. It’s almost the sa.”
“…And all of that disappears?”
Only then did Aro realize the seriousness of the situation. Winter had said that when she t Dike, it felt like all the blood in her body was draining out in an instant.
“I don’t think she can handle that.”
“Is that so?”
Aro showed her concern plainly. I looked at her with interest.
“To a mage, mana is sothing special. Losing it isn’t much different from death.”
“Hm.”
“And if it’s soone who’s lived as a mage for a long ti, even more so.”
Since I wasn’t familiar with magic, it didn’t fully sink in. And since she hadn’t been an Apostle for long, she might be fine.
“Tomorrow will be a forced march.”
“Hmm. Then I should make what we need.”
Still, safety ca first. I planned to climb as much as possible while we still had strength.
There was no telling what would happen with ti, and rest clearly wouldn’t help much. At my words, Aro took sothing out from her chest with a serious expression.
“…Where did you take that out from.”
“From my fur.”
Aro pulled out a red talisman with nothing written on it from within her fur.
It was much larger than an adult man’s palm, and I couldn’t help but wonder where it had been hidden. She even took out a brush.
“What is that.”
“Stamina recovery, morale boost, ntal reinforcent.”
“I see.”
This was what made sorcery good. Magic created a single spell through a fixed process, which made it difficult to increase the number of spells.
But sorcery had no fixed process, allowing countless combinations, making it easy to create various spells on the spot.
“It’s not a huge effect, but you’ll feel it if you have it. I specialize in curses.”
The downside was that its power was significantly weaker, but its versatility was excellent. It was enough to compensate for Winter, who hadn’t properly learned Divine Magic yet.
“I’ll use it gratefully.”
“It’s nothing. Don’t worry about it.”
After making two talismans, Aro giggled and returned to Winter’s side. I kept my gaze fixed on her.
The forced march continued. As soon as we woke up, we ate a hearty breakfast unlike usual and quickly climbed the snowy mountain.
With the talisman Aro personally made attached to my body, I pushed forward with heavy steps.
“If you can’t go on, say so.”
“…Ugh. Okay.”
I found myself turning back more often. It was very different from yesterday, when everything felt vivid after gaining Aro’s passive skill.
Winter gritted her teeth as she listened to the sound of the Silent Bell hanging from her backpack.
“It’s worse than I thought.”
Aro looked at Winter with pity. It wasn’t easy for that small and fragile body to endure such a forced march.
Even so, seeing her determination to move forward on her own, Aro couldn’t say anything. The abnormality affecting Winter was sothing I was experiencing as well.
“It feels like my body is being cut away.”
“…That bad?”
Not only Winter, but I also possessed Divine Power. And mine was of a much denser concentration. Two hours after leaving the second shelter, I had dropped to my knees.
It was because of the sense of loss, as if a part of my body had been taken away. The emptiness seeping into that gap made my mind spin. But thanks to the ringing of the Silent Bell, I quickly recovered.
“Damn weather.”
Now even the weather wasn’t on our side. The fierce snowstorm, where you couldn’t properly see even two ters ahead, swallowed even human voices.
“A… arm.”
At the faint voice from behind, I quickly turned my head. Winter’s hand, clutching her shoulder, was trembling violently.
She collapsed to the ground, repeatedly muttering the word “arm” as she fumbled around her shoulder.
-Ding.
Only after the Silent Bell rang once did she regain her senses.
“I-I’m fine.”
Realizing that I was looking at her, Winter got back up. At her insistence that she was fine, I turned around and continued walking.
“Isn’t that… a bit cold of you?”
“I may be cold. But I won’t impose kindness on soone who insists on moving forward on their own.”
At Aro’s cautious remark, I answered firmly. A pilgrimage to the holy ground was, in itself, a process of evolving as a human being.
I was quite willing to go through this process. Helping her after she gave up would be more than enough.
“You’re holding up well, junior? I an, I don’t even have Divine Power.”
“I can manage.”
Of course, the support from the Silent Bell helped trendously. But even the sense of loss beca bearable once I got used to it.
“After all, my limbs are still attached. It’s no different from hallucination.”
“Your faith is remarkable.”
I was certain. This only felt real—it wasn’t as if my body was actually disappearing.
The knowledge I had accumulated from playing gas in the modern world gave certainty and conviction. I felt no fear from the fleeting sense of loss.
“Is this the right path?”
“Perfect. We passed the third shelter 15 minutes ago.”
Aro’s role had also grown more important. Previously just lounging in my jumper, she had been moved by Winter’s determination to keep stepping forward while gritting her teeth.
So she personally stepped up to guide us. Even in a snowstorm where we couldn’t see an inch ahead, she navigated using a compass and a map.
“In the mountains! Finding your way! Is a piece of cake!”
In case I might lose consciousness, Aro kept talking to both and Winter.
Because of the snowstorm, it was hard to hear, so whenever she spoke to Winter, she practically had to shout.
“…Wow. Mountains.”
“Yeah! The Far East is 70% mountains!”
As I silently listened to Aro’s explanation, I suddenly stopped. Then I slowly turned my head back.
“…You did well. That was impressive.”
Unable to endure the physical exhaustion and the ntal pain caused by the sense of loss, Winter collapsed.
It wasn’t just dropping to her knees—she fell completely forward. Though her tone had softened, Aro still praised her in a voice full of admiration.
“Yeah. We’re almost there now.”
I slowly approached Winter. Her face, which she hadn’t been able to properly wash, was full of tear stains. Since it was cold enough for tears to freeze, I quickly wiped them away.
After roughly checking for any injuries, I lifted Winter up. Using a rope taken from her backpack, I tied her to my body.
“It might feel a bit uncomfortable.”
“It’s fine. I won’t complain.”
The backpack on my back was large and blocked my view. In the end, I had to tie Winter in a position where I carried her in front of .
Since I had to secure her tightly so she wouldn’t shake, I asked Aro for understanding. Aro told not to worry and helped, even if only a little, in tying Winter.
“How much farther is it?”
“Roughly… two to three hours.”
Including the backpack, it was about 60 kilograms. The climb, which had felt light before, now turned heavy.
But the Adaptive Body I received from Anaye handled that weight with ease. The holy ground wasn’t far.
“Please just ring the bell. I’ll conserve my words. Breathing is difficult.”
“Alright. But I’ll keep talking. You don’t have to respond.”
The wind that had been blowing from the side began to blow from the front at so point. It felt like it was pushing back those trying to ascend.
At the sa ti, whenever I opened my mouth, snow would blow in, which was irritating. As Aro responded to my words, she placed her hand over my heart through my jumper.
“You know your sweat slls like the sea?”
Because Winter was being carried in front of , Aro, who had completely hidden herself inside my jumper, kept talking.
At her unexpected comnt about the sll of sweat, I let out a quiet chuckle without thinking.
“It’s true. The Far East is surrounded by the sea on three sides. I know a lot about the sea. It’s not an unpleasant sweat sll—it’s more like the salty scent of water you’d feel by the shore.”
In the lines I had seen from Aro in the ga, the word “sll” appeared often. There were also descriptions suggesting she had a keen sense of sll.
Since it was coming from soone like her, I figured it must be true. Thinking about it, ever since I obtained the Adaptive Body, I hadn’t really sweated much either.
“To be honest, I was trying to use you. I like good-looking people, but I’m not this easy. When I first t you, you had an interesting scent.”
I couldn’t respond due to the fierce snowstorm, but it piqued my interest.
It was honestly hard to understand her suddenly revealing her true intentions, but there was no harm in listening.
“Do you know the divine beast called Qilin? In the Far East, there are many divine beasts and spiritual creatures, and among them is one called Qilin. In the records, it’s said to have the body of a deer and the scales of a snake, and that it flies through the sky and scatters lightning.”
In [Difficult Dungeon], there was only one scenario related to the Far East, and even that could only be accessed through a character episode.
Even if Aro was chosen as the heroine, you couldn’t hear stories about the Far East. Because of that, information about the Far East was relatively scarce.
“And that Qilin’s scent… you have it too. The sll of water and the purest lightning. Right now, my family is in need of a divine beast, so I thought you might be helpful.”
I continued walking without responding. Perhaps feeling awkward after saying all that, Aro let out a small cough and slightly poked her head out.
“We’re on the right path. If we keep going like this, we’ll arrive soon.”
After confirming we were heading the right way, Aro checked Winter’s condition. Her breathing was rough, but she was definitely still breathing.
Her complexion wasn’t pale either, so it didn’t seem like a dangerous situation. After confirming her safety, we walked for quite a while longer.
“Is there a sorcery to wake soone up?”
“Hm? Yeah, there’s sothing similar. Why? Are you going to wake her?”
About an hour had passed. I asked just in case. Aro said it was possible and asked if I wanted to wake Winter.
“Yes. Please.”
“Alright.”
I set Winter down. Aro kept shaking the Silent Bell while taking out a talisman from inside her clothes and attaching it to Winter’s forehead.
Then she lightly tapped Winter’s cheek, careful not to hurt her.
“Ugh…”
Winter let out a small groan and slowly opened her eyes. The tears she hadn’t been able to wipe away had frozen, making it difficult to open them.
“S-Senior.”
“Get up. We’re almost there.”
I helped Winter to her feet and pointed in one direction. In the world filled with pure white snow, there was a place where a soft yellow light gathered.
“…That place…”
After walking for about 10 minutes, the snowstorm disappeared as if by magic. At the sa ti, our vision beca clear.
Winter, whom I had practically been carrying the whole way, wore a deeply moved expression.
“The Sanctuary. Or the holy ground.”
Two unusually sharp peaks rose high. Between those towering summits that touched the clouds, a city floated in the air.
The clouds that had densely filled the sky to bring snow were absent above that city. Through a circular opening in the clouds, warm sunlight poured down.
“…It’s beautiful.”
“You did well.”
Collapsing to the ground, Winter took in the awe-inspiring sight of the holy ground and let out the tears she had been holding back.
Aro, who had slipped out of my arms at so point, approached Winter and patted her thigh, telling her she had done well.
“We’ve arrived.”
And just like that, we reached the end of the sacred mountain range—the holy ground.
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