#637: Monster of the Mountain

Equipment needed for hiking.

• Rain gear

Weather is erratic in the mountains, so preparing for bad weather is essential. Moreover, the wind is strong there, so an umbrella would be useless.

If there’s one thing you need, it’s a decent raincoat. Batemy made us high-quality raincoats out of the skin of an aquatic monster.

• Shoes

The mountain paths are rugged and rocky in places, so thick-soled, durable shoes are necessary.

There is a special category of shoes called hiking boots, and I prepared accordingly by getting ourselves a pair of sturdy shoes.

We’ve been asking Batemy to make clothes as her creativity desired, but her weak spot is not showing much interest in shoes. Further research in this area is required.

• Clothes

It gets chilly in the mountains, so we must keep our bodies cool.

So, I took all the measures we could and prepared a change of clothes just in case.

To keep my body cool, I wear adamantine silk underwear, which dries as quickly and keeps the sweat from accumulating on the body.

It provides good defense and has high warm retention properties, yet it also dries quickly, you know?

• Night Equipment

Tents and sleeping bags for overnight stays in the mountains, lamps and fire starters, etc.

Although Golden Bat said we wouldn’t spend the night in the mountains, unforeseen circumstances can still occur.

So, in order to be prepared for any situation, I prepared suitable equipment to stay overnight in the mountains, albeit hastily.

I made a tent because we have nothing that looks like one. The flysheet is made out of adamantine silk, which gives the tent fortress-like defensive strength even on a small scale. The poles supporting the tent are made of mana metal, which further increases the tent’s durability.

The sleeping bags are also made of adamantine silk and stuffed with as much cotton as possible. The lamp is not a common torch but a flashlight with an embedded magic stone that emits a powerful light.

The luminous intensity is comparable to that of an LED, and its brightness is incomparable to a fire!

• Food

This is also prepared for emergencies.

In addition to the bento lunch for Junior and me, I also prepared emergency block-type portable food and nutritious chocolates.

I also brought more water than needed. The magic flask can hold more water than its original capacity. I measured the maximum capacity and found it to be about 4,500 liters.

Even so, it doesn’t feel heavy at all. Magic flasks are amazing.

I also prepared salt crackers for sodium intake.

Aside from these, I also prepared a sunshade, a compass to tell our direction, and a garbage bag so we wouldn’t leave any trash on the mountain.

And above all, a towel to wipe sweat.

I prepared everything in detail.

Coming from the modern world, I know how scary mountains can be, so I know what to prepare.

We have no blind spots! Come at us, mountain! 

“It’s a little chilly. I’ll use my dragon magic to adjust the temperature so Junior doesn’t catch a cold.”

Veil alone effortlessly covered all the precautions I took.

* * *

And so we challenged Mt. Eternity in high spirits, but...

“I feel like dying... Eugh, I’m throwing up...!”

Two hours had passed since we started climbing, and I was already feeling groggy.

“What’s wrong? We’re just starting!” harangues Golden Bat, leading the group enthusiastically.

He looks fine, but I’m dying here.

Climbing is so hard.

I thought I had confidence in my stamina after all the farm work and frequent visits to Veil’s mountain...

But to think I’m quickly getting tired!

“You’re carrying way too much stuff, Master. No wonder you’re already tired.”

“That’s the cause?!”

I didn’t realize my preparations would be a detriment!

“Not to mention, you’re carrying Junior too. Of course you’ll easily get exhausted. Give him to me!”

“But...!”

Veil and I take turns carrying Junior, but I just got him from her!

If I return him to Veil, I’ll lose my dignity as a father!

“Daddy, I can walk.”

“Don’t worry about me, Junior! Daddy will take you there with finesse!”

Junior is already a considerate toddler at this point in his life!

“It’s unfair, you’re pampering Junior alone. This feeble cat wants to be carried too, meow.”

“Shut up, monster cat! I’m sure you can make it to the summit on your own just fine!”

“Don’t underestimate a cat’s pace, meow,” he says, despite magically levitating and grooming himself as he goes. 

It’s like he’s the only one taking it easy, as if he’s on a bus headed to the summit!

“Ugh, each one of you belittles the mountains...!”

Among us, Golden Bat is the only one who stoically climbs the mountain step by step.

He’s the only true mountaineer. 

“I’m feeling supreme bliss right now, taking every step on the face of Mt. Eternity that I’ve dreamed of for so long...! Don’t ruin this happiness with your nonsense! Let me have my solitary, quiet, and rich mountaineering!”

“Solitary climbing?”

Enthusiasts sure are quick to immerse themselves.

But it’s admiring how he likes mountain climbing. After all, he can enjoy something I find excruciatingly exhausting.

To me, it’s just the same scenery that goes on and on and on, but I wonder if he sees it as something glorious and beguiling.

“It’s the exact scenery everywhere I look.”

“So you do see it the same way I do.”

I thought so.

No matter how much you like something, there’s a limit to how much pleasure you can see in pain.

“No, you were expecting the same scenery anyway, weren’t you?”

“Huh?”

“But I’m different. I’m saying it’s the exact same scenery.”

Not a similar scenery, but...

Exactly the same?

“What do you mean?”

“It’s like we’ve been going around in circles for a while now. Must be one of the traps set by the dungeon guardian. It’s a non-lethal beginner’s trap, though.”

Hold on a second!

If we’ve been going around in circles, does that mean all that distance I climbed while heaving and groaning was for nothing?!

That’s the most shocking part to me!

“But I’ve encountered this kind of trap so often that I should be able to recognize and avoid it even before I step into it. And yet, I walked all this time without ever noticing, even before I got stuck in this loop...!”

The S-class adventurer is shocked that even he was deceived.

“Obviously. If you remind yourself where you are, you should be able to tell who’s behind this magic trap, meow.”

“It can’t be...!”

The Professor is still busy grooming himself.

He’s the only person (cat?) who has it easy.

“In the first place, this is not a magic trap set by some ordinary Lifeless King. It’s a much higher level of spatio-temporal magic...the Adepti Arts, the Stone Sentinel Maze. It’s not surprising that you didn’t notice it. I’m actually impressed you even noticed it, although it took some time, meow.”

“Ngh...!”

Golden Bat winces at the Professor’s manner of speaking as if he were praising a child.

This part of the world is where even the best human beings feel helpless, like a baby whose candy was taken away.

“Daddy, daddy.”

“Hm? What is it, Junior?”

Do you need to pee?

Are you hungry?

“There’s someone over there.”

“Huh?”

Junior points up. But there’s nothing but the sky.

One would think there could only be birds in such a space, but there was a black shadow tainting the blue sky.

It was indeed floating in one place.

No bird could fly like that.

If I were to describe it, it’s like a drone...!

“What’s that? Is that the one who set this trap? Pranksters will be punished...!”

“Ah, Veil...!”

Before I could even stop Veil, she transformed into her dragon form and breathed fire toward the shadow in the sky.

I’d say that’s one way to punish troublemakers...

The shadow in the sky takes the wave of raging flames that could’ve consumed an entire city in an instant head-on, not flinching for a second.

It came out unharmed.

Even after the breath of flame subsided, it remained floating in the sky like the shadowy figure that it was.

“Huh?! How is it still in one piece even after being exposed to my breath?”

“Maybe it defended itself with magic? I didn’t notice it do such a thing, though...!”

The Professor yawns next to our bewildered faces.

“That’s one of the secrets of an Adeptus—Calm & Composed. To rule over disturbance with serenity. Thus, any incoming attacks are void against his calm stillness, meow.”

What is that?

Like using no way as a way and having no limitation as limitation?!

“Belphgamilia, his disciple, can use a similar technique, but only the master can execute it with this level of perfection. His flawless stillness has complete control, even over molecular-level changes caused by flames. It transforms into an immortal body and can only be mastered after thousands of years of training, meow.”

“Then, is he...?!”

That being floating in the air like a piece of cloth is...!

One of the Three Wise Kings...

The Lifeless King Sage.

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no way as a way and no limitation as a limition-bruce lee reference

also i specifically found 'calm &composed (靜為躁君)' in part 26 of lao zi's tao te ching/dao de jing