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Traveling up the mountains was much harder than I originally anticipated and I expected it to be bad.

Thankfully I had Miss Smith there to keep me alive otherwise I\'d long be a digested predator\'s shit.

Along the way, we came across an assortment of dangerous wild animals and even some monsters.

I felt confident in myself when we first started our adventure.

I managed to take out a mountain lion, fend off some crazy birds, and avoid getting bitten by poisonous snakes.

But the strength of the creatures quickly increased the higher we rose.

In a way, it felt like a game where each level would get harder after one passes the last.

Right now we were on one of the final levels nearing the apex of the mountain.

Currently, I was crouched down behind a tree trying to hide my presence to the best of my ability.

I was really beginning to like the idea of getting an invisibility gift but my thoughts were hindered when a large explosion occurred on the other side of the tree.

Hearing crackling sounds I looked up and all the color in my face drowned.

Rising to my feet I began running as fast as I could.

All the while, the snapping and breaking sounds were getting louder.

Off in the distance, more explosions shook the land, and I was incredibly thankful that it wasn\'t cold enough for snow to form.

Dealing with an avalanche wasn\'t something I wanted to experience.

However, I didn\'t have time to imagine fake scenarios when a literal tree was about to crash down on me.

Finally giving in the tree crackled for the last time before splitting at the base and aiming to fall directly on me.

Knowing better than to try to outrun the tree I turned away from the angle that it was falling in an attempt to dodge.

Seeing a shadow cast down over me my heart skipped a beat but I managed to get out of the way just in the nick of time.

Although I escaped the brunt of the impact, I didn\'t get away scot-free. The tree bounced on the ground making it shake and create a cloud of dust and debris.

Multiple branches also cut into my skin as I wasn\'t able to fully avoid them.

Groaning, I picked myself up and struggled to get free from the weight of the branches laying on top of me.

When I finally got out covered in scrapes and scratches I looked back at the enormous tree that lay beside me.

\'Why is it that every time I almost die it results in me getting turned into a pancake?\'

Alive but not well I looked around to see if Miss Smith was still busy.

That\'s when another large explosion occurred right in front of me sending dirt, dust, and small rocks right at me.

Unable to dodge, I gritted my teeth and called upon Aether to swarm around me.

When the shrapnel came into contact with the Aether, it was immediately broken down and dissolved into nothingness.

With the confrontation finally over, I canceled the Aether and waited for the dust to clear.

When it did, I saw a remarkable scene of a bloodied Miss Smith standing tall over a wolf.

The wolf was very much dead as its head was crushed under the force of Miss Smith\'s foot.

However, she wasn\'t without her own injuries.

​ The two of us matched as our clothing was disheveled, torn, and ripped to pieces while blood streamed down from small cuts.

Overall we weren\'t in a bad situation, but the wounds were adding up.

From each battle with a monster, numerous small cuts appeared and hampered both Miss Smith\'s and my prowess.

Looking up I could only smirk as the tip of the mountain finally became visible.

"Shall we keep going?"

Miss Smith nodded while wiping away the blood on the grass.

"Let\'s go."

*

Defeating many more beasts and multiple more monsters that grew in strength the two of us made it to the tree line.

Seeing the open space ahead Miss Smith and I decided to take a short break before we left the cover of the trees.

Sitting down in an open clearing, I made sure to stay as far away as possible from any of the trees… just in case.

Miss Smith, however, slid down one of the trees and rested her back against it trying her best to catch her breath.

Since we were so high up it was common for the two of us to be short on breath.

The little amount of oxygen was proving to be a huge problem.

It was harder for the two of us since we weren\'t used to the terrain yet the monsters who had lived on the mountain for years were in perfect condition.

It also didn\'t help that Miss Smith was struggling more than she should have been.

I thought that being a high ranker she wouldn\'t have much of a problem and although that was true when it came to battling she was having trouble breathing.

Apparently, it didn\'t matter how strong one became physically or mentally they were still human and couldn\'t survive without oxygen.

I on the other hand was fairing decently well compared to Miss Smith.

I had a slight advantage because Mana Breath constantly refueled my body.

However, the technique was much harder to pull off. Since it has a set breathing pattern it doesn\'t matter how much oxygen I breathe in so long as I fulfill the requirements.

This would be a good thing because it is harder to breathe but the problem was that there was so little oxygen that the short breaths were more wasteful than beneficial.

That meant I would have to suck in twice as hard to first meet the timing of the skill and second to actually be able to breathe after doing so.

That threw off my timing a couple of times, but I was still grateful, nonetheless.

The real problem was all the running we had to do. It was already hard enough to keep Mana Breath active but throwing in trying to survive the dangers of the mountain, things became much harder.

Overall Miss Smith and I were equally tired.

Looking over at her breathing heavily I looked up the mountain.

\'We\'re so close.\'

But just as I was thinking that a loud screeching sound reverberated across the rocky lands and a dark shadow appeared above us blocking out the sun.