I Noticed That It Was an Academy After 10 Years

193. Losing One’s Soul by Accident Means Death (9)

Surprisingly, the road to the summit was surprisingly smooth.

Maybe they’re doing it because they think I’m dead, but that’s not the case. I can only guess that it’s probably because they thought, ‘I’m a b*stard who will come back no matter what I do’ after I survived the Avalanche.

I made my way without hesitation and advanced towards the summit.

[Contractor, how long is left to reach the summit?]

“Not much time left.”

[I think I heard that yesterday too.]

That’s because yesterday I thought the same way as I do now.

It’s a strange feeling that you’re definitely getting closer to the top, but you can’t quite reach it. Is it because it is an extreme environment where the temperature feels like -40 degrees Celsius?

The summit is still a long way away.

“Human! If you go forward from here, your body will sink!”

I’m saying this as if I’m going to tell you something interesting, but that’s a crevasse. It is said that if you fall into it, you will fall off a cliff. Are you just saying that you are like a spirit and will never die?

I sighed and took out the shovel. If there is a crevasse, you will need to move more carefully from now on.

Actually, it would be wise to go back, but then you don’t know how long it will take. It is wise to reach the summit in the shortest possible distance.

Spending additional time in an environment where food could not be supplied separately meant accelerating the countdown to risking one’s life. The intuition I have built up over the past 10 years is sounding an alarm.

“Wendy. Do you know exactly where it is?”

“Uh…Over there?”

Where is it? I looked at Wendy, who took out her paw, her hidden in her tuft of fur and pointed in front of her, then turned her gaze back to the pure white snow field. She said it was my fault for asking Wendy.

I hit the ground with the shovel to steady it and put my right arm forward. He then activated the device worn on his right arm. With a hissing sound of cutting through the wind, the hook hit the ground about 10 meters away.

It feels like I’m getting stuck, so I guess it’s safe up there.

I moved to the spot where the hook was stuck and fired the hook forward again.

I think he did that about 8 times. Feeling different from before, I retrieved the hook, carefully approached, and stuck the shovel into the ground.

A shovel blade that goes in without any resistance.

Is this a crevasse?

On the outside, it doesn’t look much different from the road we’ve taken so far. But if you take a step, you will have bought a one-way ticket to the underworld.

I took a few steps back and used a skill.

“Production.”

It compacts snow and turns it into solid ice. It’s the same principle as when making an igloo.

The ice clumped together and a pillar about 3 meters tall stands tall in the middle of the snowy field.

As soon as I confirmed that the pillar was completed, I hit the root of the pillar with the blade of a shovel. The pillar with its broken roots fell forward and swept away all the snow nearby.

[Wow…If I had walked without knowing, I would have fallen.]

“It’s so deep!”

I gulped as I looked at the blue crack that seemed to be about 10 meters wide. It’s the perfect environment for anyone to become complacent even a little bit. Good thing I brought my equipment. I used the skill while looking at the crack on the other side.

“Production.”

Build a bridge The ingredients are ice and rock. The beginning is made of rock and the body is made of ice. There was nothing we could do since that was the only material available. I pointed the shovel at the transparent ice bridge.

Once, twice, three times, four times…

“This is pretty sturdy.”

It’s hard to see because it’s transparent, but if it’s this thick, there doesn’t seem to be a big problem if I cross it. Still, just in case…

“Production.”

Having strengthened my legs with nearby ice and rocks, I carefully held on to the railing and crossed the crevasse.

It took an hour to cross the crevasse like this.

Actually, this is also quite fast. It’s not like I can fly, and I’m not a spider person, so I can’t web swing with just a hook.

“Do all humans know how to do this?”

“Only I can do it.”

At least I can’t make a leg in one go with a single skill.

Anyway, now that I’ve crossed the bridge, let’s move again. I moved forward without hesitation. As I walked, carefully listening to Wendy’s warnings coming from next to me, night came again.

Unlike before, the road became steeper and the ground became harder. The summit is slowly approaching.

I dug out the slanted side with a shovel and created a tunnel. I didn’t forget to set up traps around the area. I haven’t seen any creatures other than Wendy on my way here, but you never know.

“I will sleep here.”

I said, looking at the dark sky. Time was running out, so there was no need to force yourself to go up.

[Let’s make a fire quickly! My tentacles are frozen and I can’t move!]

“Human! Let’s light a fire~”

“I don’t know how I survived that cold.”

“But the fire is warm and feels good~”

It was a tunnel with a high entrance, so I lit a fire near the entrance and sat leaning against the wall. Almost half-lying position. When I think the end is in sight, I feel like all the fatigue I’ve been holding in so far is coming all at once.

They say you shouldn’t relax at times like this, but my body had already become as heavy as wet cotton after coming this far.

I placed my body a little closer to the fire and lay down more comfortably, using my backpack as a pillow. I intentionally dug it wide so there was enough space for just me to lie down.

[Contractor, trying to sleep?]

“Okay. “Wake me up when the sun rises.”

[Good night. Contractor.]

—————-

[Contractor, wake up! The sun has risen!]

I don’t think I slept much…

I put Wendy, who was sleeping on top of me, down next to her and let her stretch her. Looking at the fire, it was burning brightly as if Lue had kept adding her oil.

“Hmm…”

Let’s eat first. I filled a pot with snow around the entrance and put it on the fire. As the snowball quickly melted and turned into a clear liquid, I threw all the appropriately chopped ingredients into the pot.

“Delicious smell…”

Are we slowly running out of ingredients?

Fortunately, things were soon back to normal, so there was no need to save much on food. I also brought emergency food with me in case of an emergency.

[What, what is it? Why are you looking at me like that?]

Since it’s a tentacle, it must taste like grilled octopus. I stared at Lue, who was looking outside at the tunnel entrance, then looked at Wendy, who was starting to whine.

“Human! What are you making?”

“It’s stew.”

“That’s hot food, right? Give it to me too!”

“Wait.”

I intentionally made it generously so Wendy had enough to eat. I took out her ladle and stirred it, then took out a bowl and poured Wendy’s share of the stew. It’s a hassle so I have to eat the whole pot.

“Delicious smell!”

“Eat slowly.”

…You don’t even listen to me. I ate my share of the stew with a spoon, watching Wendy as she hungrily devoured the stew like a puppy that had not been hungry for several days.

Moderately salty taste.

It’s shabby compared to the food sold in restaurants or the luxurious meals at Yeomyeonggwan, but it’s great enough to eat this much in this environment. With that in mind, I emptied the pot, turned off the fire, and cleaned up the place.

I’m not a person who cares about environmental pollution, but it was still better for my survival to leave no traces, so it was something I had to do.

“Wendy. Rue. Go straight to the top.”

[Wouldn’t it be nice to look down from the top?]

“Yes.”

“Human! Let’s go! “I’m going to show the red guy a lesson!”

“Even if it’s not for that purpose.”

Smiling and carrying my backpack, I got out of the tunnel and started climbing the steep slope.

—————

“Is this normal?”

In my experience, the sight of the summit, which took about a week to climb, was… What should I say, flat?

I thought it was a vertex, but it was actually shaped like a fairly wide pillar.

I sat quietly at the top and looked up at the phoenix looking down at me.

Burning flames instead of feathers.

Eyes overflowing with flame that seem to penetrate into the heart.

Even though it is a snow storm in the mountains, it is as warm as spring.

Shinsoo, with his overwhelming presence, looked at me with vague eyes and asked.

[Child of man, what brings you here?]

“I came to ask for a favor.”

[Contractor, his presence is enormous … But I sense a familiar energy.]

What does it mean?

Why is Wendy silent? When I glanced at her as she rolled her eyes, she was completely scared and was hiding behind me.

She confidently cried out for freedom, but it seems like this will only increase slavery, not freedom.

[Help…]

The phoenix turned its long neck and looked in the direction where the sun rose. The sun peeked its face out from above the clouds. The phoenix stayed like that for a while and suddenly turned its head to look at me.

[I have passed the ordeal, so if there is anything I can listen to, I will. What kind of favor have you come to ask?]

“I want help killing Harpas.”

[Harpas…La.]

The Phoenix repeated Harpas’ name a few times, and then he asked me a question in a curious voice.

[Why do you need my help to catch that crow?]

“To kill Harpas, we need the power of the Phoenix.”

The powers of Harpas and the Phoenix are extreme. To seal the power of Harpas, one had to either borrow the power of the Phoenix or receive protection to become immune.

[Sorry, I’m a human child. That must be difficult.]

“…You mean you can’t help me?”

Why?

[It is true that Harpas is my archenemy. But… I’m not in a good state to step forward now.]

… Somehow I got lucky.

“Status… You mean?”

Not another divine beast, but a phoenix that has crazy regenerative power and even infinite resurrection if it is defeated?

[Since we have come this far, I should at least tell you why.]

The phoenix slowly began to spread its wings. Huge wings that seemed to cover the seemingly wide top. I opened my eyes wide when I saw the body of the phoenix that was hidden in the meantime.

[As you can see, this is what happened.]

The only place among the flames that is not burning and is stained black. I inadvertently ended up asking about the wounds that were turning black as if they were eating away at my body.

“What happened to that injury?”