"An adventure?"
Aaron's brow furrowed downward, the words of the burly elder making him utterly confused.
"You heard me, boy. We're going on a little quest together before your final round starts!"
The silver-haired man pounded on his right chest, his orange eyes staring straight into the turquoise ones across from him.
There was a slight breeze that blew across the roof of the building the two stood on, a looming shadow in the sky blotting out the sun.
"Where would we adventure to?"
Aaron scratched his neck as the awkward tension increased between the two men, the sound of thunder in the distance booming loudly.
As Urude pondered the boy's question, he laughed quietly to himself before smiling widely and answering.
"To the mountains, of course!"
The blonde-haired boy blinked twice, then his jaw dropped as he instinctively turned his head to the left, the towering, colossal mountain range to his side not even a possibility.
"Y-you don't mean…"
Urude laughed, the loud drums of thunder at the coastline echoing through the cityscape like explosions.
"We're going to the peak of the Floriam Mountains!"
There was a pause from the blond-haired boy as he rubbed the bridge of his nose, the strain of the earlier meeting still weighing on him.
"Y-you're telling me that we are going to climb the second-tallest mountain range in the world within two days?"
Instead of speaking, the elder nodded fervently, the grin across his face expanding even wider than before.
Taking a step closer towards the challenger, he patted him gently on the shoulder while exhaling.
"Well, if we're going to go do it, then we'd better get going now! No time for gear or even food! I already have a bucket for pissing and some water for us, so we're good to go!"
Pointing loosely towards a large bag that Aaron could just barely see at the edge of the rooftop, Don Urude flashed a thumbs-up before walking behind the boy.
"W-why are we doing this again?"
The extremely perplexed boy stood stupefied as he awaited the answer to his question, the cool storm wind blowing in full force now.
"Hmm… Why are we doing this? Well, isn't it obvious?"
Slowly, the blond boy turned his head around and met the man's gaze one more time, his orange eyes flashing with a hint of greed.
"For the research, of course!"
…
According to history, there had never been a successful climb to the very top of the Floriam Mountains.
While a research team attempted the climb after the ascension of Cauron Thorn to the throne, they had never returned, nor had their bodies been recovered.
With a height of eight thousand meters and conditions that are a total mystery to adventurers, it was a place that was unconquerable.
While the Dendralis in the Sea of Souls overwhelmingly surpassed it in height at nearly sixteen thousand meters, humans had adapted to the conditions through ancient technologies.
Found within the Hanging City, within the center of the largest man-made cave in the world, tools that allowed breathing at intense altitudes were discovered, allowing mass production throughout all the seas for both climbing and diving.
Yet even after the same items were used in the Floriam range, malfunctions occurred due to the appearance of something that shouldn't exist on the island.
Abyssal Miasma was detected above four thousand meters, creating blockages in the breathing tubes while also draining the energy of the adventurers, leading to fatigue and eventual death.
While Blackport Ridge was close to the Abyss itself, it was certainly far enough to prevent the odd substance from affecting the inhabitants; however, oddly enough, the mountains had it.
And without further research, perhaps they would never know why it did, the mystery as old as the grooves in the cliffsides.
Cauron Thorn had sought for centuries to reach the top, yet the stars had never aligned in a way that proved necessary enough to warrant the time commitment.
However, upon the appearance of Nidhogg the Devourer, and the Descender of Madness in the year 3125, the supposed mystery would need to be solved, for the good of the people and the world itself.
Therefore, under direct order of the Marine Charter dating from 3100, which required a party numbering at least two to attempt the climb, Don Urude and Aaron Grimstall would ascend the cliffside of the tallest peak and reach the top at all costs.
…
Why do I have to carry this…
Strapped to Aaron's back was a massive pack with various research tools, bottles of water, a bucket, and even a change of clothing.
Urude had told the boy that the elderly were too frail to carry such weight and therefore had handed over the equipment without a second thought.
Of course, his argument was a complete lie, as attached to that man's back was a large stone claymore weighing over double the bag.
The two men had already ascended a decent degree through leaping upward using their enhanced strength, such as Aaron's false leg and Urude's subordinate contract with Thorn.
The path upward was still relatively clear and obstacle-free, with a nice gravel path swirling around in repeated switchbacks.
Yet even with the large road ahead, the unyielding and vicious storm tore away at their bodies, with winds of nearly two hundred kilometers per hour slamming against their forms.
The blond boy clung to the mountain by altering Ocean's Bane into a tiny dagger and then attaching it to his shoe.
At least she can't complain about it since she's been silenced…
Groaning internally as he watched a bright flash of lightning connect with the tip of Chrone Castle, he looked ahead to where the commander strode peacefully.
"How high are we now!?"
Shouting over the harsh conditions, the blond boy awaited the over one hundred-year-old man's response.
"You're already asking!?"
Noticing a smile across the orange-eyed man's face, Aaron already knew the answer was lower than he had thought, a sigh coming out of his lips as Urude replied.
"Only one thousand up!"
The cloud layer was close, the temperature and wind decreasing and increasing respectively as they climbed higher.
Taking a look to his right, Aaron's jaw dropped, the sight before him too wondrous to withhold.
"I-It's…"
Urude noticed the stoppage of his steps, his gaze turning around and following where the boy was staring.
"Ah."
With the rather recent invention of electricity by Cauron Thorn and the recent spread across the world, there had never been a city as bright as Blackport Ridge.
Yet even in the depths of a storm and in the dead of night, as the blond boy stared off the edge of the mountain, he witnessed a sight so beautiful that it surprised even him.
The entire island was illuminated by brilliant lights, whether they be the bright spotlights that pierced through the fog at Chrone Castle or the average home.
Even from dozens of kilometers away and during a thunderstorm, even the farthest reaches of Minearu Oasis appeared at the far tips of his vision.
Still awestruck, he slowly moved his right hand towards his temple, tapping it gently without much thought.
Blip!
His vision corroded as millions of threads overpowered his gaze, the veins that pumped mana throughout his body freezing instantly.
Yet, even through the agonizing pain of the ability, he couldn't bear looking away from the sight beyond beauty.
Red threads signify fiery and explosive mana, blue for tranquil and calm mana, and green for reserved and passive mana, and even more colors that defied anything that the boy knew.
Each meant something different and varied, the individual people responsible for each one eluding him yet showing him the vast world beyond his gaze.
Whether it be the vessels pulling in and out of the harbor, the ocean waves, or even the bridges that connected across the rivers, he witnessed it all.
The stunning imagery of the illuminated city was truly sublime.
"Take one good look. It might be the last one you ever take with us where we're going."
Urude's callus and dark words echoed in Aaron's ears, the true grandeur of what their relatively unimportant mission could mean for the thousands who lived below, wedging its way into his heart.
Not only that, but the sheer expansiveness of technology stunned the child, a future so wondrous that he could hardly imagine it springing into his mind.
This was what he was fighting to protect from whatever he could stop before his inevitable death to the Naelith's trap.
When he was dead and gone, all that would remain would be the lives he saved, those brought to ruin by his choices, forced to watch as their sinner collapses from old age at fifteen.
"Don't worry."
He turned towards the orange-eyed elder slowly.
"I'll see it again."