Chapter 207 - Back to the climbing Again (1/2)
Emery’s body was not as huge as Loren had imagined from the title ‘Ancient Dragon’, but she was still big enough that three people walking side by side wouldn’t step out of her shadow.
As Loren walked in Emery’s shadow, he thought about how rare an experience it was to walk under a dragon flying so slowly above that it felt like a joke. But at the same time, he also felt a sense of dread for some reason.
Emery was flying over their heads, but quite low, as she might not be able to fulfill her role as an umbrella if she was too far away. Loren wondered if there was anyone else who had been walking in such close proximity with the belly of an Ancient Dragon and still alive today.
They continued to climb and gradually gained altitude, but just as Emery had said, the higher they climbed, the more the sky was covered with thick clouds. And as the clouds increased, the frequency of lightning strikes also increased.
“So flashy.”
Lapis muttered in admiration as she watched the lightning strike a short distance away from where they were, shattering rocks and scattering debris.
Because of the frequency of lightning strikes in such close proximity, Loren’s ears were almost numbed by the loud noise, but he still somehow managed to pick up Lapis’ voice. He said while enduring the ringing in his ears.
“I’m not sure if it’s the kind of thing to be called ‘flashy’ or ‘plain’.”
Whether it was flashy or not, a hit could be fatal. Loren didn’t feel like admiring the lightning strikes like Lapis did at all, and concentrated only on climbing silently in Emery’s shadow.
“We can protect you from after-effects of a lightning strike and such, so why don’t you enjoy the scenery a little more?”
Gula said, but Loren didn’t feel reassured at all, because she sounded like a direct hit couldn’t be avoided or deflected.
“Lightning strikes happen in an instant. They’re too fast.”
“You can’t prevent a strike after you’ve seen it. Yet you can’t keep defensive magic deployed all the time either.”
There was a time limit for the use of magic. Once that time passed, the magic’s effect would disappear, and it would need to be re-deployed. But with no idea how long it would take to reach the top, it was impossible to keep deploying defensive magic.
“At this speed, we won’t reach the summit before sunrise.”
The three of us looked up at the voice from above. Emery, who had dexterously looked down while flying slowly, opened her mouth:
“IT’S IMPOSSIBLE AT THIS SPEED. YOU’LL HAVE TO SPEND ANOTHER NIGHT ON THE ROAD.”
“It’s that far?”
When Loren said in a disgusted tone, Emery turned her gaze toward the top of the mountain.
“IT’S TOO FAR AND YOU’RE TOO SLOW. AND IT’S GOING TO GET MUCH STEEPER.”
The mountain face that they were currently climbing on was quite steep, though not so steep that they had to crawl. The lightning that was striking here and there stopped them in their tracks, making their progress slow. From the point of view of the dragon, who could afford to ignore the inclination and the lightning strikes, the speed of movement was certainly too slow. But of course, it was the best they could do, so it was impossible to ask them to speed it up.
“One more night, under such circumstances?”
Lightning wouldn’t stop just because it was nighttime. Even if they could get Gula to dig another cave to sleep in, a direct hit from the lightning would collapse it in an instant. They would not be able to sleep comfortably.
On the other hand, continuing to move without sleep was also something they needed to avoid, considering the guard who may be waiting for them at the crater and the Dark Elf who may still return.
As Loren looked up at Emery flying above with a troubled expression, she turned her gaze down at them again, and their eyes met.
“Can’t you do something about this?”
“ISN’T THAT TOO VAGUE A REQUEST?”
Loren thought about it. This Ancient Dragon named Emery seemed to be willing to help them to some extent, but she also seemed to want to avoid actively helping. There was a high possibility that she would refuse their request for direct support.
If that was the case, Loren thought about what kind of request he should make an ask of Emery.
“Do you have any idea where we could spend the night?”
He asked, hoping that Emery, who had made this mountain her home, would know at least one place where they could spend the night in relative safety, even in the event of a lightning strike.
As it was a request for information and not for help, Emery seemed to consider it was alright to answer. Her reply was quick.
“THERE IS. DO YOU WANT ME TO LEAD YOU THERE?”
Loren nodded in earnest. It was hard to believe that they would be able to find such a place on their own, at least not in this situation; considering Emery’s knowledge was the most reliable information they had, there was nothing else to rely on.
“ALL RIGHT. DON’T STEP OUT OF MY SHADOW.”
As soon as she said that, Emery started to change course a little without changing her flying speed. Even though she was flying, her movements looked somewhat slippery, as if she was a fish swimming in water. The party headed towards the direction Emery was flying.