Chapter 135 Volume III - Chapter 56: Deadly Paths
Alex didn't seem convinced, even after I told him I could catch him, but there was nothing I could do.
There's no other way through here. And maybe this will help him face his fears a little.
"Come on, let's not waste time."
With that, even though Alex gave me a bit of a hard time, I somehow managed to get him to put on all the gear, and once I was ready, I walked slowly down the small road and turned back to Alex.
"I'll take the lead. Watch the steps I take, where I stick the pickaxe in my hand."
"O- okay..."
Alex kept his eyes on the cliff. Unlike his normal self, he was extremely preoccupied, he looked almost stupid, and I sighed at that. I turned around, took a step and then suddenly turned back to him and shouted.
"Boo!"
Alex suddenly jumped in place, shouted a little, albeit hoarsely, and looked at me in horror.
"Get a hold of yourself. If you step in there like that, you'll be at the bottom in less than two minutes. Have some confidence, take this as an opportunity to overcome your fear. And also trust me a little. I can help you, yes, but there are things even I can't do if you're this distracted."
Alex waited a moment, then put his hand to his chest and sighed, trying to comfort himself.
Did I exaggerate when I scared him?
"I'll try."
He lowered his hand from over his heart, took a deep breath, made sure not to look at the bottom of the cliff, and turned to me. I smiled back and turned back to the narrow road.
"Let's go..."
I put my foot with the spiked sole on the path, stabbed my pick hard into the thick layer of ice, and took another step. Like that, I started moving along the path as fast as I could, even if it was a bit slow, and as I took my third step, I heard a noise behind me. I turned my head to see Alex stabbing his pick into the ice and a smile appeared on my face again.
We still have a long way to go, but I don't think there will be much of a problem if we keep going like this.
The sound of the picks being driven into the ice echoed off the cliff, but it wasn't very loud, and so, just as I thought, we had no problems as we continued along the path for so long that after a while, I stopped counting.
And now we could see the other side of the cliff.
Both Alex and I were relieved when we could see the other side. The fact that there was a deep cliff a little bit behind our feet was a bit frightening, even though I'm not afraid of heights. That's why I was eager to get to the other side and we were getting pretty close, but just then... I paused involuntarily when a sound echoed in my ears.
~cr-
It was a sound I didn't want to hear.
~crack!
"Eh?"
I heard a sudden sound coming from behind me and the cracking sounds became more intense. I quickly turned around and saw cracks on the piece of the piece above the one Alex had stepped on.
"Quick! Step back!"
He couldn't come forward because I was in front of him, the only thing we could do was for him to go backward and for me to go forward, but everything happened so fast.
The cracks widened, and Alex swallowed, looking into my eyes. Then... he suddenly started to fall.
"Shit!"
I threw the pickaxe in one hand into the abyss and threw myself down. I used the spikes on the bottom of my shoe to anchor myself to the ice for a bit, and I drove the pickaxe in my other hand into the ice as hard as I could. Meanwhile, I held my other hand out toward Alex and mentally shouted to the Sith to use my mana to lift Alex up a bit.
A teal glow quickly enveloped Alex's falling body and sent him hurtling upward. I managed to grab a piece of his armor, but I couldn't catch him, it was slipping out of my hand.
"Take my hand, Alex!"
Alex couldn't even lift his eyes which were wide with fear and shock. He just stared at the bottom of the cliff.
Did he fucking pass out?
"Come on Alex, your armor is slipping... take my hand!"
I can't let go of him because my other hand is on the handle of the pickaxe. The only way out of here is for Alex to come to his senses.
"Come on, you idiot! Are you going to die here?! You want me to tell your mom you're dead or something?!"
Alex finally looked up after I said this and looked me in the eyes. Meanwhile, my hand was slipping even more.
"Come on now, you idiot! Sith, use more mana!"
'I'm trying!'
Again, a gust of wind supported Alex's body, but it was already a bit windy in the valley, so we were trying to create a countercurrent. This was not easy, so I could not lift Alex up, even though I could hold him in the air for a while.
Alex swallowed, closed his eyes, and grabbed my hand, dropping the pickaxe in his right hand onto the cliff below. At least he wasn't sliding down anymore.
"Good! I'll throw you up, use the pickaxe in your other hand and the nails on the bottom of your shoe to get back on track! I will also support you with my mana."
Alex nodded slightly and I asked Sith for help once more.
"Three..."
I waved the hand holding Alex back and forth slightly, needing to accelerate him as I threw him upward.
"Two... One!"
I felt a large part of my mana being sucked away. And my wind, which had so far struggled against the breeze in the valley itself, blew much stronger this time and threw Alex upward.
Alex quickly jumped up, managed to land on the road above me, and quickly drove his pickaxe into the wall, but his foot did not land firmly on the ground.
A few chunks of freezing and hard ice fell on my face, scratching my cheek and causing blood to ooze from it, but I didn't care. Alex's foot slipped, almost going over his back, and I wasn't sure if I could hold him this time. Fortunately, he managed to stabilize himself with the help of the pickaxe he had stuck in the wall.
So I could finally let out a sigh of relief.
"Just watch your step, I'll climb up and be right behind you."
Without answering me, Alex slowly made his way to the edge of the cliff. When the path above me opened up, I took a deep breath and stretched slightly, pulling myself upward with support from where I was holding my pickaxe. I quickly grabbed the edge of the path and then pulled myself up again. Soon I was back on the path and after stabilizing myself with my pickaxe, I turned my eyes to the cliff.
The bottom is still invisible even though the fog has cleared a bit, it's really deep.
I swallowed, just like Alex. Who knows what would have happened if I had fallen from there...?
I took my eyes off the cliff and looked at Alex. He was already across, looking at me.
I sighed slightly and made my way over to him, finally letting out another sigh of relief as I threw myself over the other side of the cliff.
"I hope you will act a little faster from now on instead of freezing, please remember that we are in a dungeon."
Alex did nothing but bow his head slightly. This boy who had been egotistical with me only an hour ago was now suddenly bowing his head.
Fear really does a lot of things to a person...
"Whatever… Put the pickaxe in your bag. Let's rest a bit and then move on. I don't think any creature is going to come near the cliff."
Alex stood still for only two or three seconds and then let himself drop to the ground. His breathing suddenly became rapid and irregular.
I knelt down next to him, took out a dimensional button from my bag, and handed him a piece of bread. Alex did nothing but stare at the bread I handed him.
"It has meat in it. It has to be hot, so you'd better eat it quickly. We won't stop for long. We still have a long way to go."
When I saw that he didn't take the bread I handed him, I sighed and handed it to him even more, shoving it in front of his eyes. So he took it but waited a little longer before eating it. I took out a piece of bread for myself, started to munch, and turned my face to the sky.
I hope we can get out of here without any problems... I have a bad feeling.
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