Chapter 48: The Unconquerable Mountain (1)

Jake has spent seven months in the tutorial now.

The tree falling off to the mountain's feet marked the beginning of his preparation toward climbing The Unconquerable Mountain that only the best of the best players had conquered.

The path was done.

Richard stood at the beginning of it, gazing at the straight line going across the tutorial forest to the mountain that less than one percent of players had climbed.

It was zenith, and the sun wasn't obscured by the clouds, so every drop of sunshine easily filled the road with warmth and blinding light.

The sunshine resting on the barks and leaves created a vista that no monster of the tutorial forest had seen before, filling them with caution. That said, fear prevailed in their hearts as Jake had impaled wooden poles on either side of his path on which the skulls of every boss he had defeated were perched.

The sun seemed to have been on his side as sunshine brimmed within the empty eyesockets of each monster boss, the light conveying Jake's prowess and might to the common monsters.

It was his testament of strength and that he had conquered everyone and everything here!

"So the end has come..." Richard whispered, his voice low as his heart was overwhelmed by the wave of emotions.

He was happy to have spent this much time with Jake and see his progress. Now that he looked back to his advice and guidance, Richard noticed that he could have helped him in many more ways while satisfying his own selfish goals.

Nonetheless, having Jake for seven months was more than he could have asked for.

A flicker of sadness crossed Richard's eyes as he would soon be forced to leave the island. Myriad of painful emotions was like a curtain that temporarily draped his face, twisting it in pain.

But as Jake entered his presence, Richard forced a smile and shifted his attention to him.

"All done?" he asked.

At last, he passed Edron's camp and reached the feet of The Unconquerable Mountain. It was already so stony and steep there that Jake was compelled to take out his climbing set before setting foot on the mountain.

Combining the equipment he had made from the wolves and bears, Jake crafted the most comfortable and warm set to survive the harsh winds and coldness of the mountain while having enough security and room for movement and mistakes.

His ropes were made from the sinew of three monster bosses.

Had it been a real life, such a concept would have been advised against. It was because every sinew was much different, and a combination of these three would have many vulnerable spots, increasing the chances of the rope breaking.

Richard, however, had given the green light to Jake's idea of crafting ropes from the bosses' tendons and passed him a scout-like skill to weave those three sinews together to achieve spotless balance and toughness.

Jake harnessed one of the ropes to the handle of his climbing set.

After watching a lot of climbing videos in real life, Jake also had crafted safety measures that he would install on his road up to the mountain's spire, which would keep him up in case he slid down or missed his target.

Although those measures were wooden, Jake was confident in impaling them in the mountain's crevices and hanging on them, for he had experienced how tough those trees of the tutorial forest could be!

Finally, he gripped the handle of his hook and stepped onto the stony road.

'I'll conquer you!' Jake shouted, his eyes shining with conviction.

Wearing a warm, thick helmet, he didn't even hear the pebbles crunching beneath his sole. Only his resolution and breath could be heard!

Jake's long ascent, therefore, began...

'I might miss my classes tomorrow...' Jake thought briefly before throwing those thoughts into the bin.

His classes weren't so important right now.