Free Web NovelChapter 212: The Climb
"Damn it!" Lucas cursed, seeing the Spatial Tear close just as they were getting close to it.
It had already been 5 minutes, and everyone in their group was now panting audibly from all the sprinting they had been doing.
The only exception was Christina, who thanks to her significantly higher cultivation, was fairing somewhat better. She was still breathing a bit heavier, but her stamina wasn’t drained just yet.
"That was the fourth one," Tina steadied herself, her brow furrowing up slightly as she asked, "How close were we this time?"
Frowning, Lucas muttered under his breath, "About 25 metres."
Pursing her lips, Tina did her best to remain calm. According to Lucas, they still had another 5 minutes or so before they were trapped here permanently, but after failing to reach several Spatial Tears already, she was beginning to worry.
This place, wherever it was, was idyllic in many ways, with a warm climate, abundant vegetation, clean air, rich World Qi, and only a few weak Wild Beasts, but something about it just seemed... off, to Christina.
The longer they remained here, the more her instincts were screaming at her that they needed to escape.
It was all extremely unnerving, but Tina knew bringing up her concerns now would only distract Lucas, and he had enough on his mind right now to worry about without her piling on.
.....
Closing his eyes, Lucas scanned their surroundings again, looking for the next Spatial Tear.
Over the past 5 minutes or so, they had raced through the jungle, over a small brook, doubled back towards the beach, then dashed back into the thicket in a criss-crossing zig-zag.
Along the way, Eris had done her best to explain to Rebecca’s group what they were looking for, but unfortunately, Lucas remained the only one capable of seeing or even sensing the Spatial Tears, meaning all their lives were literally in his hands right now.
Everyone stood there nervously, waiting for Lucas’ next instruction.
A moment later, the boy opened his eyes and glanced upwards to his left, a look of hesitation appearing on his face.
Seeing this, Eris couldn’t help asking, "What is it? Is something wrong?"
Shaking his head, Lucas replied, "There’s a Spatial Tear over there, and it seems more stable than the others, but..."
When everyone turned to look in the direction Lucas was pointing, they immediately understood why he was hesitating.
The place Lucas was indicating wasn’t too far, just about 400 metres away, but it was also some 30 metres straight up a cliff-face.
If they wanted to reach that tear, they would have to climb, which would be both time consuming and dangerous.
Then there was the risk that the Spatial Tear would simply close before they reached it. If that happened before they started climbing, then so be it, but if it happened while they were climbing...
"Is there no other... tear, is it? Nearby?" One of the youths from Rebecca’s group asked, clearly nervous about trying to scale such a high cliff.
Unfortunately for him, and everyone else, Lucas shook his head, "There are fewer and fewer Spatial Tears now, this is the only one I can sense nearby."
"But..." Lucas was still hesitating, not because he was afraid of climbing the cliff, but because there was one person in their group he knew would have an incredibly difficult time doing so.
Unconsciously glancing towards his big sister’s missing right arm, Lucas was about to reject this Spatial Tear and try his luck looking for another when he felt a hand grab his shoulder tight, "Don’t worry about her. I’ll carry her up."
Turning to his right, Lucas stared deeply into Christina’s vibrant purple eyes and asked, "Are you sure you can handle it?"
"Hmph," the princess snorted, "Don’t underestimate me. I’ll have Sister Eris up that cliff before you even reach the half-way mark."
Silence fell over the pair for a second or two before Lucas nodded, "Good, let’s do it."
With that said, Lucas took off running again, leading his small group of 8 humans and one fox kit over towards the cliff. Along the way, he pointed towards a nearby grove and shouted, "Tina! Grab those!"
Glancing over, Christina quickly understood what Lucas was thinking and darted to the right, slashing at some of the creeping vines that were hanging from the nearby trees, harvesting enough to fashion a makeshift rope.
Tugging on it hard and seeing it strain but not snap, Christina wasn’t sure how good a tether these vines would make, but they were better than nothing, so she grabbed as much as she could.
.....
Arriving at the base of the cliff, Lucas began intensely scanning it with his Soul Sense while looking for a viable line to scale it. Fortunately, the face of this cliff was quite rugged, so there was no lack of places that could be used as footholds.
By the time Lucas was done mapping out a route, Christina had returned with the vines.
Grabbing the makeshift rope, Lucas lined everyone up then began looping it around them all.
He originally thought about having each person tie themselves, but seeing the confused looks on their faces when he mentioned it, he decided it would be faster to just do it himself.
Now, whether this vine-rope would be strong enough to actually support a person’s weight if they slipped and fell...
In any case, Lucas had to work with what he had available. It wasn’t the best plan, it was just the only plan, so that’s what he went with.
30 seconds later, the ropes were secure, with Eris additionally tied to Christina’s back.
Confirming the Spatial Tear was still up above them, Lucas took Yuki from Eris, wrapped her around his neck, told her to hold on tight, then began climbing.
Rebecca followed right after, then Christina, carrying Eris on her back.
From the way Tina’s muscles tensed, and the look of strain on her face, it was obvious she wasn’t having as easy a time as she claimed she would, but with her Sea Establishment Realm strength, she was still keeping up with Lucas’ climbing speed.
The last 4 of their group followed after, each of them ascending along the same exactly line as Lucas, grabbing where he grabbed, stepping where he stepped.
Despite choosing this particular path because he determined it would be the easiest to scale, Lucas was again realizing that just because something seemed simple in his head, didn’t mean it was simple in reality.
Some of the rocks were sharp and cut into his palms, while others were slippery and difficult to hang onto.
Still, knowing that this was do-or-die, Lucas didn’t dare to slow down.
About half-way up, Lucas’ foot slipped and he got a nasty cut on his shin, but there was no way for him to stop now, so he ignored the sharp pain and steadied himself once more, hauling himself upwards towards his goal as he shouted back down, "Watch out for that step! It’s slippery!"
Feeling a few drops of hot liquid land on her face, Rebecca immediately looked up and was shocked to see her boss was injured, but she somehow managed to choke down her concerns. If Lucas insisted on pressing on, she wasn’t going to make a fuss.
The others in the group also encountered small problems along the way, despite following exactly in Lucas’ path. Some of them missed footholds, or broke off pieces of rock, gaining many cuts and scrapes, but through it all, miraculously, none of them fell.
Time seemed to pass extremely slowly, but also race by as the 8 youths made the dangerous climb, but through grit and perseverance, or perhaps just pure luck, Lucas reached the top of the cliff just 3 minutes after they had initially set off running.
Standing firm on solid ground again, Lucas didn’t rest for an instant, turning back as he pulled hard on the vine rope to help pull the next climber up.
As more and more of the group summited and began pulling on the rope, the burden on the remaining climbers eased, and a minute later, all 8 youths stood atop the cliff, where a spectacular view of the sunset over the ocean greeted them.
It was a magnificent sight to behold, but one they didn’t have time to appreciate as the Spatial Tear was beginning to close.
"Over here!" Lucas shouted as he darted towards the shrinking portal. He knew it would lead them back to somewhere around Redwood Town, but he didn’t know exactly where. It could be right in the middle of the Town Square, or it could send them a dozen kilometres deep into the Great Western Forest. free𝑤ebnovel.com
Regardless, this was their only choice and only chance, so they all ran for it.
Reaching the entrance to the Spatial Tear, Lucas peered through it with his Soul Sense and was delighted to see the familiar sight of the road leading to the town bathhouse.
Thanking the Heavens for finally blessing them with some good luck, Lucas ordered out, "Inside! Now!"
Waving the others over, Lucas made sure everyone else got through before he did. This wasn’t because he was feeling selfless in the moment, but simply because this was the only way to ensure they all got through.
Lucas was the only one who could see the portal, so if the Spatial Tear suddenly shifted after he passed through it, no one else would be able to find it again. He had to go last to make sure that didn’t happen.
Rebecca’s entire group, as well as Eris, all leapt through the Spatial Tear and landed safely on the other side, something Lucas confirmed with his Soul Sense, but just as Christina was about to enter the now less than 10 metres wide portal, an ominous pressure suddenly swept over her, causing her to freeze in place.
Whipping around, both Christina and Lucas’ eyes fixed on a shadow several kilometres out from the shore. This shadow beneath the wave looked small from where they stood, but given how far away it was, the two of them knew that it was actually enormous.
Neither of them could tell exactly what this new arrival was yet, but the powerful aura fluctuations radiating from it made them shudder unconsciously.
Even Yuki, the normally fearless little fox, was whimpering softly as she hid inside Lucas’ shirt.
In that instant, the young boy and girl both realized why they had been feeling so uneasy ever since they arrived in this seemingly picturesque environment.
