Hearing that, Gerald simply closed his eyes in silence, spreading his divine sense out to scan through the rest of the mountain top… Sadly, the range of his divine sense was rather limited, so he was only able to scan up to a few hundred feet. Though that wasn’t a small range by any means, Gerald still wasn’t able to find any traces of the adventure team after quite some time. Eventually, Quest found himself asking, “…Say… Do you think that the adventure team isn’t here because… they’ve headed further up the mountain…?” Upon hearing that, Gerald turned to look at Quest. Though the suggestion sounded rather preposterous, it wasn’t completely out of the question either. After all, since there were zero traces of the adventure team here, the only other way they could’ve headed to—without bumping into the rescue team on their way up—was further up the mountain… “…That could be the case. Since we’re already here anyway, let’s proceed further up the mountain to check!” replied Gerald
Upon hearing that, Nori was instantly overjoyed. After all, the fact that Gerald had come all the way here just to save her meant that he still cared about her. Still, she truly hadn’t expected him to come here in the first place since Nori was sure that she had never even mentioned her trip to the holy mountain to him. With that in mind, Nori then curiously asked, “…Speaking of which, how did you even know I was here?” “Well, I found out when I headed to your manor and your father told me about it,” replied Gerald. “I see… But hold on, doesn’t the fact that you came here mean that your talisman crafting training with Master Hunt got disrupted?” asked Nori in a slightly worried tone. After all, it wasn’t easy for Gerald to get accepted to be his disciple in the first place. With that in mind, Nori truly hoped that she wouldn’t be the reason Gerald lost his chance to continue being Master Hunt’s disciple. To her surprise, however, Gerald simply chuckled before gently pattin
“That’s great to hear! And I agree, the sooner we leave, the better!” replied Gerald. Now that they had found the adventure team in one piece, they needed to begin hiking down the same way they had come up with in order to reunite with the rest of the rescue team. Once that was done, they’d begin descending the mountain… While Gerald was still rather curious about the thousand-year-old panax ginseng, he didn’t want to risk everyone’s lives just to look for it. Besides, it wasn’t even a proven fact that it was really able to revive the dead. With that in mind, the adventure team then began making their way down the mountain. As the saying went, descending a mountain was always easier than ascending one. Adding that to the fact that Gerald and Quest were providing their aid, the journey downward became much easier to bear. With that in mind, it took the group only half an hour to descend halfway down the mountain. Ten minutes before they could reunite with Patrick’s group, howeve
Scattered around him, were the carcasses of the white wolves from before that had died upon impact. With how tough Gerald’s body was, it was no wonder why he had not only survived, but he barely suffered any injuries! Due to that, it wasn’t long after before he slowly awoke… Checking to see if he had suffered any injuries, Gerald was delighted to find out that his body was a-okay. After hopping off the thickets, Gerald then retrieved his small knife and began slicing the meat off the white wolves. Since he didn’t know how much longer he was going to remain stuck here, Gerald knew that he had to stock up on food while he could. Once he had gathered enough, Gerald began walking around to gather his bearings. What he was able to witness soon after, however, was nothing short of a utopia. Staring in amazement, it was the first time Gerald had ever seen such a beautiful place. It was so beautiful, in fact, that Gerald simply knew that such a place couldn’t exist anyplace else. A
The second he heard that, Gerald’s eyes immediately widened. Though he thought that he had heard wrong, he quickly realized that that wasn’t the case. Two thousand years… To think that this young-looking woman was at least two thousand years old…! How terrifying! And to think that she had stayed here—remaining completely undiscovered—throughout that period! What kind of person even was June…? Had he not fallen into the valley, Gerald could’ve very well have missed her as well… Seeing that Gerald had no further questions, June took the chance to ask, “Now then… enough about me. Why did you come to the holy mountain?” Upon hearing that, Gerald recalled why Nori and the others had hiked up the mountain in the first place. With that in mind, Gerald then replied, “I came here to look for an ancient herb known as the thousand-year-old panax ginseng!” “You… came here looking for that herb…? What do you need it for? Are you trying to create a rejuvenating pellet?” asked June as she f
So that’s why the herbs had been kept so well hidden from the rest of the world… June was even here to constantly stand guard over the thousand-year-old panax ginsengs! “Nobody should ever get their hands on the herbs… Otherwise, catastrophe will be sure to follow! I’m sure you can understand that, right?” said June as she stared at Gerald. Now understanding the consequences that could happen, Gerald simply nodded as he replied, “I understand. Don’t worry, I won’t take any of them!” “I’m glad to hear that. Regardless, I’ll be giving you something to express my gratitude!” said June as she gracefully waved her hand, prompting a small, cubic treasure box of sorts to materialize within her palm… After receiving the treasure box from June, the curious Gerald wondered what she had just given him. Carefully prying the box open, Gerald was greeted by the sight of a single tiny pellet inside… Looking up at June, Gerald then said, “…This…” “That’s a rejuvenating pellet, and it’s the
Following that, Nori began telling her father what had happened on the holy mountain… By the end of her tale, even Yoshua found the turn of events slightly hard to believe. To think that Gerald had sacrificed his safety just to protect the adventure team from those white wolves… What a truly heroic act… Patting his daughter’s back, Yoshua then consoled, “Don’t worry, Nori. Gerald will definitely make it back safely!” Nodding in response, Nori hoped with all her heart that Gerald would make a safe return as well… Meanwhile in Magic Land, Gerald himself was having a meal while chatting with June, completely oblivious to what was happening in the outside world. Not even knowing how anxiously Nori and the others were awaiting his return, Gerald took a sip of tea before looking toward June and asking, “Speaking of which… Have you been guarding this place this entire time? Could it be that you’ve never left this place before…?” Shaking her head in response, June then said, “I’d
The second she managed to snap out of her stupefied state, Nori immediately yelled, “G-Gerald…!” Now teary-eyed, Nori then rushed over and hugged him tightly. Realizing that Gerald was in one piece, Quest and the others were equally as delighted and surprised. As they ran over to him as well, Nori was already scanning Gerald from head to toe while asking, “A-are you alright Gerald? Are you hurt anywhere?” Seeing how worried she was, Gerald could only smile before replying, “Don’t worry, I’m fine!” Hearing that, Nori was so relieved that she found herself gently hitting her small hands against his chest while whining, “You… You really scared me half to death this time…!” The solace she was now getting after witnessing yesterday’s events was simply too much… As both Patrick and Quest began patting Gerald’s shoulders, Quest eventually found himself asking, “Regardless… What happened after you fell? That was a pretty high fall you know?” Laughing in response, Gerald simply