Aozaki Aoko Case File [514] (Patreon)

After a hearty meal, Garrett recovered and once again formally thanked Edgin and Holga, promising to pay a reward worthy of their rescue.

However, upon learning that Edgin’s party had another commission atop the Kelvin's Cairn, Garrett proposed joining their team.

“Are you sure?” Edgin looked at his old neighbor in surprise. “Honestly, you’d best head home now—your wife looked very worried about your safety. While we can handle a few duergar without much trouble, there’s always risk in combat.”

“I’m confident in my survival skills,” Garrett said, patting his chest. “I won’t slow you down, and I really can’t abandon my employers. Please, let me join!”

“…Alright,” Edgin agreed after a moment of thought. “It shouldn’t be a problem. Other than Holga, we’re all spellcasters, so a few duergar thieves won’t be an issue.”

“Welcome to the team!” Holga grinned, reaching out to shake Garrett’s hand.

Garrett laughed as well. This bearded hulk was quite straightforward, and Aoko found him personable—definitely not a bad sort in her eyes. She didn’t mind lending a hand.

After eating and drinking their fill, the group rested for the night in the mansion.

…

The next morning, they set out early, continuing their climb to higher reaches of the Kelvin's Cairn.

“We were already close to the peak before,” Garrett explained as he climbed skillfully with a staff. “We set up camp nearby, planning to rest a bit before making the final ascent.”

“And then you ran into the yeti?” Edgin asked, hitting the sore spot.

“Exactly,” Garrett replied, a bit annoyed. “That beast charged our camp when we weren’t watching. It swatted one person away with a single blow, and the rest of us couldn’t respond properly in the chaos!”

“Seems that Yeti is fairly intelligent,” Aoko observed. “It probably watched you for a while and waited for the right moment to strike.”

“We’d better stay alert—watch out!” Edgin’s warning came mid-sentence as two white shadows suddenly leaped at them. Due to the rapid movement, he couldn’t make out what they were.

Aoko, being a human with magic circuits in her body, reacted faster than ordinary people. Instantly, she fired off a quick Thunder Wave at the beast pouncing toward her. The magical shockwave blasted the white shadow backward, sending it tumbling off the cliff.

The other white beast lunged at Garrett, but since Garrett was standing behind Holga and Edgin, Holga blocked its bite with her bracer, producing a harsh creaking sound.

Having blocked the beast’s assault, Holga roared and counterattacked. She punched the beast on the nose, forcing it to release her bracer, then immediately drew her adamantine battleaxe from her back.

Now with a moment to observe, Aoko finally got a good look at the beasts—they were large feline creatures, about the size of lions, covered in beautiful long white fur, with gemstone-like blue eyes—truly striking creatures.

If these big cats hadn’t just attacked them, Aoko might have wanted to take some photos to show Alice later. But that was out of the question now.

Such beasts were no match for Holga—especially with Edgin bolstering her with a bard inspiration. Holga’s punch had already dazed it, and now her axe cleaved its skull, spilling red and white matter all over the ground. It was clearly dead.

“Damn it, those are crag cats!” Jasrah cursed and added, “I recognize those two—mountain guides call them ‘Hunters of Men’!”

“Is anyone hurt?” Aoko asked her teammates.

“It scratched my arm, but it’s just a flesh wound,” Holgaa replied, glancing at the three bloody slashes. “Nothing serious.”

“Let me heal you anyway—an infection would be bad news.” Aoko walked over and cast Cure Wounds. Holga’s injuries visibly closed up, leaving no scars. “Anyone else?”

“No, you and Garrett were the only ones attacked,” Edgin said. “Ha, looks like we got off to a flying start!”

“You saved my life again, Edgin, Holga,” Garrett said emotionally. “I swear, if you ever need my help, I’ll never refuse!”

“Hey, old friend, no need for that,” Edgin replied, clapping him on the shoulder. “That’s what an adventuring party is for. If we had to swear an oath every time we helped each other, we’d never get anything done, haha~”

With his high Charisma, Edgin easily lightened the team’s mood, as if the beast attack had never happened.

After a short rest, the group reached the base of a steep cliff—an unavoidable path to go higher. Aoko could see many metal stakes hammered in from previous climbers.

“Should we just fly up?” Aoko suggested, thinking that flying would be much easier than climbing such a daunting height.

“The wind’s too strong here,” Edgin shook his head. “But maybe you could teleport up and secure a rope for us?”

The cliff wasn’t beyond Aoko’s teleportation range, so she could easily get up and use Wind Step or simply throw a rope down.

“Alright, but I can make things easier for you,” Aoko said, thinking for a moment. “Simon, have you learned Accelerated Movement?”

“No problem,” Simon nodded. “We’ll each take half the group?”

Excluding Aoko, there were six teammates. She and Simon each used three 1st-level spell slots to cast Accelerated Movement for all six.

Some might wonder why not use Spider Climb, which doesn’t require ropes. Unfortunately, Spider Climb requires concentration, so Aoko couldn’t cast it on everyone at once. Thus, a safer method was needed.

“Okay.” Aoko tapped Edgin, Holga, and Jasrah, casting Accelerated Movement three times, then took out a coil of rope and, after glancing up, teleported away.

About a minute later, those waiting below saw a rope drop down the cliff. Edgin tugged on it and found it firmly secured.