"No, I would have left already if I didn't have to wait for my armor to be repaired."

Sarah says "What's with the big rush?"

"This is a quest from the goddesses, and I have put it off for long enough."

Sarah says "Oh, alright. Just be careful, okay? Don't push yourself too hard!"

"It's fine! The trip there will take about a week, I will have plenty of time to rest."

Sarah says "It's a bit early but would you like some lunch before you leave?"

"Sure! I will never turn down your food!"

Sarah disappears into the kitchen for a minute and then returns with several plates of steaming food. Instead of stuffing my face like I normally do I take my time and enjoy every bite. Once I have emptied all the plates I walk down to Walter's shop to collect my armor.

Walter says "It's done! Here, try it on."

"Wow, I can't even tell that it was damaged. You are a master!"

After putting on the armor and testing the fit Walter shoos me out of his shop so he can get back to work. I step into the inn just long enough to let Sarah know I am leaving and then head to the stables. Lizzy greets me by almost knocking me over as usual and I saddle her and mount up.

During the ride out of the city I study the map, to get to the sacred mountain would take about a month by horse. Considering Lizzy's speed I should be there in a little under a week as long as nothing delays me. The entire trip will be through the lands of the beastmen but from what Myria told me the flag of the goddesses should allow me to pass unhindered.

Since there aren't any roads in the beastmen's territory once I leave Illium I set the direction and let Lizzy choose the pace. Now that I am on the way there is no real need to rush, I will just enjoy the trip for now. After two days I am able to see the mountain in the distance, so I tell Lizzy that is where we are going and leave the rest to her.

As we travel I see groups of beastmen several times but they do not approach me. They simply stop and observe me as I pass, I guess Myria was right about the flag. While I wouldn't mind stopping and talking to them now is not the time for that, Pol will take care of spreading my name.

In fact my plans for the beastmen are all going to have to wait until Pol has done his job. Once he convinces the outcasts to follow me then the rest of the plans can start. I also have to wait until Mercy no longer needs the beastmen for the war, once they return home things will change quickly.

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It is nice to be away from the noise of the city, camping out under the stars is quite relaxing. After all the plotting and planning it is really good to clear my head and not have to think about anything. There will be time on the way back to worry about all that stuff, for now I simply enjoy the ride and the scenery.

The plains leading to the mountain have an untouched, rugged beauty like they have never known the touch of man. It is the kind of thing I never got to experience in my own world and once again I find myself glad that I was summoned here. I have suffered a lot and gone through many horrible things but overall I feel it has been worth it.

The further we travel the larger the mountain ahead looms, I can now see the other mountains around it but they look like children compared to it. The clearer the view of the mountain becomes the more rugged and dangerous it looks. Climbing that monster is not going to be an easy task, I should have thought ahead and found some climbing gear.

It is only the sixth day since I left Illium when we enter the foothills before the sacred mountain. Here for the first time I come across a group of beastmen who are barring my way. From their looks they are obviously from the tiger clan, and while they don't have their weapons in hand they are standing in a line to block my path.

"Why are you blocking my path?"

Tiger says "This moon it is our clan's task to guard the sacred mountain. For what reason do you approach it?"

"The goddesses have commanded me to journey to Korabos and climb to its peak."

Tiger says "Then the goddesses must want you dead, no one has ever passed the guardian and lived."

"Guardian? What guardian?"

Tiger says "There is a beast that lives halfway up the mountain, it guards against all trespassers."

"If it tries to prevent me from climbing to the peak then I will just have to kill it."

Tiger says "Such confidence! Who are you to speak so easily of killing the sacred guardian?"

"My name is Ash and I am also known as the drake slayer. I am the chosen of the goddesses and the one who will become their champion."

Tiger says "A drake you say? If you really killed such a beast and are not all talk then you might stand a chance against the guardian."

"Shall I bring back its head as proof?"

Tiger says "If you manage to kill it then yes, by all means bring us the proof."

"In that case I will stop and show it to you on my way back."

With that the tiger clan members move out of Lizzy's way while smiling like they just heard a great joke. With a gentle nudge I let Lizzy know she can move forward, she walks forward as if the beastmen don't matter to her. Then again if this is all there is then she probably could take them all without too much trouble.

After passing the beastmen it is only about an hour before we reach the base of the mountain. Up close it looks even harder to climb than it did from a distance, but it isn't like I have a choice. I take Lizzy's saddle off and store it in my pouch, then I tell her she is free to roam around while I am on the mountain.

She seems to understand, she even looks up at the mountain, and I remind her not to attack the beastmen. Once she is gone I turn and start heading up the mountain, but I haven't gone far when I suddenly feel a pulse from my pouch.

At first I think it is just my imagination but then it happens again so I start searching through my pouch to find out where it is coming from. The pulse is regular, it happens about every thirty seconds, but I can't for the life of me think what it could be coming from. The more I pull things out of my pouch the more confused I become, what on earth is causing this pulse?