May 21th, 1835.

Here I am, stepping into the Khruse Range again, albeit with many more than just Blob. For one, my whole horror team is here, and most of my other allies, too.

Since wyverns and dragons are all desirable targets, whether because of their plentiful experience points or their bodies that can be useful for many purposes, everyone is enthusiastic.

All except Kyomu and Sikare.

Kyomu isn't exactly interested in bullying monsters several dozen levels below himself in the first place. It doesn't give him anything. As for Sikare, she is currently on a 'brewing spree,' as she refers to it, so she is staying in Zircon for defense. It seems she really does trust the doc to retrieve materials for her.

In any case, despite the fact that we're moving in such numbers, the mountains are still too vast. Teleporting here is one thing, but actually traversing the peaks is another problem we need to tackle.

Ariel can ride on Blob with me, Mister Slen can move pretty fast, and so can Smiley. That leaves Skely, 049, and Ash, who aren't as nimble as the rest of us.

Fortunately, we have the perfect airship with us.

Ugh... why is this damn statue so heavy!

''Stop complaining. Ash is light.''

I just thought for a moment that it would be disrespectful to Ash, but then again, I don't even know if it's a female or not. Either way, Ash probably needs to fight alone later, so I'm a bit worried. Still, it's probably fine if we don't encounter a horde of dragons above level 50.

''By the way, boss!''

''Hm?''

''What about the fluffy owls you mentioned?''

''Ah, we've moved past them already. They live at the feet. We can come back and visit them later.''

At my words, the keen Ariel, who's clinging to me with only her hands manifested, nods demurely, her momentum decreasing. I'm not sure if the owls want to see a ghost, though.

''Oh, here they are.''

Perhaps because we have eliminated too many wyverns the other night, but it actually takes a while for us to find them this time around. Only on this specific mountain, of course. I'm sure their overall population hasn't dropped all that much.

Still, it seems words have spread among the wyverns. This batch looks a lot more aggressive than usual, and their levels are higher, too. They're so strong as to pose a real threat to my horrors, however. So—

''Alright, everyone. From now on, we are entering free combat.'' I declare. ''Be careful not to hinder one another.''

Free combat it is.

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With eagerness in their eyes, my friends start to swell up their powers, burning through their MP in a real fight after a good while. Mister Slen... I guess he doesn't have eyes, but his tentacles look excited, writhing incessantly. Not far away, Smiley lets out his haunting howl, extending a field of madness and dyeing the snow red.

The undead siblings unravel their magic, blowing away the chilly air with waves of intense light and even chillier air. Amidst that shower of light, a shade of darkness flutters—the doc tightens his gloves, a faint yet ominous aura oozing under his legs.

''Aren't you joining, Blob? No?''

This cheeky one... does it want to gauge its siblings' power?

''What about you, Nova?''

Bring me dragons. These weaklings aren't worth my time.

''Sure, but can you put Ash somewhere on the other side of the mountain? It needs to level up, too.''

I'm not your servant. Hmph.

''You are, so go.''

After struggling to resist my order for a bit, Nova finally gives in and floats away in frustration.

''Stay there and help it if needed, okay~?''

I know, I know!

Turning back to the fight, everything has already become a mess in that short timeframe.

The snowy mountain slope, which is supposed to be tranquil, is now filled with painful shrieks of wyverns. Yet even those are drowned out by the sizzling cold freezing of ice and the razing incineration of beaming light. On top of that, flicks of dark tentacles zap around the field, stirring up the snow while slicing the lizards into pieces. The sounds they produce are no different from violent whips.

On the other hand, we also have the silent killers. Much like Smiley, who meticulously jumps atop the nightmare-trapped wyverns and severs their spinal nerves, the doc also wanders the battlefield with one hand behind his back, giving the wannabe dragons painless, instant deaths with a single touch.

The ten dozen or so wyverns nearly evaporate after only half an hour.

Of course, some try to escape, but I make sure to shoot them down with magic, so it's fine. Afterward, everybody walks back to me with faces of relief.

Their levels have already risen so much. This is quite great. A bit later, Nova also swims back from the other side of the mountain, bringing a bloodied Ash with her.

The statue, still praying, wears a slightly spookier mood now.

Nevertheless, after a short break, we're ready to discuss our next move.

''I tried finding among the corpses earlier, but there isn't a ruler here.'' Skely remarks, the golden light in his eye sockets narrowing. ''While I'm not an expert on monsters, it seems they are mere soldiers.''

''Is that so? We'll keep going up, then. We have time.'' I reply.

''Do you intend to clear this mountain out?''

''Yeah. Should we not?''

For a moment, the skeleton appears deep in thought. For someone as experienced and intelligent as him to ponder, it must be something serious. Still, when Skely realizes that everybody is watching him nervously, he quickly brushes it off,

''...No, It's fine. It's only going to be troublesome if we met a lord dragon, but I doubt something like that is here.''

So, keeping the momentum going, we continue scaling the mountain. Of course, curious about this, I climb up Nova's back and sit near Skely.

''Do you know more about lord dragon, Skely?''

''Ah, I used to fight one a long time ago. It was tough, really. Those things are no joke.''

''When you were an archmage?''

''Yes.''

That's... impressive. Skely was a grandmaster, and even he couldn't overwhelm a lord dragon. From what I've read, there is one more dragon grade above 'lord.'

Juvenile, Adult, Senior, Lord, and... God. God dragons.

I wonder how strong they can be. As strong as gods? Or are they mere myths? Once again, I turn to my trusty skeleton.

''Then, do you know God dragons, Skely?''

''I've only heard of them. My knowledge isn't different from what's out there.''

''Okay.''

Well, God dragons or not, my goal is already defeating the Heavenly Demon, who is definitely a god, so everything stays the same.

''By the way, does anybody know what the wyverns' lair looks like?''

Suddenly, Ariel speaks up, still grabbing onto Blob's back below us.

'''' ... ''''

For whatever reason, no one answers her question.

No, really. No one knows...?