Chapter 68: Ascending Yehimal Mountain (2)
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Notes: I recommend whoever is reading this chapter and the following chapters for a better immersion to play the song Theme The Long Dark
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The process of acclimatization to new heights especially when one would go high too fast, was something that required one to be patient, even more, when it was a group climb, reaching a High Altitude of around 3500 meters.
Vlad didn't feel the effects of the high altitude on him, having a resilient and trained body that could allow him to get to such heights without much trouble, but the girls weren't so lucky as him, beginning to show signs of high altitude sickness starting with Eleine.
To his curiosity the pink-haired girl who was younger by 4 years than him also remained unfazed by the altitude of the mountain, being able to sleep soundly.
"Master … "
"What, do you feel like puking again?"
"No … now that those two went to sleep, I think I would feel better if you would hold me closer to your body."
"If you can still think of horny things, it's clear that you aren't that troubled by the high altitude. Now stop talking and let the other two sleep."
The conversation between the two went quietly, with a sarcastic undertone, but nonetheless, Vlad wrapped his large arm around Eleine and had her to his side, touching her head calmly.
"We will go even higher after 3 days … if you start struggling going forward, you shouldn't feel bad, and get back here to recover your breath."
"I still don't understand why this happens only to me. Is this that Mountain Spirit playing tricks on me as those people in the Tavern and the Hotel had mentioned?"
"Hah … mountain spirit. I guess that's easier to understand not to mess with such mountain climbs which could turn dangerous for those with weak bodies. High-Altitude Sickness, this is what happens to you, and is caused by lack of oxygen in the air."
"But why?"
"It's simple to understand. When we are at the sea-level, the oxygen … for you it should be air, its far concentrated being richer and being capable of nourishing your body, and while our bodies leave the sea level going up a mountain, with the increase in altitude, the richness of the air drops down, making it harder for the body to nourish itself."
"... Does such a thing really happen in the world?"
Eleine who supported her head on Vlad's warm chest, not minding at all his touches, couldn't help but get curious about the depths of the world, and the knowledge this black-haired man possessed, where each day she learned something new with regard to the surrounding world.
"I don't understand why this happens too since I only found out in a book I read when I was younger. The one who wrote it didn't bring some scientific explanations to his statement. There are only various individual accounts of their experiences in climbing mountains that have been recorded in the scientist journal.
Usually, people draw themselves to the easier alternative, and so it was for the case for the person who wrote the journal."
She extended her hand to his face, caressing it gently while hearing him talk about those complex subjects, and with a smile on her cold face, she asked him.
"How much information do you hold in that brain of yours?"
"..."
"Not much, just the right amount that wouldn't blow my head into pieces."
His sense of humor remained the same dark one, which was to Eleine's liking, and slowly with time passing, she also went to sleep, leaving out only Vlad and the fire inside the tent he maintained to keep his group warm over the cold night.
Without even bothering to sleep, he was on the watch against various predators which could be heard around his camp at distances of kilometers away.
He put to use his keen senses acting like a gentle yet ferocious watchdog for his group of humans, and while not having something better to do, he started pondering around various things, with one particular thought appearing most often.
'This mountain is a great training ground for me and the girls. It's a natural place that would try to kill you without you even realizing it. Apart from the monsters lurking inside, the altitude and the pressure one would get over his body is strong enough to forge you anew.'
'Galena was high itself, reaching 4,252 meters, but this Yehimal Mountain even though I reached 3,526 meters, the girls still can't see the summit, always being covered by the clouds and the veil of snow hitting their vision.'
'No need to rush myself to get to the summit, afterall it will not run away from me. Three days of acclimatization for Eleine and maybe Bonney, where I would have them train their bodies in this altitude, some sparring against me, and maybe a hunt would distract them from the boredom of waiting.'
'Huhuhu, I think this is for me because I would get bored too quickly without any activities.'
Once the new day arrived, having their meal which was composed of a Bear Stew still steaming outside of the tent where Vlad cooked so as not to disturb the sleeping ladies.
Nonetheless, the first thing that Bonney, the young lady who woke up first from the three, did was to see Vlad almost naked, having only a loin-cloth to cover his private parts, while the black curved sword in his hand looked to be dancing with each swing of his hand.
Her cheeks started burning when seeing this man naked, and being tempted by what she was seeing, like the pure maiden she was, she shielded her eyes from the devilish man.
Yet, curiosity was larger than the fear of the unknown, making her slowly remove the blockage from her eyes to stare at the chiseled body of Vlad, where many gruesome scars called home on his strong body.
"Don't bother with me. I am performing my daily training. You can eat from the stew I stopped cooking 25 minutes ago. It's still warm even in this cold temperature."
"... Aren't you cold?"
"Don't worry about me, I know when to protect my body from frostbite."
No longer distracting himself from the training, he ignored any of the pink-haired girls' questions, moving from the Camp since he started performing various techniques which had a greater impact.
There was a particular technique he tried to master in this short span of time, which he found out while reading a story about a famous "Liar" the one entitled Noland.
This technique used his hands as Ice Axes to fully bring a point of balance when climbing difficult slopes, enabling him to have additional security when climbing regardless of the terrain, whether it be rocks or snow, and what's more, it could stop him from sliding down on a peculiar risky slope by getting into a self-arrest position.
As such, he trained his particular technique by stabbing his fingers inside a rock, at first he barely did some marks on the rocks, but as time passed and he figured out the correct movement, speed, and power to pierce the rocks with his fingers, the training only reinforced his resilience to the cold.
Time flew by quickly when someone was focusing on doing something they enjoyed, and when it was finally time to stop his training he left in style, by marking his territory from the various predators that might linger this high.
What has left behind his departure from his training spot was various large rocks being cleaved apart with a smooth cut making one believe it was the mark of some advanced civilization doing their cutting work for some pyramid.
Around those cleaved rocks, smaller-sized rocks from the mountain were carved with finger-sized holes, akin to someone preparing to blow up a mine chamber with dynamites.
The sight of Vlad's training ground was enough to tell someone watching not to mess with him, but unfortunately for him, since he reached a higher altitude in the Yehimal there wasn't much life around.
All he could sense and feel were rocks, snow, and his girls chatting around instead of training seriously.
He didn't have a lot of expectations from the girls, considering that for Eleine this was the first time she was experiencing such a mountain climb, while for Bonney, he didn't know what to expect from her being a native of those icy lands.
While for Titania, she was the only person in the group who could cheat and fly to the summit, or so they believed initially.
It only took Titania just some reconnaissance attempts to get to a higher altitude to understand she wasn't capable of pushing higher on the mountain, even though her resilience in flight grew because of Vlad's careful training, targeting various muscles from her body which were supporting her flight ability, such as her back muscles.
When Vlad finished his part of the training in 5 hours, by the time he returned to the camp all the girls were awake and already eating up, looking at him with looks that told them they required some guidance in such foreign locations, and as the girls gave him that look, he couldn't help but remark.
"Let me get some clothes first before talking."
"Mhm, you should. Aren't you cold, being all naked?"
"The temperature here is just fine, enough to not get frostbites and also train my resistance to cold."
Vlad only had a loincloth around himself, which had the girls question if he was alright in his brain, but no one knew the answer.
Such that after he entered the tent, he appeared a couple of minutes later in front of the girls only wearing his trousers and mountaineer boots, leaving only his upper body exposed to the cold, in an attempt to continue building up his immunity.
"You give me that look as if you never saw such a thing? Especially you, little Bonney. Should you be accustomed to such sights around Sorbet?"
The pink-haired girl watched with awkwardness at the tall man, and her response came in a harsh manner.
"Mister Vlad, you are the only weirdo who can think of such things which you believe might be able to help you.
And I can tell you from the bottom of my heart, I've encountered many strange people in those 14 years of mine. The biggest example is Uncle Fischer and Uncle Garald."
"Hmph, you natives don't know what you are missing out. You can't even fathom how good the cold is for your body, boosting the body's response to various illnesses, and also making it resilient to pesky and mundane colds."
"Vlad, we aren't interested in this particular training of yours.
Also, it's better if we don't place too much strain on our body by training as you said. Unlike you, we got delicate bodies, so it doesn't make sense to sweat in such a place." remarked Titania, who was standing on Eleine's shoulder glancing at Vlad who didn't shift many emotions when his idea of having the girls train was rejected.
"Ohh, it's that so? Delicate bodies you say?" asked Vlad who moved closer to the girls extending his hand to touch the smooth and delicate skin on their chin, making Titania and Bonney get embarrassed while Eleine moved her hand to move Vlad's hand to her cheeks.
"Delicate, don't you think Master?"
"Mhm, is good enough, but be careful of the cold since you'll start getting frostnips."
"Of course, Master. I will take care."
"So be it. If you girls want to pass on such a great opportunity … Who am I to say no?
But remember … I will look forward to seeing how much you girls can climb with me."
There was no reason for him to force the girls to train since he could understand some of their logic, and like this, the days of acclimatization passed, where he would train those two days for about 5 hours with full abandon about his surroundings as if what was most important for him was increasing the chances of him climbing the mountain to the summit, regardless if it was with the girls or alone.
Once the third day arrived, 4 June 1514, he started the climb early from 4 AM, with himself taking down the camp, fitting it inside his large backpack, while the girls didn't stress themselves with the heavy duties, acting like Vlad's eyes in the process since the terrain wasn't so friendly to them.
How helpful they were to Vlad who was constantly using his Echolocation to map out the section of the mountain he was traversing, remained for them to contemplate, but something was certain, Vlad looked like he was born to climb mountains in those moments.
The way he used his fingers to climb certain steep slopes, without even having a use for the hardness and the ropes they brought as equipment, it was only the girls who used the ropes for assistance.
Since the parts of Yehimal Mountain he was taking weren't explored by anyone, remaining claimed only by the wilderness, or what remnants of wildlife could be built in those high zones. The snow could swallow them up, building up like glaciers that rarely melted, and facing such a situation where they had to force their way to get to a higher altitude and climb up.
Nonetheless, this became the perfect circumstance to continue working on his variant of Rankyaku he called < Dragon's Tail > for the only reason he could manipulate this wind blade to curve around as if it became the tail of the mythical dragon cleaving any of its enemies in halves.
"Wait, what if you cause an avalanche?" said Titania who saw the dark-blue wind blade traverse while destroying everything in its path.
"Nothing to worry about, I attacked at the surface clearing out the snow, not the mountain to shake it."
His answer was short for the worrying Fairy and with seconds passing since he did his technique, there was no response of a possible avalanche. The group would continue to experience such tense moments wherever Vlad would use this exact technique to clear around snow.
Yet what Vlad didn't tell the girls was the fact he was using the technique sparingly and placing small amounts of his power because he was aware of what might happen if he went all-out with his technique.
Simply said, he didn't want to bother himself thinking of what his chances of survival were if an avalanche hit him at such a high altitude, nor wanted to risk having Eleine or Bonney swallowed in the snow.
With a travel range between 80 - 120 meters whenever he would employ it, he made sure not to go too far into the mountain range, in doing so also building up his mastery over the < Dragon's Tail >
"I can't bring myself to complain about what you are doing master. I don't even have to carry a bag, and just focus on climbing. Even getting help with the ropes you would set around beforehand." mentioned Eleine as she was the first to climb after Vlad set up the track for them with assisting ropes and even piercing in the rocks holders for their feet and hands.
She was followed by Bonney who also appreciated all the help she was receiving from Vlad, having her own thoughts about this whole experience.
'I bet I am climbing the mountain faster than those idiots, and if I am not wrong, I will get even higher than everyone else. "Test of Courage" is nothing much. It's just those guys who make it sound as if something hard will come our way.'
On the other hand, Titania was with Vlad, holding onto his shoulder and clearing some of the snow accumulating on his clothes, and having some talk with him about what they might expect.
"Vlad, this "Test of Courage" that the ones from the city mentioned … shouldn't we be wary of it? At least prepare a bit before going higher?"
*Click*
"So far, no monster in sight. As for the Maggris Worms, I've cleared them up using my Dragon's Tail. However, if we have to worry about something, it's the mountain because the slope seems to increase in angle." replied Vlad, clicking his tongue at a fast rate to map his surroundings just in time he was advancing forward, also checking for various monsters or wild beasts.
"Understood. Still, be careful, and don't strain yourself too much by carrying all the bags."
"Mhm."
"Master, you were right about that acclimatization. We have been climbing for a while, and I don't feel like I would get tired anytime soon." remarked Eleine, filling emboldened by the fact she reached so high in the mountain, and there were no signs of dizziness or nausea hitting her.
"Ohh really? I hope you are like this going forward."
The girl's kept up with Vlad's decent pace, which looked fast to them, and by the time the group reached 4,925 meters, the sun was already preparing to say quits, making room for the moon to rise in the sky, and let the night watch over them.
In this zone, unlike the alpine zone of Yehimal Mountain where trees could be seen all the eye allowed, with various fauna and flora unique to Vlad's senses, the group experiences how barren the Yehimal Mountain become, where only snow-covered large rocks and glaciers could be seen.
Yet the views the girls could get from reaching so high was stunning, even Titania who was used to the sights of Galena Mountain was taken aback. Eleine was rubbing her head feeling sick again but managed to take in the sight granted by the high altitude, while Bonney too started showing signs of altitude sickness.
"Not so confident as when you first started the climb?"
"Not my fault this mountain is so large, and unlike a monster like you who trains even in those harsh conditions, I don't have big expectations from this journey. I am doing this mostly to test myself, and that's it."
"That's what I want to hear. Now, we'll spend another 2-3 days acclimatizing before going up."
His expectations were right, it took the girls three full days to get used to the new heights, where he would explore around the camp along with Titania, and then train his body like his life was on the line or something.
'Should I nag him to stop training at such high altitudes? Well, he looks to be fine, and also his body temperature doesn't fluctuate much because of his muscle activity.'
Titania didn't know if it was something she would recommend for Vlad because in this high altitude one would consume a lot of energy, but from what it looked he was fine, without showing any signs of getting affected by the height.
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Vlad departed on the 4th day, the 8th of June, after stopping with his camp at the 4,925 meters high altitude, and moving slowly with his group of ladies, once he got to 5250 meters climbing up he could notice something going around with his body on a smaller scale such as his heart rate raising up a little bit, and breathing a little bit heavier as if in attempt to capture more oxygen.
'So this is the sensation Eleine and Bonney were talking about? No wonder, moving around consumes far more energy than normal.' thought Vlad, observing the small changes to his body, while climbing the mountain using his finger technique, still unnamed, to pierce in the rock like it was cheese, so powerful his attack could get.
Even Titania started rubbing her head as she was standing on Vlad's shoulder feeling the effects of the high-altitude, while Eleine was breathing heavily, clear signs that she was trying to get some oxygen into her system, while Bonney only moved slowly but signs of discomfort could be read on her face.
"We'll stop here, for now, I think we've climbed this time the most, reaching about 5882 meters." remarked Vlad not showing much signs of being tired from this climb, even though he had to do everything, from carrying the bags, to even setting up the tracks for the girls, acting like the Great Ancestor of all Sherpas living in the Himalayan Mountains.
"How can you tell at what height we are?"
"Remember why I was jumping around so much when we got to the shore while watching the mountain?"
"Too tired to think about this." commented Eleine who was holding back some puke.
"Let's just say, I was trying to grasp how tall the mountain was, and calculate its overall height using some mathematics."
"Okay, master, I know you are overly supreme, just get the tent out and let me have some sleep. Ahh, something is coming. … False alarm, I thought I was about to puke."
"This is what gets you for lazing around." chuckled Vlad, finding the girls a great company and also a breaker for him, not giving him the chance to push himself to exhaustion and already reach the highest parts of the Yehimal Mountain.
"I've told you, master, that I will not do training that would make me look like some man full of muscles. But … I guess, what you've taught me was something related to my core strength and overall body, instead of turning myself into some ugly muscle-head."
"I am curious to see that happen. Maybe we should train for that Eleine. To what extent the body of a woman can be altered by gaining muscles. A good thought experiment and also a legit experiment."
"Not interested in partaking in such an altering experiment."
Vlad jokes along with Eleine, adding into the mix some of his dark humor, but in general having a good laugh with the girls while preparing the Camp for this stage of the mountain.
Once the tent got fully set up, Eleine stormed her way inside, not even bothering to take off her socks and get a dry pair, and dozed off like a lazy cat exhausted from the mountain climb, leaving awake only Titania and Bonney, but the pink-haired young girl wasn't far away from Eleine and once changing her socks, she also went to sleep, once again leaving Vlad awake with Titania to take care of the rest.
"Now do you understand why I like doing things on my own?" remarked Vlad in a calm tone, void of emotions.
"I understand what you mean, but let's face it. You actually enjoy seeing those girls grow-up in character and personality, as if they are turning to something you like to see." replied Titania exposing some of Vlad's intent for allowing the girls to climb the mountain with him.
"You aren't far from the truth, but it's not that either. The reason I even consider allowing them to climb together with me right now, is because I know this experience will be beneficial for their growth in the future. Where could one get such a tall mountain to climb and have the opportunity of testing one's limits?"
While he was starting to breathe in and out, he cleared out some of the effects the altitude had on him, and taking some food consisting of dried meat and some fruits, he placed them closer to the fire to warm them, before eating, sharing with Titania.
The new day started slow for Eleine and Bonney who still had to acclimatize, while Vlad was training himself like some sort of fabled monster at such altitude, as if he was back at the sea-level, making the girls think if Vlad was truly a human just like them, an answer they will never truly known since they didn't want to be so direct with him and ask away.
The first time he returned to check on them, making sure they weren't suffering from serious altitude sickness, he told them to simply relax without any physical activities, just doing the breathing technique he taught them before climbing the mountain, where he only checked one of their breathing session before returning to his training, choosing to go higher in the mountain and prepare some of the tracks for the girls.
'Beginning the acclimatization to the next stage of the mountain isn't a bad idea.'
'Still shocked to the fact this mountain can drain me of my energy in such an invisible manner. However, it makes it for a great training ground that I never had the chance of experiencing, for which I am sure, my progress will be staggering.'
One would think he would take a break from training since he was on a mission to ascend the summit of Yehimal Mountain to reach the place that no one managed to climb since Great King Atlas, but Vlad was a different type of breed, and once he placed something to do on his list, he stuck to it like a stubborn mule.
Along his training in the 6000-6500 meter region, he began contemplating why no one managed to climb the mountain apart from Atlas.
'The part of the story truly is legit. Apart from the various shrouds you need to clear out and reformulate the whole story with various points of action, the story doesn't lie. It might look misleading at times, but once you figure the manner of puzzling together the plot points you are set.'
'Nonetheless, I wonder, why the inhabitants of this island didn't reach the summit in so many years? Was it because they didn't care? … Which doesn't make sense because the mythos of this place went along with how to be blessed by the mountain one had to climb it to the summit.'
'Test of Courage or whatever Bonney and the natives were calling it.'
'It clearly isn't that.'
Having only one reason in mind, the mountain was so high that no person regardless of their physical condition wasn't capable of climbing the mountain, in fact from Bonney's accounts and stories she heard from someone people she didn't mention by their name, no one was able to see what hides past the clouds because of how impossible the climb becomes, taking the lives of many in the process.
Such that he spent 4 days at this zone, training himself while the girls started finding out different time killers, such as … playing cards, something that Eleine taught both Titania and Bonney.
On the 5th day after reaching the 3rd checkpoint,the 13th of June, he departed along with the girls following slowly behind him, moving at their own pace which gave the impression Vlad was actually fast, but it was on the contrary.
He entered the 6000-meter height mark without even breathing heavily as if his body already acclimatized from his maddening training executed in this place.
Time passed and the clouds gave the impression they were getting closer to them but were far cry, from being reached, and with exhaustion settling in the group, with Vlad finally feeling some strain on his body from carrying two humongous backpacks filled to brims with items, while Eleine, Bonney and Titania started doing Vlad's breathing exercises which improved their condition a little, but a stop was required to be made considering that night would catch them without a camp at 7482 meters height.
The conditions at this height weren't to joke around since even Vlad began feeling his body fatiguing as if someone was trying its best to drain him of his energy.
'Huh, it's getting harder by now, carrying all of those bags with me, and also sorting out the tracks for the girls. The slope incline got bigger and far dangerous that I couldn't rest on my way up.'
'I should prepare to descend to a safer altitude since the girls should be exhausted. There's no reason to risk them getting hurt by this altitude sickness, and take my time. My supplies will last me for one more month easily.'
Considering the situation, and how Eleine and Titania were afflicted by the high-altitude sickness again, showing signs that were far worse than when they were around 6000-6500 meters altitude, he took a drastic choice to take them down to a safer place, not wishing to risk their lives against an invisible enemy and having them on his conscious.
"Time to get down, girls. This is where we'll stop for today."
"It's night. Where can we go in such a condition? … We can only set camp here." added Eleine while holding her head from the panache she was experiencing.
Hearing her, he only shook his head, dismissing her because he knew that if she and Bonney remained at such a high altitude, the sickness would get worse on them, and risking at this point wasn't worth it considering how he didn't even know how high the mountain was.
Regardless if it was night, he helped both girls to climb down, and set up the tent for them to recover, while he began planning for his own ascension.
'For now, I guess the limit of the girls would be around 8000-8600 meters once they acclimatize to the 7500-8000 region. Since the time required for me to acclimatize is shorter compared to them, I should go on a reconnaissance mission and try to see how tall this mountain truly is.'
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A/N: This chapter is really, really long almost reaching 5000 words, and I had two ways of having it (split and save brain cells or believe in your brain cells that you can handle the chapter). Where we get a "training sequence" and also the climb, so the build-up continues.
Ohh, and if you want to blame someone for the long chapter, do it on the Epic Documentaries I've seen with K2 and Everest Climbs.
The summit is getting closer and closer, next chapter we'll see what's hiding on this mountain.