A young man with dark brown hair and dark green eyes was hanging from a rocky cliff, sweat streaming down his face as he reached for his next handhold.
With a bit of effort, he pulled his body up and lodged his feet into a slight crack in the cliff face to stabilize himself.
Once he was certain he was locked in place, Alexander could not help but take several deep breaths and lean his head against the rock wall in front of him.
Despite knowing he should not, Alexander could not help but look down towards the surface below.
Over a thousand meters down he could vaguely see the area he had stared his climb. From where he was now, it looked tiny and reinforced just how high up he was.
After the moment of awe wore off, fear soon gripped Alexander as he imagined falling the entire way down and his body breaking on the rocks below.
He became more conscious of the slick sweat on his palms and the precarious purchase his feet had on the cliff.
In a moment of panic, he pushed himself even closer to rock wall and jammed his feet deeper into the crack. Causing undue strain on his body and making his break far less effective than if he had just stayed relaxed.
"Damn it. Why am I even having to do this?"
Feeling the exhaustion in his body and his sore muscles, Alexander wanted nothing more than to climb down and return home.
However, the face of his father flashed in his mind to remind him of the reason he was climbing this mountain.
Fear and exhaustion soon gave way to rage, and reaching up once more, Alexander pulled himself higher and continued his ascent.
As he continued, he felt like he had managed to find his pace. The strenuous climbing felt like it had gotten a bit easier, and he was making better time than expected.
His arms and legs moved more swiftly and with greater deftness. Each pull up the mountain was easier than the last.
Sadly, what Alexander perceived as his own skill improving was actually a terrible mistake on his part.
When he was around a hundred meters from the top of the cliff, a loud creaking sound began to emit from under his shirt.
Alarm swiftly filled Alexander's eyes as he understood what was going on.
For a few moments he tried to get himself under control, but his apprehension only got worse as he failed to quiet the creaking sound.
Realizing he was not about to easily regain control; Alexander threw caution to the wind and made a mad dash to climb the rest of the cliff.
He made reckless leaps towards handholds that were out of reach and actually launched himself up the mountain.
A few times he missed where he had initially been aiming, but fortunately managed to catch himself on another crack in the wall or jutting out piece of stone.
With a bit of luck, he reached the top of the cliff and pulled himself up and over the side.
Now that he was back on flat ground Alexander opened up his shirt and pulled off the pendant around his neck that was the source of the ever-increasing noise.
The moment it left his hand and lay on the ground, the pendant that had been violently shaking became still again.
"It's not broken, is it?"
Alexander wore a dismayed expression as he looked over the pendant, but thankfully it was still in working order despite the single small crack now running through it.
Immediately after assessing the pendant's condition, Alexander collapsed onto the ground. His body felt far heavier now that he was no longer wearing the magic tool that enhanced his physical abilities.
"Got… to be… more… careful." Alexander said to himself between heavy breaths.
The climb had become easier because he had unconsciously released more of his magic power into the pendant when he let his anger fuel him.
Certainly, this gave him a boost in his strength, but the magic tool simply could not handle the strain for long and had become damaged.
Thankfully it still worked, but Alexander would need to be more attentive when channeling his magic power, unless he wanted to cause irreparable damage to the pendant.
He knew that without it, he would never have the physical strength to climb back down the cliff he had just ascended. Without any climbing equipment, the enchanted pendant was all he had as a lifeline.
"Plus, I can't let mom down. I promised her I would return it when I got back."
After resting for a few minutes, Alexander picked himself back up and took in his surroundings.
Now that he had reached the top of the cliff, he could better see the mountains before him.
The terrain was certainly rough, but nothing like what he had just climbed. At the very least he could keep both his feet on the ground and walk like normal.
While he trudged up the mountain, Alexander reached into the pack on his back and pulled out a dried fruit and a piece of jerky. He could feel his energy being replenished as he ate the sweet fruit and salty meat.
As monotonous as the rest of the journey was, Alexander was thankful that he did not run into any dangers.
These mountains did not seem to be home to any predators, and so far, all he had seen were small birds and mammals.
Overall, the area was incredibly peaceful, and Alexander imagined that it would be a nice place for a settlement if not for the fact that the only way up was to climb a several thousand-meter-tall cliff.
Of course, he knew that people had once lived up here a long time ago. He did not make the treacherous climb simply to experience a scene of idyllic nature.
"There it is. Just like that old book said."
With a hand over his eyes to shield them from the glaring light of the setting sun, Alexander cast his gaze towards the peak of the mountains where a structure jutted out.
Built into the largest and tallest mountain in the range was a truly massive castle.
From what Alexander had read, this castle was once the seat of power of some centuries old nation that had long since crumbled.
There was not much detail of the place even in the dusty old book he had found shoved into the corner of his family's bookroom, but the single book was the only place that even mentioned this castle.
Even among the history books that his family owned, not a single one had a record of this place.
Nevertheless, Alexander was only encouraged by how obscure this once proud castle was.
With its out of the way location and lack of notoriety, it was likely that there was still treasure sleeping inside. And right now, Alexander needed money more than anything else.
Exhilaration came over him now that his goal was in sight, and Alexander picked up his pace and rushed up the rest of the mountain to reach the entrance to the castle.
By the time he had made his way to where the remnants of an impressive gate once stood, it was almost completely dark, with only the last dregs of light illuminating the area.
This close to the castle and in the current lighting, the abandoned structure gave off an ominous pressure.
Alexander gulped as he looked into the entrance. The door that had once stood there having clearly been sundered long ago.
All around he could see signs of battle damage on the sturdy castle walls. Proof that whoever once lived here had not gone peacefully.
"No point hesitating now."
Reaching down to his waist, Alexander rested his hand on his sword to reassure himself. He was not any sort of master fighter, but he felt confident he could defend himself.
Once he had thoroughly steeled his resolve, Alexander took his first steps into the castle in order to find the means to overturn his father's will.