Climbing

"I've been thinking a little, Kode," Cinder said, sitting down to take a breather after they just finished hunting a boar. He rubbed the shoulder that had yet to completely heal after the deer bit him.

It was the second night since his day off. They had managed to scrounge up seven Tokens and a bunch of meat last night after Bruno closed up shop for the day.

It wasn't easy to hunt the monsters during the night, but they still got it done, thanks to the clear skies and the light from the moon and the stars. It was a different sky than the one they were used to, and the stars were sparser, but it was beautiful nonetheless.

"Yeah?" Kode asked while confirming the loot in his inventory. As soon as Bruno opened his hop, they had another stack of meat ready to sell.

"I told you about the deer, right? And how much I earned from it."

"Only like seventeen times."

"Part of that was probably because it's rare to get something like that in the village."

"Yeah."

"But I've also talked to Bruno a bit."

"Yeah." Kode let Cinder take his time as he sat down next to the dirt-blond guy.

"It seems the higher up you go, the better everything is."

"That's true. It also includes monsters. If it had been that easy to climb, do you think I would have stayed down here?"

Cinder looked at where they had just killed three boars in quick succession.

"Don't you think we can do it?"

"Do you mean climb?" Kode stared at Cinder for a moment, realization gradually taking over his face as he followed Cinder's gaze.

Kode had been stuck in the frame of mind that climbing would be a pain. He had suffered like a stray dog when he first played the game since he couldn't even defeat a single boar on his own. He wasn't a good archer, and he had made a mistake with his stat point allocation, turning him into an even shittier one.

But now…? If he climbed with Cinder…?

"Yeah. I want to climb higher," Cinder said resolutely as he looked at Kode. The higher he went, the easier it would be to earn Tokens. By that logic, he would also need to invest more into his gear, but as long as he did well and continued getting a little lucky, he would manage.

He would do more than manage. He would start earning more than scraps. And he would do it alone if he had to.

Kode looked away from Cinder's intense stare, turning to the skies. He thought it over in silence. It was just a game.

"Alright. Let's start tomorrow night since it's about time for you to get off. I'll start preparing tonight."

"Sounds good." Cinder nodded. They returned to the village, and Cinder logged off while Kode…

He would have liked to start asking around and getting the supplies they would need to make the climb. But it was the middle of the night. The village was asleep. He looked toward the mountain.

It was a little risky, but he could scout the path a little and maybe secure some more funds for their climb. He could take down the boars easily with Cinder's help. But he had leveled up a lot and upgraded his bow since he tried to do it solo last. Maybe he could at least deal with one boar on his own.

It was worth a try. If he failed, he failed. He might lose his bow and some Tokens, but that was it. It was worth a shot.

***

The next night, Cinder and Kode met up in the center of the village a couple of hours before sunset.

"Right. I've got some camping gear, some food, and some spare tools that we might need in my inventory." Kode started talking as they walked out of the village. 

Cinder had wanted to say goodbye to Bruno, but the butcher had already closed his shop early that day. Cinder wanted to thank him properly for all his help and the delicious dinner, but it wasn't like Bruno was leaving. He could always come back in the future.

"I'm not sure exactly how far it is, but if we follow this path, there should be a town along the way where we can stay for a while. It's supposed to be good for levels eight to fifteen. I figure we stay there until we can comfortably continue the climb. Same as with Rata."

"Sounds good." Cinder nodded. He wouldn't mind staying forever as long as he earned enough money.

"The problem is how long it's going to take us to get there."

"How long?"

"By my estimations, three or four days. I couldn't get a grasp on how strong the monsters were higher up, so it depends on that mostly, and how much we need to fight and how injured we get."

Cinder nodded. That meant they could precisely reach their destination before his next day off. That was a good timeframe.

"Speaking of getting injured…I think the thing we have to be most careful about is that, especially you. My injuries heal automatically over time. Yours take as long as reality, and if you're grievously wounded, the only way to heal you would be to kill and reset you."

Cinder's eyes widened as he realized the problem. Every time he died, he wound up back in Rata.

"If that happens, I will have to start from the beginning!"

Kode nodded.

"And I will have to survive on my own. That's why I was thinking we should have a plan in case either of us die, though it's mostly just making our way back to meet up in the middle somewhere. Maybe see how far we can go without the other's help now and then to see how far we need to descend in case the other dies."

"Alright. Sounds like a good idea. It would be best if neither of us dies, though."

"Right. But if it were that easy, you wouldn't have died twice already."

"And how many times have you died?"

"Never," Kode answered immediately.

Cinder's eyes narrowed.

"Look! Boar!" Kode shouted. There was no boar.