Genius Wizard Hides His Sword Skills [EN]: Chapter 84

84. The Jairo Mountains (2)

“Then we’ll wait for you here.”

Andy and Rica bowed deeply. They decided not to accompany us into the Jairo Mountains.

“Alright. I’ll leave it to you.”

They were both 5-star wizards. It was clear they were skilled enough not to be outdone anywhere, but the Jairo Mountains were a different story.

‘It would be a relief if they didn’t slow us down.’

They wouldn’t even be able to pass through the Mono Zone, the first area of the Jairo Mountains.

“Ah, right. We’ve also prepared some equipment.”

Andy headed to the luggage compartment of the carriage. When he lifted the tarp, various camping tools were revealed.

“Oh, you’ve got a great sense for this!”

The Jairo Mountains were so vast that they had never been fully explored. We were only going to a part of it, but it would still take several days. Camping was unavoidable.

“Ah, ah! Thank you! I thought you might have to sleep outdoors a lot when you go in, so I prepared it!”

Andy was flustered by my compliment. Rica rushed in, not wanting to be left out.

“I got these logs! They won’t go out even in the rain!”

“Oh, that will be very useful in the Jairo Mountains.”

“Hyaaah!”

Again, she covered her mouth and gave me a look of deep emotion.

[They’re totally smitten.]

‘This is why cults are dangerous.’

They were just two people who had become fans with a single compliment.

“Thank you so much. If we do well in the Jairo Mountains, it will all be thanks to you two.”

I laid it on even thicker.

“Aaaah!”

They clutched their heads, swaying slightly. If Drew hadn’t been there, they would have shed tears.

“Ahem!”

Anghel’s clearing of his throat stopped their fuss. After giving them a look, he started walking.

“Then let’s depart immediately.”

A small gap appeared between the huge, bizarre rocks. It was our destination.

* * *

We entered the gorge and followed the only path. A yellowish-brown road that continued for about 10 meters in width.

“It’s kind of eerie. It feels like someone’s watching us.”

Drew rubbed his arms and looked around.

Steep cliffs blocked us on the left and right. A path that only allowed us to move forward. It was a desolate place where we couldn’t hear any signs of life except for the occasional weeds.

“We just have to keep following this path?”

“Yeah. If we get through this path, we’ll pass the first zone.”

“The first zone? Are the zones divided?”

“Hmm. I need to explain a little about the Jairo Mountains.”

Anghel already knew, but Drew and Admun probably hadn’t heard the details about the Jairo Mountains.

“First of all, not all of the Jairo Mountains have been explored.”

“Ah, really?”

“The deeper you go, the stronger the monsters get. Even if 9-star powerhouses gather and travel together, it’s hard to go to the deepest parts.”

“Wow… What kind of monsters live there that even 9-star wizards can’t handle?”

“They’re strong, but there are also a lot of them. If they smell humans, they swarm in groups, so there’s nothing we can do.”

Drew nodded, his mouth slightly open. It seemed like he didn’t quite grasp it yet.

“Anyway, the places that have been explored have been divided into nine zones by humans. This entrance is the Mono Zone. The deepest place they’ve gone is the Nona Zone.”

“Aha?”

Drew tilted his head at the names Mono and Nona.

“Isn’t that the Ias region dialect?”

“You’re right.”

He was quite perceptive. It was the dialect used in Ias to read numbers.

Mono, Duo, Tri, Tetra, Penta, Hexa, Hepta, Octa, Nona. It was the Ias dialect that represented the numbers from 1 to 9.

‘To be exact, it’s the Shiraton dialect.’

Shiraton, the name of Ias a thousand years ago. The dialect of that place, where the Magic Tower took root, named the zones of the Jairo Mountains.

“The first to explore the Jairo Mountains was the first Magic Tower Lord. So he decided to use the Ias dialect.”

“Ah! It’s the Magic Tower Lord after all!”

Drew clapped his hands as if he finally understood.

His expression turned questioning at my next question.

“Then do you know what they call the other zones besides the explored zones?”

“Hmm? Unexplored territory? Or a monster den?”

Drew pondered. Admun’s voice filled the silence instead.

“Is it perhaps the Deka Zone?”

“That’s right.”

Admun had better sense than Drew this time.

“Ah! It’s the next number!”

Drew’s sigh of regret followed.

Deka, meaning the number 10. That was the word for the unexplored areas of the Jairo Mountains.

“Oh, I totally get it. So the first zone, Mono, means this path?”

“Yeah. But the path is quite long, so we won’t be able to go all the way in one day.”

“Ah, I see.”

With those words, he looked somewhere. Drew was looking at a cactus that had bloomed on the roadside in the distance.

“But you should never touch that cactus.”

“Are all the creatures here dangerous?”

“Not necessarily, but that cactus is one of the most dangerous things in the Mono Zone.”

“Does it have a deadly poison or something?”

I shook my head.

Sometimes it’s faster to show rather than explain.

I picked up a stone from the ground.

Thaa-!

I threw it at the cactus.

Growooooo!

With that, a strange sound came from the cactus.

“H-huh! W-what is that!”

The cactus, which had been still,

Tteooooeok!

As if a monster was opening its jaws, it swallowed the flying stone.

And then, as if nothing had happened, the cactus returned to its original form.

“Haa… This is the Jairo Mountains.”

Drew was dumbfounded, his mouth wide open.

“That’s why exploring the Jairo Mountains isn’t easy.”

“Haa. I’m scared just thinking about the monsters, but I have to worry about things like that too…”

“It’s okay. If you just follow me and Anghel, there won’t be any problems.”

He couldn’t speak. A moment later, as we passed by the cactus.

“Hiiik!”

Drew stuck to the cliff and moved as quickly as possible.

[That was the fastest I’ve ever seen Drew. Maybe he’s better suited for agile techniques?]

Oberon looked at him from a new perspective. Only I could hear his comments.

* * *

“It would be good to camp around here tonight.”

The sun had already set. Anghel stopped walking in the darkening surroundings.

“Heo. Finally, we’re resting.”

Drew sat down on the spot as if he had been waiting for it. We had been walking through the Mono Zone since dawn.

“The Jairo Mountains are really wide. I almost made a big mistake by ignoring it because I thought we could just walk!”

He rubbed his legs with unnecessary exaggeration. But Anghel stopped walking not simply because he was tired of walking.

We had been here without any threat from monsters, but the most dangerous moment in the Mono Zone was now.

‘It’s already night.’

Anghel looked for a good place to camp as if nothing had happened.

“It would be good to set up a tent here.”

Anghel chose a relatively flat spot.

Woooong!

Illimita’s portal appeared on my wrist. It gradually grew larger and spat out the camping equipment that Andy had prepared.

“It’s an amazing artifact, no matter how many times I see it.”

A subspace that could store huge equipment without any problems. Thanks to Illimita, we were able to bring heavy equipment easily.

“Let’s set it up quickly.”

Anghel and Admun began to set up our temporary shelter.

Hwaaahk!

Drew and I were in charge of lighting the firewood.

The firewood that Rica had prepared. The firewood, which was said not to go out even in the rain, began to burn with a small fireball.

“It lights instantly.”

Since Anghel could also use telekinesis, the accommodation was also prepared without much effort.

“Then let’s really take a break.”

We immediately gathered around the fireplace.

We were lost in thought as we looked at the embers for a while.

“What are we eating? Are we having a barbecue?”

It wasn’t Drew if he didn’t think of food when he saw the fire.

“Yeah. Barbecue sounds good.”

Woooong!

Illimita reappeared.

“Waaaah! When did you pack this!”

He was the happiest at this moment with the various foods that popped out of the subspace.

* * *

“Hoo. The Jairo Mountains aren’t that special?”

Drew rubbed his belly, which was sticking out like a mountain. Around the satisfied-looking guy were the remains of what used to be food.

“Really? I guess you’ve adapted quite a bit now?”

“Yeah. There’s nothing dangerous except for the cactus, and we just have to walk.”

He had become quite relaxed. He was even enjoying the wind blowing through the gorge.

“Huh?”

Suddenly, his hair fluttered wildly. The wind had been blowing since the afternoon due to the geographical characteristics [the shape and features of the land].

Whooooong!

Now it was so rough that it could be felt on the skin.

Tak. Tadak!

The flames of the firewood were being shaken violently.

“W-why is the wind suddenly so strong?”

Before I could react to the flustered Drew.

“Everyone, step back.”

Anghel, who had gotten up first, began to look around.

‘Have they finally come out?’

[Drew is going to be a little embarrassed.]

Admun, who was looking around following Anghel.

“Oh, there!”

What was reflected in his eyes was.

“Keeeuuuu…”

Two eyes were perched on the cliff.

“Uaaaah! M-monster?”

Drew’s startled voice. But it was too early to be surprised.

‘A lot of them have gathered.’

Whether they smelled the food or the scent of humans that had appeared after a long time.

The two eyes became four. It became eight.

“Keureueueu…”

Soon, they were filling the cliff that was visible in sight.

[They’re coming from there too.]

Not only on the cliff. Eyes were also visible at the end of the path. Unknown beings were surrounding us from all directions.

The guys gradually approaching from the end of the path.

“I-is that a wolf?”

Drew’s panicked voice echoed at the sight.

A body the size of a person, covered in black fur. However, the fact that its eyes shone with a red glow was different from ordinary wolves.

‘Black Wolves… It’s nice to see you after a long time.’

Monsters that hunt humans who enter the Jairo Mountains in groups after sunset. They were like the gatekeepers of the Mono Zone.

“There are a bit more… than I thought.”

However, as Anghel said, there were too many of them.

Not only were they filling the cliff, but they were also gathered as if blocking the front and back.

“W-wasn’t it just the cactus we had to be careful of here?”

Drew, who had underestimated the Mono Zone, was the most surprised by the current sight.

“It wouldn’t be the Jairo Mountains if that was all.”

Those who made people tremble with fear. Monsters were the masters of the Jairo Mountains.

The guys who were gradually approaching, tightening our breath.

“Keureuaaa!”

They began to increase their speed. With their mouths wide open.