The Wyvern had appeared and vanished, and their guide, Libery, was nowhere to be found.
Rest stood frozen in a daze for several seconds, but he knew he couldn't stay that way forever. Eventually, he forced his mind back into gear.
"Well... now that we've made it this far, we should be fine without a guide. Probably."
They were already halfway up the mountain, and he had gained a decent understanding of the terrain. It would take time, but as long as they were cautious and maintained a solid safety margin, the danger shouldn't be insurmountable.
"We’ll have to be extra careful from here on. If things look even slightly too risky, we’re turning back."
"Sure, I don't mind," Yuri replied, nodding while her brow furrowed slightly. "Still... that Wyvern was massive. It’s a shame we let it get away just now. We really should have taken it down when we had the chance."
"Yeah... tell me about it."
Faced with a sudden attack, he had prioritized defense. If they had managed to slay the Wyvern then and there, they could have collected their prize and headed straight home.
"Well, no point dwelling on what’s done. From this point on, I’m going to focus entirely on [Life Search]."
Rest concentrated, expanding the range of his detection. Ten meters, twenty, thirty—as his perception widened, a flood of sensory data rushed into his brain.
The further he pushed [Life Search], the heavier the mental strain became. No matter how much Mana he had at his disposal, the capacity of his consciousness remained a bottleneck. He didn't want to overextend himself, but considering the Wyvern's terrifying speed, a wide detection net was the only way to ensure their safety.
(There are too many wild animals... I'll filter out anything below a certain Mana threshold. I need to focus only on high-level monsters...)
He began discarding irrelevant information, selecting only the data he truly needed. Once the mental load reached a manageable level, he finally let out a sigh.
"Alright... let’s move."
"Right, let's go—... Wait, Rest, why are you walking like a toddler?"
As they resumed their trek, Yuri looked at him with a puzzled expression. Rest was moving at a snail's pace, his steps clumsy and uncertain.
"It can't be helped. I'm using so much mental energy to track monsters that I can't spare any focus for my own feet."
He was quite literally at his limit. By dedicating his entire consciousness to environmental awareness, his motor functions were suffering. On flat ground, it might have been manageable, but navigating this treacherous, uneven terrain was another story entirely. If he didn't slow down, he was liable to trip and go tumbling down the mountainside.
"Oh, I get it! So that's how it is."
Yuri clapped her hands together in understanding. Then, before he could react, she pulled him close and hoisted him into the air, holding him in a firm [Princess Carry].
"In that case, I'll carry you! Leave everything to me!"
"I appreciate the help, Yuri, but... could you at least think about the method of transport?"
He had a nagging suspicion this had happened before. Still, being carried like a damsel by a girl smaller and more slender than himself was a bit of a blow to his pride.
"Alright, here we go! Rest easy, and feel as though you're on a sinking ship!"
"Wait, a sinking ship is the exact opposite of what I— Whoa!?"
"Here we gooooo!"
Yuri took off with Rest in her arms. She sprinted up the slope at a breakneck pace, rapidly gaining altitude.
"Hey! I said be careful— Waaaaaaaaaaaaah!?"
The sheer speed and the force of the Wind pressure made it feel like they were on a runaway roller coaster. Rest couldn't help but scream.
Despite his protests, Yuri didn't slow down for a second. She charged up the mountainside with a speed that made it hard to believe she was carrying another person's weight.
"Waaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaah!?"
Even in the midst of his terror, he wanted to give himself a pat on the back for one thing: he never once let [Life Search] drop.
After several skirmishes with monsters along the way, Rest and Yuri finally managed to reach the vicinity of the summit.