The procession had arrived at the foot of Mount Trimun.
The atmosphere was heavy, filled with the energy that surrounded the sacred mountain where the tomb was located.
"Are we really going up there?" Tunda asked, looking dazed.
As we passed through the entrance, I was taken aback by the steep incline; even I found it daunting.
Geneadin had warned us that today would be a hard day, and I understood why.
The slope felt nearly vertical, and everyone in our group sighed heavily.
"Huff, huff."
It didn't take long for our breaths to become labored.
In contrast, I felt invigorated as we climbed. It had been a while since I engaged in aerobic exercise, and my body felt revitalized.
As I focused on my ascent, I glanced back and noticed that I had left the group behind.
While I was moving steadily ahead, Tunda was lagging far behind.
"How can anyone climb this? Is it even possible?" he complained, clearly struggling.
He had already fallen behind halfway through the line.
As an Arahan heir, he should have been leading us, but he lacked any sense of responsibility.
"Come on, Young Master! You need to keep moving!" one of the attendants urged him.
"You didn't say how steep this would be! Did Gracie not know either?!"
"I've never been to Trimun Mountain before. How would I know?"
"We should have brought a carriage! How can you expect me to climb this?!"
"Young Master Tunda, you can only reach the tomb on foot. This is part of the authentication process."
"That's not my problem! I'm done! I'm really going to die here!"
Tunda's complaints echoed loudly enough for everyone to hear.
After glancing back again, I noticed that the distance between us had widened even further.
Everyone else looked exhausted too, even if they weren't vocal about it.
"Tch. What's so hard about this?"
Reluctantly, I decided that we needed a break for everyone's sake.
I signaled for a rest, and everyone collapsed onto the ground with sighs of relief.
"Are you alright, Young Master?" one of them asked.
"Yes, I'm fine."
"You're impressive! I was just about to run out of breath."
Michael, the captain of the guards, looked at me in awe.
He had been the only one able to match my pace thus far.
As the guard responsible for escorting us during the ceremony, he must have experience climbing high mountains.
"By the way, it looks like this will be your last ceremony," he noted.
Michael handed me his water flask.
Being the youngest means this would be my final ceremony as well.
I took a sip before passing it back to him.
"It's fortunate that both Tunda and I are participating together."
"Haha! That's true. The ceremony requires physical training since those responsible for escorting shouldn't tire out easily."
"But you did great! You've been climbing for almost two hours without losing your breath!"
"Haha... In that sense, you're even more impressive. I didn't expect a mage to have such stamina... Rondo couldn't do this either."
Rondo Arahan was a familiar name—the eldest son of the family and a character from the game. He was now my rival as well.
'He must be around 25 by now.'
The reason I hadn't chosen to be a mage wasn't solely due to my preference for close combat; there was something about Rondo Arahan that repelled me.
It was strange; despite being just graphics on a screen, I felt an inexplicable aversion from the very beginning.
'Maybe it's fate that brought me into this world.'
As I pondered these thoughts further, Eddie chimed in again.
"Captain Michael, shall we get moving?"
"Yes, let's go before we waste any more time."
The procession resumed as everyone reluctantly rose from their resting spots.
Tunda continued his complaints but failed to keep up with us as we moved forward again.
"Are we really starting again? I want to rest some more..."
"You've already rested for ten minutes. Get up!"
"How much further do we have? We must be almost there by now!"
"...Young Master, we haven't even reached a quarter of the way."
"What?! No way! You're kidding me! Gracie didn't tell me it would be like this?!"
Even after preparing for our journey, Tunda seemed utterly unprepared for what lay ahead.
I watched him closely and then signaled again; we couldn't afford any delays because of him. If we wanted to reach our destination before dark, we needed to keep moving swiftly.
"We're setting off again! Everyone stay strong!"
As we began marching once more, Tunda's whining continued unabated.
Soon enough, Gracie's sharp voice rang out from behind us.
"What are you doing?! Your Young Master needs to lead!"
"Damn it!"
I couldn't help but curse under my breath at her interference.
Just as I turned around in irritation, Michael stepped in front of me.
"I'll take care of him; you lead us onward."
"Fine..."
Michael bowed slightly before heading back towards Tunda while I shook my head in frustration and resumed my position at the front of our group.
It was time to head toward Temud's tomb once again.