The Achievement Junkie 190 Icicle Mountains

'Hang in there, everyone! It's best not to rest, but if we must then we can use the snow tent I borrowed from the Fat Goose,' Jack did his best to motivate his friends and make sure they were okay.

'Is it at the very top?' asked Eliza, hoping they wouldn't be in the blizzard for too long.

"It is, unfortunately. But that does explain why it's still hidden," reasoned Jack, trying to find some kind of positive.

They continued pushing since it was still morning by the time they left the city. When they asked around town about Glacier Peak, everyone thought Jack was suicidal.

According to the townsfolk, it was going to take them three days to reach the peak if they didn't run into any complications with beasts along the way. If they did, there was no telling what would happen.

Also, they had to consider that most of their beast companions wouldn't be able to last for long in these conditions if a fight broke out. Other than Maura's cetus, the others could last a few minutes at most. Though the cetus wasn't used to snow, it was used to the cold of the deep sea so it wasn't bothered by the snow.

They spent an entire day to finally pass the base of the mountain and make camp. 

Taking advantage of Maura's cetus, they had it keep watch overnight as they all slept in the thick snow tent Jack had prepared. In the morning, Maura stored the cetus away, letting it get its needed rest.

'Remember, we may not be as lucky today. If we face any beasts, stay together and defend until we know what the beasts are capable of,' warned Jack.

With a decent night's sleep behind them, the party pressed forward again. Their trek up the mountain was still slow, but it was unwavering.

They continued for hours, snacking on rations inside their thick coats along the way.

Around midafternoon, Jack suddenly stopped, catching everyone's attention.

'Everyone, listen closely.'

'Jack, they should be wolves from the howls.' Rydel was the first to recognize the beasts from their cries. 'But something's off. It seems like the wolves are already fighting something else.'

"...roooaaaarrr…"

A quiet roar reached everyone's ears, confirming Rydel's last statement.

'Any guess what it might be, Rydel?' asked Jack.

'I'm not sure, but it's strong enough to scare a pack of wolves,' stated Rydel. 'Do you think we should try to avoid it, or should we confront it?'

'Hmm… I think it's best for us to confront it. If it's that strong, we've already wandered into its territory. And I'd rather face it on our terms then have it stalk and hunt us down,' reasoned Jack, getting everyone to nod in agreement.

'Rydel, lead the way.'

With the shift in party leader, the party kept its slow pace but changed direction slightly. In a few minutes, a battle scene appeared in the distance.

Five wolves were circling around a larger beast covered in light blue patches over white fur. It was scary how well it blended in with the snowy landscape.

'So it's a Frost Leopard. This won't be easy, not with this weather,' stated Jack, letting everyone know what they were up against. 

As they got closer, they noticed three wolve corpses bleeding bright red on the white snow, and a fourth one soon fell as well.

'It's lv. 41…' Jack shook his head, not happy with their luck.

It would've been perfect if they were trying to grind and level up at the moment, but they were in a hurry to the peak. If they became too injured to continue the trip, they would've wasted three days to make it so far and turn back.

'Jack, what do ya think?' asked Maynard, curious what plan Jack was coming up with.

'Well, this would be a lot easier if Bowzer was awake,' whined Jack, still not sure what to do. 'Maynard, me and you will be the ones at the forefront. With Sudden Death, we'll have to kite it toward everyone else's attacks. We'll let the Flame Tiger, your Thunder Cat, and the cetus join the fight. Sadly, Aiden won't be able to help in this weather, not at his level.'

'Sounds like a plan. Let's get ready, the fight won't last much longer," said Rydel, who was still paying attention to the battle of the wolves and the leopard.

They started to get in formation as another wolf fell dead. Since only three were left, they were killed even quicker since the leopard had fewer enemies to worry about. Though the Frost Leopard had taken some damage, it wasn't anything too serious since the wolf pack leader was only lv. 33, while the rest were only lv. 30.

Easily sensing more threats nearby, the Frost Leopard growled as it eyed both Jack and Maynard who were closest.

'Now!'

Just as the leopard pounced at Jack, it found that it was unable to hit the small human. 

At the same time, three separate roars echoed on the mountainside. Maura hopped onto her cetus and drew her blades. Daliea kept her distance with Rydel, Eliza, and Keela while her tiger charged the leopard with flames protecting it from the cold. The Thunder Cat joined Maynard and Jack, distracting the leopard amidst attacking it.

"ROOOAARR!!"

Raging about the sudden rise in threat, the Leopard tried to escape but was cut off by the Thunder Cat.

While Maynard and Jack also cut off the leopard's other paths of escape, the Flame Tiger roared back and lunged forward with fire wrapped around its claws.

Both large cats were ferocious, attacking each other without fear. Though the Flame Tiger had a lower level, being a flame type helped make up some of the difference. With the support from Rydel's arrows, Daliea's and Jack's fire spells, as well as Maura's and Maynard's swords, the Frost Leopard eventually fell.

The party was lucky that the injuries were minimal, but it was clear that they couldn't face another powerful beast without needing to rest and heal.

Daliea's Flame Tiger was the most hurt of the party, taking most of the leopard's attacks head-on. Even after magical healing, it wouldn't be able to help them for the rest of the day.

With that in mind, the party took things easy.

After storing the wolf and leopard corpses, they made decent progress. They did have a run-in with some nearby wolves, but they were only lv. 30 and were missing a pack leader. It was assumed that those wolves had escaped the panther at the sacrifice of the others. Too bad they stayed nearby and attacked Jack's party right after that.

When night came, they again let the cetus take guard.

Inside the snow tent, the wind didn't affect them, but it was still plenty loud. Jack was the only one who wasn't annoyed by it since he was busy looking at his achievement system.

Another new achievement was suddenly completed.

[Predator turned prey: completed]

Apparently, that leopard was in the middle of its hunt when Jack's party had intervened. Thanks to their intervention, Jack now had a total of twenty skill points, but he didn't dare spend it yet.

Night came and went, letting the morning light barely pierce through the stormy weather.

'Remember, stay vigilant. The closer we get to the peak, the stronger the beasts get. We'll have to avoid fighting at all costs, even if we add a day or two to the journey,' stated Jack, making his stance clear.

With a new day ahead of them, the party continued their trek up the mountain.

Whenever they found any signs of nearby beasts, the party took their time going around them. It slowed them greatly, but they felt it was necessary. At times, they all wished they had come to the mountain after they were stronger, but Jack would remind them that the other hidden temples or shrines could be just as dangerous or worse.

Satisfied that they were getting close, the party didn't complain and kept their focus on the task at hand. Making it through the treacherous weather was their priority.

It took them an extra three days to skirt through the territories of the many beasts unscathed, making it to the peak on the sixth day.

They were all feeling better. Making it to a place rarely visited by mankind felt like quite an accomplishment for the party, filling them with pride.

Jack enjoyed the view, as they had finally started to look above the clouds. Another alert flashed by him, letting him know that another achievement had been completed.

[Looking down on the world: completed]

Giving Jack another thirty skill points, Jack was happy to have fifty skill points. But then he would look back at his skill list and shake his head, unhappy to be so far from what he wanted.

"...Roooaarr…"

A calm, relaxed roar echoed out from behind the party. They all looked up toward the peak. It was difficult to see, but there was the opening of a large cave hidden in the snowy peak.

With one collective sigh, everyone looked at Jack, wondering what he wanted to do.

Chapter end