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“So, we have to climb all the way to the top?” asked Leo.

His body had gained more endurance and stamina than he could believe, but he still didn’t want to climb a whole mountain.

“That’s correct, Leo. The rumors state that the dragons lie on the peak of the center mountain,” Koram responded.

“Hope you’re not thinking of bailin’ on us, Leo, we already came all the way here,” Budmuk added.

“I’m not, just nervous to fight a dragon, I guess. Though going up a mountain is also not something I’m looking forward to,” responded Leo.

Koram and Budmuk shot each other a look before they burst out laughing at Leo’s comment.

“Do not worry, Leo, I promise we won’t be fighting any dragons,” chuckled Koram.

“We’re here to see if a dragon exists, not to fight the damn thing,” cackled Budmuk.

“Ah, alright, that’s good then,” replied Leo, as his face grew red with embarrassment.

The group decided to set up camp at the outskirts of the forest, despite there being more sunlight left, as it’d be better to start the climb after a good night’s rest. Budmuk got to work and set up camp as Koram prepared dinner, Leo stood guard around the camp to avoid any more conversation.

While it may have been presumptuous to think they’d fight a dragon, he hadn’t thought it was so unrealistic. He could admit that maybe his sense of scale was thrown off and that a dragon wouldn’t be the equivalent of a miniboss for three people.

When he sat down with dinner in hand he couldn’t help but wonder, could he fight a dragon? He was strong, obviously, but would strength alone be enough for something like a dragon. He quickly finished his food, as a plan started to form in his mind.

“Hey, Budmuk, can you show me how to fight?” asked Leo.

“Do you mean show you some druid magic?” he responded, confused by the question.

“No, like, how to punch. I don’t know the proper form or anything, so I thought seeing you demonstrate it could help me out,” explained Leo.

“Aye, you really are hopeless. Alright, kid, I’ll show you how to fight. Just take note of what I do,” Budmuk said, as he walked towards a tree with Leo following close behind.

Leo watched as Budmuk showed him the basics of a fighting stance. He saw how to throw your strength and weight behind a punch. Budmuk demonstrated his technique for thirty minutes with explanations on what he was doing. Leo learned that he really had no clue what he was doing before, and that one dwarf can really damage a tree. When Budmuk finished his demonstration, he headed back to the fire. Before Leo could follow him, he felt his status ping once more.

[Leo Eule - Human][Health: 99,999/99,999]

[Class: None][EXP:1,500 ]

[Strength: 2,147,483,647] {Currently 429,496,729}

[Dexterity: 4] {+1, Unarmed Combat increased}

[Intelligence: 4]

[Charisma: 4]

[Abilities]

[Curse of the Withered King: Your Strength was permanently set to -2 of current Strength.]

[Conserve Power: You can limit yourself to only 20% of your full Strength.]

Leo was excited that he could see his improvement, even if it was by a small margin. Leo tried his best to practice the newfound techniques, but he couldn’t make much progress. Without being able to put his weight behind his punches, his attacks felt shallow.

While he was tempted to try a single blow at full strength, there was nowhere near that wouldn’t be utterly devastated by his attack. Alongside the fact he planned to keep his strength a secret, he decided to practice another day.

He went to bed soon after, as his mind ran through the forms and techniques he learned before he fell asleep. Unlike the night before, Leo did not have a peaceful sleep. His dreams were filled with the sight of rot, of dead plants and animal carcasses strewn about a dank cave.

Despite the graphic dreams, as he awoke the memories of what he saw slipped away. Leo crawled out of bed to the sight and smell of French toast topped with a rich syrup and an array of fruits. While he wasn’t particularly hungry, the food activated the primal hunger for dessert held by all humans.

He helped himself to a large portion, as he saw Koram and Budmuk also sitting down and enjoying their breakfast. The syrup added a complex layer of sweetness to the french toast, as if the sugar danced upon his tongue.

“Koram, this is some solid French toast, good job!” commended Leo.

“Pardon?” responded Koram.

This was when the incredible mind of Leo had its first thought of the day, that perhaps an Elf who lives in Irontree in a fantasy world had never heard about France or the French. Thankfully, Leo had become a master of deceit, able to weave together a flawless webs of lies and deception.

“Oh, uh, that’s just my nickname for them. I have a friend called, French, who cooked this type of toast, and their recipe was really good so I called it French toast. Since my friend’s name is French, and this was the toast they made,” stammered Leo.

He felt hopeful that he had confidently played off his mistake. While it could have been possible, his pained expression and profuse sweating didn’t add to his credibility.

“I see, well that is a lovely story Leo. Who knows, perhaps I could meet French some day,” responded Koram.

Leo cringed, “Yup, hopefully you can. Who knows.”

He stuffed his face with as much French toast as possible in the hopes of not needing to continue his lie. Once the group had finished eating they quickly cleaned up their campsite and packed up their belongings. Leo was prepared to start the walk up the mountains right away, but Budmuk held the group up before they started.

“I just want to get this out of the way for everyone. Eversunk is far more dangerous than the walk in the park that is the forest. We’re gonna need to stick close together and fight as a team. Leo, me and Koram all have experience going through these mountains. If something attacks, just get behind us,” ordered Budmuk.

“Alright, Budmuk, I got it,” responded Leo.

“Don’t worry, Buddy, Leo’s not slowed us down yet, and I’m certain he can handle himself,” said Koram.

It took them half an hour just to reach the start of the path up the mountain, though the word path made it sound as if there was a clearly marked trail. There weren’t any obvious signs that the path was much different than the normal terrain. Despite this, Budmuk and Koram seemed to move through it with familiarity and ease.

They slowly made their way up the mountain as they journeyed through the stone terrain. While the group happily chatted through the forest, there was a cautious quiet while they climbed the mountain. Budmuk had told Leo that their first rest will be the base of the main mountain, which would be reached after they got through the exterior mountain range.

The climb up the mountain quickly turned difficult, as the terrain was jagged and uneven. There were portions that required them to climb alongside areas where they had to move under unstable rocks. The area that gave them the most trouble was where the trail clung against the mountain's face, thinning out the further they went. The path was only a few inches thick, and chunks of rock and dirt fell with each step.

This portion of the trail proved difficult for even Koram and Budmuk, who moved slowly and clung to the wall. While this was a struggle for the experienced climbers, it was a near impossible task for Leo. He had to contain as much of his strength as possible as he shuffled, afraid that one twitch would take down the unstable path.

He felt his breath stop, as he tried his best to keep calm while they moved through the path. When the path started to widen, and the ground became stable, he finally let himself take a deep breath. His heart beat violently in his chest, as he felt relief that this portion of the journey was finished.