The timer rings and I wake up.

Above me, an impossibly beautiful starry sky stretches across the heavens.

"Ugh... sleeping on something hard really makes my body hurt..."

I stretch while muttering to myself.

I feel great. Compared to that hellish training, this is a breeze.

Glancing sideways, I see Aichan snoring loudly with her mouth wide open, tongue lolling out messily.

It's deep in the night, yet the bright moonlight bathes the earth, making everything clearly visible.

"Fuh, fufufufu... So cute...!"

I open my status board and select the camera mode.

When switching to camera mode, a small handheld camcorder appears, allowing you to take photos with it.

"Hey there. This is Ichi-chan, the Evil Eye Ball. I just ate several big monsters for lunch and am now blissfully napping."

Gently move the camera like licking, capturing Ichi-chan in frame.

Long eyelashes. A large mouth. Prominent fangs. A thick, long tongue, resembling a bear's.

The ear-like parts are actually tentacles, so they can't grasp anything with their hands. Probably, their lifestyle involves shooting beams from afar to knock down other creatures, then just biting them whole.

Their reproductive abilities remain a mystery. It's unclear if there are other Evil Eye Balls in this area. Since this one has become a "monster," I suspect there aren't any nearby.

I switch off the camera mode and gradually adjust my eyes to the darkness.

Even moonlight is enough to see fairly well.

It would be even better if I had a flashlight, but it's better to rely on natural light than on a weak source.

For someone like me, whose vision was poor and who always depended on glasses, being able to see clearly without glasses and still perceive things well at night is truly moving.

I could probably afford to spend points on further vision enhancement. It's amazing how wonderful it is to have sight.

I exchange the crystal for water and a sandwich.

I'm not actually that hungry, but that's what Serika-chan advised—'do your best to stay prepared.'

I could survive a day without eating or drinking.

But even such a small thing can mean the difference between life and death. There was already enough margin on the points, so there was no need for such a risky move.

I woke up Ai-chan and shoved the great eagle's spirit stone into her mouth.

Though half-asleep, the way she sucked on the stone was silly and cute, but I could sense she might bite me if she were more awake—though she’d probably get angry if I said that.

―Don’t eat it

"Yeah, sorry. Are you okay with just that?"

―Fine

"Good! Then let’s go. From now on, we’ll be running until around noon."

―Got it

I stood up, checked the map once more, then started running.

Ai-chan floated along behind me, wobbling slightly. She didn’t seem able to move very fast—probably not much faster than me, even at her top speed.

Even though the moon is out, it doesn't illuminate things clearly at a distance.

You can't tell what dangerous creatures might be lurking around.

To put it bluntly, there's even a chance the same species as Ai-chan might attack with a beam.

"Well, there's always danger no matter when you run."

It's currently 2 a.m.

The temperature has dropped noticeably, and the cold is already noticeable.

Still, running will quickly warm you up.

With the help of potions, you might be able to sprint straight through forty kilometers.

It's unclear how far this dangerous area extends, but it probably doesn't go all the way to the village. After all, Ai-chan's here—maybe we'll manage somehow.

◇◆◆◆◇

"Running at night was the right choice, wasn't it?"

— Everyone's asleep.

I ran a distance that would have made my past self give up long ago.

Though I couldn't see them, according to Aichan, there were a few of those large lizards scattered a little further ahead, but they seemed to be less active, as if following the hints, showing no interest in us.

Then again, maybe they didn't bother approaching us directly since Aichan was with me.

Still, Aichan has excellent eyesight.

It's no surprise—her body is mostly made of eyes.

We could have fought and taken them down, but we're not in a position to take risks right now.

For now, we chose to simply pass them by to prioritize safety.

It was a good thing the temperature didn't drop drastically during the night, keeping conditions favorable for running.

Just being too hot or too cold must have been quite tough on you. Well, I knew the Ringpir Continent wasn’t that harsh even in the far north.

As for my concern about Ai-chan’s meals, it turns out her energy efficiency isn’t as bad as I thought—apparently, eating an amount roughly equivalent to that bird once a day is perfectly fine. She can sustain herself for an entire day on just her physical body, excluding the spirit stone, so it’s not that extreme.

…Still, even if she’s out in civilization, she’ll probably have a hard time.

After running for three hours, as the sky began to lighten, I realized.

"Ai-chan. Isn’t there a big mountain ahead?"

—There is.

A straightforward answer.

There is a mountain. To animals, the natural environment might be neither more nor less than what it is.

But I’m the one who’s stuck.

I ran toward the direction where there was a settlement, but crossing the mountain was not something I had anticipated.

"Status Open"

I check the map again.

The distance to the settlement is now just under 60 kilometers.

Judging from the remaining barrier stones and points, it's not an extremely long distance, but I definitely need to cross that mountain.

I gaze at the steep mountain towering in the distance.

Strictly speaking, it should be called a mountain range, but it looks more like a sheer cliff.

A cliff almost perfectly vertical, stretching from north to south.

"I've seen something like this on TV before... wasn't it called a Table Mountain?"

No, it's not that large in scale.

Rather, it's more like...

"Is it the other side that's sunken?"

The high-performance world map shows major cities and villages, as well as distinctive geographical features.

Coastlines. Lakes. Mountain ranges.

My current location, "The Abyssal Skull Plains," is also marked with a complete outline. There are several such lines drawn on the map, but very few of them form closed loops.

At first, I hadn't thought much about it, but the name itself includes "Abyss." Considering the location, if that "cliff" is indeed represented by this line...

If this plain is actually sunken dozens or even hundreds of meters straight down...

Then it's not something simple like a basin or karst terrain. It might be better to think of it as nearly cut off from the outside world, sealed off by the cliffs.

"…Could it be that heading west means there's an exit that way?"

It's possible.

The map shows a complete loop around the area, but details like stairs or relatively gentle slopes aren't indicated.

If there were abundant water, this entire basin might have been a lake, yet it's completely barren wilderness. Perhaps it was once a lake, or maybe there still is a lake in the center...

If we spent another five points on a high-quality surrounding map, we might find an exit, but that would only cover an area of about five kilometers radius at most.

It couldn't possibly cover this vast expanse of open plain, and we'd likely end up wasting our resources.

"We'll just have to go and see for ourselves,"

though we don't know if that cliff is even climbable.

At worst, we might need to search for a climbable section and circle around the entire area.

On the way toward

the cliff, Ai-chan takes down a large, sluggish lizard and uses it for breakfast. While avoiding

unnecessary battles, meals are still essential. The

spirit stones are not eaten but placed in her backpack instead. They serve as emergency rations, though Ai-chan suspects these stones could fetch a high price

if sold—after all, they’re larger than the ones seen in the footage

of the Lizardmen. The lizard is quite large and reportedly quite tasty, so Ai-chan seems fine without eating the spirit stones for now. She clearly understands that the stones are meant as

emergency food. “Storing stones is decent enough. I’d feel safer if I had more, though,” she admits.

Though strong and adorable, Ai-chan is serious about food expenses.

It's on a scale like eating an entire cow every day for meals. Just being with this kid means I’ll need to be ready to earn a lot.

Maybe I’ll even have to stock up on stones, eliminating all the local wildlife if necessary.

Aiko’s health has improved greatly—she’s eating well and back to her usual self. I don’t know why, but I can feel it. Maybe this is also a form of telepathic connection.

It’s 9 a.m.

Around now, the lizards should start becoming more active.

By then, we had finally reached the edge of the cliff. According to the map, the nearest village was 20 kilometers away.

Somehow, we’d already traveled about 60 kilometers. Thanks to 20 days of training and stamina potions, we’re not too tired.

"But this cliff... well..."

Whether it's a cliff or a mountain, how high could it possibly be?

(Hmm... it feels like it's easily over a hundred meters...)

It's impossible to tell by sight alone, but it's truly a towering cliff.

Maybe it'd be possible to climb with climbing gear, but attempting that without any training would be dangerous.

I look at Aichan floating lazily beside me.

"Hey, Aichan. Can you carry me up there?"

— It's hard to lift someone high up

— Yeah, that's true.

— But I can definitely fly up to a place like that.

Aichan says, then fires a beam toward the cliff.

The rock at a height of about twenty meters is carved away, leaving a mark.

"Pretty good at flying, huh? Hmm..."

That said, 20 meters might not make much difference.

Frankly, I still don't understand how A-chan can fly. She doesn't even have wings—she's just floating mysteriously.

"A-chan, if you rest once, can you fly just as high again?"

—fly

I see, so it's like jumping, but in the air.

I searched for the spot where the cliff was most uneven.

The nearby cliffs were extremely steep, so climbing here would be impossible. If there's a shelf-like rest spot, maybe A-chan's super-jump could get us through.

(Should we head north or south?)

Either way, we can't climb here, so we'll have to move to another location.

Ideally, I'd prefer heading south—but—

While thinking such thoughts, I ask one crystal for "a hint to live."

＜『Head north』＞

"North, huh~"

Whether it's teasing or just bad luck, the direction always seems to go opposite to where I want to go.

Still, at least I wasn't told to head west again.

Turning back now, after coming this far, would be pure suffering.

"Alright, Ai-chan. I'll run along the cliffside toward a place we can climb. If anything attacks again, tell me, okay?"

――I'm fine

Moving during the day carries some risk, but I don't think anything will come at us from above this cliff.

I just need to stay alert to what's ahead and on the left. Ai-chan's here, and we have the barrier stone too.

This is a place we should press forward.