After breaking through to the Intermediate Rank 3, I experienced a significant improvement in my physical strength and essence reserves, as always.
Meanwhile, my senses expanded to cover an area with a radius of more than one and a half kilometers.
During this time, our journey through this barren and scorching land continued at a decent pace after we had wasted several days resting when we encountered the massive swarm.
We had turned northeast a while ago, going deeper into Europe, reaching where Russia once used to be.
At the same time, the terrain began changing once again as the temperature dropped and the ash and volcanic lava started disappearing, replaced by cold winds, proving that this world still retained parts of its old climate... perhaps.
And the terrain wasn’t the only thing changing here.
We were changing as well.
Everyone had become more relaxed in this dead environment while handling things far better than I expected, and honestly, that was remarkable development even after they had nearly lost their lives several times.
And just as I kept breaking through ranks and becoming stronger, everyone else was doing the same.
The first to reach Rank 3 was Ellen, more than a week after I broke through to the Intermediate Rank.
Kyle followed shortly after, then Leona, and finally Izel.
And guess what else.
Of course, after that Elliot advanced once again into the Intermediate Rank 3, receiving major growth in his abilities... and that was good for us... after all, he was the most useful person among us.
At the same time he did that, I had already approached the Advanced Rank... perhaps I had already crossed halfway.
Anyway.
Everyone’s progress was absurdly fast compared to any other talent in the world... not this world, of course.
To put things into perspective, most people graduate from the Axis at the beginning of Rank 4, while the exceptional few reach the peak of Rank 4.
As for Rank 5, I don’t think that happens more than once every few years, and most of those who achieved it eventually became Kings... though of course, some died before they managed that.
It didn’t really matter.
Because what mattered now was that we were close to the end.
"We’re here now." Ellen spoke while placing her finger on the map spread across the stone table... just like every uncomfortable table and chair Elliot had created so far.
"Even so, it seems there are only a few hundred kilometers left before the marked place."
She meant the mark pointing toward the ruins at the top of the map, in the middle of the upper section where Russia once overlooked the frozen sea.
Kyle leaned back against the chair while staring at the mark with focused eyes. "The problem is that the mark doesn’t point to the exact location. Instead, it covers a massive area, and I doubt the ruins will be obvious."
"That could make us pass right by them without even realizing it."
Elliot placed his hand on his chin while staring at the mark. "Based on the scale of this map, the point actually covers an area with a diameter of dozens of kilometers."
"So finding it there will be difficult even with Caius’ ability... right?"
They kept talking and talking while I rested my elbow on the table and supported my head with my hand in boredom.
Several times, a lazy yawn nearly escaped my mouth.
"Caius?"
I looked at the hero in front of me before speaking in a bored voice. "What?"
Elliot frowned slightly. "I’m asking you about the mark and whether it’ll be difficult for you to find the ruins."
I stared at him for a while before answering. "I know you’re nervous and filled with anticipation and excitement, and I understand that."
"But you know this isn’t an important problem. Two or three days, or even a whole week of searching, won’t change anything, so don’t make yourselves nervous for no reason."
Everyone fell silent while staring at me.
Yeah, they had been like this for the past few days.
That hope in their eyes, along with the anticipation and overwhelming excitement, had made them discuss every possible detail about how to find those ruins the moment we arrived... as if that were even possible in the first place.
Yeah, they were right that the mark covered an enormous area, but as I said, that wasn’t really a problem.
After a moment of silence and my bored stare, Leona let out a sigh. "You’re right... should we continue now? I think we’ve rested enough."
I shrugged. "As you wish."
...
"From scorching heat to freezing cold... this reminds me of the test we took at the Axis." Elliot spoke while walking against the wind that made his clothes flutter behind him.
"Nah, this is paradise compared to that... they threw us into freezing liquid that day." Izel shook her head.
The wind wasn’t that strong, but it was ridiculously cold.
Beneath our feet, the black scorched earth had disappeared long ago, now replaced by the pure white color of snow.
With every step I took, my feet left traces in the accumulated snow while sinking into it up to my knees.
"A cup of hot chocolate would be perfect to relax here, wouldn’t it, Caius?" Leona’s voice echoed from beside me.
I turned my head to see the girl smiling greedily before I shattered that expression in the next moment. "Sorry, it ran out a while ago because someone insisted on making another cake... and added way too much chocolate this time."
The smile vanished from Leona’s face as she lowered her head in disappointment.
"That’s not fair..." she muttered in complaint, though I could barely hear it because of the wind in my ears.
I shook my head while noticing the large footprints in the snow... apparently some monster had passed through here.
"So how much farther now, Ellen?" Elliot asked, while Ellen stared at the map fluttering in her hand from the wind along with strands of her tied hair.
"It points directly beyond the mountains." She spoke, tension obvious in her voice.
Even Kyle’s breathing seemed heavier than usual, and his eyes more focused than ever before.
I looked toward the white mountain range stretching before us, and apparently we were about to get another climb.
It didn’t take long to reach them before the ascent began.
Unlike last time, Elliot created stairs out of ice formed from the outer layer of those vertical mountains.
We walked upward toward the summit in silence.
The only sounds were our footsteps striking the icy stairs along with the wind slamming against our faces so hard that my nose nearly froze.
Only occasionally would I hear the loud roar of a monster shaking the very surroundings, while glimpsing shadows moving down below across the thick snow.
Even when one of the steps cracked beneath Izel’s foot, she didn’t complain or make any remarks toward Elliot... they were truly extremely tense.
Even I was somewhat excited.
What could those ruins contain? Were they connected to the ones we had visited in the Cradle of Shards, or were they something else entirely?
But since there was one here, there could be more somewhere else.
Or were they related to the cracks that opened across the world and completely changed humanity?
All those questions would soon be answered... or maybe not.
Climbing this mountain didn’t take much time, and soon we reached the summit covered in snow and slippery ice.
The sky was clear today, and the sun stood at its center, making visibility as clear as possible.
So beyond the mountains, we could clearly see what lay ahead.
Kyle silently stepped toward the edge on the other side, and the others followed with careful steps across the fragile snow.
"Is this the place?" Leona asked while Ellen nodded.
"Yeah."
I was the last to reach the edge and look at the other side... and just as I expected, there were no visible buildings or ruins there.
Only a vast stretch of clear blue ice forming a breathtaking scene.
At times it sank downward, forming dark pits like bottomless abysses, while in other places it rose upward, forming chunks of ice as large as small mountains.
Between them, I could spot monsters fighting here and there, spilling each other’s blood across the gleaming ground.
"So the ruins are buried somewhere there."
I answered Elliot’s question while staring at the vast expanse.
"Apparently... yeah."
"This is going to take a lot of searching." Leona spoke while Izel nodded.
"Luckily, we have a scanner that can detect everything."
I rolled my eyes at her words while feeling a hand pat my shoulder.
I turned my head to see Elliot staring into the distance while patting my shoulder at the same time... what was wrong with this idiot?
I took a step to the side, moving away from him.
"Anyway, let’s—" But my words stopped at the tip of my tongue.
Then in the next moment, a massive roar thundered across the ice and snow.