Did she already know what I would ask her for?

Ch 76: Meditating on the top of a mountain

Ch 76: Meditating on the top of a mountain

"Don't look down, don't look down, don't look down, don't look down...."

Those murmurs continually rang in my ears from the moment I started climbing the cliff. 

'Was the devil's temptation always so adorable?'

In fact, the more I hear it, the more I want to look down.

Of course, I won't. 

'I'm not a professional climber, and I don't even know if I'm afraid of heights, but it's best not to find out here.'

"What would you do if I told you there was a chance of getting your [Saint] class back?"

"Don't talk to me! Concentrate on not falling!"

'Ah, pure adorableness.'

"Don't worry, my intelligence is high."

Delia: "?????"

The Intelligence attribute broadens thoughts. This means that you can have many thoughts at the same time, concentrate on different things without losing sight of each other, solve problems more easily, etc.

The important thing here is that I can continue climbing the cliff while establishing a conversation with Delia.

"I've read about how Saints from the past have been able to regain their class."

"What book are you talking about?"

"Legends of the past."

"Those are just fairy tales."

"If I get the [Traveler] class today, anything is possible."

Delia: "..." 

Delia kept silent. Probably she is thinking about the saying 'if the river sounds, it's because it brings stones'. Following this logic, what if the books really told the truth? Even if only a part of those books is true, it would bring a lot of hope to someone who has lost a legendary class.

The silence only lasted a few seconds, and later we continued to talk casually.

Especially, to forget about the great height we were at.

***

'I've been climbing for about an hour with a bit of pride. I must say I'm pretty fast at climbing, so… Have I already climbed a few kilometers?'

Just the thought of that makes my skin crawl with goosebumps.

"There's the top! Emir, you must be very careful. People say that at the last moment anything can happen, so remember to hold on tight. Be very careful on slippery or unstable ground. If you apply too much force..."

Very nervously, Delia began to talk close to my ear, explaining what I must do to get off this cliff successfully. She has always been on my back, hugging me like a koala. I don't know where she got so much experience as a climber, but I still nodded to everything she told me.

"W- We made it!"

Upon touching the solid ground... Or rather, the snow, Delia picked up a large amount of it and threw it up in the air, very excited. Seeing her like that is so contagious that I also picked up some snow and did the same as she did.

But as I threw the snow, I realized something...

"Delia"

"Mm?"

"Look over there." I pointed with my hand and said, "We're not at the top yet."

Delia: "..."

"Over there in the distance, you can see the real top of the mountain."

Delia: "..."

The next second, she began to shiver with cold. She quickly wiped the snow off her hands to avoid getting any colder.

From my inventory, I picked out some clothes and equipped them directly on my body and hers. It's unfortunate to have to equip a pair of pants under her skirt, but there's no other way. In the end, we literally have several layers of clothing over our bodies to keep out the cold.

"I'm sorry, I only have men's clothes."

"Emir... I've been wondering this for a long time: why do you want the Traveler class when you're such a good Adventurer? Even as a Saint of Solus Temple, I didn't see anyone able to control inventory as well as you. Only storage rings can match your speed."

Delia's expression is serious, and she is looking me straight in the eyes.

Without answering her, I looked off into the distance. Specifically, at that tiny dot, which is Denir City.

"Being able to reach this kind of place at a time of my choosing is something that only those who possess the [Traveler] class can do," I mimicked Alfred's expression.

With a smile on her face, she nodded and said, "Now I understand. It's a nice dream, and I hope you can fulfill it."

Her words only contain sincerity. Since I know she was once a Saint I can understand why she is so tender and lovable. The Solus temple must have taken great care of her by keeping bad guys like me from getting too close to her.

Luckily for both of us, there was no need to climb a cliff again. The summit is reachable on foot, and while the snow interfered with our hike, it was not to the point of preventing us from moving forward.

About an hour later, we reached the top.

We are so high that the clouds are below us, and the night sky allows us to see every one of its stars without anything getting in our way. The scenery is unbelievably beautiful. I couldn't forget it, even if I wanted to.

I quietly looked for a rock and put a blanket over it. Only then did I sit down. One of the conditions for getting the class is to meditate on top of a mountain. Plus, it must have the theme of outer space in mind. If I had a telescope, I could get a better idea, but they are rare objects not available through mass sales.

"I'll be meditating for a while. This place is safe. So, if you want to walk around, go ahead."

"I'll be by your side; I won't let anything interrupt you."

"...Thank you"

Just then, the cold wind blew, making her hair sway in the air. Her cute fox ears tilted to the side, while her three tails tried to hide under her clothes.

All this added to the beautiful scenery and made her a picture worth portraying.

'Mm, I won't be able to concentrate if I keep looking at her. So, I quickly put all earthly thoughts out of my mind and pictured outer space. Will there be air? Living things? What is the sun? Great fire magic?'

Once the environment was right, I imagined how my body would feel in outer space. Body heat escapes from me as I think there will be nothing around me.

If I think negatively, then my body will fall infinitely.

If I think positively, then my body will float, and I will be able to fly.

I don't know how much time has passed… I only knew that when I opened my eyes and saw my user interface… The class didn't show up.

'What am I doing wrong? Do I need to keep meditating for hours?'

Emir: "..."

'Well, I've been cheating for a while. Now I have no choice but to continue.'

'[Experience]'

'[90% discount]'

I temporarily removed points from my status and added them to experience to increase the discount to 90%.

That time Alessia and I exterminated the thieves with scrolls, I concluded that the hidden requirement for the Mage class could be decreased to the point of being nullified if I had the 90% discount active. This is because I will only need to fulfill the remaining 10% to acquire the class.

Now I will check if that theory is correct.

With my eyes closed, I go back to meditating.

I repeated every previous idea and mixed them with the feelings that each one of them provokes in me, slowly making the atmosphere of outer space be recreated in my mind...

'I'm short of breath! No matter how much I move, I don't move forward or backward. My heart is beating strangely… Will I die of a heart attack? My whole body feels strange… Where am I? What was I doing before? Wait... Who am I?'

Emir: "!!!!"

I opened my eyes.

I breathed heavily and hard for a few seconds before I calmed down.

That's the deepest and most realistic meditation I've ever had… it got to the point where I forgot myself and my purpose. I really felt like I was taking my last breaths of life before I died.

I am now completely sure about two things. First, the 90% discount played a big role in this. Second... I got the class.

[Traveler Lvl 1]

[Travel regardless of location, appears in just seconds. Through space travel, anything is possible]

'Indeed, there it is. It's about time to modify my status points to add the new classes that have been piling up. I don't want to leave them until the last minute.'

I went back to the 60% discount and pressed the [Reset Status Points] button.

Activating the second through the seventh class requires 41 points. Respectively, the points are 2, 3, 5, 7, 11, and 13. The sum results in 41; there is no error.

The eighth and ninth class cost 17 and 19 points. Activating them will cause all the points in my status to decrease greatly. So, I won't activate them. I will have to remove the [Adventurer Lvl 23] and [Warrior Lvl 22] classes to add the new ones.

It seems that [Swordsman] and [Sword King] can't be activated at the same time. It's one or the other. Since [Sword King] has a chance to evolve into [Sword Saint], the decision to make is obvious.

[Traveler] needs MP, so I had to take points off luck and physical resistance.

The final result is as follows...

[Emir] [Great Adventurer Lvl 1] [Archer Lvl 19] [Knight Lvl 1] [Sword King Lvl 1]

[Leader Lvl 20] [Survivor Lvl 17] [Traveler Lvl 1]

HP=13 || MP=10

Agility=23 || Strength=23 

Intelligence=22 || Luck=4 

[Resistances]

Physical=1 || Magic=0 

Poison=0 || Curse=0 

'Now, the most important thing about all of this is that… All the new classes have abilities!'