Cardfight!! Vanguard: Generations Volume 4 [Ryouta Rival]

- Part 12

To actually access the caverns, you first had to scale the mountainside.

Under normal conditions, this climb would've been doable thanks to the protruding rocks that had been generously scattered across the cliffside, meant to act as a way to let us climb up it.

However, due to the rain, these rocks had become wet to the touch, making them slippery hazards that were practically impossible to grip.

Not only that, but the rain had also turned the mud floor into a pit of thick sludge, meaning that if you fell while climbing the mountainside, you'd splash straight into it.

While it would be marginally less painful than landing on solid ground, it would be a far more disgusting experience. Nobody wants to be dipped in mud, let alone have it be the first thing they experience after falling.

"Well, this wasn't what I expected..."

Megami, who had been trying for the past five minutes to make any sort of progress up the mountainside, finally gave up, leaning against the wall with her chafed hands.

"It seems the rain made these rocks as smooth as Takanori-san's brain."

You're the smooth brain for thinking such a lame insult, Megami...

For a natural structure, the protruding rock formation looked a little too deliberately placed. Considering these additional rocks were obviously more refined than the natural stuff, it was a safe bet to assume the school added them to make climbing up easier.

Unfortunately, it backfired on us in this particular instance. The only way we'd make our way up now was by either taking the long way round or by climbing using the mountain's real rocks, which would be a lot more difficult to do and harder to find.

"Considering our original goal was to save time by climbing up the mountainside, I think we'd waste more time by trying to figure out how to do it here. I say we cut our losses and take another route."

As I suggested that, Megami crossed her arms, furrowed her eyebrows, and nodded.

"I agree... there's no point trying to shortcut it if the shortcut is broken. Now I feel like a fool for suggesting this..."

"Don't be. I'm pretty sure we're the only group of seekers who are on the move right now, so even if we spend a bit longer taking the long way, we'll still be ahead of the others who are taking shelter."

"...you raise a fine point. Then, there's no better moment than the pres—"

Before Megami could finish, Shimizu jumped up like a spring, heading straight towards the cliffside. However, before she collided into it, her small hand reached out, catching onto a rock that was slightly above and to the left of her.

Then, with a large swinging motion, she propelled herself upwards, catching onto a rock that was to her far right, and using it to pull herself upwards.

In two swift motions, Shimizu had climbed up a quarter of the wall. Megami was in shock.

"S-Shimizu-san? How did you..."

Shimizu, whose tongue was stuck out a little to show she was fully concentrated, ignored Megami and continued to scale up the mountain using the same swinging technique.

She must've had really good grip strength to not slip off these rocks. Even if they were real, they were still slippery, but not so slippery that they were impossible to grip, unlike the fake rocks. She probably had only a second or two before falling off.

It just made it even more impressive that she was able to so quickly discern between which rocks were safe to grip and which rocks weren't, especially under such a tight time limit.