Evil

Hollow Mountain

A/N: Minor adjustment of '11 blue dashes' representing 110 lives to 'one green dash and a blue one' in the chapter 'Mind-shattering'. If you notice any minor or major plot holes I haven't realised, I'll do my best to reword and fix the story!

I pulled up the mask that covered my mouth and nose, a frosty breath forming before me as I officially took my first step.

"Ypogeios tundra. What a marvellous sight." The terrain reminded me of the mountainous regions of Nepal, a thin layer of snow dusted the floor, algid winds blowing my hair to the right side.

I wore a simple black t-shirt and an undershirt alongside the parka jacket made from thick animal fur specifically designed to keep oneself warm. My pants made of dungaree fabric hugged my legs tightly and the woollen socks kept my feet nice and warm.

My hands were covered by leather gloves, ears covered by wool muffs I made myself as they hadn't been invented in this world yet.

The land was devoid of animals, as far as I could see, colossal mountains in the distance with snowy mountaintops hidden above the clouds. The sky was overcast with green cumuli, blocking out most of the sun, only serving to make the atmosphere chillier.

I trekked forward,"Home to the kosmimarians, if they're still around to call it home, that is."

I had made ample preparations. Hunting a few wild animals had allowed me to stock up a green mark—100 lives.

If that wasn't enough for this, I hoped that my speed and strength would allow me to, at the very least, escape from whatever danger I faced.

I came here with a sole objective: To find out what entities could force the world to label this place a forbidden zone.

The thing was, I didn't know where to start looking. In such a vast plain, it was difficult to decide where danger might be lurking.

I sped up to a jog at a comfortable pace of fifty or so metres per second, making quick work of the ground as I scanned the terrain for anything of interest.

Having spent several hours, I decided to climb a mountain in hopes that a bird's eye view would help. So, that was exactly what I did.

At the base, I pushed off the ground with the terrifying combined strength of over 200 men and leapt up, using the continued momentum to brute force my way up a relatively short mountain as compared to the others that reached above the clouds.

In a matter of minutes, I had summited the mountain with relative ease, making use of magic to mix up the cocktail of gases that formed the air to make it breathable. Unlike the climbers of Everest in the past, I wasn't about to waste months acclimatising to the air when the use of magic could easily do the trick.

"Hah hah hah..." I panted heavily, sweat pouring down my back as I caught my breath. Going all out put heavy strain on me.

After a few moments to collect myself, I looked down and was rather disappointed to find—Absolutely nothing out of the ordinary.

Taking my chances, I stood up once more,"Only one way to go then." I turned my gaze to a higher peak above the clouds and just like before, shot up with all my might.

Fifteen minutes later.

As I reached the top, I collapsed onto the floor in an exhausted, sweaty mess, my chest heaving up and down rapidly,"Jesus Christ this better have been worth it."