Magus: A Supernatural LitRPG Saga (Apocosmos Book 2) by Dimitrios Gkirgkiris (romantic love story reading TXT) 📕

made it look . My fingers were aching and if it wasn't for the sand completely drying my palms, I'd definitely have slipped a few times. Using both the natural extrusions of the cliff and the rope Louie had thrown, I eventually made it to the top, taking twice the time Leo had. Or at least that's how it felt.

Once I was up there, I tried untying the knot Rory had made around my waist but my aching fingers wouldn't obey me. Leo, having seen me struggling with it, came closer and removed my hands before starting to undo it himself.

"Man, you must have been working out quite a lot in secret," I said and turned my eyes up to look at him.

"Yeah, I've been climbing for a while," he began explaining, but his words faded out completely once I saw the mountain in the distance.

Seeing its shape, I could understand why Louie was sure this was Mount Palm. The mountain had five rounded peaks, bundled together to resemble an open palm with the fingers pointing upward. At least a third of the mountain was covered in snow, but I couldn't understand how this was possible, considering how warm the weather was where we were currently standing.

Around the mountain, I could see small paths spiraling up, probably created by people or animals that wanted to access the peaks. This was positive in the sense that we wouldn't have to climb up with footholds and rope like we just had, which would probably be impossible given the height of the peaks, but it also meant that we probably wouldn't be the only ones on those paths.

The sudden release of the rope's tight grip from my waist brought me back to the present and I moved to the edge of the cliff. I looked down at the dwarf who was waiting patiently below and gave him a thumbs-up.

"I know which way is up, ye fucker," Rory said and caught the rope Leo had dropped for him.

"How can he have lived so long in the Cosmos and not know what a thumbs-up is?" I asked.

Leo just shrugged. "Okay, once he's tied, we move around that tree," he said, pointing at an old cedar behind us.

"Got it," I said and picked up the rope.

"Coming!" Rory shouted from below and we took our position around the tree, using it as a failsafe in case he tripped and we had to keep him in the air.

With every step the dwarf took up the cliff, we moved further away from the tree, keeping the rope tense, but making sure we weren't pulling too fast. But after a few seconds, Rory had gotten the hang of it, and we had to speed up to keep up with how fast he was climbing.

Eventually, we saw his thick fingers appear on the edge of the precipice, a split second before his red mohawk appeared over the top. The only thing redder than his hair was his face. He tried to hide his labored breathing, but his skin tone betrayed him.

"Piece of cake," he said and retrieved a flask of water from his inventory.

"You climbed really fast," I said with a smile.

I'm not going to ruin it for him.

"Dagda's cock!" he exclaimed, once he had downed the water in his flask. "This does look like a palm."

"We've got a long way up, it seems," Louie said.

"The way the sun moves," Rory said, looking toward the fiery ball of red light in the sky, "we're not going to make it today, at least not before our usual bedtime. If we camp halfway up, we should be able to reach the top by what would normally be noon tomorrow."

"Really?" I said, doubting we could cover that much distance in such a short period of time. "It doesn't look that close, Rory. Can we really make it that fast?"

"Well, not if ye keep yapping yer mouth," he said and started walking toward the base of the mountain immediately, Louie following right behind him.

The ascent, as with all things physically challenging, was easy at first. Louie and I exchanged ideas about how we should design the buildings where he'd house the rescued strays, while Rory whistled his way up the hills. Leo, on the other hand, was keeping his strength for the steeper uphill climb, or at least that's what he said when we asked for his input on the housing plans for the shelter.

"You should invest more initially so you have strong foundations," I said when we were already on our third hour of moving uphill. "You'll probably want to build more floors in the future."

"Dogs won't care about having better views and they won't be able to use the elevator," Louie retorted. "The closer they are to the food and water, the better for them."

"Then put food and water sources on all of the floors," I said and turned to Leo for support. "Right?"

"Sure," he said. He still wasn't talking much even though he seemed to be handling the ascent much better than any of us.

"That's actually not a bad idea," Louie agreed after giving it some thought. "Some automation of food delivery would be great either way."

"Right? And water should be available at all times too."

"But still, the big dogs will prefer to be on the first floor so they can get outside faster."

"Then put in some slides," I said and immediately had another epiphany. "Better yet, build ramps that go all the way to the ground, but pad them with grass. That way, they'll feel like they're already outside."

"Yes!" Louie said and barked in agreement. "That way it won't matter which floor they live on, as long as it's not too high. The more athletic and younger dogs can take the upper floors."

"Aye." Rory stopped his whistling and agreed with Louie. "And since ye're talking about floors, don't go making those stupid tall walls the humans have. Shorter ceilings will bring down costs and ye'll be able to pack in more