Chapter 68

"I don't suppose you have any rope on you?" Toyo asked as he craned his neck, trying to take in the entirety of the mountain looming before him.

Naomi shook her head. "Sorry, no one told me I'd be going rock climbing in an RPG."

"In an RPG, it's kind of a rule of thumb that anything within the game is there for a reason."

She placed a hand on her hip. "Alright then genius, why didn't you bring any rope?"

Toyo shot her a sardonic look. "Give me about five minutes and I'll come up with a really witty answer."

Naomi rolled her eyes before returning her attention to the steep mountainside before them. Holding a hand above her eyes to ward off the merciless sun, she checked for any paths or tracks carved into the rock. Beside her, Toyo focused his gaze nearer towards the base as he leaned on Silverthorne. Sweating from the heat, Naomi finally shook her head.

"I don't think there's a way up."

Toyo scratched his beard. "No, there has to be. Why would Kayaba place a random mountain here, in the middle of the plains, if it can't be climbed?"

Naomi pulled out a bottle of water.

"Games have areas that can't be accessed all the time," she said between sips. "Floor One alone had an entire mountain range that couldn't be scaled."

"Yes, but that mountain range was at the edge of the map," Toyo replied, not taking his eyes off the mountain. "It was probably made to be a natural border for the sake of immersion, and that makes sense. But this?" He waved a hand irritably at the colossal pile of rock. "This one mountain in the middle of the Floor, and surrounded by nothing but fields?"

Naomi sighed as she offered him the water. When he didn't notice, she cleared her throat in annoyance. He glanced over, sheathing Silverthorne while he turned.

"No thanks, I have my own." He crossed his arms as he focused again on the base just ahead of them. "This is really going to bother me."

"Why do you care so much about it?" Naomi asked curiously. "At best, there's some kind of Field Boss waiting for us at the top. Trapped up there, we'd probably die."

Toyo pursed his lips at the mountain. He couldn't help but feel like it was taunting him.

Turning to Naomi, he tapped the map tucked behind his belt.

"I care because the position of this mountain is perfect for an outpost." He pointed to the top, though neither of them could see the summit. "From that vantage point, we could see what's going on for miles, all the way back to Urbus."

He wasn't exaggerating. It hadn't been more than twenty minutes march to the south of the fields outside Urbus when they had seen it, jutting out like a shark fin over the ocean's surface. Though they still had quite a few miles to cover in order to complete their perimeter, Toyo had persuaded Naomi that reaching that mountain would make the patrols incredibly more efficient.

It had taken over two hours to reach the base, not to mention several battles against the Floor's mobs, which were stronger and more powerful than those of Floor One. During the walk, the sun had become increasingly unkind, bathing them in it's artificial light as the temperature of the Floor rose. All in all, it had been a gruelling march. And now, it seemed, a fruitless one as well.

Pulling a strand of wet hair behind her ear, Naomi accessed her menu. A second later, her breastplate and shirt were gone, leaving only a black undergarment that looked very similar to a sports bra.

Toyo batted an eye at her. "Are you trying to make me feel better?"

She laughed cynically at him. "You know, you could be a comedian. Your jokes are just remarkable." She glanced hatefully at the sun. "It's gotten entirely too hot out here, I'm sweating like a pig."

Toyo grinned mischievously. "Aren't you afraid I'll look?"

"I'm sure you already have."

He scoffed. "Someone's awfully cocky."

She arched an eyebrow. "You're one to talk."

"Hey now, I could've taken off my shirt using that same excuse to show off all those late nights at Planet Fitness I put in, but instead here I am being the perfect gentleman."

Tying her hair back behind her, Naomi flashed him a haughty look. "I may not know you very well, but I can say with absolute confidence that gentleman is not in the list of nouns people would use to describe you."

Toyo put a hand to his heart. "Now that's just rude."

Taking out his waterskin, Toyo took a swig while giving the mountain another look. After a final moment, he sighed.

"Alright, I guess I was wrong. Sorry for wasting your time, Naomi."

She waved his words away cheerfully. "Don't worry about it, I'll call it even if you pay for dinner every time we meet, from this point forward until the end of time."