(Jokul’s POV)

I stood in front of the foot of the mountain three years after I left the lake. It turns out that the mountains were farther than I imagined. In that meantime, I learned a lot from training with the Leviathan Axe, as well in controlling my bloodlust. I also learned some nice tricks through meditation… and heavy combat as well, but that’s for later.

Right now, I’m dressed in the bigger version of the clothes that I made by the side of the river three years ago, with the addition of a mantle of the fur of one of the monster bears, the hood made with the skull of one of them with the skin over it, making a sort of a helmet from the cut skull.

I took my sweet time traveling and training, but finally I made here on snail pace. Strangely, the impatient me enjoyed the nature, and I never found myself in the need of running to the mountains out of boredom. So now, it’s time to cross the mountains, and eat those flying wyverns!

At least I think that they are wyverns… they have white scales and look like dragons, as far as I can see as I approached the mountain in my travels, and they don’t have front legs, only the hind legs. They’re around seven meters long, with a bit wider wingspan.

Time to go up! I approach the steep rocks. Well, “steep”, it’s a perfect cliff. I approach the wall of the cliff, touching the cold stone. After taking my time, I killed a lot of monsters, so I turned quite stronger than three years ago.

I’ve also discovered the “cores” in the hearts of the monsters. All of them have it, and depending on the monster, the stone can be small as a half pinky finger nail, or big as my fist. They’re all in different hues of blue, the bigger the cleared the color, as well deeper the blue.

The bigger ones are from the bears, the middle ones from the wolves and the others form smaller monsters of the forest. I have only a few of the though. I discovered that the growth of the leviathan axe is connected to those cores from the monsters.

When I break them with the axe, they are absorbed by it, turning sharper and able to draw more powerful from the elements. Well, only ice, I guess that the cores of the monsters that live in this cold place must have something to do with it. I wonder if there is a place with fire monsters?

I want to hunt them. my fingers dig in the stone easily. With that, I start to climb relying only in the strength of my arms, my fingers digging on the stone. I start humming as I climb the cliff, the wind being blocked by my pelt mantle. Oh, it’s starting to snow.

I keep climbing for some time, until I get to the top of the cliff almost an hour later, I look down, surprised that the cliff actually has a top. Of course, I’m not even starting to climb the mountain, but this cliff has a top.

There’s a small flat on the top of the cliff, and the mountains keeps going up with irregular terrain with a lot of stones and now, snow. Alright, time to keep going up… or so I thought when I hear a roar coming from above. I look up to where the sound came from. A giant ape-like creature, around four meters tall is roaring there.

(Jokul): “Oh mu fucking god, it’s an yeti!”

(yeti): “ROOOOOOOAAAAAARRR!!”

(Jokul): “Please! Let me take a photo of you! Give me a sign as well!”

(yeti): “ROOOOOOOAAAAAARRRR!!!”

He roared, too a giant stone and threw at me. I easily avoided it. Yeti-san! My sign! The photo too! I can make a few million dollars with a picture of you! Well, nota that it will have any value anymore, but still!

Wait, I can make money from his skin! This guy lives here, and it’s hard to get to! I’m sure that he’s a rare monster! He threw another stone, and I slapped that one out of the way. If it was the me from three years ago, I wouldn’t have the confidence to do this.

But now, well, I did some crazy things while testing my powers. It wasn’t a good idea, it attracted a lot of monsters. Well, at least the consequence was enough to call a lot of unwanted attention from the monsters. The yeti looks at me surprised as I slapped away his attack. Don’t stare at me like that, you’ll get killed. Like this.

I threw the axe, but the yeti surprised me by managing to avoid a lethal wound by diving to the side. Well, even though I threw the axe without much care, it was still powerful, and it cut off his left arm. The yeti roared in pain as my axe crashed in the stone behind him, almost destroying it.

The yeti grabbed my axe in anger and came in my direction. I casually raise my hand, and the axe forcefully escapes his grip, making hi stumble forward, returning to my hand. The yeti was close, so I took a step forward and punched his torso with my left hand, putting some strength on the attack.

Oh, it blew up. Crap… I didn’t expect his belly to simply explode. Blood and guts cover me, dirtying my mantle. My hands tremble a bit as my nails dig into my flesh. Calm down, deep and controlled breaths… in… and out…

After a few minutes, I manage to calm down. I take out my mantle and clean myself with it, throwing int on the ground. I have a lot of these anyway, I’m using to at least try to lessen the amount of blood I’m getting covered into. I throw away my right fur-arm-cover and take a new one and put it on my arm.

I put on an identical mantle. Alright, I’m feeling calmer now. I look at my palm, the wound that was there previously already healed. I also discovered this, I can regenerate pretty much anything that happens to me.

I don’t know if I can regrow limbs, but I’m not willing to cut one off to try. I ignore the body of the yeti, my previous thrill dying together with the monster. I’m sure that there are more in this mountain. I still have a lot to climb.

(several hours later)

Fuck me, I hate mountains. When I get strong enough, I’ll kill every fucking mountain I find. Don’t even fucking ask me how the fuck I’ll do that, I’ll just do that shit. This is fucking annoying. There’s a lot of those yeti fuckers hiding in here. They attack while I climb the mountain.

I’m here, all really nilly, climbing the mountain, taking care of my fucking business, and these fuckers throw their shitty stones in me. I’m fine, the stones can’t harm me, but it beaks where I’m climbing and I FUCKING FALL! I fucking fall a long way!

It doesn’t hurt but having to climb a long ass distance and kill the bastards, and THEN continue climbing. I’m not just climbing, I’m jumping and grabbing the mountain. Those yetis have good aim. Unfortunately for them, I also have good aim with my axe.

I learned how to use it better, so I can throw it and it will seek several enemies on its own. So, you can guess thaw happened. If only there weren’t almost one hundred of these fuckers each five hundred meters I would have already be reaching the top where I would be able to face the wyverns.

The meat of the yeti isn’t even tasty. It’s hard and has a bland taste. At least their cores are a bit bigger than the bear ones, so that’s an advantage. I finally arrive at a place where I can take a break, another flat area on the face of the mountain.

Ugh, I’m almost halfway up the mountain. Fucking yetis. I’m tempted to end their population. Yeah, I’ll do that later with the population of mountains of this world. God, I’ve turned bloodthirsty in these three years…

Although I wasn’t like this, this new “battle instinct” that I have makes me a little numb bout killing. I don’t exactly enjoy it, I just get… and adrenaline burst? Something like that, it just gets hard to stop when I start fighting. I try to have some self-control, and I manage do go by pretty well. I hope as this body ages, it turns easier to control my impulses.

I’m not looking forward to puberty again…