"Huu…"
The ledges were relatively spread apart, and because her arms were occupied with the boulder, Melania could only step in the ones that could properly support her weight.
She already had the movements mapped for the first ten of these fifteen steps. She'd made it that far before.
For the last five, on the other hand, her path was still only theoretical.
Melania's body was hugging the wall as best as it could with the size of the boulder.
It was almost being used as a backpack, since Melania couldn't do this section of the mountain without being able to see what was above her.
Her arms were at her side with her wrists backwards.
She was gripping the boulder with all of her strength. Indents had been created where her fingers were, and somehow, despite the boulder's weight distribution, she was able to support all of it from the grip she had with her fingers.
It was an impractical level of strength, but that was the only thing that allowed Melania to make it this far, so she didn't question why it existed.
She unhitched her right foot moved it to the next ledge. Kicking into the wall, she created a small hole for her to wedge her toes into.
After putting weight on her right foot to check the ledge's stability, she unhitched her left and rapidly moved it to another ledge nearby, slightly higher than the first.
'One.'
She bounced a few times, keeping her body warm in the cold air that inhabited this high altitude.
Once again, she repeated the same movement.
'Two.'
Her left foot had to move first this time, but the path was still relatively vertical so she didn't have to make any crazy movements.
"Huu…"
'Three.'
"Huu…"
'Four.'
"Huu…"
'Five.'
One by one, she ascended through the footholds in the mountain that she'd long become familiar with.
The first step was always the hardest, but her muscle memory kicked in the instant she took it.
Ten steps. She took five minutes to take them, but she did end up in the position she desired.
There were five steps remaining.
She could see the edge of the mountainside. If she could just jump, she could grab it and hoist herself onto the peak.
Unfortunately, without hands, jumping was an impractical solution.
She'd already tried it thrice and failed, so she was assured of that much.
The first step was by far the most complicated.
She reached out with her left leg to find a ledge far away from her current path.
She had to move her foot against the wall to find the ledge, and once she did, she bounced her toes on it to once again check its stability.
In the same way that she'd done before, she embedded her foot into the wall and took a deep breath.
"Huu…"
Her flexibility was just as impressive as her strength.
She held the position for a moment, tightening her grip on the boulder. Her eyes were focused on a ledge near the one her left foot had occupied.
Melania put as much of her weight as possible on her left leg, and hopped, rapidly moving her right foot to where her eyes were looking.
The wind hit her from the right, which helped her move. Her hands sweated as she was forced to support the boulder on one leg for a moment, but…
Tap!
Her foot made a small sound as it landed on the ledge and dug into the cliff surface, rooting her in place.
Melania leaned back slightly as she lost her balance. She bent her knees, using every bit of strength in her core to regain control and bring herself back into position.
'No.'
She was swaying too much.
If she tried to stay here, she would fall back and turn into a puddle of blood on the side of the mountain somewhere.
The wind helped her move, but now that she was in position, it was just making her balance even worse.
She didn't have a choice. If she wanted to survive, then she needed to find another way to regain stability.
She was swaying left and right, slightly leaning back. If she made a mistake, she'd instantly fall. However, she had to take the risk.
The next move was a simple one. She wanted to use it to kill her momentum and regain control.
She needed to find a ledge that was at her chest with her foot.
It was a large reach that was made more difficult by the lack of room that she had, but it would force her to regain control, so she needed to do it properly.
Melania rapidly moved her right foot.
Her foot grabbed into a hole that already existed in the side of the mountain, forcing her to paste herself into the mountainside.
She immediately stopped moving back and forth.
As for the left and right movements…
As she reached the precipice of a swing to the right and started to move left, she removed her left foot and took it to the next ledge.
She gripped the boulder even harder and curled her toes as she tried to get as much grip with her feet as possible.
Her eyes were almost over the top of the cliff edge.
ledge.
She gripped the boulder even harder and curled her toes as she She wasn't completely stable, but she was confident that she could make the last few moves without falling.
Because from here on, she just had to go up.
One step.
"Huu…"
Her eyes saw the snowy flat clearing that was the mountain's peak.
"Huu…"
Two steps.
Her legs started to wobble from the rapid movements, but she stayed strong.
The end goal was more than just in sight. She could feel it, smell it, touch it, and taste it already.
Three steps.
She was over the edge with everything above her knees.
She unlatched her right foot and moved it to the flat mountain peak.
And, using all of her remaining strength, she pulled her left leg up to match it.
The instant both of her legs were on flat ground, Melania bent her body forward, balanced the boulder on her back, and adjusted her grip so that it was once again over her head.
Instead of taking three steps back because the boulder's weight was on her back, she now took three steps forward, losing her grip and letting the boulder slam into the snow.
BOOM!
It made a huge sound.
That was the last thing Melania heard.
She had done it.
She had finally made it to the peak.
She had achieved her goal.
And now, finally, she could rest.
There wasn't an ounce of energy left inside of her to celebrate.
Right then and there, on the cold snow of this mountain peak that somehow managed to exist in the middle of a large arid desert, she collapsed, losing consciousness.
740 days, 6 hours, 17 minutes, and thirty-two seconds.
The instant that amount of time passed since her arrival in this place, Melania passed a trial she was never supposed to attempt in the first place.
But to find out what she truly earned through her efforts…
Well, she had to wake up first, didn't she?
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