Following the Trail (3)

Even as I nearly lose my way among the gently curving corridors and multiple branches, I walk through the Valley of Death, relying on the flow of the air.

By the time about two months had passed, the flow of the wind told me that I had probably reached the middle of the Valley of Death.

It was only natural that my pace through the Valley of Death was slower than through the Pluha Great Forest, where the trees helped me, and even slower than through the Man-Eating Great Marsh.

The number of monsters hadn't changed, but it was always dark, and I couldn't travel in a straight line because I had to go around the mountains.

Still, I had gradually come to understand the nature of the water spirits that formed the fog, which were somewhat different from the others, so I hadn't found the journey all that inconvenient.

I had no shortage of water for drinking, of course, or for washing my body and clothes, and most of the monsters overhead were bird-types, so their meat was delicious.

The only problem was that if the journey dragged on too long, I might run short of the rock salt I used for seasoning.

Come to think of it, even though it was rather late to realize this, couldn't I have had the earth spirits create a road by drawing a straight line through the Mist Mountain Range and the Valley of Death, allowing me to cross them by the shortest route?

Well, if anyone saw a road like that, it would cause a huge commotion, and cleaning up afterward would be difficult too.

In the end, walking through these winding corridors was the safest option...