The Elven Evolution: Starting With 1 Million SSSR Skills-Chapter 112: [] Death March

Eliron ended up having to tie sandbags to his legs and arms to increase his burden.

Even though he was already considerably strong, he was unsure of how he would measure up against knights far more experienced than him.

Outside this little village, there were martial masters who had honed their blades to perfection, sages who had broken the limits of what mastery was, and high elves who had centuries of concentrated mana within them.

With their excursion out of Artaris fast approaching, he had to prepare for any possible situation.

It was likely that he would clash with one of these masters after leaving the nest, and if it were to happen, Eliron had to win at all costs.

Besides, if he wanted Artaris to one day surpass the greater nations in the realm, then he too must not just endeavour to be strong—

He must aim to be more powerful than every world leader...

And once he had surpassed them, he would look to greater heights.

The twelve Titans...

Beings so strong that some revered them as gods.

Surpassing them was his ultimate goal.

As Eliron marched towards Heart Snatcher Mountain, he felt as though his heart was about to burst.

He had been walking for hours now, the weight pressing against his back, threatening to put him down on his knees.

Sweat soaked his shirt like a rag doused in water, the excess forming a trail as it dropped down.

Yet, his eyes were locked on the silhouette of the mountain, his blue eyes forward as he took measured steps, controlling his breathing.

"One... two... three... one... two... three..."

He repeated these words out loud, distracting himself from the pain he was feeling.

’Maybe the extra bags were a mistake...’ Eliron thought, feeling his heartbeat quicken.

He had to keep the rocks upright, but at the same time both his hands and feet were tied to sandbags.

As if that was not enough... there was a giant rock scrubbing the floor each time he moved as it was attached to his waist!

They had only gone a little above halfway after spending one hour on their trek, yet more than half of the cadets had either fainted or collapsed from exhaustion.

Eliron noticed that the guards and nobles were doing just a little better, but they were more or less the same in the grand scheme of things.

Of course, the cadets could have been faking it...

That was why Yennefer was following them from behind. Anytime someone would collapse, the wyvern would blow a puff of freezing cold air at them.

From their reactions, Yen was able to tell if they were truly at the end of their rope.

Eliron stole a glance at those behind him and smirked.

’There are twenty left...’

Although they had only one-fifth of his burden, it was good to see that some were still standing.

Eliron tore his gaze off then, returning his eyes to the target.

’He’s a madman...’ Estelle thought as she watched the scene unfold before her eyes.

— Argh! I c..can’t take it anymore!

— I’m going to d...die!

— God take me now!

Cadets fell like flies left and right—they were hyperventilating, partly sunburned and had swollen feet.

After some time, the twenty people left were reduced to four.

Lord Eliron, Ash, Terra and Durin.

But it was not for long.

Terra’s feet were shaking like a pendulum, her knees clattering with each step.

Considering that she was a woman who had only begun physical exercises about a month ago, it was truly an impressive feat...

But a dangerous one as well.

Both her and Durin seemed to be on their last legs, but with the mountain now five hundred meters away, so close that they could taste it, neither was willing to stop.

Huff Huff—!

Their breaths were steamy, hair clumped to their faces as they marched, their feet rhythmically pounding on the ground.

"These people... are they normal?" Estelle breathed out.

She had been walking without weights, and yet she got tired and was now sitting on the wyvern along with Yennefer.

"How are they still moving, this makes no sense..."

It was clear that they had long surpassed what was humanly possible, but their bodies kept moving despite it.

Yennefer let out a small chuckle and leaned back on the wyvern. "It’s the Eliron effect..."

"The... Eliron effect?" Estelle asked, visibly confused.

Yennefer nodded. "There’s just something about Eliron that makes you want to put in your all." She said calmly as she stared right at the sky.

Estelle found it strange that she could look directly at the sun without repercussions, but she focused on what she was saying instead.

"When I came to this wor—UHUMM—Artaris!" She said nervously, a drop of sweat gliding down her face.

She cleared her throat again. "When I came to Artaris, I expected it to be my vacation spot. You know? Drinking booze, eating till I have indigestion and spending hours passing it out, only to restart the process."

Estelle blinked, surprised by the words coming from the woman revered as Artaris’s holy maiden.

"U-hun..." she voiced.

"Well, at least I never expected to go on dangerous raids, building a house, carving weapons or any of that kind of stuff!"

"In fact, I have suffered far more than I bargained for and it’s all because of that oaf!"

’I no longer know where this is going...’ Estelle mused, feeling like they were straying from the main point.

Yennefer sighed, a small frown on her face as she spoke.

"Anyways... What I am trying to say is that he is a slave driver."

Yennefer visibly shook when she remembered what she went through during the house project.

Then she smiled.

"But..."

"He will never let you do something he won’t do himself. He is the type to throw himself into a horde of monsters while leaving you to handle the stragglers..."

"Perhaps, that nature of his is what makes us all so eager to at least measure up to him."

"That, my dear... is the Eliron effect."

Estelle turned her attention to the two squires. ’Just what happened while I was away?’

Terra and Durin eventually managed to walk farther than Estelle had expected them to, before collapsing out of pure exhaustion.

Then ten minutes later, Ash and Eliron finally made it to the finish line, the foot of the mountain.

"They actually did it..." Estelle muttered, her eyes wide.

"Hehe.. what did you expect?"

Ash collapsed to his knees, his entire body frozen stiff as he took heavy breaths.

"Wait! What is he doing?!"

To their surprise, Eliron did not stop.

"One... two... three... one... two... three..."

He continued to mutter his chant, his eyes glazed, his muscles taut—

As he ascended the mountain...