Tseng tilts his head as he jogs beside Rude. The mountain path is steep right at the beginning, so they are already beginning with a disadvantage. Tseng is lucky that he's been keeping up with his PT; after that less than stellar display at Modeoheim, he's been very particular about visiting the incline machine at the gym as often as he can. Not that it's going to do him much good here.

"Less oxygen," he says, clipped short because, well, he's in the process of explaining exactly why. "Means you need to breathe faster. Heart needs to pump faster. If those two things don't align..."

Which is precisely why they're here. If Rude can't take it, then they're going to have to pull out of this mission. Or Tseng will have to do it himself, a contingency he's not looking forward to. Either way, his faith in Rude is unwavering; any backup plans are for the sake of thoroughness only.

The path before them forks—one into a gentle path off to the left with a lovely view of the mountain and a bordering lake, the other climbing terribly high, the path scattered with gray rock. Tseng nods, indicating for Rude to veer right.

"Do not push yourself. This is—just to get you acclimated to the difference in pressure." Tseng is still smirking, though. "But do not let me down, either."