TMLLT 68

Chapter 68

“Don’t Let Go”

The whistle Roitz had given me.

I gripped it tightly in my hand, then put it back in my clothes and walked for another thirty minutes.

I searched hard for the sound of people, but I only ran into a few more monsters—no sign of anyone.

I stopped again, holding the whistle as I thought.

Blowing this whistle meant sending its sound to Necroquad, which could provoke that beast.

But if I didn’t call Roitz and just kept wandering here lost for too long? Or if I died?

“…Phew.”

I pressed my tired eyes and let out a sigh.

After walking a long while and debating, I finally made a decision.

There was one reason—beyond the question of whether I lived or died—that I absolutely had to get back to the base.

It was because I had the God’s Stone.

Everyone was holding on with the hope of completing the mission quickly and returning.

For their sake, I had to make it back to the camp no matter what.

Blow it.

I took a deep breath.

Fwoo. The silent whistle’s sound filled the forest.

I hid myself up in a tree and listened to the forest.

Did he hear it?

Since there was no audible sound, I couldn’t know. Thinking back, it had been the same during strength training camp years ago—

I had blown the whistle, but didn’t know if it had reached Roitz.

Back then, I had moved between fear of dying and a desperate will to survive.

But in the end, Roitz had come.

At the most dangerous moment.

The treetop was quiet. Minutes—maybe tens of minutes—passed.

Just as my tension began to dull in the silence—

I sensed movement behind me.

A monster.

“…!”

I swung my sword in an instant, cutting down the monster that had leapt at me from the air.

“Ah—!”

But in that moment, I lost my balance, and my body tilted toward the ground below.

The height!

I tried to grab a branch, but missed.

I curled into a ball, arms around my stomach, bracing for the impact.

Even though I had tried to protect myself, I didn’t know how badly I’d be hurt from falling from this height.

“…!”

Thud—my body stopped.

But it wasn’t hard ground I landed on.

It was a bit firm, but warm—someone’s arms.

I opened my eyes. My gaze met the owner of the warm embrace.

The look he gave me from up close—was it anger or worry? I couldn’t tell.

But more important than that—he had come.

“Senior.”

My voice shook as I called Roitz.

He tightened his arms around me.

“…Where were you.”

I wrapped my arms around his neck.

The heart that had been calm up in the tree now beat thump, thump.

Yes, back then too—Roitz had come at the most dangerous moment.

And now as well.

From behind him, I saw someone else running toward us—Cute.

“Are you okay?”

His face stiff with concern, he asked urgently.

“Yeah, I’m fi—”

Before I could finish, Roitz turned his body away from Cute while still holding me.

But Cute didn’t care, leaning his face toward me.

“You seem pretty shaken. Your body’s cold.”

He took something from his clothes and placed it in my hand—a warm stone-shaped magic tool.

As soon as I held it, I felt warmth spreading through me.

I curled up further, burying my face into Roitz’s chest.

Then suddenly, Cute slipped his palm between my hair and Roitz’s chest.

“…?”

Roitz frowned and tried to push it away, but Cute stuck to him as if glued there.

Shaken between the two, my head began to ache a little.

“This isn’t allowed. That’s not what I gave it for.”

“What’s not allowed…?”

I didn’t understand, and my strength was fading, so I didn’t argue much.

So warm…

Stones really are nice… I understand now why adults collect them.

Wait.

Stone?

The stone I had originally been holding—where was it?

Startled, I lifted my head.

“Looks like you finally understand me now.”

“The God’s Stone!”

I jumped out of Roitz’s arms. Both of them grabbed me, asking what was wrong as I scanned around.

“I found the God’s Stone!”

“What? The God’s Stone?”

“Yes. But I think I dropped it when I fell from the tree earlier.”

I took out the sacred relic detector—it was still glowing, meaning the God’s Stone was nearby.

But the light was getting farther away. That meant it was moving.

“There!”

I pointed urgently past Cute.

A lion-shaped monster had picked up the God’s Stone and was running away.

The moment I pointed, Roitz moved.

The monster was fast. Cute and I chased after them.

Luckily, the monster’s path led to a cliff—a dead end.

One strike was all it took.

While Necroquad held the monster in place, Roitz easily retrieved the God’s Stone.

Maybe my worries about Necroquad being unstable were unfounded?

Even after I blew the whistle, Roitz was fine, and now he was using Necroquad without issue.

But then—

The Necroquad, floating like mist behind him, suddenly vanished into his body.

Roitz didn’t recall Necroquad… so…

The monster trapped by Necroquad began to move again.

It lunged at Roitz immediately.

Roitz tried to stab it quickly, but this monster wasn’t simple—it wasn’t just strong, it was smart.

“…!”

It suddenly changed direction mid-charge.

Its sharp claws came straight for me.

I bent back to dodge—it was close enough to cut off some strands of my reddish hair, scattering them before my eyes.

I swung my sword, wrapping it with sword energy, and slashed at the monster.

But its legs, armored like steel, were resistant to fire.

It deflected my sword without fear and swung its claws again.

I threw myself back to dodge.

I’d managed to avoid it, but—

“…Oh.”

This was the cliff.

And the monster, now targeting me, had driven me right to the edge.

The dirt crumbled under my toes, tilting me backward.

The rushing water far below was ready to swallow me whole.

But at that very moment, I didn’t expect what happened next.

…!

I reached forward—my whole view tilting.

Just as my body tilted halfway, I saw Roitz drive his sword into the monster’s head and reach out for me.

He pulled hard—like throwing a boomerang, he hauled me back onto solid ground.

But the force that pulled me up had an equal reaction—

As he pushed me onto the ground, Roitz’s own body tilted toward the cliff.

“…!”

Without thinking, I screamed and reached for him.

For a moment, my vision flickered to black.

…No!

I hadn’t known that a person could react like this when truly shocked.

Even as my sight darkened, I pressed flat against the cliff’s edge, stretching out my arm.

And in that moment, I felt it—

“Se… Senior…”

I had him. I was holding Roitz’s arm.

I was barely steady myself, but I had him.

My sight returned, and I saw Roitz shouting something at me.

In the distance, I heard the eerie cry of a monster.

Sensing the God’s Stone, other monsters were heading our way.

As I turned my head toward the sound, Roitz’s voice pulled me back.

“Let go, Serdin!”

“…What are you talking about!”

He tried to shake off my grip. I clung to him with all my strength.

“If you don’t, you’ll fall too! Let go now!”

“I’d rather fall than let go!”

“You’ll die! Aren’t you scared?! Let—”

“If I was scared of dying, I wouldn’t have come here in the first place!”

My mind was blank, my throat hurt, but I shouted anyway.

The sound of monsters running toward us shook the cliff.

Saying I wasn’t afraid of dying was a lie.

But letting go of his arm right now was even scarier—that’s what my instincts told me.

“No, please, Ser—”

“Don’t let go!”

I gripped his arm tighter. Roitz tried to push me away.

His body, hanging over the cliff, swayed violently.