The Academy’s Time Stop Player

Gulp-

The moment he saw her, cold sweat trickled down Liam's forehead.

Tension made his throat dry, and he swallowed hard.

Liam extended his hand, and as Mirtain flew into his grasp, he slowly approached her.

He then pointed the spear of Mirtain towards her throat.

But Lain didn't flinch at all.

She was completely unconscious.

It was the only chance he had.

Yet, his hand holding the spear didn't move easily.

“Ha…, she's younger than I thought.”

Liam sighed briefly and lowered his spear.

He then examined Lain's unconscious face.

He had seen her face a few times before, but never this close.

Dark circles were heavily under her eyes.

Her face showed exhaustion.

And, surprisingly, she had the youthful face of a girl her age.

The more he looked, the less the age difference seemed to matter.

“It’s better to hand her over to the association. Mirtain.”

-Why is that?

“Open the gate. To the Hero Association.”

-I can’t open it.

“...What? Why?”

Liam's face showed confusion.

Before his bewildered face, a certain ring floated up.

The ring that opened the gate attached to Mirtain.

It had a faint crack in it.

“Damn…”

Liam's expression twisted sharply.

-My child...

In a hospital room, where a gentle breeze flowed through the window, lay an old man covered in scars on a bed.

He looked at a little child hanging onto his arm, tears welling in their eyes, with a look of pity.

-Don’t be too sad.

The old man comforted the child by gently stroking their head.

A bit away, Lain watched this scene from a distance.

Her eyebrows slowly furrowed and she lowered her head in weakness.

It was a familiar scene.

A scene filled with longing, unforgettable, yet now a memory of a past gone by.

Lain walked forward.

She took another step closer to see the old man's face more clearly.

Standing in front of the bed where the old man lay, she looked down at him with a bitter expression.

The previous owner of Mirtain and her grandfather.

She gazed at his dear face for a moment, then sighed.

“Ha…”

She reached out her hand towards her grandfather.

But her hand just passed through him.

She knew it.

This was all just a dream.

But not a happy dream, rather a painful one.

“…”

Lain's gaze shifted to the child standing beside her.

No, more precisely, to her younger self.

And she clenched her teeth in disdain at the sight of her own weak past self.

-Lain.

Her grandfather called out.

Of course, not to her, but to her younger self.

The young version of herself looked up at her grandfather with bright, innocent eyes.

He said,

"I entrust Mirtain to you."

With those words, she opened her eyes.

The dream always cut off at that last moment.

It was now so familiar that it disgusted her.

Every time after having this dream, her head throbbed painfully.

Lain clutched her throbbing head and slowly sat up.

She looked around.

She was in a damp cave.

"Are you awake?"

“...?!”

Startled, Lain abruptly stood up and assumed a defensive stance.

Her eyes narrowed as she glared at Liam, who was sitting on a rock.

Liam Martel.

He was looking at Lain with a tired expression.

“You…”

“Let's call a truce for now.”

“What nonsense are you talking about?”

“As if I saved your life for nothing.”

Liam sighed as if frustrated.

Lain, still on guard, asked him.

"Where is this?"

"Meulji."

"…Meulji?"

She looked around as he spoke.

She could feel a strong magical energy.

There was no sign of anyone else around, besides Liam.

Liam continued, looking at her.

"Let's cooperate for a while, until we get out of here."

Lain answered his suggestion with a scoff.

"I'll kill you and then get out-"

-Wait, Lain.

Then, a dragon's voice echoed in her ears.

It was Leanon speaking to Lain.

Lain replied gruffly, clearly annoyed.

'What is it, Leanon?'

-Do not use my power here.

'...Why not?'

To her question, Leanon calmly warned.

-You might die.

At those words, Lain's brow furrowed instantly.

Lain asked Leanon.

'What nonsense is that?'

-You have entered his territory.

'His?'

-He is one who, like me, has received a king's title. If he senses my power, he will come.

'...'

Hearing this, Lain frowned as if in thought.

Leanon had never lied to her.

If that was true, it meant there was a monster in Meulji she couldn't handle.

'Can't you use your power to kill him?'

-Even with the cooperation of the man in front of you, it would be impossible.

Lain fell silent for a moment.

She glared at Liam, deep in thought, then slowly spoke.

"Fine."

"…?"

"Let's have a truce until we get out of here."

Liam's expression turned puzzled at her sudden agreement.

He then sighed softly.

"Then let's get going."

Trudge- Trudge-

In a dense forest with towering trees, Lain and Liam walked in silence.

After about three hours, Lain asked Liam abruptly.

"Hey, do you know where you're going?"

"You feel it too."

Saying this, Liam pointed behind them.

"The magic energy back there."

"…"

"Surely the opposite direction isn't the way, right?"

Indeed, the dense magic energy she had felt since earlier was coming from behind Lain.

In Meulji, the denser the magical energy, the closer to the center one would be.

But there were things that didn't make sense.

“Why don’t we just fly over?”

At this, Liam pointed to the sky.

The branches of giant trees were covering the sky.

Liam said,

“You can’t see because of the trees above, but there are a lot of flying monsters.”

“With your power, you could easily kill them, right?”

Liam shook his head and replied,

“No, there are too many. It’s endless. We might run out of magic energy and die before we even get there.”

“Can’t we fly low?”

“There are too many monkey-like beasts in the branches. And we don’t even know when we’ll get out of Meulji, so we can’t afford to waste magic energy like that. Wait, now that I think about it, can’t you fly too?”

Lain shook her head.

Lain said,

“I can’t right now.”

“Huh? Why?”

“There’s a reason.”

“Seriously…”

Liam looked at Lain with a face of disbelief.

Of course, Lain just looked back at Liam with a calm expression.

“Ha…, let’s just walk.”

With those words, Liam started walking ahead again.

Lain, too, silently followed him.

“Ha…, how far have we come?”

Eight hours later, as the sun had set and darkness fell, Liam thought it was too much to keep walking.

“We should camp here for tonight.”

Lain agreed, and Liam immediately began to prepare.

He dug out the base of a giant tree to create a temporary shelter for the night.

After lighting a fire with the carved out wood, he skillfully skewered a beast he had caught earlier and began to cook the meat.

In the silent atmosphere,

After confirming the meat was cooked, Liam offered a skewer to Lain.

“Here, eat.”

“…”

Lain silently took the skewer offered by Liam.

Liam then rummaged through his pocket and handed her a few fruits.

“What are these?”

“I picked these while you were asleep. They’re edible fruits. I read about them in a book.”

“…Surprisingly well-informed.”

At her words, Liam’s lips slightly curled up, seemingly relaxed.

Lain watched him for a moment, took a bite of the meat, and then ate a fruit.

The moment she ate the fruit, her expression twisted.

“It tastes awful. Like rotten urine.”

“It’s not spoiled, so just eat it. The fruit has a lot of juice, so it should help replenish our fluids.”

“…”

Without much to say, Lain ate the fruit.

After finishing their meal,

Silence fell again.

Liam just poked the campfire with a stick, and Lain blankly watched him. Overwhelmed by the uncomfortable silence, Liam eventually looked at Lain and spoke first.

“Why are you after Mirtain?”

“…”

At that, Lain's eyebrows twitched slightly.

Her gaze on Liam narrowed.

Lain glared at Liam and said,

“If I tell you, will you hand over Mirtain?”

“That’s something we need to hear from her as well.”

“…”

An awkward silence followed.

Liam had brought up this topic out of nowhere, seemingly touching a nerve. He gave up on the conversation and decided to go to sleep early.

Just when Liam thought the conversation was over, Lain asked him a question.

“The previous owner of Mirtain told me to take care of it.”

“The previous owner? You mean the great hero Harson Markus?”

Harson Markus.

One of the great heroes of the past in America, he had prevented a dungeon break at Meulji Boundary level and died from fatal injuries.

It was a story from 10 years ago, but Liam knew it well because it was so famous.

“What was your relationship with him?”

“That’s none of your business.”

“…”

Lain replied bluntly.

Liam, lost for words, awkwardly poked the campfire again.

Then a thought struck him.

If the previous owner, Harson, had entrusted Mirtain to her, shouldn’t he hand it over?

That would be the right thing to do.

While he was pondering, Lain looked at him and said,

“Liam Martel.”

“…Yes?”

“Did you choose Mirtain?”

Liam tilted his head in confusion.

Lain, still with a calm expression, slowly continued,

“Or did Mirtain choose you?”

“…”

“Tell me. I answered your question.”

At that, Liam’s expression became complex.

He recalled his first meeting with Mirtain.

-Is this really a mythic artifact?

Back then, he was under the delusion of his superior talent.

Embarrassed by his past self, who thought everyone else was beneath him.

He had to admit it.

His younger self was arrogant.

And then, he remembered clearly what he said while holding Mirtain.

-Yes.

He remembered saying it with the innocent smile of a young child.

And at that moment, recalling those memories, Liam finally understood the meaning behind her question.

Indeed… Mirtain had not chosen him.

-From now on, I’m your master.

He had chosen Mirtain.