The Academy’s Time Stop Player

Liam did not respond.

He just made a complex expression and washed his face in silence.

Seeing this, Lain stood up with an indifferent expression.

She didn't need to hear his answer to know it.

Whether she heard it or not, her actions would not change.

After confirming that Liam was asleep, Lain just blankly stared at the sky outside.

But the huge trees obscured the night sky.

Then, a spear floated up and flew beside Lain.

Narrowing her eyes at it, Lain spoke.

“What’s this?”

-So it is... The aura and scent I'm familiar with are mixed up. You are Harson's bloodline.

“Do you remember me?”

-I couldn't recognize you because you've changed so much. I didn't expect you to transform like this.

Lain looked at Mirtain with a calm expression.

Mirtain spoke to her,

-Dragon King Leanon. You've harbored him.

“...Yes.”

-You've inherited his power, so why do you seek me?

“To keep a promise with my grandfather.”

-Is that so...

“Mirtain.”

Lain narrowed her eyes at Mirtain and asked,

“Did you choose Liam?”

-...No, Liam chose me, and I accepted him. But, that doesn't matter.

“What do you mean?”

-I know your heart now. You think of me as Harson's relic.

Lain didn’t deny it.

She just glared at Mirtain with narrowed eyes.

Mirtain continued,

-I cannot understand human emotions. I am not human, as you see.

“Are you offended that I think of you as an object?”

-No. I am an artifact. I can think and speak because I am special, but as you said, I am still an object. I may not understand human hearts, but I don't deny them. I am well aware of the importance of a promise.

“A promise?”

Lain looked at Mirtain, full of questions.

Mirtain answered,

-Harson asked me in his last moments to protect you.

“...Is that so?”

At those words, Lain fell silent.

She turned her gaze away and just stared at the empty forest.

Mirtain continued,

-And that is also why I chose Liam.

“...What do you mean?”

-Harson asked me to protect you, but I could read his unspoken heart. He wanted you to be safe.

Hearing that, Lain’s head slowly bowed.

She looked down, a faint smile on her lips, as if reminiscing about the past.

And Mirtain’s words continued towards Lain.

As Mirtain continued speaking, Lain's eyes began to tremble slightly.

-He hoped that you wouldn't awaken as a superhuman, that you wouldn't fight villains, and that you wouldn't enter dangerous places like dungeons.

Lain's head slowly lifted.

Her large, shaking eyes turned towards Mirtain.

-He wished for your safety.

“…”

-That's why I chose Liam. If I had chosen you, you would inevitably have had to fight someone.

With that, Lain fell silent.

When the quiet settled, Mirtain quietly returned to Liam's side.

As Mirtain was leaving, Lain called out as if to hold it back.

“Mirtain.”

-What is it?

“What was my grandfather thinking in the end?”

-...

At that question, Mirtain just stared blankly at Lain before slowly speaking.

-You know well enough without asking.

With those words, Mirtain returned to Liam's side.

Soon after, the faint light from the campfire went out, and darkness enveloped them.

The next morning.

Lain and Liam moved again to escape Meulji.

However, Liam seemed deep in thought, his arms crossed.

“Hmm…”

He groaned, narrowing his brow and thinking hard.

Then, sighing deeply, he started to smile faintly, as if he had resolved his dilemma.

It may have seemed a quick decision, but he believed it was the right one.

Then Mirtain quietly spoke to Liam.

-Think more deeply, Liam.

“I have thought deeply. And I think this is the best option.”

-You shouldn’t make such a decision lightly.

“It looks anything but light.”

Liam grinned and continued,

“I am serious.”

-Ha…

With that, Liam turned around.

He approached Lain, who was standing behind him.

“What is it?”

But Lain’s gaze was elsewhere.

She didn’t notice Liam approaching, continuing to look behind.

Just then, sensing something odd, Lain's expression hardened.

“Run.”

With that, Lain suddenly started to run forward.

“What, what? What’s happening?”

Confused, Liam followed her lead and began to run.

He caught up to her and asked,

“What’s going on?”

“Don’t you feel the magical energy behind us?”

“Magical energy?”

He did feel it.

The same immense magical energy was rippling behind them as the day before.

That's why they were walking in the opposite direction.

Lain added,

“The magical aura isn’t getting farther away.”

“Wait... Could it be?!”

“That something emitting that magical energy is moving.”

At that, Liam's expression turned grave

They had thought it was just the energy emanating from a dungeon.

Hearing her words, Liam realized the gravity of the situation.

The entity emitting that energy was a living creature.

Understanding the situation, Liam immediately started running forward, as Lain had suggested.

Thump! Thump!

Despite running fast, the aura of the energy did not seem to be getting any farther away.

Instead, it felt as if it was catching up to their speed.

-This is bad…

Then, Lain heard the voice of Leanon in her ears, filled with trouble.

Boom! Boom!

And that's when it happened.

A massive roar and trembling ground came from behind.

Turning to look back, they saw huge mounds of dirt surging towards Liam and Lain.

Thinking quickly, Liam grabbed Lain's arm and jumped onto Mirtain, soaring up into the sky to avoid the wave of dirt.

They flew over the giant trees and higher into the sky, noticing a significant change.

Boom! Boom!

Clouds gathered, thundering and covering the sun.

A flock of giant strange birds in the sky began fleeing in fear, all heading in one direction.

Liam and Lain looked in the opposite direction from where the birds were fleeing.

And they could see what the massive mound of dirt was.

“This can't be…”

“…”

Liam's mouth gaped open, and Lain gritted her teeth.

A gigantic mountain was moving.

A massive beast in the shape of a mountain, its body made entirely of earth, covered with trees and grass.

This enormous creature of unimaginable size was quietly approaching Liam and Lain.

Thump! Thump!

‘What in the world is that?’

Lain asked Leanon.

No longer needing to hide her powers, she let go of Liam's hand, transformed into her dragon form, and flew into the sky.

Leanon answered her question.

-The Fairy King Bahelia…

Boom! Boom!

With each step the creature took, trees in the dense forest collapsed.

Soon, the intense magical energy that they had felt earlier emanated from the creature.

The energy was so dense it was visible to the eye, a thick green color, and it started causing phenomena around them.

Ssshhh...

The surrounding dirt rose like mountains, engulfing Liam and Lain as if to cover them.

Trees, flowers, grass, and vines began to grow out of the rising dirt.

The sight was beautiful, but they instinctively knew this phenomenon was dangerous.

Whoosh!!

Liam and Lain immediately soared higher into the sky to avoid the dirt rushing towards them. However, before they could escape, the massive dirt closed off the sky above them, trapping them within a semi-circular mound of earth.

In the dim canopy,

Countless flowers bloomed on the ground and ceiling, their small particles floating up, illuminating the surroundings and creating a dreamlike scene.

However, in such a scene, Lain was unable to move even a bit.

The same was true for Liam.

Cold sweat trickled down their foreheads.

They realized that something was approaching them.

The master of this intense magical power.

It was leisurely flying up and slowly approaching them.

"I can feel Leanon's energy."

A woman's voice was heard.

The owner of the voice approached Liam and Lain with slow, graceful wing flutters.

A strange-looking woman with pale blue skin and giant butterfly wings on her back.

Even as she approached right in front of them, Liam and Lain couldn't move an inch.

It felt as if death itself was approaching.

“So… you are the contractor of Leanon?”

The Fairy King Bahelia.

She approached Lain with a relaxed smile.

With a mesmerizingly beautiful smile, she reached out and caressed Lain’s cheek.

At that moment, Lain snapped back to reality.

Crack! Snap-

“What are you?”

Lain grabbed the arm of the woman who had caressed her cheek.

Her arm twisted and broke unnaturally under Lain's formidable strength.

Yet, the woman's expression remained unchanged.

Still smiling, she continued,

“Was the human king planning to keep you alive? But this is troublesome.”

Her smile widened.

With a wicked, cunning smile, Bahelia spoke,

“I have no intention of sparing you.”

With those words, she extended her other hand towards Lain.

“When one of the five kings gains too much power, it disrupts the balance. We can’t have that.”

Swoosh!

At that moment, countless tendrils sprouted from her hand, rushing towards Lain.

Thud!

“Ugh!”

Lain was pushed back by the rushing tendrils and slammed into the surrounding dirt.

Soon, vines sprouted from the walls, beginning to entangle her.

At that moment, Liam flew towards Lain and began cutting the vines with Mirtain.

“Hey, snap out of it!”

“Ugh!”

“I was going to pierce through… but you’re Leanon’s contractor, aren’t you?”

Whoosh!

In an instant, the woman appeared in front of Liam.

“There’s an impurity among the kings.”

Bahelia, with a fierce look different from her relaxed smile earlier.

She suddenly reached out and grabbed Liam’s throat, beginning to exert force.

Whoosh!

In that situation, Liam reacted immediately.

He used Mirtain to sever her arm, freeing himself from her grasp.

Yet, even with both arms twisted and severed, she still maintained a calm demeanor.

Soon they understood why.

Rustle-

The stems from the ceiling came down and began to wrap around her broken arms.

Suddenly, the stems snapped, and her arms began to regain their original form.

“I am everything in this place.”

Bahelia declared.

The Fairy King with a body of nature itself.

She began to exert pressure on them, exuding her power.

“Do not resist. Do not show hostility, just surrender quietly. Then, I will grant you peaceful rest. But if you resist...”

Simultaneously, giant stems started to rise from the ceiling and all the walls around.

Stems from all directions pointed towards Liam and Lain as Bahelia continued,

“I’ll give you a pain worse than death.”

Whoosh!!

“Hey, can you move?”

“Ugh!”

Liam spit out blood violently and began to examine his abdomen.

Blood was leaking from his abdomen.

It seemed he had been pierced in a bad spot, as the blood continued to flow, and his consciousness started to fade.

“Ha…”

Liam sighed.

Despite managing to counter the stems sprouting from all directions, including the ceiling and floor, he couldn’t block them all.

He had let his guard down and got pierced.

Would they really survive here, and even if so, could they escape Meulji?

“Phew…”

Liam calmed his breathing and gripped Mirtain tightly.

He stood up, deciding to struggle before dying. It was better than dying doing nothing.

At least he planned to struggle until his death.

Liam looked up at the monster slowly descending from the sky to gaze upon them.

He gripped his spear tightly and took a stance.

“To survive that strike, you’re an interesting human.”

As she spoke, giant vines sprouted from her hands, writhing.

Her whole body oozed magical energy, filling the surroundings, and stems began to rise from everywhere, engulfing Liam and Lain.

“Let's see how much you can move.”

At that moment, as she grinned cruelly,

-Aaaah!!

That’s when it happened.

Mirtain suddenly cried out.

Liam’s gaze turned towards Mirtain.

Mirtain, as if agitated, began to tremble violently.

-He is here!

“What do you mean?”

Liam asked, puzzled.

But Mirtain, as if overwhelmed or praising, continued to cry out without hearing Liam’s voice.

-He has arrived!

Then it happened.

-Roooaarrr!!

A massive beast's roar tore through the air.

Clearly from outside this space, a huge roar came from afar.

It sounded like a death rattle in pain, followed by the thuds of something gigantic falling, causing the ground to shake.

Thud! Thud!

In that instant, the relaxed smile on Bahelia’s face gradually began to fade.

Her expression gradually shifted to one of alarm.

She turned to look behind.

Her subordinate, who was guarding the exterior space.

That gigantic life form had lost its vitality in an instant and perished.

Soon after, she realized.

Something with power equal to hers was approaching from outside.

At that moment, the vast space began to change.

Ssshhh...

All the plants that had covered the interior space withered and dried up.

The particles that filled the surroundings disappeared, leaving behind a dark silence.

“What in the world…?!”

Boom! Crackle- Boom!! Crackle!!

Simultaneously, with loud noises, cracks began to form in the dirt wall Bahelia was looking at. Something was striking that solid wall of earth.

Golden light flickered through the cracks, beginning to brightly illuminate the surroundings.

Crash! Thud!!

Eventually, unable to withstand the force, the dirt wall collapsed.

Through the wall, a boy emitting a brilliant golden light slowly walked towards them with a relaxed stride.

The hammer in the boy's hand emitted an indescribable power, brightly illuminating the dark surroundings.

[I've found you.]

The boy spoke.

His voice had an imposing quality, as if multiple voices echoed together.

And looking at the boy, some were filled with terror.

“Ah! Aaaah!!”

And others, not a person but an artifact, praised the boy with a voice filled with awe and respect.

-Ah! The King.