Chapter 37: Climbing the top

"Well, that doesn’t look too bad." He spoke, still inspecting the place. There were hundreds, if not thousands, of places to hide in those cliffs; most likely there were already a few people staying.

Merency continued her way forward, and as the cliff only grew closer, Steven couldn’t even see the top from below.

But there were a few worrying things to be watched, as he saw multiple creatures flying up there, and they weren’t those friendly alarm drones.

It seemed to be some kind of giant bird or other flying beast. But he couldn’t feel their mana, not sure if it was because of the distance or his suppressed senses.

’’Those might become annoying.’’ He spoke, gaining Merency’s attention, who also finally looked up at the creatures.

"They don’t seem to get too close to the cliff, so we should be safe; the professor wouldn’t make this impossible." She spoke with confidence, seemingly not having noticed yet that something had been wrong with the event since its start.

’’You’re right, but we should still try to stay close to the cliff.’’ He lied hoping he could find out the problem before she could notice it.

A sudden wave of nausea overcame him, nearly forcing him to the ground. What was happening? He couldn’t think.

It felt like somebody was trying to melt his brain, as he fell to his knees. Merency had already turned around towards him, her face looking worried.

As she spoke something inaudible for him, he couldn’t hear anything, to be exact, except for a loud thrilling sound blasting his ears.

With a slow snap, he created a new barrier around him that couldn’t move but was much stronger than his normal one.

Just after its creation, his headache disappeared completely. ’’Somebody is trying to play with my mind.’’ He whispered to himself as the ringing in his ears became quieter each second.

Until he could finally hear again, Merency was standing outside the barrier confused and worried. "Steven, what’s wrong? Speak with me.’’

’’Just a headache, nothing to worry about.’’ He lied once more as he slowly rose to his feet.

’’Then why the barrier?’’ She continued asking, probably not buying his act.

"Just a reflex," as he took a step closer to her. "See, everything is fine now."

Just after removing the barrier again, Merency grabbed his arm, inspecting him from the bottom to the top. As if he were made out of glass and about to break into hundreds of pieces at the slightest touch.

But Steven shook her off softly. ’’We should focus on climbing that thing first if we want to reach it today.’’ As he stepped past her and started climbing.

’’Steven...’’ She tried to speak, but watching him already gaining distance, she shut up and began to follow him up.

While climbing, Steven was lost in thought about what was happening to him; it all really began shortly before he had spotted that girl in the woods.

Since then his concentration has been at an all-time low, not even to talk about his memory problems; even if he could remember what he had forgotten, he knew there was something missing.

It also seemed to be of a magic origin if his barrier was able to block it, so no curse illness. But that didn’t make it any easier, and with the fingers and teachers watching his every move, he couldn’t cast too many high-level barriers to protect himself.

He was once again trapped in the cycle of acting weak, as he tried to grab another stone; it simply crumbled under his hand, nearly letting him lose his balance as a result.

"If not for those stupid alarm thingys, I would’ve reached a spot long ago. ’’ He cursed out, only getting a mixed look from Merency, who probably thought he was going crazy.

Taking a different path upwards instead, he finally reached a place big enough for him to relax. Merency reached it just a moment after breathing heavily and sweating buckets.

"What’s up, princess? Unable to climb a bit?" he joked, but she just stared at him angrily.

"Shut up, what do you know?" she answered, nearly yelling; he seemed to have hit a nerve with his words. ’’I am sorry, it’s just not my thing.’’ She added, but her mana was still raging like a tornado.

’’Maybe we should take a short break here; I am feeling tired myself.’’ He spoke wanting to help her with her burden without letting her know.

He hadn’t even started to sweat yet, and a bit of sun and physical training wouldn’t bring him to do it either; in comparison to the front of hell, his was a vacation for him.

But not everyone was like him, and he was happy about that; he wouldn’t be able to stand a person like himself.

"You brights truly are amazing in physical abilities," she spoke as if she were trying to ease the mood. "And even then your magic isn’t too bad either, especially your barriers."

Steven took the compliments with not any answer; there wasn’t much to say for him without having to lie even more.

"Thanks, you’re not too bad either; you destroyed those guys in the forest." She nodded at his compliments, and as they finally sat down on the ground, she moved a bit closer.

"You are a really bad actor for a boyfriend, you know?" She spoke, nearly laughing.

As if without any warning, she placed her head on his legs, lying down on him.

He wanted to protest as he opened his mouth, but her finger had already moved before it.

"But you still have to act a few more days, so endure it. I think somebody like you should be able to do that, right?"

As she closed her eyes on his lap, her mana completely calm.

He couldn’t understand why he wasn’t pushing her away.

Normally, he would’ve.

Normally, having someone this close would have been irritating.

Yet somehow...

It wasn’t.

Maybe he really was getting soft.