ALL NOVEL As you know, I’m a big scaredy-cat, so this current situation is unavoidable.
“Master! Where on earth are you?”
I was hiding on a tree out of sight, covering myself with leaves.
‘I don’t want to go!’
I know it’s quite pathetic to say this now, but as I tried to leave, my feet just wouldn’t budge.
And who can blame me?
‘After living here for 300 years, how can I step outside…’
It’s been way too long since I buried myself in this mountain.
After everything has passed, the thought of meeting someone other than Nameless makes me dizzy.
Besides, Nameless was just a little kid back then, so the conversation flowed easily. Talking to others outside the mountain would definitely drain my mental strength.
But since my Master’s honor is at stake, I can’t just stay in hiding, and running away is just prolonging the inevitable.
‘I should at least mentally prepare myself…’
Trying hard to console myself, I gathered my thoughts.
Peeking out from behind the leaves, I spotted Nameless in the distance shaking strawberries, looking for me.
‘That little brat?’
Did he think I’d jump out the moment I saw strawberries?
For some reason, that irritated me, and I frowned.
“Please, Master! When are you going to leave!”
Nameless seemed to have circled the same spot for a long time before finally deciding I wasn’t there and moved away.
“Phew….”
Honestly, it felt like I had aged ten years.
Of course, I know that running away like this won’t keep me safe for long.
Still, I wanted to delay leaving the mountain a bit longer.
Once I confirmed that Nameless was completely out of sight, I jumped down from the tree.
‘Is anyone around?’
Looking around, I felt a presence and immediately got goosebumps.
“…Why do I sense Nameless behind me?”
With a sense of dread, I stiffly turned my head.
“Master.”
“Eek!”
Seeing Nameless right in front of me nearly made my heart leap out of my chest.
‘What the heck is this kid?’
As I calmed my racing heart, I looked at Nameless with a dumbfounded expression.
Even if Nameless had gone out of sight and stopped hiding his presence, he shouldn’t have just popped out like that.
‘Nameless’s abilities couldn’t have been this high, right?’
For the sake of the future, I had to verify this.
“Master, stop running away—”
“…How did you find me?”
“What?”
“I mean, how did you track me down?”
I asked with a stern expression, as if I had never spoken so firmly to Nameless before.
This issue is crucial; if Nameless could do this, there’s no reason someone else couldn’t.
But he just awkwardly scratched his cheek at my serious tone.
“I don’t really have much to say when you ask how I did it.”
“What?”
My eyes narrowed.
‘What the heck?’
Nameless had turned red for some reason.
“I sensed your smell from up in the tree…”
“…What? My smell?”
Smell? I bathed today!
I quickly raised my arm and sniffed myself; I didn’t smell bad at all.
‘…What kind of super sniffer does he have?’
I definitely should ask if there’s a dog in his ancestry.
I looked for another chance to escape, but ultimately, I got caught by Nameless’s grip on my neck.
“Nameless? I’m your Master. Isn’t this treatment a bit weird?”
“I don’t know.”
It felt really strange.
‘Hmm, is this kind of relationship the norm around here?’
When I think about it, Nameless has liked to tease me since he was little.
It felt like 300 years of being the older and wiser mentor was about to kick in, but I managed to hold back.
After running away for so long, I felt like I really wouldn’t be able to go outside at all, so I headed to the hut to grab the bag I packed yesterday.
“Master? It was definitely smaller just yesterday…”
“It’s all in your head, it’s all in your head.”
I straightened my back while wearing a backpack bigger than me and looked up at Nameless.
“Did you pack everything?”
“Yes, I’ve got my things, and I’ve packed you too, so nothing’s missing.”
“What did you just say—”
“The sun will start to set soon, let’s hurry.”
I looked up at the sky at Nameless’s words, but it was just beginning to rise.
‘What is he saying now?’
I was about to say something, but Nameless started pushing me from behind.
“Wait—don’t push!”
“Yes.”
“Whoa!”
Suddenly, without his support, I almost fell backward.
“What are you doing, you reckless idiot!”
“Come on, Master, you won’t fall over just like that.”
That’s true, but isn’t this a matter of attitude?
I felt uncomfortable with Nameless’s attitude, but staring at his smug face left me speechless.
Sighing softly, I turned to glance back at the hut.
There it stood, an old, dilapidated hut that seemed ready to collapse any second.
“Hmm, I’ve grown quite attached to this place, and leaving makes me sad.”
“You’re coming back anyway, right?”
“Yeah, you’re right.”
Nameless was certainly correct.
‘Yeah. I’ll come back.’
It’s certainly a joy to have a place to return to after a long journey.
“Let’s go.”
I smiled brightly.
As we walked for a while, one question suddenly popped into my mind.
‘Come to think of it…’
There was something I hadn’t asked Nameless.
“Nameless.”
“Yes, Master.”
“Where are we going?”
Normally, it should be me, the Master, leading the way, but—
‘I don’t know the way.’
I had never ventured beyond the mountain, so I had no choice but to follow him aimlessly.
I was, after all, curious about the destination waiting at the end.
So I asked, feeling quite embarrassed, and Nameless replied with a dazed look.
“What? I’m following you, Master.”
What the—
“Are you kidding me? You know I’ve never left this mountain, right?”
“Yes, I know.”
Oh dear.
I realized that the only person here who has never even once seen the world was me.
I was suddenly hit with a wave of dizziness and pressed my palm to my forehead.
“How could you, as my disciple, not prepare something like this?!”
“Shouldn’t you have looked into it at least once, Master?”
How cowardly of him to try to shift the blame back!
I must tell this kid the facts of life.
Frowning deeply, I pointed my finger at Nameless.
“Hey! Your god-like Master teaches you and finds time to practice. Where would I find time for something like that?”
From the looks of it, Nameless had no retort and just turned his head away, focusing straight ahead.
“And I clearly said that when I took you on as a disciple, you would handle all the mundane tasks, right?”
With my finger still pointing, I poked Nameless in the side.
“Say something!”
Poke—poke—
Nameless lifted his head, looking mildly panicked.
“Ah… Master, why not check out the village I always heard about?”
“The village you heard about? You mean the one where you always brought strawberries from?”
“…Yes.”
Well, at least I knew that much about the village from Nameless, and I was curious about the village he often visited.
“Hmmm, that sounds fine.”
Still, I wasn’t quite calmed down, so I grumbled to myself.
“Yes, then we can go to the village and buy a map there.”
“Now that’s definitely a good idea.”
A journey involving a map—how romantic!
I imagined myself wandering around with just a wooden sword.
The corners of my mouth started twitching.
“But how long will it take to get to the village?”
“About a week, I guess.”
“What?”
I had imagined it would take three days at most, but that seemed way too long.
Could it be that Nameless had been traveling far just to get strawberries all this time?
“Wasn’t it supposed to be the closest village?”
“Yes, that’s right.”
He had no reason to lie about this, and judging from Nameless’s expression, he didn’t look like he was making it up either.
Then it must be true.
“Hmmm, then for a week, I won’t be swinging my sword?”
“It’ll take longer, but we can take breaks in between.”
I was just unaccustomed to not swinging my sword.
Honestly, I felt like I wouldn’t be able to elevate my skills by just swinging it right now.
‘The wall…’
It felt like I could move just a little further, but that little bit had taken me years.
Just imagining it caused my chest to feel heavy.
If there’s one small hope, I hope this trip will help me break through that wall.
As I pondered about my growth toward the next realm, I noticed Nameless looking worried, so I gave him a small smile.
“No need to worry so much, but I think I’ll need some ‘breathing exercises’ too.”
“Oh, you mean the Mana Breathing Technique?”
I shot a piercing gaze at Nameless.
“Breathing exercises.”
“Oh, yes.”