Hanging by a Thread
“Get this barrier out of the water for me. Think you can handle it?”
Undine flapped her tiny mermaid tail and lifted the barrier with both hands. The little thing was only the size of my palm, yet there she was, struggling with all her might to move that massive shield. Before I knew it, I had clasped my own hands together, watching her like I was praying.
“You’ve got this, Undine!”
Right now, you’re the only one I can count on!
The current was so fierce that mana drained away at an alarming rate even though she was only pushing the barrier. Still, the surface was finally coming into view.
“Just a little more!”
My life really is stubborn as hell.
Beyond the transparent barrier, I could see powerful torrents of water surging past.
The barrier rose slowly but surely. Before long it broke the surface with great effort. The pitch-black water at night had been terrifying.
“Undine! This time… that spell for walking on water. That one!”
“Water Walking.”
The barrier melted away like dissolving sugar, and with a splash my body floated gently onto the surface of the water.
For a moment I felt the flow of water beneath my knees with perfect clarity.
I was walking on water, but it was as unsteady as a newborn’s first steps.
I slipped, lost my balance, and kept falling. There was no way my own legs could fight this raging current.
In the end I changed tactics and ran with the flow of the water.
Remaining mana: twenty percent.
Once mana dropped to around ten percent, I wasn’t supposed to use any more magic, so in reality I was already running on fumes.
Using any more would shatter my body’s balance and cause what people commonly called internal injuries. Supposedly it hurt like hell.
I’d known the current was fast, but damn it! Nothing ever went my way; misfortune just kept piling on. In the end I stopped running.
But my body kept drifting downstream.
What now? I had no magic left I could use.
In a panic I sprinted toward what looked like the lowest point. Crossing the current was no easy feat. I barely reached the edge, but climbing the cliff face was impossible.
I stretched out my hand, hoping to grab any protruding rock on the cliff, but I couldn’t reach it. Nothing was working.
“Undine! Help me! Bounce me upward with the water. Can you do that?”
The water at my feet surged. I rode the big swell upward and seized a solid outcrop of stone.
“Ugh.”
The instant I grabbed the rock and planted my toes against the cliff, my mana teetered on the edge of collapse.
I had to reverse-summon Undine without even having time to say goodbye.
“…What the hell is this!”
My mana was completely gone, and I was left dangling from some unknown cliff.
Cold reality slapped me across the face.
I couldn’t call any spirits, so I was utterly, perfectly alone.
I looked up at the top of the cliff, but it seemed impossibly far. At least ten times my height. Could I really climb all the way up there?
“No chance.”
I knew my own limits.
Forget climbing; just hanging here would soon be beyond me.
It was lucky there was even a foothold, but how long could I last? Maintaining this awkward position was already making my hands go numb and my calves burn.
For now I leaned against the wall and caught my breath.
Aren’t I a bit too young to die? Why does this suddenly feel so unfair?
Darkness had settled all around me and nothing was visible. The only thing I could hear clearly was the roar of water threatening my life.
Let’s think this through.
“Even if you go into a tiger’s den, if you keep your head… it’ll probably just hurt more.”
It would take roughly three hours for my mana to recover. I didn’t need it fully restored; if I could hold on for about an hour, I should have enough to summon Undine again.
But the first problem was that I couldn’t last an hour in this state.
The second problem was that even if I did summon her, I couldn’t fight my way back up the river, and I had zero confidence I’d survive if I fell beneath the waterfall.
Either option would be hopeless even with full mana.
No matter which way I turned the problem over in my head, there was no answer. The absolute worst part was that the odds of my companions coming to look for me here were practically zero.
I had run a long way through the forest, then fallen off a cliff and drifted quite far downstream.
I’d even climbed the nearest wall in a hurry, but my companions were on the opposite cliff.
Seeing the moon over there… it was obvious.
“…Am I going to die? Nah, no way.”
I deliberately spoke the words aloud, but it only made the anxiety creep in deeper.
I had no plan, but I wasn’t about to jump back into the water, so I simply clung to the wall and tried to breathe.
It was a choice meant to conserve stamina as much as possible, yet the cliff was bitterly cold. Suddenly I felt so pitiful I wanted to cry.
Just then something slithered down along my hand. That familiar, heavy, long sensation wrapping around my fingers—!
“Rai!”
My voice came out hoarse; I’d been far too tense.
When I looked up, Rai’s black face glistened in the faint moonlight.
I could picture it perfectly. He was probably flicking his tongue and wagging his tail nonstop.
“Rai… I never imagined there’d be a day when you looked this beautiful.”
Can’t you see? Well, of course you can’t… Given the situation, I’ll let your stupidity slide this once.
“This is an emergency, okay? So pull me up!”
If I could have, I would’ve grabbed him and planted a kiss on that scaly head, but my hands and feet weren’t free. Besides, I was utterly exhausted.
“Either lift me up or make some kind of platform under my feet! You can control stone, can’t you?”
“Then create some iron and make a brace!”
Of course. What was I even expecting from him? Anger surged up to the top of my head and I screamed.
“Just do something! If I die, it’s your loss too!”
“You’re only realizing that now?! Talking to you is impossible… Fine. People! Bring people!”
“…Then grab anything that looks expensive and bolt! If they seem like cheapskates, bite them hard and run!”
This must be what grabbing at straws feels like. Leaving me in my desperate state, Rai climbed back up the cliff.
Watching his retreating form filled me with complicated emotions.
The truth was I couldn’t trust him because none of the tasks I’d ever given Rai had gone properly.
“Please, I’m begging you, Rai!”
How much time had passed?
The limits I had briefly forgotten came rushing back. My hands and feet trembled, my whole body shivered as if I were catching a cold.
If I died like this I wouldn’t have to worry about catching one, at least…
“Ha… ha… ha.”
I forced out a laugh, but the current surged violently and brushed my feet. At this rate the water spirit master was going to develop a phobia of water!
“Rai?”
Suddenly Rai’s voice echoed in my head. In a situation where I couldn’t see anything at all, hearing a voice inside my mind should have been frightening, yet relief flooded me first.
“Hurry! Did you tell them how much I trusted you?”
“Yes! Good job. You’re a genius, Rai! Where are the others?”
I looked upward, but there was no way anything would be visible. Who would peer down a cliff just to find a snake?
When I strained my ears I could faintly hear human voices. The roar of the water was too loud to make them out clearly. In that case…
“Adore!”
“Shut it. I’m giving you one last chance.”
“If you don’t want the contract terminated, get up there and bring the others to me no matter what it takes! You’re allowed to use mana!”
The situation was so precarious I could fall into the water at any second.
I’d already lost all feeling in my fingers; it was a miracle I was still hanging on.
Adore grumbled as he rose. Soon the tiny bit of mana I had recovered was sucked away in a rush, and a tremendous burst of light exploded overhead.
It was bright enough to be seen even from below the cliff. Then Adore flew swiftly toward me.
The floating orb of light stood out brilliantly against the night sky.
“Is someone there?”
I’m here! But my voice won’t come out.
“Save… me.”
“Oh my god, Kenta! Kenta! There’s a person over there! Hurry!”
Someone had apparently spotted me and raised their voice.
I was saved. I never knew a human voice could sound so wonderful.