The ground continued to crack as our auras clashed.
When the dust finally settled...
I was still standing.
On the other side, Grizella was panting heavily.
Our fists were still locked together.
"Hya hya hya hya..."
"You pass."
The moment she said those words, I had no strength left.
She suddenly jumped at me and wrapped me in a hug.
"I'll marry you!"
"...Wait, what?"
My knees gave out, and I collapsed to the ground.
Unfortunately, my face landed right between her soft breasts, which smelled strangely like freshly roasted rice.
"Hya hya hya hya..."
She kept laughing without a care.
I'm too tired...
I can't breathe...
My vision faded, and I lost consciousness.
When I woke up, I found myself sitting beneath a tree. A girl's giggling echoed beside me.
Oh, damn...
The bear girl.
She nearly killed me, and now she wants to marry me.
I stood up, brushed the dirt off my clothes, and walked away without saying a word.
She happily followed behind me, giggling the entire time.
I glanced at her.
The fierce eyes she had during our battle were gone.
Now she looked more like an excited little puppy.
I let out a sigh in disbelief.
After confirming that nothing was wrong with my body, I gathered mana around my legs and burst into a sprint.
I didn't care about that bear girl.
"So, where are we going?"
A cheerful voice came from beside me.
I turned my head and nearly stumbled.
Grizella was running on all fours beside me while easily matching my speed.
Sigh...
I poured more mana into my legs and accelerated.
"I can still go much faster than this," she said casually.
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I suddenly stopped.
She couldn't react in time.
"Agh!"
She tumbled forward, rolled across the ground, and planted her face into the dirt.
"Why do you keep following me?" I asked. "Leave me alone."
"Hya hya hya hya..."
She jumped back to her feet as if nothing had happened.
"No! I'll follow my husband forever."
Forever...
Forever...
Forever...
The word echoed inside my head.
"...Fine. Do whatever you want."
"But don't talk to me or bother me."
"Woohoo!"
She whistled, then started jogging in place with a huge grin.
"Sure! So where are we going?"
Ignoring her, I surrounded my legs with mana once more and continued running.
Night quickly approached.
I found a dirt wall along the side of a cliff.
Perfect.
Using my rune, I dug a small tunnel, climbed inside, and immediately sealed the entrance behind me.
"Meeeh! That's unfair! I want a cave too!" Grizella complained from outside.
I ignored her.
I pulled out a piece of bread from my mental storage, ate it, and quickly fell asleep.
The next morning...
I opened the tunnel and stepped outside.
"Good morning, sunshine!"
I looked up.
Grizella was sitting on a tree branch above me.
She jumped down with a bright smile.
Ignoring her again, I walked to a nearby river, caught a few fish, and took a bath.
She simply sat nearby and watched.
After breakfast, I continued my journey.
She kept talking.
I kept ignoring her.
That was how the next three days passed.
On the fourth day, Titan Cliff finally came into view.
Even from a distance, it towered into the clouds.
Its walls were nearly vertical.
It was unbelievably massive.
This is going to be a long climb.
Now I understand why nobody wants this quest.
Climbing this cliff alone is already life-threatening.
"Whew..."
"Oh, so you really want to climb Titan Cliff?" Grizella asked.
"There are only two ways up."
"Both are dangerous."
"The first is to climb the cliff itself. One mistake, and you'll fall to your death."
"The second is through the tunnels..."
"...where the Rock Dragon lives."
"Rock Dragon?" I asked.
"Hya hya hya hya..."
"So you finally stopped ignoring my charm, hubby."
She wrapped herself around my arm.
"Get off me."
Half a day later, we reached the foot of Titan Cliff.
The entrance to the tunnel looked exactly as Grizella had described.
Dark.
Silent.
Dangerous.
I looked up at the towering cliff.
"That's pretty steep..."
"...but not for me."
Without hesitation, I began climbing.
There was no way I was risking another journey through an underground tunnel.
The cliff gave me far better odds.
Besides, Stone Lilies only grew along these cliffs.
Rock Dew could also be found here—a mineral-rich moisture that supposedly strengthened Earth Rune users.
Rumors even claimed that Moon Berries grew at the summit.
From this close, Titan Cliff resembled a giant stone titan frozen in place.
"Hey, hubby," Grizella called.
"What kind of rune do you have?"
"I saw you digging through solid rock so easily."
"But I don't understand why the tunnel disappears and reappears."
I ignored her.
After climbing for some time, I found my first Stone Lily.
Carefully, I harvested it without damaging the roots.
Finding Rock Dew was much easier.
I gathered plenty of it.
That meant I now had two of the ingredients I needed.
I looked down.
The ground had long disappeared beneath the clouds.
Night was approaching, and I was still nowhere near the summit.
As I dug another foothold into the cliff, my hand suddenly broke through empty space.
A cave.
Perfect.
It looked like a safe place to spend the night.
"Grrrr..."
I instantly channeled mana into my gauntlets.
"Grrrr..."
I stayed perfectly still.
My eyes searched the darkness.
This place was far too dangerous to relax.
"Grrrr..."
The sound came again.
I slowly looked downward.
Grizella was staring at me with a sheepish grin.
"Hya hya hya..."
She rubbed her stomach.
"Do you have any food?"
"I haven't eaten for three days."
"...What?"
I let out a long sigh.
I started a fire and grilled several fish.
Mostly because I didn't want her bothering me all night.
I handed her one.
Before long, we had both finished eating.
The cave fell silent.
Growl...
Growl...
"No more fish," I said without looking.
Assuming it was Grizella again, I turned toward her.
Instead...
She was staring upward.
Her legs were trembling.
The smile had vanished from her face.
A cold chill ran down my spine.
Slowly...
I looked up. My eyes widened.
Rock Dragon…