As they began climbing up the rope, I lunged forward with my sword, ready to strike.
"Ahh, stop! It's me, Nora!" Nora screamed.
I froze in place and exclaimed, "Nora? What are you doing here at this hour?"
"We came as soon as we got your signal," Nora panted, gasping for breath.
I glanced down and spotted Mr. Jackson, Ayaka, and Kaito scaling the rope toward us.
"Hey, what are you staring at? Help me up!" Nora snapped, her voice tinged with irritation.
"Oh, sorry."
I grabbed her hand and pulled her up. She collapsed onto the ledge, still heaving. The moment her eyes landed on Grace, she rushed over and enveloped her in a tight hug, tears streaming down her face. Grace, overwhelmed with emotion, broke down and cried too.
Within moments, the others reached the top.
Ayaka dashed toward me, throwing her arms around me as she sobbed. "Ryan, my master! I'm so relieved to see you safe and sound."
"Oh, Ayaka, you were worrying over nothing," I said softly.
She continued crying, her voice breaking. "How could I not worry? I saw you charge off alone to fight that dinosaur, knowing full well you stood no chance against it."
I placed a hand on her head and replied, "Ayaka, think about yourself a little instead of just me. Remember, you've got a witch's soul inside you. And as for me, know this—I won't go down so easily to beasts like that. The word 'defeat' isn't in my dictionary."
Impressed by my attitude, she thought to herself: No, Ryan's right. Maybe I'm overthinking things because of him. It's just... I see in him the man who saved me from that dire peril back then.
From the side, Mr. Jackson and Kaito called out in low voices, "Ryan, could you come over here for a moment?"
I approached them.
"Please forgive us," they said. "Leaving you two behind like that... it wasn't right."
I responded calmly, "No need to apologize. What you did was for the team's safety.
When the dinosaur was advancing on us, you were a bit farther away. Deciding to flee instead of fighting was the smart choice—I believe it was correct.
If you'd come to help, we'd all have ended up battling it together. That would've drained our stamina and strength massively, with no guarantee of victory.
So, Mr. Jackson, as the leader, your decision was spot on."
Hearing this, Mr. Jackson got emotional and pulled me into a hug. "Ryan, you're young, but your IQ, maturity, and thinking are on another level."
Kaito then asked, "By the way, Ryan, where are Albert and Daniel?"
In a steady voice, I explained, "Daniel shoved Grace toward the dinosaur and fled. Mr. Albert got severely injured fighting a giant spider, so he sacrificed himself to save us from the dinosaur."
The news of Albert's death hit everyone hard, especially Mr. Jackson—he'd lost his only friend.
After chatting like this for a while, we entered the cave. They all stared in awe at the sight.
"Wow, Ryan! You guys found the perfect spot to hole up," Kaito said enthusiastically.
"Hmm, perfect... but we can't stay here long," I replied.
Mr. Jackson chimed in from the side, "Why not? This place seems safe enough."
"As you were climbing up, I zoomed in and scanned the area below," I said. "I spotted various dangerous beasts lurking around."
My words silenced everyone. The cave fell into a heavy, oppressive quiet. I could sense the fear, tension, and dread rippling through them.
...
Nora broke the silence with a pained voice. "I thought we could survive here for a few more weeks. But now... I'm not even sure we'll make it to tomorrow."
Mr. Jackson added, "We were walking under the open sky, convinced you'd all perished. I felt like we wouldn't last much longer either. Unfortunately... Bang! We heard a deafening noise... and looked up to see the flare gun signal. It reignited a spark of hope in us. We followed it straight to this mountain. From below, we spotted the cave with the light inside, and we knew you were alive. But what's the point now? Death seems certain here."
Seeing their emotional turmoil and mounting tension, I grew irritated.
Then, with confident resolve, I declared, "Come on, guys! Why are you all so terrified? Aren't you hunters? Have you ever heard of a hunter fleeing in fear from their prey? No—it's the prey that runs in terror from the hunter. We're the hunters here. Why should we run? Even if facing them head-on is tough, we fight until our last breath. If we lose, at least we'll be remembered in history as legends. But if we surrender out of fear, future generations won't remember us—they'll despise us."
...
From the side, Nora replied in a quiet tone, "You might be right, Ryan. But I can't take this anymore. Every moment feels like death is circling me. That horrific tunnel scene keeps replaying in my mind."
Listening to them, it was clear they'd completely broken down. I stayed silent for a moment, then continued, "Alright, I understand your mental state. But I have a plan to survive here."
Their eyes widened in shock. Kaito stood up, his voice incredulous. "Ryan, are you serious?"
"Yes, dead serious," I affirmed.
I began explaining the plan to everyone. "Look, first off, I'm still confused if we're even on Earth anymore—or in the middle of it, or some other world. But the structure here mirrors our world. I mean nature: sky, ground, caves, mountains, trees, giants, and more. So, there must be a river or ocean somewhere. If we can find the sea, we build a boat and sail away. And if we're lucky, we might stumble upon a small island during the voyage—one without dinosaurs or beasts like these. We could survive there."
After hearing this, they all stared at me in stunned silence. I wondered if I'd said something wrong. But the next instant...
Whoop! They erupted in cheers. "Hooray!"
Ayaka leaped onto me, grinning. "Master! Brilliant plan. You're amazing!"
Kaito exclaimed, "Coming here wasn't a waste after all."
Nora and Grace showered me with praise.
Mr. Jackson then said, "The plan you just laid out is truly impressive. Honestly, I don't have what it takes to be a leader. They chose me because of my age. I've got no experience thinking in situations like this. My poor decisions could put you all in danger. So, I want you, Ryan, to take over the team's leadership."
His words weren't false. He was around 45, a former renowned boxer, which is why he'd been selected as leader. But he wasn't handling decisions well now, having never faced anything like this before.
I thought for a moment and replied, "Sorry, Mr. Jackson. I can't. I may be good at fighting and thinking, but there's no guarantee I'd be a good leader."
He didn't press further, just looked at me with a faint, knowing smile. I couldn't quite decipher its meaning.
Suddenly, Grace approached me. "So, how do we find the ocean?"
I told her, "We'll climb to the top of this mountain, then use my contact lenses to scan for it."
From the side, Kaito groaned, "Man, I'm starving. Hey, Ryan, got anything to eat?"
"Yeah, we had some until a bit ago. But we finished it right before you arrived."
"What? Where'd you get food?" Kaito asked.
Grace piped up from the side, "Oh, Kaito, don't ask. It didn't taste bad, but when I think about eating snake... ugh, it makes me queasy."
"Snake or whatever, at least your belly's full, right? We're over here starving," Kaito grumbled.
By then, dawn had broken.
Since everyone was famished, we decided: Ayaka and I would climb to the mountain's peak to search for the ocean, while the others headed down to forage for food.
To be continued...