Transmigrated as the Novel's Final Boss

"Is it because you have some secret lover that lives in the mountain caves that you want to m-"

"You’re not even trying anymore, are you?"

Wiping a bead of sweat from my face, I stretched my arm forward and pointed at a single pine tree in the distance, standing at the edge of a cliff.

"Land Ho!"

It felt as if I had just sailed across the Atlantic Ocean for two months straight and finally seen new land.

A little bit away from the tree, there was a large opening in the mountain that seemed to lead on for miles of darkness.

Not even acknowledging the tree, Sage simply gripped my shoulder and suddenly pushed it forward, causing me to fall.

Then, a moment later, she jerked my shoulder back up before I could hit the ground, allowing me to regain my balance.

"Wake up, will you?"

Scratching my head, I leaped down the remaining stairs, putting distance between us, and landed on a flat portion of the path before asking.

"What was that for!?"

Casually strolling down the stairs, Sage simply looked down at me and said.

"How am I supposed to react when you scream something random like that!? I thought you had gone insane."

"Do I look insane?"

"Can you blame me? First, you lead us down the mountain for no apparent reason, and then you go crazy when you see a tree."

"..."

"We’ve been heading down this damn mountain over two hours, and everytime I ask for some sort explanation, you just ignore me and tell me to guess."

Suddenly stopping on the last step of the staircase downward, Sage stared to the right, down at the forest below the mountain, and said.

"I know nothing. I’m just blindly following you around."

Ignoring her, I turned back around and veered off the path, walking toward the tree in the distance.

The answer was right here, so why would I ruin the surprise?

But, a moment later, her furious and loud voice echoed behind me.

"This has just been a whole waste of time, hasn’t it?"

Halting, not because of her words, but because of the tone, I gripped the pen in my pocket.

Had she even gotten angry?

No matter the situation, no matter how hard or difficult the environment was, Sage had always kept this cheerful and joking voice.

She was like my personal cheerleader, both during the practical exam and now.

Before I could even think of a response, Sage’s voice sounded again, this time in a soft and barely audible tone, completely changing emotions.

"Oh, I think I know what’s going on."

Impatiently looking over my shoulder, I questioned, focused on the tree in front of us.

"What? What’s going on?"

Taking a step backward and rising up the staircase, Sage answered, hiding her face by looking down at the ground.

"You always walk ahead of me when we speak and avoid conversation, shrugging off my questions. You think I can’t help you?"

What was she talking about?

Of course, I didn’t come to this mountain and waste my precious weekend to make conversation.

Anyway, it wasn’t like I was ignoring her.

Whenever she asked me questions, I would play along with her, answering sarcastically and pretending to be annoyed.

Raising my eyebrows, I took a step toward the tree and responded.

"What the hell? You’re the one who decided to come with me downward; no one f-"

Interrupting me mid-sentence, Sage suddenly shouted.

"And, why did you think I did that?" Do you think I wouldn’t rather be resting and eating at the base camp?"

I had never questioned her choice to follow me around and simply accepted it.

She wasn’t slowing me down, so why wouldn’t I accept the extra help?

But, did she think she was indebted to me or something?

Clicking my teeth, I continued my walk forward without stopping and said without looking back.

"You don’t owe me anything for your high Worldly rank."

That was all it was.

Everything made sense.

The reason she had followed me around and talked me to thus far is because I helped her get a high contribution during the practical.

Barely reaching my ears, her casual, cheerful, and sarcastic tone reappeared as she spoke behind me.

"Debt...rank, you think I care about that? I could get all of that myself. "

"You just think I’ve been slowing you down this entire time, right? I can’t help you at all, can I?"

"So just leave me here and do whatever the hell your reason for coming on this trip is."

Where had this all come from?

This entire argument just because I said the words, "Land Ho?"

Was it the insane heat on the mountain?

With one stupid phrase, all of her built-up frustration had burst out, causing me to retaliate.

I wish I could say it was stupid, but it really just revealed the flaws in our relati... No, it revealed the flaws in my character.

I should have been grateful and thankful for her company, but I just treated her like a pet who would always follow me.

A sort of deja vu enveloped me.

This had happened before, hadn’t it?

She was a healer and probably wasn’t accustomed to walking for this long in such a harsh environment.

Why? Why had she done it?

Answering my inaudible question, Sage’s fleeting voice sounded one last time as she moved farther away from me.

"Do I need a reason to be with you? It can’t just be because we’re friends?"

"You know, I thought this academy would be a drag. But, somehow, you made it entertaining."

"From the moment I saw you, you surprised me. Your boldness, irrational actions, your unfounded confidence...things you should never see in an Imperial student."

"But, if I’m just holding you back, I should go. I’m just a healer who can’t even keep up with you."

"..."

My mouth cracked open, but no words came out.

She wasn’t holding me back at all; she was holding me together.

How hard would this two-hour walk have been alone?

Why was it so hard to say that, though?