Chapter 8: Bear Minimum
The bear’s movements were more erratic than the last time Julius encountered it. But not slow enough that it couldn’t close the distance quickly.
The corruption had evolved it into something else.
The bear charged.
Daren moved before Julius could process further.
He met the bear first. Not with his sword but his shield. He stepped into the charge at an angle that wasn’t meant to block but to parry, using the creature’s momentum to redirect it away from the group. His body moved with the grace of an experienced fighter. The bear veered off by a meter as its claws tore into the ground.
Daren had his sword ready before it could turn.
Slash—Slash!!
The bear’s turn was halted as two of Joan’s blades tore through its fur in quick succession. She moved out of its blind spot as it tried to attack her.
Three more slashes followed.
The bear swung wildly but Joan evaded them. The edges of her daggers shimmered with a pale light.
Four more slashes followed then five. Each series of slashes seemed to make the blade’s glow intensify.
Joan evaded one more attack from the frustrated bear and took some steps away.
Neznala was next. She was already near the bear, walking slowly and dragging her greatsword. She was shorter than the bear and her weapon was roughly the same height as her.
The bear was cautious now. Deciding if it should attack her or Joan.
Fwip!
An arrow whizzed past Julius and embedded itself in the bear’s left eye. The creature howled in pain. Julius followed the direction the arrow came from and saw Kieran, perched on a branch, another arrow already nocked, his eyes glowing yellow against the darkness.
Yumiko was in the tree beside him. Julius hadn’t seen her get there.
He didn’t have time to wonder why. He turned back to the fight.
The dwarf swung her heavy weapon from behind, steadying her weight on her foot with enough force to cause a dent. The bear raised its left paw to shield itself.
The greatsword cleaved through flesh, and bone. Blood sprayed from the wound as the arm fell to the ground.
Julius watched all this.
He was holding Daren’s spare blade. The quality was better than the rusted dagger, but that didn’t translate to skill. He had never killed anything larger than an insect.
The group had the bear surrounded. It thrashed wildly, attacking blind to keep them back. Julius assumed the fight would end soon. He activated his ability. Partly to see if he could learn anything and to test it.
[Architect’s Eye.]
The environment resolved into blue outlines. Daren and his team were highlighted in green. The bear, red.
He deactivated the eye. The irritation came but softer now. Like someone blew gently into his eyes rather than stinging them.
The bear stopped thrashing and began moving backward as if to retreat. A part of Julius wanted to believe that. But another part. A tiny instinct rejected the notion. He had seen movements like this before.
One of the games he played, had a boss in the early stages who could feint to bait the player before it changed attack patterns.
In this case. Joan was taking the bait and she would get hurt badly.
Julius had no way to explain this without sounding insane. He didn’t particularly care for her but they did offer him help.
His body moved before his brain could ask questions.
Joan was already approaching the bear, her blades imbued with blue flames. To her, victory was close and she intended to savour it. A part of her felt something was wrong with the bear’s movements but her body was already committed. The urge to deliver the blow was too strong.
"STOP!!!"
The warning interrupted her. She stopped in her tracks.
The bear struck.
A flash of motion was all Joan could perceive even with her enhanced senses. The paw slammed down on the spot where she would have been had the warning come a second late. The impact cracked the ground, forming a crevice the size of a basketball. The bear had put its full weight into the attack and couldn’t steady itself.
It stumbled.
Joan’s entire body froze.
But the bear wasn’t done. It opened its jaws, intent on using the force of its fall to reach her. The rest of the group moved to support, but they wouldn’t make it in time.
Julius would.
He slammed into her, pushing her out of harm’s way. The bear’s jaws narrowly missed them both, grazing his arm. He repaid the injury by stabbing the bear’s remaining eye before the impact knocked him and Joan away.
The bear crashed onto its belly.
Daren crossed the distance in three strides. His sword found the bear’s neck. The thrust passed through without resistance.
The bear whimpered once. Then went still.
For a moment, no one moved. The fire crackled. The forest sounds returned.
Daren’s eyes stayed on Julius a moment longer than necessary. Then he turned back to the bear.
The others moved to check on them. Minimal injuries. Neznala produced two red pills from her satchel. The taste was something Julius preferred not to identify. The effect was instant. Their injuries faded.
Joan looked at him for a moment — a different expression than the one she had worn since the stream.
"Thank you."
"You’re welcome."
She didn’t say anything else. The expression stayed.
Neznala wiped her greatsword on a patch of grass and said something in Dwarven that sounded approving.
Kieran came down and went to Joan. His inspection was thorough enough to be more than just concern
"Thank you," Kieran said to Julius. A simple acknowledgement.
Yumiko appeared at Julius’s side.
"You hurt?" she asked.
"No."
She looked at his arm anyway. Then nodded.
The bear’s body was already changing.
The corrupted mana that had distorted it in life was leaving — the blood-red color drained into a red mist as the fur shifted to a more natural reddish-brown. The body shrank accordingly.
Where the corruption pooled, it began to crystallize. A small dense object formed inside the bear’s chest cavity.
A screen popped up in front of Julius.
[Mana core formed.]
Daren moved toward the bear.
[Iris’s note: As the killing blow is contested between you, Daren Athaerius, and his party, the Adventurer’s Guild contract belongs to him. The core will be his.]
Julius nodded. That was fine. He hadn’t taken this contract. Walking off with the core would create issues he didn’t need.
He looked at the body. The pelt was large, intact except for the throat wound and the severed arm.
[Iris’s note: The pelt has commercial value separate from the core. You can harvest it.]
And he would, later, away from prying eyes.
Daren retrieved the core — fist-sized, dark red, faintly glowing. He dropped it into a small reinforced pouch at his belt.
"The Guild will verify its quality," he said.
He looked at Julius. "You are not a party member but you contributed. A portion of the payment is yours."
Julius shook his head. "Keep it."
Daren insisted. Julius declined again and opted to ask about Joan’s blades and the flames.
She blinked, surprised at the question.
She explained the blades were enchanted to increase their damage with each consecutive strike. The flames were an ability unique to some members of the kitsu race, fox fire which they can imbue in objects.
Julius nodded.
---
The group set their tents. They offered a spare one for Julius and Yumiko to share.
Joan’s eyes moved between them. The corner of her mouth did something again.
Yumiko didn’t object.
They slept in rotations, one person keeping watch until daybreak and at one point, both of them slept at the same time on opposite sides of the tent.
Before the first rays of sun were up, the team was ready to go. Julius and Yumiko were already awake and helped them pack.
Julius noted that Neznala’s satchel fit everything inside it. Another thing to file.
They had moved the dead bear a few meters into the forest before both of them woke up.
"I would like to pay my respects," Julius said.
Daren showed him where. "Don’t take long."
Julius found the bear. Yumiko followed close.
He used the extraction skill.
The pelt folded into itself and vanished. Ten pelts added to his inventory.
[Item received: Fire Bear Pelt (x10).]
Both of them came back and joined the others.
---
The Free Cities’ main gate was visible when they emerged from the forest.
A massive wall surrounded the city with sentry outposts spaced along its length. A queue of about thirty people were ahead. Guards asked questions and passed a small crystal over each traveler. For most, it glowed green. For one man, it flashed red. He was escorted away without a word. Julius noted that.
"First time seeing it?" Daren asked without warning.
"No." Julius lied.
Daren looked at the city for a moment. Then he looked at Julius with an expression that was almost a smile.
"It’s good to be back," he said.
They started down the road toward the gates.
