Rain stared at the looming bear, which seemed unperturbed by the mist shrouding the area, almost like it could sense him. Rain prepared to attack, activating Aqua Vortex around his staff. Opening with his strongest attack, he thrust forward. The bear stood firm, barely scratched by the powerful vortex of water. But his goal wasn't to damage the behemoth.

While the bear's attention was taken away from Tide, Aqua and Cascade targeted the bear's paw. High-pressure beams of water shot from their mouths, forcing the bear to release Tide. It lost its balance slightly, and Rain quickly took advantage, Torrent Dashing forward. The added speed from Aqua Star Wings provided just enough force to knock the bear onto its side.

Before Rain could react, Cascade rushed forward, clamping down on the monster's throat. Rain called out, "No, Cascade, get back! It's not safe—" But it was too late. A field of stone spikes erupted from the ground, and Cascade was impaled. The spikes receded to soft soil, and Cascade plummeted to the ground.

It wasn't fatal, but Cascade would bleed out if not tended to immediately. Six orbs of water appeared behind Rain as he activated Raging Torrents. Thinking quickly, Rain devised a strategy. The orbs burst forward but swerved and slammed into each other at massive speeds, exploding into a wall of steam and burning the bear. Rain quickly rushed in and grabbed Cascade.

Rain's healing mucus rolled off his skin, and he applied it to the wound. He hadn't needed to use the mucus in a while because of his enhanced healing, but he was glad to have it now.

Rain turned back, feeling the energy that allowed him to use skills depleting. It had never been an issue before, but now he was consistently using multiple skills at a time. He focused on the energy inside his body, feeling it swirl. Maybe he could use it independently of his skills. "Aqua, Tide, get back and protect Cascade. I'll handle him," Rain called out.

He approached slowly, consciously moving the energy within his body. He focused the energy into his legs and burst forward, but the distribution was uneven, and pain shot through his muscles. "Damn, it can work, but I need more time to figure it out properly." Rain realized the energy could enhance his body. He focused the energy into his eyes, hoping to improve his perception. Energy gathered in his eyes, and a slight pain rolled through his right eye. Rain grabbed his face as the world drained of color until it was completely monochrome, except for the slight blue glow emanating from his right eye.

The bear stood up on its hind legs and prepared an attack, but it appeared to be moving in slow motion. Rain paid more attention to the bear, realizing it was still on the ground. This was a projection of what was about to happen. Realization washed over him: it was the eye. But what kind of eye was it? Before he could think further, color snapped back to the world, and Rain plummeted, heaving for air. He was completely drained and could barely move.

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Remembering what was about to happen, he summoned enough energy to roll to the side, avoiding a blast of pointed rocks.

Rain pushed himself to his feet, finally catching his breath. His wings were gone, and he couldn't use any of his skills. He knew he could probably get away, but Aqua, Tide, and Cascade wouldn't be able to escape, and he had no intention of abandoning them. Rain stared at the bear as it charged forward. He dodged, and the bear smashed into the trees behind him.

The bear charged again, and Rain dodged once more. He was going to keep dodging until he could use his skills again. The beast stomped, sending up spikes from the ground, and Rain launched into the air to avoid being impaled. But now he was stranded as pointed rocks shot toward him. He didn't have enough energy to use Hydro-Shield. Rain spun his staff and tried to block as many stones as he could, but multiple got through, piercing his body in non-fatal areas, fortunately.

The bear charged as Rain plummeted to the ground. He took the full force of the charge, unable to dodge. He was smashed through multiple trees and sent sprawling across the ground. Rain recovered and rolled to his feet as a wave of spikes billowed toward him, forcing him to dodge once more. He could feel his energy returning; he could almost use his skills again. The bear charged again, and Rain held firm, blocking the charge with his staff. He slid backward and retaliated with a swift blow to its head. It recoiled and swung its massive paw. Rain parried, but the bear didn't let up. It unleashed a barrage of paw swipes, and Rain focused on parrying them, barely letting any through.

Rain could feel his energy reach its maximum, and his Aqua Star Wings unfurled. He leaped into the air and summoned an Aqua Vortex around his staff. He focused as much energy into it as he could, making it grow three times its original size. Rain drilled down, puncturing the bear's skull. He fell to the ground as his wings dissipated, having put all his energy into that attack and unable to keep them open any longer. He looked at the bear; its entire head and neck region was completely gone. Rain fell on his back with a sigh, knowing he had won.

["High Rune Of strength awarded. High Rune of Constitution awarded"]

"Only thirty stat points to go," Rain said as he stood up from the ground. Aqua, Cascade, and Tide rushed to his side, and he patted them each on the head. He looked at Cascade and spoke gently but firmly.

"Don't rush off on your own without a plan. You almost died," he said. Cascade lowered his head, and Rain grabbed his face gently. "Let's just focus on the fact that you're alive now."

Rain reached into his bag and handed them all some strips of meat, watching them eat with a small smile. Once they had finished, he began walking. "Come on, we have more monsters to fight."