Remy had stepped into the clearing when he saw the first blackiron bear in the middle of eating its dinner. It hung over a deer, muzzle bloody, and lifted its head to take a look at him, assessing whether to attack him or not.

Remy wished he had his sword. The fight in the bar had left him in debt and they took away his sword as collateral. He would get it back to fight the Dollmaker, but that was in a month. For now, it had to be by hand.

He put his hands up in a fighting stance, and the bear, sensing the fight stood up, at least half a man bigger than Remy himself.

“Hey.” He spoke to the elf behind him. “Are you going to help me?”

“You’re the strongest hero, aren’t you?” She was sitting on a rock and crossed her legs. “Show me.”

Remy snorted. “Fine. Come on bear. I’m going to knock you out and make bear nabe out of you.”

The bear roared and rushed him. Remy was prepared though, he had faced many bears since he was a kid, thanks to master. He already knew how to defeat them. He planted his feet to the ground, spreading his arms. The bear hit him, and he took the bears head under his arm, and held the claws with his free hand.

Then, he squeezed the neck as hard as he could. The bear gasped, and struggled. It pushed him back a little, and he almost lost his grip. But he redoubled and pressed even harder against the neck. The three scars on his chest hurt a little. A reminder of what would happen if he let go now.

His muscles bulged, and he could feel the bear’s struggle start to flicker away. When its neck finally weakened, Remy took the initiative and snapped it. The bear went slack, and Remy released him. Remy wiped his forehead free of sweat.

He turned back at the elf, giving her a smug smile and a thumbs up.

“You see. I, Remy, am the strongest.”

She hand her hands covering her mouth, her eyes told him that she was surprised.

“It tells me you aren’t human.”

Remy closed his eyes, shaking his head, and wagging his finger. “The Goddess made me human, because she knew that if I were anything different, that wouldn’t be fair. Being human is a perfect handicap for all of you mystical beings.”

“That’s some ego you have there,” she said, pushing herself up from the rock. She came to the bear.

“What are you doing?”

“I’m taking the crystal.”

“Like hell you are. Find your own bear. I have to pay back my debt. If you want it, you have to pay me.” He held out a hand, gesturing her for money.

The elf pulled out a pouch and tossed a few gold coins at him. “There should be enough for four more. Find them.”

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“Understood.” He saluted. “I will find more bears.”

“Also, make sure they are adult bears,” she said.

That made him stop in his tracks and turn around. “That is an adult.”

“No, this is a child. An adult is at least two times bigger than this, and their claws easily through steel like paper. Of course, a man like you should have no problem right?” She tilted her head at him.

“Of course.” Remy patted his chest. “Even like this, I can still tear a bear’s head off.”

“You sure? You sure had trouble with this baby cub.”

“That’s because I was warming up.”

“It’s only three days old. Did I mention an adult can shoot a beam?”

“Bears can shoot beams?”

“And fly.”

“What are even describing? Bears cannot fly, or shoot beams. I get it. You’re just pulling my strings, but lying to me won’t make me scared. They should be scared of me. I am the apex predator.” He flashed her his fangs. “That bear is going to be stew meat.”

“Sure. Sure.” She pointed to the opposite direction. “By the way, there is one blackiron adult bear that way.”

“Oh.” Remy rubbed his chin. He gave her a smug smile. “You can use sensing magic? That’s pretty rare. What else can you do?”

She pointed her staff at him. “I can blow you into little chunks of meat.”

Remy pressed the staff against his forehead. Tensed his neck to take whatever she would give him. He gave her a wicked smile. “I’d like to see you try.”

She closed her eyes and sighed. He was lifted in the air. He didn’t expect that.

“Wind magic?”

Then he was thrown into the forest, hitting a few branches and his head slammed against a thick tree trunk.

He rubbed his pounding head. His vision was shaking. He blinked several times as it came back into focus.

“That bitch!” He muttered. “I don’t care if she is master’s daughter. I’m going to get her back. I-”

His vision grew clearer and the black blur that he couldn’t make out in front of him, came to form. It was a bear, just like the one he wrestled a moment ago, except a lot bigger. At least two times its size. It eyes glowed an ominous red, and it smacked its lips as it looked down upon Remy like a plate of rotisserie chicken.

Remy gave the bear his worst smile, embracing what would be a great fight.

“Come at me!” He dared the bear.

The bear roared, opening its mouth. Red light started to gather in a ball.

“Huh?” His mouth opened wide. “It can’t be.”

But it was.

A bear released the ball of destructive red light. Remy rolled and stayed down as the beam sliced the air above him. The trees behind him exploded, falling down.

He could feel the color fade from his face, as cold sweat dripped down. The bear roared. Wings like a bat sprouted from its back.

“It was real!” His yelled filled the air, and in the distance birds flew away.

#

Kanoa lifted her head as he heard a yell in the distance. Birds flew off, and she heard trees drop. The idiot must have met the blackiron bear. The bear, of course, had another name.

Devil Bear.

The cub that Kanoa was currently skinning, had not developed its wings, or even had mana channels that allowed to shoot beams. It was why the crystal that she had gotten was almost worthless. There was barely a chance that she could use it.

Still, she tried. She put the crystal in front of her in a circle she drew on the ground. She put her will in the circle, and it lit up. The crystal in turn reacted and glowed too.

She could feel the crystal opening up, much like a book. She tried to read its contents. She turned its first page.

The crystal exploded into dust. The light from the circle faded, and Kanoa fell forward. Blood dripped from her nose.

She took out a handkerchief from her pouch and pressed it against her nose to stop the bleeding.

The crystal was too immature. She shouldn’t have tried it on that and the headache and the nosebleed as the price she paid for it.

The sound of battle was still fierce in the distance.

After stopping the nosebleed, she put away her handkerchief and stared at where she threw Remy. It would be best to help him, but her headache was still there.

Plus, it would be great if her mother’s disciple would just die.