“Who’s that!?” Kane turned around, trying to identify where the voice was. A second scream then ensued, clearer and louder than before.
“Help!!”
Curious, Kane ran toward the source of the voice. He also heard faint footsteps which became louder as he traveled.
A moment later, he spotted something. A large wood brown bear was chasing an oni child, crushing any small trees that obstructed its path. With bloodthirsty eyes, the bear’s mouth salivated as if it hadn’t seen food for weeks. The child was somehow almost outrunning that agile monster.
Kane had spotted a Great Earth Bear, the high rank 1 monster that he must hunt!
A Great Earth Bear was twice the size of a normal bear. Its razor-sharp claws could cut a hard tree. Combined with its powerful strength, the bear was a tough foe to fight, let alone kill. The resilient spotted brown fur protected it from many dangers, hence any ordinary arrows or swords wouldn’t even enter its skin. Although it was a little slower when compared to its kind, a Great Earth Bear is fast enough to chase most of its prey, including humanoid lifeform.
It was classified as a monster because the bear has mana — mystical energy within many intelligent lifeforms that was also used to cast magic. Any animal that had it evolved, changing its form depending on the mana quantity. However, low ranked monsters were unable to use magic.
Since the Great Earth Bear had not realized his presence yet, Kane took advantage of this situation by assessing the situation.
Saving a random stranger wasn’t something Kane usually did, but a high rank 1 monster was quite strong for his current state. Perhaps the fleeing oni could be his precious ally and a carrier — he decided to make an exception.
Kane moved to a different spot. He readied his ax and then prepared to throw the weapon, aimed at the bear. He needed to wait now for the right moment so that he would not miss it.
“Heh, finally a real battle. Come here now, you monster!”
---
*Tap* *Tap* *Tap*
*ROAR!*
“Help!!” The oni child cried. Some muscles had formed in his body as normal oni should. His messy hair fluttered as he ran. His traditional oni clothing had been damaged. Chased by the large bear, his nimble legs kept moving without taking a rest. However, he was almost reaching his limit.
The boy had been hunting animals in the woods. He had pursued a rabbit, but it had been too quick to kill. The hunt had distracted him until he’d realized that he had gotten lost. Trapped for hours, he still hadn’t given up hope and kept walking. Then a large wood brown bear ambushed him out of nowhere. He had tried to fight back, but it was futile because the bear was too powerful. Leaving behind his weapon, he had begun fleeing like there was no tomorrow.
Out of the blue, a white-skinned child appeared in front of him. The boy was human yet he had the horns of oni. A stranger, yet he was somehow familiar. Perhaps he was the weak child that all his fellow friends picked on and then never saw again? The boy did not doubt that he was the same person, but he was confused with that mixed-blood’s actions. He wielded a big wood-chopping ax. If he wanted to fight the bear, then he was crazy. So the oni yelled at him,
“What are you doing! Run…” He ran past the mixed blood. The bear pounced toward the new victim with its vicious mouth wide open.
The oni boy shut his eyes as he tripped over a tree root. He crawled and refused to look behind, afraid of watching his savior get eaten. Regaining his footing, he began to run but then stopped. He noticed something strange.
Contrary to what he had expected, nothing happened except a pained groan. He knew the sound only came from the animal, which was strange. The oni boy tilted his head and peeked. The large ax had struck the face of the bear, right above his eyes. The blood was flowing directly into its eyes, blinding it. The bear stood up and pushed the ax away from its face, trying to remove it.
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“Wh-what’s going on?” he stuttered.
---
Right after Kane threw the ax, he approached the monster. Gripping the dagger in his right hand and the wooden shield in his left, he stabbed the tendon of its leg, trying to sever it. However, the blade couldn’t penetrate its skin because of the resilient fur.
“Come on!” Kane persisted. He kept stabbing until he grazed the skin.
The bear managed to get rid of the ax. Roared in rage, it swiped with its claw at Kane.
He raised the shield as he stepped back to dodge. The attack merely scratched the wooden surface. The bear didn’t stop there; it charged toward him before Kane could recover. When they collided, he was sent flying, spinning in the air for a second. A large tree blocked him from flying further. He then landed with both feet thanks to that tree.
“Damn it!” Kane grimaced as he checked his injuries. Just a bruise on his left arm and pained back; he could still fight! The shield reduced the severe impact he had received for the cost of destroying it, leaving him with nothing but the dagger. There was more. He noticed something was happening within his body, but he had no room to relax.
The blinded bear relied on its perceptive nose. Smelling Kane’s odor, it thus once again charged toward him, forgetting the other prey. It was more vicious than before.
*Thud!* The bear crashed into something. It hit the large tree rather than Kane because he had already moved from the previous spot. Now its head was stuck inside the thick trunk.
From behind the tree, Kane shouted as he ran toward his ax, “Hey you!” He pointed at the oni who stood motionless and gaped. “Grab the sword from my backpack and cut its wounded leg!”
He snapped out and followed Kane’s order. In a moment, he wielded the sword and approached the bear. Although the oni feared the monster, he knew that they’d die if he refused to attack it. He kept hacking the grazed leg several times until it bled.
However, the bear got free from the tree. It turned around and gnawed at the oni. Panicked, he stepped back, barely dodging the ferocious bite. He stumbled and managed to get away. The bear gave a momentary chase until it tripped. The severed tendon caused it to fall.
The oni’s expression changed. He shouted, “Quick, kill it!”
“I know.” Kane had already stood in front of the bear. A faint, transparent aura flowed outside all of his body and then his ax. Gripping the most bottom of the handle, he raised the ax above his head.
The bear began to get up. The legs stood up one by one. Seeing this, the oni shouted again, “It will recover soon! H-hurry!”
When the ax descended, a bright, vertical straight red light flashed.
With the fast downward chop, the ax split the monster’s skull into two parts. The blood and brain pieces splattered everywhere. The wooden handle had torn apart after hitting it and the head crumbled into broken iron pieces; the ax was no longer usable.
The bear struggled for a moment before dying. Its blood seeped from the wounds.
Running out of breath, Kane sat on the ground, staring at the lifeless Great Earth Bear. “Hah… hah… hah. Phew, that was fun. It’s been a while since I experienced a blood-pumping battle like this,” he said with a grin.
Kane now remembered that vis could only be awakened by an adrenaline rush. He’d forgotten this because it had been too long since he had awoken his vis in the previous life. After this event, he decided to recall his forgotten early memory later. There could be something important for the future. He also decided to improve his vis since it completely ran out after using the technique.
He got up then examined the bear. Other than the skull and the left leg, everything was flawless. Kane nodded in satisfaction. A question popped into his mind: How to bring this heavy corpse back to Bokar’s place?
“You’re really amazing!” a young male voice called from behind.
Kane turned around. He saw the oni run toward him. His breathing was also erratic.
“Th… Thank you so much for killing that monster! What’s your name? Mine is Gako,” he shouted.
“I’m Kane. You should’ve already known me.”
Gako nodded. “Yeah, I know you. I heard bad rumors about you but I didn’t know that you’re strong!”
“Thanks, uh…” Kane coughed and switched the topic. “By the way, Gako. Could you help me carry this bear?” It was one of the reasons why he’d chosen to save him.
“Gladly! But…” Gako glanced at the corpse. “We probably won’t be able to carry this with only two people. Should I call for help?”
Kane nodded. “That would be the b—”
“No need for that.”
The two immediately turned their heads toward the voice.
A man appeared from behind a tree that was far from the two. A sheathed scimitar and an ax was strapped on his hip. He wore armor made of bones stringed together.
“Ah, hello... Bokar.” Kane greeted. Cold sweat began to form. He hadn’t even noticed him at all before. It seemed Bokar was able to hide his presence, otherwise any living creature could be easily detected by Kane.
“Uncle Bokar? What are you doing here?” Gako asked in confusion.
Bokar gave them a silent stare while still moving forward. Standing in front of Kane, he drew the sword and pressed it against Kane’s narrow neck.
“Who are you exactly?”