Book 1: Chapter 23 - The Hunt [Part 2]

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Just a few points shy of the next level, things were going smoothly—quite swimmingly, actually. Until, of course, they weren't. A great roar issued from the edge of the forest, signaling that a challenge was at hand.

From the tree line burst forth a mountain of flesh, fur, and monstrous plant—a fearsome creature with a decidedly ursine aspect. A great bear appeared the size of a small barn, with razor fronds and thorny vines whipping about it, it was a dire melding of animal and plant. A true Wild Brother of the woods had come.

Now, this could be worrying, thought Seraphina, as the creature—or monster, more accurately—fixed its clouded yet baleful eyes upon her. Its movements were wooden but still fast as the bear loped towards her.

Normal animals... yes, she could handle those, but this might well prove difficult.

"Everyone... we are making a withdrawal," she declared. "Go now and get help!" she shouted, trying to hide the panic in her voice.

Her entire retinue turned tail almost immediately, not wanting to face the great bear. The fact that they voiced no objection irked her a little. Cowards, the lot of them, she thought as she watched them rush off.

However, a bear, despite its bulk and size, was a fast animal and could easily run them down. Seraphina was flagging, her stamina dropping precipitously; she had just enough left for one last Power Strike.

Loading a single large stone, she took time to orient herself and judge the distance to the bear. Thanks to having slain perhaps half of the forest's creatures, her Sling and Critical Hit Mastery skills had both risen a few levels, not to mention an organic gain in Dexterity. The sling felt more natural to her now, and she had learned to lead her shots.

She stood almost perfectly still, just concentrating for a moment. The wind ran through her now-short hair, playing with her golden strands and carrying the scent of spilled blood and death. This moment was a challenge; of that, there could be no denial. Pressure mounted as she began to swing her weapon, building up speed as she prepared to release.

The young girl pictured where the bear would be, her mind and body making subtle calculations before she let loose with all her might in a Power Strike. The missile flew with a vengeance, but at that very moment, the bear chose to stand on its hind legs and let out a great roar. The missile missed its intended target, the creature's head, and instead smacked into one of its front legs.

The creature bellowed in pain, and Seraphina knew then that this beast was out of her league. A chimera of beast and plant, such a monster had resilience beyond that of a normal animal. It would take more than stones, no matter how fast or powerful, to bring this creature down.

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The adventurers in the woods would be useless, as they were all far too low-ranked; the guards of her father would be simply speed bumps for a creature like this. It galled her, but there was only one person nearby who had the raw physical might and skill to stand up to such a creature.

“PAPA! PAPA!” Seraphina shouted as loud as she could before the girl started to exhaustedly run to catch up with her entourage. Her features were burning with red-hot shame as the words left her mouth.

But even as she fled, her mind had already begun crafting justifications. After all, men were placed upon this world for such reasons. It was not her responsibility to fight every battle herself. It was their duty to protect a beautiful girl like her.

Luckily for Seraphina, the beast was injured by her blow, and its rush had been reduced to a fast amble. A glance at her status showed she had only about two Stamina left, and it showed as her breath grew labored and her speed waned. The odds were not in her favor as she continued her flight back to the castle. Next time, she would make sure to bring a Stamina potion, even if she knew that drinking one was basically swallowing early cancer.

This was it, she thought to herself as the bear started to ever so slowly catch up. Her Stamina was depleted now and her limbs felt like lead weights. Every breath was a trial, but she continued to push on. She cursed herself for thinking such pessimistic thoughts, and a fire was lit.

However, no matter how great a will is, it is no match for the raw facts of reality. Reality has never cared for the feelings of men, or women, lest it was backed up by power.

But a power was coming for, summoned by her voice that could be heard as far as into the castle town, a warrior was coming. Anatoli was a doting parent and would not leave his only daughter so far away from his protective gaze. He would be no doubt just coincidentally patrolling his realm near where Seraphina would be hunting.

It was this that Seraphina had been relying upon, banking on, but never thought such a dire situation would come about.

Anatoli galloped to her rescue upon a dark brown war horse with a long hunting lance under his arm. He was trailed by his household knights who had bows and lances.

But instead of swooping his daughter up in his arms and whisking her away, he continued to charge, a devilish grin on his face as the tip of his lance was pointed at the Wild Brother.

Seraphina almost screamed in frustration but continued running away to safety for a few more seconds, panting all the while. She glanced back to see that her father had stuck his lance, the weapon’s haft splintering upon impact, into the bear’s chest and was circling away. The household knights kept their distance and peppered the creature from a distance with their arrows and bolts, but the writing fronds around the bear pushed away many of those missiles and acted as a briary shield.

She paused, wanting to see how this fight would continue, not to mention that she would be getting experience points for this as long as she did not stray too far away from the combat zone.

The fighting men of Sariens had engaged the beast, leading it away from Seraphina. Giles, Crayton, and Eloise had returned by her side now that the knights and her father had come.