"Dialogue"

'Thoughts'

-Author Notes-

Chapter 13: A savage beast

“Ugh… I am going to need a map…” Zephyr lamented.

He had walked for the entire day but still had no idea how far he was from his objective.

After much thinking, he decided to attempt crossing The Wall.

But before doing that, he was going to need a map and that could only be found in the biggest human settlement… Zloria Town.

It was going to be a great risk but it would be even more dangerous to travel blindly.

There are many dangerous spots in the southern part of the continent.

And there was also a fortress ruled by the Celestials who were in charge of guarding The Wall.

He needed all the information he could get on that area.

“Good thing I have some money. It should be enough for a map and some food for the trip.” He surely did not need to pay for that apprenticeship anymore.

When the sun was starting to set, he decided to camp near another large rock formation. They were the best places to take refuge at night.

“Oh, look at that!” He was surprised to find a small cave ahead of him.

‘That looks perfect…but I have to make sure that no animals are already inside.’ He approached slowly, trying his best to avoid making much noise.

Most of the dangerous animals are on the western side of the continent but it was best to act with care.

He could not hear anything so he continued to get closer and closer.

Once he was right next to the entrance, he peeked inside.

It was completely dark, making it impossible to discern any shapes that could be inside.

‘Oh!, I know what to do.’

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He moved his right hand to the entrance of the cave. “Lightning!”

The light coming out of the sparks was able to illuminate the small stone chamber.

It also made a lot of noise so if there was anything dangerous in there, he was going to have to run.

But it was better to find out now rather than later on, once he was inside.

“It is empty ...ufff….” He sighed in relief.

Now he could rest with some peace of mind.

He felt so tired that as soon as he laid down and rested his head against the leather bag, he fell asleep.

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[Warning…hostile presence detected…]

“Grrrr….” A growl could be heard.

Zephyr opened his eyes slowly. “Huh?...did I hear someone speak?...” He spoke, still feeling very drowsy.

“Grrrr!” A louder growl.

Zephyr heard it clearly this time and got startled.

It was still somewhat dark inside the cave but a few rays of light had started to creep in.

It was just enough to see the massive shadow standing over the cave entrance.

“What is that?!....”

The creature approached slowly and growled again. It was big enough to crack the stone beneath its feet.

Zephyr knew he was in a terrible situation.

The cave was small and only had one exit, and that huge beast was blocking it.

‘Trying to run past it…seems like a terrible idea. But perhaps I can scare it first, and then pass by.’

“Lightning!” He did the only thing he knew.

The sparks from the failed spell were enough to illuminate the cave enough to get a clear view of the beast and also to scare it a bit.

Zephyr felt his blood run cold when he saw the creature. “A red bear?!”

He had never seen one alive before but had read about them.

These beasts are usually only found in the western forest and surrounding mountains.

They are considered extremely dangerous and are usually avoided by hunters.

Not only are they powerful beasts with sharp claws and tough hide, but they are also very aggressive. It was written that once a red bear had made you their target… it will never stop chasing you.

‘This is not the time to hesitate!’ He reminded himself.

While the bear was partially blinded and surprised, Zephyr made a dash to the exit.

Just as he was passing by the beast, it moved one of its claws at him.

The attack came out by instinct as the beast was yet to recover its bearing.

Zephyr jumped to one side and tried to avoid the menacing claw.

He escaped being slashed on his chest, but his left shoulder was still grazed.

This alone was enough to make some deep cuts on his flesh and draw a large amount of blood.

He grunted in pain and rolled on the ground but at least he was no longer trapped inside that enclosed space.

With no time to waste, Zephyr ignored the pain coming from his injury and took off running.

There were no trees he could climb to escape the beast but there was a large pointy rock he could perhaps use to avoid its reach.

The pointy rock stood around ten meters vertically while the bear appeared to be just one-third of that.

The bleeding shoulder made things more difficult, but he managed to reach the top before he was found by the beast.

The large bear looked angrily at him and roared loudly.

Zephyr could not help himself and gave the beast a smug look. “That's right, you can't get me here!, so you better go away!”

He hoped that the bit talking about how the red bears never let go of their prey was not completely true.

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“Seriously?...”

It's been two hours and the bear remained in the same spot.

At least his shoulder had stopped bleeding but it still hurt a lot. He had not brought any healing supplies with him as those were just too expensive.

“Just go away!” He yelled.

For a moment, he thought the bear was going to obey him.

The creature turned around and walked away from the pointy stone where he was in.

But then…it turned around…and charged.

“What are you-”

“Bam!”

The giant beast's body impacted against the rock, making everything shake with violence.

“Oh no….” He heard the rock crack.