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“Dialogue”

‘Thoughts’

-Author notes-

Chapter 30: Welcome to the Red Bear Mountains

“Lightning Strike!”

The red bear let out a painful cry before falling down.

[Level up…status recovery]

“Amazing…you killed three red bears already!.” Seth cheered loudly.

They were traveling through the pass between the two mountains, as it was the safest way to cross. But the savage beasts still came to find them.

‘At least they are approaching one by one. I can regenerate three points of mana every minute. So, every two minutes, I can regain the mana I spent on the Lightning Strike. And those bears can be killed with just one spell, as long as I aim at their heads.’ Zephyr made some calculations as they advanced.

“We are one-third of the way there,” Seth informed him.

Since he couldn't fight, he was in charge of keeping track of their route.

There were several bifurcations along the way, and it would be terrible to get lost in this unhospitable place.

Red bears were the most common beasts here, but not the only ones and not the most dangerous either. On the peak of the mountain lived some terrible creatures but they rarely come all the way down to the road.

“Zephyr, careful!” Seth exclaimed while pointing ahead.

A group of three red bears had come together and were running directly at them.

“I didn't think they would hunt in groups…” Zephyr said.

“They normally don't, but they are very smart animals and they can work together if a strong enemy threatens their territory,” Seth explained.

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“Stay behind me,” Zephyr said.

His Lightning Strike had a fairly short range. It could only affect targets with full force up to five meters away and with half force up to ten meters away.

It was one of the many things he had learned after a lot of testing.

‘I don't think a half-force strike will be enough to kill one of those beasts… which means I need to wait until they are very close. Less than five meters.’

“Lightning Strike!” The first of the three bears went down easily.

But the other two were almost on top of him before he could attack again.

Zephyr had to make full use of his speed and reflexes to avoid getting mauled.

He used another strike after moving to the side of one of the bears. But the spell impacted on the beast's back instead of its head. It hurt it badly but was not enough to kill it.

‘No matter, I have five more uses. Next one will kill.’

He jumped backward while one of the beasts used its claws and tried to shred him.

While doing so, Zephyr extended his right hand, aimed well at its head, and took his shot.

The bear was hit on the top of its head and died instantly.

“Wait, where is the...?” He could not see the third bear any longer.

“Zephyr!” Seth yelled as he ran as fast as he could.

The last beast had decided to chase the easier prey first and was running after Seth.

“Oh no…” Zephyr hurried to catch up to the boy before it was too late.

“Status!”

He hurried to put his currently six available points into Strength, raising it to sixteen.

The increase in speed was immediately noticeable. His legs felt much more powerful now.

Moments later, he closed the gap between him and the red bear.

Zephyr grabbed onto its fur as it ran and used some momentum to lift himself on top of the beast.

This forced it to stop chasing Seth and focus on getting rid of Zephyr, who was now right on top of its back and had become the most immediate threat to it.

Unfortunately for the bear, it was too late already.

“Lightning Strike!” Zephyr called after placing his right hand on the bear's head.

The spell pierced it completely, destroying its brain and killing it instantly.

[ Lightning Strike is now Level 4]

“Are you okay?” Zephyr went to check on the boy.

Seth looked shaken up but nothing more.

“I'm fine… uff, I thought for a moment that…” His eyes opened widely and stared into something in the distance.

“What is it?” Zephyr turned around and saw it too.

“Oh…”

Another group of red bears was descending the mountain at great speed.

“Zephyr, look!” Seth pointed to the other side of the road, where yet another group of bears was closing in.

“They are trying to trap us…”

‘Status.’

[Status: Zephyr Level 9

Health points: 30/30

Mana points: 14/42]

‘My mana is already low, and now that my spell is stronger, it will cost one more. That would be seven mana with the discount from the passive skill…’

There were four bears descending the mountain on one side and three more on the other side.

“Okay, Seth. We have to backtrack. I have enough mana for two more spells. I can kill two of the three bears over there if I don't miss…”

“What about the third one?” Asked Seth.

“I'll… punch it?” Zephyr hadn't planned that far ahead.

“Here.” Seth offered him his dagger.

“The dagger is meant for carving but is better than nothing.”

Carving daggers were curved forward to make the process of skin removal a bit easier. He could not use it to stab, but it would still cut.

“Okay, let's retreat.” Zephyr and Seth hurried up before the bears had a chance to attack them on both sides.

Zephyr ran first while Seth quickly followed behind him.

The three bears had reached the road when Zephyr rushed at the first one.

“Lightning Strike!” The red bear went down quickly.

[Level up…status recovery]

[Level 10 archived….select a new spell…]