Published: July 3, 2025
No one spoke.
Only the sound of the approaching footsteps of the red bear echoed.
At a distance of about twenty-five meters, the red bear stopped.
Its body length was around two and a half to three meters.
It was difficult to determine exactly due to its four legs.
It is said that the body length of a superior species of bear, the greater bear, is about three and a half meters.
It felt slightly smaller than that.
But more than that, what caught the attention was its body color.
Or perhaps its fur color?
Bright red.
As red as a cardinal or a chili pepper.
Moreover, with a bear like that... it was only natural to be surprised.
"GAH!!!!!!"
The red bear let out a roar.
It was not just any roar.
Harold and Gowan knelt down.
It was a roar filled with magical power, capable of breaking the hearts of those who heard it.
"Harold! Gowan!"
Nils's intense reprimand.
At that, Harold and Gowan focused their eyes.
However, the red bear did not wait.
Fireballs were launched in quick succession.
"Ice Wall Layer 10! Ice Wall Layer 10..."
The continuous generation of ice walls.
The red bear's fireballs shattered two ice wall layers.
In that case...
"We'll withstand it with continuous generation!"
A total of ten fireballs were launched, but they were managed by five ice walls.
Ryo had noticed.
All the fireballs had been aimed at the faces of the group.
The red bear likely intended to blow off only the heads of the group and use the bodies for food.
After all, fire attribute magic is not very effective for hunting.
If it's too strong, it burns the meat or causes it to explode, making it impossible to obtain materials...
While the salamander, known as a monster that uses fire attribute magic, sometimes defeats enemies with its fire magic, that’s because it doesn’t eat its targets in the first place.
The salamander's main food source is magma...
It can't exactly be called herbivorous, but at least it's not carnivorous.
However, the red bear in front of them seemed to be a carnivorous monster despite using fire attribute magic...
Using fire attribute offensive magic in a forest is quite difficult.
There's a risk of catching trees on fire and causing a forest fire.
Even though it was mountainous and rocky, it doesn't mean there are no trees at all.
Did this monster consider that...?
Ten more fireballs were launched again, and once again they were withstood by five ice walls.
Assessing the number, Nils made a decision.
"Alright, when the next ten fireballs come, Amon and I will charge in."
"Understood!"
Amon responded to Nils's command.
Ryo would take the attacks as a 'shield,' while Nils and Amon would attack as 'swords' against the enemy.
This was a very standard combat method for a counterattack at the party level.
If it were the former 'Red Sword,' Warren, the shield user, would take the attack and, in the same moment, the swordsman Abel would strike the enemy.
Ryo had anticipated this and had been using continuous generation instead of layered ice walls.
When considering a counterattack, overcommitting can actually limit the options available...
And indeed.
For the third time, the red bear launched a continuous attack of fireballs.
"Ice Wall Layer 10! Ice Wall Layer 10! Ice Wall Layer 10..."
Ryo withstood with continuous generation of ice walls.
As the tenth fireball flew toward them, Nils and Amon leaped out from both ends of their ice walls.
And they ran straight toward the red bear.
However...
The red bear generated and shot off fireballs again!
It wasn't limited to just ten consecutive shots.
"That was within expectations."
Nils murmured as he slashed at the fireball approaching him with his sword.
Amon also cut down the fireball coming toward him with his sword.
As expected from b-rank swordsmen.
By this point, the red bear was right beside them.
Finally, Nils and Amon simultaneously dove into the red bear’s range from both sides and swung their swords...
They missed.
Both of them.
Whether it was due to the bear's quadrupedal nature or something else...
The red bear dodged with a backstep at a speed beyond what Nils and Amon had anticipated...