As we ventured deeper into the forest, just as the two had warned, there was a bear.
The bear stood on its hind legs and was quite large.
Its fur was gray, and there was no crescent mark on its chest.
“It’s a Grizzly.”
“And quite a huge one at that… Dealing with it will be…”
We looked at the two who were facing off against the Grizzly.
The duo consisted of a male and a female student, and their uniforms made it clear they were students.
Naturally, they were young.
Yet, their attire was similar to Cedric’s, wearing robes and carrying staffs.
“This is impossible. We’re too close.”
“Wait, aren’t they seniors?”
“Ah, you’re right. They’re from Class D.”
I don’t know them, but apparently, they’re seniors from my class.
“Should I proceed?”
“Do it.”
“It’ll be profitable.”
“Alright, let’s go!”
I circulated magic throughout my body.
“Eh?”
“What is this immense power!?”
The two seniors reacted to my magic and turned around.
“Hey, idiot. Don’t look away from the bear,”
Frank said, and at the same moment the two looked toward us, the bear lunged at them.
However, I moved faster, and delivered a flying kick to the bear’s torso.
“Eh!?”
“W-What!?”
The bear tumbled away, and I landed between the bear and the pair.
“Seniors, over here!”
“Leave it to me. Come this way!”
Frank and Cedric shouted, and the two seniors quickly retreated.
The bear then began to slowly rise.
“Hmm, it’s even bigger than the last one.”
It was clearly larger than the Asian Black Bear we had encountered before.
“Tsukasa, do you need support?”
Frank asked from behind.
“Nope.”
At that moment, the bear swung its massive arm.
I easily evaded it with a jump, simultaneously kicking it in the face.
However, the bear seemed barely affected.
“Is it stronger than the last one?”
The Grizzly definitely seemed more formidable than the Asian Black Bear.
Then again, this one’s a magical beast with magic—it’s a completely different class altogether.
“Hmm…”
While contemplating my strategy, the bear crouched down and shifted into a quadrupedal stance.
Then it lunged toward me with its mouth open.
I sidestepped its slow attack without difficulty.
However, the bear continued charging forward.
“Coming this way!?”
“Wait, what!?”
The two seniors started fussing.
It appeared the bear had bypassed me and was heading for the four of us behind.
“Tch!”
Frank stepped up, his sword at the ready.
However, before the bear reached Frank, I caught up to it, running alongside it.
“You shouldn’t turn your back on me, beast.”
I threw an uppercut into the bear’s face. The bear reeled backward, and I followed up with a kick.
The bear tumbled about 10 meters but managed to stand back up and charged straight toward me again.
“Bring it!”
As the bear approached, it swung its clawed arm.
I caught the arm, clenched my fist with my other hand, and delivered a devastating punch to the bear’s face.
Its head made a full clockwise rotation, clearly taking a fatal blow. Despite this, the bear’s momentum didn’t stop, so I let myself fall with it. I then kicked the bear’s abdomen, causing it to tumble backward as I performed a somersault and stood back up.
The bear fell to the ground and did not move even an inch.
“…Wow.”
“…You took it down.”
“That guy’s seriously a monster.”
“I started feeling sorry for Mathias,”
I don’t need to hear that.
“What do we do with this?”
I pointed to the fallen bear.
“I’ll store it. We’ll go to the industrial district later.”
Cedric nodded, and the bear vanished in an instant.
“You can store a bear?”
“Living creatures are impossible, but once they’re dead, it’s fine. Corpses can be transported too.”
I didn’t really want to know that. Now I can’t stop imagining the worst.
“Uh, aren’t you Tsukasa?”
The male senior called out to me.
“Yes, I’m Nagase Tsukasa. I heard you’re from Class D’s second year?”
“Yeah, we’re in the second year of Class D. My name is Andy. Andy Kiddman.”
“I’m Joan Leighton.”
The pair introduced themselves. Andy, a male senior, had short brown hair and was about my height but much thinner overall.
Joan, the female senior, had the same brown hair but it reached past her shoulders and had waves.
She was similarly slim, and while they likely possessed magic, they didn’t seem particularly combat-ready at a glance.
“Are either of you injured?”
“Thanks to you, we’re fine. We’re grateful.”
“Thank you so much, Tsukasa-kun.”
They expressed their relief and gratitude with thankful expressions.
“Uh… do you know me?”
They both had called out my name, but after searching my memory, I couldn’t recall meeting them.
“Oh… we saw your duel the other day.”
“Whenever there’s a duel between Class D and Class C, I watch it. Especially when it’s between La Folle’s young mistress and Iver’s young mistress.”
Charlene might be impressive, but Toko isn’t exactly from La Folle’s family… and our last name is technically Nagase, so we’re not even a branch family.
“I see. So that’s how you know.”
“Yeah. You were amazing. I would’ve liked to see you win against Toko-san too.”
“Yup.”
I didn’t feel that way at all.
“Hmm?”
Andy tilted his head.
“Oh, by the way, that guy is on the Student Council faction,” Andy said.
“Wait, is he from the Iver faction? Or one of the bloodline factions? Despite being in Class D?”
“No, it’s nothing like that.”
Frank chuckled, and Joan seemed to sense something, nudging Andy’s stomach with her elbow.
“Ah… well, even so, Ms. Charlene’s magic was impressive too. Her skills were astonishing,” Andy quickly added.
“Yeah,” I agreed.
I couldn’t have said it any better.
Thank you very much for reading. If you enjoyed this piece or are curious about the next one, please consider bookmarking it or giving it a ★★★★★ rating. It’d be a great motivation for me to continue writing!
Sincerely,
