2-4 The Hot Rock Bear
"Hot Rock Bear...! There it is."
"Master... are we fighting it?"
"Yeah, I've set up my Splash Splash traps already. Let's give it a shot."
Aiming the magic gun.
Kyuiiing... Bash!
Firing the magic gun in sniper mode, the shot hit the bear's torso. It staggered a bit, but seemed fine. No visible injury...?
"Gugaaaaah!"
The bear let out a roar. It looked just like a regular bear, but rocks seemed fused to its body, with red light leaking from the gaps. Ah, so the heat and rocks give it that bearish look.
I burst from cover, firing the magic gun repeatedly to keep it at bay.
Just as I thought—no real damage even on direct hits.
"Goo... Gyaoon!"
"Shut up already..."
Sasha had woken Don and set him to watch our surroundings. Nice call.
As I provoked it with the magic gun, it tensed up and charged straight at me—only to get caught in the mud midway.
"Gotcha!"
"Gyaooo! Gua!"
Even after tumbling, the four-legged stability let the Hot Rock Bear stand right back up. But I'd slowed it down, at least.
Keeping my distance carefully, I prepared a thrust when suddenly five fireballs materialized above the bear. Magic!
I reflexively deployed a Water Wall from my sword tip, backstepping at the same time. It blocked one or two, but several broke through. The prior backstep saved me.
But it grazed me—my side armor reeked of scorch marks. Close call.
"That fire magic packs a punch... no wonder it's the boss around here."
I slashed at the bear's arm as it paused to cast.
"Gyaaah!"
That hurt, you bastard!—or so it seemed to scream. Enraged, it swiped alternately with both paws.
I should've had sword range, but even at a distance, a moment's lapse and it'd reach. The raw power was obvious—the air whistled with each swing.
I was dodging, but the whoosh by my ear spiked the terror. Sweat chilled my back.
"Nya..."
Dodging meticulously, I aimed sword strikes at its forepaws.
An arrow whistled from behind, striking near its eye. The bear flinched, rubbing its face with one paw.
No time to switch to the magic gun, so I unleashed a barrage of Water Balls from my blade.
They bounced off the rocky parts, but hitting the glowing red skin caused an instant sizzle like evaporating flesh, making the bear writhe.
"Oh yeah, even my Water Balls work. Water magic's its weakness, just like the guide said."
Not fatal damage, but it was gasping now, movements slowing.
Seizing the moment, I swapped to the magic gun and unloaded spread shots.
After three, it shrugged them off, so I switched to power shots and fired again.
Its shoulder exploded, flesh flaying open. That's some damage. But my MP was running low.
No choice—finish with the sword.
Timing with Sasha's arrows, I exploited a gap to slash both its legs.
Its paw countered, grazing my cheek.
Fast and heavy!
Just a graze, and blood sprayed dramatically. Sasha occasionally created openings with her bow, letting me land cuts. A tense exchange where time blurred—probably just minutes, really.
Eventually, one leg gave out, toppling it. I kept harassing with Water Balls, waiting for the killing blow. As it flailed its paws in frustration, I poured extra magic into the magic sword and slashed its throat. Blood gushed.
...But it kept moving. Tough bastard. No need to push further, though. Let Sasha's arrows handle the rest while I poked and slashed to annoy.
Gradually weakening, the Hot Rock Bear finally stilled. Approaching cautiously, I prodded with my sword tip—no reaction. Phew.
"...Did we get it?"
"Yeah, it's dead for sure."
Still, what a beast. Over two meters tall, bulky width, body like literal rock. Can I even butcher this?
And it was sinking into the mud. ...Magic stone's in the heart, right? Gotta cut it open.
After that, with Don and Sasha on watch, I somehow finished butchering. Got the magic stone, cut off the valuable limbs. Organs fetch gold too, apparently, so I grabbed some likely ones.
The hide and rocky parts are materials... but stripping and carrying them? Tough.
Toward the end, Sasha called an alert—dog-like monsters prowling nearby.
But they kept their distance. ...Aiming for the meat, huh.
Nothing for it—pack up and bail.
Gotta study butchering more.
Dragging our heavier load, we made it back to Tarstira by nightfall.
"Ahh, wiped..."
"Good work, Master."
"You too, Sasha. Man, underestimated that Hot Rock Bear."
Sasha nodded silently. If the magic gun barely scratched it, that's rough.
Probably a magic-resistant type, save for its water weakness.
"If Gramps were here, it'd be easy..."
"Gramps?"
"Nah, nothing."
What-ifs won't help. Gotta hone my water magic. Wonder how much we made?
"A Hot Rock Bear? Nice kill."
"Yeah, barely."
"Magic stone's worth about two silver coins. Poor shape, but decent fire-attuned size."
"Hmm. What about the limbs and organs?"
"Limbs fetch one silver each, but damaged... total eight, maybe. Organs? Mostly unwanted parts, heavily spoiled... ten with the limbs."
"Oof..."
Bad butchering tanked the price. Self-inflicted.
"With the stone, twelve silver. Bonus: thirteen."
"Thanks. I'll study butchering more."
"Appreciate it. We have workshops—join if schedules match."
"Huh."
Check it out when free.
"Charge for that?"
"Sometimes, but butchering's free. Benefits us too."
"Got it."
Learn proper, bring better mats—win-win.
"Here's thirteen silver. Verify."
"Yeah."
Still, Hot Rock Bear... Without Splash Splash, might've been bad. Dangerous, any more info?
"More on Hot Rock Bears? Distribution, counters?"
"Paid info available."
"Paid? Huh."
"Yes. You can sell your own too—guild shares after set period."
"I see..."
"If guild verifies. We sell distribution data sometimes."
"For these too?"
"Yes. Two silver for detailed maps. Want?"
"Yeah, hook me up."
Safety first.
Led to a private room, handed a simple map.
"No sharing with outsiders."
"Obviously."
"Fine with your slave, but leaks mean punishment—even among guildies."
Strict. Makes sense for info trade.
"The circled area is estimated territory."
"...That's huge. And overlapping."
"Common, even animals. Big means powerful."
"Dodging entirely's tricky. Any counters?"
"Not really. Paths get culled sometimes, safer. West's riskier."
"Why?"
"Migrated southwest originally, river makes good conditions."
"Hm."
"Stronger ones likely dominate west. For hunting, target pushed-east weaker ones near walls."
"West-side one was stronger, then. Risky."
Should've checked intel sooner. Lesson learned.
"Yeah, stone size average. East has immature ones."
"Got it, thanks."
"But don't overhunt—ecosystem balance, royals might complain. One more's safe."
"Really?"
"Self-defense's fine, no punishment. But avoid beefing with higher-ups."
"Yeah."
Key info. From now on, buy on big threats. Sold intel flags danger. Next time.
Checked other party records, done. Didn't sell my method.
"Lesson learned—no more gambles."
"Yes, quite chilling."
Sasha was worried from the start. Thought I was cautious, but slacked. Zag hunt hubris? Time to humble up.
Back at the inn, status had grown. Including Sasha's.
Vigilance build. Vigilance leveled. Mage hit 10. Magic Bullet description...
Magic Bullet: Converts magic power into an energy projectile and fires it.
Like the magic gun? But probably weaker—no magic crystal mediator. Convenient sans aiming, though.
Magic swordsman build. Swordsman leveled pre-bear. Nothing special.
Rearguard during bear fight. Back late, still 9 MP left—shows how tight it was.
MP nearing 40. Efficiency up, more magic options. Good growth. Magic Gun Handling? Feels easier channeling... maybe placebo.
Rare combo, hard to gauge gains. Great agility, though.
Best for melee stats, but can't drop Mage.
Defensive magic changes everything.
Switching jobs more proactively—might see use. Or MP-zero fallback. Keep in mind.
Discovery: MP goes negative. Like a debuff till recovery. Scary—switched back quick.
Sasha's. Hit 7 pre-bear, now 8. Quick level—bear fight epiphany? Nailed moving eyes. No Charged Shot yet?
Don too. MP up, new skill. Impressive critter.
No levels, but grows MP, acquires skills solo.
Solid gains overall. Hunts and bear bumped us up. Nice.
Rest tomorrow, expedition day after.
Avoid bear turf—outlier strength. For now.
A status-focused chapter.