How to Hit Them?
The bear dolls, who had been watching warily, began to change their reactions.
Kyagyagyagya... Gyaek?
Gao?
The bear dolls tilted their heads, their faces turning more innocent than anyone's in the world.
Rune, watching it all, was utterly dumbfounded.
'These little bear bastards...?'
In a way, it was only natural.
Dragons were the ultimate apex predators.
Just facing one triggered an instinctual danger warning in any creature.
Still, this was ridiculous.
Even if monster instincts followed the law of the jungle, for their attitudes to flip so completely...
Like mice before a lion, the three bear dolls huddled together, trembling.
Christina, examining the dolls, spoke up.
"They look fine. How did you make them?"
Rune answered Christina's smiling question.
"I combined monster corpses and materials from the Curse Tool Crafting Kit."
"Hmm."
Christina had never been fond of the Curse Tool Crafting Kit.
She'd even cautioned him to use it with utmost care.
But after thoroughly inspecting the quivering bear dolls, she nodded.
"Alright. They seem safe enough."
It was clear permission, but Rune double-checked.
"So, I can make more and use them?"
"Yes. In fact, at this level, I'd even want to use them as teaching aids sometimes."
"!"
Rune jumped in eagerly.
"Just tell me when you need them, and I'll make some."
"Would you do that for me, Rune?"
Rune cheered inwardly.
'Perfect excuse for training now.'
"Of course."
It was great news for Rune.
Now he could use the teeth from the Tooth Fairy's Hideout—not to mention other materials—to craft all sorts of dolls.
'Making them not too monstrous was the right call.'
Even if their behavior was fierce, they were mostly stuffed with cotton, cloth, and leather.
No way to get hurt, no matter what they did.
'Alright, time to see if they're actually useful.'
With the lair's master's approval, it was time for a real test.
Rune turned to his companions.
"Want to give them a try? Their basic patterns match the monster bears almost perfectly. They throw in some irregular moves now and then."
Heungmi grinned and picked up a bear doll.
The pink bear doll in Heungmi's arms bared its teeth, spotted Christina, and went limp with a hat!
"Oh? It went all floppy."
She shook it.
Shake, shake.
But the doll stayed meek, like it was playing dead.
Christina, grasping the situation, said,
"It seems I make proper training impossible. Why don't you all train among yourselves and tell me how it goes?"
Rune replied to the quick-witted Christina, who was already stepping aside.
"Yeah, we'll do that. Thanks, Christina."
She left a gentle smile and vanished with a teleportation spell.
A few seconds later.
Gya... Kyaaaa!
The bear dolls' ferocity returned.
"What are these things, split personalities?"
Rune just shrugged at Perdikion's words.
Heungmi, meanwhile, casually lifted the wriggling pink bear from her arms.
"Rune-nim, now we play with this doll?"
Hearing that, Rune blinded the other two rampaging dolls with darkness, revealing their true natures.
He figured Heungmi would win anyway.
'If they're weak to the strong, better to block their vision.'
He handed the now-docile dolls to the Dullahan.
"Yeah. Give it a go."
Heungmi grinned and stepped onto the sparring arena with the orange bear doll.
"Come on! Over here! Eum~ Pinky!"
Gyaaaaang!
Unlike the giggling, delighted Heungmi, the bear doll got serious, baring its temper.
Heungmi chuckled and touched the red brooch on her chest.
"Here! I'll call my cute fire babies too!"
Whoosh!
The fire spirits froze the bear doll solid.
Then it bolted on all fours.
"Nooo! Where you going, Pinky!"
Gyaaaaa!
The teary-eyed fleeing bear doll looked pitiful.
Rune scratched his cheek with his right index finger.
'Of all people, the fire user... Should've said they're for close combat only.'
It was too obvious to mention.
The moment Heungmi summoned her fire spirits, the bear doll scampered like a mouse before cats.
'Tch.'
Rune told Heungmi,
"Put away the fire spirits at least."
"Yes! Fire babies, come back!"
Too late—she'd already unsummoned them, but the bear had lost all will to fight.
"Hiiing. It keeps running away."
Heungmi pouted at Rune regretfully.
"Can't be helped. Try another one."
Good thing he'd blinded the erratic one and given it to the Dullahan.
Rune pulled out the orange bear doll, placed it on the arena, and restored its vision.
Gyak?
The feisty-looking orange bear doll sniffed at Heungmi and wrinkled its nose.
Gyaaaaa!
Evidently from a powerful bear monster, it reared up on hind legs, claws out.
Pat.
It planted its four paws, prowling like a jungle king, shoulders rolling.
'Oh. Real wild animal movement.'
The monster instincts in its teeth.
They drove it to predator mode against prey.
"This time... no scaring it off..."
Heungmi muttered like a vow, flicking her tail up.
Suddenly, without a word, both charged.
Gyaaaang!
"Kyaaang!"
Thwack! Thwack-thwack-thwack!
The bear doll's cotton-paw punches flew at invisible speeds.
Heungmi countered with her own, their fists clashing in cute tudududu! sounds.
Heungmi switched first.
"Hoi!"
Gyaaaaa?!
She hooked her foot behind the bear's shin.
Kyuueng!
The bear nearly toppled but recovered with practiced balance.
But it had shown an opening.
Heungmi wouldn't miss.
"Yaaap!"
Thud!
The bear rolled across the floor from the shoulder strike.
It popped up fast, but now it was bull-raging at a matador.
The end came quick.
Heungmi dodged the reckless charge and delivered a handblade to the nape.
Puk!
Gyaaaaaang!
Thud.
Realizing its unbeatable foe, the bear went limp.
It rolled over, belly up, surrendering.
Gya... Gyaaaaa.
Heungmi patted the whining, resentful bear's face.
"Don't cry, Orangey. We had fun!"
The bear suddenly bared teeth to chomp her hand.
"Tch! Keep trying to bite and Heungmi will punish you!"
Puk!
The handblade dented its head center.
It'd pop back as a doll, but it looked comical now.
Heungmi stood, leaving the limp bear, and approached Rune.
"Good work."
"It was fun!"
Rune nodded and asked what he was curious about.
"How was it fighting one?"
Heungmi pondered briefly.
"Hmm~ Heungmi remembered what Rune-nim said before!"
"Something from before?"
Heungmi beamed, ears perking.
"Fighting on instinct might win now, but later you'll struggle big time and lose!"
"That..."
As a beastkin demon, Heungmi had great combat talent.
But pure instinct could make her flee when disadvantaged.
Rune had tried various ways to teach her proper techniques.
'Perdikion was one of them.'
He waited silently; Heungmi grinned.
"Back then, Heungmi didn't fully get it. But Orangey's moves were just like old Heungmi!"
Her gaze lingered on the still-prone orange bear.
"I thought, 'Can't do that!' and fought like Rune-nim taught. Won super easy!"
'Hoo.'
Even if ingrained in her body, experiencing it by observing another was good practice.
Heungmi looked thrilled, smiling nonstop.
"It was amazing! Rune-nim must see Heungmi like that?"
"Maybe."
Heungmi nodded eagerly.
"Felt why not to fight like that anymore. So good!"
"Helpful, then."
"Super! Wanna do more!"
Bouncing with fists clenched in excitement.
Rune nodded.
"Good. Others need turns—wait a sec."
"Yesss!"
She dashed to a chair nearby.
Rune's gaze shifted to Amelia.
"Ah... Me?"
"Yeah. No weapons or powers—just fight it. Wanna try?"
The water-blue girl pointed at herself with pale hands, shoulders tense.
But she mustered courage.
"U... Yeah. Okay."
She took a deep breath and stepped onto the arena.
Rune shook the pink bear—the one that fled Heungmi's fire cat in terror.
"Hey."
Gyaaa?
Pinky, the fire-fearing pink bear.
Rune placed it on the arena at a fair distance from Amelia.
"Go on. Fight."
Gya... Gyak?
The bear eyed the timid blue girl.
"P-please be nice... to me..."
Its tiny greeting made Pinky forget prior fear.
Gyak, kak.
It stood on hind legs, puffing its chest.
...Kyaaaaa!!!
Thumping its chest with front paws for intimidation.
"Kyaa...!"
It sounded scared at first glance.
But really, a squeal from sheer cuteness.
Gyak! Gyagyak! Kyagyagyaek!
Unaware, Pinky thought it had cowed her.
Gyaaaaa!
Pinky spread front paws in a victory pose.
Doom!
As if shouting: Be afraid! I'm the strongest!
Amelia averted her eyes to not laugh.
'C-cute!'
Her shoulders shook involuntarily.
'Ah, no, Amelia. Focus.'
She shook her head wildly and clenched her fists.
"Okay... start."
Rune signaled, but she was troubled in every way.
'Hmm, how should I hit it?'
Openings everywhere.
Cocked-back torso, shoulders, back, legs.
Amelia pondered her target.
'Hitting too hard feels bad... Wanna hit super gently... Ah! This?'
She chose a knuckle rap.
As she rubbed her fingers, the bear licked its lips and charged.
Gyaaaang!
Once a jungle-ruling monster bear.
The doll, bearing cruel memories, lunged fast!
"E, ei...!"
Amelia thrust her right hand, flicking her index finger.
And.
Pooof!
Cotton burst out with the sound, hurling the bear doll out of bounds.