The Bear Hunt, Part II
Monia had once compared Chester to a knight. At the time, Chester had laughed it off, asking how she could possibly compare him to a knight. But Monia, who possessed an extraordinary, innate eye for discerning the true value of things, had a good reason for her words. Even back then, seeing Chester weakened and malnourished from the grueling demands of his butler duties, she had deemed him fully comparable to a knight. And Monia's eye had not been wrong. The man named Chester was far stronger than he himself realized. He simply had never had a reason to unleash that strength, so he had remained ignorant of it.
Watching the charging bear, Chester waited for the perfect moment. When it came, he slipped to the side and naturally swung his catch pole. The noose at the end of the swung pole caught around the bear's head, tightening instantly as the beast continued its forward charge, choking its neck.
—Grrrk!
"Ugh!"
But at the same time, unable to withstand the sheer momentum of the bear's charge, Chester fell and was dragged along. Though he somehow managed to keep his balance and avoid faceplanting entirely, he couldn't stop himself from being dragged across the ground.
"Aaaagh!"
Grit-toothed and dragging, Chester forced himself upright while keeping a tight grip on the catch pole. He reached into his basket, pulled out a wooden spear, and aimed it at the bear.
The moment the bear turned to target him again, Chester thrust the wooden spear forward.
As the spear pierced its shoulder, the startled bear reared up on its hind legs and swung its forepaw, batting the weapon away.
Crack!
The wooden spear shattered.
Chester threw the broken shaft at the bear and immediately reached for his next weapon. Another wooden spear. Holding it in one hand, he hurled it at the bear as it lowered itself back onto all fours.
Simultaneously with the throw, Chester tucked the catch pole firmly under his armpit and shoved the end of the pole down toward the bear.
The moment the bear charged—
Screeech!
Chester's body was violently pushed backward, his feet scraping against the earth with terrifying force.
However, no matter how hard the bear kicked off the ground, as long as the catch pole didn't snap, the distance between Chester and the beast would not close. Knowing this, Chester maintained his absolute focus to avoid falling or losing his grip, reaching his free hand back into the basket.
What he pulled out was his machete, gleaming brilliantly in the sunlight.
Until now, he had kept the machete smeared with dirt so its glint wouldn't attract the attention of other creatures.
But this time was different.
To prepare for the bear, he had ground the dulled blade against a flat stone to restore its razor-sharp edge, wiping it clean and checking it thoroughly.
Machete in hand, Chester swung it without hesitation.
Thwack!
The machete struck the bear.
This time, the hide on the bear's face split wide open, spraying blood.
—Roaaar!
"Ughhh!"
At the same time, the bear's charge intensified. The catch pole tucked under his armpit scraped backward, tearing the skin on the inside of his arm and drawing blood.
Withstanding the momentum of a charging bear with only one arm was not something he could sustain for long. Chester swung the machete once more, quickly checked behind him, and adjusted his footing.
Screeech!
His feet dug fiercely into the dirt, altering his trajectory as he was pushed back. The moment Chester slid slightly diagonally—
Crash!
The bear, charging at a terrifying speed, slammed its head directly into a massive tree that had been hidden behind Chester's body.
Seeing the bear collide with the tree, Chester immediately went on the offensive with his machete.
Slash! Slash! Slash!
He hacked wildly at the bear as if swinging an axe, carving into its flesh and letting the blood flow.
—Graaaaoooor!
The bear began to thrash its entire body. It had realized that whatever was wrapped around its neck was the source of its torment.
"Ugh! Ack!"
The moment the bear thrashed, the catch pole jerked violently. Chester, whose legs were already jelly from resisting the bear's charge, lost his footing and went rolling across the ground.
Seeing Chester fall, the bear seized the opportunity and lunged, only to be blocked by the catch pole once again.
"Grrrgh!"
As he was dragged backward along the ground, Chester clamped the machete between his teeth. With his free hand, he scooped up a stone from the dirt and hurled it at the bear.
After pelting the bear with stones several times, Chester pulled out a Chili Powder Bomb he had carefully tucked into his waist and threw it.
Smash!
The Chili Powder Bomb scored a direct hit. The bear reflexively inhaled the exploding cloud of spice and shrieked in agony.
—Roaaar!
It wasn't just because the spice had entered its respiratory tract. The fine powder seeped into the open wounds Chester had carved with his machete, triggering an excruciating, burning pain.
—Argh! Graaar! Oooor!
While the bear thrashed and shrieked in agony, Chester scrambled to his feet and leaned against a tree to catch his breath. He had merely been holding his ground and attacking, yet sweat poured from his body like rain.
This is insane.
His breath was already ragged, a stark reminder of just how much stamina confronting a bear demanded.
His abundant stamina and powerful grip felt utterly meaningless now; his body was exhausted, and his hands trembled, losing their strength.
He needed to regroup. While the bear was still disoriented, Chester scrambled up a tree.
Once safely perched on a branch, he sheathed his machete and pulled out his bow and arrows.
"Phew!"
When the bear's wild thrashing subsided slightly, Chester aimed and released an arrow.
Thunk!
The arrow struck the bear squarely in the back.
The bear, still clutching its nose from the burning chili powder, looked around in confusion before spotting Chester up in the tree.
Thunk!
At that exact moment, another arrow pierced its forepaw.
It didn't go in very deep.
It couldn't be helped. A crude bow and crude arrows. He was lucky they even penetrated the hide.
Having spotted Chester, the bear began to climb the tree. Chester fired another arrow at the ascending beast, but unfortunately, the bear's weight shook the tree, throwing off his aim.
Without a second thought, Chester discarded his bow and arrows. He needed to shed every ounce of weight to conserve his failing stamina.
Then, leaping from the branch, he grabbed the catch pole that was still dangling from the bear's neck.
The moment Chester gripped the pole tightly, his fall arrested. The bear, forced to bear both Chester's weight and the momentum of his drop, crashed headfirst to the ground.
Chester fell to the ground as well, but having dropped from a much lower height than the branch, he took no damage.
Only the basket on his back bore the brunt of the impact, trapped between Chester and the earth, emitting a sharp cracking sound.
Though he had designed the basket to be flexible and collapsible in any direction, the items packed inside had resisted the compression, causing it to break under the shock.
But a little damage was no great concern. He couldn't check the state of the items inside, but as long as his machete was intact, that was enough.
Scrambling to his feet, Chester yanked on the catch pole while reaching blindly into his basket.
His hand brushed against something. He pulled it out quickly, revealing a crude flail made of a large stone and rope.
Since it was made of stone, perhaps he should call it a stone flail.
Chester spun the flail, wrapping the rope around his right arm to shorten the length. After building up momentum, he swung the shortened weapon at the bear.
The stone slammed directly into the head of the bear as it struggled to rise from the dirt.
—Gwergh!
Bam! Bam! Bam!
Chester retreated while continuously swinging the flail. He swung it in wide, sweeping arcs, maximizing the length of the rope to increase its destructive power.
Thud! Thud!
Slashed by the machete and battered by the stone flail, the bear's face quickly became a bloody mess.
Crack! The flail grazed the tip of its snout, splitting the bear's nose open and drawing fresh blood.
—Gwaaaargh!
And then, the bear lunged directly at Chester.
"Ugh!"
The hand holding the catch pole had not yet recovered from the fatigue. His grip slipped, and Chester fell backward in a panic.
The bear sailed directly over his fallen body.
Chester tried to grab the catch pole the moment the bear passed, but the pole, whipped around wildly by the thrashing beast, struck him directly in the eye instead.
"Ah!"
The impact of the blow blinded him in one eye. His vision went stark white, and the skin near his eye split open, sending a stream of blood running down his face.
Though his vision was only temporarily impaired by the shock, in this situation, that alone was fatal.
The bear charged at Chester, who was reeling and disoriented from the blow to his eye.
The lunging bear's forepaw clawed viciously across Chester's chest.
The leather-and-wood armor strapped to his chest shattered and tore away, and a fountain of blood erupted from Chester's chest.
"Aaaaagh!"
As his chest was ripped open and blood poured out, Chester screamed in agonizing pain.
Fortunately, the armor had done its job; the claws had only sliced the surface, avoiding a fatal wound.
"Aaaagh!"
But it hurt. Having one's flesh raked by a wild bear's jagged, dirt-encrusted claws was pure torture.
Yet, even as he screamed, Chester did not stop what he had to do.
He drew his claw knife.
The sudden appearance of the "familiar weapon" drew the bear's gaze, and Chester moved his other hand.
Smash!
He swung his hand and struck the bear, detonating the Chili Powder Bomb directly in its face.
—Gwraaaah!
The bear thrashed in agony, and Chester, clipped by its flailing forepaw, went rolling across the ground.
"Ugh... ugh..."
His entire body throbbed with pain. He couldn't even tell where he had been hit. It was likely his leg.
Feeling one of his legs refusing to move properly, Chester tried to drag himself up and reach for the catch pole.
"Argh!"
But the moment he tried to move, a white-hot pain shot through his leg, sending him collapsing back down.
His chest. Even though it had only been a glancing blow, blood was pouring heavily from the torn flesh. Was he lucky the wound wasn't deep? Perhaps, but now that he was conscious of it again, the forgotten pain flared up with a vengeance.
"Aaaaah!"
—Graaaaoooor!
The two males, though screaming in agony, bared their teeth at each other, their expressions turning utterly murderous.