Chapter 290- Overcoming fears

Overcoming fears

Depending on the discerning eye, a forest can take many forms. On a relatively dry, sunny day, the shaded canopy, bubbling brooks, and natural growth created a free and unfettered landscape. Conversely, plopping rain at night, rustling leaves, and eerie calls in the darkness could melt a stout heart. In those circumstances, the once open wilderness became a stifling prison. A prison where one remained fearful of an attack from any direction.

"Chu, I don't know how much of this I can take. It's not that I don't trust Lucy or the wolves, but having a Snowbear stalk me is top on the list for wetting my pants. Twice we lost and found our marked trail, and now we are lost again. Apart from the compass, and Miki's cartography skills, we might as well run around in circles. You do know if that crazy bear separates us, I am dead for sure. I hope you can live with that on your conscience."

Ming mumbled while sitting with his sleeping bag draped over his shoulders. The last few days had taken a toll on him, both mentally and physically. His baggy eyes kept darting out into the darkness beyond the crackling fire.

"Stop whining like a petted child. Long before Mr. Thomas joined us, we killed wolves in the forest. For over two years, we have tracked Jagas among the trees, even as they also stalked us. The last four days in not us running but building our grit during the daily skirmishes. We have enough scouts taking turns watching him so leaving Miki free to plot our course."

"So you say, but last night that bastard gave Amarok the slip and nearly ambushed us. If not for Lucy being on guard, that willy Snowbear might be chewing on our bones. As for directions, I hope Miki doesn't lead us towards another cliff like the day before. I would hate to choose between jumping and breaking my legs or becoming dinner."

"The forest is not like the open grassland, we don't know what type of terrain we would encounter because of the visibility. As for that surprised ambush, who knew that bear possessed the skill to slink itself upwind and throw its scent off. Since then, Lucy and Dyna are now rotating with a wolf to track its position. The plan is to wait and rest and then engage in combat, before escaping. This way we keep fighting on our own terms."

Chu said while rubbing his sore shoulder. His body felt as if h spent days walking under the open desert and not under shaded trees. Suffering from dehydration in a forest was no lie. If not for the boost of companionship and their hunting experiences, he alone might have already capitulated. He tossed another log in the fire.

Ming watched him with an open mouth.

"By the heavens, I might have felt better if those boasting words didn't originate from someone looking more decrepit than myself. Ahh! I hope you have a good plan for tomorrow, or else I will just lay down and wait for my fate. So long beautiful tavern girls, blame Chu if you never gain the pleasure of meeting me in the future..."

***

"Fenrir is trailing it this morning. Lucy said it ignored her provocation and continued to follow our trail last night."

Dyna said while standing next to the bigger wolf who remained to monitor their surroundings. They had returned and rested during the night. Lucy still lay sleeping since she returned only before the sun rose.

"He is a wily one indeed. Since our first skirmish, that seasoned Snowbear has never fallen for the same trick twice. He knows by now we cannot confront him in a fight so he is taking his time by enjoying stalking us. This is why I stressed for us to develop a powerful one-shot kill ability. When facing enemies with ridiculous thick hides like this and even the Kurat, if we can't kill them, then surely we must be able to critically wound them."

Chu replied. Adventuring in real life was not fun and games as depicted by books and shows. Unless you had some serious skills and abilities to keep you alive, then it was best to stay at home. On the night the Snowbear launched a surprise attack, they had to flee up a rocky cliff. During the climb, Dyna got bitten by a scorpion when reaching between the boulders. If not for a ready antidote and their blink abilities, they would have suffered a casualty.

"I know you keep preaching it, but nurturing such a skill to perfection is hard. I might be the first to make an excuse, but I'm not. Melding together magic and talisman powers without guidance is hard. Look at what happened when I blindsided that hunk of muscle and used my Flash of the Heavens ability..."

Ming said. He removed his broken sword from his scabbard as if to emphasize his point. He was just about to continue when Miki appeared from among the vegetation. From the sparkle in her eyes and the grin on her face, it seemed she brought welcome news.

"While searching for the site, you won't believe what I found. Remember the hill that I once said looked as if a giant hand had dug up all the rocks and stacked them up to dry?"

"Wait, the one on the trail from the goblin cave to the ruins?"

Ming interjected.

"The very same one. And you complained we were lost while calling my compass useless. Luckily I kept our direction slightly north so we bisected this trail."

"Then we should be only about a half-day away from the smithing cave. Hmm, okay, I think it's time. Did you find a suitable place?"

Chu asked while scratching his chin.

"Yes, an open clearing not far from here, and a hill with a cliff drop of about thirty feet a little to the north."

"Cliff my foot, that alone is a raised flag for someone rolling over with that Snowbear. The clearing it is. All right, our ammunition is low and we need to conserve enough for the trip home. Our corporation in a fight is good enough, it's time to end it."

"I thought you would never say it. I have been waiting for days to unleash my skills. As for planning an attack, I have one already drafted out."

"Me too. Only by confronting strong enemies can Fenrir and the others grow stronger."

"Wait, wait, wait. What is all this about going all out? What do you think we have been doing in the last few days?"

Ming interrupted the looks of anticipation and crackling of knuckles.

In response, the redhead and raven-haired girl glanced at him as if avoiding an idiot.

"Did you want to lug a Snowbear carcass in the forest for the last few days?"

***

The hulking figure pawed the ashes of the fire and then raised its nose. Though smothered, the warmth and resident scent of its quarry indicated their recent departure. Over the last few days, the Snowbear had learned much from these tiny, yet resilient humans.

Yes, during its rich life, it had encountered humans in the north in the grasslands under the mountains. These animals moved in packs and usually mounted on four-footed beasts. Most of the time, they fled but one time, a group of them dared to confront it. The episode concluded quickly as the enraged Snowbear plowed through their defenses. That was the first time the Snowbear dined on human flesh.

The confrontation in the forest sparked its memory and the continued goading ignited its curiosity and thirst as a hunter. The ranged skirmishes advised it that the targets possessed a cunning to match its own. Besides two ambushes, no other fights began the same. By now, it would have ignored these pests and lumbered after the herds returning to the north, but the whizzing iron raised its ire.

With slow and steady footfalls, it chased after its targets. Not long later, the Snowbear stood motionless behind a flowering hedge. Out in the small sunlit clearing, a black-haired and red-haired human stood while chattering. With the patience of an aged hunter, it sniffed the air while waiting.

"Are you sure you are up for this?"

"Yes, I am not helpless like before. He is in the bushes, don't look."

"Okay, but don't worry if I still treat you like a little girl. Starting now, we will overcome the fears of the past..."

"Agreed, hehe... I think he will move like a hunter and attack us as soon as he spots the others arriving. It's what I normally do."

In what seemed like days, the predator reaped its rewards as the rest of this herd finally congregated. Not waiting for them to mingle and regroup, the carnivorous instincts initiated. Locking in its sights the black-haired human, it tore through the underbrush with a bellowing roar. The proven method for a successful hunt had always remained simple.

Brute overbearing strength overwhelmed the chosen target, while unrivaled defense ignored any counterattacks from the target or any of its foolish companions. The Snowbear usually welcomed such attacks since they implied more food.

The prey appeared rooted to the ground under the power of the roar. Not even twenty feet separated the massive beast from this puny irritant. Years of hunting imprinted in its mind the benefits of singly out a target while ignoring the rest. Because of this, however, it failed to glimpse the two nearby silvery wolves visibly crackling and turning red. With each step, their size seemed to increase.

Close enough to stare into the black eyes of its quarry, the Snowbear discovered an absence of fear. A face devoid of emotion countered its open dripping jaws.

Denial

Anticipation

Confidence

The attack first came from both sides. Two reddish contenders slammed between its neck and upper shoulders with unbelievable speed. The sheer impact rocked the charging bear. Experience and instinct informed the hulking predator to turn its jaws to crush these foes. Before the thought became an action, the crackling wolves bit down on the stubby ears.

For the first time in its lifetime, the Snowbear paused in mid-charge. In the split-second which followed, it noticed three things.

The black-haired boy at the front raised his foreleg and the whooshing sound it had grown accustomed for the past few days sounded. A blue-eyed girl whose sent it became familiar with, swiped the air with a claw from the left. And a long-haired female flicked her paw from the right.

Blood gushed from the head of the injured beast as it roared and lumbered around aimlessly. Its haphazard movement brought it no closer to the attackers who seemed to have fled. Crashing into a large tree, the Snowbear swiped its paw in retaliation. The raging strike blasted away chips of bark as the ancient tree groaned in protest.

Raising its head towards the shivering canopy, it sniffed but then snorted out blood and snot from its mangled nose. Dropping on its haunches, and ignorant of the surroundings, it tried to use its paws to first assess its nose. Agitating the incensed pain-receptors, the predator focused on prodding at the buried bolt in one eye and then the hidden dagger in the next. Blinded and denied its keen sense of smell, the Snowbear roared in between pain and rage as it struggled to remove the tiny embedded objects.

As a beast prideful of its defenses, it had unfortunately fostered one fault. The Snowbear prowled among the top of the food chain in its domain and had grown complacent to attacks. With its sight, smell, and constant intermittent roars, it left itself in a most vulnerable state. The knowledgeable beast never knew it's now defenseless head opened a window of opportunity for a deadly blade.

The piercing strike arrived before the yell and delivered by a borrowed sword.

"Flash of the Heavens..."

****