Chapter 65: The Roar of Warbears

The next morning, I woke up early and left my room, heading down to the dining hall on the first floor.

There, I spotted three men, each with a bruise on his face.

I approached them with a smile.

“Did you all sleep well? Feels like I slept deeply for the first time in ages.”

Perhaps because I’d moved my body in a while, I had slept soundly last night.

For the first time in a long while, I felt truly refreshed in the morning.

In contrast, the three men were sniffling, tears glistening in their eyes as they spoke.

“We sure did…”

“Ugh… It still hurts…”

“I’ve never been beaten up this badly in my life, sob sob.”

After muttering a line each, two of them, except for the man who’d been in the middle last night, started to cry.

It was an awkward sight to see grown men sobbing so sorrowfully.

“That’s why I asked you from the start to let me join. I even asked politely, didn’t I?”

At that, Betu, who’d been in the middle during yesterday’s conversation, growled.

“There’s no thief like you, you know! What? You suggested a 7:1:1:1 split, wouldn’t you be mad if it were you?”

Betu shouted angrily.

Looking at Betu, I simply raised my hand, curling it into a fist with a cocky grin.

“Negotiation first.”

“Spare us!”

“I’m sorry! I don’t know what I did wrong, but I’m sorry!”

The three of them curled up, protecting their bodies right then and there.

It was proof of the ‘lesson’ I’d given them last night.

Of course, it hadn’t been just a lesson—it was a lesson that involved a good bit of beating.

At first, I’d tried to talk it out politely. I said I’d gotten interested, so let me join in.

I even offered a fair 50% share.

But the answer was, of course, a flat refusal.

Even that annoyed me a little, but then Betu eavesdropped on our conversation, claiming someone’s head had to roll and pulled out his sword first.

So, I made sure to ‘educate’ them thoroughly.

With both fists and feet, to be exact.

In the process, Felven and Medu, who’d tried to help Betu from either side, were deemed accomplices and got their share of the beating too.

The one begging for mercy now is Felven, and the one blindly apologizing is Medu.

Seeing the two, I couldn’t help but sigh.

‘How do guys with guts like these make a living as thieves?’

They were both so timid, so lacking in courage, and not even good at fighting.

Of course, as thieves, maybe being good at thievery was all that mattered, but even so, something seemed lacking.

Anyway, after having a conversation with my fists last night, we agreed to clear the Dungeon together.

“Hey, I even changed the split yesterday because I felt bad. If Betu hadn’t drawn his sword in the first place, the shares wouldn’t have turned out like that.”

The ratio we settled on was 4:2:2:2. The 4, of course, was for me.

I blamed everything on Betu for what happened yesterday.

Betu glared at me, but I ignored him.

“Your meal is ready.”

The innkeeper brought us food. It was the same stew as yesterday.

“Alright, let’s eat. You can’t fight on an empty stomach.”

With those words, I picked up my spoon first, and the others followed.

Soon, the table fell quiet as we focused on eating.

The meal ended quickly.

We enjoyed some tea for dessert and chatted.

“So, where exactly is it?”

“I’m not sure. They said if you climb the mountain behind this Village and search near the Cliff, you’ll find the entrance.”

“Is that so?”

I opened the map to check.

I surveyed a radius of 1Km around me, but couldn’t spot anywhere that looked like a Cliff.

“Well, let’s finish this tea and get started.”

I figured I’d have to check things out on foot anyway, so that’s what I suggested.

I savored the aroma of the tea, sipping it slowly.

I found myself missing the sweetness of Mix Coffee from modern times.

‘I wonder if I’ll ever find coffee beans if I keep looking?’

Thinking I’d ask Adolphe the next time we met, I finished my tea and stood up.

We headed north into the forest.

***

At first, we decided to split up as we searched the northern woods.

But soon enough, all three of them ended up merging back with me.

The three of them were running toward me as fast as they could—and something huge was chasing them from behind.

“It’s a Warbear! Run!”

Betu shouted as he rushed past me.

Warbears were common monsters in the mountains.

They stood over 21 units tall, with huge, hulking bodies and short forelimbs sporting long, razor-sharp claws.

In simple terms, they were bears, but bigger, with longer claws and monstrous strength.

“Does it have treasure?”

The best part about hunting Warbears was one thing.

The gallbladder filled with mana, used to make potions that increased stamina and promoted recovery.

It sold for 1 silver per gram.

Especially since it was used by older nobles for restoring vigor, if properly refined, it could be sold for a fortune.

I prepared a Skill to prevent the Warbear, charging on all fours, from coming any closer.

Once I was ready, I shouted.

“Ice Field.”

A cold, slick layer of ice spread all the way to where the Warbear was.

Thud—thump!

The Warbear slipped and fell immediately.

I raised my sword at the beast.

“Skill: Dash. Gale Thrust.”

It was a combo that let me close the gap on a distracted or panicked foe and deliver the swiftest, most devastating strike.

Puuk!

“Guargh!”

My sword pierced the Warbear’s head, straight through to its neck.

With my blade lodged deep, the beast couldn’t even scream, and it stopped moving altogether.

I claimed the victor’s rights—looting the spoils.

“Let’s see~ Is there a gallbladder?”

Right there, I started dissecting the Warbear.

I dug into its innards to find the gallbladder hidden inside its belly, and when my hand closed around something hard, I pulled it out.

“Tch. That’s disappointing.”

What I held in my hand was none other than a mana stone.

Well, it was better than nothing—it was a Low-Grade Mana Stone.

Which meant this guy was still just a young one.

If it had been a fully grown Warbear, at least a mid-grade would have dropped.

A little disappointed, I dusted myself off and looked up to see the three approaching me.

“Wow… That’s seriously strong.”

Felven and Medu nodded silently at Betu’s comment.

Their eyes held not just shock, but a hint of respect.

“I guess I am pretty strong.”

Of course, I was strong—but it also helped that it was still a juvenile.

If it had been fully grown, I wouldn’t have finished it so easily.

Now, all that was left was to skin the Warbear, but I was feeling lazy, so I just shoved it into my Magic Bag.

Medu’s eyes widened in surprise at my action and asked if that was a Magic Bag, to which I replied with a nod.

“You must be rich.”

He said this upon seeing me stuff a whole Warbear inside.

Even the smallest Magic Bag that could carry daily necessities cost at least 1 gold—if I could fit an entire Warbear, it meant my bag was huge.

“Well, that’s right.”

I replied nonchalantly as I stood up.

Just then—

“KUWAAAH!”

From far off, I heard another Warbear’s roar.

Thud, thud, thud.

To my surprise, it wasn’t just one—trees toppled as two of them barreled in from different directions.

“Run!”

Quick on the uptake, Felven realized the situation and bolted first.

Medu and Betu quickly followed suit.

“This is going to be a hassle.”

I muttered, a faint smile on my lips.

“Well then, shall I get ready to hunt?”

Thinking of how I’d deal with those incoming Warbears, I dashed into the forest.

***

From a distance, I observed the two Warbears.

Both were fully grown, noticeably larger than the one I’d just slain.

One had a scar on its face, while the other was slightly smaller, but I could sense their relationship.

“Mother and father, I suppose.”

A slight twinge of guilt crossed my mind, but I quickly shook it off.

Warbears were monsters.

Man-eating monsters, at that.

Killing them was no different from saving the people of this Village.

Though they currently only lived in the forest, who knew when they might attack people?

Better to nip the problem in the bud.

With that thought, I pondered how best to slay these two Warbears.

‘Just think of how real bears behave.’

Warbears were physically the same as ordinary bears, so that was my baseline.

The first idea that came to mind was to play dead.

People say that if you stay still, a bear might go away on its own.

But that wouldn’t work for me.

‘I killed their cub—if I played dead, they’d rip me to shreds.’

So, I considered my next option.

A bear’s short front legs were its main characteristic.

That’s why people say if you meet a bear in the mountains, you should never run uphill but downhill—their speed decreases dramatically going downhill.

I’d have to use that.

The only problem was, I’d only been here for a day.

I didn’t know the local terrain at all, but at least I had Map Hack.

“Going that way should work.”

I skirted around the forest from the north to the south.

I didn’t just move directly.

If I did, they’d simply follow my footprints.

So, as I moved, I occasionally pulled out the Warbear corpse I’d killed earlier and left a bloody trail behind.

I made sure to check frequently that they were following.

That way, there’d be no danger to the Village.

Bit by bit, I led the Warbears as far from the Village as possible, moving south.

***

The three men, having abandoned Solo and run for their lives, truly felt saved when they finally found the entrance to the Village.

The reason being, once they got here, they figured they could team up with the Village’s Hunters and take down the Warbears.

It was still daytime, and they found the Guard making his rounds, circling the Village with his staff, far better than being out there alone.

They hurried over to the Guard.

“We’ve got a big problem!”

Betu shouted first, rushing up to the Gatekeeper and pouring out their situation in a torrent.

“A huge problem! There are two Warbears rampaging in the forest!”

“Warbears? Two of them?”

The Guard’s face turned pale.

This Village survived only by hunting and a small vegetable patch.

Most adults were away working, and the remaining kids took turns standing guard.

Right now, the adults were all out working.

“I-I-I’ll go call the adults!”

With that, the Guard dashed off.

Nearby, a group of children heard the news and immediately jumped up, running off somewhere in a hurry.

With that, the three men finally managed to catch their breath—but quickly realized another problem.

“Where’s Solo?”

They’d assumed he’d be running with them.

They stared back at the path they’d come from, waiting for him to return.

One minute, two minutes passed—ten minutes, and still no sign.

That’s when they realized—

“He must be dead…”

They were sure Solo had been sacrificed because of them.

Unable to lift their heads in guilt, Felven and Medu each shed a tear.

“We’re sorry.”

“We apologize…”

They mourned, believing Solo had died, and prayed he’d rest in a better place.