I stood on a cliff, gazing into the murky forest that expanded below me. I glanced back at Rose, who was folding her arms, before my gaze returned to the forest.
“Some call it ‘The Darkness of Llinger.’ Others call it the ‘Den of the Beasts.’ You ain’t leavin’ until you hunt a Grand Grizzly. I don’t care how long it takes,” Rose instructed.
So not only do I have to survive, but I also have homework?!
“Grand Grizzly? Isn’t that the monster a Blue Grizzly turns into after one hundred years?! That dangerous thing?! But they’re deadly even before they grow up! It said so in my books! What the hell?! Do you hate me or something?!” I shouted.
“’Course I don’t,” she said calmly.
“Liar!” I yelled.
“Ugh, put a sock in it already. By now you should be able to kill a Grand Grizzly no problem. You get me?” she asked.
“No, I don’t get you, I . . . Waiiiit, stop! Put me down!”
I shook my head violently, but Rose didn’t care. She lifted me and the giant backpack off the ground like it was nothing.
Just how strong is this she-hulk?! Gah! Quit lifting me over your head like you’re a baseball player or something!
“Unh!” she grunted.
“Gaaaaaaaah!” And with that, I went flying.
Her throw was so overpowered that I found myself spinning high into the air.
Is this how I die? Cause of death: thrown by the rescue team captain. Screw that! You’ve gotta be kidding me.
I suddenly ran out of momentum and began my descent. Below me was an overgrown forest of trees.
Die? Like hell I will!
I looked up at the sky and regained my balance. I’d found the key: my big backpack! Realizing that it would soften my fall, I shielded my face with my arms and steeled myself for impact.
“Gahhh?!”
I fell into the trees, but the impact of the fall was a bit softer than expected. Luckily, the trees lessened the blow by a lot, so the impact was less forceful than it normally would have been. During the fall, I was whacked by more branches than I could count.
I had closed my eyes, but when I opened them, I suddenly saw the ground before me.
How did I end up facing down? Ack! If I fall like this, I’m a goner!
“I’m not gonna get hurt! Not after all that!”
I enveloped myself in healing magic and landed on the ground on my hands and feet. I went a bit numb, but otherwise I was fine . . . until my vision blurred and I collapsed on my back. Using the backpack as a crutch, I managed to get back on my feet. I wasn’t tired physically, but I was mentally drained.
“I’m alive? Thank goodness.”
I could’ve been seriously hurt if it weren’t for that backpack. If Rose hadn’t brought it, I would’ve been done for. Even so, I wasn’t grateful to her. If I didn’t hunt down a Grand Grizzly, I knew she’d just toss me back to the forest again.
“I don’t wanna admit it, but it’s just as Rose said: Taking down a Grand Grizzly is the only thing I can do.”
That bear’s a measly two meters tall. I’ve already clawed my way out of hell, so a dumb little bear should be—
“GRAAAAAAAAH!” something snarled.
“Huh?!” I flinched in response.
A loud, ferocious roar rang out from somewhere deep in the forest. I heard footsteps approaching, so I ran out of there as fast as I could. After all, I wouldn’t be Usato if I couldn’t run like an usagi (rabbit)!
“Looks like people can’t overpower monsters with strength! I’ll have to work my gray brain cells to the fullest and come up with a killer tactic!” I said to myself.
“GRAAAAAAAAH!”
“It’s right behind me!” I shrieked.
When I looked back, I saw drool dripping down a white Grand Grizzly’s face. It was about three meters behind me. I’d already stumbled upon my target, but it was a lot scarier than I’d imagined.
I’ve never seen a bear that has such huge claws and fangs—not even at a zoo!
“What do I do, what do I do, what do I do?!”
Things you can do when you encounter a bear:
1. Play dead. (The urban legend factor makes it sound true, but I feel like that’d just get me eaten.)
2. Ring a bell to scare it off. (No bell, so that’s out.)
3. Run away. (I think my legs can do it.)
I had chosen my strategy. My only option was to run!
“No bear can match my speed!” I said gallantly.
“GRAAAAAAAAH!” it roared.
“It’s coming! Ah, crap!” I lost heart.
I didn’t have to turn around to know it was there. It was hot on my trail.
This information would’ve been helpful much earlier, but I just remembered a documentary that said bears can run up to forty to sixty kilometers per second. I wouldn’t be surprised if it’s the same with Grand Grizzlies. No, they can probably run faster than that, which likely means . . . I’m dead meat.
Wait. Snap out of it! My training’s been hellish since I came to this world! Am I so weak that I’d let a bear chase me around just because the color of his fur’s a bit different?
No! No freaking way!
Rose’s hazing is way scarier than this!
“This bear is bearly a threat! Let’s fight one-on-one! You wanna eat me? Come get me! You’ll never catch me! Just try!” I taunted.
Then three different, distinctive snarls rang out.
“You brought your friends?! No fair!” I shouted.
Sneaky, sneaky.
When I looked behind me, I saw two more bears with blue fur running beside their friend, the Grand Grizzly.
How are there more?! They’re a different size and color than the first one. These Blue Grizzlies are a pain in the ass! They’re multiplying out of nowhere like matryoshkas or something!
“Shit! This backpack’s slowing me down!” I said, panicking.
But I wasn’t about to take it off, especially since it was probably filled with tools that would help me survive in the forest. It was incredibly heavy—I’d say it was almost 100 kilograms. I couldn’t imagine what she’d put in the backpack, but this was Rose after all. It must have been helpful.
However . . .
“How long do I have to keep running?” I said to myself.
“GRAAAAAAAAH!” the bears bellowed.
All I wanted was to make it out of this forest alive.