Chapter 39: A New Monster Encounter

"What is it?" Ferm answered while balling from cold at the back with Vaissien.

"What is it, brother?" Vaissien added with a face full of curiosity.

"I wanna suggest something." He took off the cloth covering his mouth for protection,

"How about we have a contest?"

"Contest? In a place like this? Ha-ha-ha, I like that." Ferm's eyes sparkled in excitement.

"W-What are you talking about, brother? Vaissien was worried as there was a danger behind his words.

"Let's consider the expedition a basis for knowing whoever is the strongest and the weakest among the three of us."

"W-Wait, wait, what are you saying? You're the strongest here, right?." Ferm insisted.

"No." Cimmerian shook his head. "This place is much different than a duel. So my challenge is—whoever is the least injured by the time we reach our destination will be considered the strongest."

When Cimmerian uttered this like it was a matter of fact, the jaws of the two, who were first-timers in hunting, dropped as their eyes widened in shock and anxiety from the apparent recklessness behind the words. Because the words meant that creatures capable of wounding them awaited in the way.

"Don't joke like that, brother," Vaissien's sweat fell even in the freezing environment. "We shouldn't be dying here." He added.

"Yeah," Ferm swallowed a mass of saliva as his excitement slowly faded. He then nervously touched his green-sheathed sword. "Please don't joke around like that."

"You two, don't panic, and don't lose your focus. We are still here to annihilate monsters, right? Anyway, I was just telling the truth that we might not make it back alive." Y-Yes, that's right." Vaissien uttered after being lost in thought. In no time, he fortified his resolve. "No, we're gonna get the monster core and defeat this enemy no matter what!"

"Yeah," Ferm patted Vaissien's shoulders. "I agree with you."

(It's good that your morale is high, but pushing it even higher doesn't make any difference. What's important is to pray that we're lucky that those three bastards will not be around when the mission starts.) Cimmerian honestly thought as he gazed at the two.

They fell silent for a moment when they heard something unusual nearby. It was like a sound of track from a number of four-footed animal running amok.

Cimmerian immediately stopped the carriage and hid at the back of a huge, massive snow lump. The three climbed above it to see the forthcoming monsters.

"They're coming; prepare yourselves."

The other two assumed a fighting stance, as they looked downwards. Just a minute later, a pack of chimeric black wolves passed hurriedly. They didn't seem to notice their presence.

"Shall we follow them?" Ferm asked.

"No. If they're not hostile, let's leave them be." Vaissien replied.

Cimmerian was confused, since if they ran as crazy as that, they must have been terrified or hotly pursued by a force greater than they possessed. "Guys, be careful, as something bigger as a monster is coming."

Just a few seconds. Later, a colossal black bear appeared before them. What's worse, it noticed them right away.

"This is trouble; it's heading for us." Vaissien slid on the mass of snow. "So, who's gonna take it? If no one wants it, then I'll do it."

"Wait, can I have it?" Ferm followed suit.

"Don't get overly cocky, both of you." Cimmerian watched the two from above: "You both take it down and be careful; all black bears use an element of fire, even during winter."

"Fine. I'll take its neck."

"No. I'll take the neck myself." Vaissien argued.

"What're you saying? Didn't I say I'd handle the decisive blow? Leave this one in my hands." Ferm retorted.

"No-"

"You fools!" Cimmerian yelled at them, "How long are you gonna keep that useless tussle? It's already coming our way!"

"Sorry, fine, I'll let you do the final strike." Ferm finally conceded.

The two unsheathed their swords and attacked speedily. The bear, likewise, roared as it prepared its burning claws to slash the one flying and one targeting the feet.

"What??? It's so hard." Ferm planned to deliver a tricky cut to its right foot, but it wasn't enough to halt its movement. "Is it really this hard, Cimmerian?"

"Yes, so you have to exert enough force in the strike to do some damage." Cimmerian answered as he observed what was transpiring in front of him.

On the other hand, when Vaissien's sword defended the neck-severing hot, sharp claws, a beautiful series of sparkles shone as the friction from the blade and the claws continued to crush each other.

"What??? I know this is my first time hunting bigger monsters, but it's so strong."

"Vaissien, don't defend the attacks," Cimmerian joined them upon seeing that the two are struggling. "Find a way to evade it."

"Hey! We're in trouble. Look!" Ferm suddenly spoke.

"What's wrong, Ferm?" Vaissien asked, but his mouth became agape when he noticed it too. "There's another one!?"

"Tsk. Damn it!" Cimmerian jumped in front of the first black bear as bait. In response, the bear suddenly delivered a frontal slash from his right hand. It hoped to burn and slice him into mincemeat. However, he was just being too optimistic on that. Cimmerian easily evaded it. And before a follow-up right slash came, Cimmerian speedily jumped and severed the chimeric bear's neck out from its body.

"Wow!." Vaissien

"W-Wow." Ferm was all amazed by Cimmerian; he almost lost his focus, but, he snapped himself back to reality. "I'll do my best too."

"You two, can you handle that one?" He called the two while cleaning his old and shabby sword. After his cool show, he picked the medium-sized magical core. "There's no time to panic. This is a kill-or-be-killed type of situation! Go!"

The two started their second attempt against the remaining bear. Vaissien, now more relaxed and dedicated than before, jumped aloft, and instead of going directly to the nape, he cut the bear's right arm.

Raahhhh!!!

The bear mournfully cried.

Now, as it felt intense pain, Vaissien gripped his sword with all the force he had and then went directly to its neck. Although it wasn't severed completely, it was enough to kill it. As he landed on the ground, a medium-sized red crystal soon followed.

"That was a good attack strategy." Cimmerian praised.

"Damn," Ferm clinched his fist in frustration. "I wasn't able to contribute anything."

"Mm?" Cimmerian looked at him and said, "Don't worry, you'll have your chance later."

"Yeah, well…" Vaissien's anxiety skyrocketed. "If there were about five of those bears, the two of us would be dead. I think we better be thankful." He fetched the cores and put them in a sack.

"You realize it, huh?" Cimmerian heaved a sigh. "So don't argue while in a fight, okay? That's reckless."

"Sorry," Ferm bowed, "it was my fault; I tried to act cool even though I couldn't pull the task off."

"Anyway, brace yourself up." Cimmerian walked back, "We'll continue to advance further."

""Yes!""