Bears, another freakin' bear! I initially agreed to go… I mean, who wouldn't? Whilst, yes that whole goblin incident did freak me out… I can't let it control my life right now. So, yes we're going to be hunting a bear. There's a monster strength list…
It goes the same as adventuring. Wood, Bronze, Copper, Silver, lastly Gold. Wood holds slimes, small but dangerous critters. Goblins, and like bronze then lastly, copper is where the bear sat. They're massive, bulky… Specifically these bears. They're called elder bears.
Enough rambling about that, we're all sat in this tight carriage. It was so stuffy, and reeked of nervousness. Shaun was fiddling around with his gauntlets; he's in full platemail with a sword strung to his back and a sword connected to his hip. He's the tank of the group as expected.
Verd was sitting there calmly, holding his glaive in his lap. Thankfully, he knew just enough to keep it away from other people. That thing looked bloody sharp, ain' look fun to be at the receiving end. I wonder if he'd teach me to use it if I asked him.. Could be worth a shot.
No one spoke as we went on, was it really this dangerous? I couldn't help but think to myself. A group of goblins took out a bear, how bad would it take a four (five including me) man party plus a little girl to take it out? These guys are coordinated too, they've been adventuring for a long time.
And it's a well balanced team, a healer; a tank; melee damage dealer; then a ranged attacker. I don't think it'd end badly… Or so I hope, I'm just here as a newbie. My fireball spell I have to be careful with, it'll drain my mana immensely…
Suddenly, James popped up with a proposal and strategy meeting. He had everyone move their legs as he had a light coming out of his finger. He made little circles around. One at the furthest point, labelling it Shaun. Like expected, he'll be the vanguard in this. Another circle was made; Verd. He'll be constantly doing damage; trying to pacify it. Jin, and I will be next to each other; furthest from the bear.
He'll try to find its weak points, slow it down and kill it. I was tasked to do the same, though to a much lesser extent… His words, he did give me a reassuring smile and a thumbs up saying, You'll do great! Just do your best! Wasn't reassuring when we all knew the result! Hah…
He went over the strategy multiple times. Even more so, frustrating everyone. Finally once someone snapped at him, he leaned back with his hands up. His reasoning was simple; he wanted no failures or injuries during this.
"That's the plan… We don't really want injuries, right guys and gal?" Jin asked whilst sideeyeing everyone. You didn't have to include that last part… I wanted to punch him for saying that last part, but as per usual MY ACT!
"Yes sir."
"Y-Yes…"
"Y'all heard the plan, probably fifteen times now, let's follow it."
A few hours later, and much more talking, the carriage came to a screeching halt. The coachman yelled in a loud voice; WE HAVE MADE IT TO THE DESTINATION! GOOD LUCK TO YOU FIVE!
I swear, once I am older… I'll make sure everyone knows how to shut up… Do you know how painful it is, having someone YELL, SCREAM with superhearing? IT feels like daggers are being penetrated into my skull. God damn it… I wanted to say out loud in frustration.
Grumbling to myself quietly, I stepped out of the carriage with help. Jin pointed to the left, to catch everyone's attention. Standing there, with bloody jaws and muddied further stood the bear. Entrails slobbered from its mouth, its eyes were completely glazed over. There was no soul behind its big black eyes.
It started running. Faster than a speeding car, any vehicle ever crafted. I could feel the ground shutter with each enormous step.
"Come over here you big thing!" Shaun screamed, raising his shield as that familiar light glinted in the bear's eyes. Quickly after that, he started running in the opposite direction of us. I don't know how he'd be able to outrun something like that. He kept sprinting, dragging the bear's attention away.
Just in sheer size, it stood nearly above his head level. Its paws were large enough to swipe him whole. Before anyone spoke, Verd was like a storm, chasing after those two. He held his glaive with both arms.
"Jin, take Yukina and find a good vantage point." James commanded, before making distance from us. For a healer, he's damn fast… Do stats increase over time? All of them through le- WOAH! JIN CALM-
I couldn't react, only the aftermath… Clutching my stomach and falling to the ground. All of these guys are too fast… Or he was just rough with my tiny body. Ugh…I feel sick…My stomach is all in knots…
"Get up. Staying on the ground won't do anything." Jin said, in his usual monotonous voice. I glared at him from my position, but he already had an arrow knocked in his bow. You- "I said get up, or I'll pull you up."
DO YOU- WA- WHAT IS WITH THIS GUY?!
"I'll ignore that look you're giving… I'll explain everything to your dad, but we must focus."
I thought this guy was k-... My thoughts were interrupted- There was a loud roar that completely shattered them. Right, I have to focus on this… The bear was on its hind legs, ready to pounce on Shaun who was holding his shield up.
"I'll keep its legs grounded. You focus your magic, keep the fur on fire."
"O-"
A thwip sound released from the bow, moving at a speed that was imperceivable to my eye; his arrow rooted the bear's back leg. A roar of agony bellowed, spewing blood from its mouth. Focus… I'll let him attack, bring its-
Verd rushed in, he rotated his entire body, cutting a gash through the bear's other leg. Am I even needed? These guys are already cutting it down… They're super well coordinated! I mean- FOCUS! I'm part of the party now! I sucked breath in, and raised my hands again.
Magic poured from my core, to the palms of my hands. Majestically, the fireball flung out. It arced, going down then hitting the bear square on the butt…
"Nice one… However, keep going."
"I-I'm trying…" It did…. Absolutely nothing! GAH! My attack only left a scorch on that thing's rear freaken end!
Another left my hands, but the damn bear rolled out of the way. Narrowly missing Shaun. Somehow this majestic, if you can call it that. Stood up on its legs again. Swinging like a mad bear, it struck Shaun. Flinging him high into the air. There was a loud gasp… It left the mouths of all of us.
Inch by inch… Shaun in my eyes fell. His destination was to the gaping maw of this bear. I can't move, I can feel my hands shaking. Am I about to watch him die?
BOOM!
The neck of that beast exploded, sending it reeling to the side. Jin snorted in frustration. W-Was that his skill…? It seemed to not do much damage, that thing stood up again. Only an arrow stuck itself in its neck. Now, the bear reared its ugly face towards our location.
Soft luck for it… Two arrows shot from Jin's bow. Both sinking into its eyes. Then came Verd's assault… I was barely able to see it.
One strike, embedding itself into the gut of the beast, tearing a hole upwards. Liters of blood poured out, in shock it fell forward. Are these… Guys this strong? That menacing beast barely lasted a few minutes from their might… It's suffering under its own weight, its own blood was pouring from underneath its massive body.
"Yukina, you might want to get another hit in." Jin suggested, crossing his arms. Although his face remained neutral, there was a bit of pride in his eyes. I followed what he said, I poured mana into my hands, and sent out a fireball. This time, the attack left more than just a scorching fur.
There was a small explosion, then a sizzle of fur and liquid. Then a third, causing the same amount of damage. After that, Jin pushed my arms down in a soft manner.
"It's dead, let's go check on the others." He mumbled, grabbing my arm telling me to listen. These guys are so different. Jin, I couldn't get a real grasp on his personality. Serious, but also caring to some extent… Anyways, that big bastard was dead. Its back ceased moving after his words.
I couldn't help but ponder to myself… If this was an emergency, why was it taken out so fast? As far as I know, and was told…
"C'mon…. I need healin' James…"
"I told you, do not get hurt… And you go right ahead and get hurt." James said whilst knocking on Shaun's head.
"Who would've known I would've gotten thrown! And who k- Ow! Hey!"
"Stop squirming you dingus…"
"Fine…"
This scene unfolded in front of me. I thought Melinda was strict… James knocked on Shaun's head a few times before actually healing him. In the past two weeks, I've never seen him act like this before.
Eh… It's not my problem. I'm not the one on the receiving end anyways. Shaun seems to be doing fine, he doesn't seem to be in much pain either.
"Just give yourself a few minutes before standing up. That spell-"
"Takes a few minutes to actually fully heal, right? You've told us man- OKAY OW!? I didn't do anything wrong!"
"That's for not listening again, you had enough time to move out of the way you moron."
"... Fine." Shaun mumbled whilst letting his head rest on the ground. He didn't look disgruntled or in serious pain after the few thwacks against his head. James let out a huff, and turned around.
"Oh, hey. Nice shooting out there, Jin. And good work to you… Yukina."
"T-Thank you…" Yet again… I didn't do much. I basically capitalized on the bear being down. Speaking of capitalizing… Did I level up? I'll check my status here in a moment. James looks like he wants to talk.
Jin, as if he read the "room", mumbled a few words before meeting up with Verd. There was some nasty squelching soon after. Meanwhile, he and I moved to a safer distance.
"I'm sorry you have to see all of that." He apologized moments after we sat on the ground. The blood and gore…? I tilted my head at his apology. Unlike the goblin shenanigan, it felt as if I already got used to it. Felt oddly quick to me… "Verd prefers to… Ahh.. Just to kill his targets without much thought. He's been like that for the past fifteen years we've known him."
"It-It's okay…"
"I'll talk with him… A little girl like you shouldn't be seeing all of that." He covered his face with one hand, there was a look of, my wife is going to kill me. Etched onto his face. We don't have to mention what happened during the mission… "Other than that; you seem to be getting better at magic. Your spells are getting much faster to send out…"
Eh? I guess… Visualizing over and over helps me send them out. Though, they aren't really effective. Verd and Jin did most of the work with the bear. Maybe mages, spells and every magic ability is weaker in this world? The only strong part about… Well, fireball is the ramping damage I think it has.
"Ugh… Sorry, sorry. Don't discount your spell there. Elder bears have a thick hide. That one we went up against… It's one of the stronger variants."
"It-It was?"
"Mhm, a normal one would be barely breaching copper rank. That one was able to send that idiot over there." James gestured towards Shaun with his thumb. "Flying. He may look stupid at times but he's an impressive tank."
"Aww… Is that how you look at me? Your wife would be jealous… but it would've been nicer if you left out that idiot part!"
"Why would I lie to my daughter?"
"You've only known her for-"
"Ignore him…"
That poor guy. He's only seen as this idiot… Well, he really isn't that bright there. He keeps trying to sit up, only to fall back in agony. Seems like James's advice should really be taken…
We sat around quietly, James had his attention grabbed by Jin and Verd; they were dismantling parts of the bear; it was so disgusting, I had to physically cover my mouth to avoid barfing. Piece by piece, they took the paws off, then the ears and tail. They explained that this was proof it was slain. They also sell for a high value… Each part could sell for two silver coins at minimum.
Time to distract myself.. Turn away, focus on something else. I repeated this as I pulled up my status.
Name: Yukina Gabri
Age: 13
Sex: Female
Race: Wolfkin (???)
Status: Cursed
Lvl: 5
Str: 8 Dex: 6 End: 9 Int: 18 Agi: 7 Luck: *
Either my body wants to become… Some sort of tank, my stats are looking great. My dexterity makes sense… It may be affected by the hindrance of my foot. But it went up! Meanwhile my INT is looking great… I wonder how many fireballs I can send out now. That's fantastic however! I don't need to kill anything, I just need to assist to level up!
Next up… The juicier parts, my skills. So far, I've only gained two spells since then, [Fireball(lvl1)] and [Palm of Flames(lvl1)] Let's see…
[ Active skills
Palm of flames(lvl1), Fireball(lvl1), Identify(lvl1)
Passive abilities: Experience Boost: Grants the user a quarter of increased experience from slaying monsters. Bloodlust: ??? Curse of ?@$!: Blessing of the Beastgod: Enhances all senses by many times.]
Eh? Isn't that the almighty staple?! [Identify]?! Where I can check the properties or certain objects?! OR skills? Ahaha…Ahaha, don't mind if I do…. But… I shouldn't get too excited. Knowing this world, it'll have some drawbacks…
What should the first… I know! That damn curse… Curse of whatever the hell it is. Just after thinking about it, another blue window popped up over my stats.
[Curse of ?@$!: An unknown curse from an unknown god.]
That's it…? Cursed by a god? That's it? No effects? Nothing to show? Is it because my skill is not high enough? Agh… Whatever, let's look at my other skills.
First off… Bloodlust.
[Bloodlust: ???]
…..
[Blessing of the Beastgod: Users' senses are enhanced many times. Only given to those worthy of the beastgod's gaze.]
Is… Is it because my identify skill is so low level? Gah… Whatever; maybe I should check my actual active skills…
[Palm of Flames: Activate the flames inside, bring forth the flames that dance onto your hands.
Unable to harm beings with use, only usable to light campfires or cook items.]
Wow… So great.. Can I punch this thing? Can I punch whoever reincarnated me…? What a useful, brilliant skill! So lovely… If I wasn't being watched right now, I'd just cover my face in frustration. I can feel James's gaze on my back, probably curious about what I'm doing.
Next up… Fireball.
[Fireball: Sends a fireball flying towards the Users' intention. Multiple hits on one single target ramps the strength of each one shot. Only up to twice the amount of damage.]
…Is this system, whatever it is called, bugged? Why did it try to tell a story for Palm of flames?! Now this just seems like a basic RPG skill. At least there was ONE thing I was right about, huh? It multiplies its damage…
I don't know how long I was focused on it, but the squelching of the beast stopped. Shaun was now helping them carry the parts, easily hauling them in a bag.
After double checking everything– By everything, I mean it all. They made sure the bear was certainly dead, poking and prodding at it. It didn't move, it was one hundred percent dead. All of that, we went back into the carriage. It was already noon, by the time we left.
The guys were now non-stop talking about the plans they had for the money. With everything being sold, it'd haul in twelve silver. Split amongst four guys, three silver coins each. They seemed pretty chipper about it, even Jin was smiling like a mad man.
They all talked about spending responsibly… Shockingly, Shaun had a knack for budgeting. Spending it on bills, then on maintenance for his equipment. He's been living in a tavern with his wife and kids. He's had plans to buy a home after saving enough from adventuring. Verd, he and his wife are living in a house his parents built outside the cities' walls.
Jin on the other hand, seemed to be the worst of them all; they kept making fun of him for spending it all on random things that aren't useful. That smile on his face quickly faded into irritants. Their measly joyful mood turned into a frenzy of laughter.
By the time the sun was preparing to set, we made it into the walls yet again. Turning to the adventurers' guild. The receptionist lady looked at me, then back. She looked like she wanted to ask; Why is that little girl with you four again? Her question was shot down by the point I'm part of their party now.
"You four actually- I shall say five now, have managed to kill that beast?" She asked with a twitch of her eyebrow. Shaun set down the sack of mangled body parts onto the counter. She raised her hand, called for an appraiser.
Seems like the identify skill hasn't been thoroughly given out, maybe it's a special skill? Afterall, James has it himself. I looked up at him with slight awe; usually receptionists have the identify/appraisal skill. The other guys from what I heard don't have it, they always relied on him.
"Seems to be real, though the dismemberment work is shoddy." A man in a fancy looking suit critiqued the work of them. "Due to the roughness of the cuts, and damage to the hide we'll be handing you the bare minimum of the cost."
"Sounds good, we'll be taking that now, please." James stretched his hand out for the payment.
"Hand them the payment, and let them leave."
"Thank you sir."
With multiple clinks, the receptionist counted the twelve silver slowly and methodically. Once all of them were acquired and sorted out we parted ways with the rest.
On our way back home, James stopped in his tracks and pulled out his part of the money. He had me open my hand, and softly placed one silver coin in it. It was my part… Though, it was quite a lot for how much I contributed.
He said nothing else, but a slight hum under his breath.