Chapter 79: Man Tears A Bear

Chapter 79: Man Tears A Bear

Momochi Satoru was always fearless.

He was the type often described as having lost his sense of fear.

He remained unfazed by horror movies and always chose the scariest rides at amusement parks.

Perhaps his disposition was why he could befriend Kim Yu-seong, whom others avoided.

Naturally, a courage test was nothing more than a piece of cake for Satoru.

It was merely childs play at best.

He strode through the night forest with the Class President, his partner, scoffing at the poorly done ghost makeup of students from other classes.

How about we go a bit slower? We only have one flashlight.

Oh, sorry. I got ahead of myself without realizing.

It was the Class Presidents voice that stopped Satoru, who was humming and moving forward.

Their pairing was determined by a random draw anyway.

Since they never had romantic feelings for each other since the first year, there was none of the excitement others might expect.

About ten minutes had passed as they silently walked towards the turning point.

Satoru, expecting to meet Yu-seong, the representative ghost of Class 2-B, walked cautiously, surveying his surroundings.

Then, he spotted a huge shadow crouching beyond the bushes.

In Satorus mind, the only person at Ichijo Academy with such a large build was Kim Yu-seong.

Convinced that it was Yu-seong hiding in the bushes, Satoru gestured to the Class President to be quiet, handed over the flashlight, and stealthily approached the black shadow from behind.

And then

Wah!

He grabbed Yuseongs waist with both hands, making a loud, sudden noise.

Squish!

Huh?

Satoru, surprised by the unexpected sensation, raised his head.

What he touched was not the firm muscles of Kim Yu-seong he saw during PE, but the furry side of a creature.

Roarrrr!

The identity of the startled black shadow was not Kim Yu-seong, but a huge moon bear.1

And upon hearing the bears thunderous roar, Momochi Satoru realized he was in deep trouble.

After listening to Satorus entire recollection, I couldnt help but exclaim,

Seriously, how can you not distinguish between a person and a bear?!

It was too dark to see anything!

We were running side by side, fleeing from the bear.

The moon bear, startled by Satoru and seemingly very angry, continued to chase us fiercely.

Ahh!

It was then.

The Class President, running alongside us, suddenly lost balance after tripping over a stone.

Thud!

Fortunately, she managed to catch herself before falling, but the bear was right behind us.

I excused myself and, with the startled Class President under my arm, ran.

Wait, I can run on my own!

Its faster if I carry you!

The flustered Class President protested, but I ignored her and ran towards the turning point.

Roarrrr!

I collided with the fiercely roaring bear.

Grunt!

The bear, being slightly taller, exerted weight from above, causing my shoe soles to dig into the soil.

But I resisted being pushed back by tensing my calves.

The bear seemed confused, unable to overpower me, but for me, it was no surprise at all.

Because among those Ive fought, like Ivan or Boris, they possessed even greater strength than this.

It seemed wrong that humans stronger than a bear naturally existed, but anyway, there was no reason for me to lose in a strength contest here.

Now what? Striking? Submission?

A bears physical structure was different from a humans.

I wasnt sure if a joint lock, applied to humans, would work with my limited knowledge.

Due to its thick subcutaneous fat and skin, strikes wouldnt be very effective.

While I continued the tense standoff with the bear without making any significant moves, the Class President watching from behind shouted,

Aim for its nose or between the eyes! Thats where the skull is thinnest!

Hearing that, I immediately shifted my gaze upwards.

It was easier said than done, striking precisely at the forehead of an opponent taller than me.

But having nothing to lose, I decided to follow the Class Presidents advice.

Huff!

I immediately tensed my entire body, breaking the tense balance.

As the bears arms swept past where my upper body had been, I crouched low, dove into the bears embrace, and tightly hugged its waist.

Then, with all my strength, I lifted the large bear and slammed it back-first onto the ground.

Roarrr!

The moon bear, hit back-first on the ground, roared in pain.

But I sat on the bears torso without even blinking, unfazed by its state.

I looked down at the bear flailing and struggling to escape from the mount position.

I wont kill you.

Muttering that, I pounded my fist into its forehead.

The bear roared in response.

But I did not relent and continued to strike with my fists.

Again and again, repeatedly, I struck.

With my fists clenched tightly, I persistently hit the bears forehead.

Finally, after continuous, strong blows that seemed to reach its brain, the moon bear rolled its eyes back and fainted.

Satoru, who had been hiding behind a tree and watching me battle the bear from the start, muttered,

Not that Im one to talk, but somehow, I feel sorry for the bear.

Then how about you keep quiet if you know?

Chastised by the Class President, Satoru hung his head sheepishly.

It seemed he was aware that things could have gone terribly wrong had I not been there.

Watching him, I stepped down from the unconscious bear and thought,

What do I do now?

With a bear emerging from the forest, the courage test seemed to be completely ruined, regardless of anything else.

ED/N: Also known as the Asian black bear.