Chapter 34

Chapter 34

The once-peaceful forest transforms into an eerie, unsettling place. Every rustle and crack makes my heart race, and the sense of foreboding grows heavier with each passing second.The original appearance of this chapter can be found at Ñøv€lß1n.

It is then that the monster makes its entrance. Emerging from the dense foliage, the giant gray bear steps into the clearing with a deliberate, unhurried pace.

The bear's enormous paws make a sickening crunch as they crush the underbrush and fallen leaves beneath them. Its massive size and power are evident in the way the ground trembles with each step it takes.

The most chilling aspect of the giant gray bear's appearance, however, is its eyes.

They glow with an unnatural orange light, as if fueled by a fire that burns within the monster itself.

A wave of mana hits the clearing and everyone becomes paralyzed with fear.

As the bear continues its slow, methodical advance, the forest grows quieter and quieter.

Its low growl reverberates through the air, a rumbling sound that makes your body shake.

Once again, the bear looks at me and then at the ground in front of it.

[Cinderbear, lvl 20]

The creature has leveled up.

Waves of mana I feel from the bear make my stomach clench, and my entire body feels as if it isn't getting enough air. It is even hard to breathe.

The bear takes a few steps towards us and then stops, looking at us with its wild but intelligent eyes.

One minute.

Two.

Three.

Cinderbear just keeps looking. At some point, someone screams out of fear and desperation. The monster's ears seem to perk up, but it just stays where it is and growls back. The remaining unbroken windows on the bus shatter, and the guy instantly shuts up.

"What does it want?!"

"I-i can ́t run."

"Can we fight it?"

"He should fight it!"

"Maybe it's friendly?"

Then someone says something I've been thinking about:

"Maybe it wants to eat something? Just like last time?"

Everyone falls silent, and we all remember the scene of Damon's body being slowly consumed by the bear. The monster growls and moves even closer. As it walks, it steps on a few spikes and hits several palisades with its paw. The pieces of wood shatter without dealing any damage.

With the memory of Damon's gruesome fate fresh in our minds, people exchange scared glances, unsure of how to handle the terrifying beast. The bear is getting closer and closer, and the fear is becoming worse and worse.

Still alive as Cinderbear slowly chews his hand while curiously looking down at the man.

Then the bear leans closer and takes a bite of the man's belly.

I am sure I will remember his screams until the day I die.

Slowly, they become weaker and weaker, he coughs up a lot of blood and then passes out.

The monster slowly eats the entire man while looking at us and casually glancing around.

There isn't even a hint of wariness towards us as he finishes his meal.

After he is done, he licks his maw, and another pulse of mana flashes towards me. This time, I am able to sense that it's focused on the broken necklace in my pocket.

Then, Cinderbear leaves once more.

A few hours after the bear leaves, I go into the forest.

Alone.

I hunt and kill everything I can find.

Trolls, goblins, wolves, animals. I murder anything I see. Rage and mana are burning in my veins as I do so.

I've never felt so weak.

I've never felt so defenseless.

All I could do was watch and sit there, not even able to run.

Just helplessly wait and hope one man would be enough.

Pathetic.

I hate it, I despise it, I don't want to feel like this.

Never again.

Time passes, and I finally get the message I wanted.

[You have defeated the Troll Lvl 11]

[Lvl 9 > Lvl 10]

[Well done! The side quest has been successfully completed. Please select one of the traits. The traits are based on your actions and performance up until now within the Tutorial.

Be advised: humans are limited to three Traits.

Choose with caution.]

The system has become nicer out of nowhere.