Chapter 2: Karl the Giant Bear

Vincent, the kind-hearted boy, hurried over to the old man and asked, "Sir, what's wrong? Where does it hurt?"

The old man replied, "My foot is broken, it might even be fractured. It hurts so much."

Vincent said, "May I help you by massaging it? Whenever I have a stomach ache, my mom massages it for me and it feels better." He then placed his small hand on the old man's foot and began to gently massage it.

The old man said, "Thank you, little boy, but that won't help. Oh, oh, please stop, you can't massage it, it hurts even more." Vincent quickly stopped, feeling helpless, and asked, "Sir, how can I help you now?"

At that moment, the maid and Harry came over to the old man.

The old man looked at the three of them and said, "Can you help me by calling someone from the backyard to bring me back to my room?"

Vincent said, "Sir, this is our first time coming to this castle, and we don't know anyone here."

The old man replied, "It's okay, go to the backyard and find a person named Carl. He's my friend. Tell him that I am injured and ask him to come over."

Vincent looked up at the maid and said, "Sister, could you take us to the backyard and help us find Carl to help the old man?" Harry nodded foolishly beside him.

The maid said, "No, young guests. My job now is to look after you and I can't leave you alone. Besides, I don't know this gardener, and I can't leave you alone here."

Vincent furrowed his brow in frustration and scratched his head, thinking for a moment, and then said, "Sister, could you take us to the backyard and help us find Carl to help the old man?" The maid nodded and said, "Okay, I can do that."

Vincent turned to the old man lying on the ground and said, "Sir, hold on for a bit, we are going to find Carl for you now."

The old man said, "Thank you, little boy. Oh, and could you bring my hat to Carl? He should be obedient." The maid secretly stifled a laugh and after the two boys turned around, she quietly bowed to the old man before leading them to the backyard.

The castle was huge. After walking for 20 minutes, the group with their short legs finally arrived at the backyard. Many servants were bustling about, and Vincent stopped a male servant to ask where Karl was. The servant gave Vincent a strange look and confirmed multiple times if he really wanted to find Karl. Vincent firmly replied that Karl's friend needed his help. The servant pointed to a tall and simple warehouse-like building in the farthest corner and said that Karl lived in there. Vincent took Harry's hand and headed straight towards it, with a maid following them from afar.

Upon closer inspection, it was indeed a large warehouse with no doors or windows. Vincent thought it was a strange house as he walked inside, and it seemed empty. The warehouse floor was covered with thick hay, and there were plenty of fruits scattered around. It was dark inside, and Vincent could not see clearly. There appeared to be a large black "mountain" about two stories high in the center, almost taking up half of the warehouse area.

"Karl, Karl, where are you?" Vincent's young voice echoed in the warehouse. There was no response, so Vincent continued to call out loudly.

"Who is disturbing my sleep?" A deep but huge voice sounded from the house. The large mountain in the center began to move, and a giant bear head turned around from behind it. "It turns out to be two human cubs. You've disturbed my sleep, and I'm angry. You'd better have a good reason, or I'll smack you to death." The bear raised its huge paw, ready to strike. Its paw was as big as a door, and its fingers were longer than a child's, with sharp, sparkling nails that were half a meter long.

Harry was immediately frightened and started crying loudly, exclaiming how scary it was, as he stumbled and ran out of the warehouse. Vincent, however, stood frozen in front of the bear, his mouth agape, his eyes round, unable to say a word due to fear. The bear's mouth opened and closed above him, seemingly capable of swallowing him whole. "Why are you looking for me, kid?" the bear asked again.

"I, I..." Vincent stuttered, frightened.

"If you don't speak properly, I'll eat you," the bear warned, raising its paw again.

Vincent shuddered in fear and quickly said, "There's an uncle in the garden who hurt his foot. He sent us to find Karl, so he can move him back to the room." As he spoke, he lifted the uncle's hat high to show the bear. The bear sniffed the hat's scent and said, "Alright, kid, you'd better not be lying to me. Lead the way."

Vincent stepped out of the warehouse. Big Bear Carl also climbed out, lying two stories tall, sitting four stories tall, and standing six stories tall. In front of it, even an adult would look tiny, let alone a little boy like Vincent. Carl was a ground bear who had awakened its intelligence, could speak human language, and had reached level 7 as a Warcraft, making it the city lord's first magic pet. Many people in Stone City had heard of it, but few had seen it. Its size was too astonishing that if it appeared in the city, it would certainly cause people to panic. Usually, when an adult saw Carl for the first time, they would be scared to death. But at this moment, Vincent was still very calm, looking at the giant bear in front of him. Harry was crying in the maid's arms, refusing to look at it.

After Carl walked out of the warehouse, it was impatient with Vincent's slow pace, so it hooked its nails onto his pants, put him on its neck, and then stepped forward. It didn't take long before they arrived at the garden, where the injured old man was. "Hey buddy, what's up? Do you want to play with a kid?" Carl asked the old man in a low voice. The old man smiled and said, "I want to find a playmate for Nini." "Well, for Nini's sake, I forgive you for disturbing my sleep this time."

Carl had already put Vincent back on the ground. The old man sat up, took Vincent's hand, and said, "Thank you, little friend. You are very kind, brave, and a good boy. I want to give you a small gift, and I hope you can use it in the future." He took out a pair of small bee brooches and put them in Vincent's hand. Vincent didn't know it, but he had just acquired his first magical alchemy tool, a pair of miniature walkie-talkies.

The old man nodded in satisfaction, then climbed onto the bear's paw and was carried on its back. "Goodbye, little friend. Welcome to the castle again next time." The old man waved his hand and was soon carried back to the backyard by the giant bear.

Vincent didn't even have time to say polite words before the old man and the bear left. He held the bee brooches and felt like everything that had just happened was like a dream. He saw a bear as big as a mountain today, the bear could speak, and he even rode on the bear. Oh my god, when he tells his friends about this tomorrow, no one will believe him. At this moment, the maid found Vincent holding Harry and crying, and they should have gone back to the hall a long time ago.