Bear

Kai tried and failed to ignore Halia chuckling in his mind as he stomped back to the sleeping classroom.

Hmph, and now she's right back to being annoying.

"Here, take this!"

Pulling the necklace off his neck, Kai thrust it over toward Brewan.

"I'm going outside to fill up the water flasks!"

After having Halia stuck chattering inside his mind for almost a week straight, Kai needed a break. Even when Brewan was holding the necklace as they researched, he still had to listen to one side of the conversation.

I'm strong enough now, I don't need to worry about the monsters around the academy.

Most of the remaining work Halia had to do on her robe repairing spell would require the help of Brewan, not Kai. For the time being, he knew that his part in the research would likely just be listening to Brewan's half of the conversation and occasionally providing some of his mana for Halia to experiment with.

After passing the necklace to Brewan, Kai headed for the room with the broken window. Even a week later, they were still using the window to get in and out of the building.

"At least there aren't any more glass shards lying around."

Kai's feet hardly made any noise against the floor as he leapt through the window with much more ease than a week ago. Outside, the sun was close to touching the western horizon, and it wouldn't be too much longer before darkness would come for the academy.

"Aah, this feels nice."

Kai rolled his shoulders as he took in a deep breath.

Sweet, early autumn air. A faint breeze peacefully brushing the overgrown grass before rippling through the nearby forest's leaves. Somewhere in the distance, the faint trickle of the stream.

"After this week… walking around alone almost feels nostalgic."

Kai chuckled to himself as he started strolling toward the top of the hill overlooking the academy. He felt confident in defeating any of the monsters they'd commonly seen around the academy grounds on his own, but he wasn't going to completely forsake common sense.

The view from the top of the hill was even better than on Kai's walk up it. The wind ruffled his dark, flowing hair as he scanned the surroundings before finding a decent spot to sit down.

"It's so… empty."

Kai softly spoke to himself as his eyes swept over the abandoned academy and the rotting town below it. Kai got the same eerie feeling every time they left the academy classroom, but it was even worse now that he was alone.

The sensation of aloneness was enough to choke out the comfort he got from the peaceful sound of the wind. It was stifling.

I almost wish I had Halia still chattering in my mind. Even if it would drown out the sound of nature-

Kai froze. The leaves that'd been softly rippling in the breeze were silent, and the peaceful churning of the stream was silent. Out of the corner of his eye, Kai could still see the top of the treeline swaying, but the leaves' sound didn't reach him.

All that was left was the eerie sensation of loneliness, prickling at the back of his neck. It was almost the exact same as the sensation of being watched-

"Shit!"

Kai leapt to his feet, drawing the ruby sword and spinning to face the incoming foe. A hulking, shadowy figure seemed to appear from mid-air just a couple meters away from Kai. His eyes flickered with terror as he instantly recognized the beast.

Deep Ursine! This thing is tier 2!

The one charging at Kai now was considerably smaller than the one he'd seen fall to the terror bird previously, but that wasn't the only difference. A thick black fog trailed over the bear's shoulders as it charged toward Kai, and even more mist was concentrated around its head.

Halia wasn't there to check its exact mana level, but Kai was already certain that this wasn't a battle he could win. Tier 1 beasts couldn't use any magic, and whatever the black mist was, it was definitely magical in nature.

The bear was already too close for Kai to dodge its strike, so he could only brace himself for the impact and try to use the sword to block. What felt like a mountain of muscle crashed into Kai, and he felt something in his arm crack as his guard crumbled.

Just like when the terror bird struck him the previous time, Kai was thrown backward, his improved strength from leveling meaning nothing before a vastly more powerful beast. This time, there wasn't a rotting wooden door to act as a cushion for his fall.

Kai had already been positioned at the edge of the hill, so the bear's attack easily threw him over the edge.

"Aaaargh!"

Kai's injured arm slammed heavily into the hillside, and he tucked himself into a ball as he rolled toward the bottom of the hill. Instead of trying to stop his tumbling, Kai squeezed his eyes shut and tried to estimate how far it was to the bottom.

As he neared the bottom, the sound of Kai's own body tumbling over the dirt somehow started growing quiet to his own ears.

Shit, it's coming again!

Kai broke out of his roll and tried to dodge to the side to avoid the bear's next strike, but his body failed him. After tumbling down most of the hill's length, Kai could hardly tell which direction was up. Even when he opened his eyes, he barely managed to take a couple steps before stumbling and starting to roll again.

Strangely, though, there was no impact. The sounds entering Kai's ears continued to dim, but the bear didn't lunge forward again. It didn't even seem to be chasing after him.

Where did this thing go now?! I definitely should've noticed it sneaking up way sooner before, and it's gone again.

If the strong sensation of being watched and Kai's continuously dimming sense of hearing was anything to go off, though, the bear definitely wasn't planning on letting go of its prey.