The Deathbear

[After most of an hour passes, the energy is reduced to a manageable level, and you stop practicing…

You begin to travel west.

That night, you have too much energy to fall asleep, but you do not feel safe traveling at night. You wait quietly by a tree, seeing if you can successfully hunt a beast…]

[Day 5: The night passes without incident, and you continue traveling. You are full of vigor, but you purposefully move at a relaxed pace…

While walking, you notice a human footprint nearby, and you grow more cautious.]

Seeing the footprint cast Lem's mind into thought. 

When he had been banished from the village, he had not considered any further interaction with humans.

Even when he received the simulator, the most he thought was that he could find spiritual fruits and plants in the wild.

However, as his simulations had begun to improve, he realized that there were other options available.

He knew that Lang Town was the closest large settlement, and it was known to have cultivators within it.

If he could find it in a future simulation, perhaps he could initiate a trade for a cultivation technique.

Of course, his thoughts were speculative, and he didn't even know in which direction Lang Town was.

[You do not know how others would react to you in your state. For a time, you expect to run into other humans, and you worry…

You eat from your rations and fall asleep…]

…

[Day 7: You feel weaker due to the evil power consuming your vitality…

While walking, you encounter a trail of blood. You consider following the blood, but you decide that the reward is not worth the risk. You avoid the trail and continue traveling…

You come across a rocky area with many caves. You think it is likely that there are beasts inside, so you avoid it…

You eat from your rations and fall asleep…]

…

[Day 9: You feel weaker due to the evil power consuming your vitality…]

Five days had passed without much occurring.

Lem had yet to see any more spiritual plants or dangerous beasts since he had consumed the mushroom on the fourth day.

He was passively observing when a bulky figure suddenly came into view in the forest ahead of him. It had spiny black fur, a glossy nose. Drool dripped from its mouth as it sniffed around.

What is that?

A bear?

The ears were distinctive, however, and he quickly corrected himself.

A juvenile deathbear.

Along with tyrant sloths and dust cats, it was one of the common dangers that the villagers warned of.

He knew they could grow up to several times the size of a normal bear under normal conditions.

His body was current frozen, several dozen meters away from the deathbear.

It had stopped moving as well, its eyes locked on to Lem.

Was this how the simulation would come to an end?

[While walking, you encounter a juvenile deathbear. You stare at one another for several minutes, with neither of you moving. You are afraid for your life, but you are prepared to put up a fight.]

Snap!

[A branch snaps, and the deathbear runs off. You breathe a sigh of relief and continue walking…]

Lem was just beginning to recover from the sudden encounter, when he felt signals of terror coming from his body.

It was as though he was being stared at intensely, with his life in the hands of some immensely powerful being.

From his detached perspective, Lem wondered if he was being looked at by the parent of the deathbear.

Otherwise, it was difficult to explain how he had attracted such attention to himself.

At the same time, he did not believe that he would be killed. If the parent wanted him dead, he would already be dead.

Of course, it could also be the case that his speculation was wrong to begin with.

Lem waited to see if the deathblow would occur.

If it did, he imagined that the simulation would end without warning.

A being that could cause him to feel such terror would surely have the means to kill him before he could react.

The feeling began to disappear.

Lem's body regained control of itself.

[A few minutes later, you feel a piercing glare on you, and you freeze. You feel certain that a powerful beast is passing by and you expect to die. Seconds pass by, and nothing happens. The feeling grows less intense, eventually disappearing entirely…]

As Lem's simulated self began moving again, he wondered whether a third encounter would occur.

An hour later, he felt that the danger had passed, and he regressed back into passive observation.

[You eat from your rations and fall asleep…]

As Lem's world went dark, he began thinking about what had occurred.

With little else to do at night, he had begun actively trying to memorize the locations of all the landmarks and powerful beasts that he had encountered.

When he made a mental mark of the last encounter, he thought of it as a mature deathbear and its cub.

How powerful was the mature deathbear?

As he thought about it, he guessed that it was less powerful than the giant bird from the fifth simulation.

The bird had merely been passing by and it had an effect of complete paralysis, whereas he did not sense the deathbear at all until it glared at him.