Ending the Battle

Edol jumped forward, aiming the newly-created spike toward the bear's head. It was still reeling in pain, an arrow protruding from one eye and the spear still lodged in its shoulder, droplets of blood spraying from the wound and dying the leaves red.

Noticing Edol's advance through the pain, it tried to cast more earth magic to defend, but it was entirely unsuccessful. The bear had a limited amount of mana, just like any human with a legacy. It had expended too much when trying to finish off Sal when she stepped forward earlier, leaving it none to defend with now.

The beast tried to retreat and lumbered back a few steps, but Edol's quick charge closed the distance in an instant. Leaping from the ground with a great bound, Edol launched himself into the air, barely managing to reach eye level with the massive bear.

"Die!"

The tip of the earth spike dove for the bear's remaining eye, too quickly for the beast to defend. A sickly popping noise sounded as the spike drove into the eye, pausing for a moment before breaking into the beast's brain.

Releasing the spear and stepping back, Edol watched as his massive foe swayed, weakly clawing at the spike that'd just impaled deep into its head. After a few moments of struggle, the great beast finally drew its last breaths and collapsed to the ground.

"Nice! That was amazing, Edol!"

Sal was standing a few meters away, having been ready to rejoin the battle if Edol's charge had gone awry. Yoma was battle ready too, having another arrow knocked in his bow and trained on the already-fallen bear.

Yoma slowly stepped forward, keeping his bow pointed at their dead foe.

"Is it really dead? We should check! Edol, Sal! One of you check it, I'll cover for you- OW!!"

Midway through speaking, Yoma jumped back and clutched his shin, his eyes widening.

"IT'S ALIVE!! Help! Sal, protect me!"

Edol glanced down to where Yoma had been standing. Rather than it having been an earthen spike that had attacked the cowardly hunter, instead, there was a hefty grey bird.

"I don't like this coward. Edol, you should try ditching him in the woods, I doubt Sal would be against it. This idiot will probably get lost and spend days wandering around before anyone finds him! It'd probably do him some good, at least he might grow up a bit!"

Ghost's scornful eyes followed the cowardly Yoma, watching as he scurried behind Sal before finally realizing it was Ghost who'd pecked him.

"Nibbles! Why?!"

Sal pushed Yoma away before ignoring him and turning to Edol.

"Not bad fighting, I guess. You would've died if you were alone, though! How careless are you, to use a spear when you've clearly never touched one in your life? And look how you were holding it!"

Sal lifted her spear, aiming it forward and bracing it against her side.

"Shit, you nearly impaled yourself! Instead, keep a firm grip on it and have it a bit to the side. Like this, you won't end up stabbing yourself in the gut with the butt of your spear!"

Sal demonstrated how to properly hold a spear, then shook her head.

"You'll need proper training before you try using a spear again. Stick to your daggers, hopefully you aren't as incompetent with those."

'Yeesh, I save your life and this is the thanks I get?'

Deciding not to confront Sal's rudeness, Edol turned and walked over to the fallen bear, confirming that the beast showed no signs of life before approaching.

The massive bear was still warm, blood still seeping from its damaged shoulder and eyes. Weighing in at nearly half a ton, it would be impossible for just the three members of the hunting party to drag their prey back to the town. They would have to head back and bring more people to help transport the valuable corpse.

~

Willow stared at the body of the massive bear being dragged into town. The hunters had loaded the hefty body up onto a sled, allowing them to bring it back with minimal effort. Even still, it'd taken nearly two hours since Edol and the hunting crew had returned to finally bring the hunt's bounty back to Hearth.

In the meantime, Edol, Sal, and Yoma took a rest, hanging out in the town hall while other townfolk went to fetch the bear's corpse.

Now that the townsmen had returned to town, though, the trio left the hall to observe their prey. Weiss was already outside, standing next to Willow. Edol walked over to the two, giving them both a pat on the shoulder to announce his presence.

"So, Weiss, how much do I get for taking down that beast? It's gotta be worth a lot, right?"

The townswoman reached into a pocket before withdrawing her hand, a small cloth bag clutched in her grip. The sound of a few coins clashing together could be heard as she handed it over to the excited brit.

"One, two, three… A total of two silver coins, and twenty bronze ones! Awesome! I must be rich!"

Weiss immediately face-palmed, and Willow looked at the hunter with a skeptical gaze.

"Weiss, that bear is definitely worth way more than this, and from what the others said, Edol was vital in taking it down!"

Letting out a long sigh, Weiss pointed to the side of the town hall, where there was a stable full of horses.

"A good horse, rations, changes of clothes, tools, and other supplies you might need while traveling. The horse alone is worth more than this bear, so take care of it well! Someone will show you to your new companion when you're ready to leave."

'A horse! My own horse! Sure, it's not Pepper, but having my own horse will be awesome! No more walking for me!'

"Now, Edol, you should watch how the bear is handled. I could tell you've never worked with fresh meat before when we were cooking, so this will be a great learning experience for you."

'Horse… What should I name it? What do horses like? Apples? Carrots? Hmm… I feel like just "Apples" is kinda a bad name, though…'

"Edol? Hey, Edol. Aren't you going to go watch them skin the bear?"

'Apples, carrots… Applecarrot! No…'

"Hey! Hearth to Edol. Anyone in there?"

Weiss waved a hand in front of Edol's blank face, but the brit didn't react in the slightest.

"Willow, does he normally do this?"

Willow shrugged, examining the boy's blank, aimless eyes.

"Apperot!!!"

Edol suddenly shouted, startling both Weiss and Willow.

"Apperot! It's like apple and carrot put together, right? It's the perfect name for my new horse!"

Weiss's hand once again went to her forehead, and a slightly depressed look overtook her face.

"Edol, you do realize we're giving you a fully grown horse, right?"

The boy nodded, and Weiss continued.

"It will already have a name."

"Eh, no matter! I am the bringer of carrots and apples, so Apperot will surely accept whatever I call it! Heheh, what a cool name for a horse. So cool…"