Noah didn't waste a second and headed toward the center of the forest. If he missed this creature, he would waste a lot more time trying to find it. Furthermore, with his doubled stats, he believed he can take on whatever can make such a roar.
As he drew closer and closer, Noah started to see movements behind the trees. It looked like to creatures one chasing after the other.
'Is that… the boy from earlier?' Noah's face grew anxious as he identified the fleeing being identity. White hair was an unusual trait so it was hard to not be recognized.
Noah could now see what was chasing it. It was a six-legged armored bear. Noah was dumbfounded not by its extra legs, but the knight-like black armor on its body. Just from a single look, Noah realized he couldn't take it on in a straightforward fight.
However, he couldn't just leave the kid. That's why he decided to help the kid escape instead. With a goal in mind, Noah approached the running two. Although the bear had six legs, it only ran on four as it was difficult to use six. Noah's speed was greater than the other two so he was able to catch up and station himself behind the hind legs of the bear.
"Run!" Noah shouted toward the fleeing child and stabbed the bear in its leg before withdrawing the dagger and running in the opposite direction. Luckily, the bear took the bait and changed its target.
Seeing the bear chasing after him, Noah darted toward the forest in the hope to lose the bear using the trees. The bear was restless as it kept chasing after Noah but it soon lost him in the forest as Noah was faster and nimbler than it.
Half an hour later, Noah was sitting beside the stream catching his breath. He kept running fearing the bear might be tracking him through his scent.
As Noah was resting, he saw movement in the corner of his eye and saw that it was the kid from earlier. He was standing on the other side of the river. However, the kid ran away again after Noah spotted him.
"…Really? Again?" Noah decided to ignore him.
However, the kid came back and stood in the same place and ran when Noah looked at him again. This repeated for a couple of time and Noah noticed that he didn't look like he was running, but asking him to follow.
Since Noah was done resting, he decided to follow the kid. After traveling behind the kid who kept checking Noah was following him, Noah reached a hill on the outskirt of the forest with thick trees covering it.
Noah looked around since he lost the kid and couldn't find him. He then saw the grass moving and saw the kid come out from between the thick trees covering the hill. The kid looked at Noah and went inside again.
"Hey, what are you trying to show me?" Noah asked but received no answer. He decided to follow for now since the kid looked harmless.
Noah crouched down and went through the tunnel like-space between the bushes. It got wider and wider before Noah reached a cave. The cave was damp and dark but he can still see since it was not that big. Furthermore, Noah's eyesight improved as he raised his stats. He didn't know what stat improved it exactly but he thought it could be agility since it involved reaction speed. It could also be intelligence.
"This is…" Noah walked toward the rock in the middle of the cave where the kid was standing. He then looked at the kid and asked. "Do you… want me to take these?"
The kid cutely nodded and made a gesture of baring his fangs. It was quite cute but Noah couldn't help but feel apprehensive. As if answering his suspicions, a roar came from the outside. It was the bear. This seems to be his lair.
"Thank you, kid. Don't worry, I'll protect you with these." Noah patted the kid's head and picked up the twin short swords on the rock.
The swords were curved and had a chain on the hilt connecting the two. The chain was two meters long so it didn't hinder his movements.
Noah didn't know the level of this item since it wasn't provided by the system. However, he knew it wasn't simple since he felt the weapon making him stronger.
[Weapon buff has been applied. All stats are increased by 50%]
[Special-Weapon mastery skill has been applied. Novice Twin-Swordsmanship has been temporarily gained]
"With this…" Noah let out a breath of excitement and headed outside. And as expected, Noah could see the bear moving toward the cave. Noah smiled in return and dashed toward the bear.
"Roar!"
The bear didn't lag and dashed toward Noah as well. As they were about to collide, Noah didn't stop and changed his trajectory to slash toward the bear's side with his swords. It felt all too natural for him because of his mastery skill.
Sparks flew as the bear's armor had large scratches on it because of the swords. A shallow cut also drained the bear of its blood slowly. However, Noah knew this wasn't enough. The bear used his two right claws to slash toward Noah's head and torso.
Using his 31 agility points, Noah blocked the two attacks using his two swords. However, he was still thrown off balance but he kicked the ground to make distance and regain his footing.
The two creatures stared at each other with killing intent clearly shown. After a momentary pause, Noah dashed forward and so did the bear.
Slash. Dodge. Stab. Retreat. Sidestep. Double slash. Retreat.
Noah kept fighting the bear and the two had injuries appearing here and there. However, Noah's dodges made his wounds less fatal and he was only dizzy due to blood loss.
After a while, Noah dashed toward the bear's side and dodged his claws that slashed his chest leaving bloody marks on them. However, Noah reached behind the bear where a tree was stationed and used the tree to jump over the bear. Slashing with the two swords, Noah gave the bear deep wounds on its neck causing blood to leak rapidly. The bear fell motionless after a final roar and the system's notification came. It was the end of Noah's toughest battle.
[Challenge Completed! Creatures hunted: 100/100]
[Injuries will be fully healed after going back to Earth.]
[100 TPs have been rewarded]
Noah heard the notification and slowly lied on the floor resting. A gentle breeze made his open wounds tingle and the sun gave him warmth. A shadow blocked the sun and Noah opened his eyes.
"Hey." It was the kid and Noah greeted him but the latter didn't answer. However, the kid was smiling innocently. Noah wondered why this kid was here.
The kid bent down and touched the two bloodied swords and they turned into a wooden talisman. The kid then picked it up and put it on Noah's chest.
[The entity has rewarded the user with Moonlight Blades Summoning Talisman]
[Moonlight Blades Summoning Talisman: An item to summon the Moonlight Blades to use for 6 hours. The Moonlight Blades give a 50% stats buff and a temporary weapon mastery. Can be summoned for three times.]
"So it wasn't mine? That's…" Noah felt regretful but decided not to be greedy. It was already a powerful weapon that gave a percentage buff.
"Maybe next time." Noah heard a deep voice coming from the kid's mouth. It wasn't a deep pitched voice, but it resounded through the whole forest. The kid was still smiling. It was then that Noah remembered what the system called the kid. The entity.
"Wait… You are…" Noah stopped talking because he was back in his room. He had his mouth wide open and looked around dumbfounded. "I'm back…"
[Congratulations! The user has completed the First Trace. Rewards have been obtained. Confirm?]
Noah sighed and decided to let it go. From what the entity said, they would meet again. For now, he decided to check his rewards. He looked at the wooden talisman on his chest. He picked it up and asked the system to proceed. "Confirm."