Ayla didn't know what to make of the boy in front of her. He was definitely a dungeon explorer, and he knew she was one too. Ayla could feel a bit of mana emanating from the boy, but couldn't find his mana core. Her first thought that he was very weak.
However, he seemed to be able to detect mana that she couldn't. He said that there were mana cores in the hikers now. Ayla didn't believe it. But then, he said that the bears had mana cores as well. The next thing she knew, one of the bears had become into a monster with a mana core.
Ayla felt kind of useless during the fight. She spent the beginning part of if covering the innocent hikers with a protective barrier, while the boy drew the bear's agro and accurately threw knives at the bear's eyes. Afterwards, she ran over to help.
The bear was ridiculously strong. It was stronger than the strongest boss monster she had ever fought, on the 16th floor. Yet, somehow, the boy was keeping it occupied. Ayla thought that the boy was much stronger than her, from the confidence in the way he moved. Then, she saw his muscles bleeding and his heavy breathing, and knew what happened. He had used a Pill. They would give him temporary strength, but would also leave him almost crippled after the effects were over.
Ayla couldn't just stand there. She tricked the bear with a feint, and while the bear was distracted by the mana from her first spell, which she cancelled, she used a different type of Earth magic to soften the ground and hold the bear in place. The bear was really strong, so she had to concentrate extremely hard to continue the length of the spell. At the cost of almost all her mana, she held the bear down for a period of time.
However, the boy couldn't kill the bear in this time, and was flung off. Then, Ayla watched in horror as the boy was sent into the air from a blow.
After a moment of panic, Ayla summoned a high tier mana potion and downed it, and began casting largest spear of earth she could possibly manage. She thought she wasn't going to make it in time, but right before the bear swung downwards, it paused. Ayla didn't know why it stopped, but this pause was enough time for Ayla to finish casting her spell and drive into the wound on the back of the bear's neck the boy had made before.
It barely pierced all the way through and killed the bear. After confirming the bear was dead, she immediately rushed over to the boy's side.
The boy's limbs were bleeding and his muscles were torn. He had broken a bunch of his ribs. Recovery magic wasn't Ayla's specialty, but she knew some. After she poured a few health and stamina potions down his throat and healed his internal organs and some of his ribs, his condition stabilized a bit. He opened his eyes.
"I won the match. I got 2 points and the bear only got 1."
Ayla froze.
"What?"
"I won the match, 2 points to 1."
Ayla stayed confused for another minute, but then went over and pressed her hand against James' forehead. It was burning hot. Ayla realized he was delirious.
"I won that match. James 2, Bear 1? 2 points for me because I got his eyes"
Ayla's mouth twitched. He supposed the boy's name was James.
"Alright. Now, drink this for me, please?"
Ayla poured another potion into his mouth. She didn't dare to use any more. Using too many potions at once could be harmful.
She looked over to the bear's corpse. She had to clean up before the other hikers woke up or someone else came.
Taking James' knife, she dug out the magic stone from the bear. It was purple. The bear was a tier 4 monster. Additionally, its magnificent clarity flagged as strong even within tier 4 monsters.
Ayla then skinned the bear. In the dungeon, the monsters' corpses usually disappeared after being . However, there were some specific floors where this didn't happen. This was where all the explorers learned how to dismantle monsters.
The meat was meat with mana in it. It would taste a bit better than usual, and would have a very small mana replenishing effect. She put a chunk in her storage bag, and then placed a chunk in the James' as well. Afterwards, she also cut a small portion from the skin and placed it in her own storage bag, putting the rest in James' bag as well. This skin would be very tough, and be a very useful material for armor.
After she was done, she dug a hole with magic and buried the rest of the monster bear. While she was wondering what to do with the other bear, she remembered that there had been a small cub as well. Where was it?
Ayla spun around and saw the bear cub next to James. She tensed up, preparing to kill it, but then paused when she saw the scene.
"Heheh, good boy, good boy."
James was patting the bear's head, and the cub was being affectionate with him, rubbing its face against his arm.
"Do you want a treat?" The boy held up the purple magic crystal.
"Wait," thought Ayla. "You can't eat that…"
But, as she was thinking that, the bear became excited and leapt on the magic stone. It chomped down on the stone like it was a biscuit. Within two bites, the entire thing had gone down the cub's stomach. It made a sort of humming noise as it snuggled against James' chest. It was quite cute.
As this was happening, Ayla felt the presence of the bear grow stronger, as if it had powered up from eating the magic stone. Then, the bear grabbed James' dungeon card from his pocket, touched it, and disappeared into the card.
Ayla stopped trying to understand things at this point. She turned around and thought about how she was going to deal with the aftermath, without letting them know about the existence of monsters. It would've been better to keep the other bear corpse, which hadn't been stabbed with multiple spikes, on the scene, but that corpse was just too valuable.
Instead, Ayla used another mana potion, and drove a spike of earth into a massive tree, causing it to fall onto the corpse of the other, normal bear, flattening it. Then, she grabbed all of James' throwing knives, the scraps of his armor, and his boots with wings on them. Ayla hadn't noticed the boots before, but they had to be a valuable item. She shoved all the items into his bag, and then put the bag into his pants. Finally, she grabbed the signal flare from the body of the ranger and set it off. They weren't too far away from the camp, so the others would be able to see it.
Ayla had to go. She was actually on the run. This event had rattled her a bit, and she thought it was about time she got out of the area.
Before she left, she stuffed a note inside James' storage bag.
She had a feeling they would meet again.