Like the hunter had said, something was indeed amiss in the woods.
Erik has been traveling for hours after gathering his belongings.
Faint signs of battle.
He'd never found corpses, rarely broken bones, guts and everything that wasn't eaten or buried under twenty centimeters of snow that covered most tracks.
"What do you smell, Rex?" Erik asked. "Any signs of wolves."
"Gore," the dog sniffed the snow, he followed another scent to a tree, "weak wolf urine. I think it's old, maybe two, three days old. They seem to be heading south too but they're faster than us, we won't encounter them if we keep going at our normal pace."
'Great. White is taking us that way and I'd rather not fight an entire pack led by half-direwolf at my current level.' He loved challenges but wasn't suicidal. 'We'll just surf on their killing spree to avoid savage beasts,' Erik thought.
If he could take advantage of the pack's rampage, why not?
"I smell something else," Rex hummed the air, as if pulled by an invisible string, he trotted a few meters until he found recent tracks.
"Let me guess," Erik crouched to take a closer look, "a pale bear."
"Oh, you got a super nose too?"
"It's just that glaringly obvious, my furry friend. The tracks are fresh."
He theorized it arrived a few hours ago, the deep prints suggested an adult. Sieg clearly had said to avoid those dangerous beasts, adult ones usually averaged rank 2, sometimes rank 3.
Maybe it had run out of competition in the woods, so it recently came closer to the mountain range seeking higher beast cores, escaping the wolf pack's carnage.
Its prints left in snow resembled a circle, typical of pale bears who communicated this way. They'd stump the ground multiple times on their two legs, from a distance it'd look like they were dancing when in fact they imprinted their pheromones in the snow, coming back often at the same spot to renew their prints.
Pale bears were extremely territorial beasts, they'd sense trespassers kilometers away, Rex's pissing habits didn't help their case.
If the beast hadn't detected them, it'd be a matter of time before it did.
Mouf berries did little to mask their scent, rather, they exposed them, mouf berries were part of pale bears' diet.
It dawned on him they might have a bear problem on their hands.
'Why is the thought of confronting this beast sounds appealing all of the sudden?' He'd been fighting mostly wolverines, sometimes wolves, once or twice grey snakes, and other smaller beasts until now, none truly proved a challenge.
Having trained like a madman, Erik wanted to test his strength against an opponent he could go all out to see his current limits and maybe surpass them.
Erik lowered his underwear and "marked" the pale bear's tracks, according to Sieg, those beasts hated it when someone else masked their scent.
"No fair, I was going to do it!" Rex said, already lifting his back leg.
"Stop it Rex and fill the gourd instead," Erik ordered, "I'm sending a challenge, don't meddle."
If the bear would track them down eventually, might as well send a clear message.
"Friend, your wolf-smile is scary."
'Since when was I smiling?' He thought, realizing the idea of fighting a pale bear unarmed felt so exhilarating his lips curved on their own like… 'Damn your brainwashing old fart!'
***
Sure enough, the pale bear showed its nose at the rendezvous around an hour after the challenge has been issued following the "marks" Erik purposely left on trees to announce his presence.
He had prepared a flat terrain in a glade, digging out the soft snow so he could move freely, forming a ring large enough not to worry about having his movements impeded.
Rex growled menacingly, ready to pounce on the large mammal. The raven silently stayed perched, swallowing the morning discussion's anger.
"Remember, this is my fight," he needed to figure out his current limits, "do not interfere."
"Okay, Erik," the dog sent him worried gazes after taking a good look at the bear. Its cream fur enlarged its already impressive physique. On its four legs, it was already taller than Erik that has reached about 1.55 meters in height after four months in the wild. "I hope you know what you're doing."
Erik channeled [Shaman Senses].
Five golden threads waved around the beast, indicating it had at least 500 wyrd.
'So a rank 3 beast then.' He started sweating from stress, and excitement, and his thumping heart increased his blood pressure, heightening the tension.
His opponent entered the ring, breath steaming out its round nasals, sniffing the air in search of the one who called it, finding him at the center of the ring, it emitting low growls to show its determination.
It roared then rose on its back legs, exhibiting powerful muscles visible even under thick fur.
The bear was trying to intimidate him, much to its disappointment he showed no signs of faltering.
He was taking deep breaths, each time sharpening his concentration shortly reaching a focused state, nothing mattered anymore but the fight.
No hesitation.
No regrets.
Only focus.
At that moment in this makeshift ring, Erik was no longer a child, but a man back in his pugilist days about to face a stronger opponent.
Fists at nose level, Erik locked gazes with his opponent as he cautiously stepped towards it. The bear darted to the meeting, sending clouds of dirt and remaining snow flying.
'Fast for its size, but compared to Caliber's speed and the rank 2 wolf I've faced, it falls short. However, if I take a blow head on I might be in trouble.'
Within reach, his opponent opened its jaw revealing rows of monstrous teeth. Seeing through the obvious attack, Erik strengthened his body with [Durability], channeled [Enhanced Strength] and threw a devastating kick.
BAM!
The bear's jaw changed trajectory along with its body. Pulled by its own momentum, it crashed head first biting dirt.
'Damnation, I can feel my leg throbbing like I've hit a rock wall.' Fortunately, his training paid off, it wasn't broken nor swollen. 'Tough, strong, slow. Alright.'
Erik took advantage of this opportunity and jumped on his enemy's back, clawing his way up the bear's head and crooked left and right fingers.
[Wolf Style: Piercing Fang]
The furious bear roared as it lost sight.
'Tough skull! I can't get through!' Erik twisted both fingers to no avail.
His opponent swung, churned, and clawed its own head in a desperate attempt to shake off the human.
"Damnation!" Pain seared on Erik's lacerated left forearm. Fresh bloodied claw marks were left as presents, deep enough to impede the usage of his left arm.
He tightened his tights, putting more pressure to balance himself, and released both hands to avoid another handicapping strike.
'Its eyes are a danger zone but the back of its skull…'
Roar!
Enraged, the bear entered a blind fury, rampaging the ring as it tried to dislodge the boy who repeatedly pummeled its skull at the same spot using his elbow.
Feeling gravity pull him down and seeing the horizon shifting, Erik vaulted off to safety as the bear fell on its back in an attempt to crush him under its weight.
'Shit, its physique is higher than mine, late-Bronze tier perhaps. Should I use Caliber's knife?' His wyrd shook in disagreement inside him. 'Right, it's not my path. I'll stick to the fists no matter what!'
Back on its feet, blinded, the bear sniffed the air in search of its prey. Using its incredible sense of smell it took it a second to locate Erik who was already closing the gap with [Enhanced Speed] and [Prowling Steps].
The bear slammed the ground, narrowly missing its enemy who countered with a powerful right hook that sprayed bear blood.
Erik dashed in for an uppercut.
Crack!
"Urg!" His knuckles broke upon impact.
The furious bear regained its balance faster than expected, thirsty for vengeance.
No time to dodge, he was too close.
Reflexes gained after numerous fights automatically pulled both injured arms up to protect his head as a huge paw carrying the full weight of the beast and its wrath crashed on him.
Slash!
The bear cut Erik's unprotected right cheek and arm, searing pain flared from his wounds, the impact bent his knees. Twisted waist and upper body absorbed half the brunt in an expert motion.
Grunting, aching, he withstood the brutal blow, his opponent's claws had dug through his thick skin but didn't reach bone deep; countless hours of hardening his blessed body paid off.
"Erik!" Rex worried bark resounded, the dog would have rushed in if it were not for his contractor's determined gaze, gritting teeth, he decided against intervening.
Throbs echoed in Erik's body as he exchanged new blows with his opponent, again, and again, stronger, louder, faster.
'It's been a while since I've felt it.' It was like a spark blossomed inside, seeking freedom through his every move.
The Thrill of Battle, a phenomenon occurring each time Erik faced a worthy foe, it would never manifest against weak opponents, nor during training like Caliber's, only doing so in life and death situations.
'But it feels different in this life.' Be it lone wolves or wolverines, none had proven truly worthy. 'It feels even better!'
A joy-filled grin appeared on his face. Each time they exchanged blows, Erik's understanding of his opponent deepened, his accuracy increased, and his strikes sharpened.
"Show me more!" He challenged aloud.
Erik deviated an incoming pow strike, hand chopped the bear's skull behind the eyes and between ears, aiming for the spot he had repeatedly hit to weaken it.
Feeble as it was, he sensed the bone weakening and his hand throbbing in pain.
"More!"
ROAR!
Enlarged and lengthened by the afternoon sunlight, his opponent's shadow devoured his as its stood on two legs, furiously launching bark-shredding slashes.
The bear clumsily reached forward, its claws fell short, missing each time their targets; while massive, pale bears' limbs weren't longer than humans'.
"So this is your limit."
The thrill subsided, Erik already understood the beast's patterns, and momentum, he felt it within him, and each muscle fiber responded accordingly.
As the beast's back limbs tired, it returned to four legs.
At least it tried—reading the situation perfectly, Erik seized the opportunity.
He dashed in before the bear's front legs hit solid ground, avoiding claws, he firmly gripped fur and paw then threw his opponent off balance using its own momentum.
No child's body should have been able to support the bear's weight, but he wasn't a normal child, Erik was a Basara, a shaman, and an expert pugilist.
Snow clouds scattered along white fur upon impact. Still holding a front paw, Erik snapped it in one swift kick to the joints, the bear let out a painful shout and hurriedly stood on its available limbs.
'Predictable.'
Erik sauntered. A vengeful strike soon swept the location he previously stood on. As he came down, he aimed at the bear's head and descended to deal a devastating ax kick.
BAM!
Something cracked so loud under Erik's heel that the two bystanders heard it. The bear suddenly went limp, laying its entire body on the ground.
Doubtful of his victory, Erik waited a few long minutes while channeling [Warrior's Breath] to replenish his stamina faster.
At last, he crouched, touched the bear's belly, and whispered "Thanks for the fight," he furrowed his brows when he realized it was still breathing. [Shaman Senses] activated, he saw the five golden threads still hovering, the beast had been knocked out not killed
"You tough son of a bitch," Erik chuckled, got to his feet, and limped towards Rex.
"Are you okay, friend!?" The dog rushed to his side and started licking his wounds.
Gashes covered his forearms, four cuts marked his left cheek, and the heel he had used to finish the fight was swollen and broken.
"Thanks, Rex" Erik petted his dog with gratitude when the licking was over, grabbed his gourd previously filled by Rex with potent healing agent, drank some imagining it was alcohol to soften the salty taste before returning to the bear's side.
"Why don't you kill it?" The dog asked.
"Why should I?" Erik retorted. "There is no room for its meat and fur on our sled, and we have enough food for a week with the few rainbow salmons I caught yesterday. And it proved a worthy foe thanks to whom I improved."
He forced the gourd's content in the bear's mouth, and spattered some on its broken leg and eyes. "Although blind now, it can still become a formidable predator. In fact, if it survives its wounds, it may grow even stronger than it originally should have because of our fight. And I bet it's gonna hunt me after gaining more power."
Truthfully, he was looking forward to that, an opponent like this pale bear didn't appear as often as wolverines that populated these parts of the continent, less so after the wolf pack's rampage.
Moreover, thanks to it, Erik had felt the Thrill again, but it was different, resembling more an electrical spark than a fire, feeding his ever-growing desire to reach greater heights.
In one way, he was grateful.
'An electrical spark?' he thought, an idea sparking into him indeed.
"I don't understand your logic, friend. Shouldn't you kill an enemy before it tries to kill you?" Rex said.
"True," Erik nodded, "I would kill it if there really wasn't a point to its life or it strongly endangered mine. This is not the case here, it'll balance the weakened ecosystem around these parts, and will probably serve as a stepping stone for me later when it'll become stronger if it decides to hunt me."
He had spared other savage beasts for that very purpose, disappointedly none came back for vengeance yet.
The dog pondered his answer and reached a conclusion. "Friend, you always hurt yourself, now you spare strong enemies so they can fight you later. Are you perhaps a m,…" he paused, searching for the word, ultimately opting for a sentence describing the word, "do you like pain that much?"
"Ahaha!" Erik's laugh almost burst Rex's sensitive ears.
Pain was his bread and butter, though he'd never bothered asking himself about liking it or not, he couldn't help but think the totem beast wasn't far from the truth.
Golden words appeared in his vision.
——
[Congratulations! You've surpassed your limits by vanquishing a stronger foe, in doing so accomplished an uncommon deed. Reward: +20 wyrd.]
——
Erik's body throbbed with power as he surpassed the 300 wyrd threshold. Muscles enlarged, and strengthened, going past their limits. Bones and organs hardened reaching a new realm.
[Congratulations! Your Strength has broken through to the early-Warrior tier!]
[Congratulations! Your Agility has broken through to the early-Warrior tier!]
[Congratulations! Your Stamina has broken through to the early-Warrior tier!]
'Nice!'
***
Lore Extract
"One could train as hard as they want and never increase their physical capabilities if they never reach the wyrd requirement. For instance, late-Mortal tier Strength cannot rank up to early-Warrior tier without accumulating at least 300 wyrd first. That's why reaching a wyrd threshold sometimes increases one's physical abilities, it looks instantaneous but behind this increase lies rigorous training."
—Diary of the Retired Warrior.