It was a scene of utter carnage…
Pierced Hunters lay on the ground, their blood slowly dripping into the nearby pond— And Gray had a front-row seat to it all!
Hunting the Rampaging Ursa? Nope, it was the one hunting!
7 Hunters having barely survived…
"ROAR!" The Ursa would remedy this! Before they could recover from the shock, it slammed its paws on the ground, Earth Spikes rushing at the Hunters!
"SPREAD OUT!"
It took them all their energy to barely evade!
Yet even then, 4 of them were hit head-on, their bodies… not taking any damage?
"Fuck, a feint, it's a goddamn feint! Caref—" Their leader had barely warned that a gigantic pit opened right under one of them! And just like that, there were six. H-How?!
Barely 10 seconds into the fight, it was already done.
They weren't just outmatched; they were utterly outclassed! The Ursa's cunning red eyes? To them, it was the shade of despair. Run? It would catch up! Fight? As if! They were screwed!
But amidst the despair, she shone.
Despair? So what? Sera's whole life had been despair! But this time, she felt something else blossom inside of her. Relief? Confidence? Burning spirit? Even she wasn't sure!
— BZZTTT! SLASH! —
Sera threw a bolt of black lightning at the monster's face!
Fear? Hesitation? None! As for the Ursa's tyrannic appearance? It somehow didn't look as tyrannic as it winced, rushing to shield its head in panic. Seeing this, Sera chuckled.
"All those flashy spells. That's quite the mana drain, isn't it?"
Only then did the Hunters finally come back to their senses. That had to be true! Even a Rampaging Ursa wouldn't be able to throw spells of that caliber nonstop!
But that's when they noticed something else. Their friends? They were all out of commission but weren't dead yet! That spell earlier had just been EXTREMELY showy!
"Ah?! It tried to terrify us into submission?!"
Yes, it bloody had! But now that it had failed, they finally had the opportunity to fight back. Yet, the Hunter leader couldn't help but shiver in dread and shame.
"Thank you. If it weren't for you, we'd all be…"
"Pfft— Thank my Teacher!"
Sera casually dropped that bomb, refused to elaborate, then rushed straight at the monster! At this moment, there was no doubt in her mind. She'd be fine because Teacher Gale was here!
He who had instantly seen through her soul.
He who hadn't feared her Curse at all.
He who had just saved her life!
He who still watched over her!
At this moment, she felt invincible! Her Teacher would have stopped her if he didn't believe she could take on this Rampaging Ursa, just like he had warned before!
She had never believed in herself, but none of it now mattered. She believed in Teacher Gale, who believed in her. It was time to prove to him that she was worthy of being his Disciple!
"Come here, little Ursa, I'll defeat you! Just you watch, Teacher!"
"S-She's insane! This girl is 100% crazy!"
The Hunters cursed, yet they rushed to join the assault! Her warmonger spirit was so goddamn contagious. KILL! KILL! KILL! They even found themselves taunting it!
"Come here, little bear! Let's give Teacher Gale a great show!"
"Yes, yes! Stop hiding behind that rock shield, little bear!"
"Hehehehe! Here comes the Bone Arrow, say ahhhh!"
What the actual fuck?! At this moment, two beings were losing their minds at the same exact time, Gray being the very first.
Were they all insane?! They had barely survived that first attack, and they were hurting for more?! Couldn't they just grab their wounded and RUN while the bear was distracted?
Yet he knew that suggesting they run would have been a horrendous mistake. He had seen how despondent they had been before. If they lost confidence now, they'd be doomed!
"Sigh. All I can do for them is cross my fingers and pray."
Gray couldn't help but sigh. By now, so many spells were flying that he could barely see anything, much less the creature's eyes behind its rock barrier.
Was it preparing a counterattack? He couldn't help but feel stressed…
Little did he know that if he was feeling stressed, the poor bear was having a goddamn panic attack! This was bad, REALLY bad! At first, everything had been smooth sailing…
Hunters lying in ambush? → It had instantly detected them!
Their very first assault? → It had crushed it along with their spirits!
Hunters with Crushed Spirits? → It would capture them and slowly eat them all!
But then all its plans were annihilated by that single crazy human girl—her unnatural dodge, her bravery, and most importantly, that teacher of hers!
The Rampaging Ursa had lived a long time in the Academy.
It knew about the beings akin to gods called Teachers!
That's also why it was now having a nervous breakdown. Win? Yes, but without hurting the Disciples! It shuddered in fear, not knowing the "OP Teacher" was shuddering even more!
In the Library Realm, Gray wasn't just cheering. He was downright screaming!
"C'mon. You guys got this! Keep at it. You just have to make it run!"
This fight was so damn nerve-rackingly EPIC! Spells flew all over:
Terrifying Black Lightning, Swift Arcane Missiles, Slowing Purple Orbs, Piercing Bone Arrows, Thorny Entangling Vines, and even a guy with Physical Enhancement Magic?!
They threw everything they had at the Beast, its rock armor slowly but surely crumbling. It kept fighting back, but at this rate it would be the humans' victory! At this rate—
— TREMBLE! TREMBLE! TREMBLE! —
Out of nowhere, Rock Spikes erupted out of the wounded Ursa… an ace?! Those spikes instantly covered the battlefield whole, nailing the hunters to the ground.
Ursa 1
Humans 0
Gray Gale… freaking out!
What the hell now?! Face it? He couldn't! Stay here, play dead, and escape later to get help? The students would long be dead! No, at this moment, he was Sera's only hope.
But what they needed wasn't useless him. No, they needed an EXPERT! Sighing, he exited the Library Realm, his entire aura… different?
On a certain sightseeing boulder…
"Ah! That sure was refreshing! Naps are the absolute best!"
Amidst the bloody battlefield, Gray's awakening stood out so much! Instantly, all eyes turned to him, a certain Ursa shivering. S-So close?! How had it failed to sense this guy?!
As for Gray, he glanced at the bloody battlefield with injured hunters lying all over. Seeing this, he actually… chuckled?!
"Pfft— You guys decided to nap too? Weren't you supposed to go on a Great hunt or something? Ah, don't tell me you all lost THAT badly? How embarrassing!"
On that note, he happily started walking toward them.
"…"
"…."
"…"
W-What was this?! Were they imagining this scene thanks to the blood loss? Even a Teacher wouldn't be that relaxed in the face of a Rampaging Ursa! Yet, he seemed on a stroll?!
Inwardly? Gray would have loved to "go buy milk forever" right about now! But outwardly, he looked confident, playful, and even entertained?! That's when it happened…
He subtly took something out of his Soul, keeping it hidden in his robes! As for what it was: Loaded Dice! → *PS: It feels EVIL!
The effect was instantaneous, the bear shaking and sweating so much it looked like a car wash brush! This EVIL aura, this guy was no joke! But before it could think logically…
"You know, I'm in a good mood, so I'll give you a choice. One, we call it a day and we can all be friends. Two, we fight to the death in an Earth-Shattering—"
One! One! One for sure!
The bear was already showing a single claw in a hurry! Fight? It didn't want to, not with this MONSTER! Said monster was now shrugging.
"That so? Guess no bear rug today…"
No bear rug. No bear rug. No bear rug. A certain Rampaging Ursa was shaking to its very core. It was still shaking when Gray approached it and started… petting it?!
"T-This is still a Rampaging Ursa, right?!"
"Why is it looking like a teddy bear?!"
"As expected of Teacher!"
As expected?! If that was expected, then what the hell would have been unexpected?! Yet, little did they know that Gray had pushed the posturing a little bit too far…
[Gloomy Headpats Activating!]