"Vier, wake up!"
"Gyahhh!... What?... What's happening?..."
"Pfft!... Hahaha!..."
"Sheesh!... Don't surprise me like that, Master Arenea!"
"But it's your fault you know? You can't sleep while managing the shop's counter."
"Ugh!... Sorry, I'm just tired because we're preparing for the Bronze Rank Exam."
"You are going to take that Bronze Rank Exam together with Felin, Rozze, and Mifumi, right?"
"Mhm! You're right, Master Arenea."
"Are you also forming an Adventurers Party with the three of them?"
"Felin, Mifumi-sama, and I will form an Adventures Party after we pass the Bronze Rank Exam. We also invited Rozze, but she declined because of her training as Mifumi-sama's retainer."
"I see. Then let me tell you something interesting, Vier."
"Mhm?... Something interesting?"
"You see, every Demi-Humans race has its natural predators. These predators were so well crafted that they can hide their presence from their prey and defend themselves from the Bloodline Magic of the race it's supposed to hunt."
"Is there really a monster like that?"
"Of course, there is. And since you will travel together with Felin, hopefully, you will encounter that monster one day."
"What do you mean hopefully? If that's true then we don't want to encounter it."
"What are you saying? It will be fu... I mean a good experience if you encounter that monster."
"You're just about to say fun. Right, Master Arenea?"
"Anyway, for Felin's race which is the Guardian Lightning Beast, their natural predator is a Rank 6 monster called Black Weretiger..."
"A Rank 6!... Then we don't want to encounter a strong monster like that!"
"Sheesh... Don't interrupt me, okay? I'm getting into the good part... This Black Weretiger Monster is a 3-meter-tall monster that has the appearance of a Wolf-like lower body, a Bear-like upper body, and a head with a wide mouth that can swallow an entire person. All of that is stuff inside a black tiger skin. That is why it was called Black Weretiger. It means something unknown wearing the skin of a black tiger."
"What kind of bizarre creature is that?"
"I understand how you feel, Vier. It makes you want to catch one and skin it off to see what's inside, right?"
"Ugh!... No, I don't want to do something disgusting like that... Anyway, if you're telling me about that monster, it means you know what we must do if we encounter that monster, right?"
"Huh? What do you mean, Vier?"
"Ehh?... Aren't you telling me this so we can survive if we encounter that monster?"
"Of course not! Pfft!... Hahaha!..."
"Then why did you tell me that, Master Arenea? What must we do to survive if we encounter that monster?"
"If you fortunately encounter that monster one day, then all you have to do is fight like an insect, Vier."
"What do you mean to fight like an insect? Why would I do that, Master Arenea?"
"Because you won't be able to run...
...Because Felin's Bloodline Magic is still weak so she won't be able to defeat that monster or even scratch off its skin...
...Because Mifumi's Magic won't be able to protect all of you, not at her current strength...
...So fight like an insect, Vier...
...Fight even though you're just like a small ant biting at a person's skin...
...Struggle no matter how many times it knocks you down, even if you're already inside of its mouth...
...And when you can't stand up anymore, crawl in the ground not to run away but to face that monster...
...Fight like an insect...
...Fight with everything you have...
...Fight until you have nothing left...
...Even if you're small...
...Even if you're weak...
...Even if you're nothing, like a prideful insect that can be killed with a slam of a hand....
...Show me how you struggle...
...Show me a fight worthy of being like an insect."
"Stop, Master Arenea, you're hurting me!"
"Huh? What do you mean, Vier?"
"Stop squeezing my left arm, Master Arenea. It hurts so much!"
"Huh? What do you mean, Vier?"
"Ehh?... But you're not even touching my arm. Why does it hurt so much?"
"Huh? What do you mean, Vier?"
"Ehh?... Why is my left arm broken?"
.
.
.
.
.
"...ARGHHHHH!!!..."
...Vier-chan!!...
Vier screamed in agony as the pain from her broken left arm brought her consciousness back from dreaming the day when her Master Arenea told her about the Black Weretiger Monster.
With the Black Weretiger Monster's sudden appearance, the Dwarf Cat-eared Elf and the Neo Heroes watch the horror of the monster eating a person in front of them.
"Gahhh!!!... You... Why are you hunting us?... You're supposed to sense the presence of that Beast-kin brat, right?... You're supposed to hunt and devour her!... Do your work and hunt her down!... Finish off the Black Elf brat already!"
Listening to the panic screams of the last remaining unknown Adventurer, the Dwarf Cat-eared Elf, and the Neo Heroes immediately understand one thing.
...That monster is after Felin and Mifumi...
Both group take their stance and ready their weapons to defend themselves from the Black Weretiger Monster.
But as soon as they make a move, the Black Weretiger Monster looks at them.
With a single look at Felin, the Black Weretiger Monster cast its Magic skill releasing a Dark Attribute blast towards Felin.
...RARWWW!!!...
"Fortress!..."
"Puro-III... Shield!..."
...BOOMMM!!!...
Felin trembles in fear as the Black Weretiger Monster looks at her.
Mifumi cast her Land Attribute Magic skill to protect their group. But as soon as the blast of Dark Attribute made contact with her Magic Barrier, Mifumi's Fortress skill broke.
That's why Vier jumped in front of her friends with a Shield at her hand that was given by her pet slime.
Luckily, Vier managed to survive from receiving an attack from a Rank 6 monster. Yet, Vier current situation is not that fortunate.
Vier's Shield, which is made from Aurichalcum, a Mana Steel, which is a mixture of Mithril, Gold, and Silver, got bent along with her left arm.
"Vier-chan! You need to remove your shield so we can heal your arm."
"Puro-III... Store the Shield... Arghh!!!..."
Vier couldn't pull her left arm from the handle of the bent Shield so she asked her pet slime to store it back to its Storage skill. But the moment the support holding her broken left arm disappeared, an intense pain came from the movement of her broken bones.
"Huff!... Huff!... How long have I passed out, Felin, Mifumi-sama? Where is that monster? What happened to the others?"
"Just a few minutes. Everyone is fighting that monster, Vier."
"Vier-chan! Your arm is not healing. Even after I poured a Heal Potion on it."
"What will we do Mifumi-sama?... Sob... sob..."
"I don't know, Felin-chan... Sob... sob..."
"Sheesh... You don't need to panic like that, Felin, Mifumi-sama..."
As Vier tries to console Felin and Mifumi, who are already crying at what happened to her, Vier feels like she is about to lose consciousness again. She feels numb. Even the pain from her broken left arm is starting to disappear. She loses her strength to move her body as her eyes close slowly.
"Vier-chan! Don't close your eyes!"
"Stay alive, Vier. Don't die!"
...shiver...shiver...
But before Vier fully lost consciousness, she felt some movement coming from her belt pouch.
It was her pet slime Puro-III.
Puro-III releases a Poison Resistance Potion and Dark Attribute Potion from its Storage skill.
"Mifumi-sama! Poru-III gave us something!"
Felin notices the Magic Potions that appear beside Vier, and when Mifumi sees both Magic Potions, she immediately realizes what they are for.
"That's right! There's probably something hindering Vier-chan's healing. Drink these Potions, Vier-chan! Then let's use the Heal Potion."
After making Vier drink the Poison Resistance Potion and Dark Attribute Potion, Mifumi once again poured a Heal Potion on Vier's broken left arm.
"...Arghh!!!..."
"What's wrong, Vier-chan?"
"Don't die, Vier!"
"I'm fine. The Magic Potions are starting to take effect. I'm even happy that I can feel the pain in my broken arm again... Hahaha!..."
"Don't laugh! You almost died, Vier-chan... Sob... Sob..."
"You're weird again, Vier... Sob... Sob..."
"Calm down, Felin, Mifumi-sama. Both of you need to leave this place."
"What are you saying? We won't leave you here. We won't abandon the Neo Heroes either! They're still fighting that monster to buy some time for you to recover."
"We will defeat that monster, Vier!"
"That's a monster we can't defeat, Felin. Even if we all work together, that monster will wipe out all of us."
"But that doesn't mean we need to sacrifice you and the Neo Heroes. We don't want to escape and run away like that."
"Mhm!... We'll fight and fall together, Vier."
"I'm not asking you to escape and run away, Mifumi-sama. I'm asking you to leave this place and prepare a trap to restrain that monster."
"What?"
"And we're gonna fight together but we're not gonna fall today, Felin."
"Mhm!..."
After saying those cool and dramatic lines, Vier gathers her strength to stand up.
Vier's body still hurts all over from the impact of receiving that Dark Attribute blast. Her broken bones had been mended but she still couldn't move her left arm.
Vier didn't have any Magic Item that could deal any damage to a Rank 6 monster, not even her Magic Item Shotgun and Revolver, and she was not even sure if she could buy enough time so Mifumi and Felin could finish making the trap.
But all of those things didn't cloud Vier's judgment of the things she needed to do.
She needs to face this monster. They can't run away anymore because this monster will just chase and hunt them one by one.
She needs to make sure that this monster won't come after Felin or Mifumi while they're making the trap. If they can't beat the Black Weretiger Monster then they just have to restrain it until help arrives.
She needs to make sure that none of them will fall in this fight. They're gonna fight with everything they have, with every strength they have left. They're gonna struggle so they can survive, even if she has to crawl into the ground.
"Go! Mifumi-sama, Felin. Just give us the signal when you're done preparing the trap!"
"No... We won't leave..."
"Let's go, Mifumi-sama. Will catch that monster using the trap."
"But... Fine!... But don't die, okay? Make sure you survive, Vier-chan!"
...ROARRRR!!!...
...CRUNCH...
...Karna!!!...
"Mifumi-sama, Felin. Go! Leave this place!"
...Mhm!!...
"You stupid monster! I said that I won't let anyone fall in this fight! So let go of Ms. Karna!"