If the fire bear truly belonged to the species of brown bears, it was rather diminutive. Now lying on the ground, the fire bear measured about one point eight meters in length and weighed approximately three hundred pounds. Compared to an ordinary Asian black bear, it was slightly larger but still within typical parameters. However, when compared to an adult brown bear, which could grow to three meters in length and weigh over a thousand pounds, the fire bear seemed significantly smaller.
"Thus, could it be that this is merely a juvenile fire bear?" Richard mused aloud, his expression growing solemn as he recalled the fire bear's demonstration of flames that towered over half a meter high.
If this rather small creature could produce such high-temperature flames, what kind of power would a fully matured fire bear possess?
What could cause this bear to unleash such intense heat?
Richard crouched down again, scrutinizing the fire bear, yet he found neither any unusual organs nor special glands upon its skin. It appeared strikingly similar to any typical juvenile brown bear. Why it could combust without sustaining injuries completely eluded him. At least, without further dissection and investigation, he couldn't draw any conclusions.
With this troubling thought, Richard resolved not to waste any more time. He turned to Tuku and commanded, "Bring the corpse back; we'll continue at the castle."
"Understood." Tuku nodded, signaling several members of the guard team to firmly bind the fire bear with ropes and drag it behind two horses as they swiftly exited the forest, making their way toward the baronial castle.
As dusk approached, the ground was painted gold by the setting sun, the western clouds ablaze in crimson. A contingent of men rode into the dark castle of the baron, returning from their expedition.
Richard directed Tuku and a few others to lift the fire bear's carcass into the laboratory on the side tower of the castle and then turned to seek out the young maid, Lucy.
"Prepare a bath for me; I need to wash up. Additionally, gather a complete set of cutlery in the laboratory and fetch the distilled alcohol; I have need of it."
"Yes, sir." Lucy nodded obediently and hurried off.
Not long after, the kitchen had heated sufficient water under Lucy's instruction, and Richard began his bath.
Once he had bathed, donned clean, loose-fitting garments, and dried his hair, Richard entered the laboratory. There, Lucy had arranged a complete set of tools neatly upon a table along the wall and carefully placed the distilled alcohol in a designated spot. Her eyes wandered anxiously toward the center of the lab, where a sizable mass with reddish-brown fur lay sprawled across two tables.
"Sir… is that the fire bear?" she asked hesitantly.
"Indeed," Richard affirmed, not allowing Lucy the chance to voice further inquiries. "That will be all. You should wait outside."
"Ah?!" Lucy gawked in shock, her eyes wide as she cautiously queried, "Sir, did I do something wrong? Why don't you want my assistance? This hasn't been the case before."
"Because… the scene may become somewhat grisly, and I fear it would be too much for you to bear," Richard replied, then pointlessly waived toward the door. "Out you go."
"Well, alright…"
With her head drooping, the maid exited the room.
Richard took a deep breath, steeling himself for the preparations of the dissection ahead.
He tightened his sleeves and pant cuffs with fine linen cords, then sanitized his hands with alcohol.
After soaking the tools in alcohol, Richard held the implements as he approached the lifeless fire bear.
Resting one hand upon the bear's chest, he began to gauge the anatomy, eventually pressing down on a spot near its throat.
"Thud." A sharp dagger plunged swiftly from that location, slicing downward.
Sensing the resistance of the blade, Richard gradually increased his force. After switching between three different tools, he spent the better part of the afternoon methodically opening the fire bear's chest, exposing its internal workings to the light.
Upon discarding the tools and washing the blood from his hands, he began his careful examination.
"Magical creature? The fire bear? Since it can ignite flames across its body, it must possess some corresponding specialized physiological structure. But what could that be? A magical crystal core? A vital essence? Mutated organs?" Richard mumbled to himself as he compared the fire bear's insides with those of a typical brown bear from Earth, scrutinizing each detail.
After some time, Richard found himself feeling somewhat disheartened.
"Are there truly no differences? All the organs appear identical; nothing extra or lacking, all perfectly aligned with a standard bear's anatomy?"
Richard furrowed his brow.
"This cannot be! If there are no differences, how can its exterior ignite? How does the fur remain unscorched in the flames?"
Richard began to pace within the laboratory, and a spark of suspicion lit in his eyes as he directed his gaze toward the fire bear's fur.
"Whoosh!"
He seized a knife once more, selecting a portion of flesh from the bear's chest and forcefully slicing it away, ultimately obtaining a piece roughly the size of a palm.
Walking to the wall, Richard poured some of the stored alcohol into a ceramic bowl and ignited it. As the orange flames leaped upward, he tossed the palm-sized piece of bear flesh into the fire, squinting thoughtfully as he observed its response.
The flames danced, steadily consuming the alcohol while the fire bear's flesh remained unscathed.
"The temperature of an alcohol lamp ranges between four hundred to six hundred degrees Celsius, yet this flesh does not char. This suggests that even away from the body, the flesh can easily withstand temperatures beyond what a common person can endure. Thus…"
Richard examined the ceramic bowl closely and saw that once the alcohol had burned away completely, the flames did not extinguish. Instead, they clung to the surface of the fire bear's flesh, continuing to burn. The fire's hue brightened further, shifting from orange to a vivid red, finally evolving into a brilliant yellow.
Experiencing the heat radiating from the flames, Richard estimated that the temperature must now be at least one thousand three hundred degrees.
"Thus, the secret lies within the fire bear's flesh?" Richard's eyes shimmered, and his mind raced as he tried to form a logical explanation. "There may exist an unknown substance within the bear's flesh, something akin to fat or alcohol, that can ignite and release high heat. Moreover, this substance evaporates during combustion, carrying off immense amounts of heat and safeguarding the fur from scorching."
"If the fire bear is considered a 'magical creature,' this unknown substance surely plays a pivotal role, does it not? If I can refine it, could it serve as a form of magical essence? Might it even provide magical energy?" Richard's enthusiasm grew.
Without a moment's hesitation, he set to work.
Using his knife, he cut away swathes of the fire bear's flesh, placing them into a pot filled with water to boil.
At this stage, he had yet to determine precisely where within the flesh the so-called "magical substance" resided, but he could only employ this rudimentary method to extract it.
The water in the pot quickly reached a boil, evaporating steadily while the oils from the bear's flesh began to seep out, forming a deep red layer at the bottom of the pot, reminiscent of coagulated plasma.
Richard remained undeterred, continuing to boil away. Once all the water had evaporated, he discarded the withered flesh and extracted roughly a pound of deep red oil.