Red Bear Extermination

Having been informed of the red bear's status, Mako let out a sigh.

"That's impossible. It's not something we can take down with traps or anything like that."

"Yeah, I thought so too."

The red bear possessed a racial blessing called Bristle Fur, and on top of that, its defense was so high that most weapons couldn't penetrate it.

As for magic, it also had considerable resistance to that. Since it lived in cold regions, it was weak to fire magic, but using that would ruin the valuable pelt.

Furthermore, it had the blessing of Herculean Strength. The reason it could take down ice dragons far larger than itself was apparently due to abilities like these.

Of course, it was only a monster that Sei, Mako, and Lavi could defeat instantly if they wanted to.

If they planned carefully, Laila's spirit arts might be able to defeat it too.

"How would you take it down, Sei?"

"Well, whether it's a fireball or whatever magic, or using the katana's gimmick, there are ways."

"Right, right. The level difference is just too big…"

The gap in base level between them and the three god-slayers was simply too vast. No matter how strong the opponent was, it was still just a monster.

"I'll use as many support and healing spells as I can to provide backup."

"Sure thing. Oh, Gantz, want to try fighting it? I think it's a good match for your level."

Gantz nodded silently. A battle between two beings with Herculean Strength would surely be spectacular.

Armed with crossbows and massive longbows, Seiji's party ventured into the forest.

Sei's group followed at a distance behind them, though Gantz alone was positioned slightly ahead.

Since they had already informed Seiji's party, he should be counted as part of their fighting force.

However, Seiji's plan called for dealing damage with ranged attacks.

They apparently hadn't considered blocking the red bear's attacks at close range. Even Sei wouldn't choose that option.

That said, Sei was considering engaging in close combat while dodging the enemy's attacks. With Kotetsu Kai's abilities, dealing damage to the opponent should be easy.

Seiji's party spread out.

According to the map, it was fifty meters to the red bear's den. That might seem like a decent distance, but considering the red bear's charging power, this was apparently the limit.

The cat beastkin serving as scout lit a bundle of smoke-producing branches on fire.

The plan was to throw this into the den and lure the red bear out.

"Hmm, I wonder if this will work…"

What worried Sei was the red bear's high intelligence.

Its intellect rivaled that of humans. Combined with its age and experience, it might see through the trap.

Anticipating an early engagement, Sei and Mako readied their weapons.

Right from the start, the plan changed.

Catching the scent of the smoldering branches, the red bear aggressively came outside.

The cat beastkin hastily retreated. Then Seiji rapid-fired his crossbow.

The bolts traced impossible trajectories, piercing both of the red bear's eyes.

"Alright, now the bows!"

With its sight stolen, the red bear had no means of counterattack. That's what one would normally think.

But the red bear had a highly developed sense of smell. It headed straight for the adventurer positioned upwind with perfect accuracy.

Gantz intervened. He tried to block the charge of the red bear—over five meters in length—with his shield.

Of course, this was a matter separate from raw strength; the overwhelming difference in mass sent Gantz flying.

Though Gantz crashed into the trees, he immediately got back up and charged at the red bear again.

The red bear, which should have been blind, swung its claws at Gantz with perfect accuracy. Gantz was sent flying again, but once more got right back up.

Meanwhile, the bow attacks continued, but they couldn't penetrate the red bear's defenses.

"Damn it! You monster!"

Seiji cursed, but continued his attacks on vital points. Yet none could break through the surface defenses.

"Try aiming for the inside of its mouth. That's definitely a weak point."

Sei had moved up beside Seiji and spoke. At this rate, Gantz's body wouldn't hold out.

"Inside its mouth, huh…"

Normally, that would be an impossible shot. But with his Unerring ability, he could make it.

However, he would need to finish it in one shot. Once attacked, the red bear would never open its mouth again.

"Alright."

What Seiji readied were two crossbows. Normally, the proper way to use them would be one at a time.

However, with his Gift that eliminated the need to aim, as long as he could just fire them, it would work out.

"Go!"

The bolts flew in curving arcs, piercing exactly where he aimed.

The red bear's head. From inside the mouth to the medulla oblongata.

Even so, the red bear remained standing for a while.

Whether monster or animal-type, there was always a vital point in the central nervous system.

Despite having that pierced, the red bear still stood.

"It's over."

Seiji released his tension when Sei patted him on the back.

"It's… over…?"

According to Sei's Identify, the red bear's life force was already at zero.

It was simply standing because it happened to be balanced.

They threw ropes around it and pulled it down, and the dismantling of the red bear began.

The delicious organs were eaten raw on the spot. Not worrying about parasites was the way of life for hunters in this region.

Bears were creatures whose entire body could be used as materials, and this was no different for monster bears.

The massive amount of meat and the pelt were stored in Sei's Folder, and the group triumphantly returned to town.

At the edge of the forest, they had the red bear taken out of the Folder and loaded onto a sled for their triumphant return.

Since the cat beastkin scout had gone ahead as a herald, curious townsfolk had gathered at the town entrance.

When the sled carrying the red bear's massive pelt appeared, cheers spread through the crowd.

Reading the atmosphere, Sei's group entered the town from a bit further away.

"Even with such a level difference, they can still win, huh."

Mako spoke with admiration, but defeating the red bear was entirely due to Seiji's Gift.

"Even with a huge body and Herculean Strength, that's all the monster amounts to. If it had been fighting a vampire, for example, it would have completely lost."

As Sei had thought before, level wasn't what determined strength in this world.

Certainly, level had meaning when comparing within the same race. But what mattered more was racial differences. As Ria had said, this gap was significant.

With divine dragons at the top, this pyramid existed.

(Come to think of it, she said humans asked her to create this system.)

With a somewhat unsettled feeling, Sei continued walking.

Seiji, being mobbed by the crowd, was the town's hero. But he was completely outclassed for fighting the evil gods.

"Well, I'm grateful he's willing to go back without a fuss."

That night at the celebration, Seiji announced to his companions.

That envoys had come from the country he thought he could never return to, and he could now go back.

Sei's group, who had been specially invited, received looks of mixed emotions, but everyone offered Seiji words of congratulation.

The next day, a carriage carrying Seiji departed the town.

Once the sendoff was out of sight, Sei took out the Return Stone.

"Ready?"

"Ready as I'll ever be."

The Return Stone touched his forehead, and Seiji vanished.

"Now then. Let's head back too."

Sei took out a Transfer Stone from his Folder. Come to think of it, this was his first time using it.

"We're going to the dwarven village, right…"

Laila gulped. Elves and dwarves weren't opposing races, but their lifestyles were vastly different.

"Well, I don't think we'll be there that long. There are still many more heroes we need to send back."

There was one being sheltered at the dwarven village, but even counting that person and Mako, they hadn't even reached half.

They would probably receive a bit more training from Ria and then set out again soon.

"Sei, you just said 'back,' didn't you?"

Mako said with a grin.

"Ah…"

Having spent what felt like several years there, that village had become Sei's second home.

"I'm scared of getting worked over by Master though…"

Sei's group exited the carriage and stored it in the Folder.

Then they gathered as close together as possible and prepared to activate the Transfer Stone.

"Is there no limit on how many people this can take?"

"I didn't ask… It should probably be fine though…"

Well, there was nothing to do but try. Sei touched the Transfer Stone and spoke aloud.

"Transfer."

The group had teleported to the plaza in the dwarven village.

Some people stared at them in shock, but most quickly looked away and went about their business.

They were probably used to it since Ria used teleportation.

The four horses had also safely transferred.

"Hmm, so this is the dwarven village. The air is polluted."

Laila naturally dissed the place, but Gantz didn't seem particularly offended.

"Well then, let's head to Master's place…"

Sei felt somewhat heavy-hearted. Even during the journey, he had been thoroughly made aware of his own inexperience. He probably still needed more training.

As they approached Ria's shop, it was somewhat noisy.

Peeking in from the entrance, there was Ria shouting loudly.

"Enough! You're too persistent!"

The demon she kicked went flying out of the shop. Despite that, it didn't seem to take much damage, as the demon quickly stood up and then dropped to its knees.

"Please! Please take me as your disciple!"

"I told you, right now I'm—oh, you're back."

"Uh, what exactly is going on here?"

The demon Sei was looking at appeared to be an orc, but something was different.

Normal orcs were… essentially pig beastkin. But this orc had bristle fur and large tusks.

"It's a high orc. Came saying he wants to be my disciple."

"Huh…"

Sei naturally used Identify, and the level was reasonably high. Perhaps due to its race, it excelled in strength and endurance.

"Why not just take him as a disciple?"

"I'm extremely busy right now. Dealing with the evil gods, handling the newly created races—I'm the hardest-working of all the divine dragons."

If what Ria said was true, the other divine dragons certainly wouldn't be doing anything.

As Sei had seen, if they got serious, the evil gods would be dealt with quickly.

And handling the heroes was being done by Sei, Ria's disciple. Ria's burden must be heavy.

But then Ria grinned.

"If you're going to say that, then let me test whether he's worth training as a disciple."

Her gaze was directed at Sei, and Sei was struck by an extremely bad premonition.

In the Divine Chamber of Time were the high orc, Sei, and Ria.

Gravity was increased by twenty percent, and atmospheric density was reduced by ten percent.

"First, let me show you how I train my disciples. Now, come at me like you used to."

Sei faced the defenseless Ria with her katana.

(Huh?)

She didn't feel the same pressure as before. She could see intentionally created openings in that defenseless stance.

Ignoring the intentional openings and staying still for now, Ria made the first move.

(Ah, yeah, still no good.)

She blocked two attacks using lethal intent detection. But the third attack shattered her skull.

Experiencing the sensation of death for the first time in a while, Sei thought, "Ah, I really am back."

Istria Arc - End