The Mist Vol 1 Chapter 37

Vol 1 Chapter 37

"Grrrroar-!"

Whoever said bears were stupid, this one certainly didn't seem to fit that description. Not only were its attacks fast, but its strength was even greater, knocking down trees with each missed strike. It was clear that if Kapros took a direct hit, he would be logged out without even a chance to recover.

Gritting his teeth, Kapros looked back. Yu-wan also seemed to be under attack from the Night Bear, but compared to Kapros, who had been singled out as the main target, Yu-wan's situation was almost negligible.

Usually, monsters tried to kill the first human that entered their sight, but they would shift their target to a human who attacked first or more aggressively to draw their attention. Kapros had been using this to his advantage, first drawing the monsters' attention and then skillfully retreating while exposing Yu-wan to their sight. This time, however, he had been caught directly in the Night Bear's line of sight with no way out.

In truth, although he was struggling now, the Night Bear wasn't actually that strong. At least not compared to the boss monsters they had encountered during their previous party hunt. The only reason he was in such a predicament was simple.

'I'm deliberately not using magic right now...'

The contest between Yu-wan and Kapros was still ongoing. Using magic in this situation felt like it would instantly shatter the days they had spent tacitly acknowledging and enduring each other. He had thought he could hold out a bit longer...

At that moment, he saw the Night Bear's forepaw, claws extended, swinging down towards his head with a sound of air being torn. He barely managed to dodge by rolling, but he heard the sound of his shoulder being ripped as it was caught by the tip of the claw.

The wound, torn too quickly, remained deceptively intact for a few seconds, but soon after, as if in slow motion from a movie, it burst open and began to bleed. Fortunately, despite the bleeding, it didn't seem to be a severe wound as it didn't hinder his movement much.

Kapros opened his eyes wide, immediately got up, and jumped to avoid the next attack. He was still managing to dodge fairly well so far, but he already knew well that a mage's stamina had its limits, which would come quickly.

'What should I do...'

As he was racking his brain, thinking and rethinking what to do, a calm voice was heard amidst the rough breathing.

"...If you're worrying because of me."

For a moment, Kapros was startled by the human voice he hadn't heard in days, but he didn't look back.

It was the first voice he had heard in almost two weeks. With this, one of the unspoken rules between Yu-wan and Kapros was broken.

"I'll close my eyes, so pretend you didn't see and fight."

It was a slow but clear, serious voice. However, the absurdity of the voice and its content were separate matters.

Was he serious about telling Kapros to use magic while he closed his eyes, pretending not to see?

As he retreated, avoiding the charging Night Bear, Kapros slowly turned around. And he found Yu-wan standing in an attack stance with his sword, eyes truly closed. At that moment, something between a burst of laughter and an exasperated sound erupted from within Kapros.

"Huh... Haha."

Simultaneously, the hardest shell that had been coiled up inside Kapros's heart until the very end cracked.

"...I don't care whether you see or not."

As Kapros spoke with a voice that had shed one layer of wariness towards others, Yu-wan's expression changed slightly despite his closed eyes. Watching this, Kapros shouted loudly.

"Don't come crying to me later if you die because of me. Open your eyes and watch!"

Kapros thrust both his left and right swords, which he had been holding in both hands until then, into their scabbards, and conjured an image of intense lightning in his mind.

Sensing that something had changed in the situation, the Night Bear abandoned its previous composure and began to swing its claws with tremendous force, but by then, Kapros had already finished drawing the circle of promise.

"Kraaah!"

A chilling yet exhilarating tension of battle ran thrillingly down his spine. Glaring at the Night Bear's claws swinging down forcefully, Kapros pushed his right hand into the circle of promise and shouted without even measuring the formula world.

"With my light and burning lightning, turn even the soul into a handful of ashes!"

Crackle!

As the inside of the circle of promise transformed into a bright blue magic circle, intense lightning began to surge as if trying to escape through a narrow hole. Despite using magic for the first time in two weeks, it seemed even faster and more powerful than before, which made Kapros feel elated. By the time the Night Bear flinched in surprise, the final incantation was already complete.

"Lightning Bolt!"

A flash of light enveloped the Night Bear as if blinking for an instant.

And a moment later,

Boom boom!

Lightning struck down with enough force to split the Night Bear from head to toe, exploding in a bright blue with a tremendous sound. A long howl was heard amidst the explosion.

After the light faded, the Night Bear that appeared was completely blackened but still alive. It had just fallen into a stunned state, too shocked by the loud magical attack. Not missing the opportunity, Kapros shouted once more.

What he pictured in his mind were fiercely swirling hot flames.

"Fireball!"

Rapidly rotating Fireballs appeared around him with a whoosh, illuminating the night sky. Following Kapros's hand gestures, they immediately flew towards their target, the giant Night Bear, and began to pummel it mercilessly.

Pop pop pop pop pop!

"Kraaak!"

The Night Bear frantically tried to swat away the Fireballs, but magic didn't disappear just by being swatted. As various parts of its body began to open up from the impacts, the Night Bear seemed to fall into a panic state, stumbling around as if trying to escape.

'It's useless. You drew blood from my shoulder, so you must pay the price.'

"Fireball!"

Kapros continued to summon Fireballs, slowly herding the Night Bear into one spot like a machine spitting out baseballs. The Night Bear didn't give up and swung its claws wildly, but in a situation where it was being hit continuously by dozens of fireballs, such attacks were futile. It seemed almost laughable now that he had struggled against such an insignificant opponent just moments ago.