Chapter 55: The Girl Who Rode a Wolf

The bear raised its paws high, threatening to tear me apart.

But despite its menacing posture, I felt no tension.

I had already fought a Chimera disguised as a bear with metal arms.

I wasn’t about to be intimidated by a mere ordinary bear with no special abilities.

“Roar!!!”

Leaving Elena, who seemed tense from the bear’s sudden appearance, I stepped forward with my sword.

The bear was larger than I expected.

Perhaps it was influenced by the abundance of mana in this place.

Its eyes glowed red.

Saliva dripped from its sharp fangs.

But even seeing that, my heart remained calm.

Kill or be killed.

Accepting the simple law of nature, I channeled my mana.

Only after the mana drawn from my dantian enveloped my sword in the form of Aura did I raise it.

And.

“Roar!!!”

The moment the fearless bear charging towards me reached right in front of me.

I swung my Aura-imbued sword without hesitation.

Slice

“Groan!!”

One of the bear’s arms flew into the air, spraying red blood.

Watching it cry out in pain, I prepared for my next attack.

Due to using it for the first time in actual combat, my first strike was slightly off.

But this time, I wouldn’t miss.

I positioned myself to swing my sword again.

However, the bear, realizing its opponent was much stronger, quickly turned and fled into the forest.

Watching the bear disappear completely into the woods, I quietly withdrew my Aura.

I didn’t bother chasing the injured animal.

It was dangerous to chase after it in the late night.

And I knew what fate awaited an injured beast in the wild.

I stared at the hand that had just held the sword.

The sensation of cutting through the bear’s flesh still lingered in my palm.

The sword smoothly sliced through the flesh without any resistance.

And the vivid sensation transmitted through the sword was truly.

‘…Crazy.’

Fantastic.

The feeling of smoothly cutting through something like liquid.

Although visually gruesome.

There was a certain pleasure in the sensation felt through the sword.

Was this what Lycan referred to as the “feel” of Aura?

The stimulating pleasure was quite addictive.

Until now, I thought the intense impact of Lightning Strike, which created a tremendous explosive sound, was the most satisfying.

But this was a different kind of pleasure.

But clenching and unclenching my hand, I forced myself to erase the sensation from my mind.

A sword existed to harm.

It was a weapon that inflicted wounds and ultimately led to death.

So the pleasure I felt just now.

Was simply the feeling of tearing through someone’s flesh and blood.

To feel pleasure in such a thing.

I needed to keep my mind clear, especially in times like these.

I couldn’t be consumed by the sword.

I knew that was the most basic posture for a swordsman in combat.

Recalling the advice I received from Lycan during training, I lifted my head.

The bear appearing nearby meant we had entered its territory.

Then there was a high probability of its den being nearby.

Scanning the darkened surroundings, I spotted a cliff not far away.

Elena and I arrived at the cliff, illuminating the darkness.

There was a cave that looked like a bear’s den.

After carefully checking inside and confirming it was empty, I examined the interior closely.

Although it reeked of wild animals.

It was bearable.

And there was a way to deal with the stench.

“How about we stay here for a while?”

“I think that’s fine. It’s small, but it should block the wind.”

The cave wasn’t very large.

Just enough for three people to barely fit inside.

It was enough for the two of us to stay for one night.

I opened the subspace and took out the items inside.

“What are all these…?”

Magic papers imbued with various magic spells.

I had been making scrolls by imbuing magic papers with spells in preparation for emergencies.

I took out the scrolls necessary for the current situation.

Purification magic and Alarm magic.

These two were enough.

I tore the scroll containing purification magic and removed the stale air inside.

Now I could breathe.

With the stench gone, I felt refreshed.

Now, all I had to do was set up the alarm magic at the entrance.

After setting up the alarm magic to alert us of intruders, I returned to the cave.

I wrapped myself in a blanket I’d taken out of the subspace, and a warm sensation enveloped me.

Ah, this was it.

The cozy feeling made me drowsy.

This was adventure.

And this was romance.

As I was enjoying the comfort, Elena suddenly spoke to me.

“Hey, Louis….”

“What?”

“About what you said earlier.”

What did I say earlier?

Ah, right, I said I would go on an adventure later.

But why was she bringing it up again?

I quietly waited for Elena to speak.

“Do you think I could ever go on an adventure like that someday?”

She seemed inspired by what I said earlier.

“If you want to, you can.”

“But wouldn’t it be dangerous?”

“But that’s the romance of it, isn’t it?”

I knew it was dangerous.

We could encounter wild animals while camping in the forest like today.

And sometimes, we might face even greater dangers.

But that was what made it worthwhile.

The rewards obtained after overcoming all that would definitely be worth it.

As I was pondering about adventures.

Feeling Elena’s gaze on me, I turned to her.

“…….”

“…….”

Our eyes met, and an awkward silence filled the cave.

Elena’s eyes, gazing at me from close range, held complex emotions I couldn’t decipher.

Her blue eyes, reminiscent of the ocean.

And her shiny, bright hair.

A dizzyingly sweet scent tickled my nose.

Thump

Staring at her face for a moment, I felt a strange sensation and turned my back to her, wrapping myself in the blanket.

“…Good night, Louis.”

I didn’t answer. I just quietly pulled the blanket up to my mouth.

I closed my eyes, listening to the sound of Elena’s heartbeat from behind me.

As soon as morning came, I got up and headed to the river.

Only after washing my face with the cold water did my mind start to work properly.

Last night.

I tried to close my eyes, but I barely slept.

Elena’s breathing and the warmth from her back kept making me feel strange.

The events of last night clouded my mind, so I dunked my head in the cold river water.

“Phew!”

Now my mind was clear again.

‘Was I crazy?’

To have such thoughts about Elena.

Of course, there was no reason why I shouldn’t.

But as a fan who wished for her happiness, I felt a strange sense of guilt.

“You’re up early.”

Elena, wrapped in a blanket against the chilly morning air, walked towards me.

I rubbed my burning ears and averted my gaze.

“Here. Thank you for yesterday.”

As I accepted the blanket, which strangely carried her scent, a strange emotion stirred within me.

Shaking it off, I put the blanket away in the subspace, and Elena spoke to me.

“What should we do now? Should we continue waiting for rescue here?”

We just had to endure for three days.

But there was no need to stay here until then.

“No, let’s go back to the academy.”

“…How?”

There were various trials set up by Lumine in this place.

And students who passed those trials could return to the academy even before the three days were up.

Having read the comic, I knew what the trials were.

There were trials with difficult levels.

But there were also trials that weren’t so difficult.

After briefly explaining the situation to Elena, I suggested we go to where the World Tree was.

Reaching the high hill, a breathtaking view unfolded below.

Now this felt like a fantasy world.

Just as I was admiring the magnificent scenery.

“Look over there!”

At Elena’s urgent voice, I turned my gaze towards where she was pointing.

I quickly handed Elena my sword, and we prepared for the impending battle.

But as we were preparing, we were taken aback by the sight of someone riding the wolf at the front of the pack.

And the rider was none other than-

“…Lisa?”

“Guys!!!”

Lisa, with her pink hair fluttering, was riding a wolf.

She was running towards us.