Roaring Crescent Moon Bear (3)

To state the outcome, the last day of the Witch’s Test, which I thought would pass without any particular crisis, ultimately led to a tense battle where three of us had to take down a single Crescent Moon Bear.

Even though we had been in a standoff for over 5 minutes, let alone the originally expected 3 minutes, there was no sign of Gyeotmwa Jyosyegigot coming to support us.

“Ethan, another electric shock! This time it’s going to fall to the right!”

“Got it!”

“Prince Karaham! I can’t block this Howling for you, so please evade it yourself!”

“Understood, Lillith-yang!”

Two swordsmen faced off against a 5-meter bear that appeared with a lightning rod-like horn on its head. As I continued the battle, assisting the two of them with all sorts of support magic, my mind filled with resentment towards the Hero, who showed no sign of arriving.

‘When the hell is this bastard Gyeotmwa going to arrive?!’

He had clearly said he’d fly over within 3 minutes if I sent a danger signal, yet he was still leaving the battle to the three of us, and curses erupted in my mind towards him.

Even if it was a party that included a Sword Expert, a (True) Sword Expert, and a Saint, there was no way just three people could handle a monster whose level difference was more than 10.

Normally, in such hunting events, I had a personal wish for no other personnel to intervene, but this time was different.

In the current situation, the only magic that could finish off the monster was Mana Blast, but I was in no condition to use Mana Blast right now.

-Crackle!

“Block ittt!”

-Thwack!

Because my role was to continuously block the electric attacks coming from the horn on the head of that mutated Crescent Moon Bear, which were flying towards Ethan and Karaham.

It was an attack with a certain cooldown and a visible trajectory, so as long as I stayed focused, there was no way I couldn’t block it. However, conversely, if I let my guard down, it was an attack that would definitely put us in danger.

Especially Ethan and Karaham in the vanguard were already dodging the Crescent Moon Bear’s physical attacks while swinging their swords through the forest. Dodging that electric attack on top of that wouldn’t be easy for them either.

And laying down a pre-set Arcane Shield wouldn’t lead to proper defense, so I had no choice but to give up on Mana Blast, which required long periods of concentration, and simply focus on generating Arcane Shields.

I endured, thinking that once Gyeotmwa Jyosyegigot and Celista arrived, I would have options, whether to chant Mana Blast or do something else. However, that plan had gone awry, and a sense of crisis was slowly approaching even in this way of enduring.

-Clang!

“Ugh!”

“Ethan!!”

Ethan, unable to completely dodge the Crescent Moon Bear’s swing, was struck by the residual force at its edge and sent flying.

Though he belatedly blocked with the sword in his right hand, somewhat reducing the impact, his posture instantly collapsed, and naturally, the mutated Crescent Moon Bear wasn’t one to miss that opportunity.

‘Grrrroooowl!!’

-Whoosh!

“It’s dangerous!!”

Simply blocking the vision with Blurred Light wasn’t enough to stop the Crescent Moon Bear’s already swung attack.

Judging that blocking it with an Arcane Shield was utterly insufficient, and that disrupting its trajectory with a Shockwave or Energy Bolt was also impossible, I hastily used the same magic I had used in the previous Evaluation Match towards Ethan.

“Bind him!”

-Clank!!

“Cough?!”

Mana Chains instantly flew towards Ethan, gripping his waist, and I was able to pull his precariously flying body towards me.

I felt a bit sorry for pulling him too quickly and not being able to properly distribute the impact, but….

“Gasp, cough, choke….”

“I’m sorry, Ethan! It was an emergency….”

“Ah, I know…. Th-thanks for saving me, Lillith….”

Ethan, despite making a slightly pained expression, thanked me and returned to the battle.

After about 10 minutes of continuing only to dodge and deflect attacks, I slowly began to grasp the situation.

That the Hero’s party, somewhere in the northern forest, was already unable to come. They probably couldn’t move to the west of the forest due to an unforeseen variable.

‘For example, a ‘simultaneous event’.’

If they had encountered Moonlight Wolves, just as we had encountered the Crescent Moon Bear, then it was highly likely they were currently engaged in battle and unable to provide support.

The simultaneous appearance of monsters was a phenomenon I had never seen in the original game, but it was entirely possible in this world.

Unlike simple computer coding where ‘if A is generated, B is not generated,’ in this world, both Moonlight Wolves and Crescent Moon Bears were truly living, breathing beings.

Therefore, perhaps a future where only one of them appeared never existed from the start.

‘Awoooooo!’

‘……Just as I thought.’

Hearing the faint sound of howling from a distance, I was certain. Gyeotmwa Jyosyegigot was also currently engaged in battle and in no position to support us.

That meant we ultimately had to resolve it ourselves. Three characters, estimated to be around level 20, against a level 35 named monster.

“Ethan! Prince Karaham! Change of plans!”

“Huh?!”

“What is it?!”

“The plan has changed to the three of us taking care of the ‘Roaring Crescent Moon Bear’! I don’t know what’s happening, but it seems the Hero-nim’s side is also very busy right now!”

Ethan and Karaham seemed to have already noticed that the situation was not going well, so they didn’t question the change in plans and nodded.

“Understood, Lillith-yang!”

“Do you have a plan?!”

“I’ve had a plan ready from the start! Though I really didn’t want to use it!!”

I preferred to be safe rather than take the risk of a life-threatening battle. Since I couldn’t have that safe battle, well, I had no other choice.

The first thing I did to prepare for battle was to use my Skill Points to acquire a skill necessary for this fight.

『Remaining Skill Points: 16 → 1』

『New Skill: Spirit Awakening』

A secondary support magic that increases all stats by 1.5 times and the power of all magic and skills by 1.5 times for a certain period.

It was a skill that consumed 15 Skill Points, so I had hesitated to acquire it, but now was no longer the time to be complacent.

Because if I died saving points even in this situation, I wouldn’t be assigned a better spot in the afterlife.

“First, I’ll cast ‘Sharp Blade’ on both of you again! With your current swords, just wounding that monster is…!”

‘Grrrroooowl…!!’

“Kyaaaah?!”

“Lillith!!”

As soon as the flow of magic changed with the use of Spirit Awakening, the Crescent Moon Bear suddenly ignored the two of them and charged at me.

Startled by its roar, I hastily used Shockwave to lift my body into the air. Because I had no means to deal with that 5-meter mass charging at me.

In the past, I would have suffered greatly after leaping so high with no means to land, but fortunately, I now had another support assistant to help me with my mid-air landing.

“Sei!!”

‘…Yes.’

The Wind Spirit, upon hearing my call, immediately created a small vortex beneath my falling body to slow my descent.

Carefully, the thought crossed my mind that perhaps Sei, the mid-level spirit, was more useful than Sally, the high-level spirit, these days, as I approached Ethan and landed softly.

“I’ll be brief, Ethan, since we’re in a hurry.”

“Okay.”

“Once I cast enhancement magic on you again, immediately pursue the monster, Ethan. There will probably be an opening at some point, so if you stab its eyes at the right moment, you should be able to inflict a fatal wound.”

“…What about Lillith?”

“As for me… I’ll do what I have to do.”

I didn’t explicitly say what I would do, feeling that Ethan might unnecessarily mess up the plan out of concern for me.

To be honest, it was a gamble, and I didn’t want to do it, but in the current situation, there truly was no other option.

“…Sharper, and more precise.”

After casting an even more enhanced support magic on Ethan’s twin swords, I once again launched myself into the air with a Shockwave-assisted leap, and this time, I flew towards Karaham on the opposite side.

Similarly, I applied an additional buff with enhanced support magic. I also didn’t forget to tell him to aim for a more definite vital spot, as his sword was heavier and larger than Ethan’s.

“If you aim for the Crescent Moon Bear’s heart in the next attack, you’ll definitely be able to pierce it. However, you only get one chance, so use it carefully.”

“Understood, Lillith-yang.”

‘Grrrroooowl!!’

The Crescent Moon Bear still chasing me, swinging its dangerous front paws and destroying the forest. Ethan pursuing it, aiming for that one chance that would somehow appear. And Karaham, preparing his greatsword for a single fatal blow, just as I advised.

All preparations were complete. Now, only one decisive blow was needed.

‘Iaido Slash. Arcane Blade. Magic Enhancement. Arcane Shield. Sharp Blade. Shockwave.’

With a one-shot composite magic, layered with all sorts of spells, loaded in my hand, I put as much distance as possible between myself and the Crescent Moon Bear, then drew the monster’s attention with the most provocative expression I could muster.

“You fucking bastard bear!!!”

‘Grrrroooar?!’

“Ah, I thought you were talking about me….”

…The aggro of someone I didn’t particularly want to attract was also drawn, but I simply ignored it.

Though it couldn’t compare to the number of Moonlight Wolves I had caught, the Roaring Crescent Moon Bear was also a monster I had hunted at least three or four times in my previous life.

I had never faced it with such a disadvantaged party, but at least with the knowledge from my previous life, ‘pattern manipulation’ was somewhat possible.

If I provoked it from this distance, the returning attack was fixed to be the electric magic from that lightning rod-like horn.

‘Grrrroooowl!!’

-Crackle-crackle-crackle!!

A mass of energy instantly flew towards me, cutting between Ethan and Karaham.

There was only one chance. If I failed, it would not only mean defeat but also a situation where it would be difficult to guarantee my own life.

However, if I succeeded, the three of us could share the experience points from that level 35 monster, so it was a gamble worth taking.

-Crackle-crackle-crackle-crackle!!

I wrapped ‘Iaido Slash’ around ‘Arcane Blade,’ a sword specialized in receiving elemental attacks, to increase its attack power, and blocked the electric magic with an ‘Arcane Shield’ imbued with ‘Magic Enhancement’.

And ‘Sharp Blade,’ cast on that shield, reflected the electric magic that flew towards me instead of absorbing it, while simultaneously, ‘Shockwave’ sent that attack straight back in the direction it came from.

‘Grrr…?’

By the time the monster sensed something was wrong, my attack had already flown towards it, and the creature, whose only usable magic was that electric discharge, had no means of defense.

-Crackle-crackle-crackle-crackle!!

‘Grrrrooooooowl…!!’

The bear-thing screamed from the shock after receiving its own electric attack head-on.

It was a temporary shock, but enough to seal its movements for a moment, and in that opening, the two swordsmen who had received my buffs each stabbed the Crescent Moon Bear’s two eyes and its heart.

-Thud!!

-Splat!!

‘Grrrrooooowl…!!’

The named ‘Roaring Crescent Moon Bear’ instantly met its demise from the attacks it received while its body was momentarily paralyzed.

It was the moment the battle in the western part of the Witch’s Forest Altar was somehow brought to an end.