The Roaring Crescent Moon Bear (2)

The three people assigned to fight the monster called ‘The Roaring Crescent Moon Bear’ that was scheduled-or rather, might possibly-appear in the western part of the forest were me, Ethan, and Karaham.

To be honest, it was a somewhat precarious battle. The Roaring Crescent Moon Bear was roughly estimated to be around level 35, while my level was still only 22.

I couldn’t accurately estimate Ethan and Karaham’s levels, but since they were in the same academy year as me, they were probably around the same level.

Normally, I should have felt a sense of danger, but honestly, I didn’t feel particularly scared. As I mentioned before, this battle had almost no chance of happening.

In this event, the monster that would attack the northern altar was almost certainly the ‘Moonlight Wolves.’ If this were a game, the probability would be as high as 99%.

‘Because the higher the party’s combat power, the more likely the Moonlight Wolves would appear as enemies in the north.’

And the level of the party members gathered in the Witch’s Forest right now was truly exceptional.

Three Sword Experts: Gyeotmwa Josyegigot, Ethan, and Sir Colt.

Two Awakened Saints: Celista and me, each awakened through our own circumstances.

A swordsman on the verge of breaking through the Sword Expert barrier: Karaham.

Seraphine, known as the Moon Shadow Princess.

A prospective shrine maiden and elven archer: Silena.

The future master of the Crimson Magic Tower, the fire mage Agnes.

As for Antonio… well, he was just decently usable.

Even in the game, gathering this level of combat power was impossible. You’d probably need to use cheats with some mods to barely manage it.

Especially the most absurd part was having three Sword Experts and two Saints. In the original work, the first companion to bloom into a Sword Expert, Natalie, only does so around the middle of Part 3, and both Celista and I were characters who only awakened in the latter half of Part 4.

In this situation, it made no sense for the Moonlight Wolves not to appear and for the Crescent Moon Bear to show up instead. If this were a game, the Crescent Moon Bear appearing would practically be a bug.

Of course, this world wasn’t a perfect game but rather something in between a game and reality. Still, the most important thing was that the main events of 『Luminor Academy』 proceeded almost identically to the original.

So, it was only natural that I felt a bit relaxed.

After all, the monsters that would appear were just a pair of Moonlight Wolves. Even if, by some chance, the Crescent Moon Bear appeared, the three of us only needed to hold out for 2-3 minutes before Gyeotmwa Josyegigot’s party, alerted by the commotion, would come to our aid.

Of course, if no monster appeared on our side, we would then go to assist in subjugating the Moonlight Wolves.

…That was the perfect plan.

“Ethan! Lightning from the left! Don’t block it with your sword! And Prince Karaham! Swing from the left!”

“Lilith! It’s dangerous to step forward like that!!”

In the final event of the Witch’s Forest, me, Ethan, and Karaham found ourselves in a life-or-death battle.

…How on earth did it come to this?

⁎ ⁎ ⁎

“Haha! It seems we’ll be crossing swords again, Prince Ethan. And Miss Lilith.”

During the final part of the ‘Lara’s Secret’ episode, while moving to the western part of the forest to defend the altar, Karaham casually struck up a conversation.

“Be precise with your words, Prince Karaham. Our task isn’t to cross swords among ourselves but to eliminate any potential threats that might appear in the west.”

“I know. If a monster appears that could interfere with my sister’s trial, of course I can’t just stand by.”

Karaham stood about 30-40 centimeters taller than Ethan and carried a massive greatsword that matched his imposing stature. Seeing him like this, I truly felt the weight of his role as the mid-boss of Part 3.

Of course, in terms of skill and ability, Ethan, the mid-boss of Part 2, was slightly more formidable. But the sheer intimidation Karaham exuded just by being himself was hard to ignore.

“The Hero mentioned that the Crescent Moon Bear is a massive bear-like monster! It’s been a while since I’ve had a chance to swing my sword against something that big. I’m not used to fighting humans, haha!”

“…I have to agree that your sword is definitely not meant for human opponents.”

“Prince Karaham’s sword is merciless in every sense. During the last evaluation duel, I heard he cleanly bisected his opponent…”

“Haha! It’s nothing special! It’s just following Professor Harold’s teachings-since my sword is slow, I think about where my opponent will move before swinging! After that, with overwhelming strength, cutting down one person or ten is child’s play!”

“……”

“……”

…It wasn’t meant as praise but rather a roundabout way of telling him to tone down his excessive strength. But his brain-muscle way of thinking twisted it into something else, leaving both Ethan and me speechless.

Having already bisected-no, cleaved-two opponents during evaluation matches, Karaham had earned the top spot in the swordsmanship department’s “Most Unwanted Duel Opponent” rankings for all the wrong reasons.

Even with death-prevention magic in place during duels, the sensation and terror of near-death weren’t something one could easily recover from. Some even said they’d rather face the Hero or Ethan than Karaham during training.

I could somewhat relate to that feeling, having faced Karaham a few times in our shared magic swordsmanship class. The strongest emotion I felt when crossing swords with that muscle-bound giant was sheer helplessness.

His sword was so absurdly large that my dagger, barely the size of my fist, couldn’t possibly parry it. His body was also disgustingly tough, making it feel like I was fighting a knight clad in iron plate armor.

Ranked fourth in the swordsmanship department but undeniably the most feared opponent. A living embodiment of terror.

It was a blessing that his future as the mid-boss of Part 3 had been averted. Of course, even if it hadn’t, I wouldn’t have been the one fighting him-the Hero would have.

“…Hey, Prince Karaham.”

“What is it, Prince Ethan?”

“It just occurred to me, but can you really swing that enormous sword properly in this narrow forest? It seems like you’d end up reshaping the terrain with every swing.”

Though it was somewhat rude for Ethan to comment on someone else’s weapon, I couldn’t help but share the same concern.

Swinging such a massive sword in this densely wooded forest would likely cleave through five or six trees with every motion, making it hard to tell whether he was a swordsman or a lumberjack.

“Haha, no need to worry about that, Prince Ethan!”

“…Huh?”

“Ah, there’s a young tree over there-perfect for a demonstration!”

With those words, Karaham suddenly drew the sword from his back and swung it in a wide arc.

From the way he swung, it looked like the blade would inevitably cut down several large trees in its path. But what happened next was enough to shock both me and Ethan.

-Crunch!

“Wow…”

“…Hmm.”

Karaham’s sword didn’t touch any of the trees it should have cut down. Instead, it cleanly sliced through a single young tree behind him-one the blade hadn’t even touched.

No matter how I looked at it, this was a physically impossible technique. Both Ethan and I couldn’t help but gasp in amazement.

“…How did you do that? I couldn’t see it at all.”

“Haha, it’s a secret sword technique of the August Family. Our northern swordsmanship has always used greatswords for blunt techniques, so distinguishing what to cut and what not to cut is also part of the duty of those who inherit the August sword!”

“…That’s incredible. The secret sword technique of the August Family.”

“Of course, I rarely use it because it takes away the thrill of cutting! A sword’s true joy lies in swinging it with all your might! The sound of steel cleaving through monsters in one strike-that’s real swordsmanship, ahaha!”

As we walked, marveling at Karaham’s quintessential northern demeanor, we soon arrived at the expected spawn point of the ‘Roaring Crescent Moon Bear.’

If we waited here, the bear would likely appear within an hour or two and head toward the altar. Our role was to hold it off for as long as possible.

“I’m not sure if that Crescent Moon Bear will actually appear, but I can feel my heart racing! I wonder how it compares to the brown bears of the north!”

“…As the Hero already mentioned, our safety is the top priority. There’s no need for us to push ourselves to defeat it-just buy time until the Hero and the others arrive to support us. Once our safety is guaranteed, we can all subdue it together.”

“Haha, but that’s only if the Hero arrives in time, right? There’s no harm if we defeat it before he gets here!”

“…Did you not hear what Lilith just said, Prince Karaham? Prioritize safety above all else. And remember, if you act recklessly, the one most at risk is your sister.”

“…Of course, I know that, haha!”

…That was an unsettlingly unreliable answer.

Brain-muscle characters like him were unpredictable, which made them even more dangerous. The only hope was that, since this battle involved his sister, he might exercise some restraint.

All I could do was desperately hope he wouldn’t do anything rash, like demanding a one-on-one fight, and create a gap in our defense.