Water Magician

Editor: Tseirp

Nobody uttered a word.

Only the sound of the Red Bear’s footsteps approaching could be heard.

The Red Bear then stopped at a distance of about 25 meters from them.

It was about two and a half to three meters in height.

Since it was on its four legs, it was difficult to tell precisely.

The height of the Greater Bear, a higher species of Bear, is said to be about three and a half meters.

It appeared to be slightly smaller than that.

But more than anything else, what stood out was its body color.

Bright red.

So red that it looked like a cardinal red or red pepper.

So imagine that on a bear… anyone would be dumbfounded.

“GOOOAAAAAAAHHH!”

The Red Bear roared.

And not just an ordinary roar.

Harold and Gowan fell to their knees.

It was a roar filled with magic power that struck the minds of those who hear it.

“Harold! Gowan!”

Niels yelled heatedly.

With that, Harold and Gowan came to their senses.

But the Red Bear wasn’t dawdling either.

It unleashed a series of fireballs.

“<Ice Wall 10-Layer> <Ice Wall 10-Layer>…”

Ice walls were being created in succession.

Two shots of the Red Bear’s fireballs broke through the <Ice Wall 10-Layer>.

If so…

“I’d just beat it by generating more!”

In total, ten fireballs were released, but five ice walls held them off.

Ryo had noticed.

All the fireballs were aimed at the group’s faces.

The Red Bear probably intended to blow them up from the neck up and leave their bodies as food.

To begin with, fire-attribute magic is ill-suited for hunting.

Too much firepower would scorch the flesh, or even blast it apart altogether, rendering any spoils useless…

Salamanders, known as monsters that use fire-attribute magic, may defeat their enemies with fire-attribute magic, but that is because they do not eat the target of their attacks in the first place.

The salamander’s staple food is lava…

It is not exactly herbivorous… but at least it is not carnivorous.

However, the Red Bear in front of them seemed to be carnivorous… even though it is a monster that uses fire-attribute magic…

Using fire-attribute offensive magic in the forest is difficult in many ways.

Since there’s a possibility of the fire spreading to the trees and causing a fire.

Even though the area is rocky and mountainous, it’s not entirely devoid of trees.

Does the monster even take that into account…

Ten fireballs were unleashed again, which were again fended off by five ice walls.

After assessing the number, Niels made a judgment call.

“Okay, once the next ten fireballs are unleashed, Amon and I will charge in.”

“Got it!”

Amon replied to Niels’ instruction.

Ryo acted as the ‘shield’ to block the opponent’s attack, while Niels and Amon attacked the opponent as the ‘swords’.

That is a very classic method of counter-attacking as a party.

If this were the old ‘Crimson Sword’, Warren, the shield-bearer, would receive the attacks, and Abel, the swordsman, would attack the enemy at the same time.

Ryo had anticipated this, so instead of using <Laminated Ice Wall>, he was holding off the attacks by continuously generating ice walls.

If it were to see through the counterattack, charging in too hastily may narrow down their options…

And then.

Came the Red Bear’s third fireball attack.

“<Ice Wall 10-Layer> <Ice Wall 10-Layer> <Ice Wall 10-Layer> <Ice Wall 10-Layer> <Ice Wall 10-Layer>…”

Ryo staved it off with a series of <Ice Wall>.

At the same time as the tenth fireball flew in, Niels and Amon each jumped out from both ends of the <Ice Wall>.

Then they ran toward the Red Bear simultaneously.

But…

The Red Bear generated and unleashed fireballs again!

It wasn’t limited to just ten shots at once.

“Sure enough.”

But Niels muttered and slashed the fireballs that came toward him with his sword.

Amon, too, slashed at the fireballs coming his way with his sword.

As expected of B-rank swordsmen.

The Red Bear was already close at hand.

Finally, Niels and Amon simultaneously closed in on the Red Bear from both sides and swung their swords…

And struck air.

Both of them.

Whether it was a trait of having four legs, or what other reason…

The Red Bear backstepped and dodged, faster than Niels and Amon could blink…

A bear capable of dodging two B-rank swordsmen’s deadly sword strikes…

It then instantly unleashed two more fireballs.

Creak. Creak.

They hit the newly generated ice walls in front of Niels and Amon and were deflected.

The <Ice Wall 10-Layer> generated by Ryo.

Niels and Amon kept their swords at the ready without letting their guards down.

The distance between them and the Red Bear, which leaped far back, was about 10 meters.

Though neither of them could move hastily…

The Red Bear was backing away, little by little, really little by little, on all four legs.

Niels and Amon glanced at each other, darting glances, just for a moment.

That was all it took for them to understand each other.

The point was not to hunt the Red Bear.

The goal was not to defeat the Red Bear.

If so…

The Red Bear, which had been slowly backing away, turned around and started running all of a sudden after putting a distance of about fifteen meters between them.

The Red Bear ran away.

When they had completely lost the sound of its footsteps, Niels and Amon joined Ryo and the others.

“We somehow drove it away, but… what was that all about?”

Niels asked the group.

But no one there could give a clear answer to that question.

“I was actually taken aback at the fact that it was a Red Bear, but even more so that it uses fire-attribute offensive magic. I’ve never heard of such a bear monster.”

Even Etho, who boasts himself as the brains of Room 10, was clueless about the monster.

“At least, once it realized that it couldn’t beat us, it ran away… so I guess it’s a creature with common sense and good judgment.”

Harold and Gowan nodded to Zeke’s words.

Yes, wild creatures, unless they’re absolutely confident, will run away once they realize they’re at a disadvantage.

The only ones who don’t run away… are perhaps foolish humans.

“In other words, the Red Bear just now knows defeat. And it has probably experienced it before. Its tactical retreat back there was brilliant. Meaning that something in these mountains made that Red Bear experience the bitter taste of defeat.”

Ryo’s words left the group wide-eyed and speechless.

“Whatever that thing is… I never want to run into it…”

Everyone, including Ryo, nodded in agreement to Niels’ words.

“Experiencing the agony of defeat makes you stronger… So, Niels, you should try experiencing defeat too… ah, then again I guess you’re not new to experiencing defeat, uh.”

“Screw you. There are a lot of guys who are way stronger than me! I know that much! Maybe you should be the one to experience that bitter taste of defeat, rather than me, don’t you think, Ryo? You hardly know what it feels like, anyway?”

Ryo made a joke, to which Niels responded in kind.

In either case, they’re both joking?

Since they’re close, right?

If such an exchange was carried out between strangers, it would surely lead to a fight, right?

“Allow me to enlighten you then, Niels, since you’re clearly ignorant, that I’ve experienced defeat every day. Even in the Rondo Duchy, I get struck down with a sword every single day, and to begin with, I am the weakest creature in that place.”

What Ryo had in mind was his days in Rune City, where he had been defeated in mock battles with Sera.

And the days when he was beaten by Dullahan, his sword master, in the marshland of the Rondo Forest.

And then there are the Behemoths, Griffons, and Dragons that live in the Rondo Duchy….

Although they hadn’t defeated him, they are existences he wouldn’t dream of getting into a fight with.

Without any doubt, Ryo is the weakest…

The six were surprised by Ryo’s words.

“Who do you expect to believe that you’re the weakest?”

Niels said with a look that seemed to say it was his usual lie anyway.

“Niels… Someday, when you visit my territory, I’ll show you… ah, but there’s a chance you might end up being a snack… Since you have a lot of meat on you. And if my neighbors try to eat you, I can’t prevent them from doing so. As I said, they are all stronger than me.”

“Ryo… you’re a lord, right…?”

“Yeah, that’s right. But I only call myself, ‘a lord!’ when among humans… it has absolutely nothing to do with my neighbors, just so you know? Since I’m the only human in the Rondo Duchy, to begin with.”

In response to Niels’ words, Ryo stated the facts.

“What in the world is this Rondo Duchy…?”

Harold, the future duke, muttered something that did not reach Ryo’s ears.

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