Pain is proof that we are bound to existence — A reminder that to feel is to suffer, and to suffer is to live.
And for ?
To live, apparently, is to get chased by three pissed-off, dinner-deprived bears.
Not taphorically. Unfortunately.
They were real. They were fast. And they looked pissed at .
All because I made the tragic mistake of existing slightly near them while Razek shouted sothing about "survival training" and then vanished into thin air like the sadistic bastard he was.
After I finished erasing the catastrophe Ru had lovingly painted across my face, I genuinely thought the worst was behind .
Nothing could possibly be more disastrous anymore.
Nothing.
But then, fate—oh, fate. That dramatic, petty little bitch hated with passion.
Not content with just emotional damage, she now seed fully committed to ruining physically.
And you know what? I’ve lived fighting with her enough in my previous life to know one thing:
When fate decides to screw you, don’t moan. The mont it thinks you’re enjoying it, it just goes harder.
So there I was, trying my absolute hardest not to scream my profound collection of profanities at that sadistic excuse of a ntor.
Razek.
I swear, that bastard had to be a hitman hired by my dear older sister, Lyra.
Co to think of it... I did vaguely rember seeing "death by bear mauling" listed in that three-page death threat she sent .
Coincidence?
...I think not.
There were originally five bears. Two of them were killed by yours truly.
The other three? Still very much alive. Still very much angry. And currently chasing through a forest like I’d just insulted their entire bloodline.
Which, to be fair, I might have done. But in my defense, they started it.
They growled at after I killed one of their buddies, which I could only assu was so kind of bear curse word.
So, naturally, I responded with profanities of my own. In my very sophisticated language, of course.
Okay... okay... Maybe I shouldn’t have gone that far.
Insulting his wife for cheating on him with his best friend?
Yeah. That’s probably what triggered the Alpha Bear. And also the reason why they are chasing after for the last hour... even when I was out of their territory.
Well, anyway, it was ti to end the suffering of those poor fellas.
I should be benevolent and help them reunite with their dead partners in whatever hell they were going through.
It’ll probably boost my karma.
I’m close.
I spotted a familiar mark on a nearby tree, one I carved myself
Actually, in the last twenty days, I have been tossed in this forest so many tis, I created a territory of my own.
That sadistic bastard Razek trained from sunrise to sunset, pushing my poor and innocent body to its limits. And at night, he tossed in this forest to bond with wildlife for fun.
Or at least... that’s what that absolute nutcase called it.
I could still rember the crazed smile on his face when he told the reason behind it.
"Young Master, we humans only unlock our true potential when we’re broken, bleeding and being chased by things that want to eat us alive."
That’s what he said. With genuine conviction, too.
At first, it was hard adjusting to wildlife... especially at night when many predators tried finding weak prey.
Thankfully, this forest wasn’t exactly elite territory. The strongest monsters here barely reached E-Rank.
Which was technically stronger than ... But I had sothing they didn’t.
Desperation.
And just enough intelligence to fight with technique and build traps.
And I was currently luring the trio of bears to one such trap.
Two of them were just F-Rank mobs I could defeat easily... but the third one was a problem.
The Alpha Bear. It was at E-Rank. I could beat it... If it were one-on-one. And if I tried really, really hard.
So my goal was to cut down the number before fighting Alpha Bear myself.
The reason was simple... I wanted to feel my bloodpump. I have defeated hundreds of F-Rank monsters in the last few weeks. Not that I’m bragging.
I an, co on. It’s a massive achievent for a completely sane, incredibly humble and devastatingly handso transmigrator like myself to rack up a triple-digit kill count within what, two, maybe three weeks of arriving?
If this were an Xianxia novel, I would have already courted death and a few hundred jade beauties, just with this achievent alone.
Alas.
All I got was chased by bears and betrayed by my cloak. By the way, that traitor was still not here.
By the way, that traitorous bastard still hadn’t shown up. Pretty sure it was off sowhere, playing dress-up with Ru and living its best life.
While I, its rightful master, was being hunted like a discount protein bar in bear territory.
Anyway, the point is—despite slaying hundreds of mobs like the responsible person I am...
...I still hadn’t fought an E-Rank head-on.
So, with it being my last glorious day in this charming death-trap of a forest... I figured I would go all out. Just a little.
Just then—
I saw the trap I created. A truly elaborate, deadly and masterfully crafted chanism—
The kind of thing that would send anyone unfortunate enough to step on it plumting into the abyss...
...where they’d be dramatically impaled on sharpened stakes.
Yeah, okay. I was exaggerating.
It was basically a pit with so sharp sticks in it. But it was my pit. And that’s what mattered.
I carefully made my way around. But those dumb beasts... idiotic as they fell for it.
One of the two asskissers who were chasing with more intensity than Alpha just to earn its favour probably... was caught in it.
It was instantly impaled by stakes and died with a low growl. A bit dramatic for soone who walked straight into obvious death,
The other two froze in their spot.
How can I waste such a precious mont?
A card imdiately ford around my hand as I activated [Card Throw], making sure to imbue it with my affinity.
Because really—who doesn’t like explosions?
The Alpha moved as soon as it noticed my hand buzzing with mana.
Awfully sensitive for a bear.
It was the last remaining lackey. The poor thing was still frozen, probably traumatised after watching its buddy get kebabbed.
Oh.
Wait.
Were they... lovers?
Damn. They just made feel like a villain.
Tch.
"I’m sorry, my friend... I would’ve killed you both at the sa ti if I knew that."
But let’s be real, even if they were lovers, that didn’t an they should be spared. Not when they were trying to rip apart a few monts ago.
This world ran on the principle of ’survival of the fittest’. And I wasn’t about to be swayed by so romantic tragedy.
Especially not when half their bear family tried to murder for their dinner during my first week here.
My card pierced halfway through the poor thing’s neck.
I snapped my finger and pulled the trigger imdiately as a small explosion erupted.
The bear’s face exploded like an overripe waterlon. Its blood and brain matter splashing everywhere.
The Alpha Bear stared at its final partner dying with wide eyes. Before it let out a loud growl.
Oh no.
I think I just unlocked his character developnt arc.
✦✦✦
While Rael was busy fighting for his life, sowhere within the Ashborn Estate... soone else was also fighting theirs.
The [Cloak of the Trickster] attempted a stealthy escape while Ru scolded her stuffed panda for bullying her stuffed cat.
But just as it floated past the door—
"Where are you going, Cloaky?" Ru’s high-pitched voice rang out sweetly. "Your makeover is still pending."
The cloak frantically fluttered its hem in denial.
Too late.
Ru had already dragged it back to the makeover chair with terrifying efficiency.
If Rael were here, he would’ve said it best: A truly fitting fate for a traitor.
_______
Author’s Note:
And thus ends the tragic story of two bears, torn apart by fate... and one extrely petty human ard with exploding cards.
Was there a possible romance subplot between the two bears?
Look, I don’t know... but they ran after Rael together and died minutes apart. That’s soulmate behavior if I’ve ever seen it.
So tell —
Should this emotionally devastated bear be reincarnated to take revenge on Rael for murdering his one true love?
If you think so, COMNT BELOW to sign the official Bear Reincarnation Petition.
Justice for Waterlon Bear. 🪦
User Comments
0 comments from readers