The group of five continued walking on a dirt path which soon faded away into nothing. Lia explained what they would be hunting today along the way.

“We will be going for beasts today, instead of Voidborne. The one we are hunting is called a Dread Bear. They are massive bears with brown fur, extreme strength and durability, but low speed. We need their fur for the coming winter, and they reproduce relatively fast so we need to cull their numbers anyway.”

Lia went silent as they moved deeper into the forest, fallen leaves crunching beneath their feet. The chirping of the birds soon went silent, and they came to a massive clearing, at least a few miles wide, with small hills scattered about.  The tall grass was brown and swayed gently in the wind.

“Nalen, go check this area.”

The man shot forward, somehow not making a sound as he moved through the grass. In a few minutes he returned, having checked the whole area.

“There are two Dread Bears here. One is all the way in the south corner, and the other is towards the east.”

Lia turned to Ruith and Vaeri.

“The bears are usually around the level of a white core warrior, so if you get struck you’ll be killed instantly. Be careful, remember your roles.”

The two new members nodded, ready.

“Alright, let’s go for the one towards the south first.”

It took them twenty minutes to get near, as they did not rush in. The three veterans of the group dropped their backpacks on the ground when they were close.

“Leave your packs here, you don’t want them to impede your movement.” Nalen directed the two.

A moment later, they finally saw the beast. It was sleeping under a large tree, looking just like a small hill of fur. As soon as the group got closer it moved.

A deep rumble shook the surroundings, coming from the depths of the bear’s chest. It shifted, massive legs stomping onto the ground and pushing up. The creature rose to its full height, at least fifteen feet tall even without standing on its hind legs.

Its head slowly turned towards them, fury lighting up within its light brown eyes upon noticing them. It rose onto its hind legs, towering above even the trees.

A deep growl resounded through the area once again, this time much louder. Ruith’s eardrums shook, leaving a ringing noise.

The Dread Bear fell back down to the ground.

BOOM!

The ground shook beneath the group’s feet.

“Prepare! Here it comes!”

The mighty beast charged, accelerating quickly.

‘What the hell did they mean slow!?’ 

Lia was steadfast in the path of the bear, lowering herself down a bit and pointing her spear towards it.

Nalen and Vaeri stood just a bit behind the woman, waiting to strike once the beast was distracted. Ruith and Linne retreated back, but stayed close to the trees so the boy’s ability would be easier to use.

WHOOSH!

BOOM!

The Dread Bear had stopped in its tracks, a huge paw swiping at Lia. She leaned towards the blow and pointed her spear at the paw, but the bear did not care about it. What could a sharp little stick do against its might?

The tip of the spear sunk into flesh, but stopped after a few inches. Lia stood there, her boots sunk into the ground. The power of that strike had been insane, but worked against the Dread Bear.

‘Simple boost to her strength and body toughness? What the hell…’

Ruith couldn’t help but be surprised, that thing must have weighed as much as an entire house and she stopped a blow from it with ease. However, he had no more time to think, the rest of the group leaping into action.

ROAR!!

The bear let out a pained sound, but was even more enraged now.

Nalen sped to the left side of the creature, while Vaeri stayed closer to Lia.

The quiet girl next to Ruith drew her bowstring taught, and he could feel the sheer power about to be unleashed from it.

‘Alright, time for me to be helpful.’

He was not confident in restraining the bear like he had done to Vaeri, but he could at least make it pause for a moment.

Vaeri’s sword bit into the tough hide, but she knew it had not even gotten past the fat layer. She would need to go deeper.