Chapter 116: [116] Poking A Bear

After sprinting through the forest for a few minutes, Eliron finally came to a stop in front of a large cave.

He dropped Estelle on her feet, but the woman stumbled back a few steps, before placing her hand on her forehead.

“Damn it…” she muttered. “A little warning next time will you?”

Eliron shook his head. “Would you have agreed if I told you?”

“Good point….”

When it finally felt like Estelle wasn’t going to drop head-first the next time she took a step, she finally looked around her environment.

They were in the depth of the forest, far away from Artaris. The trees here had formed a canopy with their branches, restricting the free flow of sunlight.

But because of this, the area was oddly serene.

“It’s quiet…”

“Too quiet…” Eliron added, completing the cliche phrase for her.

Estelle then stared at the only odd thing about the forest, the large cave with a gaping entrance.

The inside of the cave was so dark that she could not see a single thing, and its twisted entrance gave it the appearance of a beast’s maw.

At a single glance, she could tell that it was trouble.

“What are we doing here?”

Eliron smiled and grabbed a sizable rock. “I think you already know…”

He pulled his arm back, and Estelle’s eyes widened as he aimed at the cave.

“DON’T YOU DAR—”

Swish!

Before she could grab him, Eliron sent the rock flying right into the hole.

Clash!

A loud explosive sound reached their ears a second later.

“What the hell are you doing? Are you trying to wake whatever beast is slumbering in that hell hole?”

Eliron just shrugged like he had done nothing wrong.

Estelle turned her attention to the cave, swallowing. Every second felt tense, sweat flowed down her neck, and her eyes were locked on it, unblinking.

She was waiting, expecting that any second now, a frenzied beast would lunge out of the cave and tear her to pieces.

Normally, she would have not been bothered, she was more than capable of killing monsters after all.

But she had been getting a weird vibe from the cave ever since they arrived, and considering that there was no wildlife in sight, not even birds…

It was clear that it was no regular beast.

Seconds felt like days as they watched in nervous anticipation, but after a few minuites, nothing happened.

Estelle sighed in relief, “It looks like it is gon…”

SCKRREEEEE!

An explosive screech burst out of the cave, the sound so loud that Estelle had to shield her ears.

And then the monster emerged. It was a large beast that could strike fear into the heart of any elf.

Its paws were big enough to completely engulf Estelle’s head and have space for more.

Its fur was thick and layered with feathers, and then instead of a mouth, the bear-like creature had a powerful beak.

“An Eaglebear…”

She immediately turned to her left. “Eliron! We need to get out of he—”

Estelle froze when she realised no one was home, the place where Eliron was standing was now devoid of any elven presence.

“Hey, up here!” A voice reached her from above.

Estelle raised her gaze to see Eliron sitting on a tree branch, his legs swaying left and right as he watched the monster.

“It’s a big one isn’t it? Do you think I can take it in an arm wrestling competition?”

Estelle felt her mouth dry up. “W-what are you doing up there?”

Elrion raised a brow. “What kind of question is that? I’m running from that thing of course, do you see the size of it?!”

“Then what about me? Are you trying to get me killed?!” Estelle screamed, her panic increasing by the second.

Luckily, the Eaglebear had not yet spotted her, it was just waking from its hibernation so its senses were still fuzzy.

“What do you mean? If I bring you up here then who’s going to fight that thing?”

Estelle paled. “Surely you jest. You expect me to fight that monster?”

Eliron gave her a blank stare, then nodded like an excited child while giving her a thumbs up.

The Eaglebear unleashed a loud roar, shaking the forest. Then it began to sniff the air…

Estelle felt her hands shake.

The monster seconds away from spotting her, was capable of tearing through an elite hunting party.

It was so powerful that hunters would just avoid it, at least that was before Eliron came along…

Fighting it was tantamount to suicide.

“Don’t worry, you’ve got this. I know what you are capable of…”

“If you know what I’m capable of then why don’t we end this charade?” Her normally calm voice was strained, her words almost hurried.

“Hmm?” Eliron stroked his cheek. “That is a good point… but I think it is a little too late…”

GWRAHHHHH!!

The monster unleashed a thunderous roar, the sound wave rolling past Estelle and sending dried leaves spiraling into the air.

Its milky white eyes had locked on her.

“Eliro—Master, please!”

Calling a younger person master didn’t sit well with her, but she had no choice at this point.

Yet, Eliron did not move a muscle. Instead, he began to hum battle music!

Crash!

Estelle immediately jumped into a roll, her body tumbling over the rough forest terrain as she evaded a slash.

The tree behind her, the one Eliron had been sitting on burst apart at its trunk, the entire thing blown away.

Eliron quickly relocated to another tree, while Estelle watched the damage with wide eyes.

“Fuck.”

The monster roared at her and sprinted forward, every footstep sending a vibration through the floor.

’It’s fast!’

Estelle’s muscles tensed as she jumped back, the eaglebear reached for her, trying to cleave her gut open, but she managed to escape.

Another swipe came for her legs, but Estelle jumped above it, rotating her body in the air as her feet touched the trunk of a tree.

The eaglebear brought both its arms together and swung downwards, meanwhile, using the tree as leverage, Estelle leaped right above it.

Bang!

On contact, the ground caved, dust and debris filling the air.

’How did I dodge that?’ Estelle thought as she stared at her hands.

Normally, Estelle was sure that she would be holding her intestines in her hands by now, but somehow, she was still standing.

’Is this the result of my training?’ A small anxious smile found its way to her lips.

Up in the branch, Eliron was watching the fight while relaxing his back on the tree.

’She’s doing good…’

One important thing he made sure to include in their training regiment was their physical exercise.

When it came to exercise, Eliron did not discriminate between classes. Both Mages and Knights had to do it…

The reason was simple, the major disadvantage most mages had was that when it came to close range combat, they were often at a disadvantage.

Eliron did not want this for his mages, so he made sure they were just as agile as the knights.

And now, it was paying off…

The eaglebear swiped its claw at the dust, dismissing it. Its milky eyes glowed with menace, and when it opened its beak, it breathed out steam.

Without wasting a second, it barreled towards Estelle, a loud roar escaping its beak as it charged.

Estelle calmed her raging heart, she unslung her staff in one quick motion and pointed it at the monster.

Phewww—!

She breathed out, a drop of sweat gliding down between her brows to the pointed tip of her nose.

Just as the sweat dropped, the eaglebear leaped.

But Estelle was ready for it…

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