Chương 74: Luring the Beast

After the first Bone-Spike Trap was buried in the mud. The roaring in the distance continued. It sounded farther away than before. But it hadn't disappeared completely. The Rock-Marrow Dire Bear had only retreated temporarily. That strike had severed one of its forelimbs, but it was still far from enough to render a Three-Phase mana-beast incapable of fighting. Rowan continued forward along the animal trail through the forest. The trail cut diagonally past the outskirts of the previous battle area.

Farther ahead was Scree Slope. On his offline AR, Rowan pulled up the footage he had just recorded. Several movement trajectories from after the bear lost its forelimb were overlaid together. Its body was clearly leaning toward the other side. Its remaining forelimb also landed with noticeably greater force than before. Rowan looked ahead. The animal trail began to narrow here. On one side was an exposed rock wall. On the other was a downward-sloping field of loose stones. He crouched. Pulled aside the soil.

The second Bone-Spike Trap was pressed into a slightly sunken patch of ground. Pre-tension. Secure. Bury. Move on. The third set. The fourth. The fifth. Rowan made no attempt to connect the six traps into some complicated array. There wasn't enough time. And there was no point. He knew better than anyone how much damage something like this could inflict on a Tier 1 mana-beast. If the main spike struck intact rock armor, chances were it wouldn't even penetrate.

The only openings he could realistically exploit were the bear's severed shoulder and the few remaining places not fully protected by rock armor. If the traps could delay it even slightly, that would be enough. When the final trap was in place, Rowan straightened. Ahead was a slope covered in loose stones. He looked up. Then marked his current location again on the AR map. Six sets. All of them were now along this route. Rowan tightened the empty trap pouch again.

Of course, he had no intention of staying here and waiting for the bear to wander into them on its own. He turned away from the animal trail. Then doubled back through the forest to the side. The traps were ready. Next, he had to find the bear. And somehow lead it here. From the other side of the forest came another low roar. This time, the sound was clearly closer than before....

"Stay close!" Sera kept her voice low. The two hunters carrying the makeshift stretcher moved at the center of the group. Velesa remained completely sealed inside the transparent shell. The solidified water clung tightly to her body. Every so often, an extremely faint silver-white light flickered across its surface. Elaine stayed beside her at all times. Kane supported Talia. Bren and the other two guards dragged the forelimb that had just been severed from the bear.

The heavy limb left a long trail through the mud. The sound of hurried breathing filled the otherwise silent march. Only after the last piece of Graywood Rock had completely disappeared behind the forest did Sera take out a token from her waist. It was slightly larger than an ordinary Gray Deer Concealment Talisman Plaque. The deer pattern on its surface was also more intricate. She didn't hesitate. She crushed it directly. Gray-white light spread silently outward. Slowly expanding from the center of the group.

Everyone's outline remained visible. But as the gray-white fluctuation swept across them, the presence normally given off by living creatures rapidly faded.

"No spellcasting." Sera walked at the rear.

"Stay close." No one asked why. Everyone knew the bear was still behind them. The group continued forward. Their speed wasn't fast. They couldn't abandon Velesa. Talia and Kane were both injured. Bren wasn't in much better condition. And on top of everything else, they were dragging an entire forelimb from a Rock-Marrow Dire Bear. The effect of the first token didn't last long. From the forest behind them came the muffled crack of a tree breaking. Everyone's movements froze for an instant.

One hunter's hand trembled nervously. The sound behind them stopped. They continued for some distance. Only then did Bren glance back.

"Seems like it worked." Unfortunately, the relief didn't last long. Fine beads of sweat began covering Bren's face. Sera had already noticed. The gray-white fluctuation covering the group was fading rapidly. Far faster than it normally should. There were too many people. Almost everyone was injured. And they were constantly moving. A case of content theft: this narrative is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation.

Expecting a single token to completely shake off a Three-Phase mana-beast had never been realistic. A low roar sounded again. It seemed to be getting closer. Sera took out the second token. She handed it to the nearest hunter.

"Take this." The hunter froze.

"Use it the moment the first one disperses."

"Sera?" Elaine turned her head. Sera glanced behind them.

"Keep heading toward the camp." Elaine's expression changed. Of course she understood what that meant.

"Wait—""There's no time." Sera cut her off. The last traces of gray-white light from the first token were disappearing completely. The mana fluctuations of the group began resurfacing. Sera could already sense something rapidly approaching in the distance.

"Use it." The second token was crushed. Gray-white fluctuations spread again. Once more enveloping everyone. Everyone except Sera. She stepped several paces to the side. Deliberately leaving the concealment. Bren spun around.

"Sera!"

"Go." She said only one word. The next instant. Water gathered in front of her out of thin air. A water arrow shot through a gap between the trees. And disappeared into the depths of the forest. A moment later. A furious bear roar exploded through the woods. Sera turned. Then sprinted away in a completely different direction.... Trees flashed past on either side. Sera didn't look back. The sounds behind her were enough to tell her the result. The bear had followed. That was enough.

Her original plan wasn't complicated. Draw it farther away. Wait until the wounded group had completely escaped. Then use the terrain to shake off the pursuit. The Sword Token might be ruined. But it wasn't as though she had forgotten how to run. At least, that had been Sera's original thought. Until the second time she stopped casting. The sounds behind her vanished only briefly. Very soon. The bear caught up again. Sera frowned. It could still track the residual mana fluctuations.

Until she opened up a real distance, there was no way to lose it. Ahead was a slightly more open stretch of forest. Sera had only just entered it. When a faint tremor came from beneath her feet. The next instant. The soil bulged upward. She mobilized her mana almost instinctively. Water instantly spread out. Flowing through the soil beneath her and dispersing in every direction. Boom! The ground exploded. Mud and rubble flew outward. Sera's body tilted. She had only just regained her footing.

When an enormous shadow smashed through two trees ahead. And charged out. The Rock-Marrow Dire Bear was missing one forelimb. Its movements were noticeably strange. Its entire body leaned to one side while charging. But that didn't make it slow. Losing one forelimb didn't change the fact that it was still a Three-Phase mana-beast. With a short-distance burst, it crossed the gap almost instantly. Sera threw herself to the side. The bear's massive body scraped past her. A tree trunk snapped with a crash.

A piece of stone blasted loose by the impact sliced past from the side. Sera only felt a sudden chill along her left leg. The moment she landed, her knee immediately buckled. Blood ran down her lower leg. She didn't even have time to look down. The bear had already turned around again. Sera braced herself against a tree and stood. She tested her left leg. The moment she put weight on it, pain pulled through the wound. It would be difficult to run as fast as before. Trouble. She raised one hand.

Water began gathering again.... Rowan stopped when he saw the water-aspect spell. Wrong position. According to the original retreat route, the evacuation group shouldn't have been here. He stood behind a rock. And soon saw the Rock-Marrow Dire Bear charging through the forest. As well as the clearly injured person ahead of it. Sera was alone. Rowan watched for two seconds. The wounded group was nowhere in sight. He could roughly guess what had happened.

In truth, this situation was actually better than what he had originally expected. The others had already begun retreating. Now only the bear remained. Rowan's gaze swept across the AR map. From here, heading southwest— Across the shrub-covered slope ahead, then into the narrow animal trail— Was the trap zone he had just prepared. It wasn't close. But Sera could still move. And the Rock-Marrow Dire Bear was already missing one forelimb. As long as they could guide it in the right direction, there was a chance.

Rowan still had the Tendon-Cord Crossbow, Water Blade, Wellspring Step, and the newly completed Mind-Splitting Art. All six traps had already been prepared as well. The risk was still there, of course. But it was completely different from before. Besides... That was a Three-Phase mana-beast. Rowan's gaze lingered on the enormous bear for a moment. Ignore the danger, and that thing was basically treasure from head to toe. Even if he only got a share of it, he wouldn't come out at a loss. The next instant.

Water exploded beneath Rowan's feet. His entire body shot out from behind the rock. The spell model for Wellspring Step remained active. But this time. His Mental Power wasn't entirely confined to the same casting path. Another stream of Mental Power unfolded through the newly completed auxiliary core. New Source Runes were printed. Arranged. Assembled. A second spell model began taking shape. Rowan was still moving. He didn't stop. He didn't even noticeably slow down. A Water Blade had already formed beside him.

The sensation was strange. It wasn't as though another person had appeared. Nor was there another voice in his head. It was like something that had once required one hand could now truly be done with two. Both were still him. They simply no longer needed to wait for one another. Rowan raised his hand. The Water Blade flew out. Smack! The blue-white arc of water struck the side of the Rock-Marrow Dire Bear near its severed shoulder. It failed to penetrate the remaining rock armor.

But it accurately grazed the wound that had not yet fully closed. The stump, which had only recently stopped bleeding, split open again. The bear abruptly turned its head. Rowan didn't stop. He swept past the edge of its vision.

"This way!" Sera turned. The instant she saw Rowan, she was visibly stunned. But only for a moment. Rowan wasn't moving toward her at all. The water beneath his feet shifted. And he swept southwest instead. That wasn't the direction of the camp. Sera looked once. She didn't ask. The next second, she had already changed direction to follow. The bear roared and gave chase. Rowan maintained Wellspring Step. A second Water Blade formed again. Release. The Water Blade scraped across the side of the bear's face.

It caused almost no damage. But it was enough to keep the beast focused on the people ahead. Rowan led the bear diagonally across the shrub-covered slope. They were already nearing the outskirts of the previous battle area. Just as Rowan passed a patch of low shrubs. Something caught the corner of his eye. Several bushes had been flattened against the ground. It didn't look like the broad destruction left by a charging mana-beast. More like something had pressed against them for a long time.

A small strand of dark-red fiber still hung from a low branch. It looked somewhat familiar. But the roaring behind them was getting closer. The AR interface flashed. Mark. Photograph. Rowan continued forward without looking back. The animal trail was just ahead. Sera's speed had clearly begun dropping. Rowan immediately changed direction. Sera sent a stream of water from the other side. Forcing the bear's body to shift slightly. One in front. One to the side.

Together, they gradually guided it into the narrow animal trail. The first trap was ahead. Rowan glanced at where the bear's next step would land.

"Right!" The moment Sera heard him, she raised her hand. A stream of water surged up from the ground. It didn't attack the bear. Instead, it struck directly beside its remaining front paw. The bear instinctively shifted its weight. Boom! The enormous paw stepped into the mud. The next instant. The sound of a pre-tensioned tendon snapping loose came from underground. Whoosh! A bone spike burst from the soil at an upward angle. Bang! It struck the rock armor covering the outer side of the front paw.

The spike shattered into several pieces. The bear's body didn't even sway. Rowan had expected that. Keep going. He used Wellspring Step to sweep around a tree. The bear followed close behind. The second bone spike shot out immediately afterward. This time, however, the landing point was noticeably different from the AR prediction. The spike scraped past the edge of the bear's paw. And buried itself in the mud. Another miss. Rowan didn't look back. The third trap was ahead. The bear was getting closer and closer.

Sera's left leg was visibly slowing. She had to spend more mana just to keep moving. Just as the bear was about to catch up with her. Sera suddenly forced a stream of water sideways. The bear's remaining front paw was driven toward the other side. Whoosh! A bone spike violently erupted from beneath the soil. This time. There was no sound of bone striking stone. Pfft! The main spike pierced the edge of the bear's paw pad. Blood sprayed outward. Almost simultaneously.

The armament patterns inside the Bone-Spike Trap activated. Dense bony branches rapidly spread through the flesh. Like gray-white roots taking hold and burrowing deeper. The bear's entire body suddenly pitched forward. Its roar shook the nearby leaves. Success. Rowan had only just looked back. When the bear slammed its paw into the ground. Boom! Mana exploded through the soil. The fourth trap, which had just been buried ahead, was blasted directly out of the ground. Its main spike deployed in midair.

And flew diagonally into a nearby tree trunk. Rowan's eyelid twitched. Two left.

"Keep going!" He shouted toward Sera. Sera had no intention of stopping. The bear had already struggled back to its feet. The bony branches restricted its front paw, but were nowhere near enough to immobilize a Three-Phase mana-beast. It simply dragged the injured paw and continued the chase. Blood dripped across the mud behind it. Ahead. The animal trail became narrower and narrower. Rowan slowed slightly. Letting the bear close the distance again. Sera had already understood what he wanted.

She shifted toward the rock wall from the other side. Water suddenly curled up from the ground. Striking one side of the bear's body. A Three-Phase mana-beast was too large. Under normal circumstances, that little force would never have been enough to move it. But it was already missing one forelimb. And the remaining paw had a bone spike buried inside. Its balance was unstable to begin with. Its body immediately tilted toward the rock wall. The next instant. The fifth bone spike shot up from the lower side. Pfft!

The main spike plunged directly into the wound at the still-open severed shoulder. The bear's roar abruptly changed pitch. The Flesh Armament patterns activated. Large amounts of bony branches grew wildly from inside the wound. Extending deeper along the muscles and fascia. For the first time, the enormous body truly stopped. It crashed into the rock wall. Thrashing violently. The bone spike produced a teeth-grating scraping sound.

"Go!" Rowan and Sera moved forward at the same time. The final bone spike shot upward from beneath the scree slope. It failed to pierce flesh. But it forced the bear to instinctively dodge toward the other side. Its already unbalanced body slammed heavily against the foot of the slope. The next instant. The loose stones above suddenly collapsed. Large amounts of rock rolled down from the side. Dust rose. Directly blocking the already narrow animal trail. Only then did Rowan stop and turn around. Behind the rubble.

The bear was still roaring. The sound felt as though it were right beside them. Of course, something like this couldn't trap it forever. But a temporary delay was enough. Rowan exhaled. The Mind-Splitting Art was still active. Maintaining Wellspring Step and repeatedly forming Water Blades at the same time was consuming Mental Power and mana faster than he had expected. But the effect had been verified. Not bad! Beside him. Sera leaned against a rock. Her left leg was already soaked in blood.

She looked down at the wound. Then toward the scree slope.

"They should be far enough away by now." Rowan calculated the time. Probably. Just then. Another heavy impact came from behind the rubble. Several rocks rolled down. The bear was already beginning to break free. Then— Crack. A crisp snapping sound came from the other side of the rubble. No telling which bone spike had broken. Sera tightened her grip on her weapon again. Rowan, however, withdrew his gaze and walked over to her.

"Come closer." Sera looked at him. Rowan had already taken out a gray talisman plaque only two fingers wide. It looked like an old bone fragment stained by years of smoke. Across its surface— A crouching deer hid among overlapping antlers and talisman patterns.