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The heavy crossbow fire roared. Ethan snapped his head back to look. He had warned her, so why had she engaged the monster?
I have to go back and help!
Of course, Ethan had this thought mainly because he was still dizzy from being bounced around and hadn't clearly seen the female Hunter's gear. He was unconsciously worried about her safety.
"Bear Bro, wait! Stop!"
Ethan quickly and forcefully pulled the two tufts of fur on Bear Bro's head, causing the Arzuros to slow its pace with a confused look.
"Roar?"
"Go back and grab that person so we can all run together!"
"Roar…"
Bear Bro was somewhat reluctant, but under Ethan's continuous tugging, it turned its head and started running back the way they came.
A moment later, Ethan and the Arzuros beneath him froze simultaneously, staring blankly at the small, black-clad figure ahead. She stood there, radiating indifference, continuously firing the equally pitch-black Heavy Bowgun in her hands.
Opposite her, the Royal Ludroth, which had been so arrogant and domineering earlier, was now crying out and fleeing in terror. The usually plump, soft, sponge-like skin on its neck was torn and ragged, and its yellow body was largely stained crimson with blood.
The Royal Ludroth stumbled in its escape, disappearing behind the waterfall in the blink of an eye. Only then did the figure, cradling the black Heavy Bowgun, turn around. She seemed to be thoroughly sizing up the pair of man and bear.
Ethan and Bear Bro both shivered. Bear Bro instinctively wanted to turn and flee. This ferocious creature had beaten the Royal Ludroth so badly that it couldn't lift its head—it clearly didn't need rescuing. They were lucky she hadn't taken them out too.
Ethan had to grab him to prevent him from bolting. Lightly patting Bear Bro to soothe its emotions, Ethan flipped off the bear's back and walked toward the female Hunter, slightly nervous.
"Thank you for your assistance, Senior. My name is Ethan, and I'm currently a one-star Hunter."
The female Hunter first glanced at the Arzuros, which was obediently hiding behind Ethan and too scared to move, before turning her slightly strange gaze back to Ethan:
"Rachelle, six-star Heavy Bowgun user."
"So, can you explain the situation with this Arzuros?"
There was no reason to hide his acquaintance with Bear Bro. Ethan recounted the story starting from when the Great Jagras leader chased him off the cliff, all the way up to Bear Bro's sudden appearance to save the day… Hmm, even if it didn't win the fight, it still counts as saving him, right?
During the narration, Ethan had to continually reassure Bear Bro. Having fully witnessed the female Hunter's brutal display earlier, the Arzuros was filled with fear toward the small figure.
For monsters, fear usually leads to active avoidance, but once they can no longer avoid the source, or if the feeling of unease exceeds a certain threshold, they exhibit extremely aggressive behavior.
Even though Bear Bro was docile, it was still a large monster and had its primal instincts. That's why Ethan was working hard to calm it, preventing a conflict.
"Hmm… Is that so? I've seen something new today…"
She had been a Hunter for so many years. She had encountered docile, non-aggressive monsters before, but this was the first time she had seen a monster that established a friendship with a human and would fight to help that human.
It was too unbelievable. Yet, whether it was the events that just transpired or her close observation now, her veteran Hunter's experience told her that this Arzuros genuinely considered this rookie its companion.
Tsk! She was actually a little envious. In all her years of hunting, she had carved countless dead monsters, but she had never touched a living one with her bare hands!
"Come here, little bear bear. Let me touch you!"
Rachelle's eyes lit up, and she suddenly reached out. Bear Bro, whose attention had been solely focused on her, was startled by the sudden movement. Its upper body jerked back, causing it to lose balance. Its plump body rolled backward once, leaving it dusted with dirt and looking thoroughly pathetic.
"It's okay, it's okay. She means no harm; she's just curious…"
Ethan quickly embraced Bear Bro, turning to Rachelle with an awkward but polite smile:
"Senior Rachelle, Bear Bro is very afraid of you. So, if possible, please don't approach it suddenly…"
Rachelle's hand froze mid-air. A moment later, she retreated a few steps as if nothing happened, casting her gaze toward the thicket on the other side.
"Oh, is that so… Well, I'm not really interested in it. Look over there. See, there, those two people are quite curious about Bear Bro."
She gestured toward the thicket, signaling that in her judgment, the area was safe and inviting them to come over.
"Ah? There are people there?"
"For members of the Scholars' Team, camouflage is an essential skill for wilderness ecological surveys."
So, Ethan looked in the direction Rachelle pointed. Within a few minutes, two figures came jogging into the clearing.
"Let me introduce you, this is…"
Rachelle had just started speaking when two surprised voices rang out almost simultaneously:
"Sophia? What are you doing here?"
"Ethan?"
Rachelle silently cut herself off. "It looks like you two know each other. Then I don't need to introduce anyone. I'll stand guard nearby."
She cast a slightly wistful glance at the Arzuros's fuzzy body, then turned and walked further away with resignation.
As she moved away, Bear Bro's tense body relaxed slightly. It let out a low, mournful growl, sounding like a complaint.
"My fault, my fault. I misjudged her strength and let you get startled."
Ethan responded smoothly to Bear Bro's growl. Mia, watching from the side, had eyes blazing with interest. She looked like she wanted to glue herself to Bear Bro with a magnifying glass, showing no inclination for polite conversation.
Sophia wasn't much better than Teacher Mia. Her eyes were glued to Bear Bro and wouldn't move, but at least she remembered to make an introduction:
"This is Mia, the supervisor of the Yukumo Scholars' Team branch, and she is also my teacher."
As soon as she finished speaking, Mia snatched the conversation thread. "We received an observation report previously that mentioned an Arzuros allegedly attempting to start a fire with a wooden drill… It seems now that it learned that from you?"
The Scholars' Team! And the supervisor!
Ethan's heart pounded. He suddenly realized that this encounter might be extremely important for Bear Bro.
When they parted, he was only thinking about his return to human society, overlooking the fact that Bear Bro, after living with him, would struggle to return to its old life. His attempt to start a fire to grill fish showed how much it missed the taste of roasted fish.
He, too, missed Bear Bro's warm fur on cold nights! But while he could live with Bear Bro in the wilderness for a period, he couldn't stay in the wild indefinitely.
The presence of the Scholars' Team now gave Ethan a sudden idea. Perhaps he could arrange for Bear Bro to live near the village?
If he could show them that Bear Bro was indeed docile, wouldn't harm the villagers, could be kept as a mascot, and would even provide the village with protection against other invading monsters, it might just work!
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