Episode 79

Momochi Satoru was always fearless.

He was the type often described as having lost his sense of fear.

He remained unfazed by horror movies and always chose the scariest rides at amusement parks.

Perhaps his disposition was why he could befriend Kim Yu-seong, whom others avoided.

Naturally, a courage test was nothing more than a piece of cake for Satoru.

It was merely child’s play at best.

He strode through the night forest with the Class President, his partner, scoffing at the poorly done ghost makeup of students from other classes.

“How about we go a bit slower? We only have one flashlight.”

“Oh, sorry. I got ahead of myself without realizing.”

It was the Class President’s voice that stopped Satoru, who was humming and moving forward.

Their pairing was determined by a random draw anyway.

Since they never had romantic feelings for each other since the first year, there was none of the excitement others might expect.

About ten minutes had passed as they silently walked towards the turning point.

Satoru, expecting to meet Yu-seong, the representative ghost of Class 2-B, walked cautiously, surveying his surroundings.

Then, he spotted a huge shadow crouching beyond the bushes.

In Satoru’s mind, the only person at Ichijo Academy with such a large build was Kim Yu-seong.

Convinced that it was Yu-seong hiding in the bushes, Satoru gestured to the Class President to be quiet, handed over the flashlight, and stealthily approached the black shadow from behind.

And then…

“Wah!”

He grabbed Yuseong’s waist with both hands, making a loud, sudden noise.

Squish!

“Huh?”

Satoru, surprised by the unexpected sensation, raised his head.

What he touched was not the firm muscles of Kim Yu-seong he saw during PE, but the furry side of a creature.

Roarrrr!

The identity of the startled black shadow was not Kim Yu-seong, but a huge moon bear.¹

And upon hearing the bear’s thunderous roar, Momochi Satoru realized he was in deep trouble.

After listening to Satoru’s entire recollection, I couldn’t help but exclaim,

“Seriously, how can you not distinguish between a person and a bear?!”

“It was too dark to see anything!”

We were running side by side, fleeing from the bear.

The moon bear, startled by Satoru and seemingly very angry, continued to chase us fiercely.

“Ahh!”

It was then.

The Class President, running alongside us, suddenly lost balance after tripping over a stone.

Thud!

Fortunately, she managed to catch herself before falling, but the bear was right behind us.

I excused myself and, with the startled Class President under my arm, ran.

“Wait, I can run on my own!”

“It’s faster if I carry you!”

The flustered Class President protested, but I ignored her and ran towards the turning point.

The tall pine trees began to appear in sight.

Running in the opposite direction was a necessary choice to avoid involving other students following behind.

Upon reaching the turning point, I told Satoru to hide behind a tree.

The same went for the Class President I had been carrying.

After both hid behind the trees, I faced the approaching moon bear, catching my breath.

Even in a world of romantic comedy, I never expected a moon bear to suddenly emerge from the forest.

Frankly, it was an utterly nonsensical situation.

And the fact that I was now facing it one-on-one.

When I stopped running, the moon bear raised its upper body, spreading its arms.

Seeing this, the Class President hiding behind the tree shouted,

“That’s a bear’s threatening posture! It’s an instinctive action to appear larger than the opponent!”

Hearing that, I took another look at the black bear in front of me.

Its height, raised to intimidate the enemy, was roughly similar to mine, at 186cm.

It must have been just over 190cm.

Its thick arms were like logs, and the claws protruding were large and sharp enough to easily tear human flesh.

Even though moon bears were considered small, they were still dangerous enough to kill a human.

I had fought many people recently but never expected to fight a wild animal, so I swallowed nervously.

I slowly adjusted the angle of my arms.

It was the basic offensive stance of combat sambo, which I had learned while fighting Boris.

It allowed for immediate response and counterattacking, regardless of the opponent’s moves.

In the silent forest, where even the sound of insects was absent, I slowly stepped one foot back.

And then…

Roarrrr!

Unable to hold back any longer, it was the moon bear that charged first.

The massive arm swung violently.

I quickly pulled my body back to dodge and then extended my left arm.

Thump!

A jab so fast it was invisible to the eye.

However, perhaps due to its thick skin and subcutaneous fat, the moon bear didn’t flinch and continued its next attack without blinking.

I dodged its other arm swinging at my upper body and instantly moved into its embrace.

I firmly supported my outer joint and shifted my center of gravity forward to execute a throw.

Bang!!

The nearly 200kg mass was lifted up as if it were nothing and slammed into the ground.

Satoru and the Class President, hiding behind a tree, looked shocked, but it wasn’t yet time to relax.

The moon bear quickly got up and charged without hesitation, apparently very angry.

A bear’s top speed could typically reach 60km/h.

If that size and weight hit, it was clear most people would be helplessly thrown away.

However, instead of running, I chose to stand my ground.

I crouched down like a sumo wrestler.

With my arms slightly spread, I firmly planted my feet on the ground.

And then…

Roarrrr!

I collided with the fiercely roaring bear.

Grunt!

The bear, being slightly taller, exerted weight from above, causing my shoe soles to dig into the soil.

But I resisted being pushed back by tensing my calves.

The bear seemed confused, unable to overpower me, but for me, it was no surprise at all.

Because among those I’ve fought, like Ivan or Boris, they possessed even greater strength than this.

It seemed wrong that humans stronger than a bear naturally existed, but anyway, there was no reason for me to lose in a strength contest here.

‘Now what? Striking? Submission?’

A bear’s physical structure was different from a human’s.

I wasn’t sure if a joint lock, applied to humans, would work with my limited knowledge.

Due to its thick subcutaneous fat and skin, strikes wouldn’t be very effective.

While I continued the tense standoff with the bear without making any significant moves, the Class President watching from behind shouted,

“Aim for its nose or between the eyes! That’s where the skull is thinnest!”

Hearing that, I immediately shifted my gaze upwards.

It was easier said than done, striking precisely at the forehead of an opponent taller than me.

But having nothing to lose, I decided to follow the Class President’s advice.

“Huff!”

I immediately tensed my entire body, breaking the tense balance.

As the bear’s arms swept past where my upper body had been, I crouched low, dove into the bear’s embrace, and tightly hugged its waist.

Then, with all my strength, I lifted the large bear and slammed it back-first onto the ground.

Roarrr!

The moon bear, hit back-first on the ground, roared in pain.

But I sat on the bear’s torso without even blinking, unfazed by its state.

I looked down at the bear flailing and struggling to escape from the mount position.

“I won’t kill you.”

Muttering that, I pounded my fist into its forehead.

The bear roared in response.

But I did not relent and continued to strike with my fists.

Again and again, repeatedly, I struck.

With my fists clenched tightly, I persistently hit the bear’s forehead.

Finally, after continuous, strong blows that seemed to reach its brain, the moon bear rolled its eyes back and fainted.

Satoru, who had been hiding behind a tree and watching me battle the bear from the start, muttered,

“Not that I’m one to talk, but somehow, I feel sorry for the bear.”

“Then how about you keep quiet if you know?”

Chastised by the Class President, Satoru hung his head sheepishly.

It seemed he was aware that things could have gone terribly wrong had I not been there.

Watching him, I stepped down from the unconscious bear and thought,

‘What do I do now?’

With a bear emerging from the forest, the courage test seemed to be completely ruined, regardless of anything else.