Chapter 24
Samuel clung to the horse’s leg like it was his lifeline. Despite the horse’s frantic struggle, he wouldn’t let go. Because of him grabbing the leg, the horse thrashed even more, and Liet nearly lost her balance and fell. In this state, it was nearly impossible to shoot an arrow at the bear.
‘This won’t work.’
Liet dismounted the horse.
“If we survive this, I’m going to kill you.”
She shoved Samuel away, who was looking up at her pitifully. She quickly pulled out an arrow and aimed it at the charging bear.
Whoosh—!
The arrow flew and struck the bear’s leg. The bear, which had been charging at high speed, collapsed with a thud.
This was a golden opportunity. She had to hit a vital point while the bear was down.
Liet reached back into her quiver.
‘One… no, maybe two left.’
There weren’t many arrows left. Liet grabbed another arrow and aimed once more.
As the tip of the arrow pointed toward the bear’s head—
‘Now!’
She released the string.
But the bear rose quicker than expected, and the arrow narrowly missed. At least the bear was clearly slower now.
‘…Huh?’
As Liet turned to get back on her horse, she was taken aback. While she was off, the frightened horse had run away.
Liet had no choice but to turn and run. Samuel scrambled to his feet as he watched her retreating figure.
“Liet! Wait for me!”
The two of them ran wildly until they were gasping for breath.
Only their footsteps echoed in the quiet forest. From far behind, a heavy stomping sound could still be heard—the bear hadn’t given up its prey.
But Liet soon had to come to a halt.
“Huff… Huff… Liet, I think I’m going to die from exhaustion…”
Samuel gasped and wheezed in pain. But Liet didn’t respond. It wasn’t from being out of breath that she had stopped.
“Liet…?”
“It’s a cliff.”
A dead end.
Liet’s mouth went dry in despair. And she had only one arrow left.
Growing anxious, Liet called Samuel.
“Samuel.”
“Y-yeah?”
“Where’s your quiver?”
“…I dropped it when I fell off the horse.”
Useless bastard. Swear words surged up inside Liet again.
Thud. Thud.
The bear’s footsteps were closing in.
The wound in her side had reopened from all the exertion. Blood was seeping out, and the pain grew worse. It dulled her focus.
And there was only one arrow left. She had to be extremely precise.
She needed bait to increase her accuracy.
“Samuel, distract it.”
“What?!”
Samuel looked at her in horror. Liet’s gaze was ice cold.
“Make yourself useful for once.”
“How can I worry about that when I’m about to die?!”
Soon, the bear appeared, baring its savage teeth. Despite having been shot twice, it had chased them this far. It must’ve been starving. Drool dripped from its gray muzzle as it approached.
“Go!”
Liet kicked Samuel’s butt. He lost his balance and tumbled right in front of the bear.
“Eek!”
As he covered his head and trembled, Liet shouted:
“What are you doing?! Get up and run! That bear’s slower than you right now!”
Spurred on by Liet’s yelling, Samuel wobbled to his feet like a newborn deer. He began running along the cliff edge, barely avoiding falling off, drawing the bear’s attention.
Watching from afar, Liet reached for her last arrow.
She pulled it out—
‘Wait…’
The arrowhead was missing.
Only the shaft remained.
Liet’s mind went blank for a moment as she stared at the useless arrow.
“Aaack!”
At that exact moment, Samuel tripped over a rock and hit his head on a boulder, knocking himself out.
The bear growled and approached the fallen prey. It looked like Samuel was about to be eaten.
‘Ugh. Completely useless.’
Liet stared at the arrow without a tip, then braced herself. It couldn’t cause a fatal wound, but with luck—and considering the bear had already taken two hits—it might still do some damage.
Taking a deep breath, Liet drew the bowstring with all her strength. Her arms trembled under the tension. She let the arrow fly.
Thunk!
“Got it…!”
The arrow hit dead center—right near the heart. The bear let out a pained roar and writhed in agony.
But then Liet realized she had made a mistake.
The shaft alone hadn’t caused a deep enough wound. Instead, the bear’s target had simply changed—from Samuel to her.
Now furious and wounded, the bear locked eyes with her as if it had chosen Liet to die with it.
Sweat dripped from Liet’s hands as she gripped the bow.
‘Damn it.’
ROAAR!
With its last strength, the bear lunged at Liet.
It leapt and pinned her down. Giant fangs gleamed inches from her face. Fear of death made her swallow hard.
‘So this is it?’
Her second death.
And yet, death still felt unbearably foreign. She hated how unfamiliar it was.
In that moment, time slowed. Everything became vivid.
Why was the sky so blue today? She envied the birds flying overhead.
If only I could fly like that… If only I had some special power… then I could escape this.
‘I don’t want to die.’
Liet tightened her grip on her bow.
‘I’ll do whatever I can until the very end.’
She raised the bow one final time to resist.
But the bear was slightly faster. Its massive jaws were about to snap down on her.
At that exact moment—on the brink of death—a strong wind blew.
Whoooosh—!
A gust swept through the silent forest. The bear flinched, closing its eyes against the wind.
Liet didn’t miss her chance.
‘Now!’
Thud—!
She stabbed the bear’s side with the bow shaft. The bear howled in pain and finally collapsed with a loud thud.
Liet stared at the unmoving bear and whispered:
“…I won.”
After catching her breath, Liet slowly stood up.
As the memory of what had just happened sank in, her strength drained away.
She had nearly died.
If that wind hadn’t come at that exact moment—if the bear hadn’t closed its eyes—it would’ve been her, not the bear, who died.
‘Wait… that wind just now…’
They’d been wandering the forest for hours, but the wind had never been that strong. Normally it was just a light breeze. But at that perfect moment, a strong gust had swept through.
‘Could it be… me?’
Liet looked down at her hands.
“Can I use magic?!”
There was no other explanation for that unnatural wind.
As the saying goes, ‘a crisis is an opportunity.’ That near-death moment already felt like a distant memory—she might have just discovered a hidden power.
“Ugh… my head…”
Then Samuel’s voice called from behind. He groaned and opened his eyes.
“Liet… we’re alive… Whoa!”
He’d started speaking, then screamed upon seeing the massive dead bear.
“No way… Liet, you took it down?!”
Liet didn’t respond, but the bow shaft stuck in the bear’s side spoke for her. It was clear she had handled everything while he was unconscious.
It was unbelievable. That monster bear, enough to make your legs tremble just by looking at it—Liet had handled it alone?
A faint glow seemed to surround Liet’s back as she nonchalantly wiped blood from her hands. Samuel was so overwhelmed with awe he couldn’t move.
Liet broke the silence.
“Haaah.”
She ran a hand through her hair with a deep sigh.
“I almost died because of you.”
The way she said it made Samuel’s head sink like it was about to fall off.
“I’m sorry, Liet.”
This apology wasn’t like the one at the lake. This one came from the depths of his heart.
“I really have no excuse.”
“……”
“If it’ll make you feel better, you can hit me—”
SMACK!
Before he could finish, Liet’s fist connected with his face. She hit him with all the frustration she’d been holding in.
Samuel clutched his stinging face. Her punch didn’t just burn—it was molten.
Still, he didn’t feel bad. In fact…
‘…Why does this feel… good?’
He stared dumbfounded at Liet walking away without a word, her back lit by the sun.
✦
A few days after Liet’s great bear-slaying incident, the school was abuzz again.
As expected, Liet and Samuel were the center of attention.
Everyone was curious about how their relationship had changed.
Samuel was still the leader of the school’s delinquents, but there was now one significant difference.
“Liet…!”
While lounging with his gang at the best spot in the courtyard, Samuel jumped to his feet when Liet passed by. He even wiped the seat clean with his sleeve.
“Sit here…!”
Liet, who had been looking for a sunny spot to eat lunch, nodded casually.
“Oh, thanks, Samuel.”
When she gave him a light pat on the back, Samuel looked as if he’d been blessed by a goddess.
Seeing his expression, Liet paused and waved her hand.
“You can go now.”
Samuel nodded dreamily. He promptly disappeared, just as Liet had ordered.
The courtyard grew quiet. Pleased, Liet sat down and took out her lunch. With no Lucas around today, it was finally a peaceful afternoon.
“Oh, isn’t that Liet?”
“Yeah, it’s her.”
…Well, peaceful except for the murmurs.
“Did you see that? Samuel’s attitude totally changed.”
“You heard the story from hunting class, right? Liet took down a gray bear.”
“Wasn’t that the monster bear that ate fifty people?”
Just like that, Liet’s hero tale spread like wildfire through the school. She could hear people whispering about her everywhere.
“No kidding. Liet took that monster down all by herself. Samuel just passed out.”
“That’s insane.”
It wasn’t bad. No one dared pick a fight with her anymore.
The only problem was…
“But how did she do it?”
“Wasn’t it during archery class? She must’ve shot it.”
“No way. I heard she used a sword. Or maybe magic?”
The story was starting to grow stranger and stranger.
Eventually…
“I heard the bear’s body was found torn to shreds!”
“What? Liet did that to it…?!”
Liet’s expression soured as she listened.
No! That’s not what happened!
She wanted to deny every whisper she heard. But the embellished version had already taken on a life of its own.
“I heard she beat Samuel too.”
“That’s not even the half of it.”
“Liet… rips bears apart.”
