Chapter 3 - Burning hair

Stupid. Stupid. Stupid. I’d spent so long hunting in the concrete jungle that I’d formed bad habits when it came to good old mother nature who remained, as ever, red in tooth and claw. I silently cursed my lack of professionalism.

Fortunately old instincts and hard earned training kicked in faster than I could think. The flaming stick stabbed forward towards the left eye of whatever the hell this thing was. A blunt stick isn’t as good as a pointy stick in this kind of situation but when it’s on fire… the difference is negligible.

As the burning brand hopefully punched into the delicate tissue of the beast's left eye I had already released the dagger from the two fingered grip I’d kept on it at the base of my fiery stick. As it fell my left hand swept out to catch it. By this time the brand was giving the monster a really hard time and I let go as the smell of burning fur reached my nose. I spun to the left, pulling my right side away from a shadowy shape sweeping towards me out of the dark, and snatched the sheath off the stone dagger with my now free right hand.

I wasn’t going to get this all my own way as I could now see long ivory claws moving towards me from the gloom to the right of the nightmare visage my fire had illuminated. I continued my spin and drove the dagger upward with my left hand towards where I hoped the thing's remaining eye was. I felt the blade bite into something and used my fire ability again. The dagger was coated in flames as it plunged into the right side of the beast's face.

A paw slammed into me. Not as bad as it could have been, thankfully, but it still hurt like hell. My impromptu pirouette had moved my centre of mass and reduced the impact but the claws still sliced into my back. I felt lines of burning pain where they had dug into my flesh but perhaps the thick wool cloak and my quick reactions had spared me from critical damage.

I was thrown to the side and bounced off the cave wall in a daze. I fought down the fog in my head and jumped back to my feet, operating completely on autopilot at this point. The detritus that lined the cave floor crunched beneath me but I ignored the lesser pain in my feet as I bolted back towards the light. The beast, some kind of bear I assumed from the size of the damn thing, was flailing at its burning face and roaring like a jet engine. In the narrow confines of the cave the noise felt like a physical force. As I ran I brushed an outstretched hand against its flank and used my solitary, weak-ass spell as many times as I could.

It seemed the fire spell let me summon a fist-sized blob of fire on whatever I was touching that lasted five seconds unless it found something combustible to ignite. In this case the shaggy fur of the beast was dry and greasy, perfect tinder for my nascent ability.

Each cast cost ten mana so after leaving five blobs of fire attached to the beast's flank as I passed, I opted for discretion as the better part of valour and continued to bravely run away. I hoped the blind bastard wouldn’t be able to chase me down before I could get outside and put some distance between us.

As I emerged into the bright afternoon sunlight I spun and gasped for breath. The smell of burning fur clung to my skin and my nose. No. It didn’t. The fucking thing was stumbling along behind me throwing strange shadows on the walls from its fiery flank as it charged like a burning bull out of its subterranean home.

It was a bear, which on some level I found reassuring. This was a new world and I had almost been expecting some Cthulhu-esque chimaera to be chasing behind me. It was far larger and heavier than anything I was aware of on Earth, dwarfing even the mighty Kodiak bears, and it seemed to possess the belligerence of the most dangerous ursine species I might have bumped into back home.

I was out of mana and while I was fairly confident the monster was at least partially blind my only weapon was sticking out of the things right cheek. I backed away quickly and quietly while accessing the Shop. I had twenty Souls left.

What would make a difference here? Axe? Handy for survival later on but less than ideal for fighting a giant fucking bear. Mace? Trying to batter something with a skull that was probably an inch thick seemed like a losing proposition. A sling or a bow? No thanks. Spear it was then. I ran through the options quickly and cursed under my breath just as the monster exploded out into the fresh air of the hillside. The wind caused the fires burning on its face and sides to spread briefly and then began to put them out. Fuck you, wind. The giant rose up on its back legs and let out a deafening roar.

I swallowed my pride and paid twelve Souls for a two metre spear of hardwood tipped with a finely crafted shard of razor-sharp flint.

The weapon appeared in my hands just as the bear batted the last of the flames from its face with one paw and took a long sniff. I really hoped all it could smell was the acrid odour of burning hair. If I had to suffer through it the least that could happen was the disgusting smell would cover my scent as well. Another long sniff and I began to sidle carefully to the side. Sharp stones dug into the soles of my feet as I moved as quietly as possible, trying to get into position to aim for the giant's heart.

The big bastard kept cocking its head from side to side. I could see that one eye was completely destroyed. The left eye I’d struck with the brand was milky and clouded but hadn’t been completely ruined like the right. Although the dagger was somehow lodged in the bear’s right cheek, the eye just above it was burst and weeping white pus. I made my way round it to the right, trying to exploit the certain blindness on that side.

Another sniff and it shifted its head again. Fluffy button ears twitched just as I decided to stand on a brittle twig and then it lunged, both forepaws swiping at where I had been. As soon as I heard the quiet snap I’d dived forward and to the side, ignoring the sharp stones and branches that stabbed me in the back as I rolled to my feet.

My spear flashed forwards, aiming to slide between the third and fourth ribs. I left a deep gash along its side as the stony tip met impenetrable bone and skittered along the creature's flank. I leapt away to buy some time as the beast righted itself and spun, snapping at the air with massive jaws.

The way I saw it I had two options: land a killing blow or bleed the bastard out. My first effort at a killing blow had been a wash so the second option became much more appealing. I recovered the spear into a guard position out of habit. A pointless effort as I was fighting a giant fucking bear-thing not an armed man.

I stood very still as the beast sniffed and listened. I could hear my heartbeat thundering in my ears and I would be surprised if the monster couldn’t as well. I crouched patiently, spear held poised at my right side, as I waited for the monster to move. After a few incredibly tense seconds the head swung away from me and it shifted its weight. The spear flashed once more only this time I wasn’t aiming for its heart but at the joint connecting the nearest back leg with the bulk of the body.

Rear legs tend to have at least a couple of major blood vessels running down them and even if I missed those with a bit of luck I would mangle the tendons the bugger needed to move about. The shiny black tip slid through the fur and bit deep this time. I twisted frantically to disengage the blade and leapt back once more. The spear was still clutched tightly between my fists as I landed badly and stumbled to the side, a stone stabbing me in the heel.

The bear tried to spin after me, following the noise I’d made, but the leg I’d injured gave way as it tried to place too much weight on the now knackered limb. It snarled and lunged blindly but missed me by a safe margin. The spear flicked out again, aimed at the now exposed throat.

As soon as the refractive stone began to bite into the bear's throat it reared back and roared. I was forced back and the slice was merely superficial. I crept backwards as quietly as I could. I was leaving bloody footprints in front of me. The stones must have cut deeper into my feet than I’d thought.

I began to slide to my left, circling the thing on its blind side. The head snuffled and turned as I moved but it wasn’t tracking me. It twitched and turned at every sound, most of which were coming from the nearby forest, which served as an excellent distraction for me to begin to slip into a position to strike.

I made it round the rear of the beast. Its massive furry ass wobbled from side to side as the wounded leg kept failing to take the weight the monster tried to put on it. I drew in a slow breath and cleared my mind.

The spear flicked forward and bit into the still functional rear leg. I missed anything vital this time but the blade left a deep gash in the muscle that bled profusely. A stream of crimson dripped down the matted, and began pooling around its clawed foot.

Another spasm of blind thrashing resulted but I was comfortably away from the danger zone this time. My next strike was aimed at the left foreleg and the spear tip bit deep into the beast's armpit. Another torrent of blood spewed out and another limb was crippled. The bear's flailing attacks were becoming weaker with every moment.

I bided my time for a few seconds until another opportunity to strike at the beast's throat presented itself. I’d never trained extensively with a spear, either during my time in the military or in a private capacity but I understood the basics and this time everything worked as I wanted it to. The sharp edge of the bladed tip slipped through the fur under the monster's chin and pushed out the other side. The bear reared back in reaction which ripped the blade free and spelled its doom.

The earlier wounds had caused plentiful blood flows but this cut produced a torrent of crimson that jetted out and painted a good ten feet of ground red. The jet quickly reduced to a mere river that painted the bear's chest in seconds and the beast sat down on its crippled rear legs. A faint whine came from it that made pink bubbles bloom from the cut on its neck. Its head turned from side to side in confusion and pain but it couldn’t muster the energy to move. I collapsed back to the ground, landing on my ass. Its head twisted towards the noise I made but all it could do was lean slightly in my direction.

“Sleepy time, big fella,” I muttered as the adrenaline faded and all my aches and pains hit me with full force. My back was burning and I hoped to hell the thing had cleaned its claws recently. I raised a blackened and blood soaked hand to my face and felt the bruises and lumps from when I’d face planted into the cave wall. Good job I’m not vain.

Both my hands had first degree burns from my magic and the skin cracked as I flexed them into fists. After clenching them for a painful second I released the hold with a groan.

I’d been in this world for less than fifteen minutes and I’d already come so close to joining the local carbon cycle in the form of bear shit that it didn’t bear thinking about. I giggled semi hysterically at my choice of words.

This was not acceptable. I was a pro. A trained expert in survival and combat. A cold blooded motherfucker who killed for money. Sure a gun would be useful in general but against an animal that big? I’d need a high calibre rifle to put it down in one shot. An anti materiel rifle would have been at the top of my wish list for this job. A big rifle capable of putting holes in armoured vehicles and a comfy place to hide half a mile away would have been ideal. Pistol fire would just have pissed it off. A shudder passed through me as I realised how lucky I’d been. I’d need to focus on all my close combat and primitive survival training if I wanted to stand a chance. I needed to be better.

The bear shuddered and collapsed to the ground at last. A faint burbling noise escaped as its chest finally stopped moving. I’d give it a couple more minutes just to be sure the thing was properly dead. On the plus side my food situation was covered for the near future. I began checking the Shop for the price of salt to cure the meat.

Vilis Ursa slain.

16 Souls gained.

Huh. Well, it paid for the spear at least. Back up to twenty four Souls and I still had the gear I’d bought. I looked at the tattered remains of my brand new cloak and sighed. Then, despite the pain running through my body, I grinned to myself. I decided to take a few minutes before I did some shopping and tried to process the ton of protein I’d just inherited.