“…”

  Standing there was a familiar black bear that I had met back in town, Damian. He seemed to be staring in my direction, as if he recognized me. But that couldn’t be right, I was properly disguised after all. He shouldn’t be able to tell it was me.

  The moment he stepped into my territory, the orcs sprang into action, their large weapons ready for battle. I told V to get somewhere safe once things were getting heated and they reluctantly complied.

  “You’re in the boss’s territory! Leave now!!”

  Damian only ignored them as he continued to slowly walk deeper within my base and towards me. Feeling angry that they were being ignored they began to attack the black bear Beastman. I tried to call out to them and tried to warn them.

  “Wait don-”

  But it was already too late, as they inched closer within his presence, a sense of pressure started to emanate from Damian. Power was quickly building from his body until they all exploded around him, causing a shockwave of energy to burst and forcing the orcs back.

  They could barely keep themselves from being sent flying, the advantage of their size helping them. But they all fell to the ground nonetheless as they struggled to get back up.

  It seems the strength he was displaying with the owlbear was indeed just a light exercise for him. These orcs were no joke after all, thankfully though it seemed they were fine having only light bruises on their bodies.

  It was then Mordred stepped into the fray. His signature ax was at the ready as he jumped at the Beastman who in turn prepared himself, his fists out and his body in a defensive stance.

  No sooner did Damian ready himself, Mordred already began his attack starting with a downward cut down, his aim clearly going for his forehead. With little effort, the black bear dodges his choregraphed attack and countered with a lightly powered punch straight to the minotaur’s exposed stomach.

  It was clear Mordred had felt it as the breath inside his body left him as he gasped for air but that didn’t deter him, opting to leave his ax behind he began to return the favor with a punch of his own, his aim going for the face.

  Damian responded in kind as he countered back his attack with his own punch. Both opponents’ fist connecting as a burst of wind flow through their surroundings. Neither side letting up as they began a barrage of punches, Mordred sending powerful punches with each swing that connected forcing the adventurer back meanwhile Damian’s punches in comparison were weaker but faster in turn many of which managed to land at Mordred’s body all the while the black bear managed to dodge some himself.

  It was a clear battle between a powerful opponent versus an experienced one. Both sides seemingly on equal footing, the pushback between the two fluctuating like a tug of war. It felt like it could go on forever but unfortunately not that long after it looked like Mordred was beginning to get exhausted.

  I then remembered that he had just finished his idea of training earlier as well as handling my ‘punishment’. He had started the fight already feeling exhausted both physically and mentally. The stagnation of the fight proved that as Mordred found himself being pushed back, soon enough he had lost the fight as he found himself pinned to the ground with Damian standing above him, he was exhausted but still determined as he readied himself for his next attack.

  It was then I decided to intervene, I knew that Mordred’s pride would have been damaged if I had interrupted his fight, so I chose not to until it had concluded. Despite my claim of wanting to recruit the adventurer I wasn’t about to let him damage what was mine!

  With my [Copper Short Sword] at hand I began to call the Beastman out. “Hey! Don’t you dare harm my henchman!!”

  The tale has been illicitly lifted; should you spot it on Amazon, report the violation.

  Damian stopped his advancement as he looked in my direction, his eyes squinting as if he was making sure of what he was seeing. His arms relaxed as he began to walk towards me while I prepared for a fight, only to be surprised when he began to speak to me.

  “…. Dimir, is that you??”

  His head was tilting from confusion, it seemed like he did recognize me after all if only a little. Desperate to keep my identity hidden I decided to play ignorant, hoping to steer his suspicions away from me.

  “Dimir? I think you may have confused me for someone else. My name’s Vladimir.”

  There was a moment of silence as I got to see a rare moment of his expression changing, though I wasn’t quite sure what to make of it. His eyes were squinting as his lips began to frown slightly.

  “….no, you’re definitely Dimir, you’re still wearing the same clothes.”

  ….

  ….

  That was a blunder on my part, a mistake that is costing me right now. With no choice I had to drop the act.

  “Fine you got me, so you plan to report me to the guild?!”

  “W-wai-”

  With my sword at hand, I couldn’t afford to hesitate now. I began to cause the ground to push me to the air and towards my opponent. I slashed my blade directly at him who could only duck in reaction. Not wanting to let him recover I began to extend the reach of my blade as I thrust it towards him. It seemed to catch the black bear off guard as he used his arms to protect himself, causing one of his arms to bleed.

  “Hah, hope you didn’t think what you saw with the rabbits was all I had! I have plenty of tricks up my sleeves!”

  To prove my point, I began to utilize [Basic Elemental Magic] and conjured a [Water Ball] in my free hand as I began to toss it at Damian, the moment it leaves my hand I used [Material Forge] to change its state into an [Ice Ball] which shattered halfway through the air sending a flurry of small shards of ice at my target.

  Damian continued to guard with his arms, some of the icicle shards managing to pierce his body and keeping him at bay. Seeing this opportunity I then conjured up some flame as I began to have it engulf my sword, causing the blade to heat up and catch on fire. Unfortunately, the flames were immediately starting to disperse so I only had a few seconds to utilize it at most.

  I closed the distance between us as I intended to cut through the black bear with the searing hot metal. Damian didn’t seem to notice as he was still protecting his vitals with his arms, so I continued my advances.

  Unfortunately, I was proven wrong as another shockwave started to send me back before my blade could connect, causing the flames I produce to completely disappear. But I did notice it wasn’t as powerful as the last one, tch he was holding back. Whether it was because he was exhausted from his fight with Mordred or because he didn’t want to hurt me for some reason, I don’t know.

  I decided to try something else, I began to reshape the ground behind him into a spike intending for it to pierce him from behind. I had to make it quick before Damian could notice it, so I used some extra mana to increase the speed of my skill. It was going to be risky; I had already used a decent amount of mana already and I can already feel it getting spent.

  I was so sure he wouldn’t be able to react fast enough, but I was once again proven wrong! He immediately jumped towards me just as the spike was fully reshaped. I prepared for another attack, conjuring another Water Ball and using [Material Forge] to change it into another Ice Ball but before I could do so, I noticed a sense of dizziness beginning to form in my head.

  Damn, now was not the time for me to run out of mana. I began to stagger in place, I needed to move now before Damian could reach me, but my movement slowed. I wasn’t going to be able to get away from him now.

  As Damian inched closer to me, he extended his arms, ready to grab me in his hands. I had no choice but to embrace for the inevitable as I closed my eyes, expecting for the worse. Once he reached me, he began to wrap me around his arms as I felt my body getting squeezed tight. His grip on me was too tight for me to get out of, he must be planning to squeeze me to death!

  Though for some reason…. I suddenly felt something soft rubbing against my cheek… it felt like it was something like hair or fur which only confused me more.

  Curiosity compelled me to open my eyes and what I saw was something I didn’t expect at all. It was the sight of Damian’s face nuzzling against my own! W…what?? Is this for real….?? Is he seriously giving me a bear hug right now?!!! And yes, I see the pun here and let me tell you I am not amused!!

  Damian then began to speak, his tone changing to what I could only describe as a grown man acting cutesy? Which only made it weirder with said man having such deep voice!

  “Oh, you are just the cutest thing in the world!! I’m sorry I just couldn’t take it anymore!! You were just so adorable the way you exuded such confidence despite your appearance! I have wanted to snuggle with you so much since I first met you and now, I can’t stop myself! You’re just soooooo cute!!!!~~”

  W-what…. What is even happening right now?!!!!!!!