After taking a break, Rest and Urla continued walking through the forest for another hour or so… before long, they arrived at an open clearing deep within the woods.
"Is this… a plaza?"
Trees had been felled and grass cut away in just this section, giving it the appearance of an artificial square.
Stumps were arranged in a circle, one after another, making it look almost like a gathering place.
"This is clearly an artificial space… Urla, do you know anything about this?"
"The dark thing."
"The dark thing…?"
"The dark thing is here."
"What are you—"
Rest frowned, puzzled by Urla's words… but in the very next instant, a chill ran down his spine with a slimy, crawling sensation.
"This is…!"
Nothing triggered his [Presence Detection] magic.
Just a vague, indescribable feeling. His skin could sense something was wrong, and yet his mana-based perception picked up no anomalies — an abnormal situation in itself.
His instincts told him something was lurking among the thick growth of trees, but the presence his [Presence Detection] picked up was slimy and indistinct, thoroughly unsettling.
"Could this be a spell that kills detection…!?"
He had heard about this from Diebl, his magic instructor.
Apparently, there existed methods to circumvent [Presence Detection], slipping right past it undetected.
A secret art mastered only by a very select few — specialists from covert units trained in infiltration.
*(The methods varied… Some erected barriers around their own bodies, others applied potions that repelled mana to their clothes or skin. He said only those people knew the specifics…!)* "Urla, fall back…!"
Rest activated a barrier spell.
A defensive barrier against physical attacks. With this in place, it wouldn't matter if he couldn't detect the enemy's presence.
He would face whatever unknown foe was lurking nearby with maximum caution.
"It's fine, no problem."
But… Urla tugged on Rest's sleeve and shook her head.
"Urla…?"
"Not an enemy."
She was saying it wasn't an enemy?
Urla stepped forward in front of Rest and called out toward the depths of the forest.
"Master."
『Yes.』
"Servant."
『Yes.』
"Good."
『Yes.』
Then… as if answering Urla's words, a short response came from deep within the forest.
A low tone, impossible to tell whether it belonged to a man or a woman.
This exchange, which sounded like a passphrase being verified, only deepened Rest's confusion.
"Diamond Bear."
『Yes.』
After one final exchange like that, the thing that made Rest's skin crawl with a slimy sensation vanished without a trace.
"Urla… explain. What exactly just—"
"The dark thing."
"The dark thing? Are you talking about whatever that was just now?"
The thing had spoken words, and it was clearly human, not a monster.
"The dark thing that lives in this forest… Don't tell me it's not a monster, but a person?"
"It's coming."
"…!?"
It took only an instant to register what "it's coming" meant.
A single presence came hurtling toward them at full speed.
"GUOGHRAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!"
A monstrous creature three meters in height crashed through the trees, mowing them aside as it appeared.
It was a giant bear with fur that glittered like crystals.
"So that's the Diamond Bear…!"
Rest cast a spell on reflex.
A blade of wind slashed at the giant bear, but it ricocheted off the fur and dissipated into mist.
"Hard…!"
"GROOUUUUUUUGHHH!"
"Kgh—!"
He scooped Urla up and kicked off the ground.
Launching into the air with a flight spell, he escaped the Diamond Bear's charge range.
"This is a tougher opponent than expected…!"
The follow-up spell he cast was [Ice Cannon].
The mid-tier offensive magic slammed into the Diamond Bear's body.
"GUOGH!"
"What— it deflected that too!?"
But the Diamond Bear shook off the ice that had struck it, swiping it away with a thick forepaw.
It showed no signs of having taken damage whatsoever, looking as calm as ever.
"Could it be… that fur has a high resistance to magic…?"
Just as dragon scales did, the scales or skin of certain monsters had the ability to drastically diminish the power of magic.
The Diamond Bear's crystal-like fur… perhaps it carried a similar effect.
"Hafh…"
A labored breath escaped from somewhere within her chest.
Urla had been in his arms while they flew — it must have been uncomfortable.
"Are you okay, Urla?"
"Mm, more…"
On closer look, Urla had a blissful expression on her face.
Her cheeks were flushed, her eyes glistening — she looked exactly like a drunkard.
"What do you mean 'more'… Never mind that — we need to deal with *that* thing."
"GUOGH! GROARGH!"
The Diamond Bear was rampaging.
Glaring up at Rest, who hovered in the sky, it was tearing through trees with its claws in a show of intimidation.
"If all we need to do is kill it, it wouldn't be that hard… but I'd rather not burn the whole forest down."
Any magic powerful enough to finish it off would devastate the woodland. He couldn't destroy an entire forest just to kill one bear.
"In that case… as much as it pains me, let's try this."
Rest conjured a water sphere in his palm. Infusing it with mana, he let it swell to enormous size.
"Go!"
"GRUWGH?!"
The water sphere engulfed the Diamond Bear.
The great bear swung both forepaws, trying to peel the water away, but it wouldn't budge.
"Finishing move."
He touched down on the ground and activated a spell called [Earth Manipulation].
Rising earth enclosed the Diamond Bear along with the water, forming a dome that sealed it inside.
"Sorry about this — just drown in there, will you?"
No matter how tough its fur was, a creature that couldn't breathe would eventually die. As a living being, that much was unavoidable.
For a time, Rest could feel the Diamond Bear thrashing about inside the earth dome… but eventually, the movements ceased.
He probed with [Presence Detection] and confirmed that the Diamond Bear had perished completely.
"It's over."
"Hafhu…"
As Rest coolly declared victory, the Urla clutched in his arms let out yet another heated sigh.