Bear School Astartes

Aiden didn’t perform well against the Deer-Head Spirit.

He was basically entangled by a group of Hate Dolly.

If it were in another world, walking with Wende would definitely feel awkward.

Because he would feel he underperformed, while Wende would think he didn’t help much.

But among the hunters here...

”Another round!” *2

”Bang!”

Wende and Aiden clinked glasses, carefree and unburdened.

Skills not good enough? Practice more. Companions still entrust their faith.

Hunters generally have open minds.

Wende gulped down a whole skewer of meat and walked to Lann’s side.

Standing, he was just a head taller than Lann.

”Everyone’s relaxed, but why do I feel like, awoo, you’re still tense?”

He said while chewing and swallowed a mouthful of herbivorous dragon meat.

”The Molten Mountain Dragon trouble is over.” Lann clinked glasses with him with a sigh. ”But my troubles aren’t over yet. From your description... this Deer-Head Spirit has changed too much, right?”

Talking about the unsettling peculiar monster, Wende and Aiden’s cheerful faces turned stiff.

They both sat down, ready to discuss the monster seriously.

Right on cue, the Commander-in-Chief walked over as well.

”You want to talk about that invasive species? Just as well, I’d like to hear it.”

The old man with a blackened face and white hair sat down too.

”The primary issue is... it helped us.” Wende, the hunter who directly fought the Deer-Head Spirit, spoke first. ”Why?”

Lann pondered this question briefly and quickly responded.

”It finally stumbled into a world with such a thriving ecosystem, surely it doesn’t want the ecosystem destroyed.”

”Actually, even on my side, the Deer-Head Spirit has a habit of killing humans who entered the forest to chop wood or hunt. I personally think: this is the Deer-Head Spirit’s action to protect its new home and power.”

”The Deer-Head Spirit possesses an unknown level of intelligence, I think it realized our intentions and decided to help us, which is also helping itself.”

”Is that so?” The Commander-in-Chief nodded thoughtfully, then looked up at Lann.

”In any case, it seems the main force against this monster must be you. A Sword Master and someone like Wende seem quite passive when facing so-called ’Magic.’ We really don’t understand the Deer-Head Spirit.”

”Of course.” Lann waved his hand, ”It’s an invasive species from my side, of course I’ll take care of it.”

”What worries me more is...”

Lann said, rubbing his chin with his fingers.

”Who exactly among those who encountered the Deer-Head Spirit in this operation got wounded?”

”Hmm? What do you mean?” Wende became alert first, even putting down his wine glass.

”Can that monster do anything to those it wounded?”

He hadn’t forgotten the blow he took to his chest. And thinking about the eerie, deep atmosphere exhibited by the Deer-Head Spirit’s magic... ugh~!

Wende couldn’t help but shiver.

”This is one of the troublesome aspects of the Deer-Head Spirit.” Lann said, gesturing for Wende to remove his armor.

”The Deer-Head Spirit can create a magical link with its victims using a special type of wound, like placing a mark. If you kill the Deer-Head Spirit without discovering this link, then soon after, the victim will die from exhaustion. The Deer-Head Spirit would be reborn from the victim’s vitality.”

Wende became anxious until Lann checked under his shirt and, seeing the shape of the wound, shook his head dismissively, relaxing Wende.

”You don’t have the mark; it’s just a laceration.”

A growing audience listened, as monsters from another world naturally drew hunters’ attention.

Under Lann’s explanation, the onlookers made various sounds.

Mostly things like, ’There’s really such a monster?!’, ’How amazing!’, ’So insidious!’ and the like.

After finishing her chicken leg, Aibo joined in the collective astonishment.

”So, all members of the New Continent Expedition Team wounded by the Deer-Head Spirit need you to determine if they’ve been... cursed?”

The Commander-in-Chief summarized it.

He stumbled a bit over the word ’curse’, indicating he wasn’t a believer in mysticism before.

”That’s all we can do.” Lann nodded.

Luckily, there aren’t many in the expedition team, otherwise, the workload wouldn’t be small.

”To be safe, let me ask...” The Commander-in-Chief spoke cautiously, ”After identifying someone marked, how would you lift the curse?”

Lann silently held his wine glass while the initially eager onlookers grew calm in the silence.

They seemed to realize that things don’t always go as one wish.

”There’s no way.”

Lann said softly.

Meanwhile, all the observing hunters widened their eyes, some even covered their mouths.

”I won’t lie to you, but in our research, there’s still no targeted method for countering the Deer-Head Spirit’s curse. In our past hunting experiences, we either kill the marked person before hunting the Deer-Head Spirit.”

”Or make sure that person never sets foot in the Deer-Head Spirit’s territory again, which means leaving their homeland.”

”If the marked person reappears in the Deer-Head Spirit’s former territory, even if the spirit has been hunted down for decades or centuries... it would still come back.”

”How... can that be?” Even Aibo was wide-eyed, stopping in mid-bite of the chicken leg.

She said blankly, ”To hunt a monster... you would kill a person?! Exile someone from their homeland?!”

Lann sighed, looking down.

He knew that for these hunters, the work of a Demon Hunter could seem quite dark.

But each world has its circumstances.

In the survival challenges of the Magic Middle Ages, if a village could solve the Deer-Head Spirit by sacrificing one person, the villagers wouldn’t have much to complain about.

The previously lively celebration became silent from Lann’s explanation, leaving only the occasional crackle of firewood in the kitchen.

Until a hearty voice spoke up.

”There’s no need to worry about that.”

Like a mighty man from the third stage of a Super Saiyan, he gently parted the crowd and sat down at Lann’s table, dragging a stone stool with one hand.

He seemed rugged and bold but keenly spotted a blind spot.

”In the end, everyone’s from the Old Continent anyway, long since left their homes.”

He raised the glass on the table, turned around while seated.

”We’re the New Continent Expedition Team, our activity area is the entire New Continent! There’s a lifetime’s worth of new sights on this continent; if we have to detour around a monster’s territory, I think it’s no different, right?”

”Take me, for example. I’ve been in the New Continent for decades, my old buddies even have grandsons that big. Yet, if you add up my time in the Stellar Outpost, it might not even be a year, and I still live well, don’t I?”

”As hunters.” he took a sip of beer, ”Having arrived at the New Continent, why cling to a small patch of a monster’s territory? Can’t stay, then move on.”