The Sound Of Despair

Instead of changing their equipment, Reinhardt opted to upgrade it with some higher quality metal instead. The metal plates in Sturm's leather armor were easy to replace, and his Hirschfanger was already good enough for its intended use. Reinhardt's own gear, on the other hand, would require much more than a few gold coins to upgrade. A few ointments and bandages from the House of Herbs would be enough for him.

Their next targets were also Tier 3 Bronze magic beasts, one of them was the ironmaw bear, a giant brown-striped black bear with a bite pressure of a thousand kilos per square cm. Its habitat was situated in the north-western forest region. The other new prey was the maclawco, a monkey species from the mid-western forest region, with dangerously sharp claws resembling a certain superhero with adamantium in his body.

Both magic beasts were chosen for their innate traits, the ironmaw bear being a strong but slow beast that could break a fifth-step commoner's back with one bite. That was if it could catch one. Sturm may not be as physically fast as commoners. Still, he had already shown that both his instincts and agility combined with efficient movements were more than enough to avoid the beast's dangerous denture.

Maclawcos brought in a completely new factor, namely three-dimensionality. Grassfoxes attack with quick jumps, but their jumps started from their feet and landed on them. True three-dimensional attacks changed directions mid-air, of which maclawcos were capable. They used tree branches and vines to propel themselves around and brandish their claws from all types of angles.

Most mercenary groups would set up traps before hunting ironmaw bears. The bears were not actually slow when running in a straight line. They accelerated to almost 80km/h in just a few seconds but would find it difficult to turn or alter their direction. That lack of maneuverability was why they were known as slow, and the traps laid by mercenaries abused that trait. Even when the ironmaw bears saw the danger in front of them, if they had already accelerated to a certain speed, then they would find themselves unable to stop.

Letting these bears run into spikes or pitfalls was the easiest and most efficient way of dealing with them. Easy and efficient sounded nice, but it was not what Reinhardt and Sturm were looking for. They were hunting to increase Sturm's experience and abilities, not to prepare traps for hours, and then wait for a few more, hoping an ironmaw bear eventually caught the bait.

Their first targets were the ironmaw bears. Initially, fighting them went as expected for the most part. Sturm managed to evade the ironmaws' iron maws with ease, dancing around the giant bears like an adult playing with a puppy. He did not have to expend even a tenth of the concentration he had needed for the grassfoxes, but on the other hand, he could not hurt them at all.

Even the grassfoxes only got mildly hurt by his fiercest punches and kicks, and these were magic beasts known to be fragile. The ironmaw bears' reputation was the complete opposite. Their thick hides and sturdy muscles could resist even a fifth-step commoner's broadsword slashes. Striking and kicking the bears was no different than an average human attacking a tank, simply a laughable effort. Once again, Reinhardt had to step in and finish the job.

The former mercenary had shown cold-hearted efficiency when dealing with the grassfoxes, almost mechanically dispatching the little beasts with each strike of his axes. Nothing of that meticulousness could be seen when Reinhardt fought the ironmaw bears. If Sturm did not know better, he would assume Reinhardt had a death grudge with those bears.

Axe swings after axe swings chopped into the bears, leaving behind deep gashes all over their bodies. Once the bears started bleeding profusely, Reinhardt would disregard any defense and keep attacking like a madman. Even when they were already dead, the hacking would only stop after the head had been severed. As the weeks went by and their pouches kept getting filled with silver earned from the bounties and fur, Sturm got bolder when fighting the bears.

Instead of just dodging and distracting the ironmaws, he started hitting their eyes to blind them. It took a lot of courage to do that, as attacking the eyes also meant stepping into the bear's striking range. Nevertheless, their slow paws did not even manage to graze him, which infuriated the predators endlessly.

It was through these actions Sturm found out why Reinhardt went berserk on the ironmaw bears. Being widely known as the "Rampage Bear" was something the former mercenary detested. How could some pitiful teddies compare to his strength and might? He ought to teach them their place and show the world the difference between lowly magic beasts and mighty warriors.

Sturm found it endlessly amusing that Reinhardt got so invested in a rivalry with a barely sentient species. What made the situation even more hilarious were the mercenaries mocking the guard captain every time they delivered new heads as proof of kills to the Mercenary Association. When their calls accusing Reinhardt of family massacres and cannibalism resonated through the lobby, the giant had to use all of his self-discipline to hold himself back from starting a bar fight.

Should any of the mercenaries use the opportunity to mock Reinhardt in a way that exceeded that of banter, the association clerks would make sure to remove that personnel immediately. No one wanted a real massacre to ensue.

While weeks kept passing by and the ironmaw bear population dwindled, Sturm found himself slowly getting bored by that particular magic beast. In an attempt to increase the challenge, he had an incredible idea. What made commoners especially dangerous for Sturm?

The answer was their strength. Even if Sturm managed to block an attack, it was more than likely that every single bone in his arms would be shattered during the impact. Ironmaw bears were incredibly strong; if he could deflect their paw swipes, then he would be able to deflect most of the human attacks as well.

Edgar had strongly cautioned them to avoid any risks, and Reinhardt monitored his young hunting partner closely, but over the weeks, his worries slowly disappeared. Sturm had demonstrated that he knew his limits and would never stupidly challenge fate. A fatal mistake, as it turned out that Sturm's idea was indeed incredible, just that it was incredibly stupid. On one of the last days, when they had planned to hunt the ironmaw bears, Sturm went in much more aggressively than usual.

In his defense, he chose to act when the bear had already been severely weakened. [Black Room] showed him a reduction of 50% speed and 40% strength in the bear's movements. After punching the mammal in the eyes, he did not retreat as usual but heightened his senses and concentration to the maximum. Reinhardt, still lost in his pointless rage towards the innocent bears, did not immediately realize what was happening, and when he did, it was already too late.

The massive paw swung towards the small boy, delivering a promise of doom and destruction. Blinded, the bear put all his weight behind the strike in a final act of desperation. Even if it died, it would at least take one of the evil humans with it. There was no precision and no control, just endless rage and desperation packed into a single attack. A primeval power caused the bear's blood to boil and a red mist to condensed around its claw, drawing an ominous red cloud behind its trajectory.

<<A perfect angle. Velocity calculated. Amount of force to deviate the swing calculated. Perfection. Wait...>>

*BOOM*

The deflection resulted in a beautiful and perfect arc. Not even such an insane amount of pure power could kill Sturm, and the ironmaw bear knew it had not managed to kill the dirty human that destroyed its sight. The resistance it felt was nowhere close to normal, having been reduced by more than 80%. Despite of that, the remaining 20% were more than enough to at least punish its killers. It was over for it. At any moment, the giant human with the two axes would end it.

The bear closed its eyes and accepted its fate with one last instinctual thought. <<Hopefully, my cubs will be able to escape those monsters.>>

One last swing finally decapitated the ironmaw's head, but Reinhardt did not seem happy at all. Just before he could kill the bear, he saw how a single paw swipe had sent Sturm flying in a big arc, landing in some undergrowth a dozen meters away and disappearing inside it. What happened? His student never made mistakes like that. Was he too tired? Reinhardt blamed himself, as he should have seen Sturm's fatigue. How would he explain this to Edgar?

Any person with brain cells would know his rivalry with bears was childish and stupid. If the consequence of his behavior were Sturm's death, neither Edgar nor he himself would ever forgive him.

It was just… Sturm practically oozed confidence every time they prepared to go on another hunt. An aura of mastery surrounded him, making it easy to forget he was still just a teenager. Hell, even Reinhardt himself could not hit Sturm during their sparring sessions anymore. How did a stiff, graceless, unrefined, and unagile teddy they had fought for hundreds of times accomplish what he did not?

Reinhardt dropped his axes and sprinted towards the undergrowth Sturm had disappeared in. After the despairing guard captain tore out all shrubs and plants, he saw a young boy looking at him with an awkward grin. Both of Sturm's arms were bent in weird angles, and even a broken bone was visible.

He knew he had f***ed up.