Chapter 12
Ren sees a ancient looking tree ,he decided to land there . The vines not giving up try to attack , ren quickly sets up a wall of fire 25 metres from him .
The vine bounded by his territory could only stretch a little over the wall of flame, ren guided by instinct cuts the vines with his blade and moves back, the vine decides to stop since he can't leave his territory.
Ren gathers the vine , builds a slingshot tieing it to two big trees , testing it , making sure it will be ready for launch.
He casts a wind spell "a small weak tornado to protect his base .
Ren retires unto his tree and rests unintentionally sleeping through the night.
Ren woke to pain.
Not the sharp, overwhelming agony of fresh wounds, but the deep, grinding ache of a body that had been pushed far past its limits and then forced to rest before it was ready. His eyelids fluttered open, vision blurring as pale morning light filtered through layers of leaves overhead.
For several long seconds, he didn't move.
He listened.
The forest was quieter than it had been the night before. No screeches. No sudden rustling from hidden predators. Only the distant murmur of flowing water and the faint crackle of dying embers.
I survived the night…
The realization came with no relief—only caution.
Ren slowly pushed himself into a sitting position. The moment he did, pain surged through his ribs and left thigh, drawing a sharp hiss from his lips. His right arm trembled violently, muscles spasming from overuse, and his breath came shallow and uneven.
He looked around.
The remains of his desperate defenses surrounded him. A rough thirty-meter semicircle of scorched earth marked where his fire wall had burned through the night. Charred monster corpses lay scattered near the edges—small beasts that had wandered too close and paid the price.
The fire wall itself was gone now, reduced to smoldering ash.
The tornado spell was worse.
What had once been a roaring column of compressed wind was now unstable, collapsing and reforming in weak, intermittent pulses. Ren could feel it unraveling. It wouldn't last much longer.
Mana… about half.
Enough to run.
Not enough for another long fight.
Ren clenched his jaw and began checking his equipment with stiff, practiced movements. His small blade was nicked and dulled. The bundle of vine ropes—thick, fibrous strands stripped from the vine monster and braided during his brief rest—was still tied across his back.
Good.
That preparation might be the only reason he survived what came next.
The ground trembled.
Ren froze.
At first, he thought it was his imagination—an echo of exhaustion. Then it happened again.
Thump.
Loose dirt shook free from nearby roots. Birds erupted from the canopy in frantic bursts, fleeing in every direction.
Ren slowly turned toward the edge of the burned zone.
The earth bulged upward.
Then split.
A massive paw slammed down where his fire wall had once burned hottest, extinguishing the last embers beneath sheer weight alone. The ground cracked, stone veins spreading outward like fractures in glass.
The bear emerged.
It was enormous—far larger than any beast Ren had seen since entering the arena. Thick, dark fur clung to its massive frame, streaked with hardened dirt and stone as though the earth itself had fused to its body. Each step it took sent vibrations through the ground.
Its eyes were calm.
Not feral.
Not enraged.
Judging.
Ren's Appraisal flared automatically.
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Stonehide Bear (Territory Guardian)
Affinity: Earth
Threat Level: Extreme
Notes: This entity enforces territorial balance. Hostility triggered by prolonged environmental disruption.
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A guardian.
Ren's stomach sank.
So that's it…
His fire wall. The tornado. The corpses. He hadn't just defended himself—he had violated the land for too long.
The bear lowered its head slightly, nostrils flaring as it inhaled. Its gaze shifted to the charred remains scattered near Ren's feet.
The ground beneath Ren's boots hardened instantly.
Stone surged upward around his ankles, locking him in place.
"—!"
Ren reacted without hesitation. Fire exploded downward, blasting the forming rock apart just enough for him to tear himself free. He stumbled backward, pain flaring through his legs.
The bear moved.
Not charging.
Vanishing.
The earth in front of Ren erupted as the guardian burst forward with terrifying speed. Ren barely rolled aside as a massive paw slammed down where his head had been a heartbeat earlier, the impact splitting the ground and throwing debris into the air.
Ren didn't counterattack.
He ran.
Fire flared behind him as he hurled a Fire Spear—not to kill, but to blind. The explosion detonated near the bear's face, forcing it to recoil for a fraction of a second.
That was all he needed.
Ren fled to his slingshot.
Stone pillars erupted from the ground ahead of him, forcing him to weave, leap, and slide through collapsing terrain. His lungs burned. His legs screamed with every step.
The bear roared.
The sound carried authority.
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The guardian bear lunged.
The sheer pressure of its movement crushed the air, its massive shadow swallowing Ren whole before he could even blink. Killing intent flooded the clearing, heavy and absolute.
He reached behind his back and yanked hard.
The coiled vines he had collected earlier—stripped from the vine monster's remains and braided during his brief rest—unfurled instantly. He hurled one end around the thick trunk of a nearby ancient tree, the fibrous plant material biting deep into the bark as it wrapped twice.
Ren planted his feet.
Pain screamed through his legs.
He pulled.
The vines stretched, fibers groaning under the sudden tension. At the exact moment the bear's claws were about to tear him apart, Ren activated his mana.
Burst Step.
Power detonated through his legs.
At the same instant, he released the vines.
The stored tension snapped back violently, merging with the explosive forward force of Burst Step. Ren's body was ripped off the ground like a projectile launched from a giant bow.
The bear's strike missed by a hair.
Ren shot through the air, tearing past branches and leaves as the forest blurred into streaks of green and brown. Wind howled in his ears, his body screaming under the strain of sudden acceleration.
Too fast—!
His balance slipped.
A shockwave grazed his side as the bear slammed into the ground behind him, the force alone enough to throw Ren off trajectory. Agony flared across his ribs as his body spun uncontrollably.
Below him—
Water.
A river surged through the forest, wide and violent.
Ren forced his limbs to move, twisting his body midair. He burned the last scraps of mana in his core—not for power, but for control—angling himself just enough.
He hit the river hard.
The impact drove the air from his lungs as icy water swallowed him whole. The current seized his broken body instantly, dragging him under, spinning him end over end.
Ren's vision darkened.
The last thing he felt was the relentless pull of the river carrying him away.
Then—nothing.
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