Kuma Kuma Kuma Bear Vol. 1

by Kumanano

  In WFO, this sort of buff was used by pure melee tanks and DPS classes. It didn’t last for long, but it was a popular tactic for ramping up your damage output. I gave the mana circulation thing a try, then sprinted for a bit to test it out. Everything blurred around me before I skidded to a stop. I tried jumping.

  “Ahhhhhhhh!”

  I jumped ten meters straight up without even really trying. When I landed, it didn’t hurt. Was it because of the physical enhancement? I tried testing out all sorts of things, with and without physical enhancement; I dashed, jumped, did a bear punch, and threw a bear kick. My power had definitely increased.

  I checked my status screen.

  Name: Yuna

  Age: 15 years old

  Level: 8

  Skills: Fantasy World Language, Fantasy World Literacy, Bear Extradimensional Storage, Bear Identification

  Magic: Bear Light, Bear Physical Enhancement

  GEAR

  Right Hand: Black Bear Glove (Nontransferable)

  Left Hand: White Bear Glove (Nontransferable)

  Right Foot: Black Bear Shoe (Nontransferable)

  Left Foot: White Bear Shoe (Nontransferable)

  Clothing: Black and White Bear Clothes (Nontransferable)

  Underwear: Bear Underwear (Nontransferable)

  …Bear Physical Enhancement?

  Bear?

  Bear Physical Enhancement

  Routing mana through the bear gear allows for physical enhancement.

  I closed the status screen silently, pretending I hadn’t seen it, and decided to look for a place where I could practice attack magic. I wound up closer to the forest’s edge.

  The method in which you used magic in this world was…

  Gather your mana.

  Create an image of the magic you want to use.

  Invoke the spell.

  In the game you’d…

  Gather your mana.

  Invoke the spell.

  It was easier in the game, because all you did was collect your mana and recite the incantation. I gathered my mana and could invoke my magic by just incanting “Fire.”

  In this world, I needed an image of something. But as someone who’d read a ton of novels and manga, and played all kinds of games, I had a plentiful repertoire of mental images to draw on. I collected my mana in my hands, imagining a blazing ball of fire.

  “Fireball.”

  There, I thought, that was easy. The bear held a fireball in its mouth. It wasn’t hot. I stretched out my arm, imagining it leaping out. My target was a boulder about ten meters ahead. The fireball streaked from the bear’s mouth and into the boulder, demolishing it.

  Just to see if I could do it, I collected my mana and pictured the fireball. It took shape just like before. I confirmed that I could do it without an incantation. Still, it was easier to imagine it when I yelled “Fireball” with my mouth, and it was faster to invoke. You needed an incantation in order to invoke magic in the game, and it was easier to invoke magic in this world by yelling the incantation.

  Next, I tried using water magic.

  “Waterball.”

  Just like before, a ball of water took shape in the bear’s mouth. I took aim at another boulder and released. My target shattered, but far less dramatically than the last boulder did. In that case, I speculated, I could try freezing the water first. I imagined the mass of water turning hard and sharp and loosed another shot at the boulder. Ice arrows flew from my gloved hand and reduced it to shards.

  I couldn’t use fire in the woods, so ice was useful. If I had fire and water, wind and earth would make sense to try next, I guess. I wrapped the wind around my hand.

  “Air cutter.”

  I let the wind blade go and watched it shear the next boulder right in half. Alright, I thought, that leaves earth magic. All my time spent gaming told me it was the sort of thing you’d use to pull a wall out of the ground between you and the enemy.

  I collected mana in the bear and put my hand to the ground, imagining a wall coming together.

  “Earth shield.”

  The earth rose up into a wall. I didn’t know how durable it was, but it was there. With that, I had conquered the four elements, fire, water, wind and earth. I checked my status.

  Name: Yuna

  Age: 15 years old

  Level: 8

  Skills: Fantasy World Language, Fantasy World Literacy, Bear Extradimensional Storage, Bear Identification

  Magic: Bear Light, Bear Physical Enhancement, Bear Fire Magic, Bear Water Magic, Bear Wind Magic, Bear Earth Magic

  GEAR

  Right Hand: Black Bear Glove (Nontransferable)

  Left Hand: White Bear Glove (Nontransferable)

  Right Foot: Black Bear Shoe (Nontransferable)

  Left Foot: White Bear Shoe (Nontransferable)

  Clothing: Black and White Bear Clothes (Nontransferable)

  Underwear: Bear Underwear (Nontransferable)

  Of course all of it came with bears tacked on.

  Bear Fire Magic

  Based on the mana that is gathered in the bear glove, gives the ability to use fire elemental magic.

  Power is proportional to mana and the mental image.

  When imagining a bear, power increases even more.

  Bear Water Magic

  Based on the mana that is gathered in the bear glove, gives the ability to use water elemental magic.

  Power is proportional to mana and the mental image.

  When imagining a bear, power increases even more.

  Bear Wind Magic

  Based on the mana that is gathered in the bear glove, gives the ability to use wind elemental magic.

  Power is proportional to mana and the mental image.

  When imagining a bear, power increases even more.

  Bear Earth Magic

  Based on the mana that is gathered in the bear glove, gives the ability to use earth elemental magic.

  Power is proportional to mana and the mental image.

  When imagining a bear, power increases even more.

  In short, if I didn’t have the bears, I couldn’t use magic. Okay, I thought, I get it now. I’d already given up on ever getting rid of these things, but there was one part that bothered me.

  When imagining a bear, power increases even more.

  In the spirit of scientific inquiry, I pictured flames in the shape of a bear. A bright red, flaming bear appeared in front of me.

  “Uhh.”

  For the time being, I let the bear go to town on a giant boulder, which promptly melted.

  I didn’t want to ignite a forest fire, so I poured water on it to get it under control—but the fire didn’t extinguish when I used normal water. I conjured up a water bear that threw itself onto the spreading pool of lava, cooling it until there was only burnt sedge, steam, and a much flatter rock left.

  This was dangerous—really dangerous.

  After I rested a while, I heard something parting the vegetation in the woods, and a single wolf appeared. In other words, I had a new practice dummy.

  I’d probably burn the woods down if I used a fireball, so I collected my mana and pictured a razor-edged shard of ice, and the way the light would play off it in rainbow patterns at this time of day.

  “Ice arrow.”

  It lodged itself in the wolf’s head, and the wolf stopped moving. This bear suit really did come with the most broken aimbot conceivable. Of course, the same had happened with the rocks earlier, but those weren’t moving targets. Now I knew that so long as I could aim, I’d hit.

  I didn’t mind. It was useful.

  I got up close to the wolf and put its carcass in my bear storage to sell off to Gentz later.

  “Wolves, huh…”

  In WFO, wolves were usually mobs designed for beginner players to cut their teeth on. I hesitated slightly before I decided to go deeper into the woods, running mana through my shoes so I could sprint around and jump without worrying about where or how I landed. This bear gear was j
ust way too handy! I’d be able to use my new speed and verticality to search for wolves.

  Mid-jump, I noticed a pack in the brush below me.

  “I wonder if that’s too many.”

  Well, if I couldn’t deal with them, I could just run away. I let myself land in the middle of them, loosing three ice arrows that drilled through three wolf heads. It looked like I could handle three at a time just fine.

  “Earth shield.”

  I instantly drew up a wall, and the wolves in front of me collided with it. In that moment, another wolf leapt from a rock, jaws snapping.

  “Bear puuunch!”

  The wolf went sailing off. Another wolf charged, and another bear punch sent it flying. There was no doubt that the power in my bear punch had risen. I’d created enough distance to start using magic again.

  “Air cutter.”

  I cut the nearest wolf in half, and shower of blood sprayed the air.

  Yeah, I thought, this doesn’t feel that great. It worked like a game, but this was real, wasn’t it? I decided not to use the air cutter anymore. Maybe beating them with ice was better?

  I guessed I would have to get used to it eventually. I would think about the unpleasant things later. Today was for magic practice. There were still wolves around me, after all.

  I jumped high and imagined as many ice arrows as I could. Several dozen materialized. I aimed them at the howling, broken pack beneath me and released them. Of course, I couldn’t make headshots with this spray-and-pray approach, but every arrow hit somewhere in center mass. In an instant, several dozen wolves collapsed. I bear punched another wolf as I touched back down.

  I cycled from magic to punches to magic, over and over again…

  When the battle ended, countless wolf corpses lay scattered around me. I put them into my bear storage one by one. It would have been nice if they could disappear and turn into items.

  I wasn’t hesitant about killing monsters. I’d done it plenty in WFO. The issue was the bloodstained bodies left behind. There must have been about forty in total just from this encounter.

  It weighed on me enough that I decided to call it quits for the day and head back to town.

  Chapter 11:

  The Bear Becomes E-Rank

  THE GATE GUARD GUY patted my head again. I wished he’d stop treating me like a child.

  I headed from the gate straight to the guildhall. Everyone’s gazes fell on me all at once. They all turned away when I looked back. Since none of them would say anything to me, I headed to the front desk.

  “Ms. Yuna, what business do you have with us today?” Helen asked me, so I headed towards her desk.

  “I defeated some wolves in the woods, so I’m wondering what I should do in this situation. If there’s a quest form on the board and I accept it, would I fulfill it right away?”

  “If the quest contents just ask for the slaying of the monsters, then you would receive a quest success for bringing in mana gems as proof of slaying. However, it is a strict requirement that the mana gems be provided within a specific timeframe.”

  “A timeframe?”

  “Because it would be an issue if someone brought in mana gems from monsters slain a month ago for a quest that came in today.”

  “Can you tell?”

  “Yes, we can.”

  I shouldn’t have expected less from a fantasy world.

  “Wolf slaying is a standing quest, so we can accept them at any time. However, you must also have their meat and pelts. You can feed a family for a day off the meat and such—it’s a staple here—and the pelts are used for clothing and such. That’s why it’s a standing quest.”

  “In that case, can I ask for that wolf quest?”

  “Yes, one wolf is F-rank. Three would be considered E-rank.”

  “Really. Well, I’ve got forty for the time being, so could you take them?”

  “…Ms. Yuna, what did you just say?”

  I could hear voices whispering behind me. “She says she’s got forty wolves.” “That’s got to be a joke.” “How would a single person defeat them?” “But it’s that bear.” “Then it’s believable.” “I haven’t seen that bear in a fight.” “I saw it. Don’t get on the wrong side of that bear.”

  They went on and on like that.

  “Sorry,” said Helen, “but where might they be? We can’t accept just the mana gems.”

  “I haven’t harvested them, but I’ve got them right here in my bottomless bag.”

  “You have a bottomless bag? And one that’s big enough for forty wolves? In that case, I’m sorry, but could you come to the building next door?”

  Helen led me to the neighboring building. Some guys followed behind me, probably looking forward to seeing the show. We were heading to the place where Fina and I had sold the wolf materials earlier, but I didn’t see Mr. Gentz. A different man greeted us. From where I was, I couldn’t tell if he had the day off or was in the back.

  “Ms. Helen, what is it?” The male employee noticed Helen and came over to us.

  “I’ve brought wolves, so could you handle them?”

  “No problem. We’re not butchering anything in the warehouse at the moment.”

  “In that case, Ms. Yuna, please take them out here.”

  I started pulling the wolf carcasses out of my bear storage. I’d learned something important while I was stowing all those bodies: I could pull them out without putting my hand in the white bear’s mouth by visualizing what I wanted to retrieve. I held my hand over the counter and thought of wolves.

  I was glad I didn’t need to touch them.

  Behind me, my entourage was whispering again. “There really are forty wolves.” “Can’t expect less of the bear.” “Mess with the bear and you’ll end up like those wolves.” “I want her to punch me.” “I want her to step on me.”

  It took all the resolve I still had to ignore that last part.

  “I think this is it.”

  “M-Ms. Yuna, did you really defeat these all by yourself?”

  “I was practicing magic.”

  Helen counted the wolves. “Forty-two. Looks like the meat and pelts are in good condition. We’ll also need to buy the mana gems off you; is that okay?”

  “I don’t mind, but can you actually use wolf mana gems?”

  “Yes. Wolf mana gems aren’t that powerful, but they’re versatile. You can make a passable lamp with one of them and a light enchantment; do the same with water and you can draw a few drams from one at a time.”

  In WFO you only really saw people use these sorts of items as weapon mats, and they were only worth caring about if they were strong, but here it seemed like even the trash tier mats had practical, day-to-day value.

  “We’ll go through the formalities next, so if you could come back into the guild?”

  When I turned around, the peanut gallery of adventurers was all agog. For the sake of not hearing any more twisted remarks, I ignored them and followed Helen.

  “We’ll count this as an E-rank quest—could you show me your guild card?”

  I handed her my card. Once she had it in her hands, she looked up at me again.

  “Can I ask you something?”

  “What is it?”

  “Did you defeat those wolves one at a time?”

  “I fought the whole pack.”

  “So, it was a group of forty…that would make it a D-rank quest. Please wait a moment. I’ll go consult the guild master.”

  Helen came back from the back room almost immediately.

  “Since you achieved the quest of slaying wolves for E-rank fourteen times, we will promote you to E-rank.”

  “Are you sure?”

  “I received permission from the guild master. You can fight at D-rank level all by yourself, so you’re more than qualified.”

  “Well, it’s not like I’m gonna turn you down.”

  “We’ll process it right now, then.” She reached inside the counter. “First, this will be your retainer. That will be for t
he meat, pelts, and mana gems of forty-two wolves. Since the wolves hadn’t been butchered, we will take twenty percent.”

  This must be what Fina was talking about. The twenty percent was probably the handling fee, since normal adventurers brought their stuff in already butchered. I nodded at Helen, took the leather purse with my pay, then put it in the bear storage. Lastly, I put my guild card in, too.

  “You’re E-rank, now. Please keep up the good work.”

  “Thanks.”

  Once I was done selling stuff, I went back to my room at the inn. I thought I might have racked up a couple levels, so I pulled up my status screen.

  Name: Yuna

  Age: 15 years old

  Level: 13

  Skills: Fantasy World Language, Fantasy World Literacy, Bear Extradimensional Storage, Bear Identification, Bear Detection

  Magic: Bear Light, Bear Physical Enhancement, Bear Fire Magic, Bear Water Magic, Bear Wind Magic, Bear Earth Magic

  GEAR

  Right Hand: Black Bear Glove (Nontransferable)

  Left Hand: White Bear Glove (Nontransferable)

  Right Foot: Black Bear Shoe (Nontransferable)

  Left Foot: White Bear Shoe (Nontransferable)

  Clothing: Black and White Bear Clothes (Nontransferable)

  Underwear: Bear Underwear (Nontransferable)

  I’d gotten a new skill.

  Bear Detection

  Using the wild abilities of bears, can detect monsters or people.

  It was a weird skill for a bear to have—it seemed like a better fit for a thief—but it would be a lot easier to find monsters with this.

  Chapter 12:

  The Bear Gets Involved

  at the Guild Again

  THE NEXT DAY, I headed to the guild early in the morning to pick up some quests, hoping for first pick of the good gigs. I was hoping something that involved slaying things, so I could get in some magic practice… preferably not slaying wolves, though.