837 Bear Fights the Big Monkey Part 3 - Kuma Kuma Kuma Bear

The giant ape relinquished the sword, retreating as if to escape. "Could it be... you don't like the cold?" I enveloped my hand in ice. The sight of it caused the giant ape to back away, a stark reversal of my previous battle with the ice dragon. During that fight, I struggled against its icy attacks; my flames barely scratched it. Clearly, ice trumps fire. Moreover, with the wealth of knowledge available to someone like me from another world—one with advanced science—my powers of imagination are superior. The ape's fiery conjurations are limited by its own imagination. "Was it wise to let go of your sword?" I questioned the giant ape, which was attempting to distance itself from me. With my free hand, I grasped the sword that once belonged to the Goblin King. It's enormous. Though I've wielded various weapons in games, I had never used a broadsword, mostly because my character was a magic swordsman and couldn't hold one. That's why my main weapons were swords and knives. I swung the broadsword single-handedly—a feat possible only because I carried it with my bear puppet. "Don't tell me you don't want this weapon?" I understood that it couldn't comprehend my words, but the clever ape might catch my meaning through my actions. The giant ape glared at me but did not approach. "If you don't want it, I'll take it." I had no intention of casting it aside carelessly. After all, should someone else pick up and use it later, that would be troublesome. I'm not the kind of character in a story who regrets tossing away weapons like swords and pistols. As the Goblin King's sword vanished into my bear box, the giant ape made a displeased face. It seemed angry that something it considered its own had been taken. Honestly, I wanted to tell it that the sword belonged to the Goblin King, anyway. The giant ape let out a loud "Kikikiki!" In response, red monkeys descended from the waterfall. Though their numbers had decreased due to the many I had already defeated, the trees around me began to shake, revealing more red monkeys. How many are there? I quickly used my detection skill to assess the situation. A large number of red monkey signals surrounded me, and not far off, I detected the presence of Kumayuru, Kumakyu, and three other individuals. I immediately knew who they were. It was Mane and her companions. It seemed they had successfully dispatched the red monkeys pursuing them. Moreover, with Kumayuru and Kumakyu at their side, I had little doubt they could handle that number of foes. But they returned? I had told them to run away. "Kumayuru, Kumakyu, you two are in for a scolding later," I conveyed to them mentally. I thought I heard their saddened whines of "kuu~n" in my mind. While I was touched that they came back out of concern for me, I also wished they wouldn't endanger themselves. Nevertheless, knowing that Mane and her companions were safe brought me relief. "If you've led them here, you must protect Mane and the others," I instructed internally. If they brought them here, they must ensure their safety. In any case, everything would end once I defeated the giant ape. It no longer had the Goblin King's sword, so it was not a significant threat. "Kikikikiii!" With a shriek from the giant ape, the red monkeys charged at me. I evaded their attacks, keeping an eye on the giant ape the entire time. It was likely waiting for a moment when I was preoccupied with the red monkeys to launch its own attack. Contrary to my expectations, the giant ape moved slowly, stopping in front of the Goblin King's corpse and beginning to consume it. Watching it was unpleasant. Whether it was the magic stone or flesh—it was revolting. As I considered this, the giant ape's body began to glow. Could it be magic power? It seemed there were two lights emanating from it. Could it be the giant ape's magic stone and the Goblin King's? After consuming the Goblin King, the giant ape's arms thickened, and its entire body grew larger. A super giant ape—it had powered up! I suspected the Goblin King's magic stone reacted because it ate his flesh. Though I didn't understand the reason, I had a terrible feeling. The giant ape looked at me and grinned while feasting on the Goblin King's corpse. My instincts screamed that this was bad. I needed to attack immediately. Yet, the red monkeys interfered, attacking incessantly. Meanwhile, the giant ape began hopping as if warming up. Just as I thought "It's coming!", the giant ape leapt towards me the moment it landed, closing the distance instantly with a single jump. The ape's hand reached for me, and I narrowly evaded. Had I let my guard down or been distracted for even a moment, I wouldn't have avoided it. While contending with the red monkeys, I turned to see the giant ape twisting its body and pouncing again as it landed. I dodged once more. The giant ape, leveraging its powerful legs, repeatedly attacked in quick succession, and the red monkeys seized every opening to assault me. Their persistence was irritating. They just kept coming, one after another. I needed to eliminate the red monkeys gradually to reduce their numbers—they couldn't be endless. "So annoying!" As I launched an ice arrow to fend off attackers from the side, I lost my balance. The moment I thought "this is bad," the giant ape had already leapt towards me. I couldn't evade. At that moment, the giant ape grasped me and threw me with its tremendous force before I could escape. I bounced across the ground like a ball, finally crashing into a tree. Thanks to my bear equipment, I wasn't injured, but dizziness clouded my vision and my head reeled. Fearing my electric and ice magic, it had quickly thrown me away. Staggering, I rose to my feet. The giant ape watched me stand, clapping its hands in delight as it jumped. It was enjoying the fight. When I took the Goblin King's sword, it was angry, but now it felt smug, believing it had the upper hand. However, fighting without the Goblin King's sword proves more challenging. By discarding the sword, the giant ape returned to its natural fighting style—capitalizing on its agility, speed, and strength. This next-level ferocity made the Goblin King seem almost cute in comparison. Perhaps storing away the Goblin King's sword in my bear box was a mistake. I contemplated taking out the sword, wondering if it was a foolish idea. Either way, if it became disadvantaged, it might abandon the sword again. Therefore, I had no choice but to handle the current giant ape. The giant ape seemed to dislike the electric and ice magic, avoiding my touch each time. I realized both were effective, but the ape's movements were too swift, making it hard to land a hit. Then, close combat was the only option. Clenching mithril knives in both hands, I wielded the black-handled Kumayuru knife in my right and the white-handled Kumakyu knife in my left. I started towards the giant ape slowly. It mirrored my approach, both of us gradually accelerating until we broke into a sprint. The ape swung its elongated arm at me, its fist engulfed in flames. I countered with my mithril knives, and though the ape endured even their bites, the flames empowered its fists. Right, left, right, left. A punch came from below like an uppercut—a ruthless attack against a girl. I remembered facing a player who styled themselves a boxer during my gaming days. Not an official game class, just a self-proclaimed title. They fought with special hand weapons, mimicking a boxer's style. At first, I underestimated them, thinking there's no way they could beat swords or magic. Long-range, magic had the clear advantage. But in close quarters, things were different. That player proved formidable without magic, relying on tactical sword or knife play, unlike anything I'd encountered—and they beat me. If I hadn't learned from that fight, I wouldn't have dodged this now. I parried and spun, slicing with the Kumayuru knife, grazing the massive ape's arm. Backing out of reach to dodge the uppercut hindered my strike's range. I leaped back to widen the gap. The giant ape licked the small wound on its arm, stemming the blood flow. If I'd evaded just a bit closer, I could have severed half, even a third of its arm. With a devious grin, the ape lunged again, closing the gap instantly. Its sudden bursts of speed were troublesome. But a reduced distance works both ways—now it was within my attack range. I ducked under its sweeping arms to get closer. This proximity meant even the giant ape couldn't dodge. Just as I moved to slash my right-hand knife across its body, a sudden force struck me from the side. Was that a punch? I tumbled across the ground, swiftly standing to focus on the giant ape again. Its tail? The tail had swept in front of it like a scythe. I underestimated it. I never anticipated an attack with its tail. This wasn't a battle against a human. It was a war against a two-legged beast wielding a sword—a higher-level monster than a Goblin King. I had loosely categorized it as such, forgetting its tail—a huge mistake. Even in comics, monkeys with tails use them in fights. I've played countless games, watched countless anime and manga, and yet, I forgot this basic fact. How pathetic. At this rate, I couldn't call myself a true nerd (not that I've ever claimed to be one). "Fine. I'll start by cutting off that tail of yours." I declared, leveling the mithril knife at the giant ape. As if in response, a breeze swept through. "......Understood." The duel between the giant ape and me commenced. Occasionally, the red monkeys joined the attack, but their numbers were dwindling. The giant ape had grown more potent after consuming the Goblin King's magic stone and body—its strength increased, speed enhanced. Nevertheless, its aversion to the cold remained. It fought cautiously, maintaining distance due to the ice-clad mithril knife. Using the red monkeys as distractions, it waited to exploit any opening in my defense. Such predictability. Repeated exposure to the same attack breeds familiarity. Its tail swayed and extended toward me. Knowing an attack was impending made it much less daunting. Using the mithril knife, I extended its blade with my magic-fueled ice, severing the tail. The precise frozen blade sheared through it cleanly. Enraged, the giant ape swung at me, stretching out its arm to snatch my bear gear. Familiarity with repeated attacks allowed me to gauge the reach. Barely dodging, I slashed upward with the ice-enhanced Kumayuru knife. Blood oozed from its right arm, freezing in the process. The ape retaliated with its other arm. I lowered the slashing right arm, cutting into the approaching fist. Yet, the punch didn't cease, forcing me to dodge once more. The ape's fist skimmed past my head. I stepped in further, slicing its body with the Kumakyu knife in my left. The giant ape's advance was unrelenting. Coming at me again, I swept upward with the Kumayuru knife in my right, striking the face. But still, it kept going. Just then, an arrow pierced its eye with a rush of wind. The giant ape halted. Charged with magic, my mithril knife slashed towards its neck in a swift, horizontal arc. Blood geysered from its neck. With its remaining eye, the giant ape glared at me furiously, only for another arrow to embed itself. "It's over now." To finish it, I plunged the mithril knife into its heart. The giant ape's entire body began to freeze from within. It gritted its teeth, raising its arm for a final strike. But that arm never fell.