Chương 18: Oscar-Level Actor!

DO NOT pet the bear…

Gray had barely touched the beast when it happened… again! He was suddenly sucked into the bear's memories! Then, he found himself becoming a happy bear cub.

The smell of the forest.

The coziness of their cave.

The warmth of its mother's fur.

It was an energetic young cub who couldn't wait to explore the vast world. Eat lots, play lots, hunt lots, and grow stronger! One day, it would rule over the other beasts and…

"Grrrr!" (Stop causing trouble, and eat your Grass Elk!)

It couldn't help but pull its tongue. Grass Elk again?! This thing was the epitome of "you taste what you eat." Yet, the cub obediently ate the old leftovers, its mother leaving to hunt.

Thus, it was left alone in the cave, one it had to stay in while awaiting her return. After all, the outside world was dangerous, or so she'd say. But that day, he disobeyed and went to play.

It shouldn't have—it really shouldn't have. Sadly, it had been lured out by the weather: a radiant sky, a warm day, and the grass seemingly shimmering in elation.

But there was also something else, something strange.

"Oh? What do we have here? A Rampaging Ursa Cub? Lucky!"

It was the strangest of beasts. Two legs, smooth face, no fang, no claw either, and gray all over. This thing looked so damn weak! But so what if it was weak? This was Ursa territory!

"Grrrr!" It growled with all its might! As for the effect?

"Feisty little thing, aren't you?" The hairless creature kicked it, HARD!

As the sky spun out of control, it couldn't help but whimper. It hurt, it hurt so much! Not even its mother dared to beat it: this bastard was evil!

— Whimper! Whimper! —

"Go on, squeal like a pig, call her!"

It barely took a minute. That's when SHE arrived! "ROARRRRRR!"

THUD-THUD-THUD! Powerful steps resonated, distressed birds flew away, and then even the trees started to give way, obliterated by her powerful charge!

Seeing this, the cub rejoiced. Its mother was invincible! She was—

— SLASH! SLASH SLASH! SLASH! —

All it took was a silver flash, a rapier dancing in the air. That's when the powerful Rampaging Ursa utterly fell apart.

Mighty predator? She had suddenly been reduced to meat cubes, her killer already gleefully collecting his would-be supper. "Hehe, freshest meat and a pet for the brats!"

Seeing this, the poor cub fell down, a broken roar escaping it.

That day, the world ended.

As for what followed? Endless pain.

Before it knew it, it found itself here.

A pond in a shitty forest, one that was its new prison. As for running? Its soul itself was linked to the pond, an ethereal chain appearing if it went too far away.

A few times, the killer came back and tried taming it, but every time it resisted, no matter the beatings it got in exchange. This kept going until the poor cub lost all hope.

Its world was quickly replaced by nothing but darkness…

The melancholy of an outside world long gone.

The sorrow of losing its mother to a human.

The rage at its own powerlessness.

That's when it finally decided to end it all, as it lowered itself into the pond for the very last time, submerging itself until water filled its lungs and sweet darkness arrived…

— GASP! —

That's when Gray awoke, struggling to breathe.

But that wasn't all, at the moment he was even… crying?!

Last time with Sera, his heart had quivered with emotion, but he could relate to this bear a thousand times more! They were the same, they were the goddamn same!

Both were trapped in the Academy, and both wanted nothing but to gain the power to break free and control their lives. This hit so damn close to home!

Still tearing up, Gray put his hand on the Bear's shoulder…

"Stay strong. I know what you went through, but there is still hope!"

He said it with such sincerity, his eyes meeting his brother in slavery. Despair? Hope? There was none of it in the bear's eyes. There was only utter incomprehension!

W-What the hell was this human talking about?! The poor bear felt like crying. Crying? Ah, that was it! That was the answer! It carefully put its bear paw on the human's shoulder and…

— SOB! SOB! SOB! —

Crocodile tears? Bear tears were even bigger and mightier! All one could hear was the thundering sobbing in the silence that followed. At this rate, the Ursa would cry a river!

Seeing this, the Hunters were at an utter loss…

"I-Is that Rampaging Ursa… crying?!"

"It's even holding Teacher Gale like a brother-in-arm!"

"Why does it look like they're both drunk? What did we miss?!"

Only then did Gray realize what had happened. The pond the bear had tried to drown in had been far bigger than the current one. Or rather, it had happened when it was still a cub!

The current bear had completely forgotten those memories and was just playing along to avoid being beaten to death by this eccentric "expert."

'Give me back my goddamn sympathy!' Gray felt cheated.

Still, it would serve as a warning. Gloomy Headpats could unearth hidden memories, but they wouldn't necessarily be relevant! As for Sera? He had probably gotten lucky.

"Alright, alright. That's enough crying. If I ever need an Oscar-winning actor, then I'll hire you for sure!" Gray praised the giant bear, the latter making a silly face.

Seems like it would survive this: hell yeah! Had the scary Teacher not been here, it would have even bear-pumped the air! With this, Gray finally turned to the students.

"Grab the wounded, time to leave. In the future, no more hunting this poor bear, alright?"

"Understood, you all? If any of you bastards cause trouble, I'll—"

"Y-YES, Teacher! W-We wouldn't dare, Miss Sera!"

The Hunters weren't just respectful. They were reverent! They'd forever remember this crazy Teacher and Disciple duo who had saved their lives.

They hurriedly gathered the injured, and fed them… green elixirs? With this, the latter quickly started recuperating, a couple even able to walk right away! How magical!

Seeing as there were so many of them, Gray grinned:

"You all, we seem to be fated. I just happen to be recruiting Disciples at the moment too…" It was better to strike while the iron was still hot!

"…."

Only an awkward silence followed. Had he said something wrong?! They looked about as comfortable as rats in acid. That's when Sera finally revealed the issue.

"They're all second—or third-year students. By then, most people have a Teacher already. They're not like the new students running around like headless chickens…"

Ah?! Hadn't he just mistakenly asked them to ditch their own Teachers to join him? No wonder they were reluctant! He had saved their lives, but loyalty was important!

"Ah? If you all have teachers, forget it!" They all sighed in relief, the atmosphere becoming peaceful again. Just like that they exited the Hunting Grounds, soon parting ways.

But Gray couldn't help but be pensive. Wouldn't a Rampaging Ursa as a pet be perfect to guard his little house? Sadly, he wasn't confident enough to pull it off just yet.

'Wait for me, Bear. I'll be back!'

That freedom it had once craved? Even if it had seemingly forgotten about it, a small part of it had to remember still!

The sky was already darkening, so Gray returned home directly. Left alone, he felt his hands trembling in anticipation and fear of what would come.

Tomorrow, he'd teach his first class….