Chapter 24 - Bear

Alex stepped onto the ice.

The surroundings became even colder as Alex walked forward.

However, Alex quickly noticed something that would change the entire dynamic of the fight.

Alex nearly fell over as his feet lost their grip.

'It's fucking ice! How could I have overlooked something like that?!' he thought in frustration.

Alex stabbed his sword into the ice. The sword easily entered the ice, almost like it didn't exist.

Then, Alex pushed himself forward, using his sword as an anchor point in the ice.

Alex practiced a bit to get used to his new form of movement.

After some minutes, Alex had a good grasp on how to move properly on the ice. Luckily, the bear was still sleeping. It either didn't notice him, or Alex didn't feel dangerous enough for it to care.

Alex looked at the bear with narrowed eyes. 'It can use its claws to run on the ice. It has the advantage in that sense.'

Then, Alex smirked. 'However, the ice can also be disadvantageous to it if I use it correctly.'

Then, Alex slid forward.

After around 200 meters of gliding across the lake, the bear opened its eyes and lifted its head as it looked at Alex.

Alex's heart jumped as their gazes met.

'Powerful!' Alex thought. 'But I can't always live in safety! If I want power, I have to push myself!'

The two only gazed at each other for several seconds.

CRRRR!

After the bear saw that Alex didn't move, it started to silently growl, the vibrations going across the lake.

'It either feels threatened or annoyed by me,' Alex thought.

Alex continued sliding forward.

When the bear saw that Alex didn't retreat, it stood up as it turned to him. Its growl became louder as it tried to scare Alex away.

Alex came closer.

Now, only 100 meters separated them.

Suddenly, the cold air around the bear transformed into a cold storm.

The bear took a deep breath, and Alex felt his hairs stand on end.

Alex immediately jumped to the side.

SHING!

A spear made of ice whizzed past Alex's body with insane speeds.

BANG!

The spear of ice punched through a tree and got stuck in the tree behind that one.

Alex took a deep breath.

This bear was no joke!

Alex had already met several beasts with these kinds of elemental powers, but this bear was on a completely different level.

The lizard Alex had seen a couple of times could only throw weak fireballs.

The anaconda had only been able to shoot some cold wind.

The Stalker also had an elemental power, but it hadn't been used as a form of attack but for keeping it hidden and silent.

Yet, this bear could transform its elemental powers into an actual attack.

Alex tightened the grip on his sword and continued going towards the bear.

The bear noticed that Alex had evaded, and it quickly formed another spear.

The spear shot forward.

BANG!

This time, Alex blocked the ice spear with the side of his sword. Alex could have evaded the attack, but he wanted to test if he could block it. It was better to test it from a distance in case his sword broke. If that happened, he could still flee.

Alex's arms shook, and his body got stopped by the power of the spear, but he had not gotten injured.

Alex quickly rammed his sword into the ground and shot himself forward with all his power.

In an instant, Alex's speed multiplied as he shot towards the bear.

The bear roared in aggression as another ice spear materialized, which it then directly shot at Alex.

CRR!

Alex fell on his ass and continued sliding forward, the spear passing over him, freezing parts of his hair.

Alex had arrived in front of the bear.

BOOOM!

Alex rammed his sword into the ground to stop himself, and a meaty paw exploded on the ice in front of Alex. If he hadn't stopped himself in time, he would have been killed.

Ice exploded in front of Alex as part of the icy lake was destroyed.

Alex's eyes never lost their conviction, even if he had several brushes with death.

Conviction!

He had to attack!

Alex used his sword as support and threw himself over it.

WHOOSH!

A paw swiped past Alex, barely hitting the sword.

Yet, the hit had already achieved its effect. Alex's sword was thrown to the side. Alex still managed to keep hold of his sword, but the trajectory of his jump had changed.

Alex had wanted to attack the bear from above, but he just passed it by on its upper left.

The bear quickly stood up onto its hind legs and tried to swipe at Alex again.

The bear's speed was incredibly fast, far faster than Alex had anticipated.

Alex put his sword in front of himself. He couldn't evade while being in the air, which meant that he could only block.

CRK!

Suddenly, the ice beneath the bear broke, and the bear's hind legs fell into holes.

Because of that, the bear's swipe missed Alex.

'Just as I've thought,' Alex thought as he landed on the other side, sliding away. 'The bear is already incredibly heavy. Obviously, the ice is sturdy and thick, but there has to be a limit to the ice's strength. It can resist the bear's weight when it's spread apart, but not when it's concentrated.'

The bear shouted in frustration and pulled itself out of the ice.

At the same time, Alex put his sword into the ice again and changed his trajectory.

There was now a distance of 20 meters between them.

The bear turned to Alex.

Then, it charged forward, the ice cracking beneath its powerful strides.

Alex used his sword like a ski pole to control his trajectory and speed as he circled around the bear.

The bear came closer, and Alex used his sword to immediately and sharply change his trajectory.

BOOOOM!

Another powerful paw hit the ice, but Alex managed to evade it.

Alex continued sliding around, and the same thing repeated itself once again.

How was the bear not able to hit Alex? It shouldn't be that stupid, right?

Ever tried to hit a fly in the air with a hand?

It was difficult.

Why?

It wasn't because of the speed. After all, a human's hand could move faster than the fly.

No, the problem was the fly's ability to change trajectories in an instant.

This gave the fly the ability to evade things that were moving even faster than it.

The bear was faster than Alex, but Alex's sudden changes of trajectory were throwing it off.

SSSSSS!

The sound of something cutting could be heard as Alex slid around the bear.

The bear grew more frustrated as it realized that it couldn't hit Alex.

CRK!

It formed another ice spear and shot it at Alex.

BANG!

Alex blocked it with his sword. Then, he continued sliding around the bear.

The bear shouted in frustration and condensed another ice spear.

Suddenly, Alex changed his trajectory again and slid towards the bear.

BANG!

Alex blocked the spear again and got stopped by it.

Suddenly, another spear appeared.

BANG!

Alex was pushed back, and he fell onto his back due to the force, sliding away from the bear.

Another spear.

DING!

Due to Alex lying on the ground, the spear passed over him and buried itself in the ground behind him.

CRK!

Alex slid right into the spear, and Alex frantically pushed himself away.

Alex had stopped his slide by using his free hand to stop himself by grabbing the spear. However, the Stalker's coat between Alex's hand and the spear froze in an instant!

This spear's temperature was frighteningly low!

If Alex had grabbed the spear directly, his free arm would have been frozen solid!

The frozen part of Alex's coat broke off like a piece of ice.

Alex quickly jumped to his feet and slid away again, barely dodging another ice spear.

Then, he slid towards the bear again, dodging another spear.

Suddenly, Alex jumped.

Alex looked with fiery eyes at the bear.

However, Alex gritted his teeth when he realized that the bear didn't stand up!

His entire plan hinged on the bear standing up!

Instead, another ice spear appeared above the bear.

Alex changed the position of his sword. He had wanted to strike the bear, but he had to block again.

CRK!

Yet, Alex's eyes widened in horror as a second spear formed above the bear.

Then, both spears shot at Alex.

Alex couldn't block both of them!

He would get hit by one!