"Okay… What's our game plan?" I asked the group.
"Well obviously we need to enter the cave!" Kany declared rambunctiously.
"I agree with the loli. We should go in there blazing and just grab Rena." Tael held his fist up as he looked forward determinedly.
I looked over to Erana. I don't know much about how druids work, but stereotypically they don't like to disturb the balance of nature so slaughtering a bunch of bears would probably be against her wishes.
To my surprise, Erana was nodding her head energetically at Tael and Kany's proposition.
"Kenji-san, is that alright with you? You are our frontliner so I don't want to force you, but we've agreed on this course of action." Erana looked at me expectantly. Despite her phrasing, it seems like she's trying to strongarm me into doing this.
"W-Well, if all of you agree then I guess I can't go against all of you. I just want to make sure: You believe that Rena is in this cave, correct?" I stared deeply into Erana's eyes. I had to give pressure to ensure that she would tell me her certainty.
"Yes. Whoever left Rensan's home was taken by the creatures that are inside of that cave. I cannot guarantee that the creatures are bears, but I can guarantee that the person was taken by them." Erana stated with confidence as she met my gaze with the same level of pressure.
I closed my eyes and took a deep breath. Why am I incapable of handling peer pressure?
"Okay. What's our strategy?" I asked.
"Well, if they're bears then we shouldn't have any issues. I'll stab them with my hide skill and you'll draw their attention. Mr. Sparkles over there will provide ranged support and Erana will keep you in top condition. Does that work?" Kany tilted her head and asked me as she began to stand up.
"That works if it's bears. What if they're not though?" I asked.
My question seemed to deflate the atmosphere around us. Everyone looked at one another uncomfortably.
"That's what I thought. I understand your desire to rush in there, but if whatever is in there is something like the hobgoblin then we need to be careful about this. This could potentially be a danger rating of 4." I said as I crossed my arms.
"I agree, Kenji-san. If I may, I have an idea." Erana said as she raised her right arm upwards towards the sky, like a student that wished to ask a question.
"Alright, what's your idea?"
"We draw out one of the creatures inside of that cave and we observe it from a safe distance. If it's a bear then we go on ahead with the initial plan. If it's a monster then we a.s.sess the situation and act with caution."
I cupped my chin and considered what she said. I can't see any flaws with her statement outright, but I did have a lingering doubt.
"What if the creature doesn't take the bait, or if it can find us after it's lured out?"
"It will take the bait. If it has a home, it stands to reason that it would be territorial to some degree. If it can find us then we'll just need to fight it or run away!"
"E-Erana, you make this seem simple…" Tael backed away from Erana slightly when he said this.
"I did this before when I hunted. It's a simple technique for handling caves." Erana succinctly stated.
"I agree with Erana." Kany quickly stated.
I mulled our plan over for a little while, but eventually decided that Erana was probably correct in this planning.
"Alright. Kenji-san, Tael-san, I need both of you to stay hidden behind this bush with me. Kany, I need you to sneak up to the entrance of the cave and shout into the mouth of it. Once you do that, use your hide skill and get back here. Can you do that for me?"
"Roger that!" Kany declared as she quickly and quietly began to move towards the cave entrance.
We watched over the bush and saw Kany heading towards the mouth of the cave. Her silent footsteps lead her to the entrance and then she got up against a wall before cupping her hands around her mouth to amplify her shouts.
"AAAAAAAAA!" Kany shouted into the cave. Rodents like bats and small birds flew out of the cave in response to Kany's shout. She quickly crouched down once more after her bellowing. I couldn't tell if she was using the hide skill or not, but as I looked at her, I could tell that she was a bit harder to notice than normal.
Kany quickly rejoined us behind the bush and watched over the top of it like the rest of us. We all patiently awaited to see any signs of movement for what felt like a full minute.
I was about to call it quits until I saw something move from the cave entrance. A large, lumbering creature that was standing on four legs. Each of its legs was twice or even three times the size of my arm. Its entire body was covered by a thick, brown coat of fur.
I saw this type of creature in nature doc.u.mentaries back in j.a.pan. This is a brown bear.
"A bear…" Erana whispered.
The bear looked around the cave entrance for a moment to search for whatever had caused the disturbance to its home. After a short while the bear seemed to decide that whatever had caused the issue had left and returned into its sanctuary.
Once the bear had gone, I stood up and drew my broadsword. The rest of us also stood up and prepared our tools as well.
"Okay! Onii-san, stick with me. You distract and I take them down. Got it?"
"Got it."
Kany crouched down and began to quickly move forward. I motioned to Tael and Erana to follow me as I followed Kany into the cave.
As I arrived at the caves entrance, I could feel the wind moving into the mouth of the cave. The cool breeze felt pleasant against my skin, but I couldn't waste time to focus on that right now.
I stepped into the mouth of the cave. I could hear the noise of what sounded like water dripping down onto the stone floor.
"It's gonna get dark in here…" I muttered.
"Fireflies!" Erana said as 13 fireflies flew out of a small magic circle that appeared in front of her small tree branch.
"Oh! I can summon one more now!" Erana happily whispered.
The interior of the cave was lit with a dim lighting. Unlike the goblin cave, this one seemed to just be one large area. There would be no chance that we would get split up in here.
As we walked deeper in, I could see a large bear that was lying down on the ground. I prepared my broadsword as I sidled up closer.
Before I could stab at the bear, I saw Kany appear again to my left and drive her dagger into the bear's neck.
The bear quickly shook up in a panic. It quickly stood up and its size eclipsed my own height. I could feel the nervousness of facing down a physically frightening enemy begin to well up inside of me.
I gathered myself together and charged the bear. The one that takes the initiative takes the victory. I held my sword and poured my energy into it, just like I had with the goblin before.
"Strike!" I shouted out as my sword flew down at blinding speed. My attack hit true as my sword dug deeply into the bear's flesh. Surprisingly, however, the attack did not cleave through the bear, but was instead stopped about 15 centimeters in. Though this attack had done a notable amount of damage, it was not lethal.
The bear swung its claw down at me, but I jumped out of the way before it could hit me. I had to abandon my broadsword for now, so I drew my dagger.
"Frost!" Tael shouted. The bear was enveloped by a blue wind and I could see its movements slow. The blood that was dripping off of the bear had turned to ice on the ground.
The bear roared in response to our surprise attack. It was not dead, but it certainly was not doing well.
I pointed my dagger at the bear and channeled my mana into it. Once I felt like it was ready, I released the mana that I had channeled into the dagger.
"Firebolt!" I shouted. The streak of flames. .h.i.t the bear squarely in the center of its head.
Kany snuck up behind the bear and delivered the finishing blow by striking it where my firebolt had hit prior.
The bear hit the ground with a sickening thud. The beast was slain.
"Are there any more around?" I quickly asked as I ran over to pull my sword out of the bear.
"None that I can see!" Tael responded.
"Okay! Then we need to begin investigating the area. Let's find Rena!" I declared.
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