s horribly mistaken.

There was a new demonic beast present. It had just lumbered out of the trees and into the clearing, filling the space with its immense bulk.

Yeah..I was stupid for flattering myself. Of course there's no way the Lunar Rabbit would be afraid of me. And obviously there's no clichéd fictional plot device where I have a demon lord or legendary creature sealed inside my body.

If I wasn't in such a dangerous predicament, I would have rolled my eyes at my chuunibyou delusions, but for now my eyes were riveted to the new demonic beast.

As I said before, the new beast was immense. It towered over three meters, and its heavily muscled body was covered in ghostly gray fur. Just like the Lunar Rabbit and the Silverback Wolves, the newcomer seemed visibly contaminated by the demonic qi saturating the cavern, with demonic red lines pulsating all over its body. Both arms were grotesque, extended limbs that stretched all the way to the ground, each of them sporting three massive claws that were about a foot long in length, resembling a butcher's cleaver.

That's..a Ghost Bear!

No, I wasn't talking about that particular Ghost Bear from some planet that spawned a Mechwarrior clan in the far future. But I read about the Ghost Bear. It was a Rank 7 magical beast that possessed incredible power. What the hell was it doing in an underground cavern? No..that same question could be asked of the Lunar Rabbit and Silverback Wolves' presence. It was here because it was here.

Furthermore, it also meant that I was most likely in a very deep part of Sen Lin Forest, one where Rank 7 magical beasts inhabited.

Oh boy..I seriously was fucked.

The Ghost Bear swept its demonic gaze across the clearing, keeping its ghostly eyes on us. For a moment, nothing spoke or made a sound. Both the Lunar Rabbit and I were frozen, overwhelmed by the Ghost Bear's sheer presence. It was an insurmountable fear, like one suffered by a mortal standing before a god, struck with the realization that he could absolutely nothing against such a far more advanced and powerful being.

"Gr.."

The Ghost Bear let out a growl, and then stepped forward.

"Ku!"

The Lunar Rabbit snapped out of its stupor. In a single fluid movement, it spun around and bounded away on those heavily muscled hind legs of its. All the speed it used to annihilate its enemies earlier was now being used to escape.

Unfortunately, it still wasn't fast enough.

Moving with a swiftness that belied its immense size, the Ghost Bear lashed out with a single paw. The Lunar Rabbit twisted its body with its incredible agility, dodging the blow. At least I believed it had dodged the blow, until I saw the Lunar Rabbit land a few meters away.

Drip..drip..drip.

The same sound I woke up to. Only, instead of water, it was blood.

Blood was gushing out of wounds on the Lunar Rabbit's body. Red stained white fur and the Lunar Rabbit began falling apart. Literally. Large chunks of its body began slipping off, blood bursting like a geyser as it turned into a pile of chopped meat.

I see..

Even in the face of absolute despair, I calmly analyzed the situation. I had spotted and sensed the qi flowing around the Ghost Bear's claws. That was a qi technique that allowed it to extend the sharpness of its claws into triple qi blades, further elongating its range to a meter. Even though the Lunar Rabbit had dodged the claws, it had not successfully evaded the qi technique. It reminded me of the level 5 technique Sharpened Sword Force.

If I got out of here alive, I would certainly have my eyes open to the infinite possibilities of qi usage and martial arts..

I might consider learning Feline Claws, and then advancing it to Sharpened Sword Force..

The Ghost Bear lumbered forward and began feeding on the Lunar Rabbit's carcass. While it was distracted, I quietly stood up and tried to back away.

The Ghost Bear turned to look at me.

Damn!

Just when I thought I had a chance to escape..

With a bellow, the Ghost Bear charged at me, its sheer bulk causing tremors to quake the ground below. I took a deep breath and used Tui to retreat, widening the distance between us. Still, the Ghost Bear was incredibly fast. Before I could use my footwork technique, it was already in front of me and swiping its claws.

"!"

Thankfully, I was aware of its strange qi technique and had taken countermeasures against it. Despite evading the extended range of the triple qi blades, I was unable to prevent three fresh wounds from appearing on my stomach.

"Ugh!"

Blood gushed out of my mouth and wounds, staining my white uniform red. Fortunately, they seemed relatively shallow. A centimeter more and I would have been gutted – literally, eviscerated with my guts pouring out of my wound. For now, I ignored the burning pain in my abdomen and whirled around to run.

Jin!

I advanced further, kicking off the ground. Despite my swift footwork, the Ghost Bear was gaining on me. The bloody bastard sure could run despite its immense size!

I can't let it catch up to me!

Sprinting across the forest and alternating between my footwork, I plunged deeper into the forest. I had no idea where I was running in, just that I was escaping from the ferocious beast. It was too bad I didn't have transmutation magic, or I could dig a hole in the wall and escape..but whatever cavern walls were there were too far away for me to reach.

Or were they?

That's..!

While running, I saw a hollow within the roots of an enormous tree. Even though I could run for a lot longer – thanks to running thirty kilometers every day, I had built up solid stamina and could outpace the Ghost Bear eventually – I decided to make a break for it. The Ghost Bear was closing in despite my best attempts to use Shadow Steps and footwork techniques to shake it off, and it wouldn't be long before it eventually caught up.

I needed a new strategy.

Taking a deep breath, I used Jin and dove into the hollow amongst the roots. The Ghost Bear swiped at me, but its claws slashed a huge chunk of wood out of the massive tree, which shuddered but held. Fortunately, the gigantic tree was sturdier than it looked.

Seeking shelter within its roots, I scrambled deeper into the hollow while trying to stay out of reach of the Ghost Bear's Ghost Blades. The wood qi that saturated the air within the hollow gave off a nostalgic feeling, and I was somehow reminded of Teacher Yi Liao's healing techniques. Yeah, her healing techniques were wood element type, and she mentioned that she was a master of the Green Dragon Sect

Even at a time like this, I'm still thinking about school. How ironic.

Come to think of it, if I hadn't run twenty or thirty kilometers everyday for my martial arts training, I would have run out of stamina and get caught by the Ghost Bear..and mercilessly slaughtered by it. In a way, my training and decision to learn Shadow Steps had saved my life. I doubted any of my classmates would have been able to outrun the Ghost Bear. If I had chosen a technique other than Shadow Steps, I would never have been able to escape the Ghost Bear. If I had joined a martial arts sect and focused on techniques rather than building a solid foundation of stamina, speed and strength, I would have died back there, caught by the pursuing Ghost Bear and ripped apart.

Again, fortune within misfortune. A silver lining in a cloud. The "advantage" of being revealed in the test with only a One Star Constitution..

"GUOOO!!!!"

The Ghost Bear swung its paws again as it tried to cleave the tree apart. Knowing that there was no way I could go back out that way, I began squirming deeper into the hollow.

"!!!"

Before I knew it, I came aground an underground passage hidden underneath the tangle of roots. Much like a rabbit's burrow..no, it might even be a Lunar Rabbit's burrow!

My broken left arm throbbed, reminding me how dangerous those Lunar Rabbits were. But given how that single Lunar Rabbit was so easily defeated by that Ghost Bear..

I've no choice but to proceed, huh?

I pushed through, disappearing through the passageway and leaving the furious bellows of the Ghost Bear behind. I ran and ran, not knowing where I was heading, as long as I was putting as much distance as I could between me and my pursuer. At some point of time, I finally collapsed from exhaustion.

"Ugh!"

Tripping over something, I stumbled and fell. Rolling on the ground, the burning flare of agony stabbing me from my broken arm, I slammed into something. Water splashed into my face, causing me to cough.

And then..darkness claimed me.