Nathan approached Meriel as she continued to work her spell, healing those in front of her.

The other hunters were still aiming their weapons at him. The leader gave a signal to put them down, and they reluctantly complied.

"You know, kid," he said, pointing at the huge bear monster's carcass on the ground. "Even though your friend is trying to save our comrade, that thing is still our property." He stopped and looked at Nathan.

"Let Meriel finish her healing spell. I'm not running away either. I'm ready to take you all on." Nathan replied.

Meriel's grimoire had disappeared, and she was suddenly exhausted, sitting on the ground. Nathan lowered his head and lifted her body.

"Healing spells used up a lot of stamina, especially after she fought Elite monster a while ago." Nathan said softly.

Meriel gazed up at Nathan as he cradled her in his arms. "Mr. Nathan, I'm alright," she said. "I'm still going to make it."

But Nathan shook his head. He then gently placed her on Fang's back.

The party leader spoke loudly to everyone present. "Looks like we're done here - let's get outta here!"

Nathan sighed softly and looked over at Jims, who was slowly starting to stand. There was blood splattered around the wound, and it would be hard for him to walk straight.

"You've lost too much blood, Jims, but it looks like your injury can heal without any complications now." The party leader said. He then turned to Nathan.

"Let the bear be your payment for healing Jims," the man continued, "then we'll be even."

"You deprived me of the experience that should have been mine, and I also failed to finish my quest to take down the Elite Monster, thanks to you." Nathan declared.

The man laughed bitterly. "All right! All right! You got us good there, kid," the man chuckled, shaking his head at Nathan. "We were only trying to help you...but... well, if this is what it takes..."

"Are you stupid? You took the last hit from that monster? Is that what you meant by 'helping'?" Nathan asked angrily, glaring at them.historical

"You need to stop being greedy. I have been kind to you," The man said and walked away with the others.

"I'll be collecting my payment from you!" Nathan shouted as they were walking away.

Nathan stared after them and grumbled quietly, "I'm sick of people making deals with someone they don't know about and expecting something in return. I think they deserve an answer when they ask for one." He glared fiercely at them before looking at Meriel.

Meriel slowly dismounted Fang and walked up to Nathan, "I'm sorry, Mr. Nathan. It's all my fault that the attack failed."

He looked into her eyes as he smiled gently at her. "Don't worry, it's not your fault. Even if your spells did fail, we're still alive because you helped fight that monster."

Nathan approached the bear carcass and cut open its chest, and from inside, he retrieved a crystal stone that shone brightly in the sunlight.

[Monster Soul Stone Elite Ursa Major Lv. 70]

Meriel walked up to him and smiled. "Congratulations, Mr. Nathan! You're so lucky to get the Elite Monster Soul Stone - it's not something you find every day!"

Nathan turned to Meriel and held out the stone to her. "This is for you. You earned it with your help healing the man earlier."

Meryl shook her head. "No, you deserve it more."

Nathan replied, "I don't think so. You did the work."

His greed meter jumped to 65%, and a Greed Aura filled the air.

Luna hovered near Nathan, "Meriel can still part with it, even though the Greed Aura is also affecting her."

Meriel shook her head as she looked at Nathan. "You can take it," she said. "It will help our party become stronger."

Nathan's hand shook as he clasped the Monster Soul Stone. "No way," he muttered. "This is way too valuable for me to part with for any reason."

Luna laughed at Nathan's attempts. "I doubt The Greed will be enough to keep you away from this temptation, Master," she said.

"I'm a bit selfish, Meriel," he said. "I hope you don't mind that I took this reward for myself."

Meriel nodded and smiled. "No, I don't regret it at all."

Nathan turned to one side, and Linda hurried towards him, halting abruptly in front of him.

"Oh my!" she exclaimed. "I heard an explosion - are you alright?" Her face was filled with panic, and she reached up to touch Nathan's face.

"Oppa, are you okay?" she asked as she studied his downcast expression.

Muramoto and Yudan chased after Nathan and the others, stopping near them. "Nathan-san, Meriel-chan. What happened?" Muramoto glanced over the bear monster's carcass, eyes wide.

Meriel explained what happened, to which Linda angrily responded, "A bunch of people took the last hits from you guys and they just walked away?!?"

Linda gritted her teeth and then walked up to Nathan. She hugged him and said, "Oppa, are you feeling sad? Don't worry, we'll help you find the other Elite monsters. And I'll make sure those guys learn their lesson." She patted his shoulder as she spoke.

"Ursa Major..." Yudan said slowly. "Let's use the meat for food and the other parts for more useful things. We should dismember this monster's carcass and take it to our shelter."

They then cut the bear monster's body into several pieces.

"Let's go back," Nathan said, walking away. At that moment, he noticed the digital map in the corner of his eye had vanished.

Luna appeared and hovered close to Nathan. "Master, Geen vanished some time ago."

"Geen?" he called out, but there was no response. "Someone has attacked Geen," he said, clenching his fists tightly.

All eyes were on Nathan when he spoke.

"Geen's got speed, power, and escape mechanisms," he gritted his teeth. "No one's gonna have an easy time taking it on, let alone beating it."