CHAPTER 31: I ONLY NEED TWO!

Shiina had no idea why she burst out laughing so wildly at that moment.

Maybe it was because Akira was such a strange person, with his overly serious attitude about things that were clearly not supposed to be serious, like vending machines.

And of course his wicked sense of humor during moments that absolutely were serious, like surviving five minutes in a Brown Bear enclosure.

Or maybe it was because her life had been too predictable lately.

Sleep. Eat. Train.

Sleep. Eat. Train.

Rinse and repeat.

The vending machine incident earlier that morning had been the most excitement she’d experienced in months, ever since the Combat Arena season had ended.

Then came the high-speed escape from the four overly enthusiastic girls ordered to seduce Akira.

And now, just as they were about to enter a clearly dangerous enclosure with two massive bears and no weapons, this strange boy was calmly joking about tearing the bears’ heads off and eating their still-beating hearts... and one each?

She didn’t know if it was his timing, his face, or just the absurdity of the words but something inside her gave way.

A full, unrestrained wave of laughter burst out of her.

"Haaa... haaa... haaaaaaaa!" Shiina wheezed, doubling over slightly, clutching her sides as she tried and failed to bring herself under control. Her bountiful chest bounced with every breath, her eyes began to water, and her legs threatened to give out beneath her.

Akira blinked at her.

"Wow. Talk about an inappropriate response to a serious activity." He muttered, shaking his head like a disappointed schoolteacher.

"Kids nowadays are so strange. I guess I’ll have to do her part. There’s no way she’ll be able to rip those big heads off their muscular shoulders after laughing like that."

He turned to her with a gentle but scolding look.

"Shiina-san. I understand that you’re scared. Laughing is actually a healthy way to cope with fear. Well done. But you need to show some self-control."

Shiina’s laughter sputtered to a halt, her smile frozen in confusion.

"Huh?"

"Don’t worry, though. To repay you for your help earlier, I will destroy these two brown bears for you and win our freedom. Give me a minute."

Akira continued and smiled at her generously as though he was a caring adult who had just offered to help a little girl catch her lost kitten.

And then he moved.

Before she could even ask what he meant, Akira had already leapt into motion. He sprinted toward the enclosure wall and, with an effortless push from the ground, somersaulted clean over the high fence.

Shiina’s laughter stopped instantly.

Her jaw dropped.

"What... what the hell?!"

Akira landed gracefully inside the enclosure and immediately struck a heroic pose, arms wide, stance wide, eyes gleaming.

"Oryaaaaaaa!"

The two enormous brown bears inside were lounging lazily by a sun-warmed rock near a small artificial lake.

They were unnaturally huge, with thick glossy fur and stomachs that bulged slightly from a recent snack. Around them, squirrels, rabbits, and other small animals skittered nervously, giving them wide berth.

Both bears looked up slowly.

One of them yawned.

"Ughhh... Another one?" The first bear growled to his buddy next to him. His voice was low and grumpy. "Didn’t we just do this thirty minutes ago?"

"Yeah, and that guy screamed, cried, and passed out before we even stood up." The second bear replied with a heavy sigh. "I just finished digesting my fat snack. I was just about to take a nap."

The two bears stood up reluctantly, towering to their full height with slow, annoyed movements. Their joints cracked. Their expressions were more frustrated than fearsome.

"I swear, if I roar and this one wets himself too, I’m not even moving." Grumbled the first bear.

"Agreed. But this one jumped in, though." The second one pointed out. "He even shouted a challenge."

The first bear scratched his chin. "Damn. This one’s a fighter. This means we have to put in actual effort."

They both let out half-hearted roars, purely out of obligation.

Roar. Roar.

To the staff, these bears were part of a long-standing test for mental endurance and courage.

They were never meant to fight. They weren’t trained for it. Their job was simple.

Look scary, act scary, make people panic. If the human cried, ran, or lost control of their bladder, the bears would receive a delicious snack.

Judging by their size, and the number of minor trainees who had visited over the past month, the bears had been eating extremely well.

But today... they faced Akira Minato.

Who was now standing calmly with his arms folded, his eyes sharp and focused, and his head slightly tilted.

His aura began to churn and a dangerous atmosphere descended upon the bear enclosure.

"One each." Akira thought to himself grimly and exhaled slowly.

The bears were tall. Towering and thick with fat and fur. But that didn’t matter.

He lifted his right hand and curled his fingers just slightly, and a soft blue light flickered into life at his fingertips.

Frost crackled across his knuckles. The temperature in the enclosure dropped in an instant.

Akira was pleased with how unexpectedly good his fine control over his Ice Element Energy was.

He had anticipated some sort of difficulty for his body to control the new element, but the techniques for fine control from his previous life had been completely preserved in his mind, and he was able to wield it with extreme ease.

Thin trails of ice spiraled outward along the ground from his feet, threading through the grass like living veins and causing the ground to turn slippery in an instant.

The first rule when fighting big fat lumbering beasts on the ground - make them slip and fall.

"I will be free." he declared with complete sincerity. "Your hearts will set me free."

Then he attacked.

He dashed forward like a blur, feet skating across the newly frozen surface.

His arm swept sideways, summoning a row of jagged ice spikes that tore through the ground like sharp crystal spears. The first bear yelped as one grazed its side, fur instantly crusting over with frost.

"HE HIT ME!" The first bear howled indignantly. "Why did he do that? Why? I thought WE are the ones who are supposed to hit him?!"

"This punk!!" The other bear screamed, stumbling backward. "Did nobody tell him that this is just a scarefest?!"

Akira was relentless.

He leapt, spun midair, and slammed both palms into the earth, sending a burst of sub-zero energy outward in a circular blast. Frost exploded across the enclosure, coating rocks, trees, and startled rabbits in thin layers of shimmering ice.

"GIVE ME YOUR HEADS!" Akira shouted at the two shocked bears. "I NEED TO EAT YOUR HEARTS TO WIN MY FREEDOM!"

The first bear let out a strangled roar and turned to run. "WHAT THE HELL?! THIS WASN’T PART OF THE DEAL!"

The second bear was already halfway to the far fence. "WE WERE SUPPOSED TO SCARE HIM, NOT DIE!"

Akira chased them mercilessly, ice trails snaking behind his feet, his hands glowing with crackling energy.

"I only need two hearts! One for me! One for Shiina-san!" he cried as he sprinted after them.