CHAPTER 162: FLAME EYE

The bear’s charge came like a falling boulder, shaking the chamber with every step. Jae didn’t flinch. His eyes tracked the beast’s movements, narrowing as he recognized the rhythm that had repeated through its earlier attacks.

The left paw always came first, heavy, sweeping wide, followed by the right, angled sharper, almost hooking inward. Then the head, snapping in as if to crush whatever lingered in reach.

He smirked. Predictable.

Yuna stood behind him, her breath tight in her throat, but she didn’t move. She clutched her mana close, ready if she had no other choice, yet her gaze stayed on him.

She could see the grin forming across his face, the way his body shifted lower, sharper. He wasn’t on the back foot anymore.

The bear roared and swung down. Jae stepped in rather than back. Smoke burst in his wake as Ember Step carried him sideways, the claws slicing through haze instead of flesh.

He pivoted hard, fist snapping up with a Gravity Punch that cracked against the beast’s shoulder. The sound rang through the chamber like stone on stone.

The bear staggered but didn’t fall. Its hide absorbed most of the force, yet Jae saw the way its body swayed with the impact. That was the point, chip away, weaken the rhythm.

He pressed harder. Ember Step again, this time angled low, carrying him under another swipe. He came up fast, blade flashing across the bear’s flank. Sparks burst from the strike as steel kissed bone beneath muscle.

The beast howled, spinning faster than expected, claws gouging deep furrows into the floor. Jae vaulted back, skidding over gravel. His chest rose and fell quicker now, sweat dampening the edge of his collar.

"Stubborn," he muttered. His grin widened. "Good."

The bear shook its massive head, breath heaving out in hot bursts. Then it lunged again, but this time its path was less direct.

It veered mid-charge, feinting left before barreling right. Jae’s eyes narrowed. So it could adapt.

He adjusted. His steps grew smaller, tighter, conserving energy. The blade flashed less, but his fists glowed brighter, Gravity Punches striking in quick bursts whenever the beast overcommitted.

Each blow rattled bone, the pressure feeding back into his arms. His knuckles burned, but he refused to slow.

The chamber felt smaller with every clash. Dust rained down, and the air thickened with smoke trails from his movements. The floor’s ember cracks pulsed harder, reacting to the mana pouring from both fighters.

Yuna’s eyes flicked from Jae to the bear, following the tempo, recognizing that each clash had a rhythm of its own.

Jae ducked another swipe, the claws grazing so close he felt the air split across his cheek. He slid beneath the beast, blade raking across its underbelly in a shallow line.

The resistance of fur and hide met him again, stubborn and unyielding. He grunted, twisting aside before its massive paw crashed down where he’d stood. The impact rattled his bones even without contact.

Every motion took more out of him. His shoulders ached, lungs dragged harder at the air, but he stayed sharp.

Each step was measured, small pivots, sidesteps, turns. He let the bear spend its strength while he conserved his.

Then the moment came.

The bear overextended with its left paw, dragging a heavy arc across the chamber floor. Its body tilted just enough to expose the softer flesh beneath the thick fur of its left flank. Jae’s eyes lit up. That was the opening he had waited for.

"Got you."

He surged forward with Ember Step, smoke trailing him as he reappeared at the beast’s side. His fist glowed, Gravity Punch slamming into its ribs with a crack.

The blow staggered the bear, forcing its chest to dip. He followed with a second punch, then a third, rhythm steady, each one sinking deeper into muscle.

The beast howled, swinging wildly now, but Jae had already coated himself in Molten Skin. Heat surged across his arms and chest, hardening into a dark iron sheen.

A claw clipped him, but instead of tearing flesh, sparks burst as if steel had struck steel. The bear recoiled, its paw smoking from the burn.

Jae gritted his teeth, muscles straining against the weight of his own power. He pressed harder, blade biting into the weakened flesh at the neck, following with another punch to the shoulder.

Each strike drew more stagger from the beast. Dust and debris shook free from the walls with every impact.

Still, the bear did not fall. Its roars grew sharper, its swipes more frantic. It fought with defiance, refusing to crumble even as blood darkened its thick fur.

Jae’s breathing grew rough, sweat dripping into his eyes, but his grin stayed fixed. This was the moment he thrived in, the edge between exhaustion and victory.

The beast reeled back, chest heaving. Its body lowered, muscles trembling, and for an instant Jae thought it might retreat.

Instead, it threw itself forward in one final lunge, the sound of its roar nearly deafening in the chamber.

Jae exhaled slowly, lips curling. "Okay then ."

The paw came wide, the jaws followed. But he was already moving. Ember Step flared, smoke bursting outward as he slid past the strike.

He pivoted with all the precision he had left, timing the motion with the beat of its momentum. His blade carved in, angled sharp at the weak point beneath its neck.

At the same moment, his fist snapped forward, Gravity Punch landing flush against the wound.

The combined force cracked through hide, bone, and sinew. The bear stumbled mid-lunge, collapsing onto one knee. Its roar broke into a choking growl as its weight crashed against the stone.

Dust exploded into the chamber, thick enough to sting the eyes.

Jae pulled back, chest heaving, sweat streaking down his temple. He held his blade low, watching carefully as the beast tried once, twice, to rise.

Its muscles shook, its claws scraped the ground, but the strength wasn’t there anymore.

It dropped heavily, body slumping with one final exhale.

Silence followed.

Jae stood for a moment longer, making sure. Then, satisfied, he straightened and ran a hand back through his hair, letting out a short breath that was half sigh, half laugh. "And that’s that."

He stepped closer to the fallen bear, boots crunching over the scattered debris.

The chamber still thrummed faintly, embers pulsing in the floor cracks as though acknowledging the battle’s end.

Then the system’s voice slipped into his head, clear as a bell.

[Reward: Flame Dragon Eye. Absorb to gain new ability.]