The Giant Monkey was difficult to fight because it attacked with irregular movements.
Even if I dropped it into a pit, it would land on its feet like a spring. It would kick the wall and climb back up.
Furthermore, its huge body and long arms and legs made it even more difficult to fight.
I thought there was a good gap, but it was actually a close call.
Furthermore, it handled a large sword with ease.
"Kikikikiki"
The long arms came rushing at me. I stepped back to dodge.
However, the Giant Monkey stepped forward and closed the distance in an instant. At the same time, it swung its great sword down.
I dodged with minimal movement and got right into the Giant Monkey's arms.
I took a step forward and slashed with Kumayuru knife.
Just as I tried to sweep my arm to the side, the Giant Monkey's feet came closing in.
It's a kick. By the time I realized it, it was too late. I was kicked up.
I quickly caught it with my left hand and avoided a direct hit.
The force of the kick sent me flying backwards, but I managed to land.
I had good reflexes.
Can a normal adventurer defeat such a monster?
I keenly felt what Marne-san meant when she said that this was an issue that needed to be reported to the government.
Strong.
But, my attack was just being avoided.
If it hit, even Giant Monkey would take damage.
I took a breath and get ready.
The Giant Monkey grinned, as if enjoying the fight.
The Giant Monkey launched an attack.
The distance between us became closer.
The Giant Monkey swung its sword down.
With minimal movement, I deflected the blow with Kumayuru knife.
To be precise, it just changed the angle a little.
Even a slight change in angle made the Giant Monkey's sword heavy.
Normally, even a graze would result in the attack being deflected.
This was possible thanks to the power of my Bear Equipment.
I parried the Giant Monkey's sword, gathered mana in my left hand, and released flames.
Close range.
The Giant Monkey leaped backwards on its spring-like legs.
I quickly launched a fireball.
After adjusting its stance, the Giant Monkey cut the fireball with the sword. The fireball scattered and disappeared. The flames seemed to be absorbed by the sword.
...Is it just my imagination?
Then, how about this?
I created a giant bear flame and fired it at the Giant Monkey.
The sword the Giant Monkey held turned red and cut through the bear's flames.
The bear's flames spread and were absorbed by the sword.
The sword was on fire.
Could this be the power of the Goblin King's sword?
Or is it the power of the Giant Monkey?
The Giant Monkey grinned, and the moment I thought it'd put strength into its legs, it closed the distance in an instant.
It just jumped forward.
At the same time, it swung its flaming sword down at me.
Fast.
I avoided it by a hair's breadth.
Using the momentum from my evasion, I turned my body and delivered a spin kick.
The Giant Monkey swung the sword down and was slow to react.
The Giant Monkey got kicked by me and was sent flying.
The Giant Monkey rolled on the ground.
First time, it was a hit.
Perhaps it was the first time holding a sword and it wasn't used to sword fighting.
After swinging the sword, its movements became awkward.
It had been penetrated many times.
With the Giant Monkey's movements, it should have been able to dodge an attack of that magnitude.
After being kicked away, the Giant Monkey stood up.
It's great that it didn't let go of the sword.
The Giant Monkey shrieked, "kikikiki."
It was laughing just a moment ago, but after one hit it got angry. It was just a monkey.
It couldn't control emotions.
"Kikikiki!"
The moment the Giant Monkey cried out, the Red Monkeys around all came towards me at once.
Right, left, front, back. No, down and up.
They attacked from all sides.
I sendt the attacking Red Monkeys flying with bear punches and bear kicks.
I wouldn't go easy on them.
However, the monkey that had been punched or kicked landed lightly on its feet.
Did you miss the shock?
...Well then.
I created a tornado around me and sent the monkey flying into the sky.
I fired an ice arrow at the monkeys, frozen in the air.
The ice arrow pierced the monkeys, sending them tumbling to the ground and rendering them motionless.
If I didn't defeat them safely, they would attack again and again.
The Giant Monkey made a "kikikiki" sound again, and new Red Monkeys appeared.
Just how many are there?
But I was glad that this many Red Monkeys did not go after the Marne-san and the others.
I was glad that it was me who was attacked.
"Phew."
Now, how do I defeat it?
The Red Monkey is fine, but Giant Monkey is the problem.
Wind magic could be avoided. Fire magic could be cut down.
The magic spells that seemed likely to be effective were water, ice, and electricity magic.
The question was how well that sword could block magic.
As I was thinking, the Giant Monkey made a squeaking noise.
The Red Monkeys nearby attacked.
Even if they attacked me in numbers, it wouldn't work on me.
I created a tornado in the surrounding area, sending the attacking Red Monkeys flying into the air.
And just as I looked up to fire an ice arrow, I saw the Giant Monkey jumped into view out of the corner of my eye.
I lowered my left arm, which had been pointing at the Red Monkey who had flown up into the air, and unleashed the ice magic I was in the middle of casting at the Giant Monkey who was diving in.
Countless ice arrows flew from my left hand.
The Giant Monkey knocked down the ice arrows with the sword.
Just like that, the distance between us got closer.
But the sword was still down. Before the Giant Monkey's sword could be raised, I stepped forward.
Using its great sword as a springboard, I kicked the Giant Monkey in the face.
My powerful right kick hit the Giant Monkey in the face.
I thought I got in.
The Giant Monkey's other hand was holding my leg.
The Giant Monkey grabbed my right leg and lifted it up.
My body was lifted up with ease.
No matter how light I was, there's no way I could have lifted it with one hand.
And then I was swung down all at once.
I made it in time.
I gathered mana around my feet and wrapped them in electricity.
The Giant Monkey's body stiffened for a moment and its grip loosened.
I twisted my body and got out of the Giant Monkey.
At the same time, the Red Monkeys, which had been thrown up into the sky, fell.
When the Red Monkeys landed on the ground, they attacked me.
Don't repeat the same thing.
I created a tornado and wrapped them in electricity.
The Red Monkeys were thrown up, then fell to the ground and stopped moving.
All the while, I didn't take my eyes off the Giant Monkey.
If you show even the slightest opening, it will attack.
The Giant Monkey looked at me with a glare.
I took a breath.
Electric shock was effective.
I wrapped electricity around both my hands.
When the Giant Monkey saw this, it stopped moving.
It seemed it understood that it was hit by an electric shock earlier.
"Kikikikiki"
The Giant Monkey's hands were engulfed in flames.
The sword became a flaming sword.
"Are you copying me?" (Yuna)
Fire versus lightning, I guess.
"Kikikikiki"
The Giant Monkey came running.
I shot balls of electricity.
The Giant Monkey even cut it down with the flaming sword.
Electricity spread around the Giant Monkey and was absorbed by the flaming sword.
The flame got stronger.
So, is it absorbing my mana after all?
I jumped backwards to dodge the Giant Monkey's sword, but the Giant Monkey didn't stop moving.
It launched an attack immediately.
I dodged by jumping backwards.
The Giant Monkey's sword approached. I blocked it with my mithril knife wrapped in electricity.
The mithril knife, wrapped in electricity, came into contact with the Giant Monkey's sword, and electricity flowed into the Giant Monkey's flaming sword.
Electricity surrounded the Giant Monkey's flaming sword.
Sensing danger, I retreated to the rear.
The Giant Monkey's sword was enveloped in flames and electricity.
If I had touched it for longer, it would have absorbed more of the electricity.
I distanced myself from them.
The Giant Monkey chased after me.
I jumped backwards to escape.
The Giant Monkey chased me relentlessly.
I repeatedly ran backwards.
The Giant Monkey swung the sword and then grinned.
I soon realized the reason for its laughter.
"…………!?" (Yuna)
When I woke up, I was in the air.
Behind me was a cliff.
Was I being led to the cliff?
I was falling down at the side of the waterfall.
Because I had the Bear Equipment, it's okay even if I fell.
"Kikikikiki"
When I looked up, I saw Giant Monkey jumping down towards me.
That Giant Monkey was laughing.
Was this the timing you were aiming for?
If this continued, it would target me the moment I hit the ground.
There's no problem landing because I had my Bear Equipment.
However, even with the Bear Equipment, I managed to hold my ground for just a moment before landing.
A fraction of a second.
Unavoidable.
Well then, just accept it.
As soon as I landed, the Giant Monkey's sword was swung down.
My bear puppet blocked the flaming sword.
Heavy.
The weight of the Giant Monkey and the weight of the person who jumped off the cliff weighed down on me.
I retreated, but I held on and endured.
As expected from the Bear Equipment.
The Giant Monkey's smiling face turned into one of shock.
It seemed it didn't expect such a small human to be able to block the sword.
The flaming sword was burning in front of me, but it's not hot. The bear puppet that caught it wasn't hot either.
"Freeze!" (Yuna)
I switched from electricity magic to ice magic.
A chill escaped from my hands.
When the Giant Monkey exerted its strength, the flames grew stronger.
To counter that, I added more mana.
Freeze! Freeze! Freeze!
I imagined the freezing cold mana that froze everything.
The Giant Monkey's flaming sword was weakening.
The Giant Monkey's sword began to freeze wherever I touched it.
My mana won.
I was not sure if the Giant Monkey also had the image of fire in mind.
In terms of the Giant Monkey's image of fire and the image of sub-zero ice that I knew, I came out on top.
That was the difference between animals and humans.
That's the difference between them and people from other worlds.
Just as the ice was about to reach the Giant Monkey's hand, the Giant Monkey let go of the sword for the first time.
The Giant Monkey jumped back, getting away from me.
And I looked at my hands.
Maybe, it was cold because I had come into contact with the cold air.
It may had been the first time I had experienced the coldness of something other than water.
Author's Note
Sorry. Work suddenly came up and this post was late.
The next post will be in a week.
*"Kuma Kuma Kuma Bear" comic chapter 127 (10/9) is currently available on PASH UP (Niconico Manga chapter 122 is currently available)
*Episode 20 of the "Kuma Kuma Kuma Bear" spin-off is currently available on PASH UP (episode 16 is currently available on NicoNico Manga)
If you have time, please check out the comic version.
[Kuma Kuma Kuma Bear to be released]
Book volume 20.5 was released on May 2, 2024. (The next volume, volume 21, is planned and in the works.)
The 12th volume of the comic was released on August 3, 2024. (The release date for the next volume, 13, has not yet been decided.)
Comicalized spin-off volume 2 was released on March 5, 2024. (The next volume, volume 3, is scheduled for release on December 20th.)
The 11th volume of the paperback edition was released on October 4, 2024. (The deadline for the campaign to win a big acrylic stand featuring Yuna and Shuri on the cover is January 20, 2025. 20 lucky winners will receive a prize.) (The release date for the next volume, 12th volume, has not yet been decided.)
*Thank you to everyone who reports typos.
Some of the kanji have been corrected to match the book, so please understand that there are some parts that have not been corrected.