The Titan bear wasn't just like any regular beast; it was seen as an apex beast among beasts in the same tier. The number of beasts that could match up to it in the same realm was minuscule.
Its massive frame gave it a huge advantage against smaller beasts, and its massive body wasn't just for show. The titan bear had enough power to make individuals in an entire realm above it fear clashing head-on with the bear.
And if a person ever fought the bear, thinking that its massive size would slow it down, then that would be the worst mistake that person has ever made. As they would quickly discover, despite the bear's massive frame, its speed is still lightning fast. Faster than anything you would expect from something that size.
But even that's not the most terrifying thing about the bear. The most terrifying aspect of the bear is its defenses. Its hide is extremely thick and fairly resistant to attacks.
And this was the monster that stood in front of Valdis, looking at him like he was its next meal.
Even the bloodlust the beast gave off felt suffocating. And it felt this way to Valdis, who had experienced the terror of the Heaven Extinction Sword. If it had been any other trainee in his position, they would have probably passed out.
While Valdis was still in shock, the bear didn't give him time to think as it charged towards him at full speed. Fortunately, Valdis was no ordinary trainee.
His figure blurred as he shifted to the side, boots grinding against the earth as he narrowly evaded the beast's charge. The ground where he had stood a heartbeat ago shattered under the bear's momentum, cracks spiderwebbing outward from the impact.
Boom.
A shockwave rippled through the air.
Valdis steadied himself, his grip tightening around his sword as his ruby eyes sharpened.
'Fast.' Valdis thought
Far too fast for something that size. It was now that it dawned on Valdis why the titan bear was called an Apex beast. If it faced off against a normal beast in the second tier, that beast won't last ten rounds against it.
The bear skidded to a halt with terrifying control for something its size. Its massive claws dug into the ground, carving deep trenches as it turned its enormous head toward him.
Its eyes locked onto him again, hungry and unyielding.
It did not roar.
It did not threaten.
It simply lunged at him again.
Valdis exhaled slowly, his blood stirred.
He lifted his sword above his head, entering a stance, waiting for the right moment to strike.
When the bear reached a certain distance, Valdis moved, slashing the sword towards one of its arms.
But reality set in quickly, as his sword slashed the hide of the bear, barely leaving a graze on its skin.
Seeing that his attack failed to deliver any substantial damage, Valdis quickly repositioned himself in the air. Using the bear's arm as a platform, distancing himself from the bear.
But the bear didn't give him breathing space; it immediately rushed after him.
Valdis, who had just landed, tried to lift his head, just to see the maw of the bear with its sharp teeth above him.
Without thinking, Valdis propelled himself under the bear, in between its legs, and out of danger. The bear, which had missed its target again, hit a tree, snapping in half due to its titanic weight.
Valdis, who had just narrowly escaped death, looked at the bear as it gradually stood up from the wreckage.
"It seems brute force won't work…" he muttered, lowering his stance, "… let's try something else."
The bear wasted no time and lunged at him again.
But this time, Valdis didn't retreat; he stepped forward. And at the exact moment the beast's paw descended, his body blurred out of sight.
The massive claw missed him, slamming into the ground with devastating force.
And in that opening—
His sword flashed.
A clean, swift arc of silver cut across the bear's shoulder
Clang.
The sound rang out like steel striking stone.
Valdis's eyes narrowed.
The blade had cut, but barely.
A shallow line.
No more.
The Titan Bear didn't even flinch.
Instead, its head snapped downward, jaws opening wide as it lunged toward him at point-blank range.
Valdis's pupils shrank.
He twisted his body, barely avoiding the bite as he was forced to retreat several steps back.
The beast didn't give chase immediately this time. It stood still, watching him.
It probably wondered how such a tiny human managed to evade its attacks again and again.
A low, rumbling growl escaped its throat.
Valdis rolled his shoulder slightly, exhaling through his nose. "So that's how it is…"
He glanced briefly at his blade.
Head-on attacks were pointless.
Speed alone wouldn't be enough either.
He needed something more.
As this thought popped into his head, the image of Kael flashed through his mind as he remembered one of the things he had taught him.
"The purpose of a sword is to cut down all that stands in its way. If a sword can't do that, it's useless."
The faint pulse of his bloodline stirred within him, and his heart beat quickened as heat spread through his veins.
The blue flames, which lay dormant, were finally stirred awake.
His mind felt extremely clear all of a sudden, and everything in his field of vision seemed to slow down slightly. Things that had bothered him became clear as his brain began processing lots of information instantly.
The Titan Bear moved again.
But this time…
Valdis saw it.
Not just the movement, but the intention behind it.
The shift of muscle.
The tightening of its shoulders.
The angle of its weight.
All appeared before his eyes as though the world was giving him some insight. Unraveling secrets which it had once hid from him.
It was at that moment that he stepped forward once more.
The beast's claw came down with a force that could easily crush metal
But once again, the bear missed as Valdis vanished from its line of sight, reappearing at its flank.
His sword moved again, but this time an intangible aura now clung close to the sword, making the sword appear sharper, faster, and even deadlier than it normally does
This time, he didn't aim for power or search for the bear's weaknesses
The blade struck its shoulder again,
Clang—
No.
Not the same sound.
This time—
A thin line of blood appeared.
The Titan Bear froze for a fraction of a second.
Then it roared.
A deafening, furious roar that shook the very air around them. The ground trembled beneath its rage.
Valdis slid back, putting distance between them, his eyes gleaming faintly.
"I see now, the sword is more than a tool but an extension of the will of its wielder…"
Looking at the bear now, it didn't look as invincible as it did earlier. But that was because the bear bear wasn't invincible.
Just… overwhelmingly durable.
But even then, he firmly believed that his sword could cut through any obstacle.
The beast turned its gaze, burned into him now.
No longer just hungry.
Now—
It was angry.
Good.
Valdis raised his blade once more, the faint blue-black flames returning to its edge.
His stance lowered.
Calm.
Focused.
He looked at the bear as though the roles of predator and prey had just been swapped.
"Let's see," he said quietly, "which of us breaks first."
The Titan Bear roared and charged again.
And this time—
Valdis rushed forward to meet it head-on. But just as they were about to clash, Valdis skillfully maneuvered his way away from the paws directly.
Finding space, his sword flashed past the neck of the bear as he moved past it.
This time, the bear didn't roar. It just paused for a moment before collapsing under its weight.
The cause was a deep laceration across the neck of the bear, spilling its blood on the ground.
Valdis looked at the corpse of the bear, breathing heavily. trying to put together what just happened.
After a period of contemplation, Valdis picked himself up and departed from the scene.
A few minutes after he left, two people suddenly appeared in a tree above the battlefield. They were the two instructors who discussed outside the forest.
Both stood in silence for a period of time before Merissa broke the silence.
"What did we just witness?" she asked.
Alaric didn't respond immediately, but turned his gaze towards the body of the dead bear first before looking in the direction Valdis had left.
He took a final look at the corpse before saying, "I believe we just witnessed a historic moment."
Merissa looked slightly confused and asked, "Did you see something I didn't?"
"Yes, he did something that even you have struggled to accomplish," he said
Merissa frowned and asked, "What is it exactly?"
Alaric didn't reply to her question immediately, but did a quick scan of the destruction their battle had left in its wake before replying, "It's the reason why you were almost denied the position of an instructor."
Hearing this, Merissa's pupils shrank to the size of pins. "You don't mean he...."
But before she could complete her statement, Alaric cut in and said, "Yes, he just broke through into the grandmaster realm. That's the reason his sword was able to cut through the hide of a titan bear."
Hearing the confirmation, she felt dumbfounded. She had tried reaching the grandmaster level for years now, but reaching it always eluded her. This problem nearly cost her the instructor position, as a minimum requirement was to reach the grandmaster realm in a specific weapon art.
But this rule was bent for her, as her strength impressed the guardians, who then granted her the title.
"The Ebonhart bloodline has done it again, producing a nine-year-old sword grandmaster. First, it produced a monster like Malrik, now Valdis. It really seems they have stepped into another golden era," he sighed and said