After several anxious days of waiting, Tam finally arrived. He called me over, his tone casual.
"Your task is here. Defeat that Man-eating Bear in the arena, and then you can leave."
Defeat that Man-eating Bear?
I almost thought I'd misheard. Even the Five Teachers at the training grounds were shocked. Teacher Li gave me a concerned look, as if she wanted to say something but held back. They wouldn't go against Tam's wishes.
"You're not joking, are you, boss? You want me to face that monster alone?"
Tam didn't answer me directly. Instead, he called me aside and said meaningfully,
"To be honest, you knew who I was from the start, didn't you? Not 'boss,' but Tahm Kench."
"So you knew all along. Was everything that happened afterward just an act? Were you going to use this chance to kill me?"
"If I wanted to kill you, why go to all this trouble? I told you that if you win this fight, you can leave. I don't know why you recognize me, but that doesn't matter."
With that, he walked away, rocking his big head and chuckling. I wanted nothing more than to smash it in.
"Don't bother. You can't crack my skull."
"..."
I went to the arena. The weapon in my hand was still a Steel Spear. It seemed that from the moment I became Zhao Xin, I'd been bound to spears.
The arena was packed today. People had heard that the warrior Zhao Xin was going to challenge the Man-eating Bear. They couldn't miss a show like this.
The Man-eating Bear had been starved for several days and was on the verge of going berserk. Its thick limbs were almost as big around as my waist.
Looking at the crude spear in my hand, I had no idea whether it could pierce the bear's thick hide. Even if it did, unless the wound killed it, I'd be the one in trouble.
The spectators were in high spirits. They hadn't seen a show like this in a long time. Every seat was taken, and people crowded even the aisles, a dark mass that seemed to press down on my chest. Of course, the biggest thing making it hard to breathe was the hulking beast in front of me.
The arena had become a beast pit. The Man-eating Bear roared furiously inside its iron cage. Each bar was as thick as a sapling, yet several had already been bent out of shape by its blows.
"Thank you all for coming! Today's fight is a rare sight. Our warrior Zhao Xin is ready, too, so give him your support and help him win!"
As the crowd roared, the Man-eating Bear was released. It seemed to remember that I'd been one of the people who captured it. With a furious roar, it charged at me.
Teacher Li had taught me many ways to gather my strength, but those were only useful against enemies around my own size. Facing this tower-like monster head-on was out of the question. Even running away was going to be difficult.
When the spectators saw me keep dodging without attacking, their cheers gradually turned into jeers and curses.
From the beginning, they hadn't cared how bravely a gladiator fought. They only cared whether he could entertain them. But that didn't matter to me. I wasn't here to win their favor. I was here to survive.
The Man-eating Bear's strength was savage. In no time, it had kicked up clouds of dust and torn up the arena's solid ground, leaving craters everywhere.
Although I'd fought it before, I had no idea how to beat it—or maybe it was precisely because I'd fought it before that I was so hesitant.
Back then, I hadn't had a proper weapon, and moving across the snowy plains had been difficult. Things were better now, but not enough to give me the advantage. As for the Man-eating Bear, its wounds had healed, and it was even more ferocious. It had smashed up much of the railing around the arena, too.
As long as I kept dodging, it couldn't do much to me. But my stamina wasn't limitless, and against an opponent like this, I had to be twice as careful and quick.
Before, we'd all been fighting together, distracting it and making things much easier. Now I was on my own, and it didn't take long for me to feel my strength ebbing.
If this went on, it would tear me apart sooner or later. But fighting it head-on wasn't wise, either. What should I do?
I ran as I thought through my options. Suddenly, it lunged and came straight at me. I was too late to dodge, so I could only block with my Steel Spear.
With a sharp clang, the Man-eating Bear's savage strength snapped the spear in two. The upper half went flying, and the impact numbed my arm with pain. I seized the chance to dart away a few steps and put some distance between us.
Well, there went my only hope of winning. I gripped the remaining half of the spear shaft, still grateful that it was the weapon that had been struck, not me.
The Man-eating Bear seemed to know I was going to lose. It stood up and roared, its wild bellow making even the blood-hardened spectators lean back.
Then it dropped to all fours and approached me at an unhurried pace. I knew it was building up strength, waiting until it was closer before launching a fierce attack. Several people had been killed that way when we captured it.
That bought me a brief respite, and I spotted the freshly healed scar beneath its left eye. A daring idea came to me:
When it charges, I'll take the chance to attack its eye, then roll to the right and escape. That's the only way I can use this broken weapon.
I'd barely settled on my plan when the Man-eating Bear charged. I leaped sharply to the right as I'd planned and thrust the broken spear at its left eye.
Blood ran from its eye socket. I knew I'd succeeded, but something went wrong as I rolled to the right. Its massive paw came right behind me and slammed into my ribs.
I'd meant to roll away and escape, but instead I tumbled several times and ended up sprawled on the ground. Luckily, I was sturdy, and its blow had sent me in the same direction I'd been trying to go. Otherwise, I didn't know if I'd have been able to stand after taking that hit.
I had no time to think about my injuries. I gritted my teeth, scrambled to my feet, and ran to avoid its next lunge.
My attack had enraged the Man-eating Bear completely. It roared nonstop and charged at me again. I tried to dodge by staying out of its field of vision, but I was much slower than before. Its claws raked me several times, peeling away skin and flesh.
It seemed the wound I'd inflicted wasn't enough to turn the tide. At this rate, it would kill me. And at this crucial moment, I tripped. When I looked down, I saw the upper half of the Steel Spear—the piece that had been knocked away had landed here.
I picked up the broken spear and decided to risk everything. Since I couldn't escape, I had to put all my strength into piercing a vital spot. If I didn't have enough power, I'd die—but this was my only chance to win.
The Man-eating Bear never stopped attacking. As soon as I tripped, it lunged at me. This time, I didn't run. I seized my chance, gripped the spearhead tightly, and thrust it toward its throat.
The beast's heavy body was suspended in midair, and I struck it squarely. But I'd put too much force into the attack to dodge in time. It hit me with another slap, and my left arm immediately went limp.
I didn't know whether the blow had killed it. I forced myself to endure the pain and ran again. I'd already seen how savage it was, and I didn't want it to tear me to pieces.
I ran desperately for a full lap. At last, the damned beast collapsed just a few steps away from me, the spear shaft protruding from the back of its neck.
I was covered in a mixture of blood and dirt, and half my body had gone numb. The moment I stopped, I suddenly couldn't hold myself up and fell over.
The arena's shouts disappeared. It wasn't that the spectators had fallen silent; the violent jolts had left my brain unable to register the sound. But before I could feel relieved, the worst thing happened:
The Man-eating Bear actually got back up, and I no longer had the strength to struggle!
It opened its jaws and bit toward my head. There was no doubt that one bite would tear my head from my body.
At that moment, I suddenly felt a sense of release. Was this fight finally over? I saw the remaining eye, its surface streaked with blood, as if burning with endless fury.
Just as I prepared to meet death, that fury suddenly vanished. The Man-eating Bear's eye trembled, as if it were filled with fear!
Was it my imagination? It had no reason to fear a human, especially one who couldn't move anymore. I couldn't think any further. My eyelids grew heavier, and as my consciousness blurred, someone carried me away...