Academic gathering with a lich-Chapter 86 - 83 Damn Bear Clan Assassin

The one who woke Lyle from his deep slumber was Echel’s big palm, which smacked him from the hammock onto the floor.

Thud, thud, it was the sound of his beak’s tip striking the floor. The sudden intense hit proved more effective than a bone-chilling splash of water to the face. Fortunately, since the beak was made of leather, it cushioned the impact and prevented a concussion.

Supporting his still-slighly-wobbly head, Lyle crawled up from the ground. Because last night could be counted as the best sleep of his life—the soft hammock was far more comfortable than his wooden bed at home—he wasn’t much bothered by getting up.

Sunlight peeked in from the entrance of the Dawn Palace, painting the interior in pale gold. The green shadows of surrounding plants also cast silhouettes on the wooden planks. The sunlight wasn’t harsh here; perhaps it was because of the mists that shrouded the dense forest, creating a fog so thick that it felt like a fairyland.

Echel had already packed his gear. He toyed with a small dagger in one hand, tossing and catching it in the air, yet his gaze remained fixed on himself.

"Really don’t know what to say about you, sleeping so deeply on your first night in a strange place. You could have at least been a bit more vigilant."

Echel didn’t seem too angry, just spoke with a tone of complaint, even adding a bit of a grumble about his junior, which somehow seemed to make their relationship feel closer.

Lyle’s reckless way of dropping his guard had been interpreted by Echel as a feeling of closeness to Liveser, something like making a guest feel at home, which, to a host, was the best form of gratitude.

"Has Sir Lyle woken up?"

Bathed in the golden sunlight was Kayla, dressed in dark green leather armor, like a tender shoot growing towards the light. Her golden waves gathered into a ponytail behind her head. Away from the white ceremonial robes, Kayla had lost that touch of demure grace but gained a certain bold charm. Her queenly allure was undiminished.

"Good morning, Your Majesty."

"Just Kayla will do, Sir Lyle. You’re not one of my subjects; we are friends."

"Alright, Kayla."

Fully geared up, the three of them stood on the balcony of the Dawn Palace, a large platform without railings. This wasn’t the main entrance of the hall, and there were no stairs for entering or exiting. 𝗳𝚛𝗲𝕖𝚠𝚎𝚋𝗻𝗼𝕧𝗲𝐥.𝚌𝚘𝐦

What am I thinking? Liveser might have anything, but it certainly wouldn’t have stairs. Lyle hugged a bad premonition and shakily voiced his need.

"Where’s the children’s passage?"

"There’s no children’s passage here, Lyle. You need to follow local customs, try out the Liveser way of life; who knows, you might end up liking it."

Lyle’s panic was soothed at Kayla’s smile. "Alright, maybe you’re right."

"Where’s our path?"

"Over there."

Kayla pointed to several vines hanging between the giant trees about ten meters away. Through the gaps, Lyle could see the rooftops of Liveser’s middle district and some grasslands that remained visible, even though from Lyle’s perspective, the bushes looked ant-sized.

Lyle stared back stiffly at Kayla, whose gentle smile began to sour in his eyes.

"You’re saying, how do we get over there?"

"Jump across, grab those vines, swing through the air, and head to our destination."

"We’re nearly a hundred meters above ground here, with no safety measures."

"Lyle, life doesn’t always give you preparation time. Sometimes you just have to adapt and go with the flow."

"You make a lot of sense... my foot! This is murder, I’m not leaving this platform!" After saying that, Lyle retreated a few steps but found his path blocked by the sturdy Echel.

"This is the only way, unless you plan on living in the Dawn Palace for the rest of your life?"

"The way I came up is the way I’ll get down. It might take some time... No, I won’t go down! I’ll wait for Mr. Irene to open a portal to take me back, then teleport directly to the ground. Trees— I’ll never climb them again."

Lyle was cornered, Echel blocking him. "No way. You come to Liveser and don’t even learn how to climb trees—that’s a disgrace to me. No matter what, today you’re going through with this."

In the end, Lyle chose to compromise. He agreed to be carried to experience the Liveser journey.

"So, you’re planning to swing through the vines with one arm, while conveniently carrying me along?"

Isn’t this courting death?

"Relax, I used to carry Kayla for walks when she was little. Forget about one hand—I could manage even with my feet."

We might have different understandings of taking a walk.

"Do I really have no choice?"

"If you want Liveser’s Sword Dance Mandala, you must familiarize yourself with everything about Liveser."

Lyle was clamped around the waist by Echel’s arm, with Echel effortlessly weighing him, seemingly unaffected by his presence.

Lyle pressed his hands together and prayed in a murmur.

Echel let out a heroic bellow and leaped from the terrace like a soaring vulture, with Kayla following behind him.

But Lyle’s attention wasn’t on others; in his eyes, there was only the vine they were plunging towards, drawing closer and closer. Echel stretched out his arm, his palm reaching toward—and barely missing—the vine.

When the Gravity Evil Demon extended its poisonous claw toward Lyle, he could no longer contain the excitement in his heart.

"Aaaahhhhhhh!!!!!"

Today was an unusual day for the residents of Liveser.

Echel didn’t panic. During the fall, he braced his foot against the bow, drew the bowstring of the Silver Falcon Bow, with the rope arrow already in his hand lodged onto the bow, shot it at a nearby giant tree, and caught the tail end of the rope, swinging through the trees as if nothing had happened.

As Echel swung from rope to rope, he even freed his right hand to tap Lyle, who was still screaming.

That’s when things calmed down, and Lyle too became accustomed to the ground constantly zooming in and out of his vision, along with the sensation of swinging like on a swing.

"I thought we were goners."

"The Sword Dance Mandala has endowed Liveser with exceptionally strong bodily coordination and reflexes. These moves are basic for us; you’re just not used to it," Echel changed direction, "We’re heading east, Kayla left markers."

"Markers, how come I didn’t see them?"

"The tree 20 meters away at 3 o’clock from where I was just now has its moss layer artificially broken, and there’s an arrow Kayla left there, along with an olive leaf."

To Lyle’s flawed vision, the surroundings appeared as nothing but green.

About ten minutes later, the two of them had traveled quite a distance away from Liveser, and as Echel had said, Kayla was waiting on a tree trunk.

Upon their arrival, she leaped down, her markers and waiting all indicating her trust in Echel’s abilities.

"We’ve reached our destination. Behind this tree, at 12 o’clock, from here, you can see the prey I’ve chosen for Lyle. Lyle, you just need to kill it, and your hunting ritual will be complete. You may use any weapon, any strategy, any ability. This is the will of nature."

"May I ask what the prey is?"

"Of course, you’re about to see it anyways. It’s a bear. My grandfather’s story last night made me want to witness the birth of a hero who defeats a bear."

A bear? Lyle peered from behind the tree stump, hoping it wasn’t too big.

What Lyle saw was a big bear around five meters long, lazily sleeping in front of its cave. It was a bit larger than expected, but with effort, he should be able to handle it. Kayla was taking care of him after all; this should be a sure thing.

However, a doubt emerged in Lyle’s mind because the cave was nearly ten meters high, which seemed too large for a bear—was it a usurped den of another ferocious beast, or could it be a naturally formed cave?

His query was quickly answered.

Red light emanated from the cave, and following a roar that shook the sky and earth, a ten-meter-tall figure burst forth like a heavy-duty truck, swiping with its paw. The sleeping bear let out a scream as it was launched several dozen meters like a cannonball, disappearing from Lyle’s view.

The real adversary showed itself. With robust brown fur, massive limbs resembling a heavy tank, ten meters in height and nearly thirty meters in length, a scar covering its face, a single eye gleaming with bloodlust—the bear’s originally small and cute ears seemed terrifying given its immense size.

Lyle swallowed hard.

"Bear Monster?"

"To be precise, a Kadovi Giant Bear, solitary by nature, highly aggressive, with a strong territorial instinct. Three thousand people from Liveser hunted it as their target, but only eight hundred and seventy-two survived. Please be cautious, Lyle Butler."

I was wrong, this seemingly kindhearted queen is cut from the same cloth as her grandfather.

"Good luck, Lyle. Become a great hero like Echel!" Kayla encouraged with a smile, her eyes glistening brightly.

Damn bear-killer Echel.