Here is the translation of the provided text into English, staying as close to the original as possible:
To summarize the result, the final day of the Witch’s Trial, which we thought would pass without much crisis, ended up leading to an intense battle where the three of us had to take down a Roaring Crescent Bear.
Even though more than five minutes had passed—far beyond the original estimated time of three minutes—the reinforcements from Gerald's side showed no signs of arriving.
"Ethan, it's another lightning strike! This time it'll fall to the right!"
"Got it!"
"Lord Karaham! I won’t be able to block the next howling attack, so dodge it yourself!"
"Understood, Miss Lilith!"
The two swordsmen battled the five-meter bear, which had a horn on its head like a lightning rod. I supported them with every kind of auxiliary magic, but my mind was filled with frustration toward the hero who still showed no signs of arriving.
‘When the hell is that guy Gerald going to get here?’
He had said that if we sent a distress signal, he would fly in within three minutes, but here we were, still left fighting without any help from him, and my mind was full of curses toward him.
No matter how skilled our party was—with a Sword Expert, a (True) Sword Expert, and a Saintess among us—there was no way the three of us could handle a monster over ten levels higher than us.
Normally, I’d hope for as little interference from others as possible during these hunting events, but this time was different.
In this situation, the only spell capable of finishing off that thing was Mana Blast, but there was no way I could cast that in my current condition.
Crackle!
"Block it!"
Thud!
My role was to continuously block the lightning attacks coming from the horn on that mutated Roaring Crescent Bear as they were aimed at Ethan and Karaham.
Though the attack had a visible trajectory and enough cooldown time to react to, it was dangerous if we let our guard down. On the other hand, blocking it wasn’t that hard if we stayed focused.
Ethan and Karaham were already dodging the bear's physical attacks while swinging their swords through the forest. Adding those lightning strikes to their list of things to dodge wouldn’t be easy for them.
I couldn’t set up a pinpointed Vision Shield in advance, either, since it wouldn’t provide proper defense. So, I had no choice but to forgo Mana Blast and concentrate on creating Vision Shields.
I kept holding out, thinking that once Gerald and Serista arrived, I could switch to using Mana Blast or whatever else was needed. But now, the plan was falling apart, and the feeling of danger was creeping in.
Kaaaang!
“Ugh!”
“Ethan!!”
Ethan was hit by the remnant of a strong strike, unable to fully dodge the Roaring Crescent Bear’s swing. He was knocked back.
Though he managed to lessen the impact by blocking with the sword in his right hand, his posture crumbled for a moment, and the mutated Roaring Crescent Bear wasn’t going to miss that opportunity.
Roar!
Swoosh!
“It’s dangerous!!”
Blocking my vision with a mere blur of light wasn’t going to stop the bear’s already swinging attack. Judging that I couldn’t deflect its trajectory with a shockwave or energy bolt, I urgently used the spell I had deployed during the evaluation match, targeting Ethan.
"Bind!"
Rattle!
“Ugh?!”
A chain of magic swiftly shot toward Ethan, binding his waist and pulling him toward me, preventing him from being flung any farther.
I felt bad that I couldn’t spread out the impact more efficiently due to the rush, but…
"Ugh, cough…."
“I’m sorry, Ethan! It was an emergency…”
“I know… Thanks for saving me, Lilith…”
Despite his pained expression, Ethan thanked me before resuming the fight.
After about ten more minutes of dodging and enduring attacks, I started to grasp the situation.
It was clear that the hero's party, somewhere in the northern forest, couldn’t come to help. Perhaps some unforeseen event had occurred, preventing them from moving west.
‘For instance, a simultaneous occurrence event or something.’
If they had encountered the Moonlight Wolves at the same time we faced the Roaring Crescent Bear, it was highly likely they were caught up in battle and couldn’t send reinforcements.
Though I’d never seen simultaneous monster spawns in the original game, this world clearly didn’t follow such simple rules like ‘If A spawns, B doesn’t.’ The Moonlight Wolves and the Roaring Crescent Bear were both living beings in this world.
Thus, maybe the future where only one appeared never existed in the first place.
Howl!
‘…Just as I thought.’
I confirmed my suspicion when I heard the faint howling from a distance. Gerald’s side must also be in battle, unable to come to our aid.
That meant we’d have to handle this on our own—three of us, against a level 35 named monster, when we were only around level 20.
"Ethan! Lord Karaham! We’re changing tactics!"
“Huh?!”
"What’s the plan?!"
"We’re taking down the Roaring Crescent Bear ourselves! I don’t know what’s going on over there, but the hero’s party seems just as busy!"
Ethan and Karaham, already aware the situation wasn’t going well, nodded without questioning the change in strategy.
"Understood, Miss Lilith!"
"Do you have a plan?!"
"I’ve had one from the start! Not that I wanted to use it!!"
There was no point in risking our lives in battle if we could avoid it, but since that wasn’t an option, we had no choice left.
The first step in preparing for this battle was using the skill points I had saved up to learn a new skill.
Remaining skill points: 16 → 1
New skill: Awakening
An auxiliary magic spell that boosts all stats by 1.5 times and increases the power of all magic and skills by 1.5 times for a set duration.
I had been hesitant to use a skill that cost 15 points, but there was no time to hold back now. Saving points in this situation would only get me killed, and that wouldn’t help me secure a better spot in the afterlife.
"For now, I’ll recast Sharp Blade on both of you! With your current swords, you won’t be able to scratch that monster…!"
Roar…!!
“Kyaaa?!”
“Lilith!!”
As soon as I used Awakening and changed the flow of my magic, the Roaring Crescent Bear ignored the two and charged straight at me.
Shocked by the sudden roar, I instinctively used a shockwave to launch myself into the air. I had no means of confronting that five-meter-tall beast head-on.
In the past, I would have struggled to land after jumping this high, but fortunately, I now had the support of a wind spirit to cushion my descent.
"Say!"
‘…Got it.’
Responding to my call, the mid-tier wind spirit created a small vortex below me to slow my fall. I landed softly near Ethan while pondering whether the mid-tier spirit Say might be more useful than the high-tier spirit Sally these days.
“Let’s skip the details since we’re in a rush, Ethan.”
"Right."
“Once I recast the reinforcement spell, chase after the monster from behind. There should be a moment of weakness—stab its eyes when the opportunity arises. That’ll deal a fatal blow.”
“…What about you, Lilith?”
“I’ll do what I have to do.”
I didn’t bother telling him the details. If Ethan worried too much, he’d ruin the plan.
I didn’t want to gamble with a risky move, but we were out of options.
“Sharper, more precise…”
After casting a stronger auxiliary spell on Ethan’s dual swords, I used another shockwave to propel myself toward Karaham.
With him, I applied a similar buff, reminding him to aim carefully for a vital spot since his sword was heavier and more substantial.
“If you aim for the Roaring Crescent Bear’s heart in the next attack, you should be able to pierce it. But you’ll only have one chance, so use it wisely.”
“…Understood, Miss Lilith.”
Roar!!
The bear was still thrashing about, tearing through the forest with its dangerous claws, while Ethan pursued it from behind, looking for the right moment. Karaham readied his greatsword, preparing for a critical strike as per my instructions.
Everything was set. Now, we just needed one clean hit.
Quickdraw Slash. Vision Blade. Magic Infusion. Vision Shield. Sharp Blade. Shockwave.
With all my spells stacked up, I prepared a composite magic attack, while keeping my distance from the Roaring Crescent Bear. Then, I provoked it with my best taunt.
“You dumb bear, you son of a—!!”
Roar?!
“Oh, I thought you were talking to me…”
I ignored the unnecessary reaction from an unintended target.
Though I had fought Moonlight Wolves more times than I could count, I had taken down a Roaring Crescent Bear at least three or four times in my previous life.
Even with this subpar party, I still had enough knowledge from my past life to guide me through its attack patterns.
With this distance, the bear’s next attack would undoubtedly be an electric strike from the horn, just as I expected.
Roar!
Crackle!
The energy blast tore through the space between Ethan and Karaham, heading straight toward me.
This was our one and only chance. If I failed, it wouldn’t just mean defeat—it would mean I’d probably die here.
But if I succeeded, the three of us would share the experience from this level 35 monster, and that was a gamble worth taking.
Crackle!
Encasing the Vision Blade in Quickdraw Slash to boost its attack power, I used Magic Infusion on the Vision Shield to block the electric magic.
As the shield absorbed the magic, the Sharp Blade enchantment reflected it back, and with a shockwave, I sent the attack flying right back at the Roaring Crescent Bear.
Roar…?
By the time the bear realized something was off, my attack had already hit, and it had no defense against the very magic it had launched.
Crackle!
Roarrrr…!!
The bear shrieked in pain as it was hit by its own electric attack.
Though it was only a temporary paralysis, it was enough to seal its movements for a moment. Seizing the opportunity, Ethan and Karaham, both boosted by my buffs, pierced the bear’s eyes and heart, respectively.
Squelch!
Slash!
Roar…!!
The named monster, the Roaring Crescent Bear, met its end from the combined fatal strikes while still partially paralyzed.
And with that, the battle on the western altar of the Witch’s Forest was finally over.