In games, no matter how long you walk around, the character never gets tired. It’s only natural; if characters grew exhausted just from walking, it would be incredibly frustrating for the player.

Imagine if a character that’s been walking for about an hour had to rest for ten minutes just to keep going—it would be a fatal flaw in lengthy JRPG genres.

Furthermore, in games like these, there aren’t many restrictions on running. As long as it’s not an action RPG, limiting stamina doesn’t significantly affect gameplay. Combat mode takes over whenever you encounter an enemy, so there’s no reason to add a speed limit that would only make traversal tiresome.

The problem is, that only applies to games.

“Heck... huff... huff...”

I could hear heavy breathing from behind me.

The spot where the Elemental Bear was located lay deep within the forest. While it wasn’t pathless or an actual mountain, the trail was far more challenging to walk on compared to the solid paths of a village.

Naturally, walking on such a trail for several minutes without rest is bound to strain your stamina.

"......"

Fortunately, I’d trained myself to a minimum degree. I didn’t have a superhuman body like other protagonists, but at least my stamina wasn’t the worst.

The real problem was Mia Crowfield, who hardly seemed physically active in her daily life.

“Are you okay?”

Claire, who was following closely behind, noticed me maintaining my composure and looked back at Mia Crowfield with concern.

“Huff, yeah... I’m... fine…”

“No, you don’t look fine at all,” Alice interjected.

“Let’s just rest here for a bit. It’s better to meet our prey when we’re all in optimal condition, including Miss Crowfield,” she suggested.

“That’s true. Let’s take a short break,” Claire agreed.

The sky was gradually brightening. We’d left after a meal at four in the morning, knowing full well that venturing into the forest in the dead of night was foolhardy. But we didn’t spend that time idly; we went over the mission details one last time and double-checked our supplies before entering the woods.

No matter how much gaming I’d done, this forest didn’t look exactly like it did in the game’s empire maps. The village layout might have been spot-on, but a forest this large would have been impossible to render identically in-game.

“Haa…”

Mia Crowfield sat down on the ground, sighing heavily.

"..."

I took the water flask from my belt and handed it to her. I’d boiled water earlier in the morning, and after keeping it in my leather pouch at my waist, there was still a bit of warmth left.

“Ah…”

She looked at me with wide eyes, perhaps surprised that I offered her the flask.

“T-thank you.”

Though she seemed hesitant, she couldn’t outright refuse with everyone watching.

Holding the still-warm flask, Mia Crowfield cautiously took a sip, exhaling a small, relieved sigh afterward.

“We might have to forgo some of the missions,” Jake remarked coldly.

To some extent, I agreed with him. Mia Crowfield aside, my stamina had its limits too. While others might think I was superhuman, even with all the training I’d done, I couldn’t outmatch anyone here in terms of sheer strength or stamina—except maybe Mia Crowfield.

The real question was, what about the game’s story?

It doesn’t matter if we skip a few side quests, but the main quest mandates a fixed party. Anyway, things were already quite different from the game. In the game, only four members could fight simultaneously, so having a whole group wandering around together was unusual.

But what happens if someone crucial to the main quest collapses from exhaustion, gets injured, or just burns out?

As I pondered this deeply, Mia Crowfield, noticing my gaze, looked back at me, slightly intimidated, and handed the flask back. I silently took it and took a sip myself. The warm water soothed my throat.

...We’re still early in the story, so it’s not too late to observe a bit more before making any decisions.

Besides, wasn’t this mission chosen by Charlotte, with Leo and Claire backing her?

The three of them believed they had the strength to take down the Elemental Bear, and even the guide, upon hearing the Grace family name, nodded confidently. We’ll be fine.

I mean, who could get seriously hurt from a mere side quest?

*

The Elemental Wolf was about the size of a regular wolf, with comparable physical abilities. Though its body held marmaross, it wasn’t bulletproof.

Considering it was the first monster encounter in the game, it’s expected that it wouldn’t be too strong here.

“Graaooo!”

But the frenzied roar of the ‘Red Claw’ was another matter.

Our target this time was a bear—a bear whose hide and bones could sometimes deflect bullets.

Moreover, this bear had a fire-aligned marmaross, granting it an instinctive grasp of magic.

It was twice the size of a polar bear I once saw at a zoo; I had to tilt my head all the way back just to look up at it.

A regular bear might look cute just sitting there, but the Elemental Bear had an aura of savagery even while motionless.

“Alright, let’s go!” Leo shouted, and Claire nodded.

“Graoo!” 

As the bear swung its paw, Leo leapt sideways while Claire ducked swiftly. Watching her narrowly avoid the bear’s razor-sharp claws by the tip of her ponytail made my heart skip a beat.

“Let’s go too, Princess!”

“...Just call me Charlotte.”

Jake and Charlotte then moved in, circling around to strike from behind. The bear’s thick hide made it unlikely to go down easily, but they were taking turns attacking, each time forcing the bear to turn its attention between them.

Claire wielded her whip-like sword with finesse, keeping her distance while distracting the bear. Leo used that opportunity to charge head-on, swinging his blade, though it wasn’t quite enough for a fatal blow. Nevertheless, it was steadily wearing down the beast.

The battle continued with Leo and Claire drawing its focus forward, while Charlotte and Jake attacked from behind. The Grace family’s swordplay, with its heavy, cutting strikes, combined well with Charlotte’s rapier and Jake’s swift in-and-out technique.

“Alright, my turn.” Alice gripped her sword tightly.

“Cover me from the rear!”

I nodded, and Alice surged forward.

The royal swordsmanship emphasized the power of each strike. Though slower than the Grace family’s dual-handed sword style, every blow packed immense force. Her strike left cracks in the ground beneath.

In the game, Alice had been a close-range damage dealer—slow, but with powerful single-hit moves.

Dashing between Leo and Claire, she sliced at the Elemental Bear, her blade finally tearing through its tough stomach hide, spilling blood.

“Gwaaaar!”

The bear’s agonized roar reverberated loudly. In fury, it slammed its paws down on the leaf-strewn ground, igniting small flames.

“Hick.”

Seeing this, Mia Crowfield let out a small scream.

“Stick to the plan,” I said calmly to her.

The scene felt far more intense and brutal than anything I’d seen in the game, but after witnessing people explode and putting a bullet in a wolf’s forehead, I wasn’t fazed.

“Prepare your water-based spell. I’ll cover you from a distance,” I instructed.

Mia Crowfield nodded repeatedly, clutching her staff while moving to a position a bit away from the battlefield.

If I’d had more time, I’d have climbed a tree, but that wasn’t an option now.

I climbed up a nearby large rock, knelt, and aimed my gun at the bear’s head.

Its massive head was a tough target, thrashing madly as it focused on Leo and the others, but I had multiple chances.

Resting my finger on the trigger, I pulled it. The hard metal resisted, then gave way as the gun fired.

Bang!

The gunshot sounded even louder than the ones I’d heard in the military.

It was pure luck that I hit the bear’s head without needing to rewind time.

“Graah!”

But the beast didn’t fall. Blood gushed from one eye, yet it stood tall, glaring at me, undeterred.

If that bear had expressions, this was rage.

Watching its bleeding right eye, I pulled back the bolt, feeling the satisfying click of metal sliding into place, ejecting the empty shell with a faint ping.

Just then, flames burst from the bear’s back.

Even to me, someone who couldn’t sense auras, the bear’s behavior felt unsettling.

“Retreat!” Leo shouted, and everyone quickly backed away.

The bear, surprisingly, didn’t pursue them.

A hissing sound like a boiling kettle came from the bear as it slowly opened its massive jaws, aimed directly at me.

“…Ah.”

Right. In Azerna Legends, even low-level monsters could use magic casually.

Magic with effects identical to human spells.

I’d always wondered how these beasts cast spells that humans needed chants for.

Through the scope, I saw flames flickering deep in its throat.

So, it comes from within!

I fired again in a hurry.

Bang—the shot fired, the recoil hitting my shoulder as my scope jerked up. I didn’t see it pierce the bear’s cheek, but I knew it did.

Simultaneously, Mia Crowfield’s spell, which she had been preparing, finally activated.