The villain's ending is only death 73
The massive beast, which looked at least twice my height, recognized a human and snorted, puffing out its breath while on guard.
It was so enormous that it could easily be mistaken for a monster rather than an animal.
I barely managed to keep my wits about me as I gauged the distance between the beast and me.
The bear was far enough away for me to use the crossbow.
Of course, I was well aware of how fast and dangerous a wild bear could be, regardless of the distance.
But perhaps the game had some arrangement for this ‘sudden quest,’ as the bear had an arrow stuck in each of its shoulder and leg, bleeding profusely.
It seemed to have been chased by other hunters and ended up facing me, the weakest of them all.
The bear roared so fiercely that the arrows and blood seemed to fade from view.
Its eyes, filled with murderous intent, looked like they were about to pounce on me at any moment.
I could see it limping on its injured leg, but I didn't feel the slightest bit relieved.
‘Why do I have to hunt a bear in a dating simulation game?!”
With tears in my eyes, I clicked [Accept]. There was no other choice.
〈SYSTEM〉 Strike the [Red Dot] with the weapon you have!
The moment new text appeared in the box, the bear started charging at me.
Without even reading the text properly, I hastily aimed the crossbow.
Upon closer inspection, three red dots, each the size of a soccer ball, were blinking on the bear's head, body, and one of its legs.
And a number that had just dropped to ‘29’ was still visible in the air.
This kind of ‘mini-game’ existed even in Normal Mode.
‘But that was just finding the differences or solving puzzles!’
I was already miserable enough for being possessed by a villainous character, so why was the Hard Mode quest so brutal?
Fortunately, the bear's speed was slow due to its leg injury.
I recalled all the practice I had done and aimed at the blinking red dots.
Luckily, the targets were large.
I decided to aim at the body first, as it seemed the easiest to hit.
The bear, which had been charging, suddenly stopped and let out a roar, convulsing from the impact.
The bead had hit its mark.
I panted heavily, my heart racing.
I was so tense that my neck was drenched in cold sweat.
I held my breath, waiting for the bear to fall.
But the quest completion window didn't appear, even though I had hit it. Moreover,
a large number was still floating in the air, counting down.
The bear, which had been staggering, snarled once with a dazed expression.
Then it suddenly lifted its head.
Our eyes met. Far from falling, the bear bared its teeth at the prey it had spotted and started charging again.
Thud, thud. The ground trembled slightly from the weight of its massive body.
Now only ‘14 seconds’ were left.
I aimed the crossbow at the red dot on the bear's leg, keeping a close eye on the bear, which was still staggering but preparing to charge again.
Perhaps because I was too distracted, the tip of the arrow kept shaking.
I was far from being a skilled archer, so I had to stay still to hit the target.
I stopped retreating, accepting that the bear was getting closer.
I barely managed to hit the red dot on the bear's head.
This time, the impact was significant, and the bear roared as it fell.
I exhaled the breath I had been holding and quickly took a few steps back.
The countdown was already down to less than 10 seconds.
Now I only needed to hit the red dot on the bear's leg.
I hastily raised the crossbow again.
Meanwhile, the bear struggled to get up.
Despite being hit several times by the beads, it had a truly monstrous constitution.
Now only 5 seconds were left. The situation was urgent.
I aimed the crossbow without relaxing my tension.
Now I only needed to hit it one more time, but it was difficult.
The massive bear, which was running out of time, couldn't keep its balance and kept staggering.
The red dot on its leg, which was blinking, moved around.
The bead narrowly missed the thick leg and hit the ground.
The countdown was almost over.
‘But what happens if the time runs out?’
A chilling fear ran down my spine.
If the [Red Dots] were the bear's weak points and I had to hit them all to kill it,
‘...then it could still be alive after failing the quest, right?’
Unlike the system window, this was reality, and I was experiencing it firsthand.
The massive beast didn't die even after being hit several times by the crossbow.
And finally, the countdown was complete.
Unable to concentrate due to the thoughts in my head, I ultimately missed the final shot.
〈SYSTEM〉 [Hunt the Giant Bear] Quest Failed!
Would you like to try again?
(Time Limit: 10 seconds, Reward: Giant Bear Skin and Gallbladder, Fame +50, [???] Affection +5%)
The quest had failed, and the time limit for retrying was drastically reduced to 10 seconds.
Without even a moment to question it, I quickly clicked [Accept].
The bear was preparing to charge, its mouth wide open.
Only the last red dot on the leg, which I had missed, was blinking.
But I didn't feel the slightest bit relieved.
The certainty of death crept up to my throat.
I couldn't back away much while focusing on aiming the crossbow.
I desperately pulled the trigger to buy some time.
The slot for the bolt was empty. I had run out of beads.
I stood there, mouth agape.
I had brought extra beads in a cloth bag in my pocket, but I couldn't reach them.
The massive beast was right in front of me.
The bear's front paw, equipped with sharp claws, was raised high. It was larger than my face.
I knew I had to dodge, but my body was frozen, unable to move.
Just as the massive paw was about to strike me with a heavy, swift motion,
A horse's neigh and a man's deep voice sounded like a rescue from somewhere. And,
as if freed from a trance, my body moved.
I instinctively bent down, and the bear's paw narrowly missed my head.
The wind from the bear's full swing made my hair stand on end.
A series of chilling sounds followed, and
By the time I regained my senses, it was all over.
The massive figure collapsed with a short scream.
A heavy vibration shook the entire forest as the bear's massive body hit the ground.
Blood spread like water on the ground, staining the tip of my shoes.
A large broadsword was deeply embedded in the center of the giant monster bear's neck.
“What are you doing here?”
Golden hair shimmered in the sunlight filtering through the leaves.
“You're said to be the mad dog of the duke's family, but you're not just mad, you're insane.”
“Did you try to hunt this giant bear alone?”
Thud. The man, who had jumped down from a red horse with eyes like mine, approached me.