Re-Awakening: Cannon Fodder With Strongest Talent-Chapter 17: New Talent

"Fall back!" Ray finally gave the order everyone had been waiting for.

"Defensive retreat!"

Ethan suppressed a chuckle.

'Perfect.'

Ethan crouched lower, calculating his strike path. The hunters were retreating directly toward his position, too focused on the rampaging bear to watch their backs.

'They're battered and in disarray. If I capitalize while they're running this way, I can catch Ray off-guard with my speed.'

The bear roared again, its massive body showing signs of fatigue despite its regeneration talent. Countless arrows protruded from its hide before being slowly pushed out by healing flesh.

'Time for my clean-up duty...as a good samaritan'

Ethan activated his Enhanced Speed talent, the world slowing around him. He'd have one shot at this. The injured hunters sprinted through the forest, Ray covering their retreat with his arrows.

Twenty meters.

Fifteen.

Ten.

Ethan exploded from cover, a bronze-rank missile aimed straight at Ray's back. The hunter's E-Grade Accuracy talent made him deadly at range, but close combat was a different game entirely.

"Surprise," Ethan whispered as he closed the distance.

Ray sensed him at the last second, instincts screaming danger. He spun, bow already nocked.

Too late.

Ethan's iron-enhanced fist connected with Ray's jaw.

Crack

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Many bones in Ray's face cracked under Ethan's iron-enhanced fist. The sickening sound echoed through the forest as the hunter crashed to the ground, jaw shattered and hanging at an unnatural angle.

"You!" Ray's words came out garbled, blood spraying with each attempted syllable.

"Boss!" A voice shouted from behind.

Ethan spun to see Ray's teammates charging back, weapons drawn. The woman with the curved blade led the charge.

"Too slow," Ethan muttered, activating his Enhanced Speed.

He met her halfway, ducking under her wild swing. His iron-enhanced fist drove into her sternum with a sickening crack.

She dropped without a sound, eyes wide with shock as life left them.

The other hunters skidded to a halt, suddenly reassessing their chances.

"One down," Ethan called out, voice cold. "Who's next?"

The bear's roar answered for them. The massive beast crashed through the treeline, its regenerated wounds barely visible now.

"Run!" one of the remaining hunters shouted, abandoning Ray without hesitation.

The forest behind them exploded as the Mid-Bronze bear charged into the clearing, his eyes locking onto the nearest target...Ray.

Still struggling to stand with his shattered jaw, Ray's life flashed before his eyes.

Ethan saw the bear charging, and he made his decision in an instant.

"You will not be stealing my talent orb, Mr. Bear," he declared, dashing toward Ray.

Without holding back, his fingers found Ray's neck in an instant.

A cruel crunch echoed through the forest as a vertebrae shattered.

Crunch

Having no time to waste, as the bear closed in. Ethan immediately activated his devour ability, absorbing the Ray's talent.

No attribute gains registered. Ray's highest affinity clearly wasn't strength-based, but Ethan had what he wanted, a new talent.

He snatched up Ray's bow and quiver, creating distance between himself and the enraged bear with a burst of Enhanced Speed.

"Time to check out my accuracy," Ethan said, a cold smile forming.

But his first target wasn't the bear. He swung around, bow drawn in one fluid motion, and aimed at Ray's last remaining teammate trying to escape.

"H-uh?" The man barely registered what was happening before an arrow whistled through the air.

The projectile found its mark with deadly precision, piercing straight through the fleeing hunter's skull. He dropped without another sound.

"No witnesses. It's better that way."

Glancing at the bear who was staring him down.

Ethan smiled.

"Now big boy. I don't like the way you're looking at me." Ethan smiled as he pulled the bowstring, and aimed at the beast.

The arrow flew true, striking the bear's chest, only to pop back out as tissue regenerated but slower than before.

"Seriously?" Ethan fired again, this time aiming for the throat.

Same result.

'At least it's taking longer for the regeneration to happen. He is tired.'

The bear charged, surprisingly fast for something so massive.

Ethan darted sideways, his Speed keeping him just ahead of those massive claws.

"Tsk. If only I could project my Iron Enhancement towards the arrow. But I can only transform parts of my body." Another shot, another regenerated wound.

His mind raced through tactical options.

The bear matched him in raw speed—his 40 agility boosted 1.5x by his talent put him at Low-Bronze level, which was 60 points in agility, right where the bear's natural quickness stood. But the creature's strength and vitality clearly outclassed his own.

"Based on its fight with Ray's team, strength is probably Low-Bronze too. But vitality? That's its main attribute." He circled, keeping distance while analyzing weaknesses. "No wonder the regeneration is so potent."

The bear roared, frustrated by this elusive prey. It smashed through a tree trunk like it was paper, sending splinters flying in all directions.

Ethan ducked behind a boulder, his arrows nearly depleted.

'Tiring him further isn't working. I really need to find that core.'

"Core," he muttered. "Need to find its core."

The bear reared up, searching for its vanished target.

Ethan took a deep breath.

"Time for a risky play."