I was Thrown into an Unfamiliar Manga

Momochi Satoru had never been the type to get scared.

He was often described as someone who had completely lost his sense of fear.
Even when watching horror movies, he remained indifferent, and whenever he went to amusement parks, he only chose the scream machines.
Perhaps the reason he could be friendly with Kim Yu-seong, whom others avoided, was also due to that same temperament.

Naturally, for someone like Satoru, the test of courage was no more than a piece of cake.
At most, it was just kid stuff.
Casually brushing off the classmates from other classes dressed in shoddy ghost costumes with a chuckle, he walked boldly through the night forest alongside the class president, who had been paired with him.

"How about slowing down a bit? We only have one flashlight."
"Ah, sorry. I walked ahead without realizing."
Satoru, who had been humming a tune and marching forward, was stopped by the class president’s voice.

They had become partners through a random draw.
Since they had never held any romantic feelings for each other since their first year, there was none of that heart-pounding atmosphere others might expect.
About ten minutes had passed since they started silently walking toward the turnaround point.

Satoru, thinking he’d soon encounter Yu-seong, who had been chosen as the ghost representative for Class 2-B, began scanning his surroundings carefully as he walked.
And then—he spotted a large, crouching shadow just beyond the bushes.
According to Satoru’s knowledge, there was no one at Ichijo Academy with a build that large except Kim Yu-seong.

So convinced that the figure hiding in the bushes was Kim Yu-seong, Satoru raised a finger to his lips to signal the class president to be quiet, handed over the flashlight, and quietly snuck up behind the dark figure.
And then—
“Wah!”

With a loud surprise shout, he grabbed the figure’s waist with both hands.
Squish!
“…Huh?”
At the unfamiliar sensation, Satoru lifted his head.

What he had touched wasn’t the firm obliques of Kim Yu-seong that he had seen during P.E., but soft flesh covered in long fur.
ROOAARRRGH!
The shadow he had startled wasn’t Kim Yu-seong, but a massive Asiatic black bear.

And the moment he heard the bear’s booming roar, Momochi Satoru instinctively knew he was fucked.
***
After hearing Satoru’s story to the end, I couldn’t help shouting.

“No, come on, how the hell do you mistake a person for a bear?!”
“It was too dark! I couldn’t see a thing!”
We were running side by side, trying to escape from the bear.

The Asiatic black bear that Satoru had startled seemed thoroughly enraged, as it continued to chase after us with relentless momentum.
“Kyaaa!”
That was when it happened.

The class president, who had been running alongside us, suddenly lost her balance after tripping over a rock.
Thud!
Luckily, I caught her just before she could fall—but the bear was right behind us.

With a quick “Excuse me,” I tucked the startled class president under my arm and kept running.
“Wait, I can run on my own!”
“I’m faster if I carry you!”

The flustered class president shouted that, but I silenced her with a single line and dashed toward the turnaround point.
In the distance, the towering pine tree began to come into view.
If we had run the other way, the students following behind might have been caught in the chaos—so this was the only option.

As soon as we reached the turnaround point, I told Satoru to hide behind the tree.
The same went for the class president, whom I had carried.
Both of them hurriedly concealed themselves behind the tree, while I caught my breath facing the approaching bear.

Even if this was a romantic comedy world, who the hell expected a bear to jump out in the forest?
Honestly, it was a completely absurd situation.
And the fact that I was now facing it one-on-one made it even more surreal.

The Asiatic black bear, seeing that I was no longer running, raised its upper body with both arms spread wide.
Upon seeing that, the class president shouted from behind the tree.
“That’s the bear’s intimidation posture! It instinctively raises its body like that to look bigger than its opponent!”

Hearing that, I looked again at the bear in front of me.
Its height when standing to intimidate was about the same as mine, 186 cm.
Maybe a bit over 190 cm.

Its thick arms looked like logs, and the claws extending from them were massive and sharp enough to tear through human skin with ease.
Even if Asiatic black bears were considered on the smaller side, they were still beasts capable of killing humans.
Though I’d fought many people recently, I hadn’t expected to face a wild animal like this—so I swallowed nervously.

I slowly adjusted the angle of my arms.
It was the basic offensive stance from Combat Sambo that I’d learned while fighting Boris.
It allowed quick reaction to any movement from the opponent, making it ideal for counters.

In the silent forest, I slowly slid one foot backward.
And then—
ROOAARRRGH!

Unable to hold back any longer, the Asiatic black bear charged first.
Its massive arm swung fiercely.
I leaned back slightly to dodge and extended my left arm.

Thump!
A jab too fast for the eye to follow.
But thanks to the bear’s thick skin and subcutaneous fat, it didn’t seem to feel a thing, and it launched its next attack without blinking.

I timed the next swing aimed at my torso, dodged it, and stepped into its space in a flash.
Locking the outer joint firmly, I shifted my weight forward and flipped it.
CRASH!!

The nearly 200kg mass was lifted clean off the ground and slammed into the earth.
Satoru and the class president, peeking from behind the tree, wore stunned expressions—but I couldn’t let my guard down.
The bear quickly sprang to its feet, now visibly furious, and charged at me without hesitation.

A bear’s maximum burst speed is about 60 km/h.
If something that big crashes into you, an ordinary person would be sent flying without resistance.
But instead of running, I chose to confront it.

I crouched low like a sumo wrestler.
Arms slightly spread, feet firmly planted.
And then—

ROOAARRRGH!
With a ferocious roar, the bear collided with me.
Grrrrrk!

Since the bear was slightly taller than me, the weight came down from above, driving my shoes deep into the dirt.
But I braced my calves, refusing to be pushed back any further.
Seeing that brute strength wouldn’t work, the bear showed signs of confusion—but honestly, that was to be expected from my perspective.

After all, the people I’d fought—like Ivan or Boris—had even greater strength than this.
The fact that humans stronger than bears existed was probably messed up, but regardless, there was no reason I would lose a power struggle here.
‘So, what now? Strikes? Submissions?’

A bear’s physiology was different from a human’s.
Trying to apply a joint lock like I would on a person might not even work.
Strikes weren’t very effective either, thanks to the thick fat and skin.

As I continued to hold my ground without making a move, the class president shouted from behind.
“Aim for the nose bridge, or between the eyes! It’s where the skull is thinnest!”
I looked up as she said that.

Easier said than done—targeting that spot on an opponent taller than me was no simple task.
But I had nothing to lose, so I decided to give it a shot.
“Hup!”

Tensing my entire body, I disrupted the balance.
The bear’s claws sliced through the spot where my torso had been, and as I crouched low, I slipped into its chest and wrapped my arms tightly around its waist.
Then, using all my strength, I lifted the massive bear and slammed it down back-first into the ground.

ROOAARRGH!
The bear cried out in pain as its back hit the earth.
But I didn’t even blink. I straddled its torso.

Looking down at the bear thrashing its arms, trying to escape from the mount position, I muttered:
“I won’t kill you.”
And with that, I drove my fist into its forehead.

ROOAAR!
The bear screamed.
But I didn’t stop—I kept pounding its forehead with my fists.

Again, again, again, again, again, again, again, again.
With both fists clenched tight, I ruthlessly hammered the bear’s brow.
Eventually, the repeated impact seemed to shock its brain, and the Asiatic black bear rolled its eyes back and passed out.

From behind the tree, Satoru—who had watched me take on the bear from start to finish—muttered,
“I’m probably not in a position to say this, but… I kind of feel bad for the bear.”
“How about keeping your mouth shut if you get it?”

At the class president’s jab, Satoru bowed his head sheepishly.
He probably knew that if I hadn’t been there, things could’ve gone really bad.
Watching them, I got off the unconscious bear’s torso and thought:

‘Now what the hell do I do?’
Now that a bear had shown up in the forest, whatever else happened, the test of courage was definitely screwed.