The Isekai Game

The Struggle

The forest was just as thick now as it was an hour ago by the lake. Jaivva led the cubs to follow the tracks. Luckily their sense of smell was keen enough to follow even if the tracks weren't visible.

One cub stood on its legs, yelling into a tree. The other remained by Jaivva's foot. No pandas were in sight. And surely none called back.

Jaivva's ears were no stranger to the sound of rustling. They picked up on the sound of twigs breaking. She ducked, calling the other cub to join her. It was possible this was a trap.

Tiny echoes rang through the forest. Each time Jaivva picked up on the location, another echo would instill doubt. One cub began crying up at her. The other remained quiet.

After looking around again, from right to left, she spotted a b****y panda foot on a log. It appeared to be dismembered with no clear signs of how. She backed the cubs away from the log as much as possible. Assuming that's where the attacker was, she should've been able to escape safely.

Upon walking away, a giant black bear ran out of a bush. Its lips flapped blood drool from its mouth. The cubs cried away to a tree, watching Jaivva grip her short sword in a fighting stance.

The bear rush in swinging its paws. Jaivva jumped back slicing the paw.

In the same second, it bit at her face. She had already jumped a second time, welcoming its fat nose with a shuriken.

Never letting up, Jaivva jumped and counter each of the bear's swings. It was agile for a large beast. She threw shuriken that struck its blubbery skin.

She took advantage of the next swing by stabbing her sword directly into its paw.

The bear tried to rest its paw. Pain rose it back up. It growled towards Jaivva. She now held two daggers, ready for him.

Her nose twitched for the bear to strike again. Its step back was a clear sign of fear.

Watching her foot come in, the bear knew she wasn't settling for a retreat. It tried to gain a swing but ended up s***h by her dagger.

The two paced each other into a circle. Limping on his three good legs, the bear would try to bounce in towards Jaivva. She would move in, causing him to back away.

The bear stood on its hind legs to swing at her with its good paw. she took the bait, running in for an attack to its gut.

His body weighed down on her. Jaivva jumped to her right, throwing a dagger into the bear's neck.

A final swing was thrown. Jaivva ducked under and grabbed her dagger out of its neck.

Stumbling to its grave, the bear couldn't believe it lost to a thin girl. Jaivva stood fiercely over, watching it die. Once it fell over, she pulled out her sword.

The cubs ran to her side cheering up her leg. Curiosity wondered why the bear killed the panda. Was it for a meal or for territory? The very thought stal-.

A shotgun fired. Jaivva fell back, as though it took out her heart. Realizing she was safe, Jaivva noticed the cubs were trying to warn her of the poachers.

She jumped to her feet running before the poacher could fire another round. Both cubs kept up with their ghillie coverings still on.

One jeep pulled up while a second went in for the chase. Thick brush prevented the second jeep from maxing its speed. Unfortunately, it still gained ground.

The fresh scent from the lake lingering in the air gave clue for where to run the cubs. If only the jeep wasn't strong enough to run over so many small trees and bushes. Or maybe if there were more big trees for her to zig-zag through she could gain distance.

Hope was dimming with each shot fired at her. Most people had poor shooting when in a moving vessel. Something about their firing felt next to accurate. Even a cub cried for mercy in its struggle.

Trees scattered splinters when shot. One could only pray it wasn't their bones. A small cliff was ahead. Given the thick vegetation around it, it couldn't be a far jump. If anybody challenged Jaivva in there, it would be her fair game. "Would be," is fair to say if given when they jumped it was thick vegetation as seen.

Harsh reality proved that the other side of the cliff was a steep fall into a lake. The thick vegetation seen was merely along the edge itself.

Raising her head above water, Jaivva reached for the cubs. One paddled its way to the side of the cliff. The other flapped it helplessly for its human mama. While treading water, Jaivva grabbed its back and rotated the cub onto her arms. It nearly drowned her given how heavy it was. But once at the cliffside, she calmed it to swim on its own.

Keeping a dagger in her mouth, Jaivva led the cubs from the rear upstream. The land wasn't far. It was an easy swim given that large protruding rocks kept the heavy stream away. A large trunk floated on the water. Jaivva wondered if maybe she could get and use it for easier swimming.

She decided not to test her luck and keep swimming. But the log kept floating near. It seemed as though it was coming directly at them. No matter how hard she tried to focus on swimming, that oversized log was simply weird.

After swimming a few more feet, she realized that if it really was a log, it should be going with the current. Instead, it was flowing straight towards them from the other side of the lake.

"Oh crap," she said tapping on the cubs to hurry.

The cubs felt her urgency to swim faster. Their beady arms could only stride so much. Despite the water being kicked over her head, Jaivva used the cliffside for assistance in pushing the cubs forward.