If the Firebear truly belonged to the brown bear family, it suddenly seemed… underwhelming. The creature now lay on the ground, barely six feet long, weighing roughly three hundred pounds. Compared to a typical Asian black bear, it was slightly larger but still within a normal range. Yet, when measured against an adult brown bear—three meters long and weighing over a thousand pounds—it was tiny by comparison.
"So… could this just be a juvenile Firebear?" Richard muttered to himself, his brow tightening. He recalled the half-meter-high blue flames the beast had produced earlier.
If a young Firebear could generate such intense heat, what kind of power would a fully grown adult possess? And what mechanism allowed this creature to ignite itself without injury?
Leaning closer, Richard scrutinized the Firebear carefully. There were no unusual organs, no specialized glands on the skin—nothing distinguished it from an ordinary juvenile brown bear. How, then, could it set itself ablaze without harm? Richard had no immediate answer. At least, not before dissecting it thoroughly.
With that in mind, he wasted no time. "Turk, take the body back to the castle," he ordered calmly.
"Yes, Master." Turk nodded and motioned to a few of the guards. They secured the Firebear with strong ropes, dragging it between two horses as they made a swift retreat from the forest, heading for the Baron's black castle.
By dusk, the sunlight bathed the ground in gold, and the western clouds glowed crimson. The mounted group returned to the castle, the Firebear's massive body carried on the horses. Richard directed Turk and a few men to transport the body into the top-floor laboratory of the side keep. Then he went to fetch his maid, Lucy.
"Prepare a bath for me. Afterward, set up a full set of surgical tools in the laboratory. Bring out the distilled alcohol—I'll need it," Richard instructed.
"Yes, Master," Lucy replied dutifully, turning to execute his orders.
Soon, the bathwater was heated to perfection, and Richard cleansed himself before donning loose, clean clothing. When he entered the lab, Lucy had arranged a complete set of knives neatly along one table and had placed the distilled alcohol nearby. Her eyes involuntarily drifted to the enormous form in the center of the room, its fur reddish-brown.
"Master… this… this is the Firebear?" she asked, voice trembling.
"Yes," Richard confirmed, without waiting for further questions. "You have no tasks here. Step outside and wait."
"What?!" Lucy's eyes widened, confusion and worry evident. "Have I done something wrong? Why can't I help? It's never been like this before."
"Because… what comes next may be bloody. I don't want you to see it," Richard said, gesturing firmly toward the door. "Now go."
"Uh… alright." Lucy bowed her head and left.
Richard inhaled deeply and prepared for the dissection. He bound his sleeves and pant legs tightly with fine linen cords and sterilized his hands with alcohol. Each knife was dipped and wiped in alcohol before he approached the Firebear's body, centrally placed on the table.
One hand rested on its chest, marking the location of the initial incision along the lower throat.
"Thuk!" A sharp dagger pierced downward, then sliced methodically along the surface. Richard felt resistance under the blade and gradually increased force, switching among three different knives over several hours until the entire chest cavity was opened, exposing the interior in full.
He discarded the knives, cleaned his hands, and began meticulous observation.
"A magical creature? A Firebear? If it can set its entire body ablaze, there must be a corresponding physiological adaptation. Could it be a magical crystal core? An internal alchemy organ? Some mutated tissue?" Richard muttered, comparing each organ to those of an ordinary Earth brown bear.
After a long examination, disappointment crept in.
"No differences at all? Every organ is identical, nothing extra, nothing missing, no mutations… completely normal?" Richard frowned.
"That shouldn't be. If the anatomy is identical, how does the body produce fire? How do the hairs resist scorching?"
Pacing the lab, his eyes rested on the Firebear's fur.
"Haah!"
He seized another knife and cut a palm-sized piece of skin and underlying tissue from the chest. Moving to the side table, he poured alcohol into a ceramic bowl and ignited it, tossing the tissue into the flame. Richard squinted, observing carefully.
The fire burned steadily, the alcohol dwindling, yet the tissue remained unscathed.
"The alcohol flame is roughly 400–600 degrees Celsius, yet the Firebear tissue shows no sign of charring. Even separated from the body, it resists extreme heat. Then…"
He leaned closer. After the alcohol completely burned, the flame clung to the tissue, intensifying from reddish-orange to bright red, finally settling into a luminous yellow-orange. The heat transferred to his skin was immense; Richard estimated the temperature exceeded 1,300 degrees Celsius.
"So, the secret lies within the skin and flesh," he whispered, eyes gleaming. His mind raced to a plausible explanation. "There may be a unique substance embedded within the tissue, like an oil or alcohol, capable of burning at high temperatures. During combustion, it vaporizes, absorbing heat and protecting the fur from damage."
"If the Firebear qualifies as a magical creature, then this substance must play a critical role. Extract it… and it could serve as a potent magical material. Could it provide energy for spells?" His eyes sparkled.
Without hesitation, Richard began extraction. He cut the skin and flesh into pieces, placing them into a pot of water to boil. The method was crude, but precise enough to isolate the unknown substance.
Steam rose quickly from the boiling water, and oils slowly leached from the tissue, forming a thick, dark red layer at the pot's bottom, resembling coagulated blood. Richard ignored the odor, continuing the process. Once all water evaporated, he removed the spent tissue, leaving nearly a pound of deep-red oil.
This was the essence he sought—a potential source of magical power distilled from the Firebear itself.
Richard examined the oil, swirling it in the pot. Its color was vivid, almost unnatural, glowing faintly in the dim light. He speculated about its properties: combustible, heat-resistant, and perhaps capable of storing or releasing magical energy under proper conditions.
The implications were staggering. With this substance, one could experiment with high-temperature flame generation, magical fuel synthesis, or even enchantments that require intense energy. It could be revolutionary, bridging natural biology and arcane power.
Richard's mind raced with possibilities. He would need further experiments: testing ignition thresholds, flammability, magical resonance, and potential applications for alchemy or enchantments.
For now, he stored the oil in a secure container, noting its color, density, and behavior under heat. The lab was filled with the heady aroma of distilled biological matter, but Richard paid no heed, absorbed entirely in the potential of this discovery.
By nightfall, the Firebear had been reduced to skeletal remains, and the laboratory held the first tangible step toward harnessing true magical biology. Richard leaned back, eyes glinting, already envisioning the experiments to come, and the power that could be distilled from this extraordinary creature.