Chapter 17: I Bear-ly Broke a Sweat... But It Sure Did
Five days had passed since I started my routine, Six days in total since Arkas had randomly dropped us here to die.
I wondered what the old man was doing right now. Probably sipping tea, watching us struggle to survive, and laughing at the thought of us shitting in the wild.
In the past five days, I had located a water source, one of the rivers, but I hadn't found anyone else from my unit.
My self-training had been going well, especially the Essence training. Every day, I infused Essence into my right leg, let it wreck some part of it, and observed how the damage played out.
At this point, I was pretty sure my right leg was screaming discrimination. And no, I wasn't a masochist.
The reason I focused only on my right leg was to see if repeatedly exposing it to Essence would lead to any long-term changes. But with such a small amount of Essence, the experiment would take time before showing any results.
Until then... my right leg would just have to deal with it.
I stood on a thick tree branch, peering down at my next prey.
Below me, a massive bear, nearly eight feet tall, tore into its breakfast. Jagged bones jutted out from its head and shoulders, giving it a nightmarish appearance. As I focused on it, its level popped up.
[Skulled Bear – Level 8]
I thought we were dropped into a low-level area, which made finding Abominations above Level 5 a rare challenge. Most of my hunts so far had been against low-level brown apes and boars, hardly satisfying.
I first spotted the bear yesterday and had been tracking it since then. Now, after reaching Level 7, I finally decided to take my shot.
Before making a move, I pulled up my status screen to check my progress.
[Status]
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Name : Billion Ironhart
Race : Human
Class : N/A
Laws : N/A
Level : 7
Talent :
- Generator 1
- Essence : 5/5
Attributes :
- Strength: 21.5
- Constitution: 16.5
- Dexterity: 15.5
- Psynapse : 18.2
Unused Stats: 0
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I was satisfied with my progress. Most of my unused stats had gone into Strength and Psynapse, while I used my stored Essence to boost Constitution and Dexterity so that they wouldn't lag too far behind.
Satisfied, I pulled up my talent panel to check how much more Essence I needed to level up Generator.
[Talent]
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Talent Name: Generator
Function: Generates Essence from absorbed energy
Level: 1
Essence: 5/5 units
Level Up Requirement: 100 units of Essence generated
Progress: 67/100
Talent Upgrade Requirement: Talent Level 5
Generator Activation Command: Power Up!
Recharge Sources: Any form of energy
Abilities:-
Essence Transfer – Can transfer stored Essence to an attribute. After use, 10% of the transferred Essence unit remains as a permanent boost
Essence Infusion – Can infuse stored Essence.
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I noticed it had reached 67, and if things went well, I'd probably cross the threshold in another three or four days.
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After dealing with the bear, I planned to move to a new area.
My confidence to deal with the bear came from having a fully charged Essence storage, ready to be unleashed.
I dropped down from the tree. My pants were barely shorts at this point and no shoes, no shirt.
Rolling my shoulders, I did a couple of squats and slapped my cheeks to jolt myself fully awake.
'Time to beat the shit out of this dude.'
I cupped my hands around my mouth and shouted at the bear.
"Hey, dumbo! Look who's here?"
The bear raised its head, then slowly turned around. Its eyes locked onto me, and with a deep growl, it smashed the ground with its front paws.
I grinned.
"Ohh, excited, are we? Me too, brother, me too. Hunting those boars was getting boring."
I raised a finger at the bear.
"But I'm sorry for what I'm about to do to you."
Then I sprinted forward.
The bear let out a thunderous roar and rumbled toward me. Rising onto its hind legs, it swiped a massive paw in my direction.
My focus zeroed in on the beast. With my increased Psynapse, the world around me slowed down a little. I took a deep breath, braced for impact, and crossed my arms just as the bear's paw smashed into them.
Boom.
I skidded nearly eight feet before coming to a stop. My forearms throbbed from the hit, and I shook out my hands to get rid of the jitters.
"Wow, man, you got some juice in you."
The bear roared even louder and charged again, this time lunging at me with its jaws wide open.
I lunged too, ducking low and slamming my shoulder into its chest. The beast stumbled back, then flopped onto the ground.
I did a disappointed head shake.
"Come on, we're just getting started."
I was really starting to enjoy the benefits of Psynapse. My mind was working at an insane speed, processing information at a much higher rate. I could see the tiny twitches in the bear's muscles, almost—almost—predicting its next move before it even made it.
Without hesitation, I transferred all 5 units of Essence into Constitution, increasing it to 21.5. Immediately, I felt my body changing. Every time an attribute crossed a multiple of 10, the transformations were significant, and this was no exception.
I watched as the bear clambered back onto its feet.
Looking at the bear, I shouted in an exaggerated tone.
"Powerrrrrrrrrrr UP!"
I felt my heart thrum as the Generator kicked into action.
And I charged first.
The bear swiped at me again, but I stood my ground, crossing my arms to take the blow head-on. This time, I didn't budge. My feet dug into the dirt, absorbing the force, and I grinned.
My heart pounded as I watched the heat buildup in the core.
I exhaled sharply, planting my feet firmly into the dirt. No more blocking. No more sidestepping. This time, I was going to take it all.
The bear roared, its breath hot and foul, before lunging again. It swiped with one massive paw, aiming straight for my ribs. I clenched my jaw and braced.
Boom!
The impact sent a shockwave through my body, but instead of crumpling, I held my ground. My muscles strained, my bones groaned, but I didn't break. The force spread through my body instead of concentrating in one place. My Constitution had finally caught up to my strength.
The bear wasn't done. It followed up with another swipe, this time smashing into my shoulder. My body twisted from the force, my feet dragging across the ground, but I didn't fall. Pain flared, but it wasn't sharp—it was dull, heavy, manageable.
I grinned.
"Thats all you got?"
The bear growled and reared up on its hind legs before bringing both its paws down in a hammer strike. I crossed my arms over my head and bam!
My knees bent slightly, the ground beneath me cracked, but I stayed upright. My heart pounded like a war drum, my Generator talent roaring to life. I felt the heat surge in my core.
Every hit made my body tougher, stronger. My constitution firing up to recover the damage and provide strength. The bear's strikes still hurt, but they didn't overwhelm me anymore. I could read its movements, anticipate the blows, absorb them.
My Psynapse processed everything in high detail, the twitch of its muscles, the shift of its weight before each attack.
I took another swipe to the ribs, another to the thigh. My body bent but didn't break. My breathing was steady, controlled.
The bear took a step back, huffing, confused. It expected me to crumble, but I was still standing.
I rolled my shoulders, feeling the deep warmth of Essence building inside me again. My core had been running at full speed, and now it was nearly fully charged.
I exhaled and smirked.
"My turn."
Like a bull, I smashed my foot into the ground and sprinted toward the beast. I leaped, twisted mid-air, and my leg shot forward, slamming into its shoulder with full force. The impact sent the bear crashing into a tree, the bone plate on its shoulder shattering like brittle stone.
I landed smoothly, rolling my ankle a little, then bounced lightly on the balls of my feet, shifting my weight from left to right in a steady rhythm.
"Yeah, that felt good. Come on big guy, lets end it in one move."
Although I had no system skill at the moment, I still wanted to end this fight with a finisher or a signature move. Why, you ask? Because I liked finishers.
The bear roared and charged, tearing through the ground like a freight train. I exhaled, keeping my stance low, eyes locked onto its movements.
At the last second, I sidestepped, barely grazing past its lunging form. As it barreled past, I planted a foot on its back and launched myself into the air, using its own momentum against it.
The world slowed for a moment as I reached the peak of my jump. My leg tensed, muscles coiling like a spring.
I swung my leg down, an axe kick aimed right at the center of its skull.
Boom!
My heel crashed into its head like a warhammer. The force sent a shockwave through its body, smashing its skull plate into shards and driving its head into the dirt. The ground beneath us cracked from the impact.
The bear twitched once, then fell completely still.
I landed smoothly, rolling my shoulders as I took a deep breath.
[Level Up!]