Chapter 11: Racing a Bear

Chapter 11: Racing a Bear

Jack stared at the bear. The bear stared at him. It growled. He jumped.

Shit!

Earth Bear, Level 14

Bears are omnivorous creatures that stand at the apex of most food chains. Earth bears, in particular, are a stronger, highly territorial variant. They can use very limited earth magic, and the rocky parts of their fur can be used to craft F-Grade weapons and armor.

Earth Bears are most commonly found in the Ursus Forests of planet Ursi.

The bear wasnt one to waste time. It lunged at Jack, swiping a large paw at him, and he only narrowly dodged the strike. The claws dug thick lines on the tree behind him.

Jack caught on fire. The now familiar fight or flight instincts kicked in, taking control and giving him greater power than his body could wield. A thousand synapses fired in his brain, all at once.

Fight or flight?

As if in slow motion, he considered the issue. One hit from the bear could incapacitate him. At the same time, it wasnt particularly agile. He could dodge everything. Maybe he could make it.

The bear swiped again. Jack ducked under the blow, letting his stone hammer fall as he clenched his fists. His Fistfighting skill kicked in, further heightening his fighting awareness. As he dodged the claw, he rotated his body and shot a hard hook into the bears belly, throwing all his weight behind it.

His fist met rock-hard fur. The impact was so strong that, despite his augmented body, his knuckle bled and almost cracked. The bear, on the other hand, only bent its body a bita yellow glow had appeared on the point of impact and absorbed most of the damage.

Jack remembered its description. Limited earth magic. Fuck.

He jumped back, narrowly avoiding a set of sharp jaws, and turned around even in mid-air. He was faster than the bear, but the damage he dealt was minimal. It would catch him, eventually. He couldnt afford this fight.

Flee.

His decision made, Jack felt his entire body lighten as his legs hummed with power. They smashed into the forest floor, throwing dirt and stones all around, shooting him forth at tremendous speed. A patch of bushes practically zoomed past his vision.

A roar and four heavy thuds behind him indicated that the bear had fallen on all fours. It would chase. Of course it would.

And so began Jacks first race.

Humans cannot outrun bears. However, that only concerns pre-System humans. At 27 Physical, Jack had already outgrown that entire civilizationbut had he outgrown a bear?

There was only one way to find out.

His bare feet smashed the ground hard enough to break it. His body was slanted forward, riding the air resistance to stay upright, and his hands frantically moved back and forth. The bears roar was approaching. Jack accelerated.

Running for your life was a unique feeling. Everything disappeared, all thoughts went silent, letting the running become your entire life.

Jack was one with the air, one with the forest. He wasnt a human, but a movement, a gale crossing through bushes and over roots. His high Physical made the forests terrain easy to traverse. He zoomed left and right, passing through narrow parts on purpose to slow down the bear. In a straight line, he couldnt match its speed, but this was a forest.

Jack didnt go after it. As soon as he landed the first punch, he stepped into the ground with enough force to extinguish his momentum. The dirt exploded. His entire body creaked, but he didnt mind. Before the hobgoblins could escape their surprise, he turned and elbowed a second one in the chest, cracking ribs and sending it kneeling on the ground.

He then punched ahead, but the third hobgoblin managed to jump back in time and draw its sword. It adopted a stance that seemed well-trained, and despite Jacks overwhelming ambush, the hobgoblins eyes didnt falter.

The first hobgoblin, the one hed punched in the face, stepped behind him. It still hadnt recovered from the strikeit might even had had a minor concussionbut it was ready to fight.

Hobgoblins were nothing like goblins. They were disciplined, intelligent, trained warriors. They were hardened veterans. Tricks and ambushes wouldnt be enough to take them down.

But Jack knew that. He wasnt counting on an ambush. He wanted to fight them head-on, test himself against their blades. He was flooded with battle lust, eager to try out his skills at the edge of danger.

He banged his fists together, eyeing the two hobgoblins that were trying to surround him. Come! he shouted.

The two of them looked at each other and nodded.

Jack, still in their encirclement, watched them intently. Besides the two standing hobgoblins, the one that had been elbowed before still struggled to stand due to its broken ribcage, but Jack didnt discard it entirely. It could still throw out its shortsword, trip him, or do other nasty things if he wasnt careful.

But he would be.

The two goblins rushed him at the same time, one from in front and the other from behind. Their movements were sharp, their stances solid. Jack didnt see an easy way to attack them or dodge.

Despite thatthey were slow.

Jacks stats had already jumped beyond theirs. Training and expertise could only achieve so much in the face of absolute power.

As they fell on him, blades swinging, Jacks body came alive. He turned and twisted, dodging attacks at the last moment even when they seemed unavoidable. His speed was such that their weapons couldnt follow, and their carefully devised stances werent designed against overwhelming opponents. Hobgoblins were used to fighting other hobgoblins, not superheroes.

Jack was like a dancer. His reflexes were so fast that he moved at the same time they did, and his speed was such that hed dodged before they even finished their attack. Two shortswords fell from different directions, but Jack still weaved between them masterfully, passing through gaps that the naked eye could only barely catch.

This wasnt just his stats, of course. His Fistfighting skill was running at full throttle, and as he dodged and weaved between attacks, he grew more and more familiar with his body at a stunning rate.

Dodging like this wasnt easy. Jack was dancing on the razors edge, and yet, he kept going. When he had the opportunity to counter-attack, he didnt. This feeling of harmony was beyond wondrous, and he felt that, if he stopped now, this opportunity wouldnt reappear easily. He had to grasp at straws to survive this dungeon, to dig out even the last dregs of his potential. A little danger was nothing.

His movements sharpened, his thoughts accelerated. He leaned from one movement to the next, using skill to dodge instead of just speed. His body became one with his will, and he felt in complete control of his every limb and muscle.

The hobgoblins didnt know he was holding back, of course, so they were still careful, not daring to attack too wildly in case he struck back. Unbeknownst to them, they were spelling the doom of their tribe.

Finally, in one movement, everything came together in Jacks mind. He, his body, and his enemies became one.

Ding!

Skill upgraded. Fistfighting (I) Fistfighting (II)

Through the battle haze, he grinned.