Chương 38: The First Mission

After a failed dice roll, Jordan went right back to rolling again. Rolling his 500-pound cauldron, that was. He couldn't quite explain the logic. Because the decision didn't really come from a logical place. All he knew was that he was now in a tornado-fighting party, and he'd be damned if he was the only one among the eight to go without his Vessel. Spells or no spells, he was determined to be a spellcaster, if not in ability then at least in conduct. And so, he huffed and puffed to keep up with the group.

He'd lashed his [Spear] onto his back and refused any and all offers of help from his Gym Rat buddies. After all, he'd dragged his friends into this dangerous mission with his half-baked play at bravery. The least he could do now was to see it through on equal footing with everyone else. Three weeks of diligent training hadn't been for nothing. He felt the difference from the very first roll, lighter than any of his attempts during the two-day marathon with Canyon.

And this despite the [Brigandine]'s 20 lbs weighing him down. Here was proof positive of the separation between game mechanics and the human factor. It was one thing to boast an STR of 16, boosted by three levels of [Zhurong's Blessing]. Entirely another thing to have cultivated a body and mind capable of taking advantage of it. Jordan huffed and puffed, ever watchful of the road ahead. The twister rumbled across the steppe, appearing larger and more all-consuming by the minute.

Was it simply getting closer, or was it actually growing in size? Jordan had no way to tell. Nor would the answer have changed what he had to do. The winds picked up, long before the party came anywhere near tornado-fighting range. Jordan's progress slowed considerably, having to push through the turbulence with 500 pounds of solid bronze on top of his own weight. The rest of the party went on ahead, oblivious, though they too had to shield themselves against the buffeting wind.

Thus, it was from a rearguard position that Jordan first 'caught wind' of something untoward. Shouts and commands, all swept away by the wind. Then flashes of light and smoke like some pyrotechnics had gone off on a stage—including the tell-tale rosy glow of active Vessels. A fight had broken out, and magic was in play. But Jordan himself was too far from the action to benefit from combat logs. He didn't have to wait long for the action to come to him.

As Jordan pushed to join his party in the fray, he was distracted by a strange round ball hopping toward him at speed. What was it, the Featherifter version of a tumbleweed? No! Jordan realized as the ball suddenly spread open. Furry body, bushy tail, four skinny limbs. And a beaver-like face baring a fearsome pair of buckteeth, as large and razor-edged as kitchen cleavers! <Monster Sheet> Name: Jumper Rat Class: Biter, Lv.

3 Vessel: Gland of Gnashing Teeth Status: Frenzied He'd had them described to him, of course, but it was Jordan's first time seeing a Jumper Rat in the flesh. He was caught off guard by the monster's rather endearing appearance, perhaps second only to marmots in their Pokemon-esque charms. More than that, however, he was shocked and alarmed by the ferocity with which those cleaver-like teeth closed in on his person! Frenzied Jumper Rat E cast: Fortify Incisors. Crack! Armor to the rescue!

As Jordan stood there dumbfounded and defenseless, the Jumper Rat tried to sink its buckteeth into the [Standard Issue Brigandine]. It bounced off, unable to find purchase. Jordan felt the impact (like an even heavier Finch punch), but he knew he'd avoided the worst of it. JORDAN YU's [Standard Issue Brigandine] absorbed: 12 damage. JORDAN YU lost: 6 HP. JORDAN YU's [Standard Issue Brigandine] Durability: 148/150 -> 136/150. Were all Jumper Rats this stupid?

Or only this one, perhaps addled by this [Frenzied] status Jordan didn't know much about? Either way, he thanked Nezha for the good fortune of keeping his fleshy bits intact… and keeping his HP loss to a paltry 6. The Jumper Rat jumped away, hopping around in a wide circle to pick up more momentum. It came right back for round two, casting another [Fortify Incisors] as it leapt for Jordan's midsection. By then, Jordan had just barely managed to retrieve the [Standard Issue Spear] from his back.

He tried his best to let his polearm training take over, but to no avail. His stance was wobbly, his grip on the shaft all wrong. And the Jumper Rat too fast and too ferocious for an inexperienced Jordan to track. He whiffed badly on a speculative [Spear] thrust, allowing the monster to slip through and… JORDAN YU's [Standard Issue Brigandine] absorbed: 12 damage. JORDAN YU lost: 12 HP. JODAN YU's [Standard Issue Brigandine] Durability: 136/150 -> 124/150. Oh, thank the gods the Jumper Rat is so dumb!

Armor or no, Jordan really felt that one. The bites were ramping up in both intensity and spillover damage. Once the critter learned to aim better, things could get real nasty! The story has been taken without consent; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident. A hop, a skip, another lap around the field. The [Frenzied] Jumper Rat charged at Jordan, determined to bite off a chunk of the human if it was the last thing it did.

As for the human in question, he wasn't feeling particularly confident about defending himself, even with a [Spear] in hand. I've got to do something, Jordan thought desperately. Slow the fight down somehow, so even my clumsy ass can skewer some shifty squirrel meat. But how? Frenzied Jumper Rat E is bamboozling you with speed and aggression. Will you … 1) [Strength and Constitution DC 16 (Hard)] Stick to your training, stick to the game plan. If at first you don't succeed, try, try again.

[Favorable: STR modifier (+3). CON modifier (+5).] [Adverse: [Doom Spiral (Lv. 1)] (-1). That last exchange has you kind of rattled, not gonna lie (Disadvantage).] 2) [Dexterity and Intelligence DC 18 (Hard)] This isn't that text-based game you're used to. You're in a fully realized 3D space, with all the associated bells and whistles. Think now. There's gotta be something you can use … [Favorable: DEX modifier (+3), INT modifier (+5). You lugged your jank-ass Vessel all the way here for a reason (+2). The Jumper Rat is really dumb; you know this already (+2).] [Adverse: [Doom Spiral (Lv. 1)] (-1).] The floodgates had opened, and the combined ability checks were coming in thick and fast. The first option was simpler, and it also had the slightly lower threshold for success. But that couldn't fool Jordan. He knew a trap check when he saw one, especially with that [Disadvantage] looming large. Which left him with option two. A way to take advantage of Stormvast's 3D world… but how?

That was when his leg bumped up against something solid and heavy. And he suddenly knew what he had to do—or at least try. 2) Use the'terrain' to cheese the fight. Dexterity and Intelligence DC 18 First Roll: 1 Second Roll: 6 Average: 4 Final: 15 Result: failure Oh, for the love of … Jordan had no idea why his rolls were so shit lately! Must be some force in the universe that took great pleasure in seeing him fail. Either way, he was committed. Committed to a feat of trickery that was apparently beyond his means.

As the Jumper Rat leapt for him, Jordan rolled backward. Onto the Heavenly Cauldron right behind him. In his mind, he'd performed a graceful dodge roll, gliding along the curvature of the cauldron to land softly on the other side. But thanks to his failed check, he bungled it. Instead of rolling, he landed heavily on his back, bouncing painfully against the cauldron's solid bronze surface. To add insult to injury, the impact got him right in the tailbone, unprotected by his [Brigandine]. JORDAN YU lost: 10 HP.

And yet, the misfortune wasn't without its stroke of bizarre luck. Jordan still had his [Standard Issue] weapon in hand, and as he bounced on top of the cauldron, so too did the butt of the [Spear] rise up into the air, catching the Jumper Rat right in its beaver face! The 'maneuver' was so off-script that Vesselia didn't know what to do with it. No damage, no combat log. What it did achieve was force the Jumper Rat to back off and reset, which in turn gave Jordan the chance to try, try again.

Frenzied Jumper Rat E cast: Fortify Incisors. [Frenzied] Jumper Rat E also leapt high into the air, its [Fortified Incisors] aimed at a human lying flat on top of a cauldron. Well, not flat for long. Just as the monster closed in, Jordan rolled off his Vessel, completing in two clumsy steps what he'd intended to be one smooth motion. JORDAN YU lost: 7 HP. Clumsy, indeed. For Jordan had botched the half-roll too, to then fall flat on his face. Horrible execution, but the plan had worked, as evidenced by…

Frenzied Jumper Rat E lost: 12 HP. Frenzied Jumper Rat E Affliction: Stun. Thank heaven for the Jumper Rat's low-INT build. Thank Jordan himself for being stubborn enough to bring a 500-pound cauldron to a tornado fight. With its human target slid off the frame, the monster followed through on its attack anyway, smashing its fearsome buckteeth right into the Heavenly Cauldron's wall of solid bronze! It jolted as though it'd been tased, before flopping onto the ground in a limp heap.

The damage was nice, but the [Stun] was even better—a bonus Jordan hadn't counted on. Well, he'd better drag his clumsy ass up so he could take full advantage. Firm, shoulder-width stance. Right hand gripping the rear of the shaft and the left acting as the fulcrum, just like Ranger Finch had shown him. Jordan finally got the form right as he proceeded to [Spear] a defenseless, fluffy squirrel-looking thing on the ground. Attack roll (1d6), (STR modifier +3): 2 Frenzied Jumper Rat E lost: 5 HP.

Attack roll: 5 Frenzied Jumper Rat E lost: 8 HP. Attack roll: 1 JORDAN YU missed. Attack roll: 2 Frenzied Jumper Rat E lost: 5 HP. That finally did it! Four frustrating rolls and 18 more points of damage later, the Jumper Rat finally succumbed to its injuries. And just in time, too, for it'd started to squirm and struggle just as Jordan had dealt his fourth stab. Frenzied Jumper Rat E has died. Jordan sank to his knees as if he too had been Stunned.

In truth, it was just relief washing over him, even as his hands trembled from the stress and exhaustion. What an awkward and inelegant way to do it, but he had done it. Killed his first monster in Vesselia, and all by his lonesome. I mean, let's be real, I was always favored in this fight. I've still got 187 HP left, for heaven's sake! But still, a win was a win. A stepping stone, if nothing else. And right now, a Lv. 30 Gatekeeper had much bigger fish to fry than a Lv. 3 Jumper Rat.

Jordan turned to face the wind, and saw that the tornado had grown larger again. The skirmish raged on, even as a new threat took to the skies and cast a shadow over the battlefield.