Chương 57: Jordan vs Bat-bear

[Strength and Constitution DC 21 (Very Hard)] Conquer your fears and face the beast. [Favorable: STR modifier (+3). CON modifier (+6). [That Dawg in You] (+2). [Call the Shots] (+4). The real mana was the friends we made along the way (+2).] [Adverse: none] First Roll: 2 Second Roll: 16 Average: 9 Final: 26 Result: success" Come onnnn!" Jordan roared at the top of his lungs.

For at least one second, he channeled the Jordan from his high school basketball days, hitting a last-second three-pointer to put his team up by one. A flash of glory days long past, and he needed every bit of the inspiration. He needed that self-confidence, that invincibility of spirit. Bat-bear cast: Vicious Claws. JORDAN YU's [Standard Issue Brigandine] absorbed: 12 damage. JORDAN YU lost: 6 HP. JORDAN YU's [Standard Issue Brigandine] Durability: 138/150 -> 126/150.

Only 18 total damage from the single cast of [Vicious Claws]! The Bat-bear must have whiffed on some of its rolls pretty badly. Jordan didn't know whether it was due to his having passed his ability check. He liked to think it didn't matter either way. And even as he felt the full force of the Bat-bear's attack, he answered with a modest [Spear] counter, squeezing his military training for all it was worth. Attack roll (1d6), (STR modifier +3): 6 (critical), 2 Bat-bear lost: 11 HP. A critical hit to start with!

By some miracle, Jordan had won his first 1v1 trade against a freaking Bat-bear! Maybe he really had become crazy lucky. Or, just maybe, the gods of Stormvast had finally decided to offer up that divine intervention they'd been dangling all this time… Dexterity DC 12: success Nezha:"Uh, no, don't get any funny ideas, human. Whatever it is you think you're going through, I can assure you that it's all in your head." All in his head. A funny way to put it, especially for someone of Jordan's history.

Was it all in his head when he couldn't get out of bed that one ordinary morning? When he lost his job, lost his apartment, lost his self-respect, and when he let it all happen without putting up a fight? Well, past Jordan didn't need present Jordan to pile on. Whatever he had been then, he liked to think that he was in a better place now. A place where he could square up to a giant monster with a humble [Spear] in hand, and somehow believe that he had every chance to win. JORDAN YU lost: 29 HP.

Bat-bear lost: 14 HP. JORDAN YU lost: 23 HP. Bat-bear lost: 12 HP. JORDAN YU lost: 31 HP. Bat-bear lost: 10 HP. Battlemaster and Gatekeeper traded hits, [Claws] against [Spear]. A lopsided exchange… but not quite as lopsided as one might have expected! Jordan critted on four consecutive attack rolls, nearly matching with sheer dumb luck what Porter Rowan had outputted with an expensive channeling spell. Jordan was getting into the swing of things, grinning with excitement even as his HP raced south of 110.

Meanwhile, the Bat-bear appeared to grow sick of the sight of him, having well underestimated the HP pool of this puny human before it." That's right," Jordan snarled through gritted bloody teeth.

"I've got plenty more where that came from. I don't need to know any spells to be a human meat shield for my friends!" Did the Bat-bear understand human speech? Highly doubtful, but it seemed to catch the spirit of Jordan's words well enough. A momentary pause as it worked its monster brain to come up with a new plan… and then it lunged, away from Jordan in an attempt to sidestep the meat shield!" Oh no, you don't!" This tale has been unlawfully obtained from Royal Road.

If you discover it on Amazon, kindly report it. Jordan dropped his [Spear] and tackled the Bat-bear, channeling his high school days where he… occasionally fantasized about being a hard-hitting middle linebacker. Funnily enough, his newly improved physique and Vesselia-verified STR of 17 combined to turn that fantasy into reality, at least for a second or two. A second or two of holding the Bat-bear in place. An extra second or two for the Gym Rats to recover and rejoin the fight. Would it be enough?

It had to be, because it was everything Jordan had to give. A second or two later, the Bat-bear extricated one of its powerful bear paws from the puny human's grasp. It then raised it above the human's head, deciding after all that this most annoying specimen had to die first. Bat-bear cast: Greater Vicious Claws. The multi-attack version of [Vicious Claws], all focused on a single target. And even as the [Claws] came down, Jordan knew it was all over.

As obscenely inflated as his HP had been, there was less than half of it left. Nowhere near enough to tank the Bat-bear's most damaging attack and survive. But Jordan held on. Never even thought about letting go—never gave the system the chance to present that option. Because he knew. He knew that his friends would do the same for him. PEWTER SAPLING cast: Lasso. One moment, Jordan held onto the Bat-bear for dear life, ready and committed to sacrificing his life.

The next, he found himself hurtling backward, pulled by a length of rope secured around his waist. He watched with bulging eyes as the Bat-bear swiped at only air, whiffing on every one of its [Greater Vicious Claws]. The Gym Rats were back! And they moved quickly—with anger, with desperation, and with unity of purpose. Bramble with [Aura of Vitality] to keep the whole group topped up. Rowan with [Bull's Strength] to lead from the front. Pinion's [Greater Thorn Whip] coming in from the sides.

And Taison taking another [Misty Step] to the Bat-bear's rear for that sweet, sweet backstab damage. Bat-bear lost: 13 HP, 7 HP, 14 HP, 8 HP, 15 HP. Bat-bear has died. Bat-bear has died. Jordan couldn't believe it, but the evidence was before his naked eyes. The hulking monstrosity let out one last silent scream, then crumpled to the ground. Black humors pooled beneath its quickly cooling body, filling the narrow cave passage with their foul odor. But that took nothing away from the Gym Rats' joyous occasion."

Zhurong bless our victory!"" And let the heavens bear witness!"" This day belongs to the mighty Gym Rats!!" It took Jordan several more seconds to get over his shock. Once he did, however, he broke out in exhausted yet hearty laughter. This of course wasn't his first time taking part in a passionate team celebration. He thought he rather preferred the flavorful Stormvaster rendition over the Earthling equivalent. But then…" It's the eye of the tiger!"" It's the thrill of the—"" Whoa, whoa!"

Jordan had to intervene then, recognizing his own role in having contaminated Stormvaster culture.

"Don't finish that line. We don't want the Vesselia devs to get into copyright trouble, do we?" Once the whooping and cheering were out of the way, the Gym Rats got around Jordan. Rowan pulled him up to his feet and clapped him on the back. Bramble came over to cast [Greater Cure Wounds] to bring him back up to full health. Then Taison handed him a knife before nodding toward the Bat-bear carcass, as if to say: it's all yours." Hang on," Jordan protested.

"What happened to splitting the loot six ways?"" It's a Gland, Jordan," Taison rebutted.

"Not like we can cut it up into six pieces. Someone has to take it, so it might as well be you. Besides—"" Besides," Rowan butted in, "if it weren't for you holding off the Bat-bear, we—all of us—would've been done for."" We owe you our lives, Jordan," Pinion concurred solemnly.

"The least we can do is cede the spoils to you." Smiles all around. Not a word of flattery nor lip service. Jordan's instinct was to deflect, and he even would've welcomed a dialogue option to firm up his arguments. No such luck. The system was in agreement with his friends: that he should just take this win and run. The Gland of Echoing Menace was located inside the Bat-bear's cochlea. A rather complicated organ that made Jordan feel like a surgeon as he dug around in it.

In the end, he retrieved a perfectly circular ball only about the size of a cherry—disproportionately tiny compared to the monster it'd come out of. Tiny, yes, but also dense. Ridiculously so, as Jordan would soon find out. First though, the party had to find their way back to the surface, not least so Jordan could be reunited with his Vessel.

It took some doing, but after about an hour of following the 'higher ground = closer to the surface' logic, the group made it back to the corridor where the Heavenly Cauldron had been parked. Gland of Echoing Menace base mana gain: 15, 000 cc. JORDAN YU gained: 20, 625 cc. Current VR: 32, 523/50, 000 cc (65. 0% partial, 0. 0032523% total) Target VR: 1, 000, 000, 000/1, 000, 000, 000 cc (100%) [Hoarding Mode] remains in effect. Jordan had to blink several times, even as he picked up his wheelbarrow and hauled ass.

Upwards of 30, 000 cc. Nearly two-thirds of the way to filling out the partial Vessel Capacity and knocking on the first Gate of Ascension. That was the working theory, anyway, and Jordan was now tantalizingly close to being able to test it out. This plus the reward from quest completion might just be enough to push me over the top. And to think it all started from those 100-odd cc from the Grandelope! Put another way though, Jordan now possessed six times the mana of his maximum VC from the computer game.

And even that was only 0. 003% of his final target! A number that could make anyone wilt from the hopelessness. So, Jordan chose to ignore it. Instead, he focused on a much happier number— 32, 523 cc. Every drop of it earned from putting himself out there and making things happen. Actions begot outcomes, and here was one Gatekeeper determined to action his way all the way to Heavenly [Ascension]. Feat enhanced. [Xihe's Blessing (Lv. 3) -> (Lv. 4)]: In recognition of your resilience, you've gained a permanent [4]-point upgrade to Constitution. CON 22 -> 23 HP: 224/224 -> 226/226 Pewter had been right. Today was a day to remember. Jordan had 1v1'd a Bat-bear and won. Well, okay, maybe'won' was a strong word, but it had certainly felt like the furthest thing from losing. Actions begot outcomes. Jordan would gladly take this win and keep running.