Chương 70: A Contest of Virtues

Waahhh! Waahhh! Waahhh!" The cry was really messing with Jordan's head. Not only that, the sight of this so-called Unreborn and its soft wispy baby head was giving him the heebie-jeebies. And the fact that it was coming toward him so slowly made it somehow even more terrifying. Without thinking, Jordan reached for the [Hunter's Dagger] secured against his waist. It was the instinctive thing to do. Fight the thing that was clearly labeled a [monster]. Defend himself against the creepy repulsive giant baby.

The instinct was supported by the distant voice of a god: (What are you waiting for, manling? Take up arms and ready yourself for the fight!) But then… this wasn't the only instinct driving Jordan in the moment. Everything about the giant baby—its solitude, its wailing, its Lv. 1 helplessness—tugged at the heartstrings built in to the average responsible adult. And this second instinct too had its own divine advocate: (Take a step back, young one, and truly listen to what your heart tells you. There's no need to rush into a decision you might regret.) It wasn't the first time for [Heavenly Gossip] to give conflicting advice. But Jordan would be hard-pressed to recall another example in quite so stressful a scenario. Not to mention, with the lack of a DC notification, he had no way to tell which of the gods (if any) might be talking out of their ass! And it was this conflict that ended up proc'ing yet another of Vesselia's homebrew twists. The Unreborn (Lv. 1 Wailer) inches its way toward you and the threshold between what is and what could have been. Will you … 1) Let it. The wailing is annoying, but it's not actively causing you harm. Maybe once you're both out of this narrow passage, you can ask the baby nicely if it found Desha's box. 2) [Strength v s Wisdom] You can't. You just know you're not supposed to let this thing cross over. You gotta stop it somehow, and you're ready to do whatever it takes. [For/Against Strength: STR modifier (+4). You've already got the [Dagger] in your hand, and you know how to use it (+2). The creepy giant baby has sufficiently activated your fight-or-flight response (+2).] [For/Against Wisdom: WIS modifier (+8). The poor little giant baby has sufficiently activated your paternal instincts (+2). Okay, but the thing is really creepy, though! (Disadvantage).] Ahh, the dreaded internal contest: a mechanic that took the concept of 'split scaling' to its logical extreme.

It had as many detractors as proponents among the Vesselia fandom, but the devs didn't seem to care, bringing it back season after season. Jordan for one, appropriately enough, was quite ambivalent on the matter… which might change depending on the result of this check. 2) Find a way to stop the Unreborn from crawling out of the underground passage. [Strength v s Wisdom] [Strength] roll: 5 [Wisdom] roll (Disadvantage): 3, 14 Final: 13 vs 13 Reroll!

[Strength] roll: 17 [Wisdom] roll (Disadvantage): 6, 4 Final: 25 vs 14 Result: [Strength] wins! Inside Jordan there were two wolves. One that held a [Dagger] in his hand, and the other that held compassion in his heart. Both wolves were as real and present as the other, but one just happened to have RNGesus on its side." Waahhh! Waahhh! Waahhh!" Jordan quelled his fears, ignored his qualms, and stepped up to the wriggling monster. He then buried his [Hunter's Dagger] in the softest part of the monster's head!

Attack roll (1d4), (DEX modifier +4): 3 The Unreborn lost: 7 HP." WAAAAHHHH!!" This text was taken from Royal Road. Help the author by reading the original version there.

"Argh, fuck!" Jordan winced in real pain as the baby's scream all but burst his eardrums. He then nearly dropped his [Dagger], as a strange heat surged through its hilt and into his hand and arm. He pulled the [Dagger] out in a hurry, which did alleviate the heat. But then…" Waahhh! Waah! Wah…" Three things happened at once. First, the Unreborn shrank rapidly, its head deflating like a popped balloon even as its wailing subsided to a weak murmur.

Second, the shrinking head released dense whorls of smoke, which filled the passage and enveloped Jordan's whole person. Third, as the smoke got in his eyes, up his nose, and under his skin, Jordan himself received… Affliction incurred. [Between Two Lives]: Are you really living in the now, if your soul is stranded in a previous incarnation? Lesser penalty (-1) to all checks that take place in the mortal realm. Lesser proficiency (+1) to all checks that take place outside the mortal realm.

In order to cure the Affliction, your soul must settle in one incarnation or another. You have exactly 100 days to cure [Between Two Lives], or the nether realm will permanently claim your soul. Time remaining: 99 days, 11 hours, 119 minutes An ominous description, and Jordan would have been sufficiently spooked (and mystified) by it… were it not for all the distractions coming his way. Because, just then, three more things happened at once.

First, the Unreborn continued to shrink down until it became the size of an actual human infant, sporting a to-scale hole where the [Dagger] had punctured its head. Second, the sight (and sound) of the baby, now too weak to wail like its class demanded of it, filled Jordan with intense guilt and heart-wrenching sympathy. And third, just as Jordan tried to rush to the baby's aid… Glyph triggered: Lasso. The Gatekeeper flew through the passage in reverse, yanked back by the [Tethers] around his torso.

Gaining the new Affliction had triggered the safety mechanism rigged up by his friend, but if Jordan were being honest, the assist had come at a bad time…

"Jordan!" Pewter exclaimed as his [Lasso]'d subject emerged from the crevice.

"What happened? Are you alright?"

"Gotta go back…"

"What?"

"I gotta go back! The baby…" Jordan trailed off. He barely knew what he was saying. The only thing on his mind was the shrinking baby and the pitiful mewling it let out in lieu of a wail. The Gatekeeper shrugged off the [Tethers] from his person and ran back into the crevice.

"Jordan, wait!" Hurried footsteps followed. Evidently, Pewter had gotten over his own fears of Leafeller folktales. But Jordan was just slightly faster, slightly surer of foot. Which was how he made it back to the baby before his friend could stop him. Before the baby faded away altogether. In the time it took Jordan to make the return trip, the Unreborn had shrunk some more. Or rather, its body was burning up, turning to smoke as it vacillated between two states of matter." Wah…"

Jordan didn't hesitate as he picked it up. Held it to his chest as a mother might cradle her newborn. The thing felt so light, barely holding onto existence in the mortal realm. Then there was that heat again—one last combustion of energy before all would fade to ash. And still, Jordan held on. Before he knew it, he was humming a song. A lullaby Mom used to sing him in Mandarin. He didn't know the words, but he would never forget the tune. But why? Not like he'd fallen under another spell.

He wasn't trying to get something in return, either. No, he just wanted to be here for the baby. Let it know in its final moments that it didn't need to be alone—that it was deserving of love. The Unreborn turned to ash in Jordan's arms. But not all ash. For as the smoke cleared, Pewter's [Light] shone upon a small object, sitting where the baby had been a moment ago. It was a wooden box, perfectly plain save for the engraving of a black snake upon its tightly sealed lid. Item acquired.

[Keepsake from Blacksnake Hollow]: Origin unknown (but there's a certain weight of history to it). Function unknown (but if you shake it, it feels like there's something inside). Weight: 0. 3 lbs.

"You did it, Jordan," Pewter murmured with equal parts awe and worry.

"We got what we came for. But quickly now, let's get out of here!" Jordan didn't argue. He did, however, take another moment to look. No longer blocked by a giant baby, the passage continued on—craggy walls that stretched on for some immeasurable distance. A small part of him was curious to find out where it led. A much bigger part of him knew better than to entertain the thought. The pair made their way back to the open section of the cavern, then climbed out of the well.

The first thing to hit Jordan was the light— daylight, filtering through the canopies of a larch thicket. The clearing was gone, along with the pristine little building called the Spider Lily Inn. The only remnant of the Hearthkeeper's illusion was the well itself—an ancient-looking thing overgrown with moss and vines. Its opening was now sealed, filled in by rocks just as mossy as the well's exterior.

A truly bizarre phenomenon, considering that two strapping adventurers had just climbed out of it mere seconds ago.

"Jordan, look!" A pouch on the ground, so small as to be all but hidden by the surrounding grass. Were it not for Pewter's eagle eyes, Jordan would certainly have missed it. He picked it up and emptied its contents, counting exactly 5 silvers and 30 coppers. As for the woman in white, there was no sign of her anywhere.

"Well," Jordan said with an exhausted sigh, "at least we're a little richer for our trouble."

"Yes, but at what cost?" Pewter looked close to tears. He'd learned about his companion's new Affliction on their way out of the crevice… and had taken the news much harder than Jordan himself. Easy to understand why. Only one of them had grown up hearing folktales about people losing their souls to the nether realm.

"Chin up, buddy." Jordan clapped Pewter's shoulder with an appreciative smile—the rare role reversal in their pessimist-optimist dynamic.

"I don't know how I'm going to get out of this, but I've got a hundred days to figure it out."