NOVEL NEXT Chapter 59: A Bear-Able Decision
Priam mobilized all his energy reserves. He had no extra life and no intention of dying now. The attack was coming too fast for him to dodge. I'll have to tank it.
With all his senses alert and [Focus] redoubling its efforts, Priam waited for the last moment. The claws were closing on him, and Priam momentarily thought about his death. Blueberry possessed titanic power, capable of tearing through an Abomination's protective cage. With its new buff, Priam was unlikely to fully absorb the blow.
To absorb the attack without being cut in half, Priam had several ideas. [Kinetic Control] enabled him to absorb the kinetic energy of an object moving in relation to him. For example, he couldn't currently absorb the kinetic energy of the Moon's rotation because the satellite was immobile in Priam's frame of reference. Even if he could have, such a quantity of energy would have instantly reduced his body to rubble.
If he couldn't cheat like that, then only one solution was left. Priam would simultaneously absorb the Viscount's energy and instantly release it in the opposite direction.
Theoretically, if he absorbed 40% of the attack and instantly released this kinetic energy back into his claws with a vector in the opposite direction, he could cancel 80% of the attack! He could thus survive the attack.
Better still, if he absorbed more than 50% of the attack, then it would be the bear taking the damage. It was Priam's objective. Blueberry was just a Viscount, and he intended to win this fight. Of course, the timing had to be perfect. A fraction of a second too early, and Priam would miss Blueberry's claws. He'd just push air out of the way, creating an unnecessary gust of wind. A fraction of a second too late, and the monster's claws would already be halfway into his torso.
Now!
It all happened in a split second. Priam waited until the last moment to use his skill. After all, it was better to wait too long than not long enough. Placing his arms in front of him, he waited for the pain to warn him. Finally, Blueberry's left paw touched him. [Kinetic control].
On the first use of his skill, Priam felt liquid fire coursing through his veins. Blueberry's attack was so swift and his mass so imposing that the monster developed an insane amount of energy. The lines of blood traced across the monster's body seemed to increase its strength still further. Priam's meridians were being damaged by the aether flowing through them. The kinetic energy absorbed at every moment was enormous.
Keeping his skill active, Priam activated a second instance. [Kinetic Control]. Instantly, Priam expelled the energy he was continuously absorbing. More meridians began to burn, and Priam screamed.
Apparently, each meridian had a precise role. There also seemed to be an analogy between the system of veins and arteries and that of the meridians. Some meridians led the aether from the outside to the inside, while others made the reverse trip.
Lvl Up: [Erosion Resistance] lvl 18
META (END) +3
As Priam screamed, Blueberry's claws penetrated his right arm, biting into his skin and flesh. Priam's muscles were harder and denser than steel, and [Kinetic Control] tried to repel the Viscount's claws. Yet they advanced inexorably, slicing through Priam's arm. His shredded muscles slowed down Blueberry. Priam connected to his Potential for a moment and redoubled his efforts. Blueberry's claws decelerated until they reached the bone.
POT -3
Priam's frame was too strong, and Blueberry's attack had lost all speed. Priam activated [Kinetic Control] a third time. Some of the stolen kinetic charges propelled him backward. With his mass relatively low, Priam flew off. Blueberry now towered over the young Viscount, and he didn't want to be crushed under the beast's weight.
Lvl Up: [Cut Resistance] lvl 6,7
CONST +2
Lvl Up: [Perforation Resistance] lvl 8,9
CONST +2
Priam landed several meters away in an uncontrolled somersault. Before he could stop, he felt an immense pain piercing his side. I'm hurt!
The wound inflicted by the wolves a few days earlier had healed, only to be replaced by Nemea's own. No sooner had he healed that damage than a new, more serious injury was inflicted.
Straightening his head, Priam saw that Blueberry's claws had broken. The creature had invested more in Strength than in Constitution. The bear seemed stunned, observing its own damage. Priam took the opportunity to drop to his knees before diagnosing his flank.
A deep but clean gash was visible. Priam was no expert in human anatomy, but he was no fool. With his Vitality and Constitution, he should have been able to breathe easily. Yet his breathing was labored and painful. I must have punctured my right lung.
Looking at the ursid's intact claws, Priam understood. They were curved. Even blocking most of the damage with his hands and skills, the tips of the claws had penetrated his flesh and right lung. Priam regretted for a moment that it hadn't been the left lung. It was smaller and therefore transmitted less oxygen to his body.
Priam's Vitality was already beginning to heal him, but the process would be long. He had noticed that at one hundred points and then two hundred, his Vitality had received a qualitative boost. But rather than increasing his regeneration speed, this boost allowed him to heal things that a human couldn't heal. For example, after the sniper's attack destroyed his lower jaw, he could feel some of his teeth growing back.
Currently, Priam had twenty-eight times the Vitality of a human. He didn't know whether the System increased his regeneration speed linearly. If it did, it would take about a day to heal him. The tribulations would come before...
"Moreover, there's no guarantee I won't be injured again," Priam winced. He took a quick look at his arms. The claws had bitten severely into his right arm, but the bone was intact. This kind of injury would cripple him briefly, but he could still throw his spear, which was the most important thing.
He struggled to his feet, leaning on his weapon. He had to heal quickly. For that, he had little choice. He could use one of the treasures he'd stolen from the Revenants. Unfortunately, only one treasure could heal him, and he intended to use it during the Tribulations.
But I have another possibility...
Priam backed slowly into the trees. The boreal forest around him was coniferous and quite humid. The presence of water prevented a fire hazard. But once the fire started, the conifers made excellent fuel. [Infant Phoenix] can heal me by absorbing flames.
While Blueberry was still contemplating its claws, Priam grabbed a gourd and emptied it on a nearby tree. It had come from one of the Crater guards he'd just killed and smelled of strong alcohol. Priam didn't know whether it was rum, vodka or some other ethanol-based beverage, but he did know that a match would be enough to create a nice flame.
Priam didn't have a match, but he had something better. He had grenades.
As he picked up a grenade, Priam looked up. Blueberry was watching him.
"You're strong for a human," growled the beast in English.
Priam's eyes widened as he heard the bear speak. He knew the monster was intelligent but didn't think he was intelligent enough to speak.
"Are you surprised? I don't see why not. We also gain Memory, Vivacity and Willpower from our skills. After a certain threshold, the System suggests a quest we instinctively understand. Those who succeed can awaken and become truly sapient. Alternatively, they can choose to remain beasts and benefit from attribute bonuses."
"It's going to create problems if most animals gain intelligence...," Priam winced. Many humans would refuse to hunt animals gifted with speech. But worse than that, if these animals could communicate, nothing would stop them from gathering together and ganging up on humans. Given the power of Orthos, Nemea and now this Blueberry... Humanity will have a hard time surviving.
The air began to vibrate, and it took Priam a few seconds before he realized that the Viscount was laughing.
"Do you think the majority of animals can succeed in this quest? Certainly not. Even among those who do succeed, most lack the knowledge to dominate their instincts and refuse immediate power. Few animals develop true intelligence. Even so, we're still sometimes dominated by our instincts."
"But you did it," remarked Priam.
"I succeeded. Thanks to men, I knew intelligence would be more useful to me than more attributes," growled the bear. His posture had become menacing, and Priam suspected that the lesson had been learned the hard way.
"So why talk to me now?" Priam put his finger in the pin. He was ready to set the forest on fire before continuing the fight. If he did it right, he could heal himself while blinding Blueberry.
The bear remained silent for a few seconds before continuing.
"Because you're holding an explosive object that I recognize. You're planning to set fire to the forest, and that's an unbearable crime. Normally, we'd stop it quickly, but our forces are concentrated against the false humans. I don't want to see half the forest go up in flames, and I can't stop you from starting a fire if you decide to. So get lost. I won't hunt you," Blueberry promised.
Priam took a few seconds to think. Obviously, the bear didn't want him to set fire to the forest. But he also needed to heal himself. His life was his priority, and he had no shame in finishing off the wounded bear while letting the forest burn.
On the other hand, Priam knew that hasty decisions and short-sightedness would not help him defeat his Tribulations. Killing Blueberry was a sure way to oppose the Earl. If he arrived in the middle of a war between the Revenants and the Earl's forces without any allies... His quests would be more challenging. Priam wasn't arrogant enough to take on all his enemies at once.
Fortunately for him, he had an infinite number of Priams who had already tested all these scenarios.
What should I do with this bear?
Answer: Accompany him to the Earl and look for the Spring.
Priam didn't know the word but was willing to bet it was one of the Revenants' strategic points.
"I don't want to burn down this forest. I think we both got off on the wrong foot, Blueberry. We're not enemies, and I've never seen a bear before the System," said Priam, putting the grenade away.
It wasn't true, Priam had seen bears in zoos before, but he wasn't stupid enough to tell Blueberry.
"So we share no karma. Yet we have an enemy in common. I am the Champion of Humanity, and I have a plethora of quests asking me to slay Anatole, the Grand Master of the Revenants. I also have other quests asking me to purify the Moon of these Abominations," continued Priam, pointing to the grotesque corpse and the bear's polluted wounds.
"I propose an alliance of circumstances. We don't trust each other, but we don't need trust to crack Anatole's skull."
Lvl up: [Acting] lvl 5
CHAR +3
His speech contained truths and lies, but Priam felt this was necessary. To survive, he would no longer hesitate to lie blatantly. Of course, he had no intention of lying to his friends or family. But until now, he'd often been too frank, and what had that gotten him? A betrayal by Claire and the Revenants. No, if the others want me to tell them the truth, they'll have to prove themselves trustworthy first.
Priam clenched his fist, thinking back to Claire. He could still feel the poison coursing through his veins and the pain of his death. I hope for your sake that you run away from me, Claire...
Some, like Maya, Mercury, Boss, and Bechar were beginning to be worthy of his trust, but Priam remained on his guard.
Only Sphinx had managed to break through his shell. It was easy for her because the young Lord had the means to kill him a hundred times over. In their relationship, she was the strong one. Even so, the mythological creature was unfailingly innocent, and Priam smiled as he thought of her.
Blueberry remained silent for a few moments before growling.
"I don't trust you, human. But I sense that you are not a false one. That's enough for now. If you want to defeat the degenerate at the head of his macabre army, we have an enemy in common." The bear turned to the tracks left by his previous fight.
"Accompany me to the court. The Earl will want to see you and verify your words. If you're telling the truth, then you'll keep your life. If you help us... The Earl may reward you. Let’s go, there's no time to lose."
Priam smiled. Few words and many actions: exactly what he was asking for. Blueberry's last sentence caught his ears.
"What do you mean, no time to lose?"
"The false humans are preparing their great offensive."
Priam was running behind Blueberry, holding his right flank. His lung injury was getting worse from the running. The bear was also wounded, but he seemed to ignore it to get home as soon as possible. Behind him, an impressive amount of blood flooded the ground. For the fifteenth time in twenty minutes, Priam pondered that the ursid should have lost consciousness. He's going to die soon if he keeps pushing himself...
Despite this, the animal moved forward at a frenetic pace, and Priam was forced to follow closely. The animal's backside filled most of Priam's view. The taste of blood in his mouth and his shortness of breath prevented him from concentrating fully. After several minutes of running, the bear stopped and Priam almost ran into him.
"Wahh iz hapnnhg." Priam spat blood on the ground before wiping his mouth and starting again. "What's happening?"
Priam circled Blueberry - careful to stay out of reach of the monster's claws.
He opened his eyes wide at the sight before him. A few hundred meters away stood a grove of titanic trees. Most of them must have been over a hundred meters tall. On their trunks and branches, huts and liana bridges had been built. The creatures that crowded along these infrastructures were anything but human. Without being a city, it was more than a camp. The animals were organized.
"Welcome to the Earl's Court."
For a moment, Priam was speechless as he watched the hundreds of animals wandering around. He turned to Blueberry.
"Are they all smart?" he asked.
The bear shook his head. "Almost all the beasts are wild. It's thanks to the Earl's aura and power that they obey. Without the Earl, they'd be nothing more than animals, fighting over a few resources..."
Priam nodded. It was reassuring for humanity. But if this Earl can dominate so many beasts, he must be mighty...
Suddenly, Priam frowned. "Why didn't I notice that grove before?"
Blueberry shrugged in a very human way. "It's protected by the Jubokko."
"The Jubokko?" replied Priam.
"The Earl will explain if you need to know about it."
Blueberry stepped forward again, breathing heavily.
"Enough wasted time. Let's go meet the Earl. It's almost time for his meal, and you wouldn't want to leave him hungry, right?" The beast's laugh was cruel and Priam rolled his eyes. This kind of phrase wouldn't be enough to scare him.
Fixing his eyes on the grove's center, Priam felt his pain flowing back, for he had a purpose.
You may be hungry, Earl, but I'm thirsty for freedom...
Status: (Average value for a Homo sapiens male before integration: PHY 10 / MEN 10 / META 0)
PHYSICAL:
Strength 148
Constitution 255 (+4)
Agility 158
Vitality 284
Perception 289
MENTAL:
Vivacity 174
Dexterity 177
Memory 40
Willpower 274
Charisma 144 (+3)
META:
Meta-affinity 135
Meta-focus 98
Meta-endurance 87 (+3)
Meta-perception 32
Meta-chance 114
Potential: 1394 (+5)
Tier 0
[He Who Eludes Death] charge OFF. Reloaded in 14 hours 25 min 25s
[Tribulation]: Tribulations are coming.
Time: 18 hours 45 minutes 19 seconds.