BXBX NOVEL Chapter 222
‘My fire simply... dried its throat?’ Vincent thought in a daze.
The alpha grizzly bear glared at the shocked Vincent with an insatiable urge to kill. A ball of earth started molding into a rock, and Vincent was the target this time.
[Vincent, stop acting shocked and move. The bear is about to shoot.]
[You better change your location. Iris and her father are behind you. Additionally, there are a few trees with goblins hiding on them as well.]
[In other words, you can’t avoid the projectile if you stay here. Goblins will die if you can’t block the projectile. If you decide to dodge and it will head straight for them. Both options have death in the end]
-Damn...-
The rock expanded and expanded, much larger than the previous projectiles. The possibility to block the shot decreased as the rock grew.
Vincent turned his gaze from left to right. A sudden thought flashed in his mind. ‘I am a cornered rat at this rate... cornered...’
.....
‘A cornered rat can use the corner to their advantage. The cave the goblins are using is formed from a cluster of massive rocks. I can use the wall to my advantage.’ Vincent’s gaze focused, and his next plan was set in motion.
Vincent lowered to a sprinter’s form and bolted towards the cave walls with his life on the line.
Vincent ran and ran while the alpha grizzly bear’s head turned with the molding rock following its maws. The alpha grizzly bear arrogantly believed that the rock about to fire like a cannonball would undoubtedly hit its target. The monstrous bear was sure to hit the target.
*Pow*
A molded rock of earth larger than the previous one darted forward with a sharp sound as it pierced the air.
[It’s coming!]
Vincent stopped running the second Kazumi warned of the danger. Vincent raised his hands and steadied his legs, prepared to block the incoming destructive projectile and hope to alter its direction if the situation got out of hand.
*Thud!*
Vincent caught the large rock with his hands. The powerful force caused his shoulders to make a *pop* sound from the impact.
“Haaaaa!!!” Vincent shouted from the top of his lungs. He didn’t give up.
Vincent used every ounce of strength not to get knocked on his back. Or worst case, getting flung in the air and violently slam against the wall after a few seconds of flight.
Two trails of upturned soil started from the point of impact. Vincent was getting pushed back meter by meter every second. The more he tried to hold his catching form, the more his feet dug in the ground.
.
[Notice]
[Soul Dimensional Storage storing has failed.]
[Only ownerless or unobstructed objects can be stored.]
[Mana Empowered Molded Earth (Owner – Alpha Grizzly Bear) can not be stored before the mana is discharged and the object becomes Molded Earth.]
.
“Damn!” Vincent exclaimed after the last resort to store the projectile failed. It seemed only after absorbing all the projectile’s mana might it become ownerless and become available for storage.
[Raise the rock and do a somersault while letting go of the projectile. Your feet are in the ground, and this is the only option I can think of right now.]
Vincent felt reassured of Kazumi’s suggestion. It was challenging to think in such a moment of great focus, yet he could perform the next move without losing concentration or letting the projectile overpower him. Vincent wasn’t facing the dangerous predicament alone.
“Haaa... hup!” Vincent grunted as he started bending backward and raising the projectile upwards. The moment he felt the projectile change force directions, compelling him to let go of his grip, Vincent let go of the projectile to fly away.
In the blink of an eye, Vincent slammed on the ground, and the projectile flew a few meters forward until it got stuck in one of the over seventy-meter tall clusters of rocks with a loud boom.
Vincent felt his shoulders popping back after the violent slam, but his back started hurting like hell. After Vincent pulled out his buried feet, he slowly pulled himself up.
The goblins gasped. They couldn’t believe how strong Vincent was. A few started cheering after Vincent displayed how he could take such a destructive force head-on. Others stared silently at the human they called god in awe.
*Smack* Iris’s father hit a tree to attract attention. “Gobu, gobu. ” He tried to regain order of all the goblins while waving the small leader staff.
“Father... I’m sorry, but I have to help my fated one. I can’t help our people get down. I have to go.” Iris told her father with a wavering voice and her limbs trembling with fear.
“No!” Her father exclaimed. Like any father, he didn’t want his daughter to rush into danger. Moreover, a small three-foot weak gray goblin at that against seventeen feet long bear at that.
Iris turned around and raised her hand as a farewell. “You lead. I save tribe with my fated one.” Iris ran away. Her destination was the place where she hid her herbs or any kind of plants catching her interest.
Iris’s father wanted to run after his daughter, but he knew it was impossible to catch up with her. ‘God, please take care of your fated one.’ He thought with a deeply worried frown. Then he turned around and started leading the goblins.
*Roar!*
The alpha grizzly bear couldn’t withhold its seething bloodlust from bursting as its bloodshot eyes saw Vincent stand up and stretch his body as if he could block its Earth Cannon all day. However, only the alpha grizzly bear had this thought in its mind.
The truth was the opposite. Vincent didn’t think he could do it another time. He assumes that blocking a projectile with such destructive force for a second time would be similar to asking for death.
The alpha grizzly bear decided to attack Vincent at close range. One large step after the other, the massive body’s speed gradually increased as it started running toward Vincent with a pair of maws salivating for a piece of him.
Vincent frowned as he stretched his back, and the ground shook constantly. “Another chase, heh... ” Vincent turned and started running for the wall made of the cluster of rocks.
[Vincent, it’s bearly noticeable, but your gauntlets are self-repairing. The cracks and dents are different from a few seconds ago.]
-That’s great to hear. Even if they are about to break.-
Vincent didn’t have time to deactivate and activate Overheat to renew his gauntlets. The few seconds without boosted stats would allow the alpha grizzly bear to arrive before Vincent much sooner.
Vincent might be defenseless at that time. A few seconds might be sufficient enough to change the tide of the fight. Worst case scenario, Vincent would be in mid mutation when the alpha grizzly bear attacks.
Vincent looked at his gauntlets while he ran for the wall. The gauntlets weren’t in great condition as he thought. On them were cracks, dents, and even missing pieces. If it weren’t for Kazumi’s Photographic Memory, Vincent would overlook the self-repair she mentioned.
Vincent stopped when he reached the wall. He turned around and glared at the alpha grizzly bear charging with a suffocating murderous intent.
As the alpha grizzly bear became more ferocious and Vincent more tired, Vincent started to feel his body getting heavy under the pressure of fear and intimidation.
Vincent previously used his intent against the bear’s intent, but the effect protecting Vincent was getting overwhelmed.
Vincent started feeling the pressure at full force, so he decided to fight back as Koss taught him. To fight fire against fire and reduce the pressure as much as he could.
Vincent imagined horrible thoughts of what would happen if he failed to keep the alpha grizzly bear busy. At that moment, Vincent glared back at the alpha grizzly bear, and his emerald shining eyes momentarily pierced any onlooker’s soul by the immense bloodlust he felt.
Vincent nor Kazumi knew that Overheat, or more specifically the mutation currently active in his body, enhanced the dread his intent extruded.
At that specific moment in time, a couple of goblins looking at Vincent flinched. They held the tree branch tightly as if their lives depended on it. They felt as if a predator dozens of meters away was planning to devour them.
Similarly, the alpha grizzly bear suddenly felt a cold chill rushing down its spine. The monstrous bear didn’t want to believe that a prey as big as one of its legs not only was trying to intimidate it but made it flinch for a second.
Vincent felt the pressure weighing down on his shoulders subside, and the alpha grizzly bear slowed down for a second. ‘I did it.’ He thought.
If this were Vincent’s first fight, he would be frozen in fear, and his heart was about to burst out of his chest. However, the past experiences of battles against opponents far stronger than he and his team were helped Vincent build resistance against the oppression of fear and intimidation.
Unbeknown to him, the mutation improved as well. The mutation made Vincent appear like a vicious beast to those with low resistance. The goblins looking at Vincent saw in that way.