CH2.5: Kill The Bear

For a moment, Vincent couldn't believe it was the same bear. After two weeks, it caught up to them. Maybe he shouldn't have been sightseeing.

"The warriors are here," Windy said.

200 elven men dressed in the best-designed bronze armor Vincent had ever seen charged onto the scene, spears at his back. Vincent thought at that moment the elves were there to help. They quickly formed a wall 5 men deep and formed around Windy like a porcupine shield. He understood she was a non combatant and needed protecting. Vincent hadn't lost hope yet. Once they had her, they marched backward slowly leaving him to fight alone.

Vincent snorted. "I will have butthole pics of all your wives and daughters." He told the soldiers in elvish. One of them broke and charged despite the charging bear. He watched for the elf's ears to twitch in anticipation. It was a gamble, but he suspected it was a survival trait many elves shared. Vincent jumped 40ft and let the bear charge past where he stood into the soldier.

His body felt lighter than ever, and he still found new limits to his strength and speed despite going two weeks without taking new pills. That meant that taking the pills started the process and caused it to accelerate. Maybe he would still slowly grow stronger if he didn't take anymore.

When he landed back on the ground, the bear had already ripped off the elven man's head and had set about drinking the blood pouring from the man's stump. He pulled his bow and peppered it with arrows. The shafts hit hard but didn't pierce as deeply. The bear's hide had grown tougher since their last fight.

Vincent put away his bow and pulled out the heavy club. The plan was simple if he couldn't pierce it or slash it to death, he would pulverize it. He shot forward the ground raced behind him as he prepared the heavy club. The bear turned and slashed with its massive platter-sized paws. After ducking the initial paw, Vincent turned and slammed his club down on the monster's elbow joint. The bear groaned in pain and used the near 10ft club to deal maximum punishment.

The club reminded him of an old baseball bat that belonged to his grandfather. That thing had been a lopsided termite-eaten hunk of wood that had been too heavy for a 7-year-old Vincent to lift. Vincent honored his ancestors with a heavy bat turned club with enough range to make good use of its force multiplication. Thanks to his strength, it swung easier than the switch his mother made him pick out when he was bad. In a heartbeat, he managed 10 hits snapping bones with every strike.

Its fur bristled, flexing towards the blood on the ground before it turned its massive head to the retreating Greek hoplite elves. The monster didn't hesitate; it seemed to think its odds were better with the squishy elves than the barbarian. Still, Vincent planned to use the elves for all they were worth. The boy made a good distraction. His club hit the back of the bear's knee, knocking the animal to the ground. Bones poked out of the monster, slowly sliding back inside its body visibly to Vincent's eyes.

How long until he could do something like that? Could he already, or would it take time for his body to adjust to the pills. He didn't know for sure and wasn't willing to take that chance. He smashed the monster in the back of the head, knocking its head down into the sucking muck of the stream. Another two blows took the monster's elbows then a final one took the other knees. It shook, trying to dislodge itself from the sucking mud.

Vincent took his weapon in hand, twisted, jumped, and slammed it down on the monster's spine. He felt the bear's massive spine crack. It sounded like stones sliding loose before a rockslide. Something moved under the monster's hide, and it began to heal faster than before. Vincent pounded it harder, doing more damage before it managed to pick itself out of the muck of the stream bed.

It didn't matter how hard he hit it; the monster would keep healing. There had to be something he could do.

Vincent freed his machete and slashed down, freeing a wiggling worm made of fucking crystal. It was the oddest thing he had ever encountered, and he needed blacksmith tongs. He was not letting it run away or use a second stage. He purchased the tongs and nabbed the creature, and started pulling. Long spindly roots leaped out of the monster's body and flailed around while he pulled.

It was red ugly, and pulsing enough for him to feel it through the tongs. He took a step back, digging into the wet grass to get some purchase. He looped the monster around the tong's teeth and yanked.

Whatever the parasite was, it helped the bear heal faster. If Vincent removed it, the bear wouldn't be much of a monster without its healing factor. All his enemy would be was a big dumb bear. He yanked hard, pulling more of the parasite out even as it struggled to stay attached to the bear.

He was stronger for the moment; that was all it took to dislodge the monster. With a final yank, he ripped it away, and the worm's head emerged. Vincent raised a monster card, and the creature vanished within it.

Vampire's Blood Mutation

A lot to unpack vampires were real; they could make familiars out of bears. Moreover, their blood could apparently mutate into parasitic life forms within their hosts. The monster card had turned from a worm abomination into a single drop of blood. He imagined a hundred of those monsters climbing on top of each other to get to him. Vincent's knees shook while he tried to get his bearings.

Barbarian Quest 99

Complete: Hunt the Vampire Mathias Corbin

Reward: 3 x R Red Pill – A red pill greatly raises strength and blood flow. A special power of the spirit awakens within those who take these pills.

Complete: Fight through the stronghold in a single night

Reward: 3 x R Blue Pills – A blue pill greatly raises speed and lung capacity. A special power of the mind awakens within those who take these pills.

Complete: Defile all noble daughters in a single night

Reward 3 x R Green Pills – A green pill greatly raises regeneration and longevity. A special power of the boy awakens within those who take these pills.

Complete: Slay the Dark Entity within the ancient basement of the castle

Reward 1 x R White Pill – A white pill greatly raises magic strength and mana. A special power of magic awakens within those who take these pills.

Vincent couldn't help but whistle at the far-off quest. The March province must be huge to have so many Challenges. Vincent had only scratched the surface. Defiling vampires seemed like a lot of fun, and the battles would be sweet. He would have to defile Mathias's daughter before fighting him. It would piss the guy off so much.

He casually walked up to the bear and stomped its skull in with his bare foot. Vincent felt next to no resistance; it told him exactly what he needed to know. The bear was enhanced to absurd levels by its familiar status. Becoming a ghoul boosted it even more. It was easily 5 to 8 times stronger than when he first encountered it.

Three large pills appeared in his hand, and he swallowed them down. While he grew slowly over time, it was best to hasten that growth however he could. Vincent sent the bear's corpse to a furrier through the system shop. Services could also be purchased.

Vincent followed the army of elves up the mountain to their walled city. Behind the walls the city was a collection of tree houses bridged with road sized limbes between skyscrapter sized redwoods growing high in the mountain. Three levels of treehouses were separated with each floor richer than the last. From what he could tell, the trees grew out naturally, forming paths between each other. He hadn't found a nail since he started exploring the village. He took selfies with the various treehouse buildings and found a forge with strange, knotted strings hanging from above. It seemed the elves didn't favor a version of the Phoenician alphabet. Decorated artwork made from bronze, too delicate for human hands alone, decorated the building giving it an artsy feel.

He saw a man working hard while a teenage elf took orders from grumpy elven men. While the long angular faces didn't look bad on the women, the men were another story. They appeared bird-like in their appearance and clumsy mannerisms. But, of course, his opinion was skewed by his own changes. He wasn't looking very human anymore, either.

Vincent crept into one of the larger tree house residences and found a noble girl's room. The elf turned her head to him when he appeared. She was a light-skinned, dark-haired young adult with green eyes holding a scroll with her pants off and hand moving between her legs. He filmed her while she moaned and squeezed her thighs together. She freed a breast from her dress and pinched her nipple with her eyes closed. He zoomed in to get a good look at her swollen pink labia swallowing her fingers.

"Do you need help with that?" Vincent asked.

The elf opened her mouth, and he heard her voice change octaves, hitting every note possible like she couldn't pick what to say.

"Warbler," Vincent raised an eyebrow and thought about smacking the elf's ass. But instead, he took out his dick and rubbed it in front of her. "How do you speak our language with such a horrible voice?"

"The same way you use your mouth not for its intended purpose." The barbarian crossed the distance and pushed his dick in her mouth. When she tried to speak, he pushed into her throat to shut her up. "Thank you for your hospitality. If you can believe it, I haven't fucked an elf in half a day. You don't know what you miss until it's gone."

She gagged something, and he pulled out to finish on her face. "Did you say something?" Vincent asked.

"Hello, father," Vincent turned to see an elf with a spear rushing at him while he came on the elf's daughter's face.