Time around Lin Hao had instantly frozen, Fu Mei and Richie were both no longer moving. The bear was paralyzed, in a ferocious stance prepared to attack Richie. "What? What is this?"
Only Lin Hao could currently act, and there were two quest windows in front of him now instead of one.
He looked to the one to his left, and the one to his right. Both of them presented significant choices.
[Flee]
"You have been given a second chance with your girlfriend, and have the ability to flee. You only have to let Richie die for you. What's it to you anyway? He's just a random guy you've met.
-Gain [Dishonest] Trait and lose [Never Give in].
[Stand Your Ground]
"You can't leave anyone behind. Stand your ground and defeat the bear, or Richie will die."
-[Never Give in] is upgraded
-Half of your Cubic Power is regenerated instantly
-10 health points are recovered instantly
Lin Hao struggled internally with the decisions in front of him, he didn't know Richie for long. It was easy to just abandon him and take Fu Mei to run away. But could he abandon Richie?
Richie was willing to help him, and had just risked his life to help Lin Hao save Fu Mei. He couldn't let him die like this. It wasn't right.
"I can't just let things end like this." With a raise of his hand, Lin Hao selected [Stand Your Ground]. Time began to flow again, as Lin Hao stood up seemingly fine from the blow the bear inflicted upon him. His status window popped up in front of him.
[Personal Details]
Name: Lin Hao
Race: Cubic Human
Cubic Power: Volcanic [2% Comprehension]
Unique Trait: Never Give In! [Stage 1]
Experience:1/100
[Stats]
Health:45/60
Cubic Reservoir:29/40
Strength:5 [Normal]
Intelligence:11 [Favored]
Dexterity:7 [Favored]
Wisdom :4 [Lacking]
"Fu Mei! We have to help him!" Lin Hao shouted to her, Fu Mei taken aback by his new assertiveness.
But Fu Mei froze in fear, "I... I don't know what I can do to help." Fighting a large bear was something she hadn't done before.
Her body was stopping itself in place, afraid to take any other actions.
Lin Hao didn't hesitate however, he rushed at the bear and began to punch at it's chest with his bare hands.
Unleashing a flurry of blows aimed directly at the middle of it's body, Lin Hao's punches began to leave noticeable impacts on it.
Richie meanwhile took this opportunity to reposition himself, moving back towards Lin Hao and Fu Mei around the bear.
"Lin Hao My Reservoir's empty!" Richie had pelted the bear with several coin like bullets, some of the marks hadn't fully healed yet.
Lin Hao realized upon gazing at them, the bear's regeneration was limited!
He held his hand back to prepare a strong lava fist strike against the bear, but the bear tackled him to the ground quickly and was now struggling with him.
It's gaping jaw loomed over his face, savage teeth right in front of him. If he made one wrong move here, the bear would kill him.
He lacked a good opportunity to use his magma to burn and fully kill the bear, as he could not strike without it mauling his face.
[HP:25/60]
Lin Hao felt regret at his hasty actions, if he had planned out better he would not be in this situation.
When suddenly, a watery projectile lodged itself in the bears skull. "Lin Hao!" Fu Mei shouted, he looked and saw water gathered around her finger tips.
Taking advantage of the opportunity she granted him, Lin hao shoved his fist inside of the mouth of the bear and released the maximum amount of magma possible.
"If you want to eat me, then eat this!" He screamed, his Cubic Reservoir reduced to 0 as he exerted every ounce of power possible to kill the bear.
It roared and howled in pain, the magma corroding all of it's insides and destroying the bear from the inside out.
It fell off of Lin Hao, howling and dying before evaporating in a pool of black tar. Lin Hao attempted to stand up, exhaustion weighing down on him that quickly began to go away.
Richie sprinted over to him, "I can't believe we did it." Before he could say anything else, a loud notification popped up for the three of them.
[You have leveled up!]
Lin Hao felt a surge of power flow through him, his status window opening to reveal all of his stats had changed, his health and cubic reservoir growing too.
[Personal Details]
Name: Lin Hao
Race: Cubic Human
Cubic Power: Volcanic [2% Comprehension]
Unique Trait: Never Give In! [Stage 1]
Level:2
Experience:1/150
[Stats]
Health:75/75
Cubic Reservoir:60/60
Strength:7 [Normal]
Intelligence:14 [Favored]
Dexterity:10 [Favored]
Wisdom :5 [Lacking]
Stats appeared to grow based on your disposition to them.
Lin Haos intelligence was now almost three times what an average person starting out would have. He felt his mind expand from the sudden boost in intelligence, making his thoughts flow clearer and rapidly.
Richie and Fu Mei both had the same surge of power flow through them.
"Woah we can level up!? This is like a video game!" Richie said with excitement, Fu Mei on the other hand looked at Lin Hao with confusion and sadness.
"Lin Hao I..."