With little choice but to walk in one direction and hoping to find anything that could be used for shelter they found themselves trudging through the snow while chowing down on a piece of cold and stale toast. Saga found realized they themselves were in an increasingly problematic situation as no matter how far they went, there was very little in the way of landmarks within the dense pine forest around them. Bit by bit, Panic began to claw at their insides, telling them that this was not a place they could survive for long. Not without a place to take shelter and get warm. Breathing in deeply, they tried to center themselves and push the dread back down.

“The afterlife sucks” Saga muttered to themselves as they stopped to rub their arms. The cold was seeping deeper and deeper into their body to the point they could feel it in their very bones. They had to try and figure out how to get warm and soon, as so far they had found nothing other than trees and a frozen undergrowth. As they peered around and their eyes cast about for something to use as fuel for a fire, Saga heard something.

It was a shuffling, growling noise.

Turning around slowly, Saga stared into the darkness and found a pair of glowing eyes peering right back at them.

“Oh. Oh no.” The words came unbidden out of their mouth as the eyes shifted from being level to that of a regular man's height to lifting upwards in the darkness until the shape seemed to be several heads taller than Saga.

The roar that followed was deafening. It rippled out of the darkness, stirring dead trees to shiver and crack as snow exploded outward from its epicenter, as if the roar had caused a shockwave.

{You have been affected by Tundra Bear (Undead)’s Roar of Despair. Your cognition has been temporarily lowered.}

Saga staggered, eyes wide, blood trickling out of their ears as out of the darkness charged a bear the size of a Kodiak on steroids. It looked sickly, its eyes were hollowed out, two pinpricks of red glowing within. Part of its fur had seemingly sloughed off along with the skin underneath, exposing blackening, necrotic flesh underneath.

It came barreling at them with the speed of an angry redneck in a semi-truck, shoulder tackling them off the ground. The air flew out of their lounges as they felt as if they were a bug on a windshield. The only pain worse was the pain of hitting a tree with the same force. Saga couldn't even scream, the air to do so having been forcefully beaten out of them.

Instead, they coughed and hacked. Blood dripped from their lips as they staggered to unsteady feet, unsure how they were not dead yet. The massive, undead-looking bear seemed as confused as Saga was. Staring at the bipedal mess that stared right back.

“Ow….” Saga grunted, “Ow ow…I think… I think I might die again…” They reached over to pick up a branch, it was long, thick but rather even. The end that snapped off a tree was looking tremendously sharp. The bear moved to the side of them, circling for a better angle to charge and finish the human-shaped snack.

It charged. Again, it accelerated at speeds that were entirely unfair for its massive size. Saga desperately braced their makeshift spear and jumped to the side.

{Tundra Bear [Undead] has used a charge attack; Rushing Tackle. Tundra Bear has hit a Braced weapon. Charge Bonus damage reversed.]

The bear growled and grunted, seemingly unfazed while thick, black ichor drooled out of the ragged wound from the sharp, improvised spear.

“Oh come on…” Saga said, trying to limp away from the murder machine of a teddy bear. This time it didn't charge, it just stalked them. Just followed close, letting Saga back themselves up against a large stone.

Scrambling, Saga's hand come upon something in the snow. Cold to the touch, almost enough to hurt Saga's skin. Fishing the round object out of snow, it was a spear. Looking around in bewilderment, Saga saw half-rotted, half-frozen corpses all around them. Just hidden underneath droves of snow.

“Oh god…” They felt queasy at the sight of so many half-frozen, half-eaten corpses but grabbed the spear in both hands. Waiting. The bear charged again. This time Saga stood firm until the bear was upon them once more. Then they dropped, bracing the spear against the stone behind them. The bear barreled in, front reared up to deliver a violent slap only for the bear to end up impaled once again. This time, however, it wasn’t a branch with a ragged excuse for a tip. There was a slightly flared, still sharp iron tip. As the spear sank into the bear it thrashed and snarled but was momentarily stuck. Scrambling away from it Saga put some distance between the bear and themselves.

{Tundra Bear [Undead]'s attack has been countered. Tundra Bear has hit a Braced weapon. Charge Bonus damage reversed. Critical Hit! Tundra Bear has no vitals to hit. Critical Damage negated}

“Oh. Oh no. That ain't fucking fair..” The bear charged yet again. But this time, it seemed a little bit slower than before. Saga scrambled out of the way, starting to look around the half-eaten corpses for another weapon. Another spear, this one a little bit longer with a grip that felt better in their hands. Saga turned, away from the frozen site of carnage and stalked to the side, circling the bear as it did the same to them. As the bear charged forward again, rather than abandoning it and running to the side, Saga took it head-on. With a defiant roar of their own, Saga braced. The bear seemingly put its all into the charge. Saga met the charge, bracing the spear. The undead beast clearly did not have the cunning or the self-preservation to change up its tactics once enraged. It plowed into the spear. As soon as it did, Saga heaved, shoved, and lifted with all their might. Muscles screaming, head pounding, Saga heaved and pulled and tugged. The spear tore into the beast, jerking about and tearing tendons and flesh.

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{Tundra Bear [Undead] has used a charging attack. Tundra Bear has hit a Braced weapon. Charge Bonus damage reversed. Critical Hit! Tundra Bear has no vitals to hit. Critical Damage negated. You maintain control over the spear.}

{Iron Boar Spear has remained within target Tundra Bear[Undead]. Continued damage applied. Bear has been gained condition [Hampered Movement]}

Saga scrambled to get out from under the bear as it tried to smash them into the ground, the spears grip getting slicker and slicker with ichor. Somehow, the bear could only land glancing blows at best, and even though it hurt enough to make Saga want to cry out, the remained composed. Tugging one final time, while using both feet to leverage, they pushed out. The spear slipped free with a gush of dark, viscous ichor that spilled onto the white snow.

{Iron Boar Spear no longer remains within target Tundra Bear[Undead].

You have gained Novice Proficiency: Spear.

You have inflicted a condition [Hampered Movement]. Target has reduced movement speed. This also affects charging attacks.

You have inflicted a condition [Bleeding]. Target takes continuous physical damage over time}

The third charge was considerably slower, allowing Saga to dive out of the way, scrambling once more among the dead for anything to help them. But each fleeting second was agony, and breathing felt like it was becoming increasingly more difficult to manage. The bear, lumbering towards Saga, seemed to pace itself more. A sinister intelligence to its hollowed-out, burning eyes.

Seemingly out of spears, all that they found was a short sword, in the style, they associated with their own Nordic heritage. It was double-edged, with little in the way of a handle. A Viking sword, for lack of a better term. Putting it into their belt, they turned to see the bear stop and stare hollowly at them. Sizing their prey up.

“Come on then.” Saga snarled through gritted teeth. The bear howled out again. But as if trying to counter it, Saga roared back a stream of angry obscenities, fed up with the pain and the misery of their current situation. It was as if the air around them bristled and rippled outwards, kicking up snow around them.

{You have resisted Tundra Bear (Undead)’s Roar of Despair.}

{You have gained the skill Battle Cry.}

As the bear charged, the new proficiency with spears seemed to guide Saga's hand as they took the slick with gore spear and held it like a javelin. Then they tossed it, with all the angry might they had. It sailed true, lodging itself in the healthy shoulder of the undead beast, makings the front leg seize up and the bear stumble mid-charge.

{Iron Boar Spear has inflicted [Hampered Movement, Severe] on target Tundra Bear (Undead). Target movement speed was severely reduced. Target can no longer use charge attacks.}

The bear roared, trying to charge anyways, its ragged front doing a poor job in keeping it upright, as Saga dove to the side. Unsheathing the sword, they jumped on top of its back and began to violently, desperately hack away. Eyes wide, as if to not miss any stray movement of the bucking, dying bear.

Finally, the bear stopped moving, eyes void of unholy light. Saga slid off it, grunting in pain as the adrenaline left them. They stared up at the dark and seemingly impenetrable canopy above. Thought that this was it. This is where they die, again. Their body felt like one giant collection of bruises, they were pretty sure they cracked a few ribs and they found breathing difficult. Saga decided that the only thing they could do was rest. They closed their eyes. Only for runic text to morph into readable text before their eyes again.

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Congratulations!

You Have Leveled Up!

You are now level 1.

As a result of your actions during level 0, you have gained a new skill. You have gained a boost to your attributes. You have acquired new Proficiencies.

Saga Ljungborg

Path: Undecided.

Level 1

Attribute up:

Brawn + 2 (10)

Spirit +2 (8)

Mind +1 (6)

Grace +1 (6)

Skills:

Battle Cry, Tier 1. Unleash a battle cry to rally your allies and disrupt sonic attacks and skills. All Allies within a 4-meter radius gain a small boost to Physical Attack and Defense.

Proficiencies:

Spears (Novice)

Short Swords (Novice)

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“Level up? That’s just absurd.” Sagas' mumbled as their world grew dark, cold, and blissfully silent. Saga didn’t hear the hurried footsteps of people running towards them as they drifted into sleep and what they assumed would be their final resting place.