The next day passed peacefully for Jason so of course it was time to ramp things up again. There was a split in the path and it was easy enough to tell which way saw more people. This is a great indicator for him and so resolutely he turns and takes the road less traveled.

Though, unlike the previous bits of fun, Jason actually knows what he will be facing. This path was specifically in place for the occasional adventurer to go through and cull the hindbear population. He had wanted to see one earlier, though that was mostly to get a feel for them. Nevermind the Adventurers Guild will be happy to hear they weren’t just wandering around the rest of the forest.

Of course, since the day had already passed at this point Jason didn’t get far and had to leave his adventures with wrestling bears for the next day. A disappointment for sure but even he can admit that every night less he has to spend in an area saturated in anything bearlike is probably for the best.

Jason doesn’t have to wait long to fight a hindbear either way. In fact, one shows up for breakfast. This was entirely his fault of course. The roads provide a bit more security when it comes to food prep than a usual trip in the wilds so Jason had gotten into the habit of having a hot meal.

He didn’t go too far down the road but he was still very much in an area that most people didn’t travel along, so of course the local wildlife hadn’t realized how bad of an idea it is to attack at the scent of food cooking. Good thing this particular hindbear apparently didn’t believe in any kind of stealth as Jason heard it crashing through the underbrush well before it got to him. While this didn’t give him the ability to ambush the beast, he was more than ready when it showed up.

So there Jason was, standing behind a small campfire as a large bear charges into the clearing while up on its back legs. Over the last couple days, he had gotten a decent look at what a bear was supposed to look like so the differences stood out starkly in his mind. In fact, if you had had just shown a picture of the hips Jason would have guessed it was from a primate of some sort. More on the ape side of the family, maybe gorilla, but certainly not bear.

Except, of course, the legs keep going. Where a gorilla’s arms are the clear winner in length, the hindbear’s back legs match the front in size. At the end of those ungainly long limbs, are a set of paws. While some claim they have near opposable thumb-like forepaws, Jason sees the truth of it.

Those side paws might look opposable but the reality is they have the ability to stick out to the side. Jason isn’t quite sure what this does for the hindbear though it might be helpful when used with Qi to dig into stuff. Besides that, the only other large difference is the face structure.

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The hindbear’s muzzle is much wider at the back. While it doesn’t quite turn the face into a triangle, it comes quite close. Not only that, but the eyes are further apart, as if the change to the muzzle had pushed them to the side. This creates quite the disturbing picture, so close yet so far from what a bear should look like.

Not that the hindbear gives Jason all that much time to consider the aesthetics of it. No, the hindbear just charged right through the campsite, even ignoring the campfire. Jason had expected nothing less, so was ready for the bearhug. Going by the jaw shape this was likely the attack of choice for the beast as it clamps its arms down and tries to take a bite out of Jason’s head.

This would have been a devastating attack as even just the strength in the arms could have snapped Jason’s spine. Good thing he ducked in under the left side just before those arms of steel tried to steal his life. Besides that, it certainly didn’t hurt when he added in a quick blast jab to the armpit, well, it certainly didn’t hurt Jason. The hindbear wasn’t too happy about it.

Of course, Jason didn’t care about what the bear thought and just continued around the side, avoiding the firepit. The hindbear was quick to turn with his movements.

Not quick enough though as Jason is able to, with a light toss, land Lily on the back of the hindbear’s neck where she promptly dug her claws in. With a touch of Energy on said claws, she is more than able to draw blood.

Jason didn’t stop there, though. Since the hindbear is just a regular beast, it is easily taken in by a faint as he fakes a direction change, only to duck back into the left. This time, the hindbear is able to clamp its limb to its side.

This doesn’t prove to be a problem for Jason. His aim hadn’t been a repeat attack in the first place. Instead with a blast from a hammer fist, he attacked the funny bone. Mind you, it isn’t actually a bone that causes this, but rather a nerve that passes along the outside of the elbow.

While sensitive, this would normally not be the easiest thing to attack. Jason sidesteps this all as his Body Blast skill bypasses armor. Now, he isn’t certain that the hindbear’s nervous system is close enough of a match to the human one that they have the same weakness. What he is certain of is that he certainly touched a nerve with his attack.

The hindbear’s arm flails outward and its head rears back as it roars in pain. Lily, clinging to the back of its neck, is more than willing to take this chance to attack, shocking Jason at the same time.

With supernatural ease, she moves around the side of the hindbear’s neck and after stretching her body across the front of said neck, pulls back. This left the neck shredded as copious amounts of blood came pouring out. After that, the hindbear soon bleeds out.

{Agile Escape: +1 Agility}