The houses could contain any number of danger much worse than an overgrown bear. Things would worse then because she would have no way out after entering them.
Unfortunately, she didn't have much of a choice. She entered a building to avoid the bear. Her plan was to go through it and exit through the other side.
She faced her first problem in the form of thorny vines. They were growing throughout the house and had filled every inch of it.
They formed a wall of vines in her path, so she would have to go through them to pass through the house. Meanwhile, the bear was already tearing down the building to reach her.
She didn't have much time to make a decision and not many options to consider. She waded into the forest of vines to escape.
Fortunately, they were not sentient and carnivorous vines, or things would be very bad. Still, they were thorny, so things were still bad for her. The vines tore her dress and cut open her skin.
No matter how much power a super has, they will still be susceptible to damage even if they put all their destiny into constitution. Constitution only makes them difficult to kill, not immune to damage.
Resistance to damage comes from abilities. Supers with defensive abilities like physical mutations and forcefields will always have that advantage. As someone who doesn't have any ability to attack, she couldn't clear out the vines out of her way. She had to use her body to push through them.
She doesn't have any ability to defend herself either, so her skin was torn open. Meanwhile, the bear chasing her tore the vines apart with its claws. It also had thick fur on its body to protect itself. She was clearly outmatched.
She complained with frustration, "This can't be happening to me again. Am I cursed or something? Is it not my destiny not to advance to the professional league?"
This is her third attempt at advancing to the professional league. She had failed the two previous times because something like this happened both times. An enemy appeared when she was alone and at her weakest. Then she was defeated.
It seemed the same thing was going to happen again because the bear was making faster progress than her. It was gaining on her rapidly. Meanwhile, the vines had coiled around her legs and armed. She was all but stuck.
The prospect of failure stung at her with emotional pain. The physical pain from being cut by vines and bleeding all over made her almost shed tears.
She really wanted to cry. If not for the fact that she is being watched by a lot of people and it was shameful to cry, she would be crying right now. But she held back and found solace in the knowledge that she wouldn't be the only one to fail this game.
The image of a notorious and evil copycat flashed in her mind. This particular copycat had defied the Baron, so he was bound to fail together with her.
She had all but resigned herself to fate. But then a miracle happened. Someone appeared in the street where she encountered the bear.
The bear was the first to notice this person. It discarded her in favor of an easily accessible prey. It rushed out of the building with a roar and went off to attack this person.
Sasha thanked her fate for the miracle. Then she got to work on freeing herself. It was painful work that shredded her fingers and cut them to the bone.
The vines were truly stubborn, and their thorns were very sharp. By the time she was free, she was losing a lot more blood than when she was trapped. But she stopped bleeding soon and even began to heal as her high vitality kicked in.
As an amplifier, most of her destiny has been placed on speed, constitution, and vitality. It is because she prioritized survival. It is a decision that is quick to pay dividends.
Next came the time for another decision. She could either take advantage of the person who distracted the bear and continue to escape or go back to help this person win.
She chose to go back to help them. This is because she didn't want to go through the remaining vines blocking her way and because she is useless alone.
There is no telling what she will encounter when she finally exits the house. But it is certain that she needs to work with someone for her ability to shine. Now that someone had appeared, she couldn't miss the opportunity.
So she went back to help. However, the person didn't need her help. They had killed the bear before she returned.
It wasn't an impressive feat because she had taken almost 30 seconds to free herself. But the fact that they had managed to kill the bear alone was good enough. It meant that they would be more helpful to her after she enhances them.
The person was standing over the corpse of the bear when she came out of the building. They turned to regard her, so she was able to see their full features.
What she saw made her sigh in relief. They were bloody, and their clothes were tattered, but their identity alone made her ecstatic. Especially the sight of the habit they were wearing and their wild, overgrown, and unbrushed hair and beard.
He looked like a barbarian who hasn't had a bath in ages. Many would be disgusted to be in his presence, but his presence filled her with hope for the future.
She said, "You don't know how glad I am to see you. If we work together, we will be unstoppable."
The person was Friar Paul. He has the ability called Ascetic. The more he deprives himself of food and pleasure, the stronger he becomes. He is a famous life streamer who lives in the wild and fights for his life every day. So he is popular and strong.