While Sol was able to resist most of the gas's effects thanks to the headband and mask, he instinctively knew that being hit by those concentrated orbs would send him spiraling into whatever blissful scenario each contained.
He used [Burrow] and dived underground, avoiding the first volley of gas orbs. When they landed where he once stood, they burst open, sending the gas in all directions.
Sol was about to move further away to reemerge but saw through [True Sight (Variant)] that the Bliss Spider was already above him. He dove deeper underground, seeing its claws dig into the ground, cutting through it like butter.
He wanted to descend further to escape the creature, but immediately ran into a solid wall underground. It was the Azrem Alloy, covering the entire floor beneath the normal stone and dirt of the underground city. This alloy had prevented the Bliss Spider from digging its way out but was now the reason Sol couldn’t escape any further.
A claw slashed through the ground, reaching for him. With little time to dodge, he pressed himself against the alloy floor as the sharp leg passed inches from his neck. Even though it missed him, the ground split, creating a massive opening and leaving him exposed.
Sol immediately jumped out of the opening, creating a pillar of stone to propel himself away from the Bliss Spider. However, he only managed to travel a few feet before the creature’s other claw swung from the side, slamming him back into the alloy floor.
Unable to escape above, he tried to burrow back into the ground, but before he could, another claw came down at incredible speed.
“Argh!” he grunted as the claw pierced his left shoulder, pinning him in place.
With his left shoulder pierced, he turned to the Bliss Spider in shock, not just from its speed but from the fact that it didn’t kill him immediately. Instead, the creature observed him in silence, its many eyes scanning over his entire body.
‘Is it looking for something?’ As the thought crossed his mind, he saw another gas orb forming behind the creature, showing visions of a beach and calm ocean waves.
Alarm bells rang in his head, and he immediately transformed into shadows, losing his physical form and slipping free from the claw. He quickly slithered away, putting distance between himself and the creature, which curiously examined the claw that had pinned him.
...
The Bliss Spider was moderately surprised that the human could transform into shadows after showing control over earth and other elemental magic. It had expected him to become stone or steel, in which case it could have kept him pinned, but definitely not shadows.
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It watched as the human slipped away, but it didn’t care much because now it understood why its blissful gas influence wasn’t as strong as it should have been. It was the objects he wore on his head.
It thought back to the humans and orcs it had seen earlier, noting that they all wore similar objects now. Though it had difficulty distinguishing between humans and orcs based on their outer appearances, it was sure they weren’t wearing those items before. Clearly, they had acquired something here that resisted its ability. Yet, it knew that a concentrated dose of its gas would overwhelm them, even with those protections.
It wondered how they had obtained these items but decided it didn’t matter. It would simply remove them from their heads or give them a heavy dose of bliss. Before that, though, it chose to deal with the human who had the audacity to stand in its way without even possessing a law technique. It had never encountered such a fool in its long life and found the situation comical, to say the least. Still, the human needed to be punished for daring to resist, and he would also serve as a good warmup after its long hibernation.
It turned towards the fleeing caravan, then back to the human who had reappeared on the roof of a nearby building.
It prepared to use a technique to close the distance, but upon taking the first step, it froze, unable to remember how to proceed. It looked back at the human, wondering if he was causing this phenomenon, and saw ten floating hands hovering around him, each glowing a different color.
This human had more tricks up his sleeve than it initially thought.
...
Back with the exploration team, they made progress after overcoming the initial confusion caused by the gas that had influenced their senses.
Those affected by smell and taste were the least impacted and helped get everyone reorganized. Those who couldn’t see were led by the hand like children, tripping over rubble they couldn’t see. Meanwhile, those hearing loud music and festivities could only follow silently, interpreting the group’s intentions through body language. While it might seem that these were the most severe symptoms, that wasn't the case.
The worst were those affected by touch. Some suddenly felt extremely sleepy, craving a long nap, while others were overwhelmed by pleasurable sensations. In both cases, they had to be carried, as they struggled to walk on their own.
Despite the challenges, the group continued to put distance between themselves and the monster, drawing closer to the castle.
Rex, rubbing his eyes as he fought off drowsiness, turned to look at the battle behind them. His eyes widened when he saw his captain casting black flames alongside ten floating hands that sent out a barrage of colorful attacks. Shadows rose from the ground, charging at the creature.
He rubbed his eyes again, thinking he might be imagining things, and was about to look again when he was suddenly lifted over someone's shoulder. It was Lapis, who had Lazuli on her other shoulder, struggling to perceive her surroundings.
“Come on, we have to go.” Lapis urged as she carried him away.
“But… do you see that? Am I imagining that?”
As he spoke, the ground shook as a massive boulder summoned by Sol crashed down on the Bliss Spider, which shattered it with its rear, sending rubble everywhere, some landing close to them.
“Yes, I see it. Now let’s go before we get caught up in it.” Lapis could see what was happening, and she knew that if they stayed any longer, they would be caught in the battle. Confident in her ability to survive and possibly help, she focused instead on getting those struggling to move to safety at the castle before thinking of aiding Sol.
With the two on her shoulders, Lapis ran quickly, overtaking the rest of the exploration team, and headed for the castle so she could return to help those falling behind.