“How many more are there?” Kedryn panted, eyeballing the immobilized slime he had pinned to the ground with his star silver dagger. “The only other time I’ve seen them this close together was back by the lake!”
“They’re all level 1 or 2,” Riya cried over her shoulder as she healed a wound on Glade’s back. “Which means they could have recently reproduced if they had drained a large enough mana shard.”
Glade grunted in agreement. His telepathy skill had grown to level 7 since leaving the lake several hours ago, expanding his range to 70 feet. The good news was this gave them plenty of forewarning. The downside was he could now sense life forms both above and below them, which meant there were far more tunnels and creatures than they had initially thought.
“I’m going to scout ahead,” he said as soon as Riya was finished healing him.
“Yes sir,” Kedryn responded, already lighting his newest catch on fire. “Let us know what you find.”
They had faced more than 12 slimes in the last few hundred feet of corridor alone. Fortunately, he found that just like the Dusk Rats, if he tried to link telepathically with a slime his level of mental output was too much for the simple-minded creatures. They would freeze, which was the entire reason the group was still standing.
He had been forced to use that tactic over and over again until most of his mana was depleted. The mental strain was almost beyond his ability to manage.
It wasn’t all bad news. They had a pouch brimming with mana shards, most of them pure, and each of them had gained another level.
Not sensing anything directly in front of him, Glade brought up his status page.
Name: Glade (Enlightened Human)
Age 26 Level: 5
Experience: 2006 Next Level: 3500
Health: 110 Stamina: 120 Mana: 120
Attributes
Strength: 12 Dexterity: 12 Constitution: 11
Endurance: 12 Intelligence: 12 Wisdom: 10
Charisma: 12 Chance: 11 Willpower: 12
Brands
Courage Honor Perseverance Creation
Intellect Sacrifice Passion Meekness
Titles
Sah’eld to Da'Riya Ki'Loshere
Royally Bonded (Bei'Kedryn Ri'Serevilir)
Languages
Elvish (Plains Dialect) English
Skills
Astral Magic: Lvl 4: +2% mana efficiency in Astral Magic
Aura Sense: Lvl 2: Identify through use of aura reading. Cost: 5 MP.
Cooking (Amateur): Lvl 1: +1% to enhance flavor. +2% to identify edible foods
Mana Processing Technique (Twin Root and Branch - Unique): Lvl 3: +24% mana absorption
Meditation (Basic): Lvl 3: +1.5% to mana regen/+1.5% to attunement absorption.
Reflection: Lvl 3: +1 to Wisdom. +6% skill advancement.
Telepathy: Lvl 7: 1 x Target. 60 ft radius. Costs: 10 MP + 5 SP per 10 seconds
Small Blades: Lvl 1: 1% stamina reduction. +1% damage/accuracy.
Abilities
Will (Will Points: 6/12)
Specializations: None
Attunements
Air: 0% Water: 0% Earth: 0% Fire: 0%
Light: 0% Shadow: 0% Astral: 13%(Sympathetic) Corporeal: 0%
He was mostly getting a handle on the mechanics of the world and had been discussing his stats on and off with both Riya and Kedryn. He still had a large amount of attribute points left to allocate, but if he were being honest, he had yet to fully embraced that specific concept.
Riya applauded his mindfulness about waiting to counsel with someone who could point him to an appropriate specialization. However, in the same breath, she advised him not to wait too long because increased stats would be tremendously helpful as they didn’t know what dangers they might still have to face.
Kedryn’s advice was even worse. Ever since Glade had agreed to that ridiculous bond, the Kid had combed through his status screen every other minute to provide his recent theory on the perfect build. But that paled in comparison to when Kedryn had perused his quest logs, finding his recent Binding to Nature quest.
Glade had to telepathically order the young Corporal to stand down from that line of questioning and that they would discuss it at a later date.
He hadn’t even opened the Kid’s status page yet, waiting for an opportune time when he didn’t have to contend with potential threats, his splitting headache, and Kedryn hovering around him.
Two minds, both minor sparks, flared to life as he advanced further down the tunnel. One was immediately recognizable as a slime. The other was unknown but had the feeling of being in distress.
Instead of linking with either Riya or Kedryn telepathically to let them know about the potential threat, he turned around and delivered the message in person. His headache from overusing the mana intensive skill had spread down his neck and into his shoulders. The less he used the skill the better.
“We have another one,” he said. “About 120 feet ahead and it appears to be feeding.”
“Be right there,” Kedryn answered.
The group moved with a practiced rhythm; each knowing their part in this dance. When he was twenty feet out, Glade linked his mind with the slime, immobilizing it. Riya and Kedryn ran forward, locating, then trapping, the slime with star silver.
It was up to Kedryn to torch the slime.
Blood rushed from Glade’s head and outer extremities as he released his telepathy skill, the world spinning around him. The pain had ratcheted up to a Wildfire napalm special.
Squeezing his eyes closed against the pain, he rested a hand against the wall for support as the world spun around him as the strain of holding the technique began to fade.
Glade knew he couldn’t keep this up for much longer, but what choice did they have? They were in the thick of deadly monsters with no end in sight. Surely, they were close to the surface. If not the surface, then someplace safe they could rest.
“Um, sir?” Kedryn said, breaking him out of his reverie. “You may want to see this.”
Glade shook himself. He was tired. They all were. It hadn’t escaped his notice that his willpower was now up to 6, which meant another day had passed on this forsaken planet. But now wasn’t the time to relax. They needed to find water and shelter soon. If not, their only option was to go back to the lake. A three-hour trek through hostile terrain. It was better they kept moving forward.
As he dropped his hand from the wall, a sticky residue that clung to his fingers came with it.
“That’s creepy,” he grumbled, immediately wiping the fibrous substance onto his pants.
This content has been misappropriated from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.
“Yeah,” Kedryn replied, thinking Glade had spoken about what he held trapped in his catcher. “I freaking hate spiders.”
Glade immediately looked up, his headache all but forgotten. A crystalline blue spider, the likes of which he had never seen before, floated within the gelatinous ooze. It was easily the size of a small plate and had a golf ball shaped abdomen. The head was ridiculously small compared to its body, but what it lacked in size it made up for in sheer ugliness.
Dozens of eyes covered the small head, its jagged mandibles twitching as it fought to its last breath within the slime.
“That’s disgusting,” he said, mesmerized at how the arachnid was still alive.
“You’re telling me. Tough little guy though,” Kedryn commented as they watched the slime slowly eat away at the spider’s crystalline carapace.
Glade tried using his Aura Sense.
This creature’s aura is too far degraded to identify.
“I can’t identify it,” he said.
“Neither can I,” Riya replied. “But where there’s one spider, there are bound to be more.”
“Great,” Glade sighed. “Just what we need. Wait till the slime has killed the thing off, then we’ll...”
“Sir, are you using your telepathy skill?” Kedryn asked, hesitantly stepping away from them. His face growing another shade whiter.
“Not at the moment,” he said, now realizing he was hearing a faint clicking noise coming from the tunnel up ahead.
“May I suggest you do?”
Glade glanced further down the tunnel. Riya’s light spell revealed the sudden appearance of wall to wall webbing at the edge of their light source, in much thicker layers than what he had pulled away from the wall.
Riya bolstered her spell, illuminating the area further, revealing webs as far as the eye could see. Glade grimaced as he activated his skill. Burning agony seared through his mind, shooting pain down through his neck and chest and into his arms. At the same time, dozens of minds flared into existence, all weak, but steadily moving toward them.
“I vote we turn back,” Kedryn said.
“Seconded,” Glade agreed, already backing down the tunnel.
“Kedryn, quick! Scan the cave wall where most of the webbing starts. I’ll scan the spiders when they come into view. I haven’t seen this species before in any of the beast compendiums I’ve read. This could be a new breed of spider! Oh, before I forget, we need to take a sample of the webbing too!”
Both men looked at her, jaws hanging open. She wanted to get closer to the spiders!?
“Oh, there’s one of them now!” Riya cried.
Glade immediately shifted his gaze. An even bigger spider than the one trapped in the slime entered the light.
Astral Spider, Level 3
Attunements: Astral (unk%)
Health: 25/25
Mana: 75/75
Stamina: 90/95
Status: NA
“I’ve never heard of those!” Riya squealed, jumping from foot to foot. “This could be an incredible find! Can we catch one?”
“Not going to happen,” Glade growled, hauling the elf back by the arm. He could face one of those horrors if he had to, but he sensed dozens, if not more, quickly approaching. “Remember what we talked about by the lake? This falls into that category. We’re heading back to the last junction and taking another route.”
“But… the spiders…” Riya said, crestfallen. “They’re of the astral attunement, which is one of the rarest! I’ve only read of seven types of monsters that have that kind of attunement. What if they carry astral mana shards? Imagine what we could do with those!”
“Are they poisonous?” He asked, still dragging her away from the scene.
“Technically, yes…” Riya began.
“Then it is most definitely not worth it,” Glade said firmly.
Kedryn was already moving, but Glade noticed the Kid had grabbed a handful of loose webbing from the wall and was trying to scurry down the tunnel while removing the sticky substance. Idiot.
The group backtracked, turning down the first junction they came to. Only after 20 minutes of intense walking did Glade finally call for a rest.
“Riya, I have a question,” Kedryn panted, sitting against the tunnel wall. “How do you use the shards to replenish your mana? Mine is running low.”
Riya sighed, her entire body sagging with exhaustion. Glade tried to focus on the conversation, but it was hard getting past the raging headache and shooting pain.
“I keep forgetting you don’t know anything,” she began.
“I wouldn’t say we don’t know anything,” Kedryn responded with a huff.
“What you say you know is but the mere basics,” she snapped, which showed how exhausted she was. “Every child learns what you theorize about before they even ride a bonded for the first time.”
“What’s a bonded...” Kedryn began but stopped himself. “You know what? Never mind. I think we know a little more than a child.”
“Peace, Kedryn. I’m not trying to insult you,” She sighed, running a hand down her face. “I’m merely tired. But your question reminded me of how little you actually know. Let me try to explain,” she asked imploringly. “Please?”
“Sorry,” he sighed. “I’m tired as well. Go ahead, I’m listening.”
“Thank you,” she said, visibly relaxing. “And we can discuss what bonded are later. Extracting mana from shards isn’t that difficult to learn, but it takes a certain amount of mana control...”
A small mind entered Glade’s telepathy range, quickly followed by more than Glade wanted to count.
“Sorry to cut this short,” Glade interrupted. “But it looks like the spiders are still following us. Time to move.”
He caught Riya looking back longingly the way they had come.
“No Riya, we’re not going back to capture a spider,” he said, pulling her to her feet.
He reached down to pick up Kedryn’s slime catcher when another mind caught his attention. One that had been hanging in the background of his subconscious but hadn’t drawn his attention since they had started running.
“What’s the slime doing here!” He yelled, turning on Kedryn.
“Oh, that,” Kedryn said, reaching out for the carapace. “I didn’t have time to kill it before we started running. Then I had an idea. What if I used Slick here like a weapon? You know, flinging it at something?”
“That’s the stupidest thing…” Glade began but stopped mid-sentence and groaned. “Tell me you didn’t just name the slime Slick.”
“Oh, that’s perfect!” Riya said, leaning closer to inspect the immobile ooze. “The name fits. We can study it when we stop.”
“For crying out loud, we’ve already talked about this!” Glade cried, pushing the two further down the tunnel. Just once he would like these two to listen to him. Was that too much to ask?
“And Slick is a ridiculous name,” he grumbled under his breath.
“Hey Kedryn, did you ever get a chance to scan the tunnel where we first saw the spiders? You know, where most of the webbing was separated?” Riya asked as they moved quickly away from the oncoming swarm of spiders. “It looked rather odd to me.”
“Yes,” Kedryn replied as he maneuvered around a large stalagmite. “It was another vein of star sliver, why?”
“That’s what I thought,” she said, her voice contemplative. “I found the same by the lake where we found the Shadow Carp, except the ceiling had collapsed at some point, creating a gap for the slimes to get through.”
“What are you insinuating?” Glade asked, bringing up the rear. The spiders had long since vanished from his mind, but that didn’t mean the creepy arachnids had stopped following them.
“I found it interesting that we found a vein of star silver protecting the grotto from the slimes. But that’s all it was, interesting. But then I noticed the same set up at the lake. The only difference was the collapsed ceiling. But a third time? That’s beyond coincidental.”
Kedryn slowed down, an thread of excitement clear in the tone of his voice as he turned to Riya.
“You’re saying that someone put those veins of star silver in the rock on purpose!”
“That’s my theory, but I can’t for the life of me think why anyone would do that,” she said.
“Not hard if you think about it,” Glade responded. “You said it yourself, the monsters we’ve found down here are rare, each producing highly valuable mana shards. Sounds like a simple farming technique to me. The slimes guard the hallways so the monsters don’t escape but can’t get into the nests themselves because of the star silver blocking their path. If you take away the impossibility of creating naturally forming star silver, which I’m certain isn’t that impossible on this world, it makes sense.”
Riya and Kedryn stopped and stared at Glade as he explained his theory.
“What?” Galde asked. “It’s simple economics.”
“But how would the ‘farmers,’” Kedryn said, using air quotes, “get past the slimes?”
“Actually, that makes incredible sense,” Riya commented. “And if the farmers, as you say, knew the secret of star silver’s effect on slimes, then they could have created counter measures…”
“And bypassed the slimes all together!” Kedryn finished. “That’s brilliant!”
“There are a couple of holes with that theory, like how did these farmers create naturally formed star silver? While it might be possible, I don’t think it would be easy. Also, how did they neutralize the slimes?” Riya asked no one in particular. “But conceptually, the theory is sound. Still, I can’t help but think we’re missing something.”
“I have a couple concerns,” Glade spoke up as he worked the theory through his mind. “First, if the slimes were meant to keep the monsters from escaping, what happens now that we’ve killed more than a hundred slimes?”
Riya and Kedryn’s faces paled, immediately turning back in the direction they’d come.
“The spiders,” Kedryn whispered.
Glade grunted in affirmation. While he didn’t know a lot about spiders, he did know it was highly unusual for the little horrors to chase down prey.
“What’s your second concern?” Riya asked.
“Where are the farmers?”
A bellow of pain echoed down the tunnel, shattering their brief moment of introspection.
Kedryn and Riya flinched. Glade pulled his pistol, instinctively placing himself between his two young charges and the screaming.
High pitched laughter followed, increasing in intensity when the bellows of pain were loudest. With the countless spiders blocking their retreat, Glade couldn’t help but wonder what new monstrosity they were about to face.