Author's note: Unexpected delays! Birthday parties! Programming problems! Travelling between cities!Anime! Games! Anime! Games! Light novels for inspiration! Listening to character songs! And hating on DMCAs on some light novels but that's a whole can of worms I'm not opening. Nay.
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"Aya knew that Aya's trap would work!" A girlish voice said, sounding quite happy.
I shivered slightly against the web... By some reason, the voice scared me. Closing my eyes, I focused on my magic again. I tried using the [rocket boost] again, mainly to escape the web this time...
Except it was not only sticky, but also quite elastic... meaning I just got pulled back to the original position, now even more stuck on it. could only be glad that I could still breath between the threads, even if it was just barely. A few seconds later, I felt the web shaking slightly, and I knew the reason: the bird, which also got trapped in it, was taken away.
You won the battle![31.5% for next level up]
Alright, just that window led me to two conclusions: First, the owner of the web is not a monster. Secondly, it killed the bird in seconds. I think I knew what is the person who trapped me in here: An Arachnae, half human, half spider.
A few seconds after I received the message that the bird was killed, I was the one who was picked up. I saw the massive woman, easily 9ft tall in height. From belly and up, there was a chitin armor, probably the default clothes of the race, and from the waist and below, it had the exact same appearence as a spider.
I shivered in fear, closing my eyes and expecting the worst...but yet, the worst never came.
"Who are you?" I received a question, and seconds later, I was poked on the stomach. Suddenly, she...didn't look as scary as before. She almost looked a bit innocent, just from the tone of her voice... but yet, it was better to not make her wait for an answer, right?
"I'm Nysa the fae!" I replied, with an awkward smile on my face, wondering. Has she ever met a Fae in her life?...if so, are faes actually pretty rare?
"Oh...so that's how a fae looks like! Hmm....Aya is almost jealous of you~!" Aya said, giggling.
"What do you mean by 'almost'?" I replied narrowing my eyes. I did not know how much I would regret from asking such question.
"Well, you are weak physically, you are tiny enough for a bird to carry you away, and unless you cast it from far away, Aya could probably kill you before you finish casting any spell. Is there any reason to be jealous?" She said...nearly making me feel depressed.
Magic has its benefits!
Magic can get really strong, you know?! How you'll react when I begin to summon meteors on your face?!
Fae are strong! They just had a bad start!
I thought various complaints, which could be summed up to 'Aya is an ignorant fool who does not respect magic.'
"Teehee~ Fae are so cute when mad~" She said, poking my belly again with a wide smile, one that nearly made me angry. I'm not cute, you idiot!
"So, where you're heading to anyways? I mean, I haven't seen a house anywhere close to where we are, and in fact..." She stopped for a few seconds, taking a deep breath while averting her gaze. "I'd sorta like some company! It is boring to stay here in the woods by myself."
"I'm going to a nearby village." I replied, honestly. There was no point in lying, after all. "But I'd ra-" And just as I was going to declare my objections, I got interrupted.
"It is settled, Aya is going with you!" The reckless spider-girl declared.
In the moment I heard that, I already began to think. Think and ponder on the benefits and disadvantages of bringing her along...
...Well the main benefit is that she is going to be my meat shield, and my ride.
......As disrespectful as she was earlier, I'll let it slide, on the basis that I do not need to take a single step to reach my destination. "Alright, then. The village is over there." I said, pointing to the direction I was travelling in. "I'll go on your head for now, though!" I added, jumping off Aya's hand, and onto the top of her head, smilling cheerfully.
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"Aya wonders, though...how does the human village looks like? Do you know what sort of things they have over there?" She asked me.
I smiled awkwardly. "A blacksmith, probably, a few hunters to gather food, farmers, a tavern, an inn, a lot of houses, a restaurant or two, tailor, and since it is close to a dungeon it probably has a magic shop and a church with a cleric for us to heal in. But that's just the norm, that place might be an exception." I replied, mostly basing off most of other RPGs with similar set-ups.
I had a bad feeling. One that made me start regretting whether or not I should've dragged Aya along. I mean...uh... wouldn't the villagers try to kill her, thinking she is a monster? But yet... considering everything, I knew the truth about her already.
She is a player, and I am a player... considering it is the beginner's forest, or so I assume, and we have the double firepower we normally have, we can deal with anything that is thrown at us!
Wait...isn't that tempting fate?
Aroooo!
Yes it is.
The howl of the wolf signaled the start of the fight, and seconds later, a group of them came out of the bushes, in a pack of 4.
I shivered a bit, needless to say, I was scared. Especially since they looked quite similar to Hachi, even if somewhat weaker. But yet I was still somewhat confident about it. "Uh...they look quite scary. Do you think we can deal with it?" My untrusty steed said, nervously.
"Yep! Just do what you usually do and everything will be fine!" I added cheerfully.
Aya began to run away from the wolves, trying to go on the same direction we were in. "W-wait, what you're doing? Don't show your back to the enemy!" I shouted, as I saw the wolves running after us both. The only reply I got was a small giggle, as the wolves began to chase us. One at each side, and two right behind us, the distance between us and the group only decreasing.
A few seconds of chase, and she did something I should've seen coming: She shot web behind her, trapping two of the wolves in it. "Now it is my turn!" I replied, already having an idea how to finish them quickly: I threw a fireball at the web, causing both the webbing, and the wolves to burn together.
While we were distracted, though, the wolves attempted a pincer attack, pouncing us from both directions. Aya grinned a bit, and instead of trying to block it, she jumped over the attack, and landed on top of the two wolves.
The battle was practically won, since Aya looked like she lowered her guard, and began to inject venom in one of the wolves... or so I assume, since she was biting on it, and threw the wolf away. Afterwards, she did it the same thing to the second wolf.
You won the battle! You have leveled up! [31.5% for next level up]
Simple and easy, just the way I like it."Hmm...I expected more from them." I mumbled. They weren't so scary now... especially since I had an easier time with them than with the squirrel. I guess that's the benefits of a partner and magic, huh?
"Oh...well, Aya admits it was easier than expected." Aya said, rubbing her cheek, looking back at the scorched corpses of the wolves. "Aya means, you did kill two wolves, and normally Aya would have to deal with four, not two."
Alright, now for the biggest challenge of the day. Teach the Arachnae proper grammar as we go forward, so she speaks in a less annoying way.
This is going to be a long trip.
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Author's note:
There you go, folks! Sorry if Aya sounds a bit flat of a character! XD I need to develop her a little bit more, and I dunno how to do it. She is the hardest character for me to write about thus far. XD