“Yes!” I tucked the final glowing potion in my bag. We have spent the last few days undisturbed by the servants at my tower, so I took it upon myself to work on preparations for my Spider Den invasion. Frampton revealed that the trail east from the goblin’s destroyed village led directly to it through a lot of rare Magic Wood. “The room might be a mess, Attor, but look!”
Attor groaned, then retreated back into my core.
“You didn’t even look at my bags!” I held one up. Inside of it, portals leading to various potions sparkled.
— Leather Bag of Minor Holding:
5 Tier 0 Potions of Minor Healing
5 Tier 0 Potions of Minor Agility
5 Tier 0 Potions of Minor Energy
5 Tier 1 Explosive Vials
5 Tier 1 Explosive Vials
After splashing myself repeatedly for the better half of the day, I increased my Brewing Skill’s rank from F to D by crafting these beautiful things. I traveled back to the river and headed towards my new goal: To acquire more of those exploding Fireshrooms and other ingredients to make even more bombs. The Minor Energy Potion refreshed my Spell Pages, but only two smaller ones, and the Minor Agility increased my speed as well as letting me jump higher. I hunted alone mostly, due to Attor being lazy. Dragons apparently rest a lot!
I crafted two Leather Bags of Minor holding, with a couple of Uncommon Bloody Horn Daggers inside of it and food I managed to increase my Crafting Rank to D as well. I left them at home, though, since I could not carry that many things. My Martial Arts Skill was more than enough to get me anywhere. Things in this Human Realm were going well, except for a few things: There were not many Blood Horned Hares left roaming in the area. Maybe I scared them away, but I had no Title associated with them. Hey, what's that smell? My hand suddenly melted off! I forgot I was in the Giant Fireshroom’s cave! The Fireshroom’s cap bulged and its stem convulsed violently before belching out a cloud of fire that engulfed my vision.
—HP: 0%
—Charlotte, level 1
—Class: Human Witch [Rare]
HP: 540/540
Spell pages: Full
Stamina: 100%
Stats (100 Unused Stat Points)
I nervously looked at Attor, who was giving me a menacing glare. The other issue: Our experience points were constantly at level 1. We still had our Skill Points and Stats Points. I also seemed to keep my Stats the same, but I forgot what they were at level 4 because I died a lot! What was the point of losing those points if I still keep the Stats? The bursting flames from the Giant Fireshroom I discovered nights ago caused me to lose my experience points in various ways over and over again, but suddenly a glorious chime played in my head. Wisdom’s voice reminded me why I was in here melting to death in the first place.
— Passive Skill Fire Element Nullification [Legendary] unlocked.
This will prove helpful, I swear! I reasoned with him as I stored several of the Tier 1 Fireshrooms in my bag. They no longer burned my hand when I grabbed them, giving me the satisfaction of waving them back at the spirit dragon’s face. I could handle the smaller Tier 0 Fireshrooms without the Passive Skill and even use them for brewing various combustible potions, but the Tier 1 Explosive Vial had more firepower. When I crafted several, the cauldron exploded and I am ashamed to say it, but my level went back down to 1. Now, I needed a witch hat and a new cauldron for Brewing. My clothes situation was not looking good either. Oh well! I have the Fire Nullification I need. Besides, There is quite a lot of fire in the Demon Realms. Now, onward! I grinned. The Giant Frostshroom was next, much to his chagrin.
After dying all day to both the Frostshrooms and Fireshrooms, I now had full immunity to both of the Ice and Fire elements. And the fiery Explosive Vials will help in my conquest of the spiders.
We shall travel there by day and at night, we strike them when they wake up! My plan is masterful! I quickly made my way through the same path I was carried by cage, using Attor as my guide and aid from three of the Agility Potions. I needed to save the last two for battle. There was no sign of goblins anywhere, only the rare ones hiding in small dugouts off these beaten paths. They scurried away the moment I passed by, which was a shame since I could cook them for another Goblin Feast. As I traveled closer, the stench of their destroyed village clogged my nostrils.
There had to be a few things to scavenge here somewhere! The stage they were going to sacrifice me was a crater, and the painted huts were crumbled heaps of melted ash. I peeled a heap of broken metal off a wooden plank, but it was no use. The Transmutation Skill’s rank was not high enough to alter this scrap. No matter! I stared down the web filled trail leading to the Spider den.
— Wisdom’s Intervention activated: Danger Identified. Skill: Sharp Spider Webs. Capable of slicing flesh upon light contact.
I shuddered. Not only are they nasty bugs, they’re also cable of using Skills? Monsters of this Realm are magnificent!
“Well, perhaps we should go a different way,” Attor suggested. “I know of an opening that’s closer to the den.”
“Yeah, let’s go that way!”
The dragon spirit floated off towards the alternate route, while I scanned the woods. If it all failed and I was too weak, I could attempt to steal a branch of magic wood and retreat. I needed a wand. Half my Class required it!
“We’ve arrived,” Attor pointed towards the Spider den. I cringed. The opening would be relatively easy to travel if I had wings! It was as wide as the Goblin’s village! However, I did not have the ability to fly and traveling on foot meant I would have several large burrows, fallen logs and craters embedded in the ground to watch out for. “Simple way to get there.”
Simple, right? I glared at Attor. He reclined on his back in midair and taunted me. I crossed my arms and gave him the meanest glare I could. Has getting smaller made you sassier?
There were more trees with white bark outlining forest’s entrance. Were those trees the Magic Wood I needed? I breathed in and out, before reaching a conclusion: Nope! I’m out! Time to go back to the Tower! Before I could turn, my legs buckled and dirt splotched my face. An earthquake? No, whoever made the holes was arriving from underground. despite the overwhelming noise crushing my ears, I heard Wisdom’s voice.
— Wisdom’s Intervention activated. Danger alert! Seek higher ground to avoid lethal damage.
I scanned around the shifting ground. This place was flat and sinking! What do you mean, higher ground, Wisdom? I stared at Attor’s chuckling spirit and scowled. If that’s how you want to play, you get to suffer with me, too!
“Come to me, O Familiar!” I activated the Summon Familiar Skill. Attor’s shocked face formed right in front of me. How do you like that? Now you get to die with me! My leg nearly bent into a snag of fallen branches, but I caught the protesting Dragon in my arms and prepared another Skill. “Skill: Martial Arts. Throw! Git, you lazy dragon!”
I hurled Attor high in the sky and jumped after him. His little wings flapped as he soared and I latched onto his leg. Luckily, the Agility Potion’s boost was enough to launch me high enough to latch onto him. It was wearing off, so I had to make this quick. I looked down as I dangled, feeling woozy but the view of a fearsome fanged maw crushing the entire field. The view of both of its front legs crawled to the surface, and the Monster Spider emerged.
— Spider Queen, level ???
HP: 60%
Yeah, thank you Status for telling me what I probably already know! I closed the window. What was she even doing out on the surface and why was she damaged? Getting some sunshine? The Spider Queen was a walking calamity, right? The Humans will definitely try to kill this thing if I don’t get it first! I nearly let go of Attor as we flew. The leather bags strapped to my waist had the bombs I needed for this thing.
“Going to fall!” Attor barked at me.
“What?” I stared down and shrieked. “How did we even get this high!?”
I stared up at him, but my vision got stung by the sun peaking through his flapping wings. I made out a translucent window floating on him though, with a bar containing a depleting number.
— Skill: Greater Flight. Time: 4 seconds.
This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.
The timer fell to zero, and Attor’s leg shook me off. It was do or die! I guess I could die over and over, but I only had one shot at this. Attor vanished inside my chest, leaving me completely alone and rapidly crashing down towards the spider’s furry backside. That thing was the size of a mountain! I remembered crushing one of those in the Demon Realm with my tail.
“A mere mountain of an insect beast won’t stop me! Skill: Martial Arts!” I hurled the Explosive Vials down at the Spider Queen. Tail or not, I will break you apart! “First form: Punch!”
— Skill: Martial Arts [Common] [S Rank] activated. Attack rating with unarmed strikes increased to S Rank.
— Charlotte’s attack is temporarily S Rank. (1200/1200)
The shining bottles glistened in a fiery trail, landing squarely in her middle section and let off a boom. Take that! The explosions were glorious! Like Hellfire erupting from the grounds of the Demon Realm, the blazing plumes were hot when I streaked through them but they did not affect me. My own fists were even brighter!
I crushed through biting bristles and tough metallic carapace, but I knew my boosted S Rank attack savage strikes would pierce its whole body. In a flash, I landed in darkness with no sensation but the spider’s screeching, slowly fading in my temples. Well, I was probably going to get eaten by spiders endlessly, or my explosive gambit would pay off.
—HP: 0%
Sounds about right, I scratched my head. The bloody jelly slicked off my skin as it usually did and evaporated into a hissing black mist without a trace; I noticed my experience points dropped to zero yet again. The sun pierced the darkness in a ray of light, and my hands felt dirt clumped in between my grip. I was in a crater of my own making, I groaned. Attor? I called for the dragon, but he wasn’t answering. Did he not make it into my chest on time? Before I could move my limbs, the ray suddenly widened, as the snapping of trees crunched like someone chewing loudly in my ears. No, it was flesh!
Sticky substance bled all over me as I stared up at the halves of the spiders split apart. The earth rumbled as the castle sized Queen collapsed. Acid? I watched the shaking liquid smear across my clothes, dissolving anything it touched. Why was it not affecting me?
— Charlotte has defeated Forbidden Burrow’s Boss, the Spider Queen!
— Charlotte has gained 10000 experience points!
— Charlotte has leveled up to 11! 500 Stat Points have been awarded! 2000 Skill Points have been awarded! 2 Spell Pages have been added!
— Attor has gained 10000 experience points!
— Attor has leveled up to 10! 500 Stat Points have been awarded! 2000 Skill Points have been awarded!
I sat up and tore through the dirt and prepared to fight. My jaw dropped. The Spider Queen’s towering form blew up from the inside, bathing the landscape in its bloody remains. This place was a wasteland, now! I chuckled, but burst out into a full laughter. Take that, you stupid Boss! I am the Boss now! I pumped my fists in the air triumphantly. Yeah!
“I’m level 11 now,” I said to Attor. “With a whole host of new abilities and points to use! I bet you could max out that Greater Flight Skill, huh Attor!”
I chuckled, but it was quiet. Too quiet. The Spider Queen’s remains were quite soft, despite being destroyed by my Explosive Vials and dive bomb punch from earlier. At least, this part of her was. I probably could check my Status and try to see what happened to Attor.
— Charlotte, level 11
— Class: Human Witch [Rare]
HP: 720/720
Spell Pages: 5/7
— Stats (650 Stat Points)
— Skills (2800 Skill Points)[3 Unlocked]
— Passive Skills [1 Unlocked]
— Spell Book [4 Unlocked]
No time to check! My senses went on high alert. A small pattering tickled my ears, quickly turning into a thunderous stampede. The Queen’s army was upon me! I reached for my bags to grab the final Agility Potion and run for it, but my hands smacked my bare hip. I must have lost them on the way down. Thousands of spiders skittered towards me from every direction, each as large as a tree stump or barrel with many being much larger.
A crowd of fuzzy butts! I looked at the skittering waves in awe, but realized they were not attacking me. One approached me, blocking out the moon behind it. Its eight eyes looked down upon me, and I barely reached its fangs in height.
“Eheh, what large and scary pincers you have!” I backed away nervously, but my back bumped into the wet Spider Queen’s corpse. The chittering thing’s fangs tapped together, and then thumped the ground several times with its front leg. Communication?
— Giant Spider, level 20
— Class: Spider Warrior [Uncommon]
HP: 100%
Mana Pool: N/A
Stamina: 40%
Skills
Sharp Claw [Common]
Builder [Common]
Martial Arts [Common]
“Why can I see this much stuff on you?” I asked no one in particular. “Was it because I leveled up?”
“Please, we are hungry,” a voice came from behind my ear. When I glanced over the spider army, I noticed their lack of stamina. “Let us feast.”
The Giant Spider tapped the ground again, expectantly. I noticed its ruby-like eyes were not focused on me, but the corpse behind me. They eat their queen when she’s dead? That’s pretty hardcore!
“O-Oh, please. Go on ahead,” I told the mysterious voice and stepped out of the way. “Wait, who are you?”
I felt something tap my shoulder as the spiders started feeding on their dead Queen. For some reason, I couldn’t watch them rip and tear her to shreds, so I looked over and yelped in surprise. A tiny spider was sitting on my shoulder! Why am I giving them commands? They should be eating me right about now! Is it because I would hardly make a meal?
— Wisdom’s Intervention activated. Passive Skill “Brood Mother” [Ancient] has been transferred to you. (Slayed the Forbidden Burrows Boss)
— Title: Spider Queen acquired. Defeated the Forbidden Burrows Boss.
Really? That would make me their mother? The fight was quick and flashy, but I am not complaining! A cheating ambush on an unsuspecting hill sized Spider Queen was good enough for me! Besides, this whole Status was a cheat for humans. Now, it’s my turn! I stopped complaining in my head. An army of these Spiders could prove useful, I grinned. The diminutive white spider on my shoulder looked at me with its tiny eyes, but I could not tell what it was thinking. It was cute, in an odd way.
“Do you have food for me?” It asked me with a squeak.
“Do you not eat… that?” I pointed at the massive carcass. The small spider shook its body, but I could tell it meant that it was unable to. “I don’t have any food on me.”
I lost everything fighting your mother! I wanted to tell it, but I feared it would only get sadder if I broke the news to it. Instead, it simply remained content sitting on my shoulder. There were a lot of things that I had to go over in my Status and the crowd of spiders eating blocked my escape so I figured I had time to check it now.
I had enough to max two Skills out, but for now I will save those. I stared at the Stat points. On the other hand, I could probably use these 650 points. Would I lose the Stats if I died? If that is the case, then them could be risky. Oh, decisions, decisions! Let’s do it anyways! The Charlotte from the future shall deal with my consequences! I liked that surge of power I felt with S Ranked attack. So I’ll work towards it! And I’ll dump the rest of my points into Magic Attack. Go Stat points! Make me stronger!
Stats
— Attack: A (700/1200) [Used Stat points to Promote this Stat]
— Magic: B (500/700) [Used Stat points to Promote this Stat 320->500]
— Defense: F (70/120)
— Magic Defense: C (360/500)
Whoa! Since when did I have B rank Attack already? That was an easy A rank, I guess. I looked at my fists which still seemed small. Keeping my strength hidden would be smart, right? Especially if there’s an order for me to die, I can’t let them know that I’m a real threat! This power must have been grown from my level up after defeating the Boss. My Health has also doubled as well. Things were looking really good! A tough pad of a Giant Spider’s foot tapped the ground, snapping me out of my Status. Oh my! The sea of fuzzy butts were all watching me! Instead of nervousness, my stomach growled. Not helping!
“We will take care of you, Your Majesty,” the tiny spider chirped. Majesty? That’s a new thing I’ve been called and I like it! The Giant Spider scooped me up and soon I was traveling along the waves of fuzzy butts. I felt like I was being carried away to be sacrificed again. One last resort before I get thrown in the dark burrows! “Skill: Summon Familiar! Come to me, O Familiar!”
— Wisdom’s Intervention activated. Skill: Summon Familiar is on cooldown. Time left: 1 Day.
Gah! He died? The notification said he leveled up with me, though! I shrieked as the ride got bumpier and the night sky blotted out as we descended into the burrow’s maw. The thumping chorus was enough to make me sick, but my eyes adjusted to the darkness and I was able to see webs and various tunnels leading everywhere. These guys must have their network spread far across this forest, I mused.
I assumed I had a Passive Skill that grants me immunity to Acid, since I should have melted by now. I checked the List and narrowly avoided bumping my head into a white dangling sac. The Legendary Passive Skill, Acid Nullification was added, apparently acquired from slaying the former Spider Queen. What do these ranks mean, truly? If it was going by how many individuals have the skill, then judging by how powerful being immune to these forms of damage then Legendary had to be the most powerful rank, right Wisdom? No chime sounded to confirm this. Did I lose signal down here? The spiders ceased their march and I found they carried me into an enormous chamber. Large egg sacs bubbled out of the walls and vibrated as the babies inside undulated like waves beneath their translucent yellow barriers. In the center of the cavern far below us rested a massive webbed chamber.
“I hope you guys don’t expect me to lay eggs,” I told the little spider. The cute creature waved to me. I wanted to hug it, but I would probably crush it! Should I name it instead? Something skittered on the roof of the cavern, screeching and hissing as it descended before me.
— Weaver Spider, level 30
—Class: Spider Artisan [Rare]
Whoa, this Spider was definitely tougher than even the Warriors! It studied me for a moment, before making clicking noises with its fangs. The tiny spider spoke back in the same language. I’m the Spider Queen, I sulked. And I don’t even know Spider language?! Gah!
The Weaver Spider raised its front legs and webs started forming from thin air. A Skill? Before I could dodge, the spider launched it at me and I was suddenly swinging in the air from its legs. I careened through the air and suddenly the Weaver Spider masterfully released its Skill along with me in it. I screamed as I flung, but my face crashed into a soft fuzzy butt. The Warrior Spider shook me off and I crashed into a face full of sticky webs.
“Pah!” I sputtered, flailing as the webs stuck to my face. They suddenly started to become untangled and I felt the tiny spider crawling along my face picking the strands off. Larger thumps came from the ceiling and the ugly brute who threw me was inches away from my face. I shrieked. “Don’t you have any concept of personal bubbles?!”
The Weaver Spider began chanting something again. What are you saying? I stared at its gross maw. A chime kept ringing in my head. Okay! I get it Wisdom! I’ll open the alert up!
— Wisdom’s Intervention activated: Spider Queen [Legendary] Title has been acquired.
Is this your way of telling me to use it? Fine, I’ll equip it!
“…Your Majesty.”
Wait, they were actually talking to me? I glanced at the Weaver Spider and looked at where its pincers were aiming at. Three distinct patterned Spiders awaited me by an entrance diving deeper inside this towering ball of webs. I gulped as the tiny spider freed me from the mess I landed in.
“Go on! Go on, My Queen!” It cheered. I felt its spiny legs creep rapidly up my arm. Very well, then. If I had sleeves, I would roll them up! Only one way forward!