Chapter 4 – A Whole Lot of Nope
As I exited into the dungeon I was immediately assaulted by a giant spider as it dropped from the ceiling right on my face.
“AHHHHH!”
I admit it, I totally screamed like a little girl! Heck, you would too if a spider the size of a medium dog dropped on your head!
I immediately fell forward to protect my face causing me to slam once again headfirst into a wall. The spider had just bitten down on the back of my neck when it was jarred and sent flying from me with the impact of my head hitting the wall.
HISSSS!
The spider hissed in pain as it fell on its back and attempted to right itself.
I once again used the wall to right myself and get my bearings. I picked up my sword that I instinctively dropped out of fear of a giant spider landing on me. I mean you develop a healthy fear when it’s the size of a Doberman!
My neck hurt and felt like it was burning. When I pulled my hand back it was covered in a sickly green covered blood. I could feel my natural regeneration kicking in along with my Mithridate Proofing to combat the poison. I was guessing that poison was probably fatal when delivered so close to the spine.
Sword in hand I finally inspected the spider that was still on its back struggling.
Fledgling Cave Spider
Level 19
Description: Fledgling cave spiders are adolescent cave spiders still maturing. As they have gained more control over their venom their bite is less lethal than their baby brethren but not as deadly as a mature cave spider. Attacks can range from jumping, bites, piercing attacks from their sharper front legs, and shooting web attacks.
I inspected the venom in my hand.
Item: Cave Spider Venom
Rarity: Rare
Description: This poison can cause slowness up to paralysis depending on one’s Constitution. Too much injected into the bloodstream of a target can be fatal by causing the victim’s heart to stop.
Hmm, I just might have to harvest some of this stuff. Holding my bronze shortsword, my initial shock passed, my blade mastery kicked in and I thrust the blade into the softer underside of my attacker.
SQUELCH!
I heard a sickening sound as the blade met little resistance and before I knew it the cave spider was dead.
Notifications popped up in my view.
Congratulations! You have killed a level 19 Fledgling Cave Spider. 2,400 experience gained.
Congratulations! For killing an enemy 10 levels higher than your level you gain the Giant Slayer Title.
Giant Slayer Title
Description: Awarded for killing an enemy 10 levels above your own. Grants +10% stats when fighting an enemy higher level than you.
Congratulations! The first creature you killed was over 10 times your level. For accomplishing this on your first kill, the rewards are increased by a factor of 10. Experience awarded changed from 2,400 to 24,000. For achieving such a feat +50 Strength, +50 Dexterity, +50 Constitution, +50 Mind, +50 Spirit, +50 Charisma.
LEVEL UP!
LEVEL UP!
LEVEL UP!
LEVEL UP!
LEVEL UP!
LEVEL UP!
I felt a surge of power swell up within me. Immediately my wounds healed like they were never there. I felt great after nearly dying to a giant spider. I went from level 1 to level 7 from one kill!
I was on cloud nine until I turned and saw 5 more Fledgling Cave Spiders heading my way!
“NOPE!” I yelled as I ran back into the room I came from and slammed the doors shut as fast as possible.
I prepared myself for Camidon’s comments or Abaddon’s smack to the head, but nothing came. I turned for the briefest moments to see where they were and realized I was alone in the room.
“Where the heck did those guys disappear too?! I thought those doors were the only exit. Well, I will figure that out later.
I could hear the scratches on the walls outside as the Fledgling Cave Spiders arrived. I held my sword right ready for when they would begin pounding on the doors.
Yet the pounding never came. Instead, I could hear the sickening sounds of popping, clacking, and wet squelching as it dawned on me what the spiders were doing. They were cannibals and were feasting on their fallen brethren.
“Ok that makes you guys even creepier!”
I decided to take this moment to distribute my 30 free stat points. As I auto gained one in every stat but strength, I realized I could distribute my points in a way where all my stats increased by 10. This was a decent bump in stats from what I had at level 1. I did a quick confirmation and review of my status.
Name: Arch Evocatore “Arch-E”
Race: Half Elf (Dark Elf /Sea Elf)
Level: 7
Unused Stat Points: 0
Stats
Health Pool:
5,600
Mana Pool:
5,600
Stamina:
5,600
Health Regen.
560
Mana Regen.
560
Stam. Regen.
560
Strength:
310
Dexterity:
360
Constitution:
560
Mind:
560
Spirit:
560
Charisma:
310
Abilities
Talents:
Affinities:
Improved Dark Vision
200 meters
Dark Magic Affinity
100
Small Blades Mastery
Journeyman
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Death Magic Affinity
100
Triton/Staff Mastery
Journeyman
Water Magic Affinity
100
Mental Resistance
Adept
Fire Magic Affinity
100
Mithridate Proofing
Master
Air/Wind Magic Affinity
100
Elemental Resistance
Master
Blood Magic Affinity
75
Underwater Breathing
Unlimited
Earth Magic Affinity
50
Marks
Mark of Understanding
Now that my stat points are allocated, it is time to deal with those spiders. Last time I was caught off guard and wasn’t paying attention to the warning bells going off in my head as I thought they were related to Abaddon.
As quietly as I could I crept out of the room by opening the door just enough to peak my head out. Sure enough, the 5 cave spiders were still in the middle of tearing their fallen comrade to bits. I wanted to finish them off in one strike. I started channeling my spell as of course it had to be the first one I used and would be perfect to hit them all at once.
“I cast Fireball.” I said in the classic drone tone that my friends and I used as our inside joke.
However, my fireball was no joke especially after channeling it for several seconds. When the spell detonated, I realized my mistake, big explosion, small, enclosed area! I was immediately blown back to slam into another wall once again. This time blissful unconsciousness took me.
I awoke only a few moments later and sprang to my feet when I saw both doors wide open. “Thank God for such a hard head! Thank you, high Constitution!” I said as I surprisingly rose to my feet without any problems.
“You know I wonder how much I’m getting in my own way. I’m not allowing myself to think and react like I have these higher stats. Instead, I’m reacting to old instincts and that is not going to lead to my survival. If those spiders are any indication, it is a kill or be killed world out there.”
I slapped my checks a couple times and said, “Alright Arch-E time to get it together and kick some monster butt!”
I once again collected my sword and readied an Ice Lance as I approached the exit to the room once again.
As I exited, I saw the aftermath of my Fireball. There was a rather large hole in the opposite wall and there were scorch marks and bits of cave spider all over the place.
“Well, I guess that was a bit of overkill. Don’t think there is much to loot too. Damn! Oh well I doubt those are the last cave spiders I will encounter.” I said as I finished scanning the area for any salvageable materials.
It appeared I was at the end of a tunnel. With only one was to go I cautiously strode forward, sword in one hand and Ice Lance readied in the other.
As I walked, this time I paid attention to the ceiling. There were no lights so having this Improved Dark Vision really was coming in handy. I spotted some movement on the ceiling about 50 feet ahead of me. Yes, I know I used feet, but I’m an Italian American, I am still getting used to the Metric System. So that would translate to over 15 meters in front of me.
After my internal dialogue about the pluses and minuses of the Metric System, I cast my Ice Lance. I had been channeling it for a while now, so it was more of a large ice spike than a lance. It went right through the Fledgling Cave Spider and pinned it to the ceiling. It did not take long for it to die from such damage.
I dismissed my spell and the dead spider fell to the ground. I immediately approached, still being cautious of my surroundings. The body of the spider was pretty much mincemeat, but the head was still intact, so I was able to extract both mandibles with a couple quick yanks.
“Man, I am strong. Those things broke like toothpicks.” I said as I stored the broken mandibles in my bag of holding as I figured the poison, they contained would be useful.
Hearing some faint noises up ahead that sounds eerily familiar. I grabbed the remains of the dead cave spider and chucked it as far as I could down the tunnel.
SMASH!
CRACK! CRACK! CRACK!
Again, not realizing my own strength the thing flew like a gore-nado and whatever it hit did not survive.
As I approached, I saw a turn in the wall and three cave spiders severely damaged, legs still twitching.
“Well, that is convenient.” I said as I put the three spiders out of their misery.
Once again, I looted what I could from them. I realized a fourth cave spider was just stunned not even a meter away from the carnage. It looked like part of the debris had brained the little guy.
I decided to use him as an experiment. I cast Ice Wall but focused it to slowly form around the spider raising it in the air and locking it in place. I then applied more intense cold until I got the notification that the spider had died from the cold damage.
I slowly dispersed my spell allowing the corpse to slowly be lowered to the ground. I then used Produce Flame to thaw the corpse, so it wasn’t a popsicle. That done I finally got to use a spell I was looking forward to using, Raise Dead.
Dark tendrils exploded from my outstretched hand and wrapped around the dead cave spider. Soon the spider began to twitch, and it slowly rose to its feet. I suddenly could sense what it sensed as if I had an extra sensory organ. I felt a small tether to the creature and knew without a doubt it would do as I instructed.
“ITS ALIVE! ITS ALIVE! HAHAHA!” I laughed maniacally at my internal Frankenstein joke.
My new undead minion just stared at me waiting for orders.
“You may not get it little guy, but it was hilarious.” I said to my undead minion.
Of course, not getting a response I decided to drop the whole subject and resume my experiments.
I tested how far it could go as I sent it back the way I came, and it seemed to be able to make it all the way back to the summoning chamber but when it did, I felt the tether very tight and on the brink of snapping.
“Hmmm, either that is my limit or that is my limit right now and I just need to practice with it.” I said to myself as I told my minion to return to my side.
Once my minion returned, I sent it into my Summoning Realm and Recalled it to bring it back out again. Both of those experiments successfully conducted I felt more comfortable. With a mental command to my minion, I told it to guard me while I looked at what options existed for me right now when it came to Summons.
Opening my menu and selecting Summons I saw only a few options.
Summon Undead Skeleton
Summon Undead Abomination (Corpses required)
Summon Champion (Not Available)
Summon Cave Spider (New)
Summon Undead Skeleton was straightforward. It would use my mana to construct a simple undead skeleton.
Summon Undead Abomination was interesting as it allowed me to pull from various corpses around to create something much more deadly. Seeing how there were only remnants of spiders I did not think that one would be very useful.
Summon Champion was very interesting as it would allow me to a wide ping across multiple planes of existence to find someone of great power to come serve as my champion. Sad thing was the fact that it was unavailable until I left the dungeon.
The last item was Summon Cave Spider. Apparently, after killing 10 Cave Spiders I was attuned enough to be able to either summon one from another realm or reach out to one close by and entreat with it to form a contract.
This last option seemed like the best option as I imagined a live spider was more useful than a dead one when it came to poisons. Having a few cave spiders of my own seemed to be a good idea, especially as they had no qualms about eating their own kind.
Before I decided to summon the spiders, I felt it would be a good idea to have some undead skeletons at my beck and call. I mentally triggered the Summon Undead Skeleton ability and a black portal opened in front of me and as it shrunk it seemed to turn into a humanoid shape until it faded leaving one skeleton standing there and I felt another tether connect in my mind.
“Excellent! Time to repeat that process.”
Which is just what I did. I summoned four more skeletons, giving me a total of five undead skeletons and one undead cave spider. They each came with a simple wooden club; it wasn’t much but it was something. Even with a total of six undead at my command, I barely felt the mana drain, and hardly felt anything mentally.
After a mental command to my undead to surround and protect me, I began to summon my first spider. As the dark portal formed, I fed it more mana in the hope to appease a larger cave spider. I kept feeding it mana and the portal began to increase in size, going from the size and height of a small dog to now the size of a very large dog or shorter human.
Then I felt my call being answered and large spider legs started to exit the portal. More legs began to show themselves until a spider head almost the size of my torso exited the portal. Once the cave spider fully exited the portal a window appeared in my vision.
Adolescent Cave Spider Queen has heard your summons. She requires mana and meat to be fed to her on a regular basis to help her grow in power. Do you wish to form a contract with Adolescent Cave Spider Queen? Yes, or No?
I mentally activated my Form Contract ability and selected Yes.
A new window popped up in my vision.
You are attempting to form a contract with Adolescent Cave Spider Queen. What do you offer?
There were different options from just mana to food or mental connections to gain access to some of my mental capacity. It was rather interesting, as it was like a gaming trade system. I put in what I offered and how much and could then select what I expected in return. What I asked for in return could be temporary or for life or until cancelled. I could ask for more than just protection but growing my empire, funny that was even an option, or just kill my enemies.
For fun and a bit of experimentation I offered a decent amount of mana, access to some of my mental stats, and regular food. In return she had to pledge unending loyalty and kill all my enemies I chose and assist me in any way I saw fit. So, in other words, I kept her fed and helped her grow and in turn she was my personal killing machine. Pretty good deal in my book so I mentally sent her the contract.
I would have to say that was the weirdest part of the whole process. My Form Contract ability gave me insight into their thoughts and emotions. The Adolescent Cave Spider Queen was struggling to understand everything that was offered with her current mental capacity. She recognized my strength and knew she did not wish to cross me, to her I was definitely not prey, which was a relief. She also understood the promise of food and killing my enemies as those concepts were easy for her to understand.
What she seemed to be struggling with was the offer of mental increases and mana to help me grow. In the end, she figured it was like growing a brood and that she could understand so she too mentally selected yes.
The moment she did I felt the contract take hold and a tether bigger and stronger than I had felt yet took hold. I could feel a presence in a part of my mind very different than my undead. I decided to speak to her mentally and verbally.
“Hello. What do I call you?”
“What...what is... this? I... understand the... intent?... yes, the intent behind your words.” The queen replied, seeming to grow more confident as she spoke in my mind.
“I understand now. This is what you promised, yes?” She said in my mind.
“Yes. I figured it would be easier for us to communicate and understand each other.” I replied.
“You are wise master. I did not understand what you were offering until now. This will make me far deadlier faster. It takes many years... decades, yes that is the word, for a queen to gain such mental capacity.” She went on.
“You are welcome. What do you want me to call you?” I asked.
“You are my master now. You should decide my name.” She answered.
“Hmmm, you have some light pink around the top of your head.” I commented.
“Yes, it is a sign of being a queen. It can be a death sentence if a young spider queen does not escape before the pink fur shows itself.” She replied.
“Seems like a bad color choice for a cave spider.” I mentioned.
“Yes, it can be, but it is a small patch of fur, and we usually cover it with dirt to mask it both to better hunt our prey and hide our true nature from rivals until we are strong enough. That is part of why I heeded your call, if I had not and elder queen would have surely ended my existence.” She explained.
“Wow you really got chatty once you got going. Hmmm, how about Pinkoria or Pinky for short. You are still learning, you are a bit chatty, and are kind of like my sidekick, so why not.” I said.
“Yes! Pinkoria is a regal name, master! It shall strike fear in the hearts of our enemies before we devour their flesh!” Pinkoria said excitedly.
“Yea, sure, let’s go with that.” I answered, a bit unsure about the devouring flesh statement. ‘Then again she is a giant spider.’ I thought, making sure to keep my internal thoughts to myself to separate out what Pinkoria heard to ensure my own thoughts were mine alone when I wanted them to be.
That was when I really noticed the difference between a summons and my undead. It was clear why necromancers were far more common than summoners, the drain from a living summon was far more than any undead.
While in my own thoughts about ratios between undead and how many summons I could handle, Pinkoria spoke up. “Tell me master, what shall we do now?”
I laughed at how perfectly her name fit before answering. “Same thing we do every night Pinky, take over the world! Hahaha!”