Chapter Fifteen - The Grind Continued

Jaricko, Jack, and Timothy ventured further into the transformed forest. They were careful to always mark the direction they had come from with ripped-up cloth. Jack tied the strips onto the low-hanging branches with quick efficiency.

They had run into another four spiders that they dispatched in similar ways to the first. Jack and Timothy alternated who used the hair spray flamethrower, but the results ended up being the same. They both had ranked up their Body attributes, with the intention of saving up to rank it up once more.

Timothy had reasoned that if he was fast enough to not get hit, then there would be little to worry about. He would be able to get behind the spiders and use the flamethrower. In and out, quick and easy.

Jaricko had to admit it was a good idea and Jack seemed to agree. Although, Jack's reasoning was more along the lines of being strong enough to smash the spider’s head in with his metal pole.

They all agreed though that increasing their physical capabilities took paramount importance. This wasn’t a game where a person could shrug off a hit and their health points would reduce. No. It was a likely possibility that taking a wound would leave someone crippled or dead. Jaricko still thought about his near-death experience earlier this morning.

As much as Jaricko wanted to throw his essence into Spirit and Capacity, he also realized that he had to play it smart. A glass cannon build wasn’t feasible, even if he wanted to min-max his build to dish out the most amount of damage.

He did tell himself that once his Body, Mind, and Fortitude reached rank three then he would focus on his Spirit attribute. He wanted to also increase his Mind up to rank five just so he could cast his [Flickering Fire Combustion] fae without delay. He imagined spamming the magic on a horde of spiders. An evil grin tugged at the corner of his lips.

The four spiders they had slain earlier had provided a boost to his essence. None had manifested any fae so he had managed to bank a good bit of essence. He wanted to pump up one of his attributes, but he had promised to use the essence on the fae collection.

Absorbing Essence [48/71] - Juvenile Mountain Forest Arachnid [Tier 0]

Absorbing Essence [24/59] - Juvenile Mountain Forest Arachnid [Tier 0]

Absorbing Essence [31/52] - Juvenile Mountain Forest Arachnid [Tier 0]

Absorbing Essence [52/74] - Juvenile Mountain Forest Arachnid [Tier 0]

Jaricko made the connection that the maximum amount of essence a creature could hold was represented by the later number. This number also gave a good indication of how strong and fast the spider was. The arachnid with 74 essence had moved with deadly grace compared to the one with only 52 essence.

The teenager got the majority of the essence from the kill while Jack and Timothy split the rest from the corpse. It was an imperfect system, but it was the best method the trio could come up with. Jarick worried that the other two might harbor resentment as he accumulated the essence, but they seemed pacified by his promise to seal the fae they ran into.

He did tell the other two that he was going to increase his Spirit attribute in order to increase the likelihood of the combustion activating. Jaricko had been forced to cast the fae three times in the last encounter since the previous two had run their course without exploding.

Timothy would have used the modified flamethrower, but he claimed he still didn’t feel confident enough to get in close enough to hit the spiders with the flame. He had apologized repeatedly afterward, but Jaricko waved him off. The teenager didn’t care all that much. Dealing the majority of the damage netted him a large portion of the essence, which was what he wanted.

Jack and Timothy agreed with the rank increase and Jaricko pressed the plus sign next to the attribute. Within seconds he felt his soul solidify. It was as if had grown larger and denser. It was like comparing water to slushy ice. They were similar but there was a difference.

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Spirit could be compared to the intelligence stat in games. Usually, intelligence was a marker for how strong the spells casted would be. The higher the intelligence, the bigger the fireball. The same seemed to hold true in the System here.

Jaricko unconsciously flexed, getting used to the new sensation in his body, before examining his status sheet.

Status

Name: Jaricko Peterson – Tier 0 Human [4/20]

Class: Locked – Essence Required [0/10,000] (+)

Profession: Locked - Essence Required [0/1,000] (+)

Attributes

Tier 0 Mind – Rank 1 [0/50] (+)

Tier 0 Body – Rank 2 [0/100] (+)

Tier 0 Fortitude - Rank 2 [0/100] (+)

Tier 0 Spirit – Rank 2 [0/100] (+)

Tier 0 Capacity - Rank 2 [0/100] (+)

Essence: 136

Fae [2/3]

Pocket Watch Fae [Purple - Tier 0] [Spirit]

Variable Capacity cost, instant. Go back in time up to a number of minutes equal to the user’s Spirit (2). The user can interact with a summoned pocket watch to control how far back in time they wish to travel. Pocket watch construct can be adjusted to the user's preference.

Flickering Fire Combustion Fae [Red - Tier 0] [Spirit]

Medium Capacity cost, [5 - Mind (1)] second cast time. Summon a small flammable cloud of gas on a chosen area within 20ft. Every second the cloud of gas is conjured it has a 10% multiplied by the user’s Spirit (2) of exploding into flames. The cloud of gas remains for a number of seconds equal to the user’s combined attribute rank (9) or until activation.

His strength was increasing nicely and he almost couldn’t believe how different he felt. Jaricko’s appearance hadn’t changed, except for being dirtier, but his round frame hid an unorthodox strength. With even just a single increase in some of his attributes, he already felt better than in years.

The trio never strayed too far from the camp, contenting themselves to sticking on the outskirts and hunting the spiders that ventured too close.

They were currently engaged in a battle.

“Another one from behind!” Jack shouted while raising the metal pole. He had only occasionally used the flamethrower and seemed to find the weight of the solid weapon preferable to the canister. Jaricko was sure the gentle giant simply didn’t want to take away the safety Timothy found in the flames.

Jaricko cursed in his breath and readied to cast another [Flickering Fire Combustion] on the emerging spider. He heard an explosion go off to his right and took note of the notification that appeared in the corner of his vision. That was one spider down, and two more to go.

The teenager flooded the combustion fae with his mana and swung out his hands which were covered in fumes. A few seconds went by and he focused on the newly emerged arachnid which was being distracted by Jack.

“Another one!” Timothy screamed and Jaricko swore. Sweat covered his brow. This wasn’t looking good. The newest arachnid was heading directly for him.

He finished his cast of the combustion fae and then dodged to the side. He heard another explosion go off along with the agony-filled screech of a spider bathing in flames. Another notification manifested itself in the corner of his vision.

Jaricko had gotten lucky with the fae, with combustion fae had gone off in the first second which eliminated the chance of the creature moving out of the range. The gas produced by the fae was virtually unnoticeable, but that didn’t stop the bloody-thirsty killers from lunging toward their prey and leaving the range of the potential fire.

The young man dashed to the side once more as the arachnid swung its lethal claw at his chest. Jaricko couldn’t cast his flames for fear of being struck down during the casting time, in addition to the fact he would be caught in the explosion if it went off.

Mages aren’t supposed to be on the front lines!

Jaricko noticed Jack sprinting over and felt a surge of relief. The large man struck the chitin with a metallic clang, instantly drawing the monster’s attention. It hissed at him and lunged forward, attempting to lock the human in its slobbering mandibles.

“Help Tim!” Jack ordered Jaricko with desperation heavy in his voice. The young man glanced over at Timothy and his eyes widened. The boy was barely holding on and was locked in a game of cat and mouse as he narrowly evaded each strike of a spider.

“Casting on you Timothy!” Jaricko cried out while pumping the combustion fae for another round. Time seemed to slow to a crawl as Jaricko manifested the gas directly behind the spider. Three seconds passed before another explosion rocked the surroundings. The arachnid screamed as its body was blown to bits. It tried to smother the flames but soon joined its brethren in a charcoal grave.

There was only one left now.

Jaricko could feel the effects of the rapid capacity cost. His mana pool was dropping towards the lower end, and he maybe only had a single use of the combustion fae left in him. He warned the other two and the trio moved to bring down the last arachnid.

Gas covered the young man’s hands and five seconds later another boom displaced the leaves and grass. The charred corpse of the spider curled up on itself. The party let out a collective sigh of relief as the sudden ambush ended.

“That was close,” Jaricko commented while breathing in deeply. He was hunched over and trying to calm his racing heart. Blood pounded in his ears like the drums of a parade, announcing his fear to the entire forest. The encounter had been terrifying.

If they had failed at any point, Jaricko wouldn’t have been able to use the [Pocket Watch] fae due to his lacking mana. Since his depleting capacity also carried over as time reversed, he would have been in a worse state than before. The time-traveling fae had a serious drawback with how the mana he had spent already wouldn’t regenerate.

“I thought I was going to die,” Timothy admitted between clenched teeth. He had taken off his glasses and was rubbing his eyes. The boy’s short hair was scorched slightly and looked like some of it had been sheared off. Jaricko looked closer and noticed a long thin gash running down the side of the teenager’s cheek.

“We have proven that we are not easy prey,” Jack declared with a victorious smile. He seemed to be the least affected out of all of them and Jaricko envied the man’s mental fortitude. The young man ran a hand through his short hair, brushing the loose vegetation that had accumulated over the fight.

“There’s never been four before. I wonder if there’s a reason there were more here…” Jaricko wondered aloud as he scanned the area. His eyes lit up with surprise when he did find something. A little bit further, the trees opened up into a circular clearing.

Where a small chest was resting directly in the middle.