Chapter 209

Tom peered out of the eyes of the person he was in. All of his senses and instincts were focused on absorbing as much information as possible. This was not a dream whose existence was one he had prompted it was occurring because it had the potential to benefit him greatly. Every clue was important. The timing, the context, the location, all of it mattered.

Location was confirmed practically instantly. The person, a man, was standing on the floor of what was almost certainly part of the canyon that they were travelling through. However, it was not a place they had already explored.

He was looking down a long straight section. It was an area Tom had not seen before. It stretched out ahead of him and he estimated the furthest feature was over twenty kilometres from the vantage point. That sort of distance was further than most lines of sight on the surface. The canyon walls seemed to close as they receded, but it was obvious it was an optical illusion caused by the distance. The canyon, twenty kilometres away would be just as wide as it was everywhere else. Other features stood out, about six kilometres away. The floor glowed orange and he could see the individual rivers of lava.

He regarded the section with annoyance. The magma monsters had been particularly aggressive and annoying when they had been crossing. He guessed that was because very little food attempted to cross it these days. This area was a dead end since the bridge had been destroyed. The person glanced to the left and Tom mentally gaped in amazement.

He was looking at a river that cut down through the middle of the canyon until it curled around the edge of the lava field effectively hemming it in. Tom would have expected the lava to be flowing into the water, but only a small amount of steam was rising, which suggested that the lava was probably not interacting in any meaningful way.

Tom got impressions of the monsters that lurked in the river’s depths. If you couldn’t fly, there was no crossing it. Beyond the river there was a narrow strip of land that even now some giant twelve legged elephant like creatures were walking along that safe realestate. Despite the power in those eight animals, they were not at risk, or at least his charges weren’t. There was no way the monsters could cross the river.

The mind he was in did not see them as a true threat more something that if it came to a fight, he wouldn’t be able to guarantee the safety of the annoyances he was escorting.

The head swung further and Tom’s amazement grew. If he was there in person, Tom’s chin would have fallen open. They were standing in a literal corner. The canyon took a hard ninety-degree turn and stretched out into the distance. There was only about ten kilometres of visibility before the natural curve of the canyon broke the line of sight. It was still impressive.

Tom, of course, had known that the circular had to turn at some point because how else could the monsters migrate around in a perpetual circle? Still, he had been expecting a gradual arc and not this majestic corner. Logic, at least in terms of geography and common sense, did not apply. The spot he stood in was from an alien universe or a GOD driven design decision.

The person did not move his head, but he had been using his eyes to focus in one direction at the expense of everything else. He dropped the ability. Instantly Tom could see almost three hundred and sixty degrees. There was another surprise. It should not have shocked him, because the earlier thoughts had alluded to this outcome. But there was a difference between a passing reference to charges and actually seeing them.

There were fifteen aliens arranged next to him. The closest analogy to them was monkeys. Furry, two arms and legs and a tail but that is where the similarities ended. Their face was partially covered by the eyes. They stretched out in a band that started at where a human’s mouth would have been and then extended in a line all the way past the ears. He didn’t count, but he estimated there were about a dozen of them, black pebbles that absorbed the light that hit them. Though in a couple of them, there was a scar instead of an eye, a result of some previous mishap, maybe.

Most wore helmets that covered everything but the eyes. However, two were helmetless, and they had what had to be a mouth on top of each of their heads. It was weird. Giant lips that stretched across the entire cranium and ran down to where human ears were positioned. It was easy enough to imagine after fighting the goats how wide that mouth would be capable of opening. Then finally there was the tail. It was normal till it split two-thirds of the way down three times in quick succession to leave eight human forearm lengths of tentacles, sort of like a cat o’nine tail whip.

Mentally, he shivered at what he was seeing. He had fought monsters, creatures so alien that they were no longer revolting. It did not matter how many tentacles, mouths, ravenous holes a creature possessed or the blood, slime, crap that leaked out of them at some point a monster became a challenge to overcome. These natives, instead of presenting as a problem piece stirred something visceral deep within him. They were close to earth norms but also completely different and he couldn’t easily shuffle them off as creatures to be killed.

They were more. They seemed to threaten his very identity. Tom knew it was the similarities. If something was completely alien, it could be dismissed. However, if it was like them, but different… The uncanny valley effect occurring in real life, it creeped him out.

The mind he was in didn’t care about his charges. It focused its attention on a barely visible cave beyond them. The young ones with him were unimportant. They were no better than mildly useful servants, but he had been instructed to show them the way, so he was here.

“Can you describe the route to us?”

The person he was in recoiled mentally, but no tells crossed his features. His tail didn’t even twist in response to the rudeness. Internally, he wished bad luck upon all those gathered. He couldn’t believe the nerve of the pup to address him like this. Yes, he was from the litter of the Ratoga class, but he had proven nothing personally. “There are a thousand ways to the surface. Follow this tunnel and you’ll get there.”

“Are their turns we need…”

“You’re not listening.”

The arrogant questioner’s tail flinched in agitation.

“There are thousands of ways,” he repeated, enunciating each word. “And they change. There are deadfalls and active mining by the critters up there.”

“How strong?”

“Weak.” Then the person he was in studied the group. “I mean about your strength,” he corrected.

The dream ended abruptly. Tom immediately cursed himself for not delving deeper into the absolute rank the ones going up to the surface had possessed. Tom racked his mind for any contextual clues that might reveal their rank, but couldn’t find any.

Disappointed at himself. He reviewed everything else he had seen.

The dream had shown a way to get back above ground. Tom knew he would recognise the general area when he reached it. The geography, after all, was unmistakable. Then when he got there he had to enter via the lava fields and avoid the river. After that, Tom focused on the local details of the cave. The corner was not some nice right angle instead it had been a general curve, and the entrance had been at the start of the curve, just up from the lava field.

The rock wall had possessed no noteworthy features. No, that wasn’t right. The ground had been black. A section of discoloured rock that was about thirty metres square. That was something they could recognise. Tom focused on that significant feature and memorised it. With that, he would be able to find the place.

Happy with the outcome of the second dream, if not the first, he drifted off into normal sleep once more.

Something touched his shoulder, and he leapt to his feet. Lightning crackled in his fists and he was ready to strike out.

Michael was laughing at him. “Almost every time.”

“We need to get a Tom poking stick.” Rahmat declared. “One of these days someones going to get hurt.”

Tom calmed his heartbeat. “Whatever.”

The healer handed him some porridge.

Tom took it his head still focused on what he had experienced. Caffeine Jolt went through him to wake him up fully. Two dreams in one sleep were too exhausting.

Michael put a concerned hand on his shoulder. “Tom, what’s up? You’re not yourself.”

“I saw another competition race.”

“And?” the healer asked immediately.

“They weren’t a terror race, if that’s the question. The opposite, in fact. Almost too holy for the world.” Tom trailed off in silence as he thought of the dream.

“And?”

“Their God is forcing them to enter the trial too.”

“Seems to be a common theme.” Michael said next to him.

Tom took a mouthful of food chewed and swallowed quickly. “And then there was a second dream which showed me the way out of the underground.”

“Where? how far?” Keikain asked immediately.

“I honestly don’t know, but I’ll recognise it when we reach it. The surroundings are very distinctive.”

“And the sapient you viewed the dream through?” Michael asked. “Are they a threat?”

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Tom shook his head. “I got the impression the dream was old. Weeks, months, years it is hard to say, but it could be any.”

“Small mercies.” Michael muttered.

Tom finished his food and took stock of the situation. Jingyi had not been there when he had woken up. Everything else in the cave had already been packed away and Thor had folded up and prepared his sleeping gear. The moment Tom put the bowl down he was not at all surprised when Everlyn stood and led them back toward the canyon.

Once more, they went from the natural caves to the smooth circular tunnel. Ahead of him, Everlyn froze and then retreated to them.

“Our way down is blocked by a dohunter cave spider.”

Tom knew instantly that Everlyn was suppressing the sound so that the spider would not hear them.

“What? How’s Jingyi?” Michael asked immediately.

“It must have moved into position once he had got past. I got confirmation that he reached the canyon.” Everlyn clarified, sounding annoyed with the doubtful looks sent her way.

“A dohunter cave spider? I’m not familiar with that name.” Tom said. “Can we fight it?”

“We should be able to. It’s venomous, but the venom is slow acting. In terms of the coming battle, it won’t be a factor. Afterwards, sure, it’s usually a death sentence, but Michael’s evolved skills can counter it.”

“But?” Tom prompted, recognising the manner she was talking. The sort of hesitation before giving the bad news.

“It’s fast. Really quick. It will be a miracle if you’re not bitten.”

“But you think we can do it?”

She shrugged. “I don’t think there is any real chance of anyone dying unless your taunt fails. I think providing Michael survives there’s no risk of you personally dying. But Tom, my cooldowns are gone. There’s no backup. You need to keep it under control.”

“How far down is it.”

“Fifty metres where the second tunnel intersects with this one. It’s waiting on the ceiling.”

“Why now? Is it here randomly or?”

“Not randomly. I’m sure it sensed Jingyi going past, so it’s lying in wait for him to come back or for others to follow him.”

“Are they that smart.”

Everlyn laughed uproariously.

Clare winced at the noise and pointed down the tunnel. “Aren’t you worried about the spider hearing?” she whispered.

“No,” Everlyn answered him. “Not at all. It won’t leave its ambush spot. Plus, I’m suppressing the sound. You guys keep whispering as sometimes it’s a challenge with you. But anything I generate is ridiculously easy for me to suppress. As for the spider being smart.” She shook her head vigorously. “It’s an animal with cunning instincts. There is no intelligence anywhere.”

“I know.” Tom acknowledged, and then slowly walked down the corridor. His eyes were fixed upon the very clear intersection where he knew the monster lay. It would launch its ambush with immense speed and power. He needed to be ready to dodge at a moment’s notice.

Ten metres…

Five metres…

He still couldn’t see anything. It had a ridiculous amount of stealth when it laid in ambush like this.

Two metres…

There was an explosion of motion. Tom threw himself backwards even as he activated Lightning Enrage at maximum distance to make sure he hit whatever was charging him.

Time slowed, and he watched those fangs coming for his throat. He brought his spear up, angled to stop the attack. The fangs struck the spear.

It was almost like being hit by a car. The force bent his arms back, and he strained, using all of his strength to resist. The physics was too much. He could do nothing to stop the momentum imparted. He slid on the hard stone, and time did not slow down.

The monster was still coming for him. Its front legs both lashed out. Instinctively, he teleported to avoid one but could do nothing against the second. It plunged through his shoulder and missed all of his vital organs. While he couldn’t avoid the blow in its entirety, his teleport at least allowed him to shift position to protect his heart.

Crack.

An arrow flew over him to smash into its face. It was one of Everlyn’s magical projectiles, but it didn’t penetrate the skull like he expected. Instead, it bounced away, leaving a small crack in the hardened exoskeleton.

Tom screamed as he felt the leg that had gone through him start to withdrawal. His mind sent a host of instructions to his body even as Healing Tranquillity kicked in. The extra time from the healing spell and his dodge were vital. With both working in tandem, it was like he possessed unlimited time to plan the battle.

His assessment of his opponent was not positive. The fight felt lopsided. The creature was faster than they had planned for. Its skin was harder than it should be. It being resistant to Everlyn’s arrows was a blaring alarm. Yet she had been confident of their ability to beat the monster. Were his instincts off or hers? Tom’s fate pool was reduced to half courtesy of the fate prayers they were casting to give them a smooth passage in the canyon.

If this had been a surprise ambush instead of semi-planned, then what would his actions be. There was no question about it, with an enemy this dangerous… He would use every technique at his disposal.

Without any further hesitation or internal debate, Tom formed an image in his mind. He needed help to survive the next ten seconds. It was the same technique he had used against the lizard. Twenty fate vanished in an instant. Then he immediately created a second desire. He wanted luck to let him live through the fight above all else. Another ten fate was spent.

He hesitated a moment. If Everlyn was not in the picture, he would be spending more, but she was here. She was competent and he couldn’t imagine her being that ill-informed about the engagement. The coming fight was probably not as problematic as he feared and there was the potential of future enemies ambushing them in the canyon to worry about.

Surviving was important, but from the tutorial he knew the importance of conserving resources for later. Thirty fate would have to be enough.

With the expenditure done Tom refocused on the present. The leg had by his design not gone through anywhere with major arteries or organs. Deliberate applications of Touch Heal quickly sealed away the various veins that had been broken, leaving the space around the leg bloodless. Now, when it withdrew, he would not have to contend with a flood of blood. Then after that he could mend the damage. There were two damaged ligaments to soothe and the rebuilding of a pectoral muscle that had been severed. Once those small tasks were done, he would have full mobility in the arm once more.

Or… He could expand on the manoeuvre that he had started. Turn the wound into an offensive opportunity that if it worked would slow the monster down for a small period.

Tom dropped Healing Tranquillity and time sped up. His good hand gripped the leg that had gone through him and held him in place. Then he threw himself to the side. The spider chose that exact moment to baulk in the other direction.

The stress going through Tom was immense, but he pinned the leg within him. Healing Tranquillity activated, and he reinforced his body. Bones groaned under the pressure. More than one slipped, but the reinforced ligaments held. He was to the side of the creature and the leg that was through him bent noticeably in the direction biology never intended.

Click

Tom barely heard it, but he felt the leg that had been resisting abruptly go floppy. His hand let go, and he slid off it and rolled across the floor. Time was, for a blissful moment no longer dilated. He catalogued the results of his crazy plan. The spider had a broken leg. His shoulder bone was displaced completely out of his socket. Without hesitation, he leapt backward to slam into the cave wall. The force of the collision and his immaculate control over healing in his own body caused the bones to pop back into place.

Time slowed, but his feet were planted on the ground and he teleported to the left to avoid a thrust of the spider’s front leg, but this time there was only one of them as the other hung limp.

Critical Success, he thought to himself. With one leg out of action, he actually had the speed and tools to avoid getting severely hurt in the coming few seconds.

It wouldn’t last, Tom knew that deep in his logical centres. The damage he had done had to be no more than a dislocation. But even if that bought him five to ten seconds of reprieve that was an outrageous success. To slow an opponent in the opening moves of a fight was, for him specifically, a particularly potent bonus. It was the starting stages of any contest where he was most exposed. After a period, his fate bonus from dodging would build up sufficiently that he could match otherwise unbeatable enemies by being lucky.

The spider lunged at him, its fangs trying to impale his chest. He rolled under the monster. Feet tried to stomp on him, but it used its hurt leg and tumbled to the side. That moment of clumsiness and a well-placed teleport allowed him to break free of the dangerous territory.

Tom was now positioned so that the spider was between him and his friends. Provided he kept the monster’s attention the others should be able to attack the hopefully weaker abdomen of the monster.

Sure enough, it spun to face him and launched another flurry of attacks. His spear was up helping him to defend. The second leg was back to working order, but providing he moved side to side aggressively then most of the time only a single leg could attack him.

There was a gap, and he thrust with his spear. Power Strike increasing the effectiveness of the blow. It skidded off the carapace like the other times he had tried to strike it.

Maybe its eyes. He thought to himself, but it was big and when it was standing upright there were no easy opportunities to attack them. Apart from the times it was trying to bite him and usually in those circumstances his focus was on staying alive rather than striking back.

Time remained slowed to its fullest extent and despite all the little tricks he was applying a leg regularly got through and punched a hole in him. Because of the advantages of his dodge skill they always went into non critical areas, but it was frustrating. He was spending the entire fight patching the holes. On more than one occasion, he was able to get its leg to poke through an existing wound limiting the overall damage to his body.

In and out, the leg plunged and the explosion of blood that should have occurred with the limb’s withdrawal was suppressed by his healing prowess. His mana was burning down faster than it regenerated, and he couldn’t actually hurt the spider, but it didn’t matter. The others were attacking from the back.

The spider went to turn.

Tom leapt forward the moment he saw the movement.

Lightning Enrage exploded out of him at max range to ensure that he got the face before it escaped.

The sparks struck it and he saw them burrowing into its face. It had been about to attack Thor, but instead it aborted the strike and spun around to face Tom instead. He fell backwards, trying to stay clear of its sudden frenzy. Two front legs and its teeth were both plunging towards him. He had a decision to make, his teleport was on cooldown.

He had to.

Tom stepped into the spider, swinging the spear to deflect the leg on his side. Its mouth slammed down on his right arm and he felt venom get injected into him.

He reached for Healing Tranquillity, knowing he had to use it to quarantine the venom or be in a world of trouble.

It didn’t respond.

Despite pushing for it to activate, there was absolutely no response. Confusion welled within him and then he realised that his forehead was pinching in that familiar way. Had he really used all of his mana? There was no need to check he already knew.

Idiot, he cursed himself for his management of his magic. He shouldn’t have gone so flashy at the start. He hadn’t needed full range. He should have waited until it impaled him and then taunted it then. Unleashing the spell as an opening move had been a mistake as out of mana he couldn’t quarantine the venom. The second time he had used Lightning Enrage had also been wasteful. There were a couple of cheaper methods he could have applied to keep the monster’s attention on him when it went to turn.

The venom flooded his system.

There was a ding in his mind that had to be from his venom title activating. Hope flared through him. If his title had completely negated the spider’s poison…

The spider released its fangs, and it shivered slightly and seemed to almost slip.

Power Strike infused his spear, and he lunged forward to score a cut on its eyes to take advantage of its mistake.

The wound on his arm was burning with pain as the venom spread. It was slow acting, but he could feel it spreading, so he knew it had not been negated. It was still active and continued to be deadly. He would need to check the reason for the ding later.

The spider lunged at him again and a desperate pirouette took him outside its range.

The attacks stopped.

Tom looked at it in surprise. It was wobbling on its feet and he could see the others beyond it hacking away.

The monster’s purple blood was running freely from its back end.

It took a ponderous step toward him. The fight was over, so he casually retreated to stay out of range. Once more, it attempted to close the distance, but all the speed it had possessed at the start was gone.

It sunk to its knees, its eyes still glaring at him. It wanted to kill him. Tom couldn’t help but smile to see the creature that had caused so much pain almost dead. It tried to lift itself to its feet but couldn’t.

It collapsed.

Healing magic instantly struck him and then Everlyn, Michael and Clare were sprinting toward him.

Tom touched his arm and assessed his body. There was no trapping the venom it had spread too far. They were going to have to deal with it like a normal person would.