[G: Mike, get back from the door! There's nothing you can do now. If they see you, you die. That King was level forty one when it defeated your Grandpa. There's no telling what he is now.
Mike hated it, but Goblin was right. That army was about to march up those stairs and into a rift already in chaos and unprepared, but there wasn't a damn thing he could do about it.
Unless…
Mike quickly pulled Grandma's letter out. There was already writing on it. Urgent, messy writing.
MIKE,
IF YOU READ THIS, WARN THE 42ND ST RIFT: THE HOBGOBLINS ARE COMING! GET OUT! GET HELP! SHUT THE STATION DOWN!
The writing disappeared. It was too late. He hadn't gotten the warning in time. Grandma must have written it while he was battling the Kraken.
He remembered what she had written in her first letter to him:
“I'm trapped in a dungeon in the Hobgoblin King's lair with the other Grandma Divers. My soulbound is a bow named Selphie. She's hanging on the wall just to the left of the Goblin King's gibbet cage.”
He thought a new letter to her,
Grandma, be ready. I'm in the dungeon.
I'm going for your soulbound bow Selphie, then I'm coming for you. Mike.
He didn't wait to see if he got a reply. He was decided. He was going to free his Grandma, and the other ‘Grandma Divers’, whatever that meant. He was also going to find Jay, and then he was going to… well he didn't know what he was going to do. But he was sure they would.
[G: Mike, your plan is ludicrous. I adore it. Selphie is in the throne room. Head straight there. It will probably only be guarded by low level trash now... all the good fighters will be part of the invasion.
Mike looked at the coaster. In the passage outside the doorway there was a long stream of red dots. They were slowly disappearing. That meant they had started moving through the rift. He couldn't just stand here and wait for them all to pass.
The room he was in had another doorway. He followed another possible route across the surface of the coaster, tracing the path with his finger. He could get to the throne room circuitously, without crossing the long hobgoblin column.
[G: Yes! Go Mike!
Mike tried to start running, holding the coaster in one hand and Goblin in the other. He was drained from his travel through the rift, and it was only getting worse.
[M: How can I increase my energy?
[G: Rest.
[M: Nope.
[G: That's the spirit! Also energy pills, or in dire circumstances you can transfer health points to energy, but it's expensive.
[M: It's dire. I got nothing. I'm about to crash.
[G: Your health's okay, and you have health pills. Do it.
Mike mentally pictured moving points from his health to his energy.
[M/WARNING HEALTH 3:180
[M/ENERGY 40:40
Suddenly Mike's body was both full of energy and racked with intense pain, so much so that he stumbled down onto all fours, wincing in agony. He felt like he'd felt after his first battle with the trash can mimic. Like he was dying.
[G: Whoa, Mike! That was dangerous. Never do that size transfer again. Health:Energy transfer is 1:1.5. If those numbers hadn't stacked, you would have just died! Take a health pill.
[M/HEALTH 93:180
[G: Stop there. Health pills have a cooldown. Only a few minutes. If you take another one now you'll halve its effectiveness.
Mike felt a lot better though. He got back to his feet and started back down the passage at a jog.
Something brushed at the top of his head and he swatted at it instinctively. It stuck to his hand. Web. But it made his fingers tingle, like it had a battery hooked up to it.
Weird...
[G: JUMP!
There was something about the directness of the order from Goblin that Mike didn't question. He instinctively leapt forwards. Something sharp impaled his shoulder. It would have been his neck. An odd sparking sensation, like the worst pins-and-needles he'd ever felt spread down his side from the wound. He started to feel numb, dizzy and twitchy all at the same time.
[M/AFFECTED BY VOLTPOISON
[M/HEALTH 79:180
Whatever impaled him was withdrawn. He felt a scurrying sensation across his back, followed by another stab, and the same tingling numbness.
[M/AFFECTED BY VOLTPOISON
[M/HEALTH 65:180
[ELECTRIC CAVE SPIDER JUVENILE | LEVEL 2 | FANGS 2 | VOLT POISON 2
He realized with a panic that he was being bitten by a massive spider. Not a giant-sized spider like the hobgoblins had been riding, but still mind-blowingly, disgustingly, disturbingly massive. Mike had a fear tantrum as the voltpoison spread.
“GET THE FUCK OFF ME!” he screamed, awkwardly scrabbling around his back with his hand. He smacked something furry and it dropped to the floor, scurrying away. He watched it running off into the darkness with abject horror.
You could be reading stolen content. Head to the original site for the genuine story.
[G: Don't just stand there, Mike! Go kill it! You need levels, and that thing just sucked half your health out. You going to let it get away with that?
Mike was. He felt woozy.
[G: No, Mike. Kill. The. Spider. Also, get me a fang.
[G: NOW MIKE!
Mike groaned and took off after the spider.
“You know, you're very, very annoying for a sword.” Mike vented as he chased the skittering creature. It suddenly changed direction and ran straight up the wall. Mike shuddered and swung at it in a panic, missing completely. Goblin clanged against the stone wall.
[M/ENERGY 39:40
[G/STATE 10:20
The spider stopped dead at the top of the wall, then pounced. At Mike's face. He screamed. It was a scream of utter blind panic, and before he realized what he was doing, Goblin was sweeping in front of him, perilously close to his own nose, and the spider fell to the ground, in two pieces.
[M/+1READ
[M/+1SPEED
[M/ENERGY 38:40
[G/+1FORCE
“Holy shit!” swore Mike, “I seriously hate spiders.” He gingerly touched the areas where he had been bitten. Somehow the creature had got him where there were gaps in his leather armor.
[G: Spiders are surprisingly dextrous. They always find the gaps. Break off its fang and feed me.
[M: I am not touching that thing.
[G: It's dead, Mike.
[M: It's fucking terrifying is what it is.
[G: Exactly. When you are looking for soulbound upgrades, look for traits like those. That's known as essence. As well as being fucking terrifying, electric cave spiders are fast, aggressive and poisonous... and, electric. Get the fang, I'll show you.
Mike used Goblin's point to poke at the bisected spider. White ichor squelched out. Mike retched.
[G: Mike, we are on a time limit. Grab a fang and let's go.
Mike crouched down next to it. He located a fang. He clenched his eyes shut, gritted his teeth and pinched it between a thumb and forefinger, twisting with a shudder. The fang came free. Without opening his eyes, he quickly stood up, turned Goblin hilt up and pushed the tiny fang into a slot.
[G/SLOT POPULATED ELECTRIC CAVE SPIDER FANG
[G/+5GRADE
[M/SLOT POPULATED VOLTPOISON DEALER 2
[M/SLOT UPGRADED SPEED DEMON 15
[M/SLOT UPGRADED FEAR 15
[GOBLIN | LEVEL 3 | STATE 10:20
[SOULBOUND SWORD | ARMING SWORD
[FORCE 7:8 | GRADE 23:8
[WORMWOOD SPRIG | SPORTS CAR TIRE SHRED | KRAKEN HOOK SLIVER | ELECTRIC CAVE SPIDER FANG | SLOT
[MIKE | LEVEL 3 | HEALTH 65:180 | ENERGY 38:40
[SOULBOUND SWORD WIELDER | FIRST INHERITOR | LEATHER JERKIN CLAD
[READ 13:20 | FIGHT 10:20 | POWER 18:20 | SPEED 13:20
[FEAR 15 | SPEED DEMON 15 | RAZOR SHARPNESS 5 | VOLTPOISON DEALER 2 | SLOT
[SAVE 2 | MAGIC SAVE 2
[INVENTORY[-]
Mike looked at Goblin's blade. There was just the faintest orange glow. He carefully placed his finger near the edge and a tiny spark zapped him even before he touched the metal.
“Wow!” said Mike, “You're charged! And those gains in fear and speed demon are epic!”
[G: Worth touching a baby spider for?
Mike shivered involuntarily.
“Hey, when are you even going to explain all these stats to me?” he asked Goblin. It had been bothering him ever since he had started getting them, but it was as if there had never been a pause in the ridiculous stampede of existence that had been the last… Has it really only been two days? he thought, Dayum, I'm tired…
[G: I thought you weren't one for tutorials? More of a 'figure it out as you go' kind of guy...
Mike ignored that.
“I mean, I get speed and power but what are read and fight all about? And what do my slots actually do?”
[G: You run. I'll explain.
Mike checked the coaster again, noting the long line of red dots near the stairs was getting shorter and shorter. He checked the passages ahead, and started running.
[G: Read is your ability to measure an opponent and understand them. When you get good at this, you will be able to predict and even pre-empt their attacks. You will gain read any time you successfully anticipate and counter an opponent's moves.
“Like a spider jumping at my face?” Mike asked.
[G: Yes, exactly like it. Read is the thinking part of swordsmanship. It reflects your intelligence, your strategic thinking, and your intuition.
“Got it.”
[G: Fight is your willingness to get in there. It's courage, determination, and your persistence in getting up again when you get knocked down. You'll get fight points any time you face an opponent and show them you're worthy to face them.
“Like… bravado?” ventured Mike.
[G: Yes. You should watch this one. Being all fight without a balance of other stats is a ticket to a quick death.
“And speed is just… speed?”
[G: Absolutely not. It's also agility, and dexterity, reaction time, timing, it helps you control distance... keeping or closing distance between you and your opponent will win or lose you a fight. Speed is also the stat most closely linked to read. You should always keep speed levelled as close to read as possible. If you let one or the other dominate, the extra points in the other will be more or less wasted. The overall balance of your stats determines your class... but that's not something we need to worry about until level ten.
“Okay, maybe I shouldn't skip tutes. There was a lot more there than I was expecting. Run through power with me… I mean I get what it is, but…”
[G: Power is just like it sounds. It's strength. It's a little bit of endurance and technique, but it's mostly just strength.
“Is it like your force stat? Mike asked.
[G: Nothing like it. Force is how much damage I deal. It's a combination of all your stats, my grade, and our title and slot buffs. It may look like it's levelling alongside your stats now, but that will change significantly soon.
“What are those title and slot… buffs doing?”
[G: Ah. Here it is. The difference between a good Diver, and a legendary powerhouse. Titles and slots. This is where the magic happens. Literally.
“So titles and slot buffs are magic spells?”
[G: No. Magic spells are magic spells. We'll work on those later too. Slot buffs are multipliers and extraordinary abilities, enhanced by the essence of a magically imbued material.
“Like driving a sports car?” asked Mike.
[G: Okay, good example. Here's where your mind is going to get blown. Think back to that car chase. Let me ask you a question: who was driving?
“You were, of course.” said Mike without hesitation.
[G: No, Mike. You were.