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Years of knightly discipline, down the drain in an instant. That Kiss Stealer Status was visible to all.
Name:
Calaf, Disillusioned Wayfarer
Rank:
Squire
Level:
41
Status:
119/126 (Kiss Stealer, Encumbered, Overriding Frustration)
At least it hadn’t gone beyond that. Oath-breaker would have bypassed the status section and gone right to his title. All would know.
This was, perhaps, cold comfort to Calaf, who was currently doing battle with a horde of dire-tarantulas.
Name:
Dire-Tarantulas (x24)
Rank:
Beast, Arachnid.
Level
34-36
Status:
69/69 to 72/72
Weapons:
- Venomous Fangs (x2)
- Webbing
- Hairy Feelers
The swarms were particularly thick this season. And with the pilgrimage route seeing less traffic these days, there was nobody else for them to try and devour.
Frustration mounted. Spider webbing overrode his hefty endurance to slow him down with an Encumbered status. And there was something deeper: the kind of frustration that needed an outlet but which the most obvious target for venting this frustration, Jelena, was something the Squire couldn’t dare pursue just yet. Instead, he opted for simply impaling three dire-tarantulas at once as they skittered at him in a great horde.
Calaf’s weapon was perfectly suited for the beasts of the desert while his shield, armor, and high Endurance were enough to resist all dire-spider venom.
Slowly but surely, Calaf stabbed at the dire-tarantulas until the horde was diminished by half. On some unseen signal, their feelers twitching on the breeze, the remaining dire-tarantulas skittered off over a dune.
“That’s right. Run away,” Calaf growled.
XP, Gold, and assorted crafting items made of spider anatomy flowed into Calaf’s inventory. He’d fought off a horde of that size as part of a caravan mere levels ago and received only a pittance of rewards. Solo leveling had advantages.
It wasn’t long before the traveling Squire encountered a ransacked caravan. No bodies or survivors remained, though trails of multiple human-sized bundles were in evidence, dragged off to the south and east.
Eighteen canteens of water sat in Calaf’s inventory. The maximum possible before weight limits started getting in the way. He would not be getting dehydrated on this leg of the journey.
Still, the crestfallen Squire questioned whether or not he should follow these trails. It would only mean more spiders. More experience, yes, but the cart had been ransacked some time ago. It was up in the air whether or not there would be anyone in the dire-tarantula nest left unliquified.
What did he owe these strangers? Ones who were probably forsaken anyway? And if they weren’t, they no doubt harbored conceit and smug indifference for anyone caught in similar tragedies in their own hearts. Calaf let out a low growl under his breath. Just the thought of going out of the way for someone who would never do so were the situations reversed caused Calaf to see red.
Nevertheless, he took a proper gander at the despoiled wagons half-buried in the sand. He found some dropped mid-level spears and Buckler Shields of Parrying where the caravan guards had been overwhelmed. Inside the wagons, he found some sun-spoiled foodstuffs, and rucksacks full of supplies that didn’t always fit in a personalized Inventory. Calaf rooted through a sack to see if he could find some clues as to who these travelers were.
Item: Children’s Tutorial Toy
Description: A simple, unassuming cloth doodad full of pouches and hidden compartments. It’s actually a tool by which children born Of The Menu can learn to use the System and its Interface from a young age.
Calaf rasped. He pulled out the last Spare Sealed Water Flagon of N. Firefield’s Brunette Bunny Ranch to quench his thirst, then rapidly discarded the remaining flask. Down to 17 water canteens, but it would still be more than enough to make it to the river delta.
Even with a detour.
Thin trails slunk off around and then over a set of dunes. Calaf followed, his Agility and derived stats helping him navigate at points where the trails were already buried in the sand.
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A great cavern waited a mere thirty minutes off the trail. This would explain where the dire-tarantulas kept coming from. Dire-Tarantula Sentries skittered about, observing a trip-wire system of thin silk spread out all over the desert.
Dire-spiders were already swarming, responding to Calaf’s approach. He must have tripped a few silken traps without ever noticing them.
No matter. Calaf was a Squire. A stone wall that faced enemies head-on. Stealth flew against his very purpose. So, he trudged forward, activating as many silk tripwires as possible.
Again, the leggy dire-spiders advanced:
Name:
Dire-Tarantulas (x32)
Rank:
Beast, Arachnid.
Level
34-38
Status:
69/69 to 76/76
Weapons:
- Venomous Fangs (x2)
- Webbing
- Hairy Feelers
Stronger, now, and more numerous!
Calaf held his ground. Shield scraping against the desert sands, spear in hand. His boots sunk into the sand, his heels digging into a hidden rocky outcropping.
Stolen novel; please report.
In the official System ranks as meticulously categorized and recorded by the Church, Beasts were among the less-sentient creatures. They were generally incapable of strategy in battle. Instead, the spiders surged forth, rushing between two dunes at a one-hundred-twenty-degree angle in front of Calaf.
Perfect shielder positioning.
The wall of hairy feelers and poison-dripping fangs cascaded against Calaf’s shield. He stabbed and jabbed, his spear taking great chunks out of the lesser, smaller spiders that rushed ahead to defend their nest. Still, Calaf was not pushed back even an inch.
As he continued to stab and pick at the horde before him, Calaf noticed two very obscure and specific buffs in his Interface:
Status: Indomitable Solo Might
Effect: Increases defensive and offensive capabilities by 25% when working alone.
Status: Muddled Sense of Self-Respect
Effect: Decreases casting time by 25%. Decreases incoming damage by 12%.
Well, he wasn’t about to turn a good buff down. Calaf felled spider after spider, not a single fang passing by his shield. The only problem arose when the dire-tarantula corpses piled so high that the next wave threatened to spill clear over his shield. Only when his defensive position was no longer tenable did Calaf engage in a slow, organized withdrawal. Rather than turn and flee, he slowly stepped back, shield still up, and kept up his defensive posture, stabbing a spider or two as he backed onto higher ground.
Again, the dire-spiders broke and fled around the time he’d slain half their number. Calaf pursued as these creepy-crawlies skittered back into the cavern. He stopped at the edge.
A great, rancid, wafting breeze came from inside the cavern. The breeze itself was light, as if someone was wafting the pages of a giant book at him.
The sands began to vibrate. Calaf took several steps back.
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Name:
Golden Super Dire-Tarantula
Rank:
Legendary Beast, Arachnid, Mobile Gold Mine
Level
52
Status:
280/280 (Hungry)
Weapons:
- Venomous Fangs (x2)
- Bile Spew
- Webbing
- Hairy Feelers
- Giant Feet
- Big Stinger (x1)
One of Firefield’s legendary beasts unfurled its many legs as it pushed itself up and out of the dire-spider nest.
This was… going to be more than Calaf could handle. Yet still he stood firm. The mighty beast would only catch him if he ran. Level deltas notwithstanding, ninety percent of combat under the Menu was tactics and strategy-based. Calaf of Riverglen could make plans, this beast could not.
The golden beast opened by rearing back and unhinging its mandibles…
Special Technique: Bile Spew
Effect: Spew out rock-dissolving acid from a mighty maw. Reduces Agility of targets.
Vile bile broke against Calaf’s shield in a mighty stream. He found himself pushed back by the force alone. Jedd’s old Shield of Fireproofing smoldered but did not break; just the latest in a line of grizzly pockmarked battle scars.
The creature was maybe half the size of Firefield’s stucco cathedral. Too large to parry and barely viable to block against. The beast swung its mighty front leg at Calaf, knocking his shield aside. Then, with a follow-up jab from a second arm, Calaf was sent reeling across the sands.
Name:
Calaf, Wayfarer.
Rank:
Squire
Level:
41
Status:
96/126 (Kiss Stealer!, Staggered)
Calaf slid on his knee armor, just barely staying on his feet. He rose again and prepped his shield as the beast lumbered after him.
Spear thrusts did only scratch damage against the legendary beast’s limbs. With a shield bash, he managed to bring a combined total of ten HP off the Golden Super Dire-Tarantula. A war of attrition would be to the spider’s advantage. Calaf healed up what he could and applied all available buffs. He peered beneath the creature, looking for an opening.
A knot the size of a pearl sat between the sternum and abdomen. Like a keystone of an archway. Seemed as good a weak point as any. Calaf rushed forward, running underneath the next scalding acidic bile spew, and had his spear primed and ready to strike. Two quick thrusts produced an immediate effect as the dire-tarantula reared up, spun, and repositioned well away from Calaf.
Name:
Golden Super Dire-Tarantula
Rank:
Legendary Beast, Arachnid, Mobile Gold Mine
Level
52
Status:
227/280 (Hungry)
A whopping fifty damage! Another couple hits like that and the battle would be an even fight.
Calaf stepped back out of bile-spewing range to force the gargantuan beast to close in. While he’d prefer to have lighter armor to start running circles around this thing, the tradeoff to defense would be worth it if those limbs landed a lucky hit again.
Another baited flailing of legs, another rush in underneath dripping fangs. One more strike to that now-bleeding weak point:
Name:
Golden Super Dire-Tarantula
Status:
170/280 (Hungry)
Well, one more hit and the beast would be down to comparable HP to Calaf’s own.
The legendary dire-spider sensed that its meal had gotten wise to its tricks. It let out a great gurgling howl and stomped its abdomen against the ground. Another horde of twenty-plus dire-spiders came out of the cave, filling the ground beneath their den-master’s feet.
Calaf’s opening was suddenly much narrower and the consequences for misreading the battle increasingly deadly!
The Golden Super Dire-Tarantula let out another cry, and its minions advanced.
Just as this new spider army approached, a greenish blur came sailing over the nearest dune.
A great crash sent the spiders flying. A blade sliced legs apart this way and that. And in the center of a freshly minted crater was a bearded man with long slick-backed hair.
“You’re open. Go.” Cried the figure, who possessed no Interface designation whatsoever.
Calaf surged forward, spear up, shield deflecting bile every which way. He gave the dire-beast’s weak point one more stab. With a roar, the beast took damage, reared up, and then fell over right in front of Calaf.
Name:
Golden Super Dire-Tarantula
Status:
119/280 (Staggered)
It was on the ground, fangs flailing about, eyes darting every which way. Sand and dust were kicked up every which way, but he just needed to run up and get in one or two more blows.
Three dire-tarantulas leapt out of the dust, ready to spew their mobility-encumbering webs. They found themselves cut in half with a single swing from Calaf’s surprise ally.
“It’s staggered. Finish it off.”
Calaf stashed his shield behind his back, two-handed his spear, and charged. He thrust the pointy end right down the creature’s gullet, eliciting a pained screech.
Name:
Golden Super Dire-Tarantula
Status:
34/280 (Staggered, Reeling)
So close. Only, the creature rose back to its feet, spear still lodged between two fangs.
“It’s about to break. Get up there.” Came a shrill voice from Calaf’s back.
“It’s too high.” Calaf swapped out to his sidearm, the trusty knife.
Going to need something with a little more range….
“Jump.”
“Eh?”
“Just jump. I shall give you the boost you need.”
Calaf took off running and, armor encumbrance be damned, he performed a long jump. Rather than hit the ground again, he found his feet landing on the blunt side of a cracked, reddish blade.
With a one-handed swing, the long-haired feral man sent Calaf flying into the air, well clear of the spider’s fangs. Knife in hand, Calaf brought it down atop the Golden Super Dire-Tarantula’s head.
Critical hit!
Name:
Golden Super Dire-Tarantula
Status:
0/280 (Dead)
Barely. He had just barely slain the beast!
Calaf rode the spider down in another great dust-billowing crash. Rewards flowed through Calaf’s Interface, and his alone:
Items:
- Poisonfang Rapier
- Golden Spider’s Immaculate Pelt
- Gold x23497
- 6538 xp
Level up!
Calaf Leveled Up! Level 42
Strength: 44
Endurance: 64 (+2)
Agility: 28
Intelligence: 25
Charisma: 25 (+4)
Arcane: 10 (+1)
Luck: 34 (+1)
Quad-stat increase and two of those were 2+ into core Paladin traits. Not bad for the level forty doldrums.
“Ah. That was timely.” Calaf said, savoring the second wind that came with a level-up. “Did she send you to babysit?”
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Dust settled. The long-haired wild man stood, blade tucked behind his sword arm in a resting stance. His eyes glowed an inhuman color like dried blood that pierced the gloom.
“In fact, she sent me to deliver a message.”
“Couldn’t tell me before I left?” Calaf milled about in his Inventory as he talked.
The Poisonfang rapier had ridiculous stat requirements, more fitting a Scout than a Paladin. And the spider’s massive hide was meant for some kind of crafting.
“She said if you two stayed in that room much longer your chastity was in danger,” Enkidu said, rather displeased to be having this conversation.
“Are we that obvious?” Calaf’s cheeks burned.
“Transparently.”
“I’m… having a crisis of faith here. She’s striking, yes, thank you. Even the most noble of Paladins would admit that. But I have prior commitments, for however long that’s going to last. She and I… are of different worlds. Oh, just, here, take these…”
Calaf left the legendary monster’s loot on the ground for the Menuless Enkidu to scoop up. “Consider them payment. You and Jelena can use it to fund… whatever it is you do these days. I don’t know.”
“Her message is that we are going to be traveling to Japella to root through what remains of its church archives. From there we will travel along the route to Deepwood and consult the archives there, if possible.”
“What a coincidence, I planned to head to Port Town and, hopefully, if some new damnable barricade doesn’t crop up in my path, to Deepwood.”
“Then you will meet her again,” said Enkidu, neither smiling nor frowning.
“C’mon.” Calaf took off towards the dire-spider burrow. “There’s one more thing I have to do.”
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