Naomi never had anything against spiders, on the whole. Sure, they were creepy and a little gross, but they ate even grosser bugs and mostly stayed put in their webs. They kept the house free of pests, and she left them alone. It was a good system. Now things were different. The spiders were the size of horses, they looked more horrifying than ever and, most importantly, they were trying to eat her.
How did Jade talk me into this!? Naomi thought, trying not to panic as she watched the enormous, armored arachnid scuttle towards her along a tree branch large enough to be a boulevard. Never. Again.
Well, there was nothing she could do about it now. The sooner they sent this thing back to whatever hellish abyss it had crawled from, the sooner she could try and forget it had ever existed. Readying her guitar, Naomi opened her body to the mana flowing through her mind. She strummed once to get a feel for the magic, the enhanced sound booming out as if from an unseen amp. The would-be idol glared at the approaching monster, standing her ground as Jade and Luis moved to intercept it, careful to avoid the succubus's runic traps. This creature, which was even larger than any of the previous spiders they'd encountered in this quadrant, had probably killed two innocent people who had been taken from Earth. She carried their IDs in her pocket, the only evidence of their fate that she could preserve. As frightened as she was to face off against such a formidable, nightmarish foe, she was determined to stop it before it hurt anyone else.
Taking in a breath, Naomi released her magic. She channeled it through her body and into her instrument as she played the first few notes of a lively tune. Casting the spell 'Fleetfoot' came easily to her, the music springing from her guitar like it wanted to be played. She didn't need to adhere to a certain melody for the spell, as long as the music was fast and energetic the speed enhancing effects of the magic took hold on herself and her allies. The bard stood back as her companions engaged the boss, Luis charging in from the front and activating his shield as Jade cut in from the side. Naomi's magic enhanced their movement and finesse, allowing them to strike and dodge with greater speed and precision.
Concentrating on maintaining the tune, she watched as Luis smashed aside one of the spider's forelegs before following through with a powerful slice that caught it in its thorax. Jade was there a moment later, sprinting out of the gloom to slash her twin blades across its side while the beast stumbled back. It hissed, turning to snap at her with its serrated mandibles, but she had already leapt away. Luis took advantage of the opening to land another heavy blow, spreading cracks across one of its many armored plates. This strategy, Luis distracting a monster while Naomi boosted their agility and Jade danced in and out of reach, had quickly become their core combat tactic.
That wasn't the only result of their time practicing, however. They'd also developed several distinct moves, or combos as Luis had taken to calling them, that combined their fledgling team's abilities. As the armored spider queen snarled, spinning in place to bring Luis back into its line of sight, Naomi saw the perfect opportunity to implement one of them.
"Firecracker!" She shouted the signal, spotting an opening in the monster's defenses as it reared back to swipe at Luis with a foreleg.
Naomi shifted her grip on the guitar, splicing three climactic notes in a rapid sequence into her ‘Fleetfoot’ melody. A jet of crackling fire burst to life in the air before her, blasting towards the monster like a giant sparkler and sending a wave of heat washing over her. The magical missile impacted right beside the spider's head with a flash of light, searing its armor and setting a small portion of it ablaze with sputtering flames.
* Spell: Pyrotechnics
* Rating: D level spell
* Cost: Low mana
* Duration: Instant
* Cooldown: 25 seconds (stores up to 2 charges)
* Effect: Launch a burst of sparkling light that deals fire damage on impact, briefly setting the target ablaze. The first attack that hits the target within the next 3 seconds causes fire to erupt from the wound to deal bonus damage. This bonus damage is increased if the follow up strike hits the same area as this spell. Weaving 'Pyrotechnics' into an 'Idol' melody or song increases its power. This is an ostinato.
The enormous spider screeched as flames licked at its head, an unnerving sound that reminded Naomi of grinding metal. It took a stumbling step away, raising a leg to rub furiously at its burning shell. While it was occupied Jade dashed in to perform the move's follow up, shifting into her demon form mid stride. She darted between two skittering legs and skillfully twisted around a third, bringing up her daggers to slash across the smoldering flames in a fluid motion that carried her away and out of reach of retaliation. The secondary effect of 'Pyrotechnics' triggered a moment later, fire bursting from the wound to scorch the monster again. It staggered back, disoriented, just as Luis charged in to complete the combo. Raising his sword high in a two-handed grip, he brought it down in a mighty swing directly onto the boss's head.
"Haaa!"
CRUNCH.
"Scryaaaaaa!"
The monstrous arachnid let out another ear-piercing screech, the chitinous armor on its head cracking with a snap loud enough to be heard even over Naomi's booming chords. Luis pressed his advantage, swinging again with a savage slice that hammered one of its spindly legs. Unfortunately, the boss was quite a bit tougher than any of the enemies they'd faced so far and, while it was clearly taking damage, it had the fortitude to stand up to punishment that would have slain any of its smaller cousins. It recovered quickly, its heavily armored bulk making the monster difficult to knock off balance. It lashed out with an uninjured leg, smashing it into Luis's protective barrier and sending him skidding backwards. His barrier cracked under the strain, then faded as its duration expired.
"Back!" Jade shouted, circling towards Naomi. "Towards the traps!"
Luis nodded, not taking his eyes off the monster as he maneuvered to place one of Jade's rune traps between himself and the spider. It advanced on him, black blood staining the wood beneath its large bulk. As it moved into the middle of the arena-like-platform, Naomi finally got a good look at the monster. It was the size of a large pickup truck, covered in a mottled brown and green shell formed of overlapping plates. The armor covered almost everything except its belly, which was too low to the ground to easily target with attacks, and parts of its legs. She continued to trickle mana into her 'Fleetfoot' melody, checking her indicator as she did. Good, she was still ok on reserves for the moment.
This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road. If you spot it on Amazon, please report it.
A skittering sound from behind caught Naomi's attention. She turned, just as Siora shouted a warning.
"Look out!"
Another spider, small and dark, had crawled up from a gap between two nearby branches and was skittering towards her with its mandibles chomping wildly. It looked like a juvenile version of the larger ones they'd fought in the jungle but was still the size of a medium dog. A spike of fear and revulsion shot through Naomi as it drew close, the emotions breaking through the wall of discipline she'd maintained so far. She jumped to the side, narrowly dodging a leaping attack. The melody faltered as Naomi fumbled a note, her fingers slipping along the strings. She steadied herself, concentrating on maintaining the buff even as she kicked the spider away.
"Ampelosu!" Juniper's voice rang out, the dryad thrusting forth a hand. The branch below her small assailant cracked, green vines reaching forth to wrap the beast in a vice grip. It squealed, flailing its many legs as the vines constricted around it, squeezing harder and harder.
"We'll take care of the little ones!" Siora called, uncorking a potion vial and spraying its contents in a wide arc at another pair of the creatures that were beginning to emerge from the edges of the platform. They shied away from her, dark sizzling fumes wafting from the branches around them.
"Help your companions." Juniper agreed, serene as ever, waving her other hand and sending a burst of wind to scatter another cluster of the encroaching minions that continued to climb into the arena.
Naomi nodded, moving closer to the main battle and away from the smaller monsters that had decided to join the fight. In the few moments her attention had been diverted the boss had triggered Jade's trap, becoming enveloped in shadowy chains that stretched from a violet arcane circle beneath its feet. Her companions sliced away at its flanks, taking advantage of its immobility to go on the offensive. Despite its predicament, the spider queen was striking back. It stabbed at Jade and Luis with sharp legs, scoring their armor and keeping them at bay.
Naomi increased the melody's tempo, sending her fingers dancing skillfully along the singing strings. Her instrument hummed with power, emanating waves of invigorating energy that infused herself and her allies with speed. Jade and Luis circled the boss as it twisted in its bindings, their steps light and quick, staying away from its snapping jaws and continuing their assault. Luis struck with power, while Jade weaved her blades in precise, efficient cuts.
SNAP.
The armored spider flexed, shattering one of the umbral chains that held it in place. It surged towards Luis, straining with all its considerable strength.
SNAP. SNAP. CRACK.
The remaining restraints were torn apart in a cascading failure that broke the spell, leaving the boss free to lunge at an unprepared Luis. He dodged to the side, but it was too late. Her armored companion took a vicious bite right on his breastplate, the spider's serrated mandibles cracking it like she would a crab shell. Luis cried out in pain, a faint bluish barrier shimmering to life around him as one of his abilities siphoned part of the damage to his mana supply.
"No!" Naomi shouted, letting loose another blast of fire at the monster as Jade continued to slash at its rear. The sparkling column of flame impacted its side, failing to penetrate its armored flank but succeeding in diverting its attention away from her wounded companion. It spun to face her, unleashing a spray of webbing that she had to dive to avoid. She hit the uneven floor of the platform hard, pain blossoming from her knees and elbows as she pulled herself to her feet. The music faded and, along with it, the agility boost. Naomi suddenly felt slow and heavy, but there was no time to resume playing. The spider queen was approaching, its legs churning in a nightmarish flurry of motion that carried it towards her at an alarming speed.
Shit. Shit!
Naomi's blood ran cold, terror coursing through her. She backpedaled as fast as she could without tripping, scanning the ground around her. Where was it? Where the hell was it?!
There!
Naomi darted back and to the right just as the boss pounced, forelegs extended to pierce her chest.
WHOOSH.
Jade's second trap triggered, another cluster of magical chains blasting from the now glowing rune to ensnare the creature. Naomi's heart leapt into her throat as its spear of a leg was pulled short a mere two feet from her. She didn't wait for it to break free, dashing around the monster in a wide arc over to where Luis was pulling himself to his feet, his armor scored across its front and streaked with crimson. She swung her guitar at another of the smaller spiders that had gotten too close, knocking it away as she drew near him.
"Sana'y di magmaliw" Naomi sang in Tagalog, heart still pounding, reaching a hand towards Luis. "ang dati kong araw!"
* Spell: Hymn of Healing
* Rating: D level spell
* Cost: Medium mana over time.
* Duration: Continuous (max 10 seconds)
* Cooldown: 30 seconds
* Effect: Sing a healing tune to restore an ongoing low amount of health to one nearby creature. This is a song.
A soft glow surrounded Naomi as she invoked the spell, thin wisps of light flowing from her hand to infuse Luis with radiant warmth. She'd found that no matter what she sang, the spell's effect was the same so long as she could hold a tune. Somewhere during their practice, she'd fallen back on singing lullabies. Luis's breathing eased a little as the spell took hold. He stood up straighter, flashing her a weak smile.
"Thanks." He nodded towards the boss, which was straining against the binding spell as Jade continued to harry it from behind. "Nice moves."
She nodded, still singing. Across the battlefield, Juniper and Siora were taking care of the last of the juvenile spiders. Meanwhile, the boss was starting to look substantially wounded. A few of its legs were bent at odd angles, not moving properly anymore. Black blood poured from numerous cuts and gashes along its body, but the armored beast was tough and angry. It still had fight in it.
Jade backed off towards them as Naomi finished the spell, color returning to Luis's face. Her demonic companion glanced over her shoulder, furling her leathery wings behind her back. She was covered in numerous scrapes and had a shallow cut running the length of her left forearm. Blood oozed from it, staining her padded sleeve.
"Naomi!" She called. "Liftoff!"
"Huh?!" Naomi blinked, staring at Jade in stunned surprise. "I thought we agreed that move was too dangerous!"
"Its sides are too armored, getting through it is taking too long." Jade explained, speaking quickly and gesturing for her to join her closer to where the spider was struggling to free itself. "Hurry, before it breaks out!"
"Jade-!" Naomi didn't know what to say. She knew what her companion was trying to do, they'd practiced it, but… "That's crazy!"
"Trust me." Jade grinned. With her face splattered with spider blood and framed by curling horns, the expression was downright… well… demonic. "I have a plan."
CRACK.
The first of the chains shattered. It was now or never. Naomi made a snap decision, running up to join Jade.
"O-Ok! I hope you know you what you're doing!"
Jade crouched, twirling her daggers and spreading her wings as she faced their twisting, struggling foe.
"Now!"
Jade jumped, leaping as high as she could just as Naomi strummed once, channeling most of her remaining mana into a carefully aimed and powerful blast of sound.
* Spell: Sonic Boom
* Rating: D level spell
* Cost: Low mana
* Duration: Instant
* Cooldown: None
* Effect: Emit a blast of energy that deals very low sonic damage and knocks back creatures in a cone in front of you. Requires an instrument. Casting this spell in quick succession cumulatively increases the mana cost for a brief period.
The wave of energy crashed into Jade's back, flinging her up and out to soar in an arc. An arc that would take her right on top of the enormous boss.
Naomi watched anxiously, clutching her instrument to her chest.
I really hope I didn't just get her killed.