With a flick of his wrist, Victor cast {Zephyr Dash} and propelled himself in a swift circle around the queen spider. If a head-on confrontation didn’t work, he would use a kiting technique like the pro gamer he once was. Thanks to his enhanced physique and the boost from the spell, he was running at a velocity four times that of an average human, putting Earth’s fastest runner to shame.
“{Tempest Burst}! {Heat Wave}!” Victor chanted.
Normally, {Heat Wave} was an unremarkable offensive spell, but combining it with {Tempest Burst} created a scorching cyclone of tempest that materialized right beside the queen spider. This spell combination was something Victor came up with after the players began learning to cast spells and discussing the possibility of magic on the forum — they were an ingenious bunch.
Caught off guard by the instantaneous Anemo spell, the queen spider let out a deafening roar as it was engulfed in the fiery tempest. Its body was scorched and lacerated by the combined forces of Anemo and Pyro spells. Unlike the previous attempt, this time the results were satisfactory.
Victor, however, wasn’t going to cheer just yet as he unleashed a barrage of follow-up spells to wound the monstrous creature further. Despite the queen spider’s attempts to evade and retaliate with blobs of venomous acid, Victor maintained the upper hand, his tactic showing an edge. He continued casting spells, relentlessly chipping away at the creature’s health. The final clash came when his {Flame Dart} collided with a stream of venomous acid as it spewed from the queen’s maw, creating a swirling cloud of warm mist around the queen spider.
“Did the headmaster NPC kill it?”
“Fuck! You just had to say the cursed line!”
Victor overheard this from the players hiding nearby and furrowed his brows. He knew all too well that bringing down the queen spider was far from simple. Its monstrous vitality was not something his meager spells could contend—
“Gagh! Wh-What is—”
Suddenly, an intense force gripped Victor, lifting him into the air. The sensation was akin to being strangled alive by an invisible hand, plus his internal organs felt like they were on the verge of bursting. Is this some kind of telekinetic magic? Its innate ability…?!
While he had witnessed players being turned into mists of blood during the queen spider’s onslaught, his third-stage initiate Attunement physique would prevent such a fate. But still, if he didn’t act swiftly, he would be in a deep predicament.
As the mist dispersed, the queen spider appeared and reached out its left hand toward Victor. Various injuries marred her form — a huge gash on its abdomen. Some of her legs were almost torn apart, burned and charred as green blood oozed out.
Victor accidentally let his guard down after unleashing a barrage of spells. He had been careless! No, this couldn’t be avoided even if he realized it sooner; from the shrewd mind behind those two crimson eyes, Victor knew that he’d been had, fooled by the queen spider’s plan.
Slowly, the supernatural force dragged his body inexorably closer. Despite manipulating the energy particles in the air in a desperate attempt to regain control, Victor’s efforts merely delayed the inevitable. It was crystal clear that the queen spider possessed the greater strength, despite its numerous injuries.
“Aargh!” With every passing meter, Victor endured increasing agony. When the gap closed to a mere ten meters, blood oozed from his every orifice.
“Uh-oh, looks like the headmaster’s losing.”
“Should we help him?”
“Stupid! Do you think he will lose?”
“Yeah, let’s just believe in him and observe. I bet this is another hidden trick or something.”
The players who had been hiding nearby seemed uncertain about what to do. It appeared they had no intention of intervening just yet, as if they believed this was all part of a scripted event where Victor would eventually make a triumphant comeback. Victor cursed inwardly, vowing to teach these players a lesson once this ordeal was over.
As he was on the brink of activating his defensive magic tool, the Twilight Moon Pendant, something unexpected happened. A ray of light materialized next to the queen spider, coalescing into a large silvery wolf with gleaming claws that swiped through its back. In that moment, a deafening shriek pierced the air as the invisible grip that seized Victor vanished.
Capitalizing on this miraculous rescue, Victor propelled himself backward with a forceful kick, simultaneously extracting a vial of the health-restoring potion from his interspatial ring. Hastily, he uncorked it and downed the contents whole in a single gulp. In just a few moments, his internal injuries began to mend.
“Gosh! There’s a cute silvery wolf!” one female player exclaimed.
Another player, who had held unwavering faith in Victor, cheered with a knowing tone, “Aha, this must be the ace up the headmaster’s sleeve!”
“…!”
The awed chatters of the players redirected Victor’s focus forward and turned his astonishment to realization as he saw the one who had saved his butt. It was none other than Lumen, his contracted beast! She clamped her jaws around the gaping wound on the queen spider’s abdomen, engaging it in a fierce struggle.
“You… I thought I told you to stay put in your room…” Victor chided, though his words were tinged with gratitude for her timely intervention. Is this the work of Lizbeth, perhaps? Well, I did tell her to give me assistance when I was in a pinch, and Lumen’s one of the key considerations considering her powers. But still…
At the end of the day, despite Lumen’s {Gigantification} ability, she was still only comparable to a second-stage Initiate Attunement acolyte. His thoughts were proven true, as the scuffle between Lumen and the queen spider only lasted mere moments. The queen spider utilized its telekinetic magic to toss her aside and redirected its malevolent gaze toward Victor.
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But in just a few moments, Lumen bounded back to Victor’s side and assumed a protective stance in front of her master, growling.
“You okay there, girl?” Victor asked with a determined tone.
Lumen responded with a resolute bark as her eyes locked onto the looming threat of the queen spider. The battle was far from over, but with her help, Victor felt total confidence in their ability to win.
“SKREEE!”
The queen spider howled, and the remaining twenty Lesser Hiveborne Arachnids gathered in front of it like loyal guards, forming a protective circle around their queen. It must have realized its disadvantage in numbers and called its very own offspring, whom it tried to protect, to its side. Regardless of its protective nature, it understood that its life was the most important.
Victor’s heart pounded as he prepared to face the queen spider and its cronies once more. He had already cast numerous spells, and his infused mana reserves were dwindling. He snuck a quick glance at his current status using the Shadowlink Mark, wanting to assess his situation precisely.
Victor Asteriscus
HP: 84%
MP: 81/208
Oh no, with this little MP left, it will be a miracle if I can cast eight more spells without passing out. The battle had taken a toll on him, but he couldn’t afford to show weakness now.
As he mulled over his options, faint footsteps echoed from behind him. The remaining thirty or so players who were still able to fight finally rallied together and stood behind Victor.
Their representative, Zero, stepped forward and declared, “Esteemed Headmaster, please leave the other weaker spiders to us.”
Without giving a reply, Victor stood his ground and grinned confidently. This much was enough to signal that their help was more than welcome. The players behind him stood ready, weapons drawn, magic spells charged, and determination etched across their faces.
The queen spider, despite its injuries, still radiated a menacing presence. Its many eyes were fixated on Victor and the players. It knew that it was cornered, wounded, and outnumbered. From the deep hatred in its eyes, Victor could see its desire to take him down at all costs!
Victor knew that he needed a plan, something that would separate it from its children. His gaze swept across the clearing to the surrounding forest, noting that there were several magic traps that had yet to be detonated.
Turning to Zero and the players, he issued a series of rapid commands. “Those who can conjure spells, go climb the wall! As for the rest, protect the casters in a line formation. Focus on the arachnids and force them into the choke points,” he instructed, pointing to the forest’s dense foliage. “And be ready for some explosions.”
The players nodded, swiftly moving into formation. Some climbed back to the wall, readying themselves to cast spells, while others pointed their weapons toward the enemy. Victor channeled his infused mana to cast {Flame Dart} at the magic traps, but before that occurred…
“And you, girl.” Victor glanced at the silvery wolf behind him. “Please distract the queen spider.”
Lumen woofed as if understanding the assignment. Satisfied, Victor released the flame projectile, and it hit the ground, erupting into several explosions. With that as a sign, the players began with their assault. They sprang their ambush, unleashing their last-ditch spells, encircling the arachnids, and catching them off guard.
The queen spider hissed, its attention now split between Victor and the sudden explosions. Lumen took that chance to distract it with sudden flashes coming from its body aimed at its many eyes. She also launched multiple light arrow attacks to lure it away, which Victor quickly followed behind to ensure that it didn’t go for the players.
***
The ensuing chaos tipped the scales in Victor’s favor, but it wasn’t without its own sacrifices. He had drawn the queen spider away to a certain distance with Lumen, allowing the players to focus on the lesser threats. It appeared that it didn’t care about its children or the players and only focused its attention on him — something that contributed to this success.
Victor took a deep breath, feeling the hot, smoky air fill his lungs and causing him to cough. He glanced around at the battlefield, where the players and Lesser Hiveborne Arachnids were locked in their own struggles. Some players had met their demise; their lifeless bodies were strewn across the charred ground. Others fought valiantly, doing their best to whittle down the remaining arachnids.
He continued to observe the queen spider’s movements, now riddled with even more injuries, searching for a weakness he could exploit. Relying on the players was a no-go; they were too inexperienced, too scattered to coordinate an attack on the queen spider.
No, this battle was his to win or lose.
Caught in this impasse, Lumen growled softly as if to tell him not to worry. Her confidence and clear determination to protect him infused Victor with renewed energy.
“You’re right. We just have to give it a try. Let’s finish this in one attack,” Victor said with a resolute tone. In response, Lumen looked at him with perceptive eyes, communicating that she understood the assignment.
With the drawn out battle against the queen spider, Victor had become intimately familiar with the patterns and nuances of its attacks. He understood how to counter each and every offensive move, whether it was through nimble dodging or erecting protective spells. But he also knew that defeating this formidable foe without taking a risk would be a pipe dream. Its durability was too great, and his mana was running dangerously low.
With determination in his eyes, Victor whispered an incantation as mysterious symbols materialized, and the world around him seemed to blur before changing its scenery. He had cast {Blink Step} to appear behind the queen spider for a surprise attack, and Lumen had given him a chance by blocking the queen spider’s vision of him. It was a risky move, but he needed to seize every advantage.
As he emerged closely behind the queen spider, Victor was ready to stake it all on a final combination spell. But to do that, he required delicate timing to cast two spells in tandem, and a single interruption could lead to a severe backlash that would not only cancel his progress but wound him severely.
With a ferocious growl, Lumen released a barrage of light arrows, each streaking toward the queen spider with incredible velocity. These were not ordinary projectiles; they bore the essence of her newfound innate ability acquired through this intense battle. Some of the arrows were deflected and even returned by the queen spider’s telekinetic magic, but the rest found their mark and struck the wound on the queen spider’s abdomen. They unleashed bursts of radiant energy, causing searing pain to course through the creature’s body.
“SKREEE!! SKREEE!!”
The queen spider writhed in pain, and its focus was momentarily shattered by the relentless onslaught of light arrows. This provided the vital distraction Victor needed. Without hesitation, he began chanting the {Tempest Burst} and {Heat Wave} spells, channeling every iota of his infused mana into them. In his mind, intricate spell models took shape, one after another, as he chanted the words with fervor.
“Return to your hellhole, you filthy spider!” With that declaration, a tempest of flames and howling winds erupted with unmatched intensity, further enhanced by the Voidborn Orb as they came hurtling from his palms. The fusion of fire and air surged toward the queen spider, enveloping it in a maelstrom of blistering destruction. The incandescent inferno consumed the already wounded creature, gradually reducing it to smoldering ashes.
The queen spider’s anguished screeches echoed for what felt like an eternity. And then, as the flames subsided and silence descended upon the battlefield, Victor collapsed to one knee. A long, weary sigh escaped from his mouth as severe exhaustion and lightheadedness from the overuse of his magical power hit him hard.
But at long last, this battle was drawing to a close.