"HAIL, THE ARCHON!"
"LONG LIVE ETHAN!"
"MAY HE SNUFF OUT THE LIGHT OF THIS WORLD!"
That last one seemed a little too intense…but Ethan wasn't gonna complain. This rabble of drunkards and their slurred speech was comfortable, in a way. It reminded him of the karaoke nights he'd had in college, back when life was simpler, but no where near as exciting as this.
He - in his new shiny giant spider form - sat on the rooftop bar of the ‘Mushy Mistress’ – Sanctum’s premier tavern atop the biggest mushroom stalk glowing in the cavernous Kingdom.
Around him were hybrids of all sorts drinking to his ascendance, congratulating him on assuming the form of a beast as powerful as Rachneros himself – even as Ethan heard whispers that he was basically the first real Delve Boss most adventurers would have to contend with if they took their dungeoneering seriously in this place. Even then, most adventurers couldn't take him down.
And that means there’s even stronger bosses out there…
“You shoulda seen it!” Tara shouted above the cheers of those around them. “Ethan swooped down from the shadows and slayed at least a hundred spiders single-handedly. Not even Karfaang himself could cut through so many enemies at once!”
“With…with – hic! – my help!” Fauna added, swaying from side to side while her companions sent up cries of oooooohs at the rabbit girl’s sudden bravado.
Ethan grinned down at them both. Fauna’s normally cream face was flushed red – the result of ingesting a little too much of the viscous purple liquid the tavern sold – Khaletchka. Apparently, it was a concoction brewed from the strange glowing mushrooms around this part of Sanctum. Ethan looked down at his own bottle and gulped down a mouthful himself. The night was young, and much partying still had to be done.
“Alright, Faun,” Tara said. “Your fire might have come in handy, but—"
“There’s no mig – hic! – ‘might’ about it, Tara!”
Fauna stood up on the table between them and raised her staff for all to see.
“I – Fauna the Wildglance – made the Archon into a Phoenix! Whoooooosh! Whooooosh!”
Ethan laughed with the other hybrids – many of whom cheered on the normally shy girl as she beamed down at Tara with total confidence, albeit almost slipping and falling once or twice.
Tara, however, was beginning to smart at her bravado.
“I was the one who saved you, my dear Hopla, or have you forgotten?”
“Fauna can – hic! – look after…herself…”
In the next moment, the girl slipped and fell into one of Ethan’s four laps, rolling over and looking up at him with drunken eyes.
“Mr. Ethan…” she said. “Please pet me…”
“Hey!” Tara yelped, jumping to drag the girl away by her ears back to the table. “Enough of that, you sly, lustful little rabbit. I ain’t done with you yet.”
Ethan let the commotions continue, downing shot after shot of Khaletchka till his pale form began to take on a shade of lambent crimson.
Alright… he said to himself. Upgrade time…
Sys bristled against his command. He'd been unusually quiet of late.
Not that I particularly care or anything, but is this really the right time to—
SYS! Upgrade. Time!
[Host Skills known]
Enweb [Rank E]
Poison Coating [Rank E]
Paralysis Coating [Rank E]
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Wing Buffet (Grade E)
Dive (Grade E)
Roar (Grade E)
Hide (Grade E)
Current Spirit Cores: 590
Alright… even wasted, I know what I need. We’re taking [Hide] all the way to the big leagues, now.
[Hide: Grade E->D]
Spirit Cores to Upgrade: 60
Upgrade Complete!
Sneak Attack Bonus: x3
[Hide: Grade D->C]
Spirit Cores to Upgrade: 100
Upgrade Complete!
[Mass Hide] unlocked – your [Hide] ability functions on any allies within 10ft of you.
“A challenge has been issued!” Borlor the badger-man Dixit proclaimed to everyone at the bar. “Tara the Rogue vs Fauna the Wildglance – last to be shit-faced under the table wins Lord Archon Ethan for the night!”
Cheers announced the beginning of the girls’ drinking competition, and Ethan – who probably should have been listening – was unfortunately immersed in his upgrading.
Uh, you know, you are currently being ‘played for.’ As your System, I would be remiss if I did not—
Sys! Ethan spat in his mind. Shut down for a minute! I’m busy here.
…As you wish. Just don’t come crying to me later.
Next up…let’s get some more power from [Roar]. Stopping groups of enemies moving means surefire kills.
[Roar: Grade E->D]
Spirit Cores to upgrade: 100
Upgrade Complete!
[Roar]
Paralysis from [Roar] now applies Status Effect {SLUGGISH} to enemies – halving their movement speed for 2 minutes.
“CHUG. CHUG. CHUG!”
“Hey! No using magic, bunny girl!”
Tara pulled on Fauna’s ears as she tried fortifying her stomach through Wildglance, managing to only summon a starfish from her fingers that flopped down gently into her drink.
“Hah!” the Minxit roared. “You’re finishing that.”
Next… Ethan thought. I should focus on [Dive]. As a spider, I can scale walls and get some height on enemies. And with the size of this new body, a dive-bomb attack’s sure to hurt…
[Dive: Grade E->D]
Spirit Cores to Upgrade: 120
Dive can now be used to destroy objects of STR 60 or lower.
So I’m literally gonna be a walking talking battering ram… Ethan smiled. Alright. I’m good on AOEs and single target DPS. How about my new status effects…
A thin, persistent tapping on Ethan’s spider thorax roused him slightly from his meditations, and he saw the frayed form of the ratman alchemist, Fraxx, looking up with a creepy level of adoration at him.
“My congratulationsss, good Archon. I am hearing of your prowesss thisss night. Your body – it issss a thing of beauty, now.”
“Riiiiight,” Ethan replied. “Um. Something you needed or—”
“A sssssample,” he said without hesitation, producing a small syringe and flashing Ethan a vicious, sadistic little smile. “Of your corrupted blood. I am hearing from Tara that it isssss quite potent…”
“Meh,” Ethan shrugged. “Go ahead.”
Wait. Don’t you think this is something you should really consider and talk ov—
“Many thankssss,” the ratman said as he plunged his syringe into a pulsing vein on Ethan’s leg. “With thisss, I ssshould be able to improve our weapon coatingsss. Sssssoon, our army will be wielding weaponsss that ssshall boil the blood of the humansssss.”
Ethan turned suddenly at the mention of the word ‘army.’
“You guys are really packing heat?”
The ratman was already hobbling away as the shouts of the two drinking girls grew only more boisterous.
“We make preparationssss every day,” Fraxx replied with an expectant licking of his lips. “For the day of our emergence, the ssssurface world will not be ready for ussss.”
The little rat bowed as he left, mumbling something about how all the noises of celebration did nothing for his keen ears.
Meanwhile, it seemed the girls’ drinking game was coming to an end.
“H-had enuff?” Tara belched as she threw her tankard over the wall of the rooftop.
“F-Fauna does…not…back down.”
Last upgrade, then, Ethan said as the world began to swim around him.
Current Spirit Cores: 210
Enough to upgrade one of my two weapon coatings…or…what does this ‘Enweb’ thing do?
Enweb (Grade E)
You sling a sticky mass of cobwebs that trap any creatures moving within with DEX <= 45
Range: 50 ft
So, it’s pretty much a ranged version of my Roar ability…is it really worth it to upgrade just for that? Or would I be better to focus on the coatings. I mean, let’s be honest, if I possess another, stronger boss than this guy in the future, I’m gonna transfer the weapon coating skills, right? Maybe—
Ethan’s thoughts were finally interrupted by the sudden, violent retching of Fauna, who threw her head over the balcony and belched her guts out over the side – covering a few unfortunate dancers below in rabbit spume.
“VICTORY!” Tara screamed, the crowd raising their tankards to her as she swayed around, giving Fauna a hearty pat on her back as the rabbit girl collapsed back down on her chair.
“Noooooo,” the Hopla moaned. “Mr. Ethan…help me…”
Ethan’s five eyes double-blinked at all the commotion.
What’s happening here?
OH. NOW YOU’RE BACK IN THE ROOM?
Before Ethan could register the shouts and whistles from the hybrids all around him, Tara had suddenly appeared at his side, pulling at one of his hind limbs.
“C’mon Ethan,” she said. “I own ya now, don’tcha know?”
"Wha—"
"C'mon!" she insisted, and, having little alternative it seemed, the giant spider-possessed-by-a-hat allowed himself to be spirited away, and rumors began to ripple through Sanctum that a certain kitten had just caught herself a big morsel for dinner tonight.
Little did Ethan know what he was in for. This was no social call. In the eyes of the Minxit girl there gleamed a bloodlust that had to be sated tonight.
Ethan was about to find out just how much humanity he had left.