Deciding to not spend the stat point from leveling. My sleep was not very restful but it did the job. Heading out after a quick breakfast with Lynx. I give them a hug and thank them for taking the dog. With that done I resume my travels.
On the road again, this time unencumbered by dogs, I make better time as I don't have to worry about the dogs' health or stamina. I made it to Bakersfield in just about two and a half hours, not seeing any people or monsters along the way, which was quite concerning. It made me feel like I was walking into a trap, but I couldn't be sure. As I entered the outskirts of Bakersfield, I had a choice to make: should I go around or go through like I did in Fresno? I decided to head through because Bakersfield wasn't that big, and I could most likely make it through within half an hour. By doing so, I knew I was taking the risk of being ambushed by enemies or other humans. I hadn't really had a conflict with humans yet, but I knew it was coming.
I was about three-quarters of the way through Bakersfield when I saw what looked to be a very obvious trap. I looked around the area and noticed a couple of people hiding in the shadows on the right and left sides of the underpass. The trap was pretty simple: I would have to go under the underpass where they were planning to drop objects that would block the exits. Instead, I decided to get off the freeway and go around the underpass. As I did, I stumbled upon the bodies of humans lying in lines, waiting to be burned or buried. These must have been the victims of these bandits. As I passed the underpass, I caught a glimpse of my would-be ambushers and gave them a slight wave as I increased my speed. I ran past them, and one of them tried to take a shot at me but narrowly missed. It was at this moment that a monster, which had been tracking my path, sprung its own trap.
The monster was a massive jumping spider, standing at a height of eight feet and as long as a Ford F-250. Its body was striped in red and electric blue, with lightning sparking off its sides. As I tumbled from the impact of the spider, I heard screams and shouts of panic from the people who had tried to trap me. They had their own spiders to deal with now. I scrambled to my feet, keeping the spider in my vision as it tried to advance on me. I used the Earth Strider to put some distance between us, taking the time to pull out my weapon and scan the monster.
Warped electric Jumping spider Level: 10 HP: 400 Mana: 400 Stamina: 150
As the weapon dropped into my hand, I noticed the spider's eyes starting to glow. Figuring that couldn't be good, I tried to move to the left. But as I made the first movement, the monster attacked, though not in the way I was expecting. Its eyes glowed brighter as two bolts of lightning lanced out and struck me square in the chest before I could react. The lightning raced through my body, and I couldn't help but think, "Well, shit, did not see that coming." My body locked up, and all of my muscles strained to tighten beyond their limits. As I fell to the ground, paralyzed, the spider jump to land directly above me. Noticing a flashing icon next to my health bar—a picture of a lightning bolt. I inspect the icon.
You have been paralyzed. Mobility will be restored once the time has elapsed.
As I lay there, the spider bites into my chest, delivering a venom that I know will be the death of me. I look down at the icon. I have 5 seconds left to prepare myself, so I bring the spell Minor Cleanse to my mind, ready to cast it the moment the debuff elapses. As I mentally prepare for the spell and the subsequent attack, I see a different icon appear next to the paralyzed debuff. It is shaped like a drop of water, except it's a radioactive green. I inspect it.
You have been poisoned by Widow's Kiss. This venom inflicts the following afflictions: numbness, sleepiness, sleep, paralysis, and poison damage over 10 seconds.
"Oh shit, new plan," I think as I desperately try to put my weapon into my ring the moment the first paralyzed icon fades. Unfortunately, I still have no luck. At this point, panic sets in. Am I just going to die like this? Prey to some monster, some warped spider that I know I could kill on even footing. As I lay there, rage builds inside me. Some part of me says, "No, you are not going to die right now. That will come later, in the nest." The last thought I have is that the spider was kind enough to tie me up with my Naginata gripped in my paralyzed hand.
I wake up to something digging into my side. I can't help but think, "No, not right now, five more minutes." Then, as I roll over, the digging turns into a sharp, stabbing pain. A flash of the spider jumping on top of me and biting me in the chest comes to mind. I open my eyes to see nothing but white. Everything around me is white and sticky. I realize that I'm inside a cocoon. The thing digging into my chest is my Naginata piercing into my shoulder. But more importantly, I realize that I can cast Cleanse. I hold off on casting it so I can listen for any sounds around me. I hear nothing but the soft clicks of spider legs hitting a stone in the distance. Calming my heart, I begin to cast Minor Cleanse.
You have cleansed three stacks of sleeping Widow's Kisses.
Knowing that I won't have much time once I break the cocoon, I resolve to heal, buff, and carve my way out if needed. I look down at my health bar to see how much I have to heal. I am shocked to see that I only have 30% HP left. In a panic, I cast Healing Hands and channel it, keeping a steady stream of healing as I try to figure out why my HP is so low. Even with the monster renewing the venom, I should only be halfway depleted. I look at the combat logs, hoping to find an answer.
You have taken 60 points of damage from the Blackwood Naginata of the Elemental Bull.
I realize now that I was slowly being impaled by my weapon. As I lay wrapped up like a mummy, the Naginata digging into my right pectoral muscle, I push the weapon out of my chest and towards the cocoon. The blade slices through the upper layer of muscle and skin, and I almost let out a scream. I barely manage to bite my tongue and stop myself. However, due to the size of the Naginata, I can't position the blade far enough out to cut all the way through the cocoon. So, I push my head and shoulders backward, attempting to pull the cocoon tighter.
After what feels like an eternity, the cocoon begins to unravel around my head, allowing me to slip the blade out. The head of the Naginata pushes it up next to mine, slicing away enough of the cocoon for me to get my shoulders out. It's a challenge, but from there I simply cut the rest of myself out. What I failed to realize in my scramble to free myself from the cocoon is that I might not be on the ground. In fact, I wasn't. I fall about 10 feet to the ground, quickly pulling my blade into my inventory to prevent falling on it. As I lay on the ground, I cast Healing Hands, trying to recover enough HP to get back on the move.
Once I have recovered, I retrieve my flashlight from my storage ring. All I see is an abandoned mall. Looking up, I see a dome of webs covering the sky. I think to myself, "I see why it is so dark in here." As I turn my flashlight to the ceiling, I see columns of what looks to be crystalline webbing stretching from floor to ceiling, forming pillars across the entire parking lot. I scan the area for spiders, barely able to make out the storefronts. I notice cars covered in the web and, from my position, I can see five stores, but only one of them is not sealed with the web. Flicking the flashlight around, I discover more cocoons—some shaped like people, others too small, and some massive. All are hanging from the ceiling. The contrast between the crystalline columns and the white teardrop stalactites is both mesmerizing and horrific.
As I make my way to the first cocoon closest to me, I throw an ice blast at the strand holding it to the ceiling. It is the only spell I have that is mostly silent. The strands freeze, and the cocoon falls into my waiting arms. When it lands, my heart sinks, knowing that the weight is too light for the person to still be alive. I cut it open only to find the desiccated form of what appears to be a middle-aged woman, dressed like an average person. I scan her body for anything that could be of use to me but find no rings or items of particular value. I can't seem to find a purse either. It probably fell off at some point, but it doesn't really matter. I lay the body down with a final farewell and a sorrow-filled heart.
As I walk around, I shoot down four cocoons. Inside, I find only animals except for the last cocoon, which contains a middle-aged man dressed in camos, holding a rifle to his chest. I pull the desiccated husk out of the cocoon and lay it on the floor in front of me. I check over the body and find what I'm looking for—a small silver ring. Instead of using my looting ability to loot the body, I decide not to cross that threshold right now. I take the time to properly loot the body, trying to be respectful yet efficient, thanks to having worked at a mortuary owned by my mother and being familiar with dead bodies from a young age.
He doesn't have much on him. The rifle has a massive puncture in the area that used to be the chamber. The rest of his gear doesn't amount to much—some empty magazines and dog tags, along with his clothes. I take the ring and dab some blood on it. Then I remove my own ring and slip the new one on to see what lies inside. I look at the items with a fair bit of consternation, wondering what some of them are for. I take out each item one by one to examine them.
The first item I find is 4 HC MAX SMOKE GRENADES: Smoke Grenades that expel a high volume of smoke in approximately 30-40 seconds.
The second item is a brick that resembles C4, but it doesn't have a label. I hope the blasting caps used to detonate it are inside the ring as well. And indeed, the third item is a trigger box. Additionally, there is a sidearm and around 400 rounds of mixed ammo along with 5 magazines.
The fourth item I find is a set of bags, all of the same medium size. There are 4 bags of different colored powders that lack descriptions. I take out the powders and inspect them using my new skill, Inverse Ingredients. Two of the bags are labeled—one says Thermite and the other says Ammonium nitrate. The contents of the third and fourth mystery bags are a black powder that looks like ground coal and a white powder resembling salt. As I study these powders, I realize that the knowledge from the skill book tells me to put them in my mouth.
Having learned from the skill book that the only way to learn using this skill is to ingest it, I think back on why I thought this was a good idea as I dip my finger into the first unknown bag. The taste is like coal but spicier, almost like pop rocks in the mouth. In a flash of insight, I know that this is Black Powder. I receive a rush of information about its components. Black powder consists of a fuel (charcoal), an oxidizer (saltpeter or niter), and a stabilizer (sulfur) to enable a constant reaction. The rush of information condenses into a recipe, and I receive a new notification that I leave minimized. With this knowledge, I dip my finger into the second mystery bag, put it to my lips, and taste it, surprised by how sharply salty it is. For a moment, I think I just have a bag of table salt, but then my ability kicks in. I now understand that it is potassium nitrate. I get the feeling that potassium nitrate can be used for fertilizers and increasing one's speed when mixed into a potion. Thanks to learning the formula for black powder, I also know that it can be used as an oxidizer.
Stolen from its rightful place, this narrative is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.
As I sort through the soldier's items, I can't help but think that this guy was a demolition technician. I transfer all the items from his storage to mine, including his dog tags. Then, I bring his body into the storage ring. As I finish storing the body, I hear the distant clicking growing closer, knowing I don't have much time. I quickly flee the area, hoping to find an exit. As I head away from the buildings, I hear the clicking coming from ahead of me. I double back towards the target and head inside, hoping there aren't more spiders inside.
Approaching the entrance to the target, the area becomes increasingly infested with webs, covering practically every surface. Oddly enough, though, the signs designating the aisles remain mostly uncovered. As I move down the aisles, I find that the clicking has stopped at the entrance to the building. Hoping that is a good sign, I proceed. I stumble into the automotive section, looking around for anything that could be of use to me at the moment. Desperate, I go over each aisle, line by line, hoping to find something valuable. My eyes land upon three shelves filled with gas cans, ranging from 5 gallons to 20 gallons. A wild idea takes hold of my mind, one that could easily kill me and every spider in this wretched trap if I'm not careful. But with no better option in sight, I decide to move forward with the idea. A memory from when I was younger resurfaces—a failed bombing attempt where gasoline and ammonium nitrate were combined to create a larger explosion than gas alone. However, to fill these cans with gasoline, I would have to go around to the cars outside and siphon off their gas, which seems like a terrible idea considering the giant spiders roaming about.
So, there I am, with the cans in the storage ring and a hose in my mouth, sucking gas out of parked cars surrounded by webs. While sucking the gas, some spills into my mouth, triggering the skill. I now know that gasoline can be used to make an explosive poison bomb and, oddly enough, a healing potion for fire elementals. As I fill the fifth can with gasoline, I hear the clicking again, prompting me to seek refuge in the shelter of a nearby parked 18-wheeler. Once the spider skitters past me, I open the cabin door, slide down, and begin to siphon gas out of the 18-wheeler, thinking that diesel would make a better accelerant than regular gasoline. Once I feel that I have enough gas, I return to the target and plant one 10-gallon gas can in the center. I gently pour in about a quarter of the bag of ammonium nitrate and give it a good shake to ensure it's well mixed. I inspect the C4 and its blasting caps, hoping they are foolproof enough for a plug-and-play operation.
After realizing that some of the cocoons contain animals and some contain people, I decide to take a closer look at the cocoons that appear more human-shaped. Shooting them down with ice blasts proves to be the quietest method of removing the cocoons from the ceiling. As I open the cocoons one by one, I find more humans and an increasing number of monsters. Unfortunately, the monsters are mummified and cannot be looted. It seems that not only has their magic been drained, but also their essence. The only lootable ones are intact humans, and apart from the soldier I encountered earlier, I haven't come across any other humans.
I notice a sync button on both the top and bottom of the remote detonator. Taking a piece of C4, I attach it to the side of the gas can and connect one of the blasting caps to the C4. Turning on the detonator, I press the sync button simultaneously with the one on the remote detonator, hoping that it's all I need to do. With that done, I move on.
The next area is the Sears store in the adjacent building. As I cross the threshold between the two stores, I see more cocoons hanging from the roof, realizing that time may be running out. I shoot down the cocoons that seem to contain humans. While I manage to bring down a few, I find that they are already desiccated husks, likely victims from the first day who were caught off guard. These victims have nothing of value and appear to be ordinary people going about their daily lives before being attacked by the massive creature. As I explore Sears, I come across a truly massive pile of eggs located in the cashier kiosk area. I decided that this would be the perfect place to plant the next explosive tank. I repeat the same process as before, putting approximately 1/4 of the bag into this 10-gallon gas can.
Moving on to the next store, I continue shooting down cocoons and planting my last two 10-gallon gas cans at roughly equal distances apart. Unfortunately, the only survivors I find are barely clinging to life. As I scan them, I see that their health is less than 5%. I attempt to cleanse and heal them, but they remain unresponsive with vacant looks in their eyes. I try to move them as far away from the danger zone as possible, hoping they will regain consciousness and escape. Realizing that I can't carry these people while trying to fight the spiders, I resolve to come back later, even if it's just to ensure they have either escaped or met their fate where I left them.
I scan the area, wondering where all the spiders could be and if they are out hunting for more prey. Navigating through the spider's tunnels, I start to get a sense of the layout. Hoping that heading to the far back side of the strip mall might lead me to an emergency exit, I venture deeper into the lair. As I progress, the number of cocoons becomes more abundant. I take out my final can of gasoline, pour in the remaining ammonium nitrate, and attach the C4 and detonator. I store it back in my ring, ready to drop it and run if necessary. I begin the arduous task of cutting down the cocoons, focusing on the ones that show signs of movement, hoping to save some people from their twisted fate.
I shoot down the first couple of cocoons without any issues and cut them open to find a couple of soldiers inside. I use the scan ability on them and discover that they are at 30% health. I proceed to cleanse and heal them until their health reaches around 50% each.
Richard - Level 11, HP: 100/300, Mana: 200, Stamina: 150
James - Level 11, HP: 75/225, Mana: 300, Stamina: 112
While I am tending to Richard, curing and healing him, James suddenly wakes up with a scream and starts panicking. I quickly rush over to him to calm him down. After about 10 seconds, I manage to settle him enough for him to explain the situation. As he looks around in shock, his expression transforms into grim determination.
"Now listen, I'm willing to do whatever it takes to save as many of these people as possible. I'll focus on shooting down the cocoons that seem to be moving. What I need from you guys is to cover me while I do it," I say with as much courage as I can muster.
James looks at me and replies, "Why do you think they'll listen to you? These are our people, and we have to try to save all of them."
"Well, I'm the one with 50 gallons of gasoline mixed with ammonium nitrate spread throughout the area. This detonator will set off the C4 attached to the gas cans," I respond, my voice filled with determination.
Richard looks at me wide-eyed and panicked, asking, "Where did you get that? Is Roy okay? You didn't mix the thermite in with it, did you?"
"No, I didn't. Should I have? To be honest, I'm just figuring things out as I go. I remembered that nitrate and gas create a massive explosion. I want to eliminate these creatures before they can harm any more people. Now, unless both of you have the healing and cleansing spells, I'll be the one responsible for healing and cleansing people until we get overrun by monsters, and then I'll blow this whole area to kingdom come," I say, looking James directly in the eyes.
James and Richard exchange looks and nods in agreement to the plan.
"Now, to be completely honest, if any of you can come up with a better plan, I'd love to hear it. But from where I stand, this is the best plan to ensure that we kill a significant number of these monsters. I could really use your help to make sure I set up these charges correctly," I say, pulling out the last 10-gallon can from my storage. I walk them through the process, and they nod in agreement.
"Yeah, you did everything correctly. The charges are ready to be blown. All you have to do is flip the switches and then pull the detonator, and they should explode simultaneously," Richard confirms.
"Before we proceed with anything else, let me check something," I say, taking out the dog tags I obtained from the soldier earlier. As expected, the name on the dog tags reads Roy. I look up at Richard and say, "I don't think Roy made it. I believe he's the one I found earlier. That's where I got all the explosives from. I stored his body in his own storage ring, so you guys can give him a proper burial. Would you like to see his body? It's not in the best condition, though."
Richard looks at me with sadness in his eyes and nods, so I bring out the body and lay it at his feet. With tears in his eyes, he says, "I'm sorry I couldn't protect you, brother, but at least I can bury you. Thank you for bringing his body to me."
"No problem at all, as long as you don't mind me keeping his ring and some of the items, like the smoke grenades and the thermite. You can have the black powder, rounds, and gun. I used up all the C4 and ammonium nitrate to make these bombs," I respond.
"I don't like the idea of a civilian having thermite and our smoke grenades, but I don't have much choice. He wasn't my brother," James remarks.
"That's fine. He would want his items to be used to kill the bastards that killed him. Anyway, I don't think anyone is a civilian anymore," Richard says.
"Interestingly enough, I have more experience with thermite than I do with black powder or any explosives, including guns. You guys didn't answer my question earlier. Do either of you have the cleanse spell or the healing spell?" I ask.
James responds while Richard tends to his brother's body, "I have the healing spell, but neither of us has the cleanse spell."
"Okay, well, I can fix that. James, since you have the healing spell, I'll give you the cleanse spell, and the other guy will get the healing spell," I say, walking over to James.
"What do you mean you can fix it?" James asks, sounding confused.
"Didn't you read the tutorial on sharing spells and abilities? I can give each of you one spell per 24 hours. This way, we can try to save as many people as possible and then make a run for the hills. Is that okay with you?" I explain.
James looks skeptical, while Richard nods in appreciation. I start by giving Richard the healing spell and then proceed to give James the cleansing spell. We begin the laborious task of shooting down any wriggling cocoons, healing and cleansing the cocooned people as needed. By the time we manage to heal the tenth cocooned person up to half health, we hear an inhuman keening shriek. A behemoth-sized spider emerges from a department store approximately 300 yards away. The spider stands around 15 ft tall, with a jet black body pulsating with veins of purple arcane light. Its keening yell elicits a dozen other voices responding in the distance. Realizing time is running out, I grab the gas can and set it down, shouting, "Time to run!" However, I notice that some people are still unconscious and unresponsive. We have eight people on their feet, with the two unconscious individuals carried on the backs of the two soldiers.
"I think if all of you head to the right, you'll find an emergency exit. Can you pick up two of the people I left behind?" I explain, indicating where I left the bodies. "I will try to buy us some time by leading it in the opposite direction," I shout to the petrified people.
The soldiers spring into action, scooping up the unconscious duo. Richard looks at me and asks, "How do you plan on outrunning such a large beast?"
"With my dashing good looks, obviously," I reply, emphasizing the word 'dashing.' "I will try to meet up with you guys outside. Once you get outside and head east towards the nearest forward operating base (F.O.B.), here is my phone number. I'm giving you five minutes to clear the blast zone, avoid the target and the sears—those are where the bigger blast will be."
They show a new respect in their eyes as they gather up and head out.
Just as they leave, the monster begins its rush. I scan it and am shocked by the details I obtain.
Arcane Goliath Birdeater (rare)
Level: 25
HP: 2000
Mana: 1000
Stamina: 1000
"Okay, but how is that fair? It's been only two days, and it's already level 25 FML," I think to myself while activating the Earthstrider and drawing the monster's focus on me.