Devi crept cautiously down the hallway, her crossbow held in front of her, ready to fire at the slightest movement. She knew she had landed a solid hit on the spider but doubted it was anywhere close to being finished off. She couldn't afford to get hit like that again. Even if her shoulder didn't hurt quite as much as it should, it still had taken almost half of her health in one bite.
Granted, it was a pretty big bite, but still, the spider was no joke.
She could have turned around and not confronted the spider, but she had a score to settle with it now. First, it had dragged her into its web and was going to eat her. And now, it had really ruined her leather armor, one of its fangs punching right through, not to mention almost killing her.
There were always the three potions in her satchel she could use if things got bad. And she had three more of the mana crystal grenades left. That should be plenty to finish off the spider. She hoped.
The entrance to the web-filled cavern loomed ahead, and Devi cautiously approached. She assumed the spider was licking its wounds, waiting for its potent venom to finish her off while it did. So Devi hoped that sneaking in while it wasn't expecting her would give her the element of surprise, something she desperately needed if the first two clashes were any indication.
A muttered Skill later, her Agility was raised by five points. She had debated between Strength and Agility but decided on the latter. It hadn't seemed to help all that much before, but she didn't want to find out how much quicker the spider would be if she didn't have that buff.
Her meager preparations were complete, and Devi prowled into the cavern, her eyes darting frantically around, trying to find the spider. If it found her first, it was game over.
She could see the remnants of her frantic escape; large sections of webbing looked newer, while there were large blackened sections that still weren't fixed. Avoiding the places where the webbing was new, Devi continued her search.
Without the most recent upgrade to her sight, this would never have been possible. The cavern that should have been completely dark was now awash in shades of gray. She couldn't make out anything very far or very clear, but it was enough so she wasn't bumping into anything and could hopefully spot the spider.
She kept her crossbow out in front, hoping it would hit any spiderwebs she could see and be ready to fire.
Nothing stirred as she cast her eyes around, only finding darkened corners filled with silk, ready to trap her. No monstrous spider waiting to pounce, just nothing. It was setting her nerves on edge, knowing it was somewhere but not knowing exactly where. Her memories were pulled back to an instance where a spider had gotten into her childhood room, only to scurry away before she had gotten her shoe. She had stood in the center, shoe raised, nervously scanning the walls, much like she was doing now.
That memory caused her to whip her head up, eyes searching the ceiling above. She had stood in her room for a long time before looking up, only to see the small spider sitting quite contently above her.
This time, it was no different. The bulbous body of the spider sat nestled between a few stalagmites, the gash across its face scarring half of its eyes. The other four were staring at Devi, glinting with malevolence.
Devi snapped her crossbow up, taking only a moment to aim before firing. The spider evaded the bolt contemptuously, dropping to the ground without even the thud that should have followed due to its size.
With a smirk, Devi whipped the hand not on the crossbow trigger out, throwing the small crystal that she had been holding. The first shot had been a distraction, one with no real hope of landing.
The stone sailed through the air, colliding with the stones under the monster, energy ripping out with a sharp crack that filled the air.
It was quickly followed by a howling shriek from the spider as the explosion tore into it. Devi had figured the spider would have at least learned a little from their previous clash and avoided the glowing projectile. But apparently not.
Her crossbow clattered to the ground the moment she had loosed the bolt, and her broken blade had replaced it. Its flames ignited the air around it, and Devi rushed at the disoriented spider. That it was still alive was a testament to how sturdy it was. Devi had no illusions that she would be meat-paste if one of her grenades were to go off at the wrong time.
It tried to skitter back, but it was still off balance from having a grenade explode under it. Her blade flickered out, scoring a deep gash on one of its legs, almost severing it. The flames eagerly attempted to ignite the creature but to no avail.
Devi was forced to duck as another leg lashed out, the twin claws on the end whistling through the air above her head.
Devi's heart raced as she narrowly avoided the slashing attack. Its now normally sedate pace quickened to a crescendo. The spider's leg sliced through the air, leaving a gust of wind in its wake. The creature's movements were far faster than Devi could match, each one with surprising strength behind it as well, much greater than its form implied as a stalagmite cracked from the strike.
Using the flaming blade as a deterrent, Devi pressed on. She aimed to stay close to the spider, where its large body and legs had limited maneuverability. Each time she struck, her blade sizzled against the spider's exoskeleton, leaving scorch marks that sent the oddly enticing smell of burnt blood into the air.
With a sudden burst of speed, the spider lunged forward, trying to catch Devi in its massive jaws. She dove to the side just in time, feeling the brush of air as the jaws snapped shut. The spider's momentum carried it past her, its bulk crashing into the rocky ground.
Devi scrambled to her feet, taking advantage of the creature's momentary disorientation. She charged in again, her blade swinging in a wide arc. The flames caught on the spider's fur, sending a plume of smoke and a high-pitched screech into the air.
This narrative has been purloined without the author's approval. Report any appearances on Amazon.
The spider recoiled, its many eyes narrowing in pain and fury. Devi's heart pounded in her chest as she danced around the creature, her movements a calculated dance of survival. Her mind was in overdrive, reading the movements of the spider and barely avoiding its attacks.
Yet, for all her efforts, the spider proved to be incredibly resilient. Its legs moved with eerie precision, defending its body from Devi's strikes. Each time she thought she had an opening, the spider's agility surprised her, and her blade met nothing but air.
Minutes stretched into what felt like an eternity, the cavern echoing with the sounds of battle – the clash of steel against chitin, the creature's screeches, and Devi's ragged breaths. She was beginning to feel the strain, her movements slowing slightly as fatigue set in.
Devi couldn't spare a glance at her Status but was certain all of her resources were nearing empty. The spider didn't show signs of slowing, and she knew it was only a matter of time before she wouldn't have the energy to dance between its clawed strikes. She needed to do something, and quickly.
Then, an idea sparked in her mind. Remembering how the spider had recoiled from the flames, Devi decided to use that to her advantage. She feigned a forward strike, sending a surge of mana through the blade, causing a large tongue of flames to hungrily tear through the air. She could feel her mana pool plummet from the display.
Devi then abruptly changed direction, circling behind the spider. With all her strength, she swung the blade in a powerful arc, her weapon sinking deep into its bulbous rear. A cry ripped free from her lips as she sent the remainder of her mana coursing through the blade and into the fire that eagerly consumed the spider.
The creature let out a high-pitched wail as the flames ignited its backside. It thrashed wildly, legs flailing as the fire spread. Devi slunk back, watching as the flames consumed the spider's body from the safety of a nearby rock formation. Its once-menacing form was reduced to a writhing inferno.
As the fire dimmed, the spider's movements grew sluggish, then ceased altogether. Panting heavily, Devi watched the flames die down completely, leaving behind charred remains and an acrid smell in the air.
She took a couple of moments to steady her ragged breathing, but it quickly returned to normal, as if she were in the body of a seasoned athlete rather than an out-of-shape engineer.
That last desperate move had been dangerous. It could have backfired spectacularly, leaving her with almost no mana and facing an enraged monster with only an inert blade. A prospect she did not want to contemplate.
But luckily, her plan had worked. The spider lay dead a few meters away, charred and blackened from the fire. A few piles of smoldering webbing dotted the area, a testament to how fierce the battle had been. Devi now sported numerous cuts all over, but thankfully, no more bites. Her armor had protected her from quite a few, its surface now marred and battered, but at least her body underneath was faring much better.
As she caught her breath, she looked through the notifications that had popped up at the end of the fight. Because if she didn't do it right now, it would be ages before she remembered to do it.
Congratulations. You have defeated your opponent
XP has been awarded
"XP threshold reached
Novice Support (inferior) lvl 7 -> lvl 8 +3 Free
XP threshold reached
Lesser Vampire (G) lvl 6 -> lvl 7 +3 All
She blinked in surprise.
Wait, was there a mistake? My Race should have only given me one to all my stats, not three.
It could have meant she had reached some sort of threshold, but level 7 didn't seem like a significant milestone. The only other reason she could think of was that her Race had changed, and that had somehow given her triple the attributes she regularly got.
If that is the case, why doesn’t everyone just become a vampire? Triple the stats was nothing to scoff at, and you only have to drink blood to boot. She really couldn’t see the downsides of beckoning one.
Though I still do not know if going into sunlight is going to kill me or not. That could be a deal breaker.
XP threshold reached
[Attribute Enhancement] (inferior) lvl 4 -> lvl 5
She mentally cheered at the Skill level up. It felt like her Skills were taking an extraordinarily long time to improve, while her levels were shooting up. Her second Skill was still level one, for crying out loud. To be fair, she had been forgetting about using it. It still wasn't second nature to magically alter the tools she was using.
Making a mental note to use her Skill more, Devi walked over to the now-smoldering corpse of the spider. The flames had sputtered out, leaving the charred husk behind. Its legs curled up, dark empty holes where the eyes used to be. It was a disturbing sight, to say the least. It was far creepier in death than when it had been trying to eat her.
The twin fangs hanging from its mouth gave Devi an idea. They were about the size of her hands, slightly curved. If processed, she imagined they’d make great daggers. Having another weapon would be nice, even though she loved her fiery blade.
She took her blade and started cutting through the thick carapace of the spider, remembering halfway through to use her Skill. The blade’s edge was enveloped by a thin film of force, emitting iridescent light.
With the added boost from her Skill, cutting through the tough exoskeleton became considerably easier, though she had to refresh her Skill a few times, as it shattered when she put too much force behind her cut. The carapace gave way, revealing the inner segments of the spider. Devi's movements were focused and deliberate, her thoughts consumed by the task at hand.
As the fangs finally came free, she examined them closely. They were surprisingly intact, their tips still sharp despite having been in a fight recently. Though that was to be expected, the fangs had only connected with her once.
Devi weighed the fangs in her hand, testing their balance. They didn't have an edge, their rounded shape coming instead to a sharp point. A dagger with a puncturing focus, she mused. It could be a valuable addition to her arsenal, especially against foes with tough hides or armor—something she was seriously lacking currently. If the spider had tougher armor, her blade probably would not have been enough.
Taking the twin fangs, Devi wandered a bit before finding a good place to sit before laying the fangs in front of her. Ideas swirled in her head of how to continue, but one thing was for certain: her new daggers were going to look wicked.