I learned quickly that flight was my best bet. My eyes tracked the goblins movements, as it took an intimidating pose. It yelled in a language, I had never heard. The small green creature continued to pound it club against it’s hand.
I spun around and ran deeper in the forest. After a few minutes I didn’t hear the goblin giving chase. Turning my head, I froze. Not a foot away was a man-sized spider web.
There were cocoons high in the trees. He looked around and spotted the spinner of this web.
Forest spider lv12
This spider is well known for its trapping capabilities. It has been fed well on green goblins and doesn’t consider eating you a necessity.
.
I took a step back. Other creepy crawlies moved about high in the trees. Spiders moved about cocoons feeding off them. There was no reason to stick around, I took another turn and walked slowly.
This place was dangerous. The spiders were the larger than house cats. I ducked down and began to creep through the woods. To my enhanced senses, I sounded like an elephant.
[Sneak lv1 - Crep quietly 1% chance to remain undetected. +0.1Agl]
The boost to movement speed was appreciated. As I circled around the colonies of spiders far stronger than me, I began to learn the area. The spiders kept their nest close together leading me to believe they were one colony. Goblins weren’t the only creatures caught in their webs. There were the corpses of rabbits, bears, and a multitude of giant insect.
Certain webs had an electrical affect about them. They were all clearly dangerous. Though none surpassed lv 30.
By my tenth circle my sneak had increased 15levels. Nothing in the grand scheme of things, but my detection occasionally slipped to undetected.
It was as I trekked away from the nests that a powerful blow struck my back. I fell to the side and saw my attacker. The goblin from before. There was a cruel glint to his eyes.
I reached around looking for a weapon. I was in luck. I found a rock. He swung at me again and I threw up my arm to take the blow. More pain shot through my arm as I slammed the rock to the side of the goblin’s head. My hit stunned the goblin for a second. It was just long enough for a second blow.
My arm didn’t take the blow a second time, so I smashed the rock against his club. I raised a foot and kicked the goblin into a nearby web. The spiders showed no mercy. One immediately crawled down and began to bind the goblin.
Xp calculation Goblin
Goblin = 10xp
Lv5 = 10xp * 5
Bonus 4lvs higher =*1.4
70xp
Level up
John lv2
Experience 20/60
Skill points 10
Stats
Con 5
End 3
Str 4.3
Agl 7.6
Int 18
Wis 5
Per 7
Chr 2
Luk 7
Skills
Sneak lv16
Pummel lv2
Kick lv1
Unique Skills
Eyes Of The Sun I 1/50
Your eyes have been touched by a celestial being. This touch has increased your perception drastically. All fire type skills level +1%.
Theoretically, I knew what eyes of the sun was. It was the skill Uriel gave me. The roman numeral one meant it could evolve after it reached lv50. From the description, I gained five perception every lv in the skill. That was a ridiculous number.
Without thinking, I added ten points into the skill. A burning like fire overtook my eyes. In a good way. My eyesight improved drastically there was even a zooming feature. When I concentrated on a target my vision zoomed in.
Perception has reached 50
New Perk
Marksman x2 Accuracy
The zooming effect of my eyes got old quick and I returned to sneaking around. With my improved vision I began to see the webbing on the ground. Trails of silk I hadn’t seen before led to hollowed out trees. Inside those trees sets of eight eyes peered at me.
Without my new perception, I would have been caught by now. There were slight changes in the ground where spiders hid. This placed was indeed a nest.
Everything had become clear, if I was to survive and lv up then these spiders had to go. By running from the goblin, I had to run by several trap door spiders. They let me enter their nest knowing there was no way out. The creatures watched me now, to ensure I didn’t leave.
There was a weapon I had. Though, I was a novice at it, magic. The energy was there. When I reached for it a window appeared.
Magic protocol initiated
Choose from the available skill trees, a new tree can be selected every ten levels
Black Mage I – This tree revolves around Fire, Ice, and Thunder based spells.
0/25 +2Int, +2Wis
Blue Mage I – This tree revolves around monster spells and observing mobs.
0/25 +3Int, 1Wis
White mage I – This tree revolves around healing, light, and buff spells.
0/25 +1Int, +3Wis
The trees were rather balanced. Black mage had the most destructive power, blue mage granted the most versatile number of spells, and white mage healed and buffed the user. The skill trees promised 100 stat points. I wanted the stats from white mage and the skills from black. Blue mage wouldn’t help me here unless the spiders were weak against their own poisons.
This reminded me of the old pokémon game. Do I want a charmander, squirtle, or a Bulbasaur? The Bulbasaur was great for the first two gyms but it wasn’t fun to use. I was going to choose the charmander. The squirtle wasn’t a choice. I wasn’t into a tank play style.
This story has been stolen from Royal Road. If you read it on Amazon, please report it
You have selected Black mage
New skill
[Fire lv1 – The most basic tool in a black mage’s arsenal. 1% Int as fire damage. Cost 50MP/min, +0.1Int]
The skill was like a mini out of control flame thrower. All I had to do to use it was point my hand and flames shot out. So long as I fed the skill mana, it would continue to fire. The spiders continued to watch.
There was a single space clear of web, I made my camp there. The suns were going down. Spiders were nocturnal predators. Small branches collected from nearby trees crackled in my camp fire. I couldn’t go to sleep. There were always spiders watching waiting for my guard to drop.
My fire went out halfway through the night, so I had to improvise. I found, if I funneled a small amount of fire and pictured a ball I could create a small ball of fire. The amount of upkeep was a bit lower than the normal fire spell. Fortunately, just waiting around listening to the spiders move around gained me a new skill.
[Meditation lv15 – This skill allows the user to actively regenerate mana. The user must relax their mind to begin meditating. +1.5% Mp regen/min. +15Wis.
[Fireball lv25 – This skill controls the destructive power of fire and condenses it into a ball form. 25% Int as fire damage. Cost 40.5 Upkeep 5Mp/min +2.5 Int, +2.5 Wis]
Because fireball was a sub-skill of fire, my fire skill had increased to lv5. That meant that any skill that had fire in the name could increase fire and possibly vice versa. What else could I do with the skill?
I quickly learned that my skills stacked. If I learned ten other fire skills they would all increase the level of fire. Then again if I increased fire, all my other skill would increase as well.
Over time, I trained my skills for the fight against the spiders. The more skills I gained, the higher my chances of survival.
The spiders watched me perhaps out of curiosity, as I experimented. Through, meditation my fire ball no longer took much Mp. My regeneration was enough for the up keep. That meant, I could wait here for another day or two. My stomach constantly rumbled, and I was starting to get cramps. If I didn’t eat anything soon, or find water, I would die here.
My meditation had increased to 40, Fireball was 65, Fire was 25, and Black mage hadn’t gained a skill point. I looked at my stats to get some courage.
John lv2
Xp 20/60
Perks
Marksman x2 Accuracy
Stats
Con 5
End 3
Str 4.3
Agl 8
Int 40.5
Wis 47
Per 57
Chr 2
Luk 7
Skills
Skill Trees
Unique Skills
Sneak lv20
Black Mage I 1/25
Eyes Of The Sun I 11/50
Pummel lv2
Kick lv1
Meditation
Fire lv40
Fireball lv65
Mana Fiber lv10
My stats were so weird. God, I was going to fucking die. The same spider that always starred at me would be my first victim. It was lv12 and probably had more health than ten of me. Not that health bars were displayed.
I held the fire ball on a tether of mana fibers. They allowed me to feed the spell from a distance. When I swung the fibers, they acted like a morning star. A large ball of fire launched itself like a mortar round. The spider was the size of a house cat, the ball of fire was bigger. The ball didn’t dissipate after it hit the spider. It remained there as the spider sizzled and died. It screeched, and the other spiders began to crawl down their webs.
With a flick of my fingers my fireball returned. Unlike the spider’s web my mana fibers could lengthen and shrink at my will. A simple string made of mana was the perfect tool to feed mana to my fireball. It cost only 1 Mp/min to maintain.
The battle wasn’t over. The smaller spiders crawled back up their webs and waited. There were more spiders than the simple forest spider. Everything became quiet.
The large spiders that hid within hallow logs began to crawl out. The creatures were much more skeletal than the forest spiders. Unlike the forest spiders these new creatures were large enough to hunt actively.
Forest Hunting Spider lv20
These large spiders hunt by covering the ground with thick sticky web. When their prey sticks to their trip wires they reel them in. It is advised to steer clear of them until you are of a higher level.
Before, I could even begin to fight the spiders, I felt a sharp pain in my back. I smashed my hand against a tiny black spider. I didn’t see it coming. My enhanced eye sight was useless to detect it. Panicked, I turned and ran for it.
[Running lv1]
I flicked away the message and ran for it. There was a small gap between the trap door spiders. If I could cross through it before the poison really hits me, maybe I could live.
With a flick of the wrist, I smashed my fire ball against approaching spiders. Webs caught fire, as I made my way towards the edge of the nest. The pain from the poison was getting worse. The second, I stepped between the two trap door spiders, they opened and leapt out. Holding out both hands, I covered them in fire. They shrieked but the damage was superficial. The other spiders were closing in. I ran for it. The fire never cut off.
The spiders continued to fall out of the woods chasing me. They were on every tree branch, as I ran for it. My legs were starting to go numb from the poison. Running had done nothing but hasten the venom.
The smell of smoke was thick in the air. I turned around. What had once been a massive spider colony was now a towering pillar of fire.
Spider venom damage -5HP/sec
I was dead. It seemed that there was nothing I could do.
[Resist Poison lv1 – This skill reduces the harmful effects of all low-level poisons. 1% damage reduction +0.1Con]
I rapidly went through the pop ups for anything that would help. Then I saw the flashing lv up sign. I was still getting xp at a rapid rate. It was the forest fire. I caused it and the whole nest was burning down giving me plenty of xp. Currently, I was lv 25 and rising.
I took 99 skill points and put them in Resist poison. I though the screen crashed for a second. The pain began to lessen then vanish. My Hp went up by 100, that was when my body went through a change.
My skin felt like it was hardening my skin felt like it was made of leather.
Through a series of events you were awarded 10 Luk.
That was around when a massive spider woman walked out through the clearing. With her spider body she stood 8ft tall, she had black hair that covered her breasts, and a pissed expression on her face. She held a whip in one hand and channeled a green spell in the other.
Forest Spider Queen Aleya lv55
This young queen has staked a claim on this forest. She has fought goblins exterminators, bears, and giant insects to keep her territory. When you walked in she decided to spare you. Unfortunately, that turned into a big mistake on her part and now it’s your problem.
As the fire spread I felt my lv increasing. I placed 24 points in Black Mage and felt my mind open to knew possibilities.
As the fire spread I felt my lv increasing. I placed 24 points in Black Mage and felt my mind open to knew possibilities.
Your Intelligence and Wisdom has surpassed 50
You have gained new perks
Novice Channels – x2Mp and magic damage
Novice Aura – x2Mr and Magic defense
Your Intelligence and Wisdom has surpassed 100
You have gained new perks
Apprentice Channels – x3Mp, Magic damage, x2 learning speed
Apprentice Aura – x3Mr and Magic defense, x2 better decisions
Evolved Skill Tree
Black Mage II – This tree allows the user to use deca Fire, Ice, and lightning and Gravity, Poison, and Death. 0/50, 5Int,5Wis
“Wow Beautiful, why don’t you drop your spell and bondage accessory and tell me what your deal is?”
I didn’t expect a response. My goal was to confuse her, while I worked out a plan of attack. My damage was through the roof right now but that wouldn’t save me, if she flayed the flesh from my bones with a single snap of her whip.
“I spared you. If you had walked away none of my young would have attacked you. Instead, you decided to attack unprovoked. Now, my nest is on fire and you have the nerve to attempt flattery with me.”
While she spoke, I sent a few mana fibers her way. If I was lucky she wouldn’t have a defense against my flames. If I was unlucky, then she would kill me on the first hit. I chose to aim for the soft spots, such as her nipples, nose, and ears. My mana fibers were hopefully too light to feel.
“True it was a bit weird that I survived a night under the stars in your nest. Then again there were trap door spiders blocking my escape. What was I supposed to do? You can’t supply me with proof of my safety after the fact. So, how am I to blame, when your young ate that goblin without a second thought?”
I was stalling. My mana fibers were excellent pathways to transfer mana or fire damage in this case. I just needed to attach enough to her to kill her in one shot. With my low charisma, my time was running out.
“Isn’t that just like your kind to blame everyone but themselves. I’m a predator and I’m proud of it. I don’t pretend otherwise. You yourself have benefitted the most from this. Either way it doesn’t matter. I wanted closer. I wanted you to admit to killing my children out of hate. It seems you don’t have the decency to own up to your faults.”
She started by casting a green spell I was certain it was poison cloud.
You have ingested a medium level poison
[Resist Poison II lv1 – Resist medium level poisons 1%. +1Con]
Medium Poison damage
-15Hp/sec 5s
Ingested, no the poison was in my lungs. If I didn't do something soon, it would kill me. The burning in my chest was distracting. My eyes were burning, it reminded me of Uriel.
It pained me to do this, but it was time to end it. Aleya leapt through the poison cloud whip raised ready to strike. I held up my hand where the fibers connected us.
I was still new to magic but even in a fight summoning up Fire was easy. She caught fire and began to shriek. Then the poison cloud exploded.
My body was shot backwards. I took only 50Hp in damage thanks to my Magic defense. Normally that wouldn’t count for much, but the fire was my own spell. Naked still, I picked myself up off the ground. The drider was still on fire. She didn’t have any magic defense against my spell. Her skin was charred and black. Her eyes were oozing out of her skull. Still she screamed.
I walked up to her. I started this, I would end it. I placed my hand on her head. She tried to get up and escape, but her legs wouldn’t move. It was a shame, she was indeed beautiful. This was all my fault. Then again, she was equally to blame for not communicating with me. The only question I still had was, where did she learn English?
I cast fire, the heat found its way through her eye holes and soon her head looked like a macabre Jack O lantern.
Her whip was in ruins and her body was popping. I hadn’t eaten in a few days and her spider half smelled like crab legs. After placing a foot on her thorax, I managed to rip off a leg. I was no chef Ramsey, but I was certain if I cracked open this leg, there would be tasty meat inside.
After finishing what I could of the spider queen’s legs, I stuffed the rest of the meat in my inventory and started my walk east away from the spider’s nest. There was bound to be some towns where I could get my hands on some cloths.