[Gold Spider - Level 61]

Adrian knew what his plan of action should be the moment he saw the gold spider. Hit and run. Just like with the crystal rats. Just like with the sapphire spiders at first. So that was what he did.

He snuck up on the gold spider from behind and immediately unleashed a [Savage Ambush] on it. However, unlike with the ruby spiders or the sapphire spiders, his attack didn’t immediately wound the monster. The gold spider recoiled in pain, but quickly spun around to counter attack him.

It wasn’t the fastest, but it was certainly durable. Similar to a ruby spider. Except faster and stronger. It lashed out as Adrian disengaged, using his [Double Jump] to escape the attacks. He landed far away from the monster, no longer able to see it in the darkness.

However, he could hear its screeching, and he knew that it would give chase to him in a moment. With only one direction to go, that was what Adrian did. He sprinted away as fast as he could, hearing the charging monster give chase to him from behind.

But as soon as Adrian turned the corner, he activated [Stealth Step]. And he waited right at the turn. He took in a deep breath, expecting the monster to come around the corner right after him. Just as he suspected, it did.

The gold spider ran right past him as he grinned. Now to follow it.

He waited a single beat as the gold spider continued barreling down the hallway, before he gave chase. He followed the gold spider. Even though he was barely able to make out its back— and at some points, unable to even see it entirely— he trailed behind the monster, using only the ruckus it was causing to follow it.

And when the gold spider slowed down, having realized it couldn’t find him, that was when Adrian struck again.

Another [Savage Ambush]. But this time, Adrian specifically targeted the monster’s legs, hoping to slow it down.

The gold spider reeled and tried to follow-up with a counter attack again. But Adrian was able to draw blood, injuring its legs. And that slowed the monster’s movements just enough for him to land a [Hammer Punch].

The attack barely cracked the shell on the gold spider’s back. But it was not enough to properly hurt the monster. If it had been a ruby spider, the carapace would already be broken by now.

Adrian moved to disengage, but the gold spider opened its mandibles. And Adrian watched as a barely luminescent yellow liquid shot out of the monster’s mouth.

Acid? Adrian blinked as he leapt back. But then he watched as the spewing liquid began to sizzle on the ground, before sparks shot out. No— not acid. That’s… molten spit?

Adrian’s eyes went wide as he saw a small fire start where the spit lay, before sizzling out.

What the fuck. Adrian stared for a moment, before catching himself. He looked up just in time to dodge a sweeping attack from the monster. He sprinted back, escaping from the gold spider as it tried to give chase. Well, that’s new.

Adrian now had to watch out for both the close-ranged attacks from the gold spider, alongside the molten spit it spewed his way. He began to widen the distance between himself and the chasing monster. But right before he could fully escape into the darkness away from it, it began spewing out more molten spit his way.

Shit— Adrian cursed as he flipped out of the way. The gold spider was trying to intercept him so he couldn’t break away from it. It must have realized what his plan was, and it was adapting to it.

“You’re not the only one with projectiles,” Adrian spat back at it, bringing out a javelin from his [Spatial Inventory].

He hurled the projectile back at the gold spider with a [Powerful Throw]. The attack struck the side of the monster— and split in half. Adrian blinked, seeing the way the javelin barely broke through the gold spider’s carapace.

It’s really sturdy, huh? Adrian shook his head as he produced another javelin. Then I just have to overwhelm it with sheer numbers.

Adrian continued to throw all his javelins at the gold spider, slowing it down. Every so often, whenever his [Powerful Throw]’s cooldown ended, he immediately activated it and threw it as fast as he could at the gold spider, targeting its eyes.

Unfortunately for him, the gold spider knocked the projectiles out of the way just in time, too fast for those tricks to work.

Nevertheless, I slowed it down enough, Adrian concluded, seeing how much slower the monster was compared to before. So I can resume with my previous strategy.

He turned a corner and once again activated [Stealth Step]. There, he waited for the gold spider to follow after him. But right as the gold spider turned the corner too, it began to spew out its molten spit.

Fuck— Adrian realized it must’ve been expecting him to do this after he tried it once.

So he had to leap out of the way instead of attacking with his [Savage Ambush]. Fortunately for him, his [Stealth Step] lasted for a moment longer so he could get away from the gold spider’s range, just in time for it to end.

And that was when the gold spider spotted him and tried to strike. Its scythe-like legs closed in on him as he cursed. Perhaps he could have gotten out of the way, but something compelled him to spin around and parry the slash.

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However, Adrian knew that only a normal attack wouldn’t be able to parry the gold spider. So he used [A Dozen Strikes] to halt the monster’s oncoming scythe-like leg. And in that brief moment the gold spider recoiled, Adrian threw an uppercut.

[Hammer Punch].

The attack rocked the gold spider. Enough to knock it off the ground for a brief moment. And that was when he leapt away with a [Double Jump]. Once again, it was enough to throw him far enough into the darkness away from the gold spider.

But this time, he didn’t just run. In fact, he didn’t land on the ground. He clung onto the ceiling as he hid amongst the shadows. And he waited for the gold spider to give chase. It ran past him a second after, not realizing he was just above it.

And that was when he dropped down with a [Savage Ambush].

Having already unleashed this attack on the monster twice, he knew exactly where to target, striking the gold spider where it was already injured. He broke through the monster’s carapace, and he even sliced one of its eyes open. But the most significant damage he did was cutting off one of the gold spider’s legs.

The leg went flying up in the air as the gold spider reeled. And Adrian smirked as he stepped back.

The monster spewed more molten spit at him, trying to hobble away. But he easily dodged the attack. He realized what the gold spider was doing.

“No, you’re not getting away,” Adrian yelled as he charged after it.

The gold spider was intelligent— at least, compared to its kin. Unlike every other jewel spider Adrian had fought so far, none of them had adapted to his Skills like the gold spider did. Unfortunately for the monster, he wasn’t letting it get away.

The roles had been reversed. The hunted has become the hunter.

Adrian gave chase to the gold spider as it continued spewing its molten spit at him, trying to keep him away. But he blocked the attacks with his platinum fangdagger. The weapon sizzled and began to burn as it was coated by the molten spit.

But despite that, Adrian didn’t stop. He leapt forward with a [Double Jump], overtaking the monsters. And as he got to its back, he activated [Stealth Step], before lashing out with a [Savage Ambush] once again.

Another limb went flying as the gold spider hissed.

And this time, it was too injured to properly counter him. So Adrian followed-up with a [Hammer Punch], then [A Dozen Strikes]. Slowly, methodically, he tore the monster apart. Even as it tried to run. He didn’t let up. He continued to hunt it down.

Until he won.

*Ding!*

You have killed a [Gold Spider - Level 61] — You have earned additional experience for killing an enemy at a higher rank than you!

*Ding!*

Your Class [Savage Hermit] has reached Level 53! — You have gained +1 to all Essences, and you have gained 1 Essence Points!

*Ding!*

Your Class [Savage Hermit] has reached Level 54! — You have gained +1 to all Essences, and you have gained 1 Essence Points!

*Ding!*

Your Class [Savage Hermit] has reached Level 55! — You have gained +1 to all Essences, and you have gained 1 Essence Points!

*Ding!*

You have upgraded the Skill:

[Stealth Step] -> [Shadow Walk]

*Ding!*

You have gained the Skill [Passive - Lesser Night Vision]!

Status:

Adrian Zenith

Rank: D

Class: [Savage Hermit - Level 55]

Titles: [Outworlder Champion]

Skills: [Passive - Agile Body], [Active - A Dozen Strikes], [Active - Double Jump], [Active - Savage Ambush], [Active - Shadow Walk], [Passive - Spatial Inventory], [Active - Basic Identification], [Passive - Basic Weapon Mastery], [Passive - Critical Precision], [Passive - Inferior Sneak], [Passive - Poison Resistance], [Passive - Venom Resistance], [Passive - Savage Instincts], [Active - Hammer Punch], [Passive - Hardened Skin], [Passive - Lesser Acid Resistance], [Active - Powerful Throw], [Passive - Accurate Aim], [Passive - Lesser Night Vision]

Essences:

Strength: 78

Agility: 153

Dexterity: 71

Magic: 62

Vitality: 72

Essence Points: 0

Adrian blinked as he drew back from the dead monster. [Lesser Night Vision]? His eyes went wide when he saw the blue screen. He looked up, and as he did, he began to see the world around him shift.

His head grew dizzy for a moment as he squinted. His vision blurred, before the headache went away. And when his vision returned to normal, he could see clearly.

Well, not completely clearly. But it was like he was back on the second floor of the Silk Mines. No longer did he have such terrible visibility, unable to see even ten feet ahead of him. Now, he could see up to the end of the corridor that was roughly a hundred feet ahead.

This… is going to be useful, Adrian thought as he picked up the broken limbs of the gold spider. He took in a deep breath, wiping the sweat off his forehead. And he took a moment to rest. [Stealth Step] upgraded to [Shadow Walk], too. I wonder if I am now strong enough to defeat that hitman.

Adrian hesitated as the idea crossed his mind. A part of him really wanted to welcome that challenge. But he knew he should have waited until he was at least Level 60 before trying that fight.

I need to get my Class evolution first, he told himself as he picked himself up. That means I’ll have to keep leveling up.

That was what Adrian told himself as he stored the corpse of the gold spider and began trudging down the corridor. He might have had a good kill to start off the day, but he wasn’t finished yet.

I still need to get more stronger. Adrian didn’t falter as he caught a glimpse of a trio of ruby spiders ahead. They didn’t notice him. He could only see them thanks to his [Lesser Night Vision]. I need to keep growing.

And he charged at the ruby spiders, attacking them and testing out his new Skills

*Ding!*

You have killed a [Ruby Spider - Level 51] — You have earned experience for killing an enemy!

*Ding!*

You have killed a [Ruby Spider - Level 55] — You have earned experience for killing an enemy!

*Ding!*

You have killed a [Ruby Spider - Level 54] — You have earned experience for killing an enemy!

…

*Ding!*

Your Class [Savage Hermit] has reached Level 56! — You have gained +1 to all Essences, and you have gained 1 Essence Points!

*Ding!*

Your Class [Savage Hermit] has reached Level 57! — You have gained +1 to all Essences, and you have gained 1 Essence Points!