Day 19

Trees twisted until they snapped, caught between cyclones circling like sharks, pulling spider monsters from tree limbs as two clashing armies fell to debris. Torches winked out in the darkness as a battle over chainsword alloys and enchantments settled. I stood on the same limb I had landed on before, across from the spider woman who greeted me.

She tried to use a false dichotomy to steer my decisions. I crossed my arms and stood over the monster. She backed away until the wind nearly took her and stood her ground. The tree we stood on swayed back and forth, each time threatening to crack and fall before the raging winds. We remained in the eye of the storm. I started unable to leave but safe while we remained. Lives were lost on both sides of the battle as the cyclones gleefully chased monsters hiding the cavities left behind by uprooted trees.

A smile remained on my face from the time I started the storm; the red-lipped spider woman didn't seem to share my glee. I approached the monster, and she tried to make herself small. While she might have expected me to kill her, I didn't feel like it.

I brushed her hair with my fingers and let the silky black strands slide between them. Her beautiful white face hid her monstrous nature well. Her slanted eyes reminded me of Mai; maybe that's why I was feeling merciful. Slowly, I patted her large forehead before sitting down beside her. She reminded me of a photo of a girl from Easton.

They were all martial arts fanatics over there, and their monsters were different. I remembered a picture of a dragon, and it was more snake than the dragons that lived in the mountains. Their dragons often lived in rivers and lakes and gave advice to young martial artists or were food for stronger practitioners. The system their Heavenly Grand Patriarch used was very different from our own, but there were some similarities. I couldn't imagine meditating all day for power instead of fighting for it.

Of the photos of their women I've seen, they were all beauties. No Weston man would be able to handle them because of the power difference. Functionally, they were as strong as rank 4 monsters on average for the juniors of their Sects.

"Trusting you isn't possible even if I want to. You have that kind of face."

"I must drink lots to preserve it." I reached out, and she flinched. "What are you doing?"

I pushed her in my lap and pet her head and spider body. There were little hairs on her back that spiked up only to settle after I didn't kill her. In the distance beyond the storms, a massive crow flew away from the slow-moving cyclones.

Maneater

Fu Reputation 1/100 Feared

"Fu is a name." Fu turned her head and glared at me with her brown, almost black eyes.

"I don't care if you killed all my sisters; spare me. I'll do anything."

Storms were scary, and a man capable of starting a cyclone was terrifying. If I was her, I might be scared as well. We humans have feared the weather since the dawn of time. Slowly, my storm died down while I stroked my new pet's body.

My hand glided across her thorax and stopped at her spinneret. "Please don't mess with that; you'll make a mess," Fu said.

"I want you to collect all the items that were dropped and kill any survivors," I said.

+2 Reputation with Fu

"Aren't you worried I might take something valuable," Fu said.

So she needed more life experience and to study more. Was she really just a pretty face? I wanted a reason to keep her, so I gave her a task that was useful for a ranged fighter. Proving herself untrustworthy and stealing from me at her first opportunity would remove any reason I might have to spare her. It would be incredibly dumb.

I thought about her initial words and understood what she and the rest of her kind were trying to do. There was a spider conspiracy to limit the power of chainswords. Most likely she worked for the boss of this floor or maybe a mid-boss very susceptible to chainswords.

I raised my hand and closed it into a fist. The cyclones shuddered as I pulled on my control. This time, my head throbbed as I fought against the current. I fought against the storms as my head throbbed, and my stamina drained until the cyclones stopped their onslaught, and only a gentle breeze remained.

"I can always start them back," I said.

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+10 Reputation with Fu

A show of power really was all it took to increase my reputation with her. She looked up at me with shimmering eyes under the moonlight.

Maneater wasn't just a name. They had a reputation. Most tamers or mages killed them on sight when they could. The conniving creatures were excellent at manipulating dungeon inhabitants to become deadly threats against adventurers. Letting Fu live was probably a mistake. I liked her face, and for some reason, that made me stupid enough to be lenient. No more than that, I was thinking about keeping her.

"What are your plans?"

"Those are not for you to know," I said.

The dungeon seemed close to picking a theme if the chainsword-based disagreement was real. So, my best bet to get a good weapon was to kidnap the leader of the blacksmiths and enchanters. Fortunately, I had a cordage dispenser in my back pocket.

I waited 30 minutes and then an hour before I stood back on my branch and debated starting the storm back. The tree swayed as I looked down to see Fu pointing her spinneret at me along with many other maneaters. I sighed, guessing this was an ambush, and debated testing out my Psy Bolts.

The web connected to the tree limb beside me, and they slowly raised a massive cocoon that jingled with stuff. I jumped off the limb and landed beside her. The other maneaters giggled as they crawled around me.

My hand found her head, and I couldn't help but run my fingers through her raven-black hair. "I was bringing it to you; wasn't that what you wanted?" Fu asked.

"All I wanted was for you to help me, and you proved you could handle that," I said.

She lowered her spun-up cocoon and opened it for me, revealing skill shards, several different chainswords, and a monster egg covered in orange stripes. I whistled in appreciation before giving the skills a look over. My skills were filling out, and I was seeing repeats far more often than I liked; there were also two uncommon skill shards, meaning I slew two mid-bosses. So I recorded the new ones.

Normal Skill Shards

Counter

Fell Slash

Chainsword Mastery

Telepathy

Blood Drain

Uncommon Skill Shards

Telekinesis

Ping!

Skills Learned

Counter lvl1

Fell Slash lvl1

Chainsword Mastery lvl1

Telepathy lvl1

Blood Drain lvl1

Telekinesis (UC) lvl1

From what I could tell, Telekinesis wasn't an easy skill to use. While it relied on willpower and stamina, it took a lot of intelligence to get the most out of it. There were so many steps involved with the skill that It was almost not worth it. I could use it, but it would take years to be good at it. Telepathy showed more promise already; I could feel my mind break free of my skull. Telepathy used for communication was far more user-friendly. The dangerous things that could be done with it were out of my reach at its current level. My range with Telepathy was around 5ft. Intelligence determines the skill's range. Fell slash gave my chainswords a little more range, and Chainsword Mastery was an incredible find.

I picked out the sturdiest chainswords on the web and stored the egg in my backpack. After tossing my broken chainsword away and I inspected my new ones, I was ready to rip and tear. Fell energy black and as dangerous as my chainswords' revved edges covered my weapons. Fell Mastery was working overtime to put the energy to good use. Before I went on a rampage, I sheathed my weapons.

The time had come to finish off the boss and open the way to floor 2. I looked back at Fu.

"What can I do for you, boss?"

"We're exploring; make a little satchel for yourself that I can put on like my backpack. I'm going to carry you." I said.

"Aren't you scared I'll attack you?"

I patted her head just to feel the silky, ebony hair for a third time. There was no way I could let her go; I was addicted. She grumbled and went to work jumping to my shoulder with webs between legs to measure my shoulders. When she jumped to check my chest, I caught her, and she glared at me like I was some kind of alien. Her cut black legs reached out with incredible dexterity, finishing off her measurements. Then she went to work spinning a web that was quickly formed into a backpack built to go over my own and fit her body comfortably. I put it on, and she quickly slipped inside it while the other maneaters watched.

"Betrayal," They chanted, but I only reached a hand back and rubbed her deliciously soft head.

"You are pitiful," Fu said as I glided down from the tree with Crow Step. Even Fu was lightened by the skill since I wore her in my backpack.

The second my feet touched the ground, I shot off, following my map toward the rabbit castle. My weapons seemed to be made of superior alloys, so enchanting was the obvious choice. We could indulge in a little kidnapping as well. I would love to add a rabbit enchantress to my growing monster team.

Every monster I added could be taken away by Tony Graves. I stopped abruptly, and Fu shrieked as she tumbled over my shoulder and would have splattered against a tree if I hadn't rushed to save her. Instead of stopping her abruptly and killing her as surely as the tree she was falling toward, I caught her shot forward, equalized with her speed, and stepped around the tree. From there, I slowed down until I could comfortably stop without harming her.

+15 Reputation with Fu

"How did you know I was trying to kill you?"

I covered her sweet red-painted lips with my hand to silence her. "I felt your breath on my neck. You're too classy to kiss a guy you just met."

"I was going to dig my fangs in your neck, wrap you up in silk, drain you slowly through the week, and dump your husk on the ground." I picked her up by her ear. "Stop. I'll be good."

+1 Reputation with Fu

Discipline was one of the core tenets of being a tamer. I was fully prepared to paddle Mai's butt if she got out of line. This wasn't much different.

I needed a way to protect my monsters from tamers. Before, I had hoped Bond would do the job, but it was slow and Gwen and Mai were in the negatives. That clearly meant tamer skills were more powerful or Bond was not the right tool for the job. Fu's status was interesting.

Maneater

Fu Reputation 28/100 Underling

She was the type of underling who sought to become the new boss at the first opportunity. It was fun, really, but what would happen if I let her reputation continue to rise. Would there eventually be affection, loyalty, and obedience?

There were so many mysteries to my skill, but its limits were no mystery. I couldn't free Gwen with it or Mai. I needed more powerful skills. So, I decided to prepare to face the boss.

"We are heading toward Silver Castle, where the enchanter queen, the abyss rabbit, lives. You seek to add enchantments to your blades." Fu said.

She lunged, mouth wide and fangs fully extended. Fu missed completely biting into an afterimage. I caught her gently and rubbed her hair.

"You got that right, little lady. We're going to make my chainswords nice and deadly, then I'll beat the boss and step on the next floor."

"The boss of this floor is my mother."

"Some spiders can only grow to their full potential by eating their mothers," I said.

"We started this conflict to protect her; she's the reason any of us can live in peace," Fu said.

I shook my head; this reminded me of the lesson I learned when Gwen was taken. "Peace is a lie; only power will prevent your neighbor from gutting you to take what you own. The powerful will tell everyone you were a horrible piece of feces when you can't defend yourself. Only by being strong yourselves will you know true peace. That's why after I cut off your mother's limbs and decapitate her. You'll thank me for it afterward." I said.

"Who hurt you?"

I laughed at her question. "Someone stronger at the time, but soon I'll be the strongest."

"You're broken like me. I will fix you." Fu said.

+5 Reputation with Fu

I had no idea what was going on in that monster's head.