Chapter 20: Chapter 19 – Spider Fiends

Chapter 19 - Spider Fiends

 

As if the rooms getting worse and worse, leading up to this mess of a floor and a room full of stalactites and stalagmites was not bad enough, now I also had to face these things.

There were three of them and I was alone, so I needed to be extra careful and more defensive than usual on how I would approach this. I probably could not afford to let them get a lot of hits on me.

That was when I realized I had not distributed my level-up points yet. I was too busy checking on Jack and Tim and then arguing with Wrel. I would probably need them for this fight, so I used them as quickly as I could. I did not have time to think about it; I put them all in Agility. There was no way it would not be worth adding points in it. Yeah, it could potentially be more beneficial if I split them into two to four categories, but I could not sit down and think it through.

I assigned them and pressed 'Submit.' The amazing sensation of warm stew in my mouth and down my throat was euphoric. Relaxing even. But I could not really relax now. This was actually one of the worst times to do so.

 

Stats:

[Available Stat Points: 0]

[Vitality]: 15

[Strength]: 20 (+3) {=23}

[Endurance]: 15 (-1) {=14}

[Wisdom]: 16

[Agility]: 27 (+2) {=29}

[Perception]: 16

 

The increase in Agility was so big that I instantly felt lighter. Like I had lost a ton of weight. Like I was carrying ankle and wrist weights, and I decided it was time to take them off. The few steps I took back to get into position to fight the new guests were smoother. I felt like a well-oiled spider-killing machine.

I used [Identify] on these weird things to check their levels.

 

[Spider Fiend - Lvl. 7]

[Spider Fiend - Lvl. 7]

[Spider Fiend - Lvl. 7]

 

Was this my lucky day or what? They were all quite lower level than me.

The name actually checked out. They kind of looked like actual people until you realized they had three extra spider legs coming out from each of their sides, a chelicera were there was supposed to be their mouth—unlike the webbed man that had both a mouth and a chelicera—and a spider's abdomen attached to their back, at tailbone height, with a spinneret at the end of it.

At least that dump cart should prevent them from moving fast.

As I finished my thought, one of the [Spider Fiends] was already in striking distance, somehow propelled forward and was now mid air, looking at me, with its right fist—and its right spider legs—cocked and loaded.

I was barely able to crouch and dodge the punch the creature unleased, thanks to my freshly increased Agility stats. The beast kept going on its trajectory and landed with a tumble. It was about to smoothly get back up and come at me once again, but a stalagmite blocked its way and made it fall flat on its face.

Meanwhile, as I crouched, to avoid the fiend's punch, I was met with a knee to the face from another one of the fiends, making me fly up, while the third fiend was there, had already jumped in the air, to make me fall back down, by holding its two hands together and hitting me on the back.

Damn, they're quick! How long have they been practicing this for?

It hurt quite a bit, but it was nothing I could not handle. After what I went through on my first few fights, I felt like I could take hits like that all day long. Although I should probably not actually do so.

I was down, but I did not lose time drawing my sword and swinging in a half circle.

The fiend that knee'd my face saw my attempt to slash it and threw a spider web back to the wall, pulling itself away from danger.

But it was not fast enough. My blade managed to hit and cut off its right human leg, along with the lowest of its right spider legs. The other two were not close enough to get hit by my slash.

It could not make a sound with its 'mouth,' but it started violently moving its remaining spider legs, which meant it was mad and in pain. Either that or it was trying to sing a rap song to get in the mood.

All three [Spider Fiends] were now far from me once again, with one still flat on its face, which gave me just enough time to pick myself back up.

This time, I already had my weapon drawn, and I managed to block the next incoming punch from the one healthy spider dude. I raised Illuminator and turned it to the side so that the wider part was facing me and the fiend. I placed my left palm on the top side, while holding the sword from its grip with my right hand, and blocked the fiend's punch. This made me momentarily lose my balance and take a step backwards, which made me lose my balance even more because of the uneven ground, but that was all it did.

"Does it really have to be like that? Why can't you have an extra 'r' in your names? Why can't we be spider fRiends?"

I heard a creepy shriek come out of the [Spider Fiend] that had hit the stalagmite earlier and was now getting back up.

Wait... Did it just laugh at my joke?

Well, whether they had a good sense of humor or not, they were trying to kill me and I had to do the same to them if I wanted to actually survive. It would not only cost me my life, but it would potentially cost Jack's too.

I slashed once again with my sword, the same way I did when I was on the ground, but the fiend was expecting it and backed off. The only thing I hit was the upper part of a stalagmite near me, cutting off its point.

"That will do," I smirked.

I caught the cut stalagmite edge while it was still mid-air and immediately used [Item Throw], sending it flying straight towards the spider-thing's face.

The fiend, already having backward momentum, did not have time to move out of harm's way and the stalagmite pierced its face, killing it instantly.

 

Defeated [Spider Fiend - Lvl. 7]!

Experience is awarded for defeating an enemy!

 

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The good news was that one was down, one was injured and one was dumb. The bad news was that the stalagmite was now stuck deep into the fiend's face and I could not get my fingers on it and pull it out.

The [Spider Fiend] that was the first to charge at me, charged once again, except this time I was much more prepared and was able to easily pivot to the left and slash its lower back, making it fall down in pain once again.

As I did that, I felt something warm hit me from the side. I looked and saw there was a spider web attached to the side of my abdomen, thrown by the fiend that was missing a leg. It was leaning against the wall and pulled the web back towards it, trying to make me fall face first into a stalagmite and have the same fate as their friend. Maybe they were not so dumb after all.

Unfortunately for it, my Agility was unmatched and I was able to twist and turn and dodge the stalagmite. Unfortunately for me, I still fell down and hit my back—thankfully, nothing too serious.

The fiend that appreciated my joke was still on the ground, unable to move its legs. Its sciatic nerves were cut off and it was now crippled. I did not have to deal with it anymore.

So I turned to face the last remaining enemy, the one against the wall, that was missing two legs.

It was my turn to charge. And with my stat points, I was able to do so much better than they did. In a blink of an eye, I was in front of the creature, even though the terrain was uneven and slowed me down. I pointed Illuminator towards it and it pierced right through the fiend like it was a ripe, ugly tomato.

What I did not think of was that the fiend could still use the rest of its spider legs and, with its dying breath, it managed to pierce both my shoulders and give me my greatest wound in this dungeon yet.

 

Defeated [Spider Fiend - Lvl. 7]!

Experience is awarded for defeating an enemy!

 

In retrospect, I should have been a bit more careful. I panicked, thinking that I was poisoned too, but it turned out that this was something only that huge spider could actually do.

I turned back to the final remaining [Spider Fiend]. It could not do anything other than move its two hands and its head. It looked at me, scared.

I crouched down and looked at it.

"Go tell your friends what happened here. Tell them that if they try to do anything funny, the same thing will happen to them. Understand?"

I was not exactly expecting a reaction from the fiend, but not only did it understand me, but it also nodded in agreement before dragging itself away with its hands, off to the way I came from.

I seathed my sword and pulled a healing potion out of my pouch. I was not severely injured, but I was definitely not sitting at full health. Better play it safe.

After resting for a few minutes, I was primed to continue my search for the ormon fruit. I got up, passed the dead bodies of the [Spider Fiends] and went off deeper into the cave. As I passed by them, what struck me as odd was the fact that their blood looked different than the rest of the spiders'

For some reason, it looked... purple.

I kept going forward, exploring the cave, hoping to find the odd fruit as soon as possible. I did not know where to look, so I would just have to look everywhere.

I passed through a few different rooms but was still unable to find the fruit. All I was able to find was a bunch of these Level 0 spiders, which they did nothing other than be annoying. I was not even getting any significant amount of [Exp] for that, and yet, I could die if I let them bite me - it was not fair.

I thought I also saw another one of those [Spider Fiends] lurking in the shadows, but when I turned my head and looked at it, it quickly ran away.

Seems like the crippled one told them the story of Jinden, the super awesome, funny, and kinda cute fighter.

A few minutes later, I saw something I definitely was not expecting to see. No, not the tree. That I was expecting to see in every new corner I turned and every new room I entered.

What I saw was a young woman of Human origin, with long, golden locks and a long, orange dress covering her shoulders all the way to her feet. She was just standing there. Hands clasped. Looking at nothing in particular.

She seemed friendly, but I remained cautious, with my hand on Illuminator's grip. I approached slowly, ready to strike if needed.

I got closer and closer, until I was right in front of her, but she paid no attention to me.

Is she a ghost? A spirit? An extremely realistic statue of a queen that was born centuries ago? Maybe the ghost of said queen.

I thought of lightly bopping her head to test out if I could indeed touch her, but this could seem rude if she was indeed a real person. So I tried talking to her instead.

"Uhhm... hello...?" I said

"Oh dear hero! You're finally here! Please save my child!" The woman suddenly snapped out of her petrified state and said with exaggerated emotionalism in both her voice and actions as she put her right hand over her chest and lifted her left one high towards the ceiling.

I panicked. She had a child—she looked a bit young to have one, but, hey; you do you—and it was in need of help. It seemed urgent and I had to do something.

"What's wrong? Where is your child? Did the [Spider Fiends] take it?" "

"My dear hero, my child was poisoned! I cannot find the cure by myself, there are terrible spiders preventing me from continuing!" The lady continued.

 

"Poisoned? Is it bad? Where is your child right now?" I was getting more anxious by the minute. I needed to get as much information as I could, as fast as possible, so I could help the poisoned child.

"An ormon fruit, dear hero! That is the only cure to my child's disease! Please go find it for me!" She said, even more dramatically than before.

And then she suddenly stopped. Her expression became emotionless once again. She clasped her hands and looked back at the direction she was looking earlier, again, looking at nothing in particular.

This seemed weird to me, but I did not pay much attention to it. I needed to find the ormon tree even quicker than I thought. Now I had even more people depending on me.

"Do you know where that tree is? I can go and get you the fruit for your child. Just give me a direction, if you can."

"Oh dear hero! You're finally here! Please save my child!" The woman snapped out of her petrified state once again, her voice and mannerism same as before, with the same exaggerated emotionalism.

"Wait. Didn't you just say that?"

"My dear hero, my child was poisoned! I cannot find the cure by myself, there are terrible spiders preventing me from continuing!" The lady continued once again.

"Okay, you definitely said this exact same thing a minute ago."

"An ormon fruit, dear hero! That is the only cure to my child's disease! Please go find it for me!" she repeated and went back to the state I initially found her in.

"Just forget it. I'll go find the fruit and will bring you some for your child on the way back."

"Oh dear hero! You're finally here! Please save my child!"

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