by Aaron Oster
“Good work, Gordon,” Sam made sure to say as the dog sat on his haunches and produced a bloody bone.
“You as well, Sam. It was quite the fight.”
They hadn’t really been speaking much lately, and the rift between them was widening. Sam knew that without the dog and bird, the two humans wouldn’t be able to challenge Dungeons like these. Sure, their party was lacking in everything except for damage-dealers, but at least they had each other’s backs. If they were to lose the companion animals, they wouldn’t be able to take on challenges like this anymore, so he had to find some common ground with the dog, or risk losing him.
Cracking the lid on the chest, Sam examined the few items inside, already seeing that not a single one of them, aside from the gold, would be even remotely useful to him.
ITEMS FOUND!
Name: Giant’s Hammer
Durability: 100/100
Rarity: Rare
Quality: Sturdy
Damage: 39 - 48
Requirements: 120 Strength
Estimated Value: 25 Gold
Name: Giant’s Shoulder Guard
Durability: 105/105
Rarity: Rare
Quality: Sturdy
Armor: +25
Requirements: 120 Strength
Estimated Value: 22 Gold
Name: Ability Scroll
Durability: 12/12
Rarity: Rare
Quality: Good
Contents: Massive Expansion
Effect: Allows the user to expand parts of themselves while attacking
Requirements: Level 10 Mage
Estimated Value: Unknown
Name: Gold Coins (X50)
Sam tucked the gold away in his Spatial Wallet but was unsure of what to do with the rest. The weapon and armor were completely useless. In fact, he couldn’t even lift them, and the Ability Scroll would cost Stamina to use, something which he really didn’t have a lot of. In fact, he’d probably never get any use out of it, even if he did learn the ability.
He was just about to offer it to Emma, when he had a different idea.
“Hey, Gordon,” he said, holding the scroll up in the air. “Could you use this?”
The dog let out a sigh, seemingly annoyed with being interrupted during the very important task of chewing his bone. However, when Gordon read over the scroll’s properties, his attitude changed.
“Why, yes, I do believe something like this would be very useful. How thoughtful of you to hand this over to me instead of simply selling it.”
“Yeah, don’t remind me,” Sam said, turning to Emma, who was staring at a ring with a sour expression on her face.
“What did you get?” he asked.
“Bunch of useless stuff. You?” She walked over to join him.
“Same,” he replied, pointing to the massive weapons. “I can’t even lift them.”
Emma peered over his shoulder and let out a low whistle.
“Now that’s some impressive looking weaponry you’ve got there. The hammer’s got nothing on my sword, but I could definitely use something like that when blunt force is needed.”
A thoughtful expression crossed her face then, and she turned to him, a small grin playing at the corners of her lips.
“You mind a trade?” She held out the small silvery ring for him to see. “I know it’s tradition for the man to be the ring-giver, but I do believe in equality.”
“Just let me see it first,” Sam replied with an eye-roll.
Still grinning, Emma tossed him the ring, moving to grab the massive hammer from the chest.
ITEM FOUND!
Name: Wisdom’s Promise
Durability: 145/145
Rarity: Epic
Quality: Sturdy
Effect: +15 Wisdom
Estimated Value: Unknown
Legend has it that Wisdom was once personified, descending from up high and wearing a full set of Divine artifacts. This ring is said to have been crafted from a small fragment that was left behind after her passing.
Sam closed the item description and gave Emma an odd look.
“You do know that trading this ring for a hammer is hardly fair. This item would boost your Wisdom by a huge amount!”
“Toss in the Shoulder Guard, and we’ll call it even,” Emma replied with a smirk.
Sam wasn’t one to argue, so he simply shrugged, slipping the ring next to the others. He shuddered slightly as his Wisdom was finally pushed over the 100-point mark, making it his second attribute to do so.
“By the way, how close are you to your next level?” Emma asked as she took a few test swings with her new hammer.
Sam hadn’t actually checked his status in a while, so he pulled it up to see if he was getting close.
CHARACTER STATUS (ABBREVIATED)
Name: Sam
Race: Human
Level: 24
XP: 145,296/175,000
AP: 1
Class: Over-Mage
HP: 350/350 (Regen 3.5 Per Second)
MP: 1,160/1,160 (Regen 10.1 Per Second)
STA: 130/130 (Regen 1.3 Per Second)
ATTRIBUTES
Strength: 10
Constitution: 23 (35)
Agility: 8
Endurance: 9 (13)
Intelligence: 101 (116)
Wisdom: 72 (101)
Charisma: 53
Luck: 16
“Getting there,” he said, closing his status. “It’s starting to get hard to level at this point with costs rising so much.”
“I know what you mean,” Emma lamented. “I haven’t really made much progress toward level 24.”
“That’s because you literally just leveled up,” Sam replied with a snort.
“Yeah, but I want more attribute points!” Emma said with a pout.
“I know what you mean,” Sam replied. “Still, after this quest is over, I’ll definitely gain a level. Maybe I’ll even reach level 26. After all, we still need to fight our way to the final Boss.”
There was a loud crash at that moment, followed by an obnoxiously loud cheer.
“Huzzah! Justice is victorious!”
“And here I was hoping she’d kick his ass,” Emma muttered.
Sam hid a smile as he turned to face the victorious knight.
“Good job, Spearlittle. I guess that means we can move on.”
“Right you are! Justice waits for no one. Huzzah!”
40
The group trudged tiredly up the stairs to the next level. Though Sam wanted nothing more than to lay down and rest, he knew they were on the clock. If they didn’t defeat the enchantress by midnight, he’d be fighting through a powerful Dungeon with one of the awful Divine Curses sitting on his head.
Being the victim of one too many curses, Sam wasn’t keen on inflicting more hardship on himself.
Spearlittle followed behind once more, rambling on and on about his bravery and about how the kingdom would always be indebted to him. Sam did his best to ignore the knight, but even the rambling moron stopped as soon as they reached the top of the stairs.
Whatever Sam had been expecting to see, the dusty, cobweb-lined and totally creepy corridor was not it. He’d expected to see maybe an open floor, perhaps a hallway leading to the main part of the castle. Instead, he got a horror movie set, complete with creepy-crawlies.
“Well, what good trope would be complete without giant spiders?” Emma asked.
“Giant spiders?” Sam asked, feeling his heart jump.
“Well, yeah,” Emma replied. “Something had to have made all these giant webs, and fantasy topes 101 says that where there are giant spider webs, there are giant spiders.”
She was right, of course. They hadn’t so much as taken a single step further, when a massive, sixteen-legged monstrosity scuttled into the room. Its body was black and hairy, with a red skull and crossbones on its back.
DUNGEON MONSTER
Name: Giant Spy Der
Gender: Female
Level: 26
- HP: 610/610 - MP: 0/0 - STA: 390/390
Status: Hungry
Greatest Threat: Steel Webbing
Highest Attribute: Endurance (114)
Spiders are a staple of any castle. These were changed, however, twisted and enhanced by an Enchantresses’ magic.
“Great,” Sam said, drawing his staff and leveling it at the oversized arachnid. “Now, if you’ll all stand back.”
You deal: -426 Damage to Giant Spy Der (Over-Burn +108 Burn Damage)(Massive Critical).
The screaming sound that came from the center of the conflagration was cut off as Sam used his Mage Bolt, sending lightning-shaped mana coursing through the creature. He followed it quickly by a Mana Burn.
Giant Spy Der dies! +2,650 XP
Sam stood back, breathing hard as the last of the webbing burned away, leaving the twitching and scorched corpse in its wake.
“You alright there, bud?” Emma asked, placing a hand on his shoulder.
“Just peachy,” Sam replied, watching in satisfaction as the monster began to disintegrate, leaving a sparkling green leaf in its place, as well as a squishy-looking organ.
“The monster is dead, huzzah! People shall speak of thine legend for ages to come, Sir Samuel!”
Spearlittle then had to duck behind his shield as Sam blasted him with his Flintlock.
“Call me that again, and I’ll aim lower next time,” he threatened.
“My armor…!”
“…Will do you no good against my Multi-shot,” Sam finished, daring him to argue.
Spearlittle swallowed hard, then fixed a grin on his face.
“Very well. A truce, then!”
Sam let out a snort and turned to face the now clear corridor. He wasn’t a fan of spiders on the best of days. This particular trope was one he could do without, though now that they were here, he had little choice.
“Alright, this is how we’re going to move,” he said, turning to face the group. “I want all directions covered at all times, so someone is going to have to walk looking up, behind, and to the sides.”
He knew that spiders liked to sneak up on people in places like this, so if he made sure all of their basis were covered, they could at least avoid being ambushed. After a few minutes, their group set out once again, everyone keeping their eyes squarely fixed on their positions.
The corridors were long and narrow, and as soon as they reached the end, they were met with a branching hallway. One went to the right and the other continued straight.
“Which way should we go?” Emma asked, looking between the two.
“Trope lore says that it really doesn’t matter,” Sam replied. “Whichever way we take will automatically become the more dangerous one.”
“Should we split up?”
“You never split the party. Never! Haven’t you watched a single horror movie?”
Emma sighed, her shoulder slumping as she seemed to accept their fate.
“Oh, well. I guess we’ll just keep going straight.”
Sam nodded, and they all continued on. Soon, the area was thick with spider webs once more, hindering their progress as Sam burned his way through them. They encountered several more of the Giant Spy Ders as they went, and each time, Sam burned them to a crisp before they could so much as move.
“You know, I get the feeling that you really do not like those of the arachnid species,” Gordon commented after the sixth such incident.
“Really?” Sam asked sarcastically. “Whatever would give you that idea?”
“Well, now that you ask…” Gordon began.
Sam turned away and headed down the clear corridor.
“Worry thee not, noble hound! I appreciate thine candor! Why, I remember when I was just a wee lad, no more than five or six, I came across the most vile of villains…”
“Remind me to buy Gordon something nice when we’re done with this place,” Sam said. “That dog puts up with enough from me, but even I don’t torture him as badly as that moron.”
“I don’t get why he keeps talking to him,” Emma replied. “It’s not like he knows Gordon can understand him.”
“He’s just that dumb,” Barry replied. “The idiot can’t get anyone else to listen to him, so he just blabbers on to the dog. Poor sucker.”
The bird snickered to himself as Sam burned away yet another patch of spiderwebs.
“Is it just me or…” Emma began.
“No, it’s not just you,” Sam cut her off. “When it comes to creepy spider-infested Dungeons, nothing you see is ever just you.”
“Got it,” Emma replied.
“Is it just me, or are yonder spiderwebs growing thicker? And are those eggs?”
Sam gritted his teeth as Spearlittle asked the question.
“You idiot!” Sam yelled, whirling on him. “Now, we’re going to have to face a horde!”
“Whatever do you mean?” Spearlittle asked, looking affronted.
“Fuck!” Sam cursed, taking several steps back from the literal wall of webbing and preparing himself for the fight of his life.
“The spiders always come when you make stupid comments like that!” Emma yelled, bracing herself as well. “Don’t you know that there are things you’re never supposed to say in situations like this?”
“That’s rich, coming from the girl who almost set them off,” Barry said.
Though Emma wanted to do nothing more than kill the damn bird, she could already feel the ground shaking and hear the loud clacking skitter of carapace over stone.
“Here they come!” Sam yelled, casting his Over-Burn just as a sea of crawling blackness swarmed from every crack in the walls, ceiling, and webbing before them.
The explosion of flames roasted hundreds at once, small notifications coming in one after the next letting him know of damage and XP gains. However, with swarms like this, killing hundreds was never enough.
“I don’t wanna be spider food!” Emma yelled, stepping and slashing as the little black arachnids threw themselves at her.
Spearlittle simply pulled the visor on his helmet down and allowed the spiders to swarm over him. Apparently, they couldn’t get in, and soon after, they left him alone and concentrated on the others, who were trying to fend them off. Sam and Emma were cursing away as they fought against the tide, and Barry and Gordon did their best to help.
Unfortunately, the only one having any real effect against them was Sam. His fire-based abilities torched the small creatures instantly, hitting wider areas and assuring that the spiders kept their distance. Emma and the others couldn’t really do much more than step on them, their skills and abilities suited to fighting larger opponents.
Sam felt a cold sweat break out across his brow as the spiders continued coming. He was quickly running out of MP, and they weren’t slowing down. Some had even managed to break through, dropping to his shoulder from above. It was only once he felt the first bite that he understood how truly dangerous these creatures were. The bite hurt like hell, and he found out that the spiders were poisonous.
Swarm Spider bites you for -3 Damage (Spider Bite).
You are Poisoned! -1 HP per second for 10 seconds.
“Fuck!” Sam yelled again, squashing the spider and aiming for the ceiling.
His Mana Burn exploded upon impact, and dead spider corpses started raining down upon them. However, with his attack focused upward, the spiders coming from the front were able to advance.
“Damn it! Someone watch the ceiling!”
“Leave it to me!” Gordon said, leaping into the air and swinging at the stone above.
His paw suddenly expanded to ten times its original size, turning into a makeshift bug-swatter and slamming into the ceiling. The dog then twisted midair, his tail expanding and catching a dozen of the spiders as they dropped. Barry swooped toward the webbing and unleashed his exploding poop attack, blasting away some of it and killing more spiders in the process.
Emma charged in then, slashing at the webbing as well. With every cut, five sep
arate places were sliced at once. She was aiming for where the webs were attached to the walls and ceiling, forcing their way through.
With his teammates finally finding a way to help, Sam had a much easier time dealing with the spiders, not that it wasn’t still hard. By the time his Over-Burn’s cooldown ran out and he was able to use it to clear their path, they were all covered in bites and suffering poison damage. Everyone but Spearlittle that was, who was still perfectly chipper and completely unfazed.
“I am so not looking forward to facing the Boss on this level,” Sam said as he plucked a spider from his shoulder.
His entire neck was aching, and even though his health regen was fighting against the poison, he’d taken way too many bites for it to keep up. On the slightly bright side, at least that little swarm had netted him a massive amount of XP.
So, was it worth it in the end?
No! Sam decided. Definitely not!
41
“If whatever did that catches me, please kill me before it can wrap me up in a cocoon to feed its children.”
Sam couldn’t help but agree with Emma’s assessment as he looked around the massive open room. It looked like it had once been some sort of reception room. Tables and chairs, now covered in spider-silk, sat at the very center. Fine tapestries peeked through the heavy webbing on the walls, and suits of armor stood covered from head to toe.
On the far end of the room, Sam could just barely make out a pinprick of light, their way forward. Unfortunately, but not surprisingly, it was heavily webbed-up, blocked by whatever monstrosity had made this nest. There were also eggs —thousands upon thousands of tiny, yellow-brown balls— lining the floor, walls, and ceiling.
