Survival Quest (The Way of the Shaman: Book #1)

by Vasily Mahanenko

  Leather Belt of the Sorcerer. Durability: 50. Physical damage resistance: 20. Stamina: +2. Intellect: + 5. Item class: Uncommon. Minimum level: 10.

  Chainmail Pauldrons of Strength. Durability: 50. Physical damage resistance: 60. Stamina: +2. Strength: + 5. Item class: Uncommon. Minimum level: 10.

  We dividing the coins into four equal piles, each of us receiving 53 gold. Not bad for the first mob, not bad at all. The belt with Intellect I could take for myself, but the pauldrons suited both fighters at once. So we had to cast lots with 'Rock-Paper-Scissors', which resulted in Leite becoming the happy owner of the pauldrons. We equipped the new gear and went on, curious to see what happened with the worm.

  Continuing to move with care, we came to the place where the way was blocked by the grate. Small broken pieces of the bars sticking out of the ceiling were the only reminder that it had ever been there. Some green slime was dripping off them - probably the monster's blood. Trying not to step in the puddles of slime in the wake of the worm after it had crashed through the metal obstacle, we came to the cave with the hole. At the moment its size was measured by a unique unit called '1 worm'. Pierced by the spikes, the familiar-looking worm formed a bridge of sorts across the hole. It must have gained an impressive speed when rushing through the corridors to fly over such a distance. In any case, this was the cause of that last deafening roar.

  Now we just had to carefully make our way to the other side of the hole. Eric went first.

  "Watch out for the slime!" he shouted, flinging the slime off his boot with his pick. "It immediately reduces item durability by 5 points"

  The body of the worm was soft and repulsive to the touch and the motionless appendages it used for moving around were enough to make you gag. Sinking to our knees in the carcass and carefully avoiding the item-degrading slime, we got to the other end of the cave and went on.

  A few dozen meters later Eric, who was walking ten paces in front of us, gave a cry and started to fend something off. Every second his movements became slower and slower. In the end he froze altogether. Strange, what on earth happened to him? Even more strange - his Hit Points started to go down. I summoned a Healing Spirit and carefully approached Eric - and immediately jumped back: thin and almost invisible webs were hanging from the ceiling and Eric was covered in them pretty much head to toe. What would we do without a tank?

  "Clutzer, Leite - we have to get Eric out! Careful, there are webs here! Thais is what we do: I grab Eric and get tangled like him, Leite grabs me and Clutzer grabs Leite and pulls the whole train out of the web."

  "I'll leg it first. We'll all buy it if the healer kicks the bucket," replied Clutzer, ran to Eric and grabbing him by the arm started to pull him back. He managed to pull our tank for a total of three steps before he himself froze like a stone statue.

  "Mahan, just make sure you don't get tangled yourself," said Leite before following Clutzer. Two more steps. There were only four steps to Leite, but they had to be made through the web. I'll not be able to pull all three of them out. I'd manage one step at the most and then the corridor will sport four wax figures with gradually falling Hit Points. I wondered if they were in pain. Something must be gnawing at them if their Hit Points are diminishing. Anyway, time for some quick thinking. I went over to the edge of the space with hanging webs and looked up. The whole ceiling was dotted with small cocoons from which the webs were coming out. All right, let's see now what's inside these things. I selected one of the cocoons and summoned a Lightning Spirit.

  Damage inflicted. 348: 348 (Lightning Spirit Damage) /1(Opponent Level /Character Level).

  Experience gained: +10 Experience, points remaining until next level: 470.

  Skill increase:

  +3% to Intellect. Total: 43%

  There was a muffled squeak and a smallish spider fell to the floor, legs in the air. So, that's where the web was coming from and these cocoons were actually spiders. Just how many of them were there?

  It took me twenty minutes to make my way to Eric, having first pulled out Leite and Clutzer. I almost completely drained my mana reserve, summoning lightning and healing Spirits in turn. In these twenty minutes 72 spiders got me up to level 13 and my base Intellect to 38 points. If it wasn't for the Tambourine, which reduced the penalty for Spirit summoning, I would have simply ran out of mana. After freeing everyone from the web I sat down and closed my eyes. That's it, I need a rest - in the next 10-15 minutes I'm pretty much useless.

  "Mahan, get up. It's been half an hour already," Eric shook me awake in what seemed like moments after I closed my eyes. "We have to get going. And here's you share," Eric gave me a bunch of stuff. I put the items in my sack without even looking at them. Now we had to think of a way to get through the web and not get sidetracked by digging through the loot.

  Coming to the edge of the area with the hanging spider webs, I stopped and started to examine the ceiling carefully. I just couldn't believe that the developers would design a Dungeon that could only be completed if there was a RDD (Ranged Damage Dealer) in the group. What about the freedom of choosing the group?

  "What are you trying to see there? It's not staring, but hacking you have to do here. We tried jumping through ourselves, but the Clutzer got caught in the web again. Good thing he had at least one leg free, so we could pull him out. There's no other way - only fighting through."

  A way! Of course! This could be an unusual type of labyrinth! One that was hanging from above and must not be touched. We just have to find the starting point.

  The corridor in this place was just four meters across, so I found the spider-free bit of ceiling soon enough. Damn, could I be right with my guess?

  "Eric, come here. Let's try an experiment."

  I told the others of my hunch. We spent some time arguing the probability of my being right or not, after which Eric said that I was a brainless fool, and he's prepared to take a risk to prove it. But if I don't pull him out, he'll find me and let me know exactly how wrong I was. Fists clenched, I watched Eric stare carefully at the ceiling and walk in zigzags around the corridor. In a few places he even walked in our direction, but then quickly turned and moved further away. Thirty minutes later we heard Eric's happy shout:

  "Mahan, you were right! There's a way! Take care how you move, keep your arms close and you'll get through no problem. It's just fifty meters away!"

  'What a strange Dungeon,' I thought, moving along a web-free passage. 'Instead of a bunch of mobs you get some weird worms, holes with spikes and spider-web labyrinths. But where's the boss and his entourage? Do any even exist?'

  The next cave answered my questions. Right in the centre of a round cave, about forty meters in diameter, was a two-meter-tall spider, bearing a strong resemblance to a tarantula. Yes, an overgrown tarantula. I selected the spider and looked at its properties: it's important to know what you're dealing with.

  Black Guardian of the Queen. Level: 19. Hit points: 250 000. Abilities: Leap, Summon Spiderlings, Web.

  The glowing skull above the spider's Hit Point bar indicated that we were looking at the first boss of the local Dungeon. So, aside from him, there was also a Queen of some kind - probably at the end of the passage that could be seen on the other side of the cave. At last we'll have a real fight, instead of all these 'agility games'.

  "Right, let's see what we have here," Eric said after we all had a good look at the spider and retreated back a few steps. "It doesn't have poison attacks, which is already a huge bonus. The Web's clear enough - it will slow us down for a while or get us stuck to the floor. If it's the second, we'll need help getting free of it. The Summoning of Spiderlings is clear enough too - it'll summon a crowd of little minions and we'll have to kill them fast. But I have no idea what 'Leap' is supposed to mean with this boss. It could jump at any of us (in which case you must fall down) or at me or at a particular area. Whatever - we'll take it as it comes. One thing's bad - the bastard is level 19, which means the Queen will be level 21-22. We may have reached fifteen a
lready, but the difference is noticeable. So, Mahan, don't waste your mana, I'll be taking serious damage here. Do you remember what I said before entering the Dungeon? Only hit it from the sides, listen to Mahan and if the boss goes for you - sit down and cover your head; I think that's it." Eric sighed nervously and glanced at the spider. So, I'm not the only one who can feel afraid.

  "Let's go," said Eric, getting a better grip on the pick, and then, hiding behind the shield, ran towards the spider with a wild scream: "Waste that hairy bastard!"

  The Queen's Guardian didn't wait for our tank to run up to it and start showing it who's boss. As soon as Eric was in the cave, the 'Leap' ability status bar appeared above the boss, took two seconds to fill and the tarantula jumped at him. Hit! The tank was thrown at the wall and then slid down it, remaining motionless for a few seconds. Judging by the 'Dizziness' debuff, he took a big hit. Minus 230 Hit Points, almost 25% per one attack - and that's despite Eric having a good armor with his shield and Endurance.

  "Leite, Clutzer - let's go!" I shouted and started to summon a Healing Spirit on Eric. The battle commenced.

  We've figured out the 'Leap' ability quite quickly. It turned out that the boss was unable to use it against players standing right next to it. However, it did take us two more hits against the wall to discover this - after it used this ability against me. I took the first hit a minute after the start of the battle. The Queen's Guardian did not otherwise hit very hard and many of its normal attacks Eric caught with the shield, so the tank's Hit Points never slid below 90%. I even summoned a couple of Lightning Spirits, taking off 244 Hit Points each time. And then the bar of the 'Leap' ability started to charge above the boss's head for the second time. Eric got a better grip on his shield, crouched, readying to take the hit, but the tarantula turned its head towards me and lunged forward... At first I felt an excruciating pain: it was as if a giant sledgehammer struck me on the chest. I came to myself in mid-flight, noting with detached interest how my legs and arms were waving in the air like a comet tail. A thought flashed in my head that it must look quite nice from outside, but making contact with the wall knocked me out once again. When consciousness returned, I started to summon a Healing Spirit on myself right away. I lost 65% Hit Points and 2 points to item durability in one hit. At least I didn't drop the Tambourine and the Mallet as I flew. So, this disgusting cockroach (I don't give a damn that a tarantula is a spider) likes to attack everyone in turn then? Catching every fourth hit is unpleasant, but survivable. With these thoughts I watched how a minute later the 'Leap' bar started to charge above the boss's head again. Leite or Clutzer? Should I place some bets while I'm at it? Hit!

  I came to myself on the ground. Again, Hit Points were down by 65% and item durability by 2 points. Dammit! All my stuff will break at this rate! Why did this piece of filth go for me again? Why not Leite or Clutzer? Struggling for an answer, I decided to save my mana. In those two minutes we had only damaged the boss for 15% of its Hit Points, so I had to make sure my mana lasted the whole fight. I ran up to Leite, took a place by his side and started to apply my Mallet vigorously to the boss's carcass. Just 30 Hit Points per hit, but the sea is made up of drops too. When the 'Leap' bar started to charge above the boss for the fourth time I crouched. Is it me again? I even closed my eyes waiting for the blow, still going at it with my Mallet. The bar filled up again in two seconds, the boss screamed and lunged forward, toppling Eric. Hit! The Queen's Guardian crashed into the wall, causing it to lose 5% of its Hit Points, froze for a few seconds and then came back to its place at the centre. A debuff appeared on the spider 'Damage taken increased by 10%. Duration: 1 minute.' So that's it! The 'Leap' ability works only on those using ranged attacks and if no such players are present the boss rams itself into the wall and lands itself with a 'bonus' that's quite good for us. Great!

  In the next three minutes we left the spider with only 60% of its Hit Points. This was quite easy: you just stand there and hit it, like an ore vein, no running around needed. It looked like the developers didn't think through the boss's fight mechanic all too well - nothing too exciting.

  You should never count your chickens too early...

  As soon as the boss's Hit Point bar fell below sixty percent, it lifted its head and started emitting a sickening screech. Nothing happened for a few seconds except the spider ramming into the wall one more time, but then came a shout from Clutzer:

  "Incoming! The beast called its minions!"

  I looked around and cursed through my teeth. Yeah, right - some uninteresting boss this was. Totally boring. It comes with three additional 'uninteresting' level 15 little spiders with 300000 Hit Points each. That's more than the boss itself! How are we meant to kill them?

  Judging by Eric's cursing, he'd also spotted the new spiders and was trying to get his head around the situation.

  "Don't get distracted by the new spiders, they're mine!" shouted Eric, after coming to some decision and running up to the spiders that just descended on us. Hit! Airborne Eric was indicating with all his flying glory that the boss's 'Leap' ability had just recharged. Dammit!

  The three spiders and the boss started to inflict some serious gnawing on Eric. I had to summon Healing Spirits one after another and if this continued, I'd be out of mana in a couple of minutes.

  We held out for one more minute, after sending the boss off for another hearty meeting with the wall. 'No, this is definitely not working,' I decided, when Eric's Hit Points fell below 40%. Hitting the other spiders was useless, we'd never kill them all, but neither could we leave them on the tank - he's get eaten. But, what if…

  "Eric, I'm taking the new spiders! Don't touch them! Kite!"

  I used the kite tactic quite a lot in Dolma when I went Rat hunting. You summon a Lightning Spirit and run away from the Rat and then summon another. The more you run the less damage you sustain. Eh, this'll hurt... Three Lightning Spirits went at the spiders and I sped through the cave, running away from them as fast as I could and counting the seconds until the next leap of the boss. Seems the spiderlings aren't that nimble! They don't run that fast and keep together, so no danger of them scattering through the cave. If I could only slow them down in some way, but how? When only five seconds was left until 'Leap', I ran up to the boss - I really didn't fancy taking any avoidable pounding. As I ran away from the spiderlings my mana recharged, Eric wasn't taking any extra damage and the spider minions didn't catch up with me, so soon enough we found a way to deal with them.

  I ran up to the boss a second before the 'Leap' bar appeared above it. The tarantula turned in the direction of the three spiderlings and launched forward. Hit! With the boss it was the same story: minus 5% to Hit Points, plus 10% damage taken, but the spiderlings made our day. They stayed stuck to the wall, wriggling their legs. It seemed that the boss's hit had lodged them in place. Good - now they won't get in the way.

  The boss summoned its minions two more times: when it crossed the 40% and then the 20% Hit Point threshold. After getting them stuck to the wall in the same way, I couldn't wait to see the boss's third ability: Web.

  Well, we didn't wait in vain. When the Black Guardian had only 10% of its Hit Points left, we finally experienced this ability.

  "BEWARE," a calm low voice echoed through the cave.

  So this Dungeon even came with a warning. Such warnings are put in place when a boss is about to start using particularly unpleasant abilities, which have a good chance of ending the whole raid.

  The tarantula froze and its body started to shiver, something raised up on its back and it started spewing out bits of web.

  "Heads up!" I could not think of anything more original. "We continue hitting it, but keep an eye on the falling webs!"

  "The minions are coming!" Clutzer's shout was full of desperation.

  "Eric, try to pull them! We'll hit the boss with all we have! There's only 9% left, we've got to bring it down!"

  Leite failed to dodge one of the falling webs and was immediately wrapped up. And
not just wrapped up, but also losing 10% of Life every 10 seconds. What a snag!

  "Clutzer, get Leite out or he's toast. No touching him, only daggers!" I shouted, summoning Healing Spirits non-stop on Eric and Leite in turn. I was wrong to berate the developers: the last phase of the boss was worthy of admiration. If I was playing in the main gameworld, I'd even applaud them, but now when with my death the Crafting stat was at stake, I was beginning to feel ill at ease. Had it been a mistake to come here after all?

  Clutzer got Leite free after about a minute. The boss was still at 4% Hit Points, Eric had 30% of his Hit Points left, Leite had 20, Clutzer - 60 and I - 40. I only had enough mana for two more Healing Spirit summonings. That's where things became interesting.

  Thirty seconds before the boss's leap, Clutzer got stuck in the web. We didn't have any strength or time to get him out, so I shook my head when Leite looked at me questioningly. We had to take the risk, or we'd all had it. With the remains of my Mana I healed Eric and let my hands drop helplessly. That's it. I was completely and utterly empty. Attacking with my Mallet was of little use, so I watched the others and dodged the falling webs. At least they didn't get you stuck to the floor, or there'd be no escape from this sticky rain.

  Hit! Eric remained on the floor - the web had got him in the end. The wild chirring of the boss echoed through the cave, after which it crashed on the floor. The last lot of spiderlings still running about fell on their backs and the ones on the walls grew still, the web fell off Clutzer and Eric and silence enveloped the cave.

  "This trip's getting way too freaky to keep with it, for real," came Clutzer's muffled wheeze and I was hit by an avalanche of messages: