“You probably should not have done it,” Echo said. “You probably should have not wasted any of your ammunition. Anyway, if you are low on ammo, my advice would be to take careful aim before pulling the trigger. This way, the chances that you miss your target and waste a bullet would be greatly reduced.”
“Take careful aim?” Vlad yelled. “Are you freaking serious? There are so many freaking spiders and they are so fast that I don’t have time for taking careful aim. Doing it is what would get me killed!”
“I am just trying to help,” the message from Echo read.
“Shove your advice up your ass,” Vlad growled. “I’m gonna fucking kill you, you stupid machine, when I return to the space station!”
“I hate to disappoint you,” Echo said, “but you would not be able to kill me, because I am not a real, living person like yourself. And you also cannot deactivate me. To do that, you would have to destroy the whole space station.”
When Vlad began to say something, there was a rustle of leaves and several more overgrown spiders rushed from the nearby bushes.
The Russian spun around and blasted them to shreds before they could reach him.
He then glanced at me and said, “The gunfire will attract more of those nasty things. We gotta go. But I suggest we separate and go each our way to the colony. Just try not to get into trouble again because next time I might not be nearby to save your ass.”
Before I could say anything, Vlad burst into a race and disappeared from sight.
I glanced around to make sure there were no spiders about to charge at me and began to run too.
It was not long before I ran into another group of oversized creatures.
One of the spider workers spat a gob of webbing at me from its spinneret. The silver projectile was the size of a pool ball. I ducked my head, and it arched overhead. Another spider shot a ball of webbing at me, but I was quick enough to dodge it too.
I was not keen on letting them wrap me up in their webbing again. Now that I was alone, nobody would help me if the spiders enveloped me with their web. So I was doing my best trying to avoid being hit by the gobs of webbing the spider workers spat at me.
At the same time, I fired my pistol at the creatures. Some of my bullets penetrated their bodies, the others missed them. When the spiders I hit dropped dead, notifications of received experience points popped up in my field of vision.
One time I was not quick enough and one of the sticky silvery projectiles hit me, slamming against my chest and sending me hurtling to the ground. Another spider worker popped off a gob of webbing at me. It hit my left ankle with a wet splat.
I noticed three nearby spider warriors scuttle toward me. Still lying on the ground, I opened up on them with my pistol. My bullets drilled into their bodies, green blood bursting from the wounds, pouring over the ground.
By the time I dealt with the three spider warriors, the sticky mass had already dried up, gluing my leg to the ground. I found it impossible to break free. The dried-up substance would not let go of me.
I was starting to panic.
You are in danger. Be careful.
An instant later, out of the corner of my eye, I spotted movement and heard the scuttling of chitinous legs. I jerked my head to look in that direction and saw a few spiders workers scurry toward me, about to begin spitting gobs of webbing at me again.
I roared with anger as I opened up on them. Since spider workers were weaker than spider warriors, it was way easier to kill them. I took them out before any of them could eject sticky balls of webbing at me.
After making sure there were no spiders nearby that were about to charge at me, I returned my attention to my leg.
Exerting all my strength, I pulled at the ball of webbing that glued my ankle to the ground. I felt the silky filaments give way. Encouraged by that, I continued to pull at it with all my might, and a second later, it ripped in half with a crunching sound. I jumped to my feet and quickly looked around.
Several spider workers were approaching me from different directions. I fired off at them until my pistol went dry. I dropped the spent magazine and slammed in the last one.
The overgrown spiders just kept coming at me. There was no way I could shoot them all to death.
Nate had been totally right. We should have come up with a plan of action before venturing into the forest.
I holstered my pistol and employed my Active Ability, blinking fifteen meters away from the spiders. I then burst into a race, running as fast as my legs would carry me.
At some point, I realized there were no creatures in the imminent vicinity. I took the opportunity to slow down, giving the muscles in my tired legs a rest and catching my breath.
I walked on, constantly scanning my surroundings, ready to burst into a run at the first sight of arachnids.
Ahead of me, I saw a fallen tree. When I was about to step over it, something caught my attention. I stepped back and looked at the fallen tree again. Some strange substance coated the trunk. It appeared dried and solidified. It was yellowish in color, with a sap-like texture.
I leaned over the fallen tree and to get a better look at the substance that looked like dried honey. A thought of touching it crossed my mind, but I decided against doing it. While the substance seemed rigid and dried, I did not want to take any unnecessary chances.
I straightened out and looked around. Behind me, a few meters to the west, I spotted a tree whose trunk was glistening with the same yellowish substance. I walked to the tree, studied the strange stuff coating the tree trunk, then continued to move in the same direction.
I walked through the trees for a few minutes. I was well aware that I was moving deeper into the forest instead of getting closer to the colony. It was probably not smart to get back deeper into the forest considering the swarm of overgrown arachnids that was still looking for us. Yet I had a gut feeling it might lead me to something important.
At some point, I checked the map to make sure I was not about to get outside the green zone, our playable area. As it turned out, while I was far away from the colony, I was still a long way away from the edge of the playable area.
As to the three glowing dots representing my teammates, they were moving in the opposite direction, headed for the colony.
The deeper I walked into the forest, the more often I stumbled across the trees and bushes covered with the strange yellowish substance.
I hated it when a character in a horror movie headed alone to some dangerous place instead of getting to safety. And I was now doing exactly the same thing. Only I was not exactly helpless. My Active Ability should help me get out of trouble.
So I continued on. My gut was telling me I was about to solve the mystery.
A couple of minutes later, another tree attracted my attention. I stepped closer to it for a better view, examining its trunk. Three long, deep scratches ran across the tree at about three-foot height. My eyes fixed on the strange indentations, I stepped closer to the tree until I was a foot from it. The three scratches were perfectly spaced and looked very much alike.
Something glistened inside one of the indentations. I drew my head a bit closer to get a better look at it. It was a sticky-looking substance. While it kind of resembled sap, I did not think it was sap. Unlike the substance that coated the other trees and bushes I had stumbled across, this one was not dried-up yet. I wondered what it was and why the vegetation in this part of the forest was covered with that substance.
One thing was for sure, whatever had left those scratches on the tree had to be huge and dangerous. Moreover, the three scratches as well as the wet substance inside of them looked fresh, which probably meant that whatever had left it was not too far away from me.
It made me stop and reconsider my plan of action. I was totally alone. So instead of heading into the unknown, I should probably return to my teammates and bring them here so we could investigate what was going on in this part of the forest together.
Y
et after giving the matter some thought, I decided to continue on my own nevertheless. And if I ran into something I could not deal with by myself, I would utilize my abilities to get away.
As soon as I resumed walking, a text message popped up at the bottom left corner of my field of vision.
> Nate: David, you are moving in the wrong direction. What are you doing?
I texted back to him.
> David: I seem to have found something. I want to investigate it.
> Nate: What have you found?
> David: I am not sure yet. It could be something important. Or it could be nothing. I will let you know when I know for sure.
> Nate: We are going back to you.
I called up The Map. The three glowing dots representing my teammates were almost at the colony now.
I sent another message to my teammates.
> David: No, do not do it. You have almost reached the colony, so you are too far away from me. By the time you got here, the night would fall and it would be very dark in the forest. Besides, as I said, it could be nothing, guys. There is no reason for you to go all the way back here. If I find something worth our attention, I will let you know. If I find nothing, I will return to you. So go back to the colony, guys.
Nate did not send me any more text messages for a minute as if he were contemplating what he should do or talking this over with the other two teammates.
Then he texted me again.
> Nate: Okay. We will be at the colony. If you run into a large group of spiders, do not engage them. Do not take any chances.
> David: No worries. I will use my Active Ability—Blink—to get away from them if I am not able to deal with them.
> Alyson: Be careful, David.
> David: I will, Alyson.
> Vlad: Yeah. Try not to get into trouble again, Dave. I would not want to drag my ass all the way back there only to get you out of your predicament.
> David: Your concern is touching, Vlad.
> Vlad: We are a team, after all.
I did not bother to reply to the Russian’s sarcasm. I continued on.
The deeper into the woods I went, the more often I stumbled across the strange substance. It covered trees and bushes. The yellowish goo glistened in a hardened state between the branches. It hung in tiny webs in bushes. Somewhere, I could see the individual droplets that formed streams before solidifying, which gave them a resemblance to icicles.
I followed the substance deeper into the forest, having a feeling it would lead me to whatever had left the substance on the vegetation.
Up ahead, I spotted something on the ground. Upon approaching it, I saw that it was an almost perfect skeleton of some animal like a moose. Strands of tissue hung between the bones like saliva. When I leaned for a better look, I saw that the same strange yellowish substance that I had seen so many times earlier coated the bones.
The deeper into the forest I advanced, the more skeletons of various animals I stumbled upon. I had my pistol drawn and at the ready. I also constantly looked around and pricked up my ears for any suspicious sounds.
At some point, I found a human skull. Next to the skull lay human bones held together by the same dried-up yellowish substance. Had to be one of the missing colonists.
Suddenly, the groaning of wood came from my left. I jerked my head to look in that direction. I peered through the trees but did not see anything suspicious. The forest was deep, so I could not see very far through it.
I continued on, making sure to walk as quietly as possible. My gaze swept the trees around me, searching for anything out of place. Leading with the pistol I held in both hands, I covered ground quickly, headed in the direction where the sound had come from.
A few seconds later, I heard the sound again. It was much closer this time. Out of the corner of my eye, I caught a glimpse of movement. I jerked my head in that direction in time to see a bulking mass in one of the trees off to my right. There was a huge creature in the tree. The branches the large monster was perched on were bent down.
The bulk of flesh moved again as it began to effortlessly descend from the tree. The thing reached the ground and turned away from me. It did not seem to notice me.
I stopped in my tracks. The creature had a round, disproportionate body. It was segmented, the rear being much larger than the front. Numerous razor-sharp appendages, which were the legs of the monster, were long and thin compared to the rest of the creature’s body. Two large eyes extended from its round face.
In other words, the creature looked pretty much like another arachnid. Only unlike all the others we had met so far, this one was way larger. The creature was almost the size of a two-story building.
The overgrown insect began moving away from me, swiftly weaving its way through the trees.
I hesitated but only for a moment. The huge creature was so fast it would disappear out of sight in a matter of seconds. If I lost it now, I would have to start looking for it from scratch.
So I broke into a run after the creature.
Yet there was no way I could keep pace with the enormous monster. It was not long before it disappeared from sight. I continued to run in the direction where I had last seen the overgrown spider.
Up ahead, I noticed something lying on the ground. I slowed down to take a look at the thing.
It was a pistol. As I stepped closer to the weapon, I saw a human hand clasping the grip. Strands of meat dangled from the stump where the bicep had been torn from the shoulder. The ground beneath the severed arm was stained with blood.
I swept my gaze around the area. It was getting darker by the second, so my eyes had to adjust to the descending darkness. I saw a body missing its right arm lying on the ground a few yards from the torn arm.
Upon looking around, I saw two more dead bodies in various stages of damage.
More dead colonists.
There was no point in wasting time examining the bodies. I burst into a sprint after the huge creature. I could no longer see the overgrown spider, so I simply ran in the direction where I had last seen it.
Some noise came from my right. I jerked my head in that direction and seemed to notice a bulk of mass weaving its way between the trees, moving east. It was the enormous two-eyed spider. It quickly disappeared from sight again.
I turned and raced in that direction. Branches lashed at me mercilessly, but I ignored the pain. Up ahead could be seen the wall of a mountain. I continued to run until I reached an entrance to a cave in the cliff face.
I stopped and looked around. The enormous spider was nowhere to be seen. I wondered if the cave was its lair. There was only one way to find out.
Before getting into the cave, however, I decided to take some precautions. My Ultimate Ability had already recharged, so I activated it, entering the void space. I became half-transparent, and my movement speed increased. An entry portal was created next to the cave entrance.
I entered the cave and found myself in a long tunnel. For a moment, I waited for my eyes to adjust to the darkness before walking down the tunnel. I was moving fast but taking care to make as little noise as possible.
The walls of the tunnel were coated with the yellowish substance. I moved deeper into the cave, sweeping my gaze back and forth, the pistol held tightly in both hands in front of me. Rock formations looking like boulders lay scattered along the walls.
The tunnel was long. The maximum length of my teleportation tunnel that I could create was fifty meters. So when I got fifty meters into the tunnel, my Ultimate Ability got automatically deactivated, and an exit portal was automatically placed behind me. Also, I was no longer in the voice space, so if I encountered the enormous arachnid, it would now be able to hurt or even kill me. Had to be real careful.
I continued on down the tunnel. It was very quiet, the only sound to break the silence my own footfalls.
Up ahead, I could see that the tunnel opened out into a cavern. I entered it and stopped, looking
around the place. The rear wall of the cavern was completely coated with the yellowish substance. Strands of it protruded from the ceiling like stalactites.
There was also something else in the cavern. Attached to the rear wall were weird objects that looked like translucent cocoons. All of them except one were empty.
As I continued to examine the cavern, I realized that the only way out was the tunnel behind me. If the overgrown spider entered the cave, I would be trapped. I did not want that.
However, before getting out of that freaky place, I wanted to quickly check out the cocoons.
I walked across the cavern to the leftmost cocoon that seemed to have something inside of it. My stomach churned when I approached it and saw what was inside.
The cocoon was filled with some watery substance. Floating in it were pieces of clothing. But I was not looking at them. Instead, my gaze was fixed on the thing that took up most of the space. It looked like a human body. Only it was strangely deformed and looked like it was half-melted.
Had to be another of the missing colonists.
The watery substance the cocoon was willed with was acid that was breaking down the male person’s body.
While the man’s head was above the surface of the acid, it was also reduced to a gooey substance because the cocoon contained caustic fumes.
However, despite having been dissolving by the acid for who knows how long, the man was still alive.
He saw me. His lips parted and he said something so quietly I could not make out the words.
I stepped closer to the cocoon and asked, “What?”
The man spoke again, his voice a mere whisper. “Kill—me. It—hurts—so much.
I had never seen anything like that in my whole life. My stomach churned, and I would have thrown up if there was anything in my stomach.
I had a pretty good idea of what was happening here. Spiders had no teeth to masticate with, so before consuming their victims, they slowly dissolved them in acid into a half-melted state. The enormous spider was no different from all the other ones in that respect. Who knows how long that poor man had been trapped inside the cocoon, being slowly dissolved by the acid.
The Weaponized: The Complete LitRPG Series Page 16
