You stab Spider Drone for 8 damage.
You stab Spider Drone for 4 damage.
His blows damaged it but also knocked it out of the path of the raft so it fell into the water. He looked at where it had fallen. Could spiders swim? A moment later, his question was answered as the spider’s legs latched onto the raft from the water. Lunging down, he stabbed it through the eyes the moment it pulled its body onto the raft.
You stab Spider Drone for 9 damage.
You stab Spider Drone for 5 damage.
Spider Drone dies.
You gain 40 experience.
He didn’t have time to congratulate himself as he saw another one floating down at him. He repeated his attack but this time it landed on the raft, causing Luna to leap straight into the air to get away. Afraid it would bite Charlena, Jace stabbed again, throwing himself slightly off balance.
You stab Spider Drone for 7 damage.
You stab Spider Drone for 5 damage.
Spider Drone dies.
You gain 40 experience.
As he picked himself up, he watched as two more spiders crawled along the canopy to get into position and then dropped at him. He really wished Charlena were here to help. This time, he did use Feint to attack the first one to come into range. Two mana down. Fourteen left.
You critically stab Spider Drone for 17 damage.
You critically stab Spider Drone for 9 damage.
Spider Drone dies.
You gain 40 experience.
The second one landed on Charlena’s stomach with its back to him. He smiled. Bad luck for him. Never show your back to a Rogue with Backstab.
You backstab Spider Drone for 21 damage.
You backstab Spider Drone for 14 damage.
Spider Drone dies.
You gain 40 experience.
The second spider shuddered and died. Looking up, Jace could already see other spiders skittering above him to get into place.
Two more dropped and Jace took the first with a Feint, killing it. This time the second spider landed close to him. Before he could attack it it shot forward and bit him with its mandibles.
Spider Drone bites YOU for 0 damage.
He felt the pressure of the bite, but the spider couldn’t penetrate his Defense. Jace knew he was lucky. If the bite had penetrated his Defense, and he’d taken any damage, he knew the spider would have injected him with venom. But no damage meant no venom. He smiled evilly. Time to kill some spiders.
He took out the second spider with two volleys of strikes but was immediately set upon by two more. One was unfortunate enough to land with its back to him and he Backstabbed it. The other he killed normally.
Jace continued to kill them as they came in one’s and two’s. He lost track of how many he killed and how many had bitten him but he was happy that his Leather Armor skill, Dodge and Block maxed out with all the attacks. This gave him three new abilities.
Ability gained: Deft Warrior
Ability gained: Evade
Ability gained: Bastion
Deft Warrior and Evade were both familiar to him since he’d had them on Mordred. Deft Warrior gave him an extra point of Defense when wearing at least three pieces of leather armor. Evade would allow him to expend 4 mana to avoid the next attack. Both were useful abilities. He wasn’t sure what Bastion did and at the moment, he didn’t have time to check.
He killed several more and saw a new system message that made him smile.
You have gained a level.
You are now level 4 in Fighter.
You gain 10 health.
You gain 2 mana.
He’d gained a new level in Fighter and since it was now his highest class, he’d gain more health and mana. Looking at the mana, he cringed. Two points wouldn’t help much, but he liked the health boost.
More spiders kept coming, and he kept killing them when he noticed his Stamina level. He was down to a quarter. If this fight didn’t end soon, he would find himself face down in the raft, unable to move. And while they may not be able to hurt him with his Defense, he guessed Charlena didn’t have the same level of protection. They’d kill her, and she’d have to respawn without him.
Desperate, he started looking for some way out or someway to stop them but the web canopy stretched on above him. If there was only some way he could cut down the canopy or burn it. He blinked. Burn it. Rolling his eyes, he wanted to face palm himself. He was a Mage. He had a fire spell!
Aiming at the web canopy in front of him, he cast his Flame Bolt. “Minima fulmen ignem!”
The fiery bolt rocketed upward and slammed into the webs, igniting them instantly. What happened next was well beyond his expectations. Layers upon layers of webbing, probably spun over years, ignited, turning the canopy into a blazing inferno. He watched as spiders fled from the blaze, skittering to the safety of the trees that lined the river.
Except, the trees weren’t safe either. Everything in the area was covered in webs and the fire ignited the web-covered trees. Unable to escape, many of the spiders burned alive. Jace couldn’t see all of them dying, but he saw the experience gain in his system messages.
Realizing he might be wasting an opportunity, he quickly brought up his HUD and switched back to Rogue. Experience continued to come in as more spiders died, finally giving him the message he was waiting for.
You have gained a level.
You are now level 4 in Rogue.
He was feeling pretty good with himself until he heard a voice hissing out. “Who has done this to my children?!”
Up ahead, he saw a huge spider on part of the canopy in front of him that hadn’t burned. She was perched on a huge branch that overlooked the river and he saw the thing look down at his raft, now illuminated by fires. “You! You will pay!”
Jace swallowed involuntarily as the eight eyes fixed on him. He tore himself away from its hateful gaze and examined the thing in his HUD.
River Spider Queen
Level: 10
It was level 10. The same as the Mountain Troll and that had taken both he and Charlena to bring it down. Could he solo this thing? Probably not, but he needed to try. Either that or die.
Just then, the flames reached the Spider Queen, and she skittered across the branch to avoid them. As fast as she was, the flames were faster. He heard her scream as they caught up with her but she didn’t die. If anything, they made her angrier.
“You will pay human!” she hissed. “Oh, you will pay! I will suck your juices out slowly so that you take a very long time to die!”
Jace had zero desire to have his juices sucked out. He was pretty sure he’d just die and respawn, but the prospect of being slowly killed by a giant spider held absolutely no appeal.
Flames licking her, the queen seemed to realize there was only one escape, and she dove into the water. The spider hit the water and went under, extinguishing the fires on her body. Jace prayed that the thing was too large to swim or float or whatever spiders did on water.
A moment later his prayers were answered, but it wasn’t the answer he wanted. The spider seemed to rise to the surface and stood there on top of the water. It snapped it’s mandibles loudly. “You have burned my home and killed my children. I shall enjoy killing you and your mate…” The spider's eyes seem to rotate slightly and settled on Luna. “...and your cat.”
Jace stood his ground. Keeping himself between the spider queen and Charlena. “Come get some!”
The spider queen let out a primal hiss and charged him. He could see the spider was burned in places, but he had no idea how much damage it had actually sustained. Jace hoped it was enough to give him a fighting chance.
“Aeris Armatura!” he cried out, casting his Air Armor spell. The spell would give him more Armor and improve his Defense and he had a feeling he’d need all he could get.
She reached him faster than he had expected and snapped at him with her mandibles.
River Spider Queen bites YOU for 0 damage.
Your Air Magic skil
l has increased by 1.
He almost laughed when her mandibles didn’t penetrate. This fight would be easier than he thought. And then her two front legs jabbed at him like spears.
River Spider Queen stabs YOU for 3 damage.
Your Air Magic skill has increased by 1.
River Spider Queen stabs YOU for 1 damage.
Your Air Magic skill has increased by 1.
He grunted as the spider’s forelegs stabbed into his arm and side, almost pushing him off the raft. Ignoring the pain, Jace regained his balance and struck out at the huge spider.
You stab River Spider Queen for 7 damage.
You stab River Spider Queen for 4 damage.
The queen hissed but otherwise ignored his blows, striking out again at him.
River Spider Queen bites YOU for 0 damage.
Your Air Magic skill has increased by 1.
River Spider Queen stabs YOU but you Dodge.
Your Air Magic skill has increased by 1.
Ability gained: Persistent Spell.
River Spider Queen stabs YOU but you Block.
Jace was a blur of motion as he blocked one leg and then dodged the other. Unfortunately, the one he dodged hit the raft and drew him off balance and he fell onto the raft. The Spider Queen didn’t waste the opportunity and pressed her attack.
River Spider Queen bites YOU for 0 damage.
River Spider Queen stabs YOU for 1 damage.
River Spider Queen stabs YOU for 1 damage.
Jace received two more minor wounds from the spider queen as he got to his feet but clenched his teeth against the pain. He Feinted this time and stabbed the thing.
You critically stab River Spider Queen for 14 damage.
You critically stab River Spider Queen for 6 damage.
Other than hissing, the giant spider ignored his blows and continued to stab and bite him, hitting in the chest and stomach.
River Spider Queen bites YOU for 0 damage.
River Spider Queen stabs YOU for 4 damage.
River Spider Queen stabs YOU for 2 damage.
The stomach wound was the more painful one, but he recovered quickly and Feinted. Then he drove his blade at the queen’s eyes.
You critically stab River Spider Queen for 16 damage.
You critically stab River Spider Queen for 6 damage.
This time the effect was obvious. Two of her eyes were gone, but the remaining eyes glared at him with hatred and she reared back. Jace didn’t recognize it as a special attack until it was too late.
River Spider Queen spits at you.
You are Blinded for 6 seconds.
Sticky burning liquid hit him in the eyes and the world went black. Jace tried to swing where he thought she would be but missed completely.
You stab River Spider Queen but miss.
You stab River Spider Queen but miss.
Desperately trying to stay balanced on the raft, he felt the queen’s legs stab into his arm and leg.
River Spider Queen bites YOU for 0 damage.
River Spider Queen stabs YOU for 3 damage.
River Spider Queen stabs YOU for 1 damage.
Without seeing where the blows were coming from, he couldn’t brace for them and he was once again knocked down. The queen didn’t relent and continued attacking him.
River Spider Queen bites YOU for 0 damage.
River Spider Queen stabs YOU for 2 damage.
River Spider Queen stabs YOU for 2 damage.
Jace lashed out with his weapons, judging where the body should be, based off where the legs had hit him.
You stab River Spider Queen for 7 damage.
You stab River Spider Queen but miss.
His rapier stabbed something, but his dagger met only air. Still the queen just hissed and from the sound of the splashing, was circling.
“Maybe I should give your mate some attention,” the queen hissed. “Or maybe your cat.”
“I attack?” asked Luna in his mind.
He knew she meant using her mana to grow big. While she might damage it in her giant cat form, as soon as she did, she would disappear. Once she was gone, he’d lose Cat-Vision. The Blindness was almost over, and he needed to be able to see in the dark.
“No,” he told her. “Wait.”
But Jace couldn’t just let the spider queen attack them either. Luckily, he knew what to do. Using his Taunt, he yelled. “Get over here! I’m the one who killed your little brats!”
Compelled by the Taunt, Jace heard the queen's footsteps splashing back toward him.
“You dare!” she hissed. “I will kill you first, then I will kill your mate!”
You are no longer Blinded.
Jace blinked and could see again. As the queen came back around, he Feinted and struck out at her eyes again.
You critically stab River Spider Queen for 14 damage.
You critically stab River Spider Queen for 8 damage.
She hissed and reared back, then struck out quickly.
River Spider Queen bites YOU for 0 damage.
River Spider Queen stabs YOU for 1 damage.
River Spider Queen stabs YOU for 1 damage.
He only had two more mana before he’d need to tap into Luna’s mana. He Feinted once more and stabbed the queen in the eyes. This time, the blades slid in deeper.
You critically stab River Spider Queen for 15 damage.
You critically stab River Spider Queen for 7 damage.
River Spider Queen dies.
You gain 100 experience.
The spider queen’s body twitched and spasmed and then collapsed into the water in front of them.
Breathing hard, Jace put away his weapons and looted the queen’s corpse.
You receive Giant Spider Fang.
You receive Venom Sac.
The mandible was a lot like the Rat Fang, it was the same general shape as a dagger so Jace examined it.
Giant Spider Fang
Type: Dagger
Damage: 4 + 1 (Sharp) + Poison
Wt: 1 lb
Description: Extracted from the mandible of a giant spider, this fang is large enough to be used as a weapon and still retains some of its venomous qualities.
Jace put both items in his inventory and collapsed onto the raft. He’d killed a ton of spiders and their queen. And lived to tell the tale. He was feeling pretty good about himself.
That’s when his world turned upside down.
Chapter 49
At first Jace wasn’t sure what had happened. One minute he was sitting on the raft and the next minute he was in the river unable to move.
Forest Ogre hits you with Draining Rock 12 damage.
You are Disabled.
Jace saw the system message but couldn’t believe it. Was it the same ogre? Where had it come from? How had it tracked them? Draining Rock was obviously some special attack. It had taken the last of his Stamina. Even worse, it had put him into the negative. He was helpless until he regenerated his Stamina to 10%.
There was a cat’s roar, and then an ogre’s cry. “Aargh! Bad Kitty!”
Luna claws Forest Ogre for 5 damage.
Luna claws Forest Ogre for 3 damage.
Luna bites Forest Ogre for 7 damage.
Your familiar has been banished.
Even though he was face up, the world went dark for Jace as Luna was dismissed and he lost his Cat-Vision. Luna had tried to save Charlena and used her giant form to attack the ogre. Considering the level of the ogre, his familiar had done some fair damage. The transformation had used all of her mana and now she was gone. And Jace was literally in the dark.
“Oh… Pretty elf,” he heard the ogre say and then splashing.
Desperately Jace tried to move or even turn his head, but it was impossible. He raged and cursed, but to no avail. He couldn’t even move his toes. The game simply would not allow him to move until his Stamina regenerated.
Helpless, he waited for the system message that would let him know it had killed Charlena. Or wa
ited to see the ogre looming over him with its giant club. It felt like an eternity, as he waited for the death he knew would come.
Yet nothing happened. The ogre didn’t smash him and he didn’t see Charlena’s death message. Had it left them alone? That seemed unlikely, but maybe it was just after Luna? He was still entertaining that thought when a new message popped up.
Almedha Pressalor has moved out of range and is no longer following you.
Jace’s blood went cold. Charlena wasn’t following him anymore. Had she moved out of range? Had he drifted too far away? How far away were they? He could feel himself lodged on something. The raft must have kept drifting.
He checked his HUD to make sure her character was still logged on. It was. That was good. He was afraid her character might have automatically logged out when the auto-follow disengaged. Jace just needed to get back to the raft and keep her tied to it until Charlena logged back in.
Again, he struggled to move his body and again he failed. He looked at his Stamina. He was just over 5%. Just five more percent to go. He watched his HUD as it regenerated agonizingly slow. All he could think of was how far Charlena was getting from him.
Finally, he could move. Standing up, Jace looked around.
It was dark but he could see that he’d landed on the spider queen’s body. Her body had prevented him from being carried down river. He looked around for the ogre but it was nowhere in sight. Hopefully, they’d seen the last of the thing.
Jace wanted to rush after Charlena, but first thing was first. Clenching his teeth against the pain he knew was coming, he summoned Luna. His health and mana had regenerated to full and he poured them all into her summoning.
“Ogre?” asked Luna as she materialized on the spider queen’s body. He smiled. At least she was dry now. He immediately activated his Cat-Vision, and the world brightened.
VEIL Online - Book 1 Page 32
