My cocoon stopped swaying and the monstrous limbs that carried me slowly stilled. I didn’t pay it much mind, as Big Momma had stopped several times previously. Her smaller offspring would constantly bring her new prey that she would then envelope in thick globs of silk before dousing them in a viscous green liquid she produced from her mouth.

I imagine I had once experienced similar treatment.

This time, however, I felt a sense of vertigo and my stomach clenched as it felt like it was being lifted into my throat. I was falling for what seemed minutes but probably only lasted seconds. I felt something cling to my cocoon, my descent slowly ending. For a moment I was still, before I was launched into the air once more.

The web didn’t let me fly far, it clung to me as I flew upwards before quickly reversing my velocity. I bounced like that several times, before I came to a stop. My insides felt like a shaken can of soda. The world spun as my scattered senses tried to catch up.

I retched into my mouth, but nothing was available in my long empty stomach. My lips were dry, and my head rung as if I was suffering from the after effects of a three-day bender. I could hear ringing in my ears and my chest rose in uneven heaps as I sucked in ragged breaths. I was obviously dehydrated, but I feared my injuries might be more severe.

I waited alone in the dark. I don’t know for how long.

But I wasn’t truly alone. I would feel small vibrations as invisible creatures scurried across the tight web. Loud screeches and the sound of snipping interrupted my thoughts, my imagination filling in every sort of horror imaginable.

I could not look up. My only view was a wide chasm of unknown depth, the shadows clung to the sheer cliff walls until consuming them entirely in a pool of darkness.

By craning my neck upwards, I was able to get a view of the cliff wall closest to me. It was roughly a hundred yards in front of me and looked too smooth and steep for me to climb in my current condition.

The stone was a deep blue that was unlike any rock formation I had ever seen. The identity of the rock was not an issue, after all I had a skill for that. The real problem was that I couldn’t see the top or the bottom of the cliff, so I had no idea how long such a climb would be.

My isolation eventually ended. Gwerlum, The Gloomweaver, also affectionately known to me as Big Momma Spider, was upon me. She grasped my cocoon between her front two legs and began to spin. The spears on the tips of her two forelegs were for spinning web rather than the instrument of murder I had imagined them to be. They were like the world's largest, and most deadly, crocheting needles. Perhaps Big Momma was a grandma as well?

Silk wrapped around my cocoon, though not as tightly as before. She most likely just wanted to make sure I was secured to the web. As a final touch, she left me with a blast of venom to the face. I heard sizzling as my eyes and inner nostrils began to burn.

I needed to scream, but I forced the impulse down. Instead I dug my fingernails into my palms and clenched my jaw. I could hear the enamel on my teeth cracking as they ground together, but I was able to resist the urge to cry out. I had no idea if the spider believed me dead, but I knew that drawing extra attention to myself would be dangerous.

Congratulations! New skill(s) gained. Pain Tolerance © (1/10).

Calculating … Poison Resistance © has improved (4/10).

I passed out again and when I awoke there was no sign of Big Momma. Barely noticeable vibrations were a constant reminder that I was never truly alone. I imagined her spawn, just out of sight, watching and biding their time.

When I was finally able to calm down and orient myself to the situation, I turned my attention back to my only unspent resource, FP also known as Feat Points. If I didn’t have an active goal to work towards I knew that I would panic and shut down. I could already feel the terror picking away at my sanity bit by bit.

FP available (11)

6 Feat(s) available for purchase-

Newbie (0/1), Cantrips (0/3), Scholar (0/3), Warrior (0/3), Acrobat (0/3)

…

The first five feats seemed useful, if basic. I was starting to learn that this system gave you the illusion of choice but hid the true value of each decision behind a knowledge wall. Those with the advantage of system knowledge would know which feats to pick and how best to allocate their stats, while those of us figuring things out for the first time had to rely on blind luck. I would just have to follow my gut.

The lack of descriptions made each choice a gamble. Despite this, the final feat is the one that really caught my eye. Unlike the others it cost 10 FP, which was almost my entire reserve and for the same cost I could afford almost all the other feats combined. Despite that, it was obviously a higher-level feat and likely held synergy with abilities I already had.

I opened my stats again, and with a slight smile I put ten points into reactive learning.

Congratulations! Your Intellect has risen by 2.

Congratulations! Your Intellect has risen by 2.

The notifications that happened after spending three and then seven points were welcome, but the final notification brought a grin to my face that might have unnerved even Big Mamma had she been there to see it.

Reactive Learning ®- Your ability to adapt to your environment was already legendary, by focusing on your mind over the power of the body you have learned to adapt even the skills of your enemies to your own purposes. This can only be used to replicate skills of up to Uncommon Ⓤ level, attempting to learn skills above that level will either fail or result in an inferior version of the skill. You must have sufficient time to observe the skill. Having the skill used against you increases the likelihood of learning the skill, as does having a higher Intellect.

It seemed the feats I already had would influence the new ones that became available to me. If Reactive Learning worked the way that I hoped, I already had a plan to escape. The only thing that gave me pause was the requirement that the skill be used against me. I wanted to escape, I just wasn’t sure how much more punishment I could survive.

Over the next day, I used my arcane bolts to loosen the web around my hands as much as possible and even managed to level the skill once more. Big Mamma came by twice during that time, and each time greeted me with a spray of venom to the face. I could feel the beginnings of a skill based on her venom forming, like a forgotten name on the tip of my tongue.

The blasts of flesh blistering venom weren’t enough to improve my poison resistance, but the agony of feeling my flesh burn was sufficient to bring my pain tolerance up twice in quick succession. This brought my FP up to four, and I immediately purchased Newbie and Scholar.

Congratulations! You have achieved a new feat(s).

Newbie © - You are a beginning adventurer yet to embark on your first quest! This feat is given for free upon completion of the tutorial but is available for purchase to appease the fools and the stubborn. +1 Stamina, +1 unallocated stat and +1 unallocated stat point on every level. New feats will open as the Newbie advances.

Scholar © - While others trained their bodies you trained your mind. Long nights spent in the library have taught you that knowledge is the key to all power. +1 to Intellect. Increases your reading speed and comprehension by 50%. New feats become available to those who pursue the path of the scholar.

Nothing game changing, but still useful. I especially liked the stat gain, and the extra stat per level might be useful down the road. My intellect was starting to look decent, which might help increase the chances of my plan succeeding. I put my extra stat point into Intellect to round it out at eighteen. My thinking became clearer, but I certainly wasn’t twice as smart as before. It was unclear exactly how much stat gains increased my inherent abilities.

I was close to having the tools I needed to escape, I just needed the opportunity. It would need to be soon. I hadn’t had any food or water for well over a day. It had probably been longer, as I couldn’t account for the time I had spent unconscious. It might have even been two days, judging from the dryness of my throat, stiff limbs, and intense headache.

I used the analyze skill to confirm that the silk was continuing to degrade, but I was unable to make any headway in my attempts to break the cocoon. The silk was beginning to lose shape, it was now more like goo than the thousands of individual silk strands that it had been before. Just a little more, and I would have my chance.

I didn’t have to wait long before good ol’ Big Mamma came to hose me down once more. This time something clicked, and I immediately grasped how I could use my mana to produce a similar spray of venom. I didn’t even have to flinch from the pain this time, a combination of my increased pain tolerance and the endorphins of seeing a plan finally coming together.

Congratulations! You have learned a new skill(s). Venom Spray © (0/10)

Calculating … Reactive Learning cooldown … 1 day(s), 4 hour(s), 14 minute(s)

She left as quickly as she had come, but I still waited several more minutes before I began experimenting with the new skill.

During this time, I reflected on exactly how the learning had taken place. Obviously, the system was using some trickery to put the knowledge into my head. Despite that, there was more to it. The mana that was a part of me now had its own system of rules and if I could learn to manipulate those rules - then my potential would be unlimited.

Theoretically, I could develop my own spells and skills, possibly even feats. I could feel the mana now, it was a part of me. With a little concentration I could draw it out, manipulate it. I sensed the beginnings of a skill forming, but I soon lost control of my tenuous grasp on my mana and my grasp on the skill slipped away as well.

I would be better served by turning my attention back to the task at hand. I knew how dangerous it was to let your mind wander during moments of crisis. Another lesson drilled into me by my father.

Venom Spray worked by shooting a jet of venom from my hands. This would quickly fill up the gaps between the webbing. The spray would burn at my skin and clothes, and I could feel my feet blister as my shoes filled with acidic venom. The webbing, however, also began to show signs of dissolving. White globules of viscous liquid, tinged green by the faint illumination of the cavern, began dripping down from the cocoon like it was a melting candle.

The Venom Spray skill had risen by two levels before I was finally able to free myself. I didn’t so much break the silk webbing, it was more like it just sloughed off me. Luckily, my own version of Venom Spray weakened the silk the same way Big Mamma’s had, and I suspected it would be useful in combat as well.

As soon as I was free, I ripped the green canvas backpack from my back and began scouring its contents. Textbooks fell into the chasm, but I found my prize. I chugged a warm, stale, and half-empty bottle of Coke followed by a few mouthful of bread and meat from a days old sandwich. It was the greatest meal of my life.

Content, I turned back to my task. I only had to climb down the web without falling into the yawning abyss and then climb up a cliff of indeterminate height. All without proper rest, equipment, or water. The sooner I started, the sooner I could fall to my inevitable death.

No time like the present.