Floor number two is a hallway with a lot of doors, at the end of the hallway is an elevator. Seems like an easy and simple work in the park, but then again I knew it could be anything but that. Plus, I had stupidly left behind the machine gun, completely and severely eliminating all my firepower against monsters that had a metallic outer shell. I could try infusing my mana into my guns, but that wouldn't do anything. My skills enhance their capabilities, adding a bit of mana bonus. But I couldn't use every skill willy nilly, especially when you consider the only firearms skill I have is [Charge Shot] and that needs a few seconds to charge before delivering significant damage. I needed something that could deal rapid damage, but there was nothing in sight. My battle tool would probably not make a dent on these spiders unless it was upgraded. I had to be smart about this.

There are six doors on each side, making for a total of 12 doors or what is probably a very unpleasant surprise. I could just go past them, but that would be stupid. This was a dungeon, they would probably open up behind me and release metal spiders with saws for legs or something similar. Plus, soldiers don't leave a room unchecked, that would be stupidity of the highest order and just inviting and elf to come stab you in your fucking back. So the lucky winner would be door number 1 to the right, let's see what you got.

It didn't budge, it bloody refused to open! And that's why you can't underestimate dungeons. How is it possible the door refused to open, it probably defeated every piece of knowledge I knew about a damn dungeon, it was supposed to open. I turned and went to the opposite door, and tried to open it, this time it worked.

Am I confused... Probably. I'm not exactly known for my problem solving skills, but from what I can see about this, I'd say the doors open in sequence (I hope) and this was probably the first one. I looked at the doors again, hoping to see if there was any sort of defining feature that set them apart from each other... Maybe a big number 1 or 2 painted in bold letters on their bodies. But there was no such thing, just big, blank, grey doors. Completely unassuming in their existence and probably hiding things that can kill you in more ways a 1000 ways to die can come up with.

"Father watch over me."

I paused, my hand on the door knob as it shook a little. I took a deep breath as a wave of sorrow seemed to grip my heart a little tighter than most. I haven't prayed in a long time, not even something as simple as saying grace when I have dinner with my uncle or just myself. It's not as if I didn't believe 'God' didn't exist, after all my father died holding on to that belief. It wouldn't be fair as his son to not at least hold on to it, even if just a little. But the thing is, both my parents were killed, brutally murdered by elves and their Yurkets. And neither 'God!' nor the goddess 'Oya' could do shit about it. So I don't pray, EVER! They give power and miracles and that's good and great. It makes humanity stronger. But that's all they'll ever be to me, a means to an end.... Perhaps... That's why none of them chose me.

I went into the room; it seems to be an antechamber of some sort. There were a few pipes that drilled into the ground, and a couple of platforms 10 and 20 feet above the ground that seemed to be made in a ring-like formation. There were stairs leading up to them, connecting both platforms to the ground that was actually made of concrete this time; I could actually smell it!

At the top platform, right at its end was a pedestal and on it was a chest. This was wooden, but it more than explained what the second floor is all about. Though the fact that there are 11 other doors like this, tells me that there are probably 11 other trials to go through, and it definitely would require a lot of effort.

*Clang! *

The large metallic sound gave me chills as I noticed one of the pipes had a valve that was slowly turning. As it did so, a trickle of water started sprinkling out of the ground in small spouts. I raised an eyebrow at that.... Until one drop of it touched my armor and a sizzling sound followed by the scent of burnt leather wafted into the air. This isn't water.... It's acidic! And with that realization, the valve spun rapidly and the sprinkle became a geyser, with another pipe's valve rapidly turning and adding another geyser of acid into the mix. When in doubt, run out the room, and so I did. Or I tried to, only to find the door gone. Like it wasn't there anymore all I could see was a blank door.

Dungeon 101 lesson 13; the dungeon will always trap you in rooms, quickly kill the mobs or figure out the puzzle. Or you will die painfully. It was worded differently, and it was probably not lesson 13 now that I think about it, but for all means and purposes, it means to get my ass in gear, so I did just that.

The moment I stepped into the first rung of the metal stairs, a metallic leg seemed to appear out of thin air to slice my throat. I fell back, watching as the offending metallic limb disappeared again, and I landed on my ass, resting my palms in a small pool of acid that was rapidly rising. Pain at this point has become a welcome friend, with all of the close shaves with death that I've had, I should be getting used to it. Only this shit hurt so much it was almost paralyzing. It took a lot to get me to move, and that was mainly due to the fear of dying by acid.

"Light Heal"

My hand cannon was pointed at the stairs as I fired, watching withheld breaths as it impacted a hidden opponent. The spider was revealed immediately, it's optical camouflage deactivating as I ran towards it, and fired another shot at its head. Bringing it down before I stepped foot on the first rung again.

This time I was ready for the next slash as I ducked on the meter sized spider and used my left hand to hold the underside of its head up while it's jaw snapped at me with pneumatic hisses and mechanical screeches. [Charge Shot] there was a blast of sparks and the scent of burnt wiring as its head was blown off. I dropped its body to the ground and barreled into the next, holding it down as I shot at its rapidly approaching neighbor and noticing for the first time the endless swarm of mechanical spiders on every rung of steps and on the two platforms, and they were all coming for me. Both of them as the pool of acid that was currently rising, just another day in the life of Samson Michaels.

"Fuck!"

>>>>>

"Wind Blast!"

The spell barely worked against them, it was effective when you were throwing around light as a feather elves or humans not paying attention to you, but against meter in diameter and meter tall spiders, that were machines.... It was just a small distraction. I was not yet at the first platform; in fact, I was just six steps up the stairs with the first rung already submerged under the growing pool of acid. But there was no other place to go but up.

I ducked under the wild swipe of a particularly angry spider, the hand cannon let out a blast from underneath it that threw it upwards a bit. I grabbed one of its legs and dragged it over my head and straight down into the pool of acid, causing a splash that forced me to jump up in panic to evade. That was a mistake, a spider skittered on the wall beside me, leaping off a pipe to smash its form into my body. It hurt, it hurt like bitch as I felt my chest bruise, the fact that three of its metallic limbs found purchase into the side of my body wasn't even the highlight. The highlight was that I was falling; right into the bubbling pool of acid below.

Time seemed to slow to a crawl, or perhaps it was just my perception of time that took a step forwards, but then again who knew. I was going to die soon, and I can't imagine how painful it would be. The first time the acid touched just my hands it almost completely incapacitated me, normally when people feel pain they'd want to run from it. But in this case it was so much that I couldn't move, in no time at all I would be nothing but silver flesh and a set of bleached bones. I wish I could just reach out and grab onto something.

*Clang! *

Two spider limbs stabbed into the railing of the stairs beside me, arresting my momentum and saving me from getting dunked in a pool of acid. The spider on me was still very much alive and still causing a lot of damage. In fact, with each second that passed its legs went deeper and deeper into my sides, but unfortunately for it, I have spider legs too, and they belong to Charlotte!

It was an almost disorienting feeling, but it was all just thought. One of the legs moved from my back and stabbed straight through the skull of the spider on me, rendering it limp as it's full weight settled on me. But it was dead now, so removing the appendages stuck in my body was easier, as I sent another of the legs stabbing through another approaching spider's head.

[Lesser Spider Stride]

The entire world seemed to tilt to the side as my new Exo-skeletal spider limbs stabbed into the wall and moved over the sides of the spiders until I was just a few steps away from the first platform. I threw a swift kick to the back of the first spider I came in contact with, leveling the hand cannon to the face of the first one on the platform and pulling the trigger at the same time. The concussive blast pushed the spider backwards, not having enough power to cause permanent damage. But as for the spider that was kicked? I might have underestimated the current strength I had as the spider was shot forwards like a bowling ball.

It slammed into its other comrades, one after the other like bowling pins, leaving most of them in a heap and completely tangled together. And that was just for those who were lucky as the others all fell off the stairs one after the other, not smart enough to catch themselves on the railing like I just did a few moments prior. There were multiple splashes as their metallic forms all fell into the risen pool of acids strong enough to melt through metal.

I didn't focus on what was happening behind me for too long, I was still in the middle of a fight after all. Two of my spider limbs stabbed hard into the platform below, serving as a wedge and support that kept me from being thrown back and off the platform as the partially injured spider jumped at me with a loud hiss. I caught it in the air, and at the same moment used its own momentum against it and threw it off the platform, ignoring its sailing from down below as the remaining four limbs wrapped around myself like a shield to withstand the charge of the next spider.

This spider was larger and had a head shaped like a rectangular block of metal. It smashed into my impromptu shield, eliciting a screech of metal as the two other limbs stabbed into the platform strained against its massive weight. It's almost as if this particular spider was built as a tank, or a bull that would rush at opponents and throw them off the platform.

The limbs let out a hiss as they strained under the weight of the bulky spider, I didn’t even have the strength necessary to throw the damn thing off me; proving that it was on a whole other level than the others I've been fighting so far. But this was far from over, I'm dealing with a mechanical spider with limited amounts of intelligence, I could very outsmart it.

"Charge Shot!"

The hand cannon bucked in my hand as hole was garishly bored through the center of the spider's form. I raised my eyebrow as I heaved with the spider limbs, pneumatic hiss released from behind me as the Exo-Skeleton applied even more strength than it was capable of to throw the spider off me and to the side. Leaving me to face the next on rushing bulldozer spider.

[Lesser Spider Stride]

My form seemed to blur a bit, leaving me feeling slightly dizzy from using this skill a little too much this early without being really used to it. The spider rushing at me however had less luck as it smashed into one of its smaller brethren on the stairs, not stopping its charge as it went down, mowing down spiders or smashing them off the stairs and into the pool below, with none of them able to stop it until it just ran into the pool itself.

Its momentum was really good, especially with its weirdly shaped head. However, it's defense is extremely weak. It would take two shots, one charged and one ordinary to kill the smaller spiders, sometimes it would actually take two shots, yet one had punched a very significant hole into their body. So in conclusion small spiders were average foot soldiers, they relied on swarm tactics to try and bring you down. They had good defense, speed and power, basically average across the board.

Bulldozer spider had extremely weak defense, but good speed and an extremely hard head designed for crashing into people. It could probably break bones on impact, yet it's momentum is unstoppable. And that is a flaw as opposed to being an advantage, it's easy to evade and just let them pass on and throw themselves off, which is exactly what I did with the next one. And the next one, and the one after that, until suddenly I found myself standing alone on the first platform, with the stairs to the next and final platform, eerily silent and empty. But I know they're just waiting for me to take a step onto it.

Their whole invisibility shtick was beyond annoying, but as it is I have a way forward with no choice but to see it through, so that’s exactly what I am going to do. [Charge Shot].

There was a small screech as an enraged spider jumped out of the stairwell, it's invisibility completely gone as it barreled in my direction. The platform afforded me more room to maneuver, and I was slowly beginning to get a hang of [Charlotte's Legs] though in all honesty, it's quite hard keeping track of all these extra limbs. With a nudge I sent one of them piercing forwards, happy with the development as it stabbed through the spider like it was made of tofu. The strength in the limbs were nothing to scoff at either as I raised the imposed spider and threw it in the direction of the stairs, unable to resist the satisfied smirk on my face after hearing a series of loud and jarring metallic impacts. I put my feet on the stairs, and had to quickly duck as globs of white substance flew over my head.

"Webs!" I muttered as I set my sights on a trio of much smaller spiders right at the end of the stairs to the other platform. I could hear the rushing and bubbling of liquid from below me as the acid drew ever closer, I couldn't move my eyes to see how close, but death was below me and above me was more death in the form of mechanical spiders. In all honesty, a team would have come quite in handy by now.

*Bang! *

Another web, this time renting the staircase I was standing on, prompting the next wave of attacks. There were too many of them coming at once, and frankly speaking I did not have enough mental capacity to use all of the limbs at the same time. Perhaps I can move three at once, but any more than that would see me confused. The best I can do is have all of them cover me in a sort of shield like formation, but that won't work here.

[Charge Shot!]

I blew one of the spiders back, as I surged forwards, sending a knee upwards into the jaw of another as one of the limbs stabbed over my shoulder into the back of another spider. There was a snap, as a glob of web came flying through, smashing hard against my hand, like I was hit by a brick. I couldn't keep my hold on the hand cannon as it fell out of my hand, skittered off the edge of the stairwell as I scrambled for it, before falling off, into the pool of bubbling acid that was just three feet below me now.

I quickly moved back, to the other side of the stairs, ignoring the screech of victory the spiders gave at the loss of my weapon. I still had more, but nothing that could cause even a dent on their hard shells, but that wasn't the problem now, the hand cannon has a volatile core, one made of magic, and one that gives off a violent reaction when introduced to other volatile agents. I wrapped the spider limbs around my body and head, but I doubt it would be enough as.

*Boom! *

A geyser of acid shot into the air, drawing the attention of the spiders, as they all, at the same time, moved their head to look at it. I moved back quickly and stepped off the stairs to the platform below. It wasn't enough to fully escape from what came down, but at the very least I wasn't enduring the full brunt like the spiders.

*Splash! Sizzle! *

"Fuuuuuck! Arggghhh!" Jesus! Oh God!"

This was a whole lot more than before, and it covered more areas. The bloody elven armor barely did anything to protect me against the onslaught of the raining acid as parts of it melted away, exposing my shoulder and back. It burned, but I couldn't stop myself from shivering in pain. I was paralyzed by it, and not hearing anything from the stairs made me nervous and frantic, hoping for the pain to pass so that I could focus and heal, because if I don't.... Then I'll die.