PERSONAL JOURNAL ENTRIES 1B

Journal Entry Day 51 + x

Killed a lot of spiders today.

It's mainly because I took a spear with a crystal core spear head with me. I lit it on fire as soon as I saw webs hanging from trees.

Not two seconds later and I was met with the howls of the spiders.

The spear was great. Even a small cut would set a spider on fire.

I saw the fear in their eyes as I cut down more and more of their kin.

Though it's sickening to admit this, it felt oddly satisfying murdering so many of these things.

I hope the wildlife returns when I eliminate them all...I'm not short on food, but...I have a feeling more strange creatures might head towards my direction.

Journal Entry Day 52 + x

I have been thinking a lot about this today. Are these giant spiders native to these lands?

Their blood is different from other animals and beasts I have killed. It is hard to describe the color. The blood or fluid from the spiders is green with streaks of silver, similar to how gasoline appears when mixed with water.

Are they an invasive species?

I plan to eradicate them all, so that is probably a moot point to bring-up.

I wonder if I'll usher-in an age of a great spider genocide.

Would it matter if I did?

Journal Entry Day 53 + x

No spiders today, but I harvest a ton of webs.

Maybe they are afraid?

Journal Entry Day 54 + x

Roofs on all structures have been completed and waterproofed. Walls have all been reinforced and waterproofed as well.

I'm hoping the walls can retain thermal energy like concrete. It would be helpful in keeping the temperatures warm indoors.

I have started construction on the first bulwark. Several stumps and remnants of fallen trees are being used as part of the bulwark structure. The stumps will act as a base structure for lookout towers. The walls will be roughly two meters tall and a meter thick at the base, with a slight taper moving up.

There are plans to construct a moat surrounding the first bulwark. This moat will be filled with an array of defensive spikes.

Crystal core torches will be placed in strategic locations around and outside of the basecamp.

Luckily, crystal cores don't ever seem to run out of fuel...this makes me wonder why the trees in the deadzone didn't continue to burn.

Could it be the size? So far, I haven't used a piece of crystal core larger than a spear head for fire...It must be the size.

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Journal Entry Day 63 + x

BIG. SPIDER.

Journal Entry Day 64 + x

I fought an obscenely large spider yesterday. Barely survived the encounter.

Suffered Trauma Healing this time around. I can't ever get used to it.

My mind is still a mess, I'll keep entries short until Trauma Healing ends and I go through Cleansing.

Journal Entry Day 65 + x

These forced memories are getting more painful.

Journal Entry Day 66 + x

When will it end? I want to kill myself. Why am I such a coward?

Journal Entry Day 67 + x

I couldn't save them…

Journal Entry Day 68 + x

Finally, it's over. Went through Cleansing, just as I had expected.

My mind is still a bit muddled. It may take awhile to settle these thoughts.

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Journal Entry Day 74 + x

It has been snowing non-stop today. There's enough on the ground to bury my foot up to my ankle.

I still have some trouble with my thoughts, but I think I am doing better than before.

I believe the huge spider I fought was a mother, maybe a queen. It's abdomen was quite unique. There were eight giant statues of women with varying features arranged in a circle. This was a stark difference from the lone, womanly figure present on the abdomens of the other spiders -- the False Arachnes.

It was hard to observe it in detail since I was fighting and the location was dark, but I am pretty sure the eight statues of women weren't human, or at least they weren’t represented as such.

Between each woman was something that looked like a draped cloth that ran up to their hips. From afar, the whole arrangement looked like a crown with the female statues making up eight points of a circlet made from the cloth.

In the center of the crown arrangement was a depressed hexagon. Within the hexagon looked to be an unopened eye, one-third the size of the spider's abdomen.

I guess...based on how I described it, I should call it a queen. A 'False Arachne Queen'?

When I fought it, none of the fire quills worked to light it ablaze. However, the quills still dealt some decent damage to it physically.

The problem was, every time it took damage, so did I.

I'm not sure how the principle behind this worked, but it is true.

Each time I stabbed the thing, I would also receive a stab wound on my body. It took me a few stabs to figure out that I was hurting myself. Good thing the damage was not 1:1, otherwise I'd be a goner.

Another issue was that it commanded other spiders to sling webs in my direction. They did this to slow me down and root me in place. So I inevitably received unavoidable damage whenever the queen attacked.

If it hadn't been greedy by preventing the other False Arachne's from attacking me -- aside from slinging webs -- the battle would've been decided.

Maybe it had pride? Or could it be arrogance?

Whatever the case, neither I nor the False Arachne Queen could properly settle the match. By the time I ran out of fire quills, and my spear was rendered useless, we were at a standstill.

However, I stood my ground. I still had my miniature kite shield for bashing heads-in, after all.

In the end, the False Arachne Queen was the first to give a cry for retreat -- with two less legs, four destroyed eyes, and a myriad of cuts and stab wounds.

I was relieved to see it limp away in shame. It's ten-or-so meter tall frame disappeared into the darker parts of the woods, along with its lackeys.

As for me, well...I received similar injuries, but not as grave as the queen. I lost neither of my legs, and I only received a few vertical cuts over my left eye, but my eye was unharmed.

Although Trauma Healing promotes insane tissue and cell regeneration, wounds will still leave scars. Or maybe it's my passive regen ability? I still have the helical scar from my fight with the Funnelhead, so I suppose neither phenomena prevents scars from occurring.

Because of this, now my body is riddled with them.

I thought I could mitigate this problem with my armor, but the ability of the queen by-passed all of that. At least the armor mitigated damage from the queen's actual attacks.

If I were to lose a limb, I’m uncertain if my regenerative skills could regrow them back. Honestly, I don’t want to find-out. I’m thankful that my body is capable of healing itself to an insane degree, but that does not mean I welcome pain. I’m not a masochist.

Speaking of scars, I bet I look like a grizzled badass...or not. I have no-one to show-off to, so none of it matters.

Journal Entry Day 75 + x

I ventured back into the thickets today.

It seems that pockets of snow do make its way through the thick canopy ceiling of the forest. There are mounds of it scattered all about.

I also met the queen again. But it was still in dire shape. It looked very concerned that I was back to normal -- injuries all healed.

Although it's probably more fitting to say I am better than normal. I feel much stronger than I did when I met it the first time.

However, this time we didn't fight, it was too afraid of me. Instead, it spoke to me like that stupid wolf did. A mind-meld type of deal where it projected words into my mind.

Like my conversation with the wolf, it took some time for it to adjust to a language I could understand. I still have no idea how this mental skill works.

For it to speak my language fluently after a few tries...it is either a genius, or has experience meeting my kind in the past.

I wonder if it has eaten my kind before? Terrestrial Earthlings or Terrans. Terran sounds better.

Anyway, it told me its name was 'Areikys, The False Queen'. A name and a title, how strange.

Did it name itself and assign its own title? What a self-absorbed prick.

The conversation was short. I drew a line on the ground and told her not to cross. She immediately agreed then scurried-off like the pest that she is.

The damn things can crawl faster than I can run. There’s no way I can catch-up without self-harm...

Of course, this was all to buy time.

Undergoing long expeditions into spider territory would not be wise in this weather. Moreso since they aren't edible. Inside their bodies is just green goop.

If you are reading this, I know what you are thinking. Why am I giving them time to regroup? Won't they attack as soon as winter ends? Wouldn’t their numbers increase?

My answer is: Fuck you.

I'll exterminate them when I'm good and ready. I can't go on the offensive without a proper logistical set-up. It could take days to reach their central nest. Only an idiot would do that, especially alone.

I am talking about knowingly putting myself in danger, not stumbling across a cluster-screw I can't get out-of.

What I have been doing thus far is suppression. I can't have them getting too close, but I also can't venture-out too far.

My expeditions are limited to only daylight hours. I have no plans on embarking on a long excursion until the weather is more permissible.

I'll end it here for today.

Damn, voices are back.