In fact all I really want right now is to get Kechara safely out of this mountain. If she wasn't with me I would be more tempted to stay here and massacre all these undead. However, since I don't get levels all that would do is maybe give me a few skill ups, but it would allow me to finish searching the city.

That is the thing about this situation that bothers me the most, these things are keeping me from exploring and satisfying my curiosity. Considering the quality of the sword I found I really wanted to find the city barracks and armory to see what else I could take back. Then again the driders being here suggests this city fell to them, meaning most of the weapons and armor would have been in use.

I can't help but wonder if there were survivors who fled the city or if they were all wiped out and turned into driders. I also wonder if whatever is controlling them is also what made them into driders. Right now it does not look like I am going to get the answers to these questions, and that is also annoying.

The next roof I jump to has a dozen driders on it and more climbing up, so I am forced to cut my way through. As I cut each one down I do my best to kick the corpse towards those that are trying to climb up to slow them down. After cutting down the first six a wind blade flies past my ear to hit one of the caster types.

When he stumbles from being hit I use the opportunity to cut him down. Then I tell Kechara she did a good job and to aim for where the spider part meets the humanoid part since that is the weakest point I have found. As I cut down four more driders Kechara manages to kill a caster type with her wind blade.

As I jump to the next roof I congratulate her on her first kill and pat her on the head before returning my attention to the driders. I can now see the city wall in the distance but it is still a fair distance away, I'm not sure if we are going to make it. All the rooftops I can see are now covered with driders and their undead minions are swarming around the houses.

If I jump down the undead will slow me enough for the driders to catch up, but if I stay up here I have to cut my way through the driders. While they are fairly easy to kill I am still getting hit occasionally and that will only increase as I start getting worn out. Since I can't stay still I jump to the next roof and start cutting down the driders, as I do I keep looking around for another option.

Going back is out since the driders have moved up behind me and are starting to jump across to the roof I am on. Since they are part spider they can jump almost as well as I can, they will probably be almost as fast on the ground too. I am starting to think that maybe I should find a defensible place and make a stand with Bones.

The choice is taken away from me when I dodge an attack from one of the melee types and it hits the roof below my feet. With a loud groan followed by cracking sounds the entire roof collapses taking me and the driders with it. Luckily I fall through into the second story of the house instead of into the street where the undead are waiting.

Finding myself in a small room I quickly cut down the two driders that fell in with me. I can't tell what was in the room since it is buried under the debris from the roof, but there is a door so I head for it. Kicking through the door I cut down another drider before it can react and move out of the room.

Since I don't want driders dropping down on me I am looking for the stairs to go down. At this point my best bet is to find a room with only one door and try to fortify it. Hearing a thud behind me I quickly throw a wind blade backwards and cut the drider in half.

*DING*

Congratulations! Skill Wind Blade has progressed to level 2!

Wind Blade

Level: 2

SP Cost: 50

Blades fired: 2 Damage per blade: Int x1.5

Turning right down the hallway I cut down two more driders before I reach a dead end, I chose poorly. Backtracking to go the other way a hiss from Kechara warns me and looking up I find a drider attacking from above. Leaning out of the blade's path I cut upwards with Blitz and cut it in half, only realizing my mistake after the fact.

Now that both of us are covered in spider guts I am struggling not to retch from the smell, but I have to keep moving regardless. After killing three more driders I finally find the stairs down, only to see a crowd of undead coming up them. It seems I took too long and now the undead have entered the house, so unless I cut my way through them I am trapped.

Firing a pair of wind blades down the stairs and another pair behind me I buy myself a second or two to look around and think. Turning around again I run back down the hallway, I would rather face the driders than the undead horde. Spotting a door on the left that I didn't notice last time I kick it open and take a look inside.

This room is also covered in debris from the roof but there are currently no driders inside so I quickly move into the room. Scrambling up the debris I manage to get to the top of the outside wall of the house. When I raise my head above the wall to take a look I see a drider only a few feet in front of me, it is crossing a bridge made of webbing.

Quickly pulling myself onto the top of the wall I swing Blitz down and cut the webbing where it meets the wall. That drider and two more behind it fall onto the undead crowding the street, but looking around I see dozens more crossing other bridges. Looking down I see that the three driders that fell are fine and are already on their feet pushing their way through the undead towards the house.