Chapter 015

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‘ ‘ for thoughts.

“ “ for speech.

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Lt. Gail’s squad and Jack started exploring the dungeon. They were cautiously proceeding through a wide oval tunnel when they reached a cavern of sorts. There were many cocoons made of spider web around the edges. ‘Hope they contain loot’ Jack thought as he noticed them.

As Jack was speculating about the cocoons, three giant spiders approached their squad. They were chest high, and looked like giant tarantulas. The spiders had four eyes, two huge ones in the center and two smaller ones to the extreme. They had wicked looking fangs which were almost as long as Jack’s forearm. They were also covered with brown fur which seemed to be waving.

The hunters focused fire and one of the spiders and it soon lost almost half of its HP. ‘I totally get arachnophobia now. Die Creepy motherfuckers. Die!’ Jack thought as he shot a couple of soul strikes in rapid succession at the weakened spider. His first soul strike shaved off almost a third of its HP and the second soul strike finished it.

Lt. Gail was a bit surprised. He had expected Jack’s spells to be far weaker when Jack had explained his capabilities. ‘It looks like a basic spell, but he cast it silently and so fast! And a lv60 mage would be hard pressed to that much damage with such a basic spell’ Lt. Gail thought as he surveyed the battle, giving commands only if the situation warranted.

The guards were clearly experienced at this as they proceeded to eliminate the two remaining spiders. The swordsmen blocked them from reaching the hunters and acolytes, while the pikesmen focused on poking one of them. The hunters were careful now, and took their time aiming, as they wanted to avoid friendly fire. The acolytes chanted prayers and healed the vanguard when it was required.

Jack let loose another soul strike overhead. It arced and hit the weaker spider, reducing its HP to half. Jack was used to fighting solo, and he couldn’t just fire off his mana bolt spells as it could hit his party members engaged in the melee too.

The spider lunged and tried to bite one of the swordsmen, but a spear pierced its eye shaving off a quarter of its HP. The swordsmen finished it off and turned their attention to the last remaining spider. Jack fired another couple of soul strikes at it, reducing its HP to around 40%. The pikesmen and hunters quickly dispatched it. Their first skirmish was over pretty quick, yet they didn’t let their guard down. Lt Gail form the rear said in a commanding voice.

“Good work men. However, don’t let your guard down! This is only the first level. Things will get only more difficult as we proceed. Hunters, conserve your ammo and only shoot to bait the spiders. If a monster displays ranged capabilities, quickly focus fire to take it down. Jack, your spell seems to be homing. Keep using it as much as you can. Men if your equipment deteriorates, we will take a break and Jack can repair them.”

Lt. Gail paused for a bit, and said in a much politer voice. “Acolytes, please take good care of my men. If you are low on mana, don’t hesitate to ask for a break. We don’t have a lot of mana potions and one heal could mean life and death in a critical situation. Continue aiding us with the divine power of goddess Isis.”

They continued systematically exploring, hunting and looting the giant brown spiders. The coccons turned out to be clusters of spider eggs and the guards were ordered to burn them. The guards in the rear were cycled periodically. The fangs, eyes and their exoskeleton were collected while Lt. Gail kept a record of it. Jack also used his dagger to collect chunks of flesh from the spider. While harvesting the meat, Jack had accidently poked one of the glands near the base of the spider fangs.

A greyish fluid squirted on him and he was immediately poisoned. Fortunately, one of the acolytes quickly detoxified him. Secretly, Jack was pleased. He collected all the venom glands, planning to grind his indomitable spirit by purposely poisoning himself later!

“Jack! Be more careful! Don’t make the acolytes waste their mana. Why do you need the meat and venom glands anyway? There were no requests from the alchemist’s guild about any of it.” Lt Gail admonished Jack.

“Lt. Gail. They will help me train one of my skills. I am running low on food anyway, and the meat doesn’t look poisoned.” Jack replied.

Most looked visibly displeased at the suggestion of eating the lumps of icky flesh Jack was harvesting. Lt. Gail frowned and said:

“It is your stomach. However I will not allow you to eat it if you get poisoned. Mana of the acolytes is precious and we have sufficient spare rations for you in any case.”

“Yes Lt. Gail. Let me check immediately whether the meat poisons me or no.” Jack replied. Jack then cleaned and sheathed his dagger. He skewered a chunk of meat with his sword. Jack held the sword in his left hand while he used fire mana manipulation on his right hand to roast the meat, turning the sword. The rest of the guards avoided him and returned to gathering loot. After Jack judged it cooked, he let it cool for some time and took a bite. The meat tasted quite a lot like shellfish, but with a sour aftertaste and pungent odor.

As Jack finished his grisly meal, the guards looked outright disgusted and the acolytes were alert monitoring Jack for signs of poisoning. The spider flesh didn’t seem to poison him. After jack was done, he took a gulp from his canteen and was amused to notice the expression on everyone’s face.

‘Oh right. I can experiment with shit here, I wouldn’t dare in RL. While to them, I must seem pretty disgusting, and possibly retarded.’ Jack thought as he shrugged.

“It looks like the spiders are safe to eat. And it doesn’t taste too bad either, even if it is a bit on the sour side. Lt. Gail I will continue eating this to conserve our rations, as it doesn’t seem to present any danger. The venom from the gland was almost instantaneous.” Jack reasoned to Lt. Gail

‘I do hope all travelers aren’t as eccentric as him. The trick with the fire is pretty neat though.’ Lt. Gail thought as he just grunted an affirmative and ordered everyone to get back to work.

As they went deeper and deeper, the spiders got larger and more aggressive. They battled dozens and dozens of the giant brown spider groups ranging from two to five. Breaks to repair equipment and regenerate mana were getting more frequent.

Every few hours, few of the group retreated outside the dungeon and sent in replacements from the camp. Jack could play almost 40 hours ingame continuously till he needed to have breakfast in real life. However, the NCPs soon required sleep.

They found a large side alcove and the acolytes performed some sort of lengthy ritual singing hyms and using what looked like powdered limestone to draw intricate figures on the ground. Jack noticed with his spirit senses that the mana around them formed a distorting multicolor dome.

When Jack inquired a nearby guard, it was explained to him that his was a ritual used by many priests to provide temporary succor from monsters. It functioned as some sort of warding, and most monsters would instinctively avoid it. It wasn’t perfect however, and they would still require keeping watch in shifts. But still it allowed them to rest without the full dungeon of monsters descending on them.

Jack was also advised not to hunt the monsters nearby while the ward was up. Jack volunteered to enchant as much equipment as he could during this time. Jack enchanted the helmets and boots of everyone with Defense and Agility respectively. Afterwards Jack sneaked away, careful not to disrupt the ward drawings on the floor.

Jack used this opportunity to poison himself with venom glands he had collected. He grinded his Indomitable Spirit special stat. Whenever his HP fell below two thirds, he returned inside the border and meditated to restore his HP. His Danger Sense subskill of Survival was quite useful and helped him avoid many encounters.

In this manner, they proceeded to systematically slaughter the spiders and dispose of their egg clusters in the first level of the dungeon. Jack estimated that they had killed hundreds of those giant brown spiders. It was time for another break before proceeding deeper into the dungeon. Jack took this opportunity for his morning exercises and breakfast. As Jack logged in, Lt. Gail and the others were prepared to explore deeper.

In the next level they encountered a new enemy. It was similar to the giant brown spiders, but there were a few differences. It was slightly smaller and was covered in green hair. They first encountered two of them in a group of four. The brown spider rushed at the guards while the green spider stayed back.

Jack saw with his spirit senses that the green spiders were gathering mana near their mandibles. ‘Shit. Are they mage spiders?’ Jack thought as he fired off a couple of soul strikes at one of them. These green spiders, though they looked less sturdy than the brown ones, they were much more resistant to his magic. Each of his soul strike barely managed to shave of a fifth of its HP.

“Green spiders are ranged attackers.” Jack shouted just as one of the spiders shot out a green missile from their mouth. One of the swordsmen intercepted the green missile with his shield. A sizzling sound could be heard, and his shield lost quite some durability. ‘It is fucking acid.’ Jack thought as the hunters launched a volley towards the spider Jack had weakened.

In contrast to his soul strikes, the hunter’s arrows were much more effective. One volley finished off the green spider Jack had weakened. Jack then shot soul strikes at the remaining green spider, and the hunters finished it off. Meanwhile, the swordsmen were tanking the brown spiders, and the pikesmen had managed to reduce one of its HP by half.

After the green spiders were dispatched, it was relatively easy to dispatch the brown spiders. The squad was now familiar on dealing with them. After this battle concluded, Lt. Gail addressed his men.

“Hunters and Jack, from now on focus on the green spiders. They seem to have a ranged acid attack. Vanguards, don’t worry about your shield’s durability, and block the acid projectiles. After every battle, jack will repair your shields.”

On cue, Jack inspected and repaired the swordsmen’s shields. While repairing, he was making small talk with one of the swordsmen. The swordsman thanked Jack for repairing his shield and assured him that they would continue to protect the acolyes and the ranged attackers intercepting the acid spits with their shields.

While the guards were looting, Jack pondered on the green spider’s ranged attack. While it pretty much looked like an acid spit, Jack had discerned with his spirit senses that it was some kind of magical attack. ‘That fugly spider mixed some mana in its spit and spat it. Does that mean that I can channel mana besides my hands and feet?’ Jack pondered.

Suddenly it clicked. Jack wanted to try something new so he distanced himself from the soldiers and the spider corpses and faced away. He didn’t require any meat at the moment, and he would get his share of the loot later anyway. Jack took a deep breath, while he infused fire mana into his lungs. He continued infusing fire mana into his lungs as he breathed out.

A cone of fire shot out from his mouth and extended a few meters ahead of him. Lt. Gail was keeping an eye on Jack and was surprised to see him exhale a cone of fire. ‘Just what kind of spells does Jack know? I have never seen a mage do that. It looks closer to a fire breathing monster’s attack than a spell.’

Jack meanwhile, was oblivious to the attention directed his way and practiced his fire breath a few times. The fire breath lasted around a second, and he could execute the whole attack in under 5 seconds. Jack resolved to practice this skill till he could execute it faster.

‘Fuck Yeah! An AoE spell! It’s a lot slower than my soul strikes or mana bolts and the range isn’t too large. But still a good spell to soften up charging enemies. I do need to cast it faster though. I wonder why Madam Curie told me to get Intermediate in Mana Control before she could teach me AoE? Meh, let me check the latest notification on what skill I learned.’ Jack thought as he opened his notification log.

He didn’t check all his notifications in detail, and just checked the latest one. He had learned a skill called mana breath. Feeling excited, Jack summoned the skill information on mana breath.

Skill Name:Skill Rank:Skill Level:Skill Experience:Mana BreathBeginner100.00%

You have learned to channel mana through your breath. You breathe out a cone of mana, damaging everyone in the area of effect. You can infuse mana with various elements. Some elements may have additional effects. Currently, you can use the following elements with this skill:

Force: Does half the damage, but has a high chance to cause knockdown.

Void: 5% of the damage done reduces the target's MP

Fire: Causes additional Burning DoT depending on the target's Vitality.

The amount of time you can maintain the breath depends on your Vitality.

Current level effects:

215% Magic Attack/s as elemental damage to all targets in AoE.

1 second is the maximum duration.

5m range with 90 degree cone.

Costs 155 PP/s

Jack analyzed his new skill. IT was a close-mid range AoE spell which did a lot more damage than his beginner lv5 soul strikes! He was a bit surprised how Vitality governed the duration that the spell could be maintained.

‘I can’t use soul affinity with this skill though. I should try some new stuff for an AoE soul spell; it will probably not harm my allies once I get it. The physical element will do nearly no damage with the half damage and armor reduction from targets, but knockdown is good. I can knockdown, then roast them on the ground!’ Jack speculated on the utility of his brand new skill as he joined the guards.

During the following battles, Jack didn’t get an opportunity to use his new spell as he would inflict quite a bit of friendly fire. He stuck to soul strikes during battle and repairing their gear after battles. This level was significantly larger and it almost two days ingame to clear it out. Jack timed his lunch and dinner in RL to synchronize with the resting of the NCPs.

A little after dinner on Saturday in RL, they had finished exterminating the spiders and their egg clusters in the second level of the dungeon. Lt. Gail ordered everyone to take a short break and be in optimum condition before they went into the next level.

In the next level they encountered another group of five spiders. Two were the brown melee ones, two were the green acid spitting variety and the last one was a new variety. It was larger than the brown ones and was blue in color.

While the brown spiders rushed at the swordsmen, the green spiders shot their corrosive bolts at them. The blue spider meanwhile was in the rear and took a strange pose, lifting its foremost limbs above its head. The hunters and Jack quickly brought down one of the green spiders, while the swordsman and pikesman were engaging the brown ones.

While the hunters dealt with the remaining blue spider, Jack noticed with his spirit senses that the large blue spider was channeling mana in its forelimbs. Jack’s instincts warned him, and without wasting time, Jack retreated behind the hunters, and activated mana fists on his feet. He breathed in deeply infusing his breath with fire.

Jack then jumped using force blasts from his feet. As if on cue, the blue spider released some sort of web which arced over the swordsmen and immobilized the priests and hunters disabling them. Jack released his fire breath while suspended in midair, hitting both the brown spiders, and barely avoiding friendly fire.

Jack’s fire breath finished off one of the brown spiders and took almost half of the other spider’s HP. When Jack landed, he quickly equipped his sword and used force blade on it. Since the priests and hunters were disabled, they had to quickly finish this battle to avoid casualties. Jack then rushed towards the remaining green spider, leaving the swordsmen and pikesmen to deal with the brown one.

As Jack expected, a single slice from his force blade enhanced sword took more than a quarter of the green spider’s HP! It had lower physical defense and was weak in melee. Jack quickly jumped on it and deeply stabbed his sword in the green spider’s head dealing a critical hit and leaving the green spider with barely 20% of its HP. Jack finished off the green spider with one last stab

The swordsmen and pikesman had finished off the brown spider, and had encircled the large blue spider. The priests and hunters were still untangling themselves from the surprisingly resilient spider web. Jack fired a soul strike at the large blue spider and caused it to loose barely 15% of its HP.

‘This creepy blue fuck sure is sturdy.’ Jack thought as the guard’s pounding had left it with around half of its total HP. The blue spider suddenly screeched and Jack noticed a pulse of mana spreading outward from it. All the guards engaging the spider became slower until they could barely move their weapons. When the mana pulse reached Jack, Jack felt as if his limbs were made of lead.

‘Oh fuck. This blue bug specializes in disabling magic…and is quite sturdy too. It used sound to channel an AoE slow.’ Jack thought as he struggled to aim his hand upwards to unleash a soul strike. Jack couldn’t risk his earlier acrobatic fire breath as his movements were severely restricted. Moreover, he was more likely to hit the guards surrounding the blue spider. The blue spider took this opportunity and raised its foremost legs preparing for the entangling webs.

‘Shit this is bad. There will be quite a bit of casualties and I will lose on rewards if I don’t stop this bug. This bug channeled its disabling effect through its voice… maybe I can do the same with Soul affinity!’ An idea suddenly occurred to Jack. Jack then took a breath while infusing the breath with soul mana. He then screamed at the top of his lungs while simultaneously infusing his throat with soul mana.

The scream disrupted the spider and it staggered. The scream also disrupted the heavy feeling he had in his limbs and he noticed that it was quite a bit easier to move. The guards also recovered partially and attacked the spider earnestly. The hunters had recovered from the entangling web and quickly helped the acolytes to do the same.

The acolytes wasted no time in chanting prayers and healing the guardsman surrounding the blue spider. The hunters weren’t firing arrows as there were no openings. Jack however, didn’t have that restriction and quickly fired consecutive soul strikes overhead, which arced and hit the blue spider, avoiding friendly fire. Soon, with their combined efforts, they dispatched the blue spider. It was due to Jack’s actions that they managed to avoid casualties.

‘This traveler is full of surprises! He said he had only a couple of single target spells. Did he make these new spells on the spot? Nah. He probably didn’t want to reveal all his skills. It is only natural.’ Lt. Gail thought. Nevertheless, he now understood why Cpt. Zubin was so impressed with Jack.

The blue spider had effectively disabled their ranged and healing support. Its screech had also disabled Lt. Gail and the rearguard! Lt. Gail was somehow surprised Jack could anticipate its actions. Since Jack didn’t have enough time to warn the others, he removed himself from the entangling web and proceeded to quickly aid the rest of the guards. Lt. Gail was very thankful to Jack, as by the time they recovered from the spider’s screech, they would have faced a few casualties.

“Very good Jack. You saved the lives of my men. I will be sure to inform Cpt. Zubin of your exemplary performance on the battlefield.” Lt. Gail said with a smile.

“I was just doing my part Lt. Gail.” Jack replied humbly.

Lt. Gail nodded and he gave a new set of orders.

“Men, this should serve as a lesson. Never let your guard down! From now on the hunters will concentrate on disposing the green acid spitters. After dealing with them, focus on the blue disabling spider. Part of the vanguard will engage with the brown aggressive spiders and part will engage with the blue disabling spider. Jack focus on using your screaming spell when the blue spider raises its forelimbs. Rest of the time you can continue using your other spell and target the same monsters as the hunters. Now let us take a short rest and be in optimum condition before the next skirmish.”

Jack repaired a couple of shields which had blocked the acid spits. He was thanked by many of the guards for possibly saving their lives. Jack just smiled and said, that it was the least he could do for his comrades in battle.

When the guards began their looting, Jack harvested a few lumps of meat and the poison glands of the brown spiders. He didn’t bother with the acid spitter as previously, he hadn’t found any similar organs on them. After the blue spider was looted, Jack examined its corpse and found a larger poison gland similar to the ones in the brown spider. Jack carefully harvested it and reviewed his latest notifications. He had learnt the skill Soul Scream. Jack quickly summoned skill information on Soul Scream.

Skill Name:Skill Rank:Skill Level:Skill Experience:Soul ScreamBeginner100.00%

You scream in defiance and release a pulse of soul attuned mana. You recover from status effects faster, and have a chance to completely shrug off status effects. All hostiles in range take some damage and are disoriented and confused for a short time. Furthermore, allies hearing your scream of defiance recover from status effects quicker.

This spell does not affect inanimate objects.

Your chance to disorient and confuse hostiles increases with your willpower.

The chance to recover from status effects increases with your Indomitable Spirit.

You cannot use this spell while silenced.

This spell does not affect targets unable to hear you (both hostile and friendly). However, you receive the status recovery effects even if you cannot hear your own scream.

Current level effects:

51% Magic Attack as soul affinity damage to all hostiles in AoE.

AoE is in a 5m radius surrounding the caster.

Confuses and disorients all hostiles in AoE for 3 seconds.

Costs 210 PP

Jack was extremely pleased with his new spell. ‘Sure it does shit damage. But it can be quite powerful for crowd control! The status recovery effects are a superb bonus. Need to grind this skill ASAP. Even if Cpt. Zubin gives me shit rewards, Mana Breath and Soul Scream are pretty good spells to have.’ Jack resolved as he continued the extermination of the giant arachnids.