"Get back here! Stop being so careless!" Neal urges, but the boy doesn't move; he remains, certain it's all a fake trial meant to scare them.
"No. It's all fake." He touches the tree behind him. This is fake." He laughs hysterically. "Perhaps they sent him down to give us fake information." He points at Lux.
'Me?'
"Stop—"
Blood splatters onto Neal's face as he tries to get a bit closer to him. He backs away, shock spreading across his face as he looks at the blood and the boy's mutilated body under the many legs of a giant, titan-sized spider covered in mud and moss.
A few seconds pass unhurriedly.
Click!
Click!
Click...
Nobody moves an inch, the sight of the monster and the dead body settling in as their carefree expressions morph into horror.
"What...the...fuck." Lux mumbles; chaos quickly ensues.
The formations go up in flames, forcing everyone to scatter, each one flanking to a different position. The only ones left are Neal, who bumps into a tree root and falls to the floor; Ichor, who's simply staring at the creature; Lux and another person draped in a black cloak.
"We have to move." Ichor grumbles out, sprinting forward to seize hold of Neal and rush back to them. "Follow me!"
Lux, for a second, is stuck in place. He knew they were going to be monsters here, but when confronted with one, he feels—'weak.' I've been up against many people before, good, bad, self-righteous criminals, but this'. He pulls back, his heart pumping more than enough blood he needs. 'This is on a whole other level. '
"Come on!" Ichor shouts, and Lux follows.
The spider lunges forward, leaping high into the air before crashing down in front of them. The impact caves in the floor, sending shockwaves rippling outward toward the group.
All of them are thrown back—Lux slams into the ground with a heavy thud, his gun skidding to a stop beside him. The others crash down around him, groaning from the impact.
[Species: Mutated moss spider!]
[Level: 5]
"Argh," Ichor grunts, clutching his back as he pushes himself up. "It's not going to let us go. That means we have to fight."
Click!
Click!
Click!
'Come on. You're old an experienced; why are you suddenly acting scared?' Lux thinks, extending his hands to grasp his gun, then stands up with the rest of them. 'Neal seems to be out of it now. What a waste; it's not like I'm much different from him.' He skims down his trembling frame, then at his shaking fingers, making their way to the trigger.
Ichor turns to Lux. "Any ideas? It seems to be a mutated moss spider," he says, his buzzed silver hair catching the sunlight. "Do you have information on them?"
'The only thing I know about spiders is that their exoskeleton is very thin, making it easier to break.' The spider dashes onwards, heading straight for them. 'But since it's mutated, that might have changed.'
"I don't know anything about them!" Lux admits, throwing him and Neal to the side just in time.
"It's their legs!" the cloaked figure shouts, charging in.
The hood falls back, revealing short, jet-black hair whipping in the wind.
"Aim for the center and—!" A dagger catches the light as she slashes cleanly across one of its legs, severing it in a single motion. "You'll get a clean cut." She concludes as the spider wails loudly.
"Understood!" Ichor snaps, quickly adapting as the spider thrashes in agony. "The joints."
Magic circles flare to life along his arms, surrounding them like gauntlets, and his steel limbs elongate, sharpening into sword-like blades.
He slides beneath one of its flailing legs, timing it just right. With a swift upward strike, he slices through the joint, severing the limb cleanly as the creature shrieks.
'Look at them... fighting while I cower in fear of a monster?' He grits his teeth, pushing himself up onto one knee and raising his pistol toward the spider as it thrashes wildly.
A magic circle ignites in front of his left eye, glowing faintly. He closes his right eye—his vision sharpens, zooming in like a living magnifying glass.
<<<...Imbuement of amplification...>>>
'Monsters… they're just grotesque versions of humans. And I'm a human killing machine.'
Condensed energy gathers at the tip of his pistol, glowing brighter by the second. "Both of you...move!" he shouts. The black-haired girl and Ichor react instantly, diving to the sides.
He fires.
A brilliant blue beam erupts from the barrel, slicing clean through the spider's leg and tearing into its abdomen, bursting out the other side in a flash of searing light.
'Bluzeye.' He grins, blowing on the tip of the pistol. "Still got it."
[Congrats!]
[You've earned 5 undistributed stat points.]
'Rewards that aren't money? That's new.'
"Awesome!" Ichor cheers, running up to join him. "And thank you, cloaked woman."
He turns to the girl as she slides her hood back on. Just before it covers her face, a black cross imprinted on her forehead catches Lux's eye —sparking his attention—before vanishing beneath the fabric.
__________
[profile]
Name: Meraki Alamort
Status: Commoner
Magic level: -Sealed-
Type of caster: Celestial caster
Possibility: -Sealed-
__________
'Huh, sealed? What does that mean?' He awaits an answer from the system, but nothing. 'As expected.'
"You're welcome."
"What do we do now?" Ichor questions, looking around, his gaze falling on Neal, still dumbfounded. "Hey man, are you alright?"
Neal doesn't answer, only staring blankly at them.
'I guess I'm wrong. He wasn't a born leader.' He turns away. 'Just a weak-minded boy, who saw his chance and took it.'
"We clear the dungeon. That's the only way we pass, right?" He walks off. "The only way to do that is by killing all of the spider mutants."
"Then!" Ichor goes to join but looks at Neal, hesitant to leave him, but reluctantly does. "I need to get it. If I don't, I'll continue to be my parents' disappointment." He utters softly to Neal and walks off behind Lux, and the girl also follows.
"W...Wait!" Neal's voice rings out, and they spin around. "Let me join you." His tone is shaky but resolute.
"Who's stopping you?" Lux says, continuing, and he hurries to their side.