I took a deep breath and, before I could regret it, pushed the double doors open.
[Activating effect of the title "Recognized by the Temple of the Knowledge of Astar"]
[Passage permitted.]
The doors that opened revealed a dark, damp environment, partially illuminated by crystals. As soon as I passed through them, they closed.
The space was too large for the number of crystals inside to illuminate every corner, so it took me a moment to notice something moving.
Already on alert, as soon as I caught the movement in my peripheral vision, I threw myself to the right and rolled on the ground.
Something had leaped to the spot where I had been just a second before.
As quickly as I could, I raised my body from the ground and maintained a crouched position.
Finally, what had tried to attack me came into my field of vision.
The creature must have been about two meters tall, black and hairy, with four pairs of glowing red eyes. Just below the eyes, two pincers the size of my forearms. Its head was the size of my entire torso, and its body, supported by eight legs, must have been three times my size.
'"What is that? A giant spider?!"'
[Profile
Status: Bestial
Species: Aracna
Level: 55
Age: 8 years
Attributes:
Strength: 65
Agility: 45
Defense: 85
Endurance: 76
Class: Mother of the Brood
Skills: Web Production; Acid Spit.]
'What was I thinking when I entered through a door that specifically said danger awaited inside?! However lucky I was, there was no way I could survive an encounter with this creature!'
I grabbed the torch I had dropped when I rolled on the ground and prepared to throw it at the giant spider approaching me again, as my only remaining recourse.
'Activate Stroke of Luck' I thought. Then, I threw the torch I held in my right hand toward the spider at the exact moment it leaped at me.
I tried to move away quickly and ended up falling on my back. I cushioned the fall with my hands and forearms, avoiding most of the impact my body would have suffered.
[Activating skill Stroke of Luck.]
I watched in disbelief as the scene unfolded.
The spider fell on its back in front of me and began to convulse. After a few seconds, its legs curled up, and its body stopped moving.
The torch was nowhere to be seen.
[Congratulations! You defeated an opponent!
Calculating experience points…]
[Congratulations! You defeated your first opponent!
You received 10 experience points!]
[You defeated a level 55 opponent!
You received 7090 experience points!]
[You defeated an opponent with a level difference of 54 and received bonus experience points → (30 x 54) = 1620 experience points.]
[Calculation complete!
You received 8720 experience points!]
[New Achievement!
You defeated an opponent above level 50 while still at level 1.
You received the title "Triumphant Underdog"]
[Experience points will be automatically stored in the Infinite Inventory Bag item.]
I blinked, still unable to believe what had just happened. Was the spider dead?
[Activating skill Peer Beyond.
Analyzing the target's condition…
Answer: Deceased.]
'What… what just happened? How did it die so easily?!'
[Activating skill Peer Beyond.
Answering the player's question…
Answer: The cause of death was the direct ingestion of an element harmful to the Aracna species.]
I stared at the spider's corpse. The torch I had thrown at it in a desperate attempt to protect myself was indeed nowhere to be seen.
Well, its mouth was open when it leaped at me, so maybe…?
'Was the blue-flamed torch poisonous to the Aracna?'
[Activating skill Peer Beyond.
Answering the player's question…
Answer: Yes, the element you refer to as "blue-flamed torch" is poisonous to individuals of the Aracna species.]
I had little time to be surprised by this enormous coincidence before a structure emerged in the center of the room.
It was a display totem similar to the one in the library. However, this one was made of black stone.
I got up from the ground, avoided the Aracna's body, and approached the display.
On it was a glowing red book that emitted a faint light of the same color. As I got closer, I could make out a pattern resembling scales, and in the center of the cover was the drawing of a large, almond-shaped yellow eye with a vertical pupil, similar to that of a cat or a snake.
'It must be a dragon's eye' I thought, remembering the statue in the garden.
[Activating skill Peer Beyond.
Analyzing the item…
Answer: ???.
Item classification by rarity: ???.
Item classification by function: ???.
Description: ???.]
[Error. Could not discover information about the item.]
"Is it safe to touch?" I asked aloud. The system did not respond.
I took a deep breath and stretched out my hand, touching the tip of my right index finger to the cover of the book. As soon as I did it, a deep, grave voice that was definitely not mine sounded in my head.
"Greetings, little human. I apologize for my brevity, but we do not have much time. I am Ragnor, one of the four ancient dragons of Mundus. This book contains important memories of mine, and I created it in the hope that someone worthy enough would find this place. By reading it, you will discover many things about Mundus and its fusion with your world. In return, I would like to ask a favor of you, Lilia."
I controlled the impulse to pull away and tried to overcome the shock I was feeling.
Whoever this was, dragon or otherwise, was certainly powerful. I could feel it in my bones.
It took me a moment to regain my composure and respond to the voice speaking in my head.
"Greetings" I managed to reply after a few seconds. Now was not the time for a mental breakdown. I could deliberate on this later. "What favor would that be?"
"At the moment, you are not strong enough and are only alive now because of astonishing luck. However, that same luck offers you unimaginable growth potential. I would like to ask that you return here as soon as you become strong enough. By reading the book, you will know how much."
"You just want me to come back here? That's the favor?"
"That is one of the favors. When, and if, you decide to return, I will make another request. You do not need to answer me, nor are you obligated to repay the book with these favors."
I took a moment to analyze what had been said and asked of me.
"You do not have much time; the eggs will begin to hatch. Store the book in your inventory bag and leave here quickly. You were lucky with that Aracna, but you will not survive another attack. I hope we can speak again." The tone of the voice in my head was urgent.
It was then that I remembered what was written in the Aracna's profile.
When it was attacking me, I was more concerned with escaping, so I didn't pay much attention to that information, but its class said "Mother of the Brood," which meant there were still its offspring.
With my heart racing, I looked up.
Where the light of the crystals reached, I could see eggs scattered, securely held by webs on the ceiling and walls. There must have been thousands of them.
Terror began to take hold of me, this time even greater than when I was face-to-face with the Aracna.
Quickly, I did as Ragnor's voice said, and without even realizing how I did it, I stored the book in the small bag at my waist. Then, I started running toward the double doors. Not fast enough, however.
I could hear the sound of eggs cracking, the spiders, which were at least my size, emerging from them and moving around the room.
Out of the corner of my eye, I saw one of them, which had completely freed itself from the egg it was born from, hurry toward the mother's carcass, which, luckily, was closer to it than I was, and begin devouring it.
I was already very close to the door when I heard a sound similar to a sneeze and, almost immediately, a burning sensation all over the right side of the back of my body.
I stumbled but managed to balance myself and avoid falling, then leaped toward the door with all my strength.
As soon as I touched it, the double doors opened and closed immediately after I passed through, locking the Aracnas inside.
I stumbled forward, breathless, and ended up falling to my knees on the ground. I supported myself with my hands on the floor and tried to control my breathing.
I was fighting to suppress an overwhelming urge to vomit. Almost my entire right side was burning. It felt as if the back of my thigh, buttock, back, arm, neck, and ear were on fire.
[Warning! The player has suffered significant damage and is under the effect of poisoning.]
'Poisoning?!'
I forced myself to stand by leaning against the wall behind me. I needed to think.
I tried to assess the damage to my right arm with the light of the lilac stone beside me. The entire back, up to the elbow and a small portion of the forearm, looked as if it had been burned with acid. There was no skin left in those places.
This time, I couldn't hold back the nausea and ended up vomiting on the stone floor. I didn't need to look at any other part of my body to know that my entire right side was a mess, just like my arm.
'Lilia, you need to pull yourself together' I thought to myself. I needed to calm down and think objectively. This was not the time for my legs to be shaking and my stomach churning.
I raised my head, took a deep breath, and began walking toward the staircase, leaning against the wall. 'Come on, stop being weak!'
I tried to climb the stairs as quickly as possible, but if it took me over twenty minutes to descend, it meant there were many steps to climb. To return, it would take me at least twice as long as it took to get there, especially considering the state I was in.
I could feel my consciousness gradually fading as I climbed the staircase.
My vision was blurry; I couldn't stand without supporting myself on something. My mouth was dry. A pressure in my chest made it difficult to breathe, and the pain I felt only seemed to increase and spread. Moreover, all my muscles were sore.
'I won't die here like this, I won't die here like this, I won't die like this…' I repeated these words like a mantra in my head as I forced myself to keep climbing the steps.
After a long time, I finally reached the riddle room and continued walking to the semi-translucent exit.
My flawed plan was very simple.
From the moment the system presented me with the poisoning notification, there was only one thing I knew could save me: the blessed water fountain. I needed to get there as soon as possible. If I lost consciousness, it was over, and my death would be certain.
While constantly struggling to stay conscious, I didn't pay attention to anything along the way. Before I knew it, I had exited the secret passage in the library.
A system notification warned me that I probably had less than five minutes before my heart stopped.
Probably an adrenaline rush was almost as damaging to someone poisoned as losing consciousness, but under the circumstances, I was grateful because it gave me the strength to quickly leave the library and stumble through the entrance hall.
It didn't last long, however. Soon I could feel my strength fading and my consciousness leaving me for good.
I didn't have the luxury of pondering which was the right fountain, nor of choosing which fountain I would go to. If it was the right one, I would survive; if it was the wrong one, I would die. It was simple. But if I wanted at least a chance to survive, I had to reach a fountain.
I hurried to the nearest garden. My eyes could barely see anything anymore. I stumbled over something twice as I approached the sound of gushing water.
I lost consciousness before entering the fountain, and the last thing I saw was a white stone statue. Then everything went black.