Pendrackon

by Aaron Oster

  The Boss, to no one’s surprise, was nowhere to be seen but Sam had a feeling that as soon as he looked up or behind them, it would attack. He could practically feel his scalp prickling at the thought and forced himself to suppress an involuntary shudder.

  “Any ideas on how to defeat this Boss?” Emma whispered.

  “Just hit it until it dies?”

  “You always have the best plans, don’t you?” she said dryly.

  “Hey, don’t blame a guy for not having golden pearls of wisdom at every opportunity,” Sam hissed back. “We’re literally standing in a death trap. If spider tropes hold true, our movement will be limited, and web attacks designed to tie us up will be prevalent. I’ll stand still and support, while you guys do all the damage. Whenever my Over-Burn is usable, I’ll tell you all to get back. How’s that for a plan?”

  Emma pursed her lips, then slowly nodded.

  “Better. You ready for this?”

  “Hell no,” Sam replied, then turned around and looked up.

  There, sitting in the corner of the room, was the most disgusting creature Sam had ever seen. The spider was the size of a hippo, with ten hairy brown legs, twenty bulbous eyes and an abdomen larger than a horse. If the red skull floating above its head didn’t tell them it was a Boss, the chittering laugh that came from her clicking mandibles most definitely did.

  “You lot sure have been causing a ruckus, haven’t you? Not to worry. Your bodies will feed my children and help replenish our lost numbers.”

  “Who the fuck ever thought it was a good idea to let spiders talk?” Sam let out a stream of curses. “All they ever want to do is eat you! We already know she wants to eat us, so why the fuck does it need to talk?!”

  “It is always so wonderful to see humans right before they die. Their fear tastes so…delicious,” the spider chittered.

  BOSS MONSTER

  Name: Cree Pee

  Gender: Female

  Level: 29 - HP: 2,600/2,600 - MP: 300/300 - STA: 2,300/2,300

  Status: Hostile

  Greatest Threat: Acid Wave

  Highest Attribute: Constitution (260)

  Cree Pee was once an ordinary spider, but an enhancement from an Enchantress turned her into the leader of a massive brood.

  “You know, even though her name is ridiculous, it doesn’t make me feel any better,” Sam said.

  He aimed an Over-Burn right at the monster’s face, the explosion of fire burning away at the webbing on the walls and ceiling, while the Boss screamed loudly from the pain.

  You deal: -312 Damage to Cree Pee (Over-Burn +81 Burn Damage)(Massive Critical).

  “Well, that was my opening salvo!” Sam called. “It’s totally up to you guys now.”

  The blast of flames had knocked Cree Pee from the ceiling, sending her slamming into the floor and causing falling damage. The Stunned debuff appeared next, letting Sam know that knocking her down had indeed been the right thing to do, not that he needed the system to tell him.

  He blasted the ground between Emma and the spider, clearing the area for them to move. Emma ran in, sword held low as she charged the blade, preparing for an attack. Barry flew ahead, raining down his explosive dumps on the struggling spider. Emma closed in a second later, slamming her sword into the monster’s abdomen and gouging deeply into its carapace.

  The spider’s hard outer shell didn’t even crack, and Emma cursed as she sheathed her sword and drew the massive hammer from her bag. Gordon had moved in for his turn to attack, but the small lapse in time between attacks had given Cree Pee enough time to recover. She was up on her many feet in an instant, a loud shriek of rage escaping through her open mouth.

  She swiped at the dog with one of her razor-sharp legs, and though Gordon tried to twist out of the way, he was unsuccessful in moving quickly enough. The spider leg scored a bloody furrow in Gordon’s side, throwing the dog off course and into the wall. He stuck fast where he landed, his body ensnared by the sticky silk.

  The spider then turned her head upward, a stream of silk pouring from her open mouth and ensnaring Barry midair, wrapping him up in a cocoon within a second. The bird fell from the air with a shriek, hitting the ground and suffering minor falling damage. However, due to the bird’s light bones, it wasn’t nearly as bad as it could have been.

  Sam’s Mana Burn hit the webbing that was entrapping Gordon, melting it away and freeing the dog. A bit of the dog’s fur was singed from the attack, but Gordon didn’t complain, moving to engage with the spider again. Emma was currently holding the monster on her own, taking huge swings with the hammer and keeping her from closing, but she knew it was only a matter of time before the spider would use its silk to tie her up as well.

  “Watch out for those legs!” Sam called as he ran to free Barry, who was struggling and cursing on the floor just a few feet away.

  “What the hell took you so long?” demanded the bird once Sam crouched to free him.

  “The floor is literally covered in webbing. Now, that may not be a problem for you, but people who need to walk get stuck in that shit if they step on it!” Sam snapped, tearing the sticky silk away with his fingers.

  He really wished he could just burn it away, especially with how annoying the asshole trapped within it was. Sam needed the bird to be alive and well to take on the monster spider, so he had little choice but to get his hands dirty.

  “Hurry up!” Barry yelled, fidgeting and squirming to try and get his wings free.

  Sam growled and once again considered burning the bird out, but after just a few more seconds of frantic clawing, the bird finally got his wings free. He took off with a screech, his legs still half-bound in silk and silvery strands streamed behind him.

  “Rotten ungrateful little…” Sam muttered as he rose, dusting off his pants.

  When he turned to face the fighting group, he let out a very unmanly shriek as he saw the spider had both Emma and Gordon pinned and was in the process of webbing them up. The reason he hadn’t heard either of them cry out was because the monster had apparently started with their mouths, ensuring they couldn’t scream.

  “Mother fucker!” he yelled, cursing the bird for distracting him so much.

  A Mana Burn hit the spider right in her face, making her shriek in pain and stagger back, smoke trailing from the point of impact.

  “Fuck, that was nasty!” Emma yelled as she tore the silk from her mouth. “I’m gonna have nightmares for months when this is over!”

  Barry chose that moment to explode out of Cree Pee’s shadow and leave a deep scoring cut along her side. Sam’s eyes flicked to the monster’s health bar, and he cursed once again. Aside from the initial damage he’d done, none of them had managed to land a deciding blow. Cree Pee’s HP was still well above 80%, her carapace acting like armor.

  Sam’s hand strayed to his waist where the Flintlock lay holstered, but after a moment of hesitation, he moved it away. He’d already used the Multi-shot attack once today and lowered its durability as a result. This was a valuable weapon, and attacks like that should only be used in an emergency.

  Gordon swung at the spider as she moved back in, his paw enlarging and slamming into her face. The damage was minuscule, but it managed to cover all of the monster’s eyes. Since the webbing on the floor was gone in their area, she couldn’t see what was coming until it was too late. Gordon’s paw moved to the side, just in time for Emma to come in, swinging the oversized hammer right for her face.

  Cree Pee hissed and tried to block it with one of her many legs, but was only partially successful. The hammer, wielded by Emma’s massive Strength, slammed into the monster head-on, shaving off 10% of her HP.

  “That’s how it’s done, son!” Emma cheered, moving in for a follow-up attack.

  The hammer was a slow-moving weapon, though, its huge size making it unwieldy against a faster opponent. Cree Pee easily dodged out of the way and retaliated by rearing up on her hind legs. Sam recognized the glow as an ability and fired off a Mana Shot to keep
her distracted. Unfortunately, since it wasn’t a fire-oriented ability, the shots did minimal damage and seemed to bounce right off her tough body.

  Emma tried to block using the hammer, but she would have been better off letting it go and dodging. Eight spider legs glowed a sickly green, then shot forward in a pincer attack, all converging on Emma’s chest. Despite her huge Strength attribute, Emma was no match for the monster’s ability. The hammer was knocked from her hands, and five of the eight legs pierced deep into her chest and abdomen.

  The monster tried to drag her in closer, as Emma screamed and struggled, but Gordon and Barry both attacked at that moment. Barry carved another groove in the spider’s abdomen and Gordon’s claws extended into red-tipped blades nearly a foot long. His strike was aimed for the exact spot Barry had hit, and this time, the attack went through.

  Cree Pee’s scream of pain drowned out Emma’s, as metallic blue blood sprayed from the area. Clearly, they’d hit a weak spot, as she dropped Emma and staggered back, shaking her head and trashing her legs. This stopped anyone from approaching for fear of being hit, but also gave them a moment’s reprieve.

  Sam dashed over to crouch beside Emma, who was writhing on the ground and trying to reach for her bag. Her HP was below 50% and dropping fast, the puncture wounds all bubbling and sizzling as green foamy acid burned away at her skin.

  “Poison!” she gasped, grabbing at his hand. “Gonna… kill me!”

  Sam reached for his bag, removing the Strong Healing Herb and placing it in her mouth.

  “Bite down, and only swallow when your HP drops by 500 points! I don’t know how long this poison will last, so I’m going to do something that’s probably going to hurt.”

  Emma’s only response was squeezing his hand tighter, which had the adverse effect of nearly crushing his bones.

  “Keep that monster busy!” Sam called over his shoulder.

  He turned back to Emma, whose face was turning a sickly green.

  Her body continued thrashing, but she managed to keep her teeth clenched on the healing herb and not swallow just yet. The bubbling and burning were getting worse, the flesh around the wounds beginning to ooze clear liquid, and a vile smoke began rising from her body. Sam didn’t give her any warning, slamming his palm down on one of the open wounds and using Mana Burn.

  Emma’s back arched, and she let out a loud groan as the ability seared her flesh, but when Sam moved his hand away, the wound was no longer fizzing and bubbling. There was an angry red welt in the shape of a handprint and the wound was still pretty gruesome, but the poison seemed to have been burned out.

  Despite that, Emma’s body was still trashing wildly, and the five-second cooldown felt like an eternity to Sam. He was vaguely aware of the fighting going on behind him, but all he could do was concentrate on making sure Emma didn’t die. As soon as his second Mana Burn hit her, Emma swallowed the Healing Herb and her HP was topped up to full, the burn wounds healing completely and leaving only smooth skin in its place.

  However, her health began immediately ticking down again as the poison continued to ravage her body. Sam growled in frustration as she lost 8% of her HP before he was able to use Mana Burn again. Her body hadn’t yet stopped thrashing and writhing, which told him that the pain hadn’t lessened, despite having already closed three of her five open wounds.

  He took the five-second cooldown to reach into his bag and retrieve another healing herb, one that would heal damage over time.

  “Eat!” he yelled, shoving the leaf between her teeth and using Mana Burn once more.

  The sounds of explosions and screams of pain came from behind them, yet Sam stayed focused solely on Emma. He only had one wound left to close, and the five seconds could not have passed more slowly. Finally, he pressed his hand to the last wound, the one on her abdomen, and purged it with fiery mana.

  Emma’s body jerked one last time, then she went still. Her breathing evened out as the healing herb brought her back to full health, the horrible burn marks vanishing as though they were never there.

  “Let’s never do that again,” Emma said, turning to give him a weak smile.

  Another loud crash finally made them turn, and they were just in time to see Gordon flying across the room, trailing the same open wounds he’d just closed on Emma. Sam hesitated for just a moment, but Emma released his hand and gave him a light shove.

  “Go. I’ll be more careful this time.”

  Sam hesitated for just a moment more, but as soon as Gordon let out a howl of pain, he was up on his feet.

  “You’d better not let that happen again!” he called back as he ran.

  Emma looked down at the holes in her armor and grimaced. There was likely someone in the capital who could repair gear, but she’d be stuck with these massive holes in her clothes until then.

  The spider was going to pay dearly for that.

  42

  “Hold still, you damn mutt!” Sam yelled as Gordon thrashed once again, throwing his hand off and causing the spell to miss.

  Gordon let out a growl, then snapped at him, causing Sam to dance back. He’d been trying to heal the dog for the last fifteen seconds, but every time he used his ability, Gordon’s body would twitch and throw his aim off. The dog’s HP was falling fast, though he only had two puncture wounds, as opposed to Emma’s five.

  He debated standing back and firing from a distance, but with all of the dog’s movement, he would definitely keep missing. Add to that that the fact that every missed attack caused damage, and he wasn’t sure how much longer Gordon would hold up. A notification that had been blinking in the corner of his vision for the past minute or so suddenly opened without his prompting.

  CONGRATULATIONS!

  Since you are too much of an idiot to check, I have opened the notification for you.

  Through your sadistic torture of others, you have gained a new skill!

  Cauterize: Just burn away. It’ll definitely make them feel better, right?

  Level: Novice 3 (14%)

  Effect: Heals Poison and Disease but inflicts damage equal to the caster’s level

  “Well, that was a bit rude, but helpful, I guess,” Sam said, dismissing the notification and crouching near the dog again.

  Since it was a skill and not an ability, it didn’t cost any MP and there was no cooldown time. He also didn’t need to make direct contact to heal them, which helped a lot. He only had to focus on the target in his mind’s eye. He turned his focus back to help Gordon. Flames blossomed in both open wounds, burning away the poison and stopping the damage over time effect that was quickly killing the dog.

  Gordon’s body finally relaxed, his head lolling to one side and his tongue hanging out of his mouth as he panted.

  “I must apologize for my behavior Samuel,” Gordon panted. “It was not my intention to act so rudely.”

  “Yeah, I get it, pal,” Sam said, patting his side lightly. “Do you have any Healing Herbs?”

  Gordon nodded once, and Sam stood to rejoin the fight.

  “Don’t take too long getting back on your feet,” he called back. “We need you.”

  He then headed back to the battle, where Emma and Barry were just barely holding the monster off. The biggest threat that Sam could see was her ability to fight off and even win against multiple opponents. Her many legs acted as weapons and shields, and her many eyes ensured that they were within sight the entire time. So, what could he do to help?

  Sam aimed a Mana Burn at the monster and let it fly, but the creature had apparently been watching him and managed to get her legs up to block. It still did some damage, scorching her legs and eliciting a hiss of pain from the creature. Both Emma and Barry tried to take advantage of the attack, but Cree Pee blocked them both.

  The cooldown timer on his Over-Burn was just seconds away from running out, but a quick check of the spider’s HP told him it wouldn’t be a good idea to use it just yet. This would probably be the last time he could use it in this fight, especially with h
is MP dropping with every cast of Mana Burn.

  He only had two Mana Herbs left and wanted to save them for when he faced the final Boss, so he couldn’t waste them here. Growling, Sam wracked his brain for a plan even as Gordon rejoined the fight. He didn’t want to use his Flintlock’s ability again today, but if he didn’t come up with something soon, he’d have little choice.

  His eyes were suddenly drawn to the open wound on the monster’s abdomen. It was still open and bleeding, which told him it wasn’t just a weak spot, but a fatally weak spot. The only problem was getting to it. Barry and Gordon’s surprise attacks were no longer working, and now that Cree Pee had found her rhythm, she was keeping them all too occupied to try one of their big moves.

  Sam was forced to halt his thinking and blast his Mana Burn into the spider’s face as her mouth opened to spray some of her webbing. She screamed as the fiery ball of blue mana burned the webbing away midair, blinding her for a second. Emma managed to get in a hit on one of the spider’s legs, but the monster still managed to block both Barry and Gordon somehow.

  Seeing this finally gave Sam an idea. Backing slowly away from the fight, Sam crouched, waiting for the Stalker skill he’d so hated to activate. It didn’t take long for the small icon of a closed eye to show up in his vision, and he slowly slunk around the side of the room. He couldn’t use his abilities, as that would catch the monster’s attention, so instead, he was forced to push his way through the gross and sticky webbing.

  It’ll all be worth it. It’ll all be worth it.

  He kept repeating this to himself, even as he gagged. The little eggs squished unpleasantly underfoot, and the webs clung to his face and neck. It was the nastiest sensation he’d felt since coming there, but Sam persevered. His Mind Over All skill probably had a lot to do with that, though Sam liked to think that it was his own personal bravery.