Ascend Online

by Luke Chmilenko

  Far too caught up in observing Drace and Constantine, I was too late to dodge a leg as it slapped me to the ground, fortunately far enough away for the attached claw to barely miss disemboweling my unarmored form.

  Drace, on the other hand, wasn't so lucky.

  The claw punctured him through the lower torso just as he finished cleaving through the Horror's claw-tipped pedipalp. His face was a mix of pain and utter shock but to his credit he managed to retaliate by slashing down on the leg piercing through his body. The spider’s leg was cut cleanly in half, blue ichor seeping out of its stump as it let out an eerie screech. Freed from the creature’s embrace, Drace tried to get away but the colossal spider pierced him from behind with yet another leg.

  The Webwood Horror's body pulsed with a blue light as it turned its head to its captured prey and released a projectile stream of blue goo onto Drace's captive form.

  For a brief instant I saw Drace's figure silhouetted in the spray before his form completely evaporated from sight.

  "Drace!" I couldn't help but shout as I witnessed my friend's demise, feeling him vanish from our Party Sense. "Damn it!" The words were barely audible from my mouth.

  My gut twisted as I tried to comprehend Drace's death. There's nothing you can do right now, but try to make sure he has a place to respawn! I mentally reassured myself, knowing I had already gone through a similar experience.

  A roar from the creature promptly brought me back to the present as Constantine found something sensitive to stab, causing it to thrash in pain as one of its legs suddenly fell limp. I quickly added to the creature's worries by cutting open another chunk of chitin, letting fresh blue ichor gush from the wound. Hoping it would make a difference, I conjured with my other hand and hurled Flare after Flare at the beast.

  A thunderclap of magefire heralded Halcyon's arrival as the explosion blew a chunk of flesh off another one of the creature's legs, rendering it functionally useless. The destructive magic was quickly followed by two wickedly precise arrows, slamming directly into the creature's face as both Sierra and Natasha braved melee range of the creature and shot it point-blank.

  Howling with pain, the creature thrashed as it found its primary defenses negated. It feverishly stumbled backwards in an attempt to create space away from us. Conjuring rapidly, it threw down blue missiles into the ground, spraying dirt everywhere as it retreated, forcing Halcyon and the others to scramble for cover.

  Barely able to dodge the creature's attacks and still manage to keep up, I stabbed my sword deep into a nearby leg, using it as an anchor as I wrapped myself around the limb. I felt the hard hairs of the spider's leg pierce through the simple shirt I was wearing and dig deep enough into my flesh to cause my health to plummet to 50%, but I didn't dare let go as it dragged me along.

  Splashes of light played across the creature's shield once more as it moved out of range of Sierra and the others, forcing them to chase the creature as it retreated.

  The creature flinched and roared once again as Constantine did something to break its concentration and stride. Eager to dislodge myself before I bled to death, I heaved on the hilt of Razor, causing it to slice and tear through half the leg's chitin. With a quick glance as I landed on my feet, I figured any pressure on the creature’s leg would cause the hairy limb to quite literally, break in half.

  Heaving to catch up, Caius ran through the Horror's shield and quickly let loose with twin streams of fire from his hands. The flames bathed the Horror's body, charring the chitin until it blackened and cracked under the heat of the conjured fire.

  Taking a moment to check my surroundings, I saw the running forms of Halcyon, Sierra, and Natasha as they attempted to close with the creature once again. Need to slow this fucker down!

  With a deep breath, I sprinted under the creature as I ran towards its head, in hopes of getting it to focus solely on me. I held Razor high as I ran, carving a shallow furrow along the creature's chitin covered belly.

  A pedipalp stabbed out at me as I entered the spider's line of sight, forcing me to pirouette to the side as I instinctively chopped it in two. As the limb fell away streaming glowing ichor, the beast screeched in pain and began to pulse with a blue glow.

  Having bought myself some space, I tossed yet another handful of fire at the Webwood Horror's face as I charged directly towards its maw. Surprised by my near suicidal charge and without any intact pedipalp to attack me with, I was able to leap up high and chop Razor down in a devastating two-handed slash.

  My blow split the creature's mouth vertically, the same instant it spat another torrent of ooze. Blue glowing goo sprayed wildly from the ruined maw of the beast, searing my flesh as a few droplets sprayed the sky.

  [A Webwood Horror's Arcane Venom sears you for 16 points of damage!]

  [A Webwood Horror's Arcane Venom sears you for 23 points of damage!]

  [A Webwood Horror's Arcane Venom sears you for 15 points of damage!]

  Shit! That burns! I swore as I reflexively tried to brush the burning venom off my skin without prevail. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw the rest of the venom splash harmlessly on the ground with a substantial glob bouncing off a hastily cast ward that Halcyon managed to conjure in time.

  It was at that moment Caius changed the course of the fight. Not being content to simply barbecue the Horror, he had carefully crept forward while its attention had been focused on me and touched one of the creature's legs. The leg rapidly began to wither into a desiccated husk as Caius stole the life energy from it. Unable to support the weight of its hulking form, the leg buckled and caused the Horror to flail to one side.

  In an attempt to save its balance, the Horror instinctively planted the leg I had damaged earlier in the fight, forcing it to snap entirely and sending the beast crashing down to the ground. Still having far too many legs available to it, the beast scrambled to stand up once more.

  Having smashed to the ground right before me, I was in a perfect spot to see Constantine riding the Horror's back. His arms working like pistons as he continuously drove his blades into the same spot in the creature's spine. Even from here I could see the glowing ichor covering his hands, as it slowly seared his flesh.

  Another thunderclap of magefire exploded as Halcyon came into range once again. This time, the blast was directed at the creature's maw and blew a massive chunk of chitin and flesh off the creature, exposing tender innards.

  I forced myself forward as two more arrows flew past me to bury themselves deep in the gap Halcyon had made. Screaming, I lunged with Razor, thrusting the blade deep into the open wound. Viciously, I twisted my sword in hope of inflicting even more damage.

  The Horror suddenly flared an even brighter blue as it began to keen. Shit! I know what that means!!!

  "GET AWAY FROM IT! IT'S GOING TO EXPLODE!" I screamed at the top of my lungs as I tore Razor free and began to run. "CONSTANTINE! RUN!"

  Propelled by experience, I sprinted past Sierra, Halcyon, and Natasha with Caius close in tow. I don't know if Constantine didn't hear me or had disregarded my shout, but by the time I realized he wasn't moving it was already too late.

  The Webwood Horror exploded with a muffled splort as its shields managed to stay intact long enough to keep the worst of the blast contained. It didn't do anything to save Constantine though and I felt him vanish from our Party Sense.

  Your skill in Evocation has increased to Level 9!

  Your Spellsword Class Requirements have been met!

  You are the first group to slay the rare creature - [Webwood Horror]!

  You have gained Leadership Experience!

  You have gained Bonus Leadership Experience for defeating a Rare Creature for the first time!

  You have gained a Leadership Skill Point!

  You have 4 Leadership Skill Points Unspent!

  You have gained 50 Renown for defeating a Rare Creature for the first time!

  Congratulations! You have reached Level 10!

  You have learned a new skill – Abj
uration!

  You have learned a new skill – Alteration!

  You have learned a new skill – Conjuration!

  You have learned a new skill – Divination!

  Please see the class tab for more information about unlocking your Base Class!

  You have 5 Attribute Points Unspent!

  You have 3 Class Skill Points Unspent!

  The sudden cascade of information stunned me as I tried to process everything that had just happened, along with Constantine's death. I felt my injuries vanish as I hit level 10, along with the familiar feeling of various attribute increases that I couldn’t quite discern. Before I could even begin to read all the information being thrown at me, I felt Constantine’s and Drace's presence return near the Town Hall.

  I looked at the glowing puddle of ooze where the Webwood Horror had died.

  I don't know what Constantine and Sierra had in mind when they decided to keep quiet about level 10… but I definitely don’t think this is what they had in mind!

  Chapter 22

  It took time for the chaos of the spider invasion to sort itself out after we killed the Webwood Horror. Apparently during our battle with the creature, the spiderlings made a concerted and desperate attempt to swarm the Town Hall to get to the villagers. The swarm of vile creatures was met by the Militiamen, who with the help of Drace’s extra training were more than up to the task of defending the Hall with the support of the Bann, Jenkins, Sheila and Ritt.

  Expecting to hear of multiple casualties, I was happy to hear that Drace and Constantine were our only fatalities, temporary as they were. Injuries on the other hand were plentiful, especially among the villagers. There were dozens of spider inflicted bites throughout the citizenry, which resulted in more than a few serious cases of poisoning. It was absolutely dumb luck that I had brought a bundle of Hollyleaf for Ragna earlier in the night before and was the deciding factor in helping Shelia save a number of villagers lives.

  So far I hadn't had a chance to review all the alerts crying for my attention since I hit level 10. From the moment that Drace and Constantine resurrected and said the words aloud, I'd been distracted by a terrifying, blood curdling, and anger inducing pair of words to all Adventurers everywhere.

  Death Penalty.

  The pair had resurrected with the same morose depression I experienced myself. However, they were both cursed with something they called Torn Soul. A tiny fragment of their soul had been left behind at the scene of their death, waiting and hoping, for its eventual recovery. They both said they had lost a full 20% progress in five of their best skills, along with a 20% experience debt for the current level.

  "There's a timer," Drace spoke softly as we walked through the village towards the still glowing patch of soil where the Webwood Horror had been slain. "We have seven days to recover our Soul Fragment before it dissipates and the longer we take to recover it, the greater the permanent penalty to our skills."

  When we arrived at the glowing mess, Drace and Constantine simply raised their hands as they grabbed something invisible to the rest of us. Within a heartbeat, they breathed a deep sigh of relief.

  "Phew, hardly any loss at all…" Constantine breathed.

  "Maybe a percent or two across each skill." Drace nodded. "Not that bad, experience debt is gone too."

  We all stood there quietly looking at the glowing mess.

  "Well," Drace said, still sounding depressed. "I'm going to go back to bed. Sleep this Death Sickness off."

  "Yeah…" Constantine echoed. "Me too."

  With only the four of us standing near the eerie blue glow, Halcyon broke the silence. "So… what did it drop?"

  "Huh?" Sierra asked, completely caught off guard. "What drop?"

  "The creature… it's a Rare right? Did it drop any loot?" Halcyon motioned towards the goo without looking directly at it. "I wonder if that stuff will despawn? Or will we have a glowing nightlight out here now? It… really hurts to look at, magically speaking."

  "I… don't know…" Sierra said, her eyes a bit glazed over. "I'm too tired to think straight right now…"

  "Yeah, me too…" Halcyon mumbled in agreement.

  "I'll look…" I volunteered after I realized Caius wasn't going to contribute to the conversation. I turned towards the blue glow, spotting a loot sack within easy reach.

  [Massive Glowing Spider Legs] x10

  [Wicked Glowing Spider Claw] x11

  [Massive Glowing Spider Carapace] x1

  [Strange Glowing Ichor] x100

  [Glowing Spider Silk Webbing] x 30

  [Massive Glowing Spider Fang] x2

  "Glowing?" I said aloud as I looked over the items and finding that they all had non-standard names. "I wonder what that means?"

  "Seeing that the spider is glowi-." Halcyon started to mutter sarcastically. "Oh… I'm too tired for this, even for me. I'm going back to bed… heads up Lyr…Aldwin's coming."

  "No shi-" I bit off my reply as I also saw the Bann approach. "Right."

  "I'm out too, Lyr…" Sierra sighed in exhaustion as she moved to follow Halcyon. "I can barely stand."

  "Night, Lyrian," Caius said quietly as he followed the group. Between tonight's events and the Ritual he had to undergo for his Base Class, he likely had next to no sleep at all.

  "Yeah… no worries." I waved everyone to bed as the Bann approached.

  "Lyrian." He sighed as he looked at my departing friends. "Thankfully… with you and your friends help, we have no casualties."

  The Bann looked as exhausted as I felt and was still covered in black ichor from defending the Town Hall. "Two major attacks a handful of days apart. The defenses we'd spent the day building, ignored."

  I shook my head, even though I knew how Aldwin felt. "We didn't build defenses in mind to repel spiders… magical spiders, but we still survived."

  "True…"

  We silently watched the glowing mass of ooze that the Horror had left behind before Aldwin spoke again. "I'm going to have to ask you and your friends to return to the Webwood and thin out the spider's numbers."

  "Do you really think that'll make a difference? What about the work for the village defenses?"

  "We'll manage… I daresay everyone will be a bit more motivated to ensure we have something to defend us." Aldwin sighed as he chewed a corner of his beard.

  "There's that… though I'm concerned about the appearance of the Webwood Horror… and the Aberration I found yesterday," I said as I considered the two creatures I had fought. "Instinct has me thinking their appearance may be related to Natasha's expedition."

  "Eh? That Ruptured Ley Line business you mean?" The Bann frowned as he considered my train of thought.

  The longer I thought about it, the more pieces began to fall into place. The Aberration I found in the forest yesterday displayed a similar spellcasting ability as the Horror, if to a lesser extent. But at its core it was still a Webwood Spiderling.

  The Webwood Horror, on the other hand, reminded me of a Giant Webwood Spider, or possibly another type of creature we hadn't yet come across. Magic had clearly warped the beast, turning it into a truly overwhelming monster.

  Had the beast stayed in the forest, the terrain would have made it nearly impossible to get close and get past its shield.

  "I need you to get to the bottom of this, Lyrian," the Bann whispered. "I know you're concerned what the other Adventurers may do once they get here." Aldwin paused, mulling over his next words before speaking again. “But if we don't do something about the Webwood, there won't be a village left to defend!"

  Quest Updated! This quest is now Unique!

  Cleansing the Webwood. (Unique) (Group)

  Bann Aldwin wants you to return to the Webwood to cleanse the forest of spiders, and find the source of whatever is granting spiders magical powers, then destroy it.

  Spiders Slain: 321/1000

  Source found: 0/1

  Difficulty: Very Hard

  Reward: Experience, Reputation, 100 gold pieces. (Reward pr
oportional to percentage contributed)

  Bonus: ??

  I looked over the updated quest quickly before dismissing it from my vision. At this point, I felt too invested in Aldford to let it be destroyed, be it by spiders, or Adventurers, and didn't really need a quest as motivation. Though it did tell me just how seriously the Bann wanted it done, especially since the system updated the quest to be unique and was no longer available to any other groups!

  "We'll figure it out," I told the Bann, trying to sound as confident as I could.

  "What are you going to do about this?" I indicated the glowing ichor still on the ground. "It doesn't seem to be disappearing."

  "I'll get a few villagers to help me throw some dirt on it." Aldwin shrugged as if it were a trivial matter. "I doubt anyone will want to build a house on that plot now. Maybe I'll throw down a few acorns… and something good will come of it. Blue glowing acorns," he chuckled half-heartedly.