There were dozens of them.
Adam grimaced as he charged at the one below him. The [man eating spider] released a shrill cry and shot several globs of acid at him, but he avoided them with deft skips, moving left and right as he kept his eyes firmly locked onto the creature’s mouth.
Once it saw its attacks being dodged, the spider became enraged and tried to impale him with its sharp legs. Adam lowered his body to the ground and slid across the gravel. Two spindly legs struck the stone catwalk but missed Adam as he slid underneath the [man eating spider], skipped back to his feet, and continued running.
This cavern had several side passages located on each level. Adam took several of them to try and avoid being surrounded, but he soon realized the problem with this idea when he found himself trapped on both sides. His shoulders heaved as he glared at the two spiders hemming him in. He felt like a rat trapped between two cats.
With a grimace, Adam activated [Blood Sacrifice], downed a [low-grade health potion], and charged one of the spiders. He spun the spear around his body, dodged the leg that nearly skewered him, and hacked at it with [slash].
-4,646!
While his attack barely dented this blasted thing’s health, he must have hit one of its weak points because the leg came right off. The [man eating spider] let out an anguished screech and reared back. Adam grinned as he spun the spear around in his hands and used [slash] again to hack off another leg. This must have messed with its balance. The [man eating spider] fell down, and Adam leapt onto its back and attacked with [thrust] two times in quick succession.
-4,646; -4,646!
Because he couldn’t afford to stick around and didn’t have the strength to kill this creature in just a few blows, Adam did not bother doing any more damage. He raced forward and leapt off the [man eating spider], quickly exiting the side passage.
The moment he emerged, several other spiders attacked him, but Adam used his incredible reflexes to dodge them all. He ducked, spun, and danced around a series of long spider legs that attempted to impale him. Titania, tightly gripping his hair, finally screamed as one [man eating spider] came close to swallowing her whole when its mandibles snapped at her.
Once Adam was past the horde that tried to ambush him, he raced onto the next catwalk, leapt down to the one below that, then again, before he finally landed on the ground floor. There were several passages leading to other sections of this cave. He counted six in total. Several of them had at least one [man eating spider] coming out of it, so Adam chose the only one that didn’t have anything coming out. It was a smaller passage that looked just big enough for an adult human to fit through.
Adam raced for it. The spiders were hot on his heels. His breathing became labored as he pushed his muscles to their limits. He didn’t understand where this burning sensation in his chest came from, or why it felt like his limbs were going to tear off.
Wasn’t this a just video game?
His foes were right behind him. One nearly clipped his foot. He grimaced and shook those distracting thoughts off. He ran, and ran, and ran, pushing his body to the limit, and he eventually made it through the small passage.
The spiders tried to follow him, but the one that had been close to taking off his heels slammed into the entrance and could not move any further. It screeched and fired several globs of acid at him. Fortunately, its aim was crap and Adam was great at dodging. He moved left, right, right again, and then left once more, avoiding each attack as he moved out of the monster’s range.
“Haaah… haaah… haaah… I think… I think we’re safe,” Adam said, his breathing heavy. He felt like he’d just run twelve marathons in rapid succession without rest. Sweat poured from his forehead and neck, drenching his clothes, bringing a grimace to his face. “This game really is too realistic.”
“I believe we are safe for now as well,” Titania said as she finally released her hold on his hair and flew up. She checked the passage, which was so dark neither of them could see more than ten feet in front of them. “I do not want to travel back that way again. Shall we see what is over here?”
“Doesn’t look like we have much choice. Let’s go.”
Adam and Titania traveled down the passageway. The ground, floor, and ceiling in this area was covered in a strange type of green moss, which gave off a very light glow. It allowed them to see a little of their surroundings. Oddly enough, this part of the cave seemed less like a cave and more like the derelict ruins of an ancient temple. The ground was mostly flat, though it was broken with cracks, indents, and pockmarks. The walls and ceiling were also surprisingly flat.
With a slight frown, Adam went over to a wall and brushed away the dirt and moss. He blinked when a mosaic motif appeared before his eyes. The motif depicted a woman of incredible beauty, with long hair, a figure that outdid anyone else Adam had ever seen save maybe Fayte and Lilith, and wielding incredible powers. It looked like fire was pouring from her hands, spreading across the land. Rather than death, however, this fire brought forth life.
“It looks like this is an ancient ruin,” Titania said with a small frown. “A lot of temples used to have motifs etched into the walls like this. They depicted important moments in history.”
“So what moment is this depicting?” asked Adam.
Titania bit her lip and frowned. “I am unsure. I do not even know who this woman is. I met the four goddesses when I became the Guardian of the Spear. This woman looks similar, but she is not one of the four goddesses. That said, this imagery makes it seem like her powers are comparable to theirs.”
“Are there people with powers comparable to the goddesses?” asked Adam.
“Of course. There is Hades, ruler of the Underworld. He is a man who is so powerful even the goddesses have decided to leave him alone. Many believe he is the god of the dead. There’s also Odin the Wanderer. I’ve never met him, but I hear he enjoys wandering the world, sampling local cuisine, and stirring up trouble with the locals. I believe there are a few more, but it has been many eons since I read about them.”
“Interesting.” Adam stared at the motif for a while longer before changing the subject. “I wonder why this place became infested with spiders.”
“I do not know, but I recognize those spiders.” Titania’s eyes darkened. “They were definitely members of the Spider Clan. During the war against the Demon Lord, the second or third wielder of the spear you now hold fought against the Spider Queen. He was able to kill her but was gravely injured in the process and later felled by the War Beast. That is how the legends go, at least.”
“So the Spider Queen is dead?” asked Adam.
“The original might be dead, but I am certain a new Spider Queen has been born. Unless the Demon Spider Clan is extinguished, there will always be a Spider Queen.”
“Well, let’s hope we don’t run into her,” Adam said after a moment’s pause.
“Indeed. I do not wish to fight against a 4-star monster at this level.”
“4-star?” Adam asked as they continued walking. “I’m gonna take a guess and say that’s the next level up from 3-star.”
“Monsters are divided by a classification system based on their strength, the type of monster they are, the purity of their blood, and so on. There are normal monsters that have no classification, but then there are the special classifications. Their strength is ranked in this order: 1-star, 2-star, 3-star, 4-star, 5-star.”
“Which means 4-star monsters are the second strongest around,” Adam said with a nod.
“Yes. If you’re curious, the Demon Lord was a 5-star monster while his generals were all 4-star monsters.”
“Good to know.”
Adam and Titania finally emerged from the long passage and into what Adam first mistook for another cavern, but he soon discovered after spotting several giant statues that this place was, in fact, some kind of ruin or a temple. Each statue depicted a woman—the same woman. Each statue was covered in dirt and vines, but he could tell even through the grime
that each woman was beautiful. He was sure the person these statues were based on was even more gorgeous in person.
“What do you suppose this place is?” asked Adam.
Titania was also looking around, her eyes alight with curiosity. “If I had to take a guess, I would say this is a place of worship. Perhaps this woman was an important figure before the time of recorded history. There are many such temples located throughout the four main continents. Some are still intact and humans continue to use them as places of worship, but many have also been destroyed. While I cannot figure out who this place is supposed to worship, it looks like this temple was built from before the Forest of Gloom appeared. If I’m not mistaken, the Forest of Gloom is at least ten thousand years old, so this temple was abandoned before then, or perhaps this temple was abandoned as a result of this forest appearing.”
So this place must have been built a really long time ago, perhaps even before the original continent was split into five. Adam nodded as he continued walking forward.
The room eventually ended in front of a dais where a large throne sat. The dais was massive, easily large enough to hold a couple dozen people, but that space was taken up by the throne. Sitting on the throne was a woman. It was the same woman he had seen from the other four statues, but this one appeared to be more detailed and intricate. The woman was wearing a one-shoulder toga and sat with a dignified and elegant posture. There was a gentle smile on her face that made her seem compassionate and understanding.
Adam was sure this statue used to look magnificent, but at the moment, it was dilapidated like the other statues. Cracks covered its body, part of its left foot was gone, and some of the chair was missing. It had definitely seen better days.
“Looks like there is a passageway behind the statue,” Titania said.
Adam moved around the statue and found that, indeed, there was a passageway behind it. This passage was not large. He imagined it would only be enough to fit at most two people walking side by side.
He walked through the passage and into a long corridor. At the end of the corridor was a door, which Adam realized was unlocked when he grasped the handle and pulled. The door opened with a loud creak, but then it stopped. Adam grimaced and tugged harder, exerting his +295 Strength stat to open the door. When he finally got the door open, he noticed the thick cobwebs on the other side. Was this door stuck because of these spider webs?
That didn’t bode well.
Despite the chill running down his spine, Adam entered the room.
The room he walked into was not large, but it was probably larger than what he perceived it to be. There were spider webs covering almost every nook and cranny of the room. As he walked further in, he stepped on something that crunched under his foot. He looked down. It was a skull. The skull was attached to a skeleton dressed in full plate mail.
Adam removed his foot and continued on.
“Hrm. Hrm.”
“What was that?” asked Adam.
“Hrm. Hrm. Hrm.”
“It sounds like a whimpering animal.” Titania tilted her head. “A fox?”
After searching the room for a bit longer, Adam finally found what had created that noise. Just like Titania suspected, it was a tiny fox kit, a creature no bigger than his forearm. Its dark orange fur seemed soft and shiny, but it was currently covered in spiderwebs. It had two cute little ears with white tufts of fur inside of the inner part. Perhaps the most unusual thing about this creature were the two tails wavering behind it.
“It’s a fox yokai!” Titania exclaimed.
“Fox yokai?” asked Adam. “What is that?”
Titania continued to stare at the helpless fox. “Fox yokai are creatures from a small island nation just off the coast of the Moon Continent. They’re considered part of the beastmen race, but they are actually powerful divine beasts that serve the Moon Goddess as servants and representatives. I have had the pleasure of meeting one a long time ago. She was wandering the world in search of something, though I never asked what. You can tell a fox yokai’s age and power based on the number of tails it has. Nine tails is the highest one can go. This little fox yokai only has two tails, so it is obviously just a child.”
As Titania spoke, the little fox yokai finally seemed to notice their presence. It lifted its head and looked at them with pitifully big eyes. Adam was not the type to let himself be affected by cute creatures. This thing was adorable, but his Aris was much cuter.
“What should we do?” asked Adam.
“We should definitely save it,” Titania said. “Fox yokai are very rare. There can’t be more than maybe a hundred in the entire world. If you save this little fox yokai, it might remember this debt. It might even choose to follow you. I don’t think I need to tell you this, but while this little fox only has two tails right now, it will eventually possess a lot of power and could become a stalwart companion if it joins our party. Fox yokai wield incredible magic.”
Hearing that he could have a fox yokai as a companion sealed the deal for Adam, who believed he would need some extra firepower to escape from this blasted forest.
Adam swung his spear, which cut through the spider webs with ease. There seemed to be some kind of energy covering the webs, though it didn’t matter in the face of his spear. He wondered about that. However, he didn’t care enough to question why his spear could cut through these webs so easily.
Once the little fox was free, it landed on the ground and yipped happily. Titania smiled as the tiny creature began jumping around as though enjoying its newfound freedom. After it had its fill of simply stretching its legs, the little fox yokai trotted up to him and nuzzled its face against his pant leg.
Adam leaned down and began petting the creature. He might not be the kind of guy who would go crazy over a cute animal, but that didn’t mean he felt nothing. Having such an adorable critter act affectionately toward him brought out his natural desire to pet it.
Ding!
[The [young fox yokai] would like to join your party. Do you accept? Yes or no?]
Adam looked at the status screen that appeared before him. He reached out and pressed “yes.”
Ding!
[Congratulations! The [young fox yokai] has joined your party. The [young fox yokai] called Kureha has now become your pet.]
Adam was confused when he saw that Kureha had become his pet instead of a party member, but he wasn’t given time to question it because a status screen for Kureha suddenly appeared before him.
Name: Kureha
Class: Fox Yokai
Lvl: 1
SP: 0
AP: 0
Experience: 0/100
Strength: +10
Contitution: +20
Dexterity: +100
Intelligence: +50
Speed: +100
Physical Attack: +10
Health: 200/200
Hit-Rate: 100%
MP: 800/800
Movement: +200
physical Defense: +100
Magical Defense: +100
Dodge-Rate: +100%
Magic Attack: +200
Skills:
Skill Name: Fireball
Description: Kureha has incredible control over fire thanks to her first tail. She can create fire through the power in her tails and launch a fireball at opponents.
Current lvl: 1
AP needed to reach next lvl: 100
Ability: Deals 200% damage to a single enemy
Has a 20% chance of causing burn damage
MP Cost: 100
Cooldown time: 10 seconds
Skill Name: Firestorm
Description: Kureha has incredible control over fire thanks for her first tail. She can create fire through the power in her tails to unleash a powerful storm of fire.
Current lvl: 1
AP needed to reach next lvl: 100
Ability: Deals 160% damage to all enemies within a 5 yard radius
Has a 20% chance of causing burn
MP Cost: 100
Cooldown time: 10 second
Skill Name: Thunder Bolt
Description: Kureha’s second tail has the power to control lightning. She can launch a powerful lightning bolt at her enemies.
Current lvl: 1
AP needed to reach next lvl: 100
Ability: Deals 250% damage to one enemy
MP Cost: 100
Cooldown time: 10 seconds
Skill Name: Thunder Storm
Description: Kureha’s second tail has the power to control lighting. By gathering magical power into her tails, she can create a massive thunder storm that rains down on enemies from above.
Current level: 1
AP needed to reach next lvl: 100
Ability: Deals 150% damage of Magical Attack Power to multiple enemies within a ten yard radius.
MP Cost: 100
Cooldown time: 10 seconds
Adam was admittedly impressed by the status and abilities of this little fox yokai. It only had four skills right now, but all those skills were incredible ranged attacks that could deal exponential amounts of damage. There were even two A.O.E. attacks. If this little fox yokai leveled up, he could only imagine how terrifying it would be in the future.
However, he did have one question,
“Why is Kureha listed as a pet?” he asked Titania.
“Because even though fox yokai are technically considered a member of the Races of Light, they are still beasts at heart. Unlike beastmen, fox yokai are divine beasts created to serve the Moon Goddess. Since they are subservient creatures, they become pets instead of companions,” Titania answered.
Adam didn’t think that was much of an answer, but he realized this was probably the only answer Titania could give him. He didn’t know what differences there were between beastmen and divine beasts. He guessed this was just one of those parts of the in-game lore that he needed to accept without thinking too deeply.
“Well…” Adam stood up. “Now that we have a new companion, I believe it is time we left this place.”
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