Novel East
Chapter 73: Arachnicide
The tunnel eventually widened before opening up, revealing a vast cavern. Several hundred meters underground, the giant cavity was home to hundreds, perhaps even thousands, of cocoons. Hanging to the rock walls, their white color contrasted with the surrounding darkness.
About the size of a soccer field, the cavern must have been almost ten meters high. At this depth, the only light available was the bluish glow of the mushrooms. The density of their lines had increased considerably. Many lines intersected, forming impressive geometric figures on the floor and walls. They seemed to imitate spider webs.
The unique scenery might have been magnificent had it not been for the sound of clattering mandibles and high-pitched spider cries that shattered the silence. A destroyer was in the room, and the occupants were trying to chase it away. Dozens of spiders pounced on the human, attacking ferociously, with no regard for their own lives. There was no fear in the minds of those whose job was to protect the cocoons.
Unfortunately for them, their destroyer was too strong. His physical attributes had long since surpassed those of an average human. Each of his blows sent an arachnid flying.
Priam was dancing just outside of the tunnel. His spear exterminated one spider after another, aimed resolutely at the creatures' brains. Promesse was wreaking havoc as the spiders' blood dripped to the ground. A barrage of his victims' bodies was gradually rising in front of him. Channeling his Potential to prevent [Battle Flow] from leveling up, Priam jumped.
Leaning his foot against the cavern wall, he plunged horizontally into the air. Passing over the still-living spiders, he lowered his spear sharply to pierce the last one. The blow killed the spider and brought Priam to a halt. With a pirouette, he landed lightly on the ground, behind the spiders' backs.
The spiders kept moving in the direction of the tunnel for a moment before realizing that the human had disappeared. Their eyes were accustomed to the darkness, and one of them quickly spotted him. With a shrill cry, it rushed towards him. Priam blocked the attack before striking back. Promesse tasted the opponent's brain.
Without missing a beat, the other spiders redeployed themselves. Some charged at him, while others scaled the ceiling.
Priam parried backward. A spark was created when the spear came into contact with the sharp leg of one of the monsters. The spider raised one of its eight legs and tried to pierce him. The hard black chitin covering the tips of its legs seemed capable of penetrating the Viscount's constitution.
Rolling backward, Priam dodged the blow and two balls of slimy thread shot toward him. As he rose, he swept the spider with his spear and hurled it to the ground. Before its allies could save it, Priam pierced its head.
Another spider pounced on him. Priam had no time to disengage his spear, as the spider had already penetrated his guard. He raised his left arm and touched the spider's leg. Discharging some of his kinetic energy, he catapulted the monster. Its carapace exploded against the wall, its blue blood covered the rock.
Releasing Promesse, Priam dodged another swipe before counter-attacking. With a thrust, his weapon penetrated the spider. The creature froze before collapsing to the ground. Behind it, five others awaited their turn. Their paws clicking on the stone floor informed Priam that he was surrounded. A distinctive noise was heard above him. Looking up at the last moment, he saw the bright ceiling darken, hidden by a spider's falling body.
Pulling out a grenade, Priam straddled the mist the next instant. He reappeared behind the barrier created by the spiders' corpses and bent down. An explosion resonated, and Priam rose to his feet. A dozen spiders were lying on the ground, their legs curled up. The monsters had made the mistake of charging into the spot he had occupied only moments ago.
Looking up, Priam counted three more adult spiders. Hundreds of babies were waking up and tearing open their bags prematurely. The sound of a grenade exploding near them must have disturbed their dream...
Priam raised Promesse and whistled. The three spiders came running as the Viscount retreated into the tunnel. A second after him, each carried on eight legs, they approached at full speed. Their starting position forced them to position themselves one behind the other, making Priam smile. His hand lowered, and Promesse disappeared. If his spear reminded him of his desire for freedom, it was a promise of death for his enemies.
The three spiders collapsed, and Priam caught his breath. He'd been fighting for several minutes and was using his energy quickly. Despite his great Vitality, Micro was exhausting his stamina by demanding the maximum from every one of his muscles. Or almost. Thanks to his Vivacity and Dexterity, Priam realized he wasn't using all of Micro's abilities yet. Controlling every muscle in his body individually during a fight was complicated. Inspecting himself, Priam confirmed that the spiders hadn't injured him once.
"Fuck..." sighed Priam as he saw the hundreds of little spiders arriving. He had no time to lose. "Do you want me to take care of it?" offered Sphinx.
"Yes, please."
Priam concentrated on [Aether Perception], curious how Sphinx would do it. His skill enabled him to see a sphere materialize around his friend. In the area concerned, the aether seemed more stable, less mobile. Sphinx's Domain had spread out in a three-meter radius around them. Advancing towards the spiders, Priam watched in fascination as their tiny bodies twitched. As soon as one of them entered the Domain's sphere of action, it would die. ๐ป๐ผ๐ฏ๐ฒ๐น๐ฒ๐ฎ๐ฌ๐.๐๐ผ๐ฆ
"How do you do that?"
"I scramble their aether. Concretely, their meridians burst, and their minds dislocate," Sphinx explained. Priam's heartbeat quickened. The power of a Domain over a weaker being was terrifying.
Promesse's tip lifted one of the corpses. Although not big, the baby spider must have been around twenty centimeters high. For Priam, this was twenty centimeters too high. The creatures were dead, but the Domain didn't make them disappear. Priam grimaced with disgust as he returned to the nursery. With every step, he felt corpses crushing underfoot. He stopped twice to remove pieces that had become wedged between his toes.
"It's disgusting..." he complained. Sphinx laughed, perched on his shoulder. For a moment, Priam imagined grabbing her and throwing her onto the carpet of spiders. In the end, common sense prevailed. He was the oldest and had to be the wisest.
Above all, he had no desire to test Sphinx's limits. If she decided to take revenge by making him eat those spiders... Priam shuddered.
The grenade had started a fire that was quickly brought under control. Some spiders didn't hesitate a second before slicing off the flaming parts of the cocoons and throwing them aside. Apparently, silk caught fire very easily.
Priam stepped back into the room and waited. After about thirty seconds, no monster had yet attacked him. However, he had observed some spiders wandering between the cocoons.
"The soldiers are dead, but workers are still looking after the babies... Sounds like a division of labor based on ants colonies," remarked Priam.
"What's an ant?" asked Sphinx. Priam began to explain calmly, bending over the corpse of the largest spider he could find. The specimen must have been almost a meter and a half tall. Its fangs - from which the venom emanated - were almost ten centimeters long. Priam activated [Focus] to combat his disgust.
He pulled the corpse to him and planted the hook in his arm. Part of it was already filled with venom, and the liquid penetrated his body. Under the effect of [Focus] and Micro, Priam's face remained impassive. He waited a few seconds before releasing the hook.
"Why did you do that?" asked Sphinx. She didn't seem worried that he might have hurt himself. Priam was pretty sure she thought he was more or less immortal, despite him assuring the contrary. Tribulations worried her, but not a small - or large - spider bite.
Lvl Up: [Poison Body] lvl 4
CONST +1
VIT +1
META (END) +1
"I don't know where Anatole is, but there are certainly hundreds of caves like this one. If these spiders can poison the Jubokko, then I want to be able to do it too. [Poison Body] allows me to strengthen my body by testing different venoms. I'm pretty sure my blood also takes on the characteristics of the poisons I've tested," Priam explained.
There was no clear indication about that in the skill description, but Priam had long understood that the System didn't give all the answers.
[Poison Body] - In your body flows poison. Your blood is harmful to most organisms. You are immune to the poisons of your Tier, and they strengthen your organs, bones, and muscles. You are resistant to the poisons of the next Tier.
Smoking is now good for your health. Too bad there are no more cigarettes.
"In addition, I'm immune to this poison, but not to their Viscount's poison. If I get bitten by a Viscount-rank spider, my body might as well already be used to this type of poison."
"Then I'll get you the biggest spider ever! By the way, I think I know how to find Anatole," said Sphinx.
"No thanks. What about Anatole?" Priam asked, intrigued.
"The poison of these little spiders wont defeat an Earl, even if that is his weakness. Anatole must want to use Barons and Viscounts. All we need to do is find the strongest spiders and we're done!"
"Youre a clever girl, you know that?!" exclaimed Priam while petting her. His friend had the ability to step back from the situation, and the solution became obvious. There had to be a cave full of Barons and Viscounts somewhere, and it was a safe bet that Anatole would be there.
"I've got an idea how to get the Barons out of their hiding place..."
Priam turned his gaze to the various white cocoons. A grenade had ignited several of these cocoons before the workers had extinguished them.
"Says Sphinx, do you still have the grenades you swallowed at Viracocha?"
His friend opened her mouth and a dozen grenades fell. Panicked, Priam barely caught them. He knew they wouldn't explode so easily, but he wasn't stupid enough to test their safety.
"That answers my question..." he said, looking around the dark room.
Lvl Up: [Asphyxia Resistance] lvl 3
VIT +2
META (END) +1
You have eliminated more than 10,000 members of the same race. You and the [Araneaes Venarbor] are hostile. You can spot this species more easily. This species spots you less easily.
The ten grenades had ignited an inferno worthy of hell. Thousands, possibly tens of thousands, of baby spiders had died. The smoke had nearly killed him. Without breathing, he had sought out a downward tunnel - as the smoke was rising - and entered it. Looking at the fire behind him, Priam felt an impulse.
The flames looked comforting. If Sphinx hadn't been there, he'd undoubtedly have bathed in them. The fire devoured the corpses of his enemies, and its glow danced in Priam's eyes.
A few clicks were heard behind him. Priam prepared Promesse, turned and threw it. Micro and [Spear Throw] activated to deliver a throw worthy of an Olympic medal. The Baron had no time to dodge before dying. Priam recalled his weapon as he watched the spider fall to the ground. He had already killed two Baron-rank spiders just before arriving in the Dome. At the time, Priam'd given his all to kill the first, and the second had killed him - with Claire's help.
Today, a single throw was enough to kill opponents of this level.
Smiling, Priam broke the spider's hook before smelling it. His sense of smell would guide him up its trail. Anatole was waiting at the end.
Prometheus was watching the Tribulation. Several kilometers away, a titanic lion had just destroyed one of the Revenants' Abominations. The final attack, resembling a super-powered laser, was lost in space after piercing the chimera. Despite the distance, Prometheus had briefly felt the energy contained within. His conclusion was distressing.
"Humanity is far from ready," he said, turning around.
"Shall I go and slay that lion, Sir?" A man, kneeling on the ground, awaited his orders. Had Priam been present, he would have recognized his armor as hoplite.
"A wounded creature is dangerous. Let's wait until his Tribulation is over. Take control of our army and decimate any animals that come near," ordered Prometheus before returning to his tent.
Guandi straightened up as he saw his master's back disappear under the tent. Not so long ago, he would never have thought of bowing like this. But Prometheus was more devoted to humanity than any other man. The warrior was proud to serve a fighter as powerful as he was just.
Part of him - the part that loved war and chaos - wanted to face him again. Guandi wanted to measure himself against what he knew to be one of humanity's greatest fighters. Maybe he could win this time. Just this morning, he had unlocked a second Supremacy - Mastery. Almost seventy years of daily martial arts practice had proved their worth.
Prometheus' general used his greatsword mainly for fighting. He liked its length but also its power. The weapon's long blade enabled him to multiply the power of his blows with a simple lever effect. Archimedes had said Give me a place where I can stand firm, and I'll shake the Earth. Guandis only wish was to shake his enemies and those of the Divine King.
But before that, he had a mission to carry out. He turned to look at his brothers and sisters in arms. An army of a hundred men and women was waiting near the tent. Each of these fighters had been spotted and trained - briefly - by powerful factions. Each had enormous potential. Prometheus had freed and assembled them. Guandi commanded them.
"Attention, comrades! The Earl's army is coming. I want ten teams: five in defensive position and five in attack. No one goes near the Earl or the Tribulation!" thundered the general. His two hundred points in Strength allowed him to shout loudly when needed. "Bring me back some cores!"
The army saluted before dispersing. The crme de la crme of humanity was under his command, and Guandi was proud to be the best of them. Yet he didn't want to be overconfident. He had seen humanity's rival civilizations with his own eyes. For his armor, he had paid the price of blood.
Humanity was destined to bleed. But the man in the tent behind him could change everything. His name was Prometheus.
Guandi closed his visor. In the distance, he had spotted a Viscount. It was time to show to this Priam Azura that he was not alone at the top.
Status: (Average value for a Homo sapiens male before integration: PHY 10 / MEN 10 / META 0)
PHYSICAL:
Strength 155
Constitution 277 (+1)
Agility 193
Vitality 290 (+4)
Perception 299
MENTAL:
Vivacity 176
Dexterity 201
Memory 50
Willpower 288
Charisma 150
META:
Meta-affinity 141
Meta-focus 98
Meta-endurance 92 (+2)
Meta-perception 32
Meta-chance 114
Potential: 1311 (+4)
Tier 0
[He Who Eludes Death] charge OFF. Reloaded in 4 hours 7 min 37s
[Tribulation]: Tribulations are coming.
Time: 8 hours 27 minutes 31 seconds.
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