Chapter 3: The Queen of monsters
A/N: Hey guys! Unfortunately my publishing schedule is going to be a little off for the next few weeks because of finals, but I'll try to get new chapters out as often as I can. Hope you enjoy this chapter!
tf330129: Thanks for your support! I'll keep it up as long as people like you continue to make me feel like my writing is worthwhile to read.
The sky was the crimson and ash fell like snow. I tried to move my arms and legs, but I was frozen in place by some invisible force. All I could do was look around, and what I saw made my blood freeze in my veins. I was standing at the shore of a lake of blood. The sand beneath my feet was a gray color, the color of decomposed flesh. All around me weapons stuck out of the ground. Axes, knives, swords, lances, halberds, hammers, maces, all of them covered in blood and in need of repairs. The sickening stench of blood and rot made me want to puke.
"Leo…" a voice rattled. My eyes flew to the ground as a skeletal hand reached up through the sand. The rest of the arm followed the hand, then came a skull. The skull looked up to me and weakly clung to my leg. "Why...didn't you… save me…?"
"Oh Jesus… Dain?" I asked the corpse in horror.
"Leo...you promised," Dain's skeleton said accusingly. "You promised you would protect us...but we're still dead. Why Leo?" The rest of Dain's skeleton clawed it's way out of the sand and stood up next to me. He was missing most of his left arm, and there was a spear sticking out of his torso. "For your failure we sentence you to death."
A massive corpse lumbered over to stand behind me. The corpse wasn't fully decomposed like Dain, pieces of rotting flesh still clung to parts of the corpse's body. Half of his skull had been cleaved away, but I still recognized what little of the face that remained.
"Ulric- you too?" I asked. The corpse of Ulric didn't respond, it instead glared at me with eyes full of hate. Ulric gripped a black sword in his hands. The blade was chipped and scratched but it would do the job just fine.
Dain forced me to my knees as Ulric lifted his sword high into the air.
"Wait!" I cried out. "I didn't want this! I swore I would save you! It wasn't my fault! Please!" The sword began to fall. I closed my eyes and screamed as the blade rushed towards my neck.
My eyes flew open and I lurched upright in bed. Cold sweat poured down my face as I looked wildly around. My heart was pounding like it was trying to force its way out of my chest. My breaths were fast and ragged.
I relaxed as I recognized the room from the inn Dain, Ulric, and I were staying at on floor 3. I fell back onto the bed and covered my eyes with my right arm.
'Just a nightmare.' I thought miserably. I checked the time and saw that I still had another hour before I had to get up and meet Dain and Ulric. Sleep was out of the question, so I got up, equiped my gear and left the inn to try to find a decent meal.
XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
I sat on a bench on the outskirts of the town of Balsk, munching on a bread roll. The food was dry and tasteless, but it kept me full. As I swallowed the last bite I saw my companions stroll towards me. Ulric looked like he had been awake for some time already and seemed fresh and rested. Dain on the other hand looked like he had been dragged out of bed kicking and screaming. His hair stuck out at random patches and angles and his clothes were disheveled. He stumbled blearily behind Ulric and his eyes were barely open. As the two got closer I stood up and stretched, clasping my hands above my head.
"Morning," I said. Dain yawned then glared at me.
"I despise you Leo," Dain said venomously. Ulric rolled his eyes.
"Why do we go through this every morning with you Dain?" Ulric asked, exasperated.
"Because this is total crap!" Dain yelled. "Why do we have wake up every morning at the ass-crack of dawn just to spend all day in the fields and dungeons? Why not take our time, wake up at a reasonable hour, get a nice hot breakfast, maybe flirt with the female players a bit, and have plenty of time to make ourselves look presentable. I mean just look at me! I look disgusting…" Dain trailed off as he tried to smooth his hair down.
"Because," I started. "If we don't get out early then all of the good hunting spots will be taken by the other players on the front lines. You're lucky that we sleep in beds at all; the other players on the front lines just bring sleeping bags and sleep in the safe zones outside the towns."
"That's what we should be doing," Ulric said. "Imagine how much time we waste every day having to walk to and from the fields. Those minutes add up."
"Thats a good idea Ulric," I said with a grin. "Maybe we sho-" In the blink of an eye Dain had his hands around my throat.
"Never," Dain spat. "I'll never do it. I'd sooner die." I smiled at Dain and put my hand on his shoulder.
"Relax, I wouldn't do that to a friend." The murderous fire in Dain's eyes went out and he let go of my throat. Ulric stood behind Dain, chuckling at Dain's fury.
"You guys are bastards," Dain said.
"At least you're awake now," Ulric replied. Dain growled in response.
"Come on you two," I told them. "We're wasting valuable grinding time." My party members nodded and followed me out of town and into the fields.
XXXXXXXX
"The Fields" had become the common slang used by players to describe the monster-ridden areas outside of towns and safezones, but the term wasn't the most accurate description. For example, most of floor 3 was made up a giant forest, with the towns residing in massive clearings. You couldn't find a field anywhere on this floor.
The monsters of this floor were mostly giant bears and insects, following the whole forest theme. They weren't all that strong to fight, but the real danger came from ambushes. The foliage provided the mobs with the perfect setting for surprise attacks, and only players with high enough searching skills could detect the creatures lying in wait in time to mount a suitable defense.
Keeping this in mind, I had Dain take the lead as he was the only one in our little band who had the required search skill level. We systematically cut our way through the forest with Dain in front, followed by Ulric and I at his 8 and 4 o'clock. As soon as Dain spotted a mob, we would make a triangle and allow them to come to us. It was slow going, but it proved to be an extremely efficient farming method. This was the third day since floor 3 had been "unlocked", and Dain Ulric and I were among the top 1% of players level-wise, all thanks to our system.
Our high levels had increased our travel time to the dungeon considerably, but we were dismayed to find that it had already been discovered and partially mapped by a solo-player the day before. Not only that, but the prick was a beater.
'What was his name?' I thought to myself as we trekked through the forest. 'Kiri...kiro...something.'
I shook my head. It didn't matter what his name was; he had made it there first so now he had the best shot at the good loot. Dain and Ulric had nearly thrown hissy-fits when we learned about the dungeon's discovery. Dain moaned about all the col they would lose to the "self-centered solo player" and Ulric groaned about how "the damn beater" was going to take all of the best weapons and rare items for himself.
I was also upset, but not as much as my party-members. I didn't care so much for the money or equipment, and the glory was just a pleasant distraction from our digital reality. As long as it meant getting out faster, I didn't really mind who got where first, as long as they got there quickly...unless it was a beater. Beaters could go ahead and die for all I cared.
However, now that the dungeon had been opened and mapping had started, it meant that we didn't have to fight so hard to be the first ones there. It also meant that we could take today to search for the special monster that I had heard about this morning.
"Dain," I called out. "Hang on a sec'." Dain stopped and turned to me. Ulric seemed to stand at attention next to me; like a soldier awaiting his orders.
"Alright boys," I began. "Little change of plans for today. The dungeon is already being explored so there's really no reason for us to hustle over there. I thought that it might be more lucrative for us to try and hunt down a rare monster." Dain raised an eyebrow.
"A rare monster?" he asked. "Is it strong?" I shrugged.
"I don't exactly know," I admitted.
"So how do you know about it?" Ulric asked.
"This morning I woke up a little early, so I went to try and get some food. While I was out, I overheard an info-broker telling a player about how there was a rare monster wandering the forest, and that the reward for killing it is a massive ruby."
That part wasn't exactly honest. I didn't actually overhear anything. I had to pay nearly almost all of our col to get that from the info-broker, Argo. I knew that if I told them how I had actually gotten the scoop on the monster that they would be beyond pissed, especially Dain. As I had handed over the col to Argo I fervently wished that the reward would be able to fill the hole in our wallets that I had created.
Dain's eyes lit up like a little kid's on Christmas when he heard about the jewel.
"A ruby you say?" He practically sang. "And a massive one at that? Oh you can count me in Leo. I can't wait to get my hands on that treasure…" Dain was almost drooling at the thought if the stone. Ulric was a little more subdued in his reaction, but I could tell that he was interested. He stiffened at the mention of the ruby and the corners of his mouth twitched upwards. He remained composed however and his face returned to a blank poker-face after a moment.
"What kind of monster are we talking about here?" Ulric asked. I gulped and took a moment before answering.
"A giant spider." It felt like the air grew colder at the mention of the beast. Dain froze mid-fantasy and Ulric wrinkled his nose in disgust. I continued: "It's called Arachnia the spider queen and it lives in the Northern end of the forest."
Dain shuddered.
"Maybe the ruby isn't worth it after al-" Dain stopped mid-sentence as Ulric turned and started to head North.
"Hey Ulric!" I called to him. "Where are you going?"
"It's just a bug!" He yelled over his shoulder. "A spider is still a spider no matter how big it is! It'll go splat just like any other insect." Dain and I looked at each other as Ulric kept walking away into the trees.
"We could always-" Dain started.
"No, we aren't leaving him," I stated firmly before walking off to catch up with Ulric. Dain exhaled loudly and pushed his hair out of his face.
"I would never suggest that…" Dain whispered before following.
XXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
Most of the players who were currently fighting on floor 3 steered clear of the Northern end of the forest, for a host of reasons. For starters, the Dungeon and all of the towns were in the other directions so no one had bothered exploring the area. Secondly, all of the mobs that stalked the undergrowth in the North were far stronger than the creatures in the East, West, and Southern regions. Next, the trees in the North were taller and had more leaves so that the canopy blocked out the sun, creating a permanent twilight. Lastly, the area was rumored to be cursed. Any player who entered the area said that they felt like they were being watched at all times, and a few had even had hallucinations.
Naturally, these reasons were enough to keep most players out of the area. However, the info-brokers had said that in the heart of the Northern woods there was a clearing covered in a giant web. At the center of the web is a giant ruby the size of cantaloupe, and it's guarded by Arachnia and her spawn.
Argo had told me that the easiest way to find Arachnia was to follow the trail of silk. Sure enough, almost immediately after we entered the Northern part of the woods we found a strand of spider silk the size of a thick piece of rope heading further into the woods.
"Keep an eye out," I told Dain and Ulric as I drew my sword and fastened my shield to my arm. Dain and Ulric both nodded silently and drew their own weapons. The three of us got edgier as we moved through the woods. The air smelled sickly sweet and a gray mist curled around our feet. Random sounds caused us to jump every few seconds; a branch snapping, the crunching of a pile of dead leaves, a chittering sound.
"AAH!" Dain screamed in shock as he jumped high in the air.
"What?!" I asked in alarm.
"I s-saw somet-thing," he stuttered. "Sp-spider. Big spi-spider." I searched the area. After a moment I relaxed.
"There's nothing there," I reassured Dain. "This place is just messing with your head." Dain nodded, but his eyes continued to dart frantically all around us. After that incident we all kept seeing things in the corners of our eyes. Shadows just on the edge of our peripheral visions; a sudden movement; a flash of red eyes in the bushes. By the time we got close to the clearing all three of us were shaking in fear and we clutched our weapons with white knuckles.
The clearing was the circular, with massive trees circling the exterior. There were white balls the size of mini fridges strewn about. A few of them were cracked and looked like something had forced its way out of them. About 20 feet in the air a massive web formed a roof over our heads. As I took a step forward into the clearing my foot crunched on something. I slowly looked down…
A spider the size of a small dog was crushed beneath my foot. Green slime oozed from its black body and its legs twitched as it died. The tips of its legs were a silver and appeared to be coated in metal so that its "feet" were all deadly blades akin to rapiers. I shuddered and kept moving forward.
After a few moments the three of us back to back in the center of the clearing. We looked around, frightened and confused.
"Where's the boss?" Ulric whispered.
"Not sure," I replied softly. "Keep your eyes peeled." Dain scanned the area, then looked up. His eyes narrowed.
"Guys," he said. "Look at the web." Ulric and I looked up to inspect the web. It didn't take long for us to see the problem.
"It's been cut…" I breathed in shock. Strands of silk hung limply all across the web, and near the center a massive tear had nearly cut the web in half. Green blood dripped down from the web.
"Someone's already fought the boss," Ulric said, disappointed. We collectively sighed.
"What a waste," I remarked.
"My ruby…" Dain mumbled.
"Pack it up boys," I told my party-mates, starting to walk towards the exit of the clearing. "We're going hoJESUS CHRIST!" My order turned into a shriek of surprise as an axe came spinning end over end from the forest and buried itself in the ground between my feet. Dain, Ulric and I lept away from the direction the axe came from and raised our weapons defensively.
We could clearly hear a group of players running towards us. They were closing fast.
"Get ready for a fight boys," I warned Dain and Ulric. Dain nodded quickly and Ulric bared his teeth like an animal, swinging his massive greatsword in small circles. The first player burst from the trees, running towards us at full speed. I raised my sword to activate a sword skill...and stopped.
The player's face was a mask of fear and tears streamed down his face. He wore a red cloak and glasses, but they had been broken. When he saw us he sobbed:
"Please help us! It'll kill us all!" We all stared at him in confusion.
"Wha-?" I started to ask. I was cut off as three more players came sprinting out of the forest, followed by the biggest arachnid I had ever seen. The grotesque creature was the size of a tank and it had 8 crimson eyes filled with bloodlust. It moved incredibly fast despite its enormous size and its steel-tipped feet ripped the ground into shreds wherever they made contact with the ground. Its skin was black and covered in short, bristling hairs. It had 2 health bars and a red cursor. Above its health was the beast's name: Arachnia the Spider Queen.
"Holy…" Dain whispered in awe, involuntarily taking a step back. I gulped loudly.
'What did I get us into?' I asked myself in fear. The sobbing player grabbed my sleeve and clung to my arm.
"Please save us!" He pleaded. "I don't want to die!" Before I had the chance to respond, Arachnia chittered triumphantly and impaled one of the players with her leg. The player screamed in pain and shock as he clung vainly to the limb sticking out of his chest. His health dropped quickly to zero and he shattered into polygons.
"HITOSHI!" The player next to me screamed in pain. The other two players turned and raised their weapons defensively. One of them had a lance which he held diagonally across his body. The other had the armor of an axe-wielder, but was holding a dagger in his hand.
"Don't do it!" I called out to the players, reaching forward as if to pull them away from their deaths. Arachnia didn't hesitate. She knocked the lance out of the lancer's hands before lunging forward and ripping his head from his body with her serrated fangs. The player shattered immediately. The axe-wielder yelled defiantly and charged Arachnia.
The Spider chittered, almost disgusted, and swept the player's legs out from under him before stepping forward and putting two of her legs into his chest. The player weakly slashed at Arachnia's legs before disintegrating.
I couldn't believe my eyes. Three players had just been murdered mere feet away from me. I started shaking violently.
'And I just stood here and let them die.' I thought savagely. I started to breathe harder as rage and sorrow took hold. Words cannot describe the pure hatred I felt for that monster. It was like a molten ball of iron in my chest. A shriek of fury tore its way out of my throat as I sprinted towards the boss. The blood pounded in my ears like drums, blocking out the surprised exclamations from my friends. The spider's leg shot forwards towards my chest but I slashed it aside before ramming Arachnia with my shield. My bones vibrated with the force of the impact as Arachnia stumbled backwards, hissing in surprise and pain.
I didn't let up, slashing away at Arachnia's bloated abdomen with my sword. Arachnia chittered in frustration, unable to fight back effectively because I was too close to her body for her to try to impale me.
I screamed again and activated a sword skill, rushing towards Arachnia to deliver a powerful uppercut with my sword. My slash landed, bringing Arachnia's first HP bar to 0, but I was then frozen due to the skill-cooldown.
Arachnia hissed and raised two legs high into the air to deliver the killing blow. I sneered in defiance, daring the creature to strike me down. Her legs came towards me in a blur of motion as I struggled to move.
There was a flash of sparks and steel sang against steel. Arachnia shrieked in pain as one of her legs fell to the ground. Green blood spurted out from the stump, showering me and my savior with the sticky fluid.
"Ulric!" I exclaimed.
"Damn insect," he murmured. Arachnia's health had dipped into the red after losing her leg and she wobbled unsteadily on her remaining seven legs. She glared at us with hate in her eyes.
"Well?" Ulric asked the boss. "Is that all?"
She chittered in anger and took a step forward...only to collapse. Without all of her limbs, she was unable to properly distribute her weight and her legs gave out.
Arachnia flailed on the ground, slashing the air with her legs and gnashing her chelicerae. Ulric scoffed and strode forward. He stopped at Arachnia's head.
"Now you die, Queen of monsters," Ulric said as he raised his sword in an executioner pose.
There was a blur of silver and Ulric grunted in pain. I gasped as one of Arachnia's legs impaled Ulric's right shoulder. He grabbed the leg that had stabbed his shoulder and ripped it from Arachnia's body before stamping on her head. Arachnia's head exploded in a shower of breen blood and brain matter before her body shattered into polygons.
A congratulations screen appeared, showing Ulric and I the rewards we had gotten from the battle. The experience was enough for us both to level up, fully restoring our health. Ulric grunted in disgust.
"Told you," he said to us. "The thing went splat just like every other bug."
"You idiot!" Dain yelled. "You almost died!"
"Nah," Ulric replied cooly. "I had it all under control."
"Under control my as-" Dain was cut off by a wail of despair from the player that had survived.
"What have I done?!" The player screamed into the sky. "I killed them! I killed them all! Oh what have I done?!" The player buried his face in his hands and sobbed uncontrollably. I walked over to the player and kneeled down beside him.
"Hey man," I said, putting a hand on his shoulder. "There's nothing you could have done. That field boss was just too strong. It's not your fault."
"But it is!" he wept. "I'm the one who told them all about her! I-I-I-I thought they could handle it! They were all strong, stronger than me! Why did they all die?! Why not me?! It should have been meeeeee!"
"No," Dain said reassuringly. "Don't blame their deaths on yourself. How could you have known how strong she was going to be? Arachnia surprised us all-"
"NO!" The player cut Dain off. "I knew I knew I knew I knew! I knew what her attacks were, how strong she was, everything! I knew it all! I was arrogant and greedy! I thought that we could handle her! I thought for sure that we could handle her!"
The three of us stared at the weeping player in shock.
"You...knew?" Ulric asked.
"...How?" I asked.
"Isn't it obvious Leo?" Dain spat. He's a goddamn beater.
A/N: *gasps* a cliffhanger?! The suspense! Seriously though, sorry for the longer chapter, I couldn't stop writing. This will have to be a two-parter, so expect that chapter coming next week. Hope you liked it!
