Chapter 5: Unexpected Challenge

Journal Entry: MG

Month 2, Day 21: I was minding my own business, messaging Cupa when I was attacked by a horde of Zombie Pigman; I mean they just came from the lightning! This is HB's handiwork, I know it is. HB... Those soulless, white eyes... Just as I was on the verge of remembering something, I started to panic. Am I...afraid of him? I sound pathetic; afraid a person I know nothing about...! The only thing I got from that experience, was that I still remember those eyes. Since I still have no leads on my memories, or HB, I'm continuing my way to the Skeleton & Zombie Kingdom, where I'm going to meet Cupa and her friend. I could use a break from traveling, at least until I get new lead. Oh, and it turns out I got Wolf ears, so that's a thing...

Month 2, Day 26: It's been about a five days since Cupa and I agreed to meet up at the Skeleton & Zombie Kingdom. I've actually made it pretty far. Unfortunately, I'm out of supplies. I can't move on until I gather more resources. It's been awhile since I had to deal with anything extreme and I hope it stays that way. After that "episode" I had, I wanna relax for a while—er, I mean from the fighting. Today I'm just gonna hunt, get some wood, and mine for some stone and ore.

I closed the journal and place it in my bag. It's early morning. The sun is just rising over the horizon. The mobs will burn soon. I started preparing to set out.

(First thing on the list: Hunting. This should be easy.) While I'm at it, I should scout a new place to set up camp as well, maybe find a lake to refill my bottles. I started removing the green blocks of wool that made my tent and breaking the fences that supported the structure. After putting those away, I was left with a furnace, a chest, and crafting table. I started pulling things out from the chest.

(Little bit o' coal...) I threw a chunk into the furnace. (...and some meat...) I threw in three pieces of chicken. While that was going on, I started crafting. I placed three string straight down on the right-side of the crafting table. Adding three sticks made a sort of backwards D. It became a bow. Placing flint above sticks above feathers created a stack of arrows. I also crafted some torches, an iron axe, and an iron pickaxe for later. I took a quick glance at the furnace. My food was ready. After eating for a bit, I emptied my chest and broke down what was left. My bag has to be a bottomless pit to fit all this stuff...

(I got all my tools, tent is put away—what about...?) I found what I was looking for. A compass laid flat on the floor. The needle was pointing left of a forest.

(If top left is North, and the forest is in front of me, I should travel Northeast; get hunting done, set up camp, and I can gather wood.) I headed into the forest. It took about an hour or two before I felt I was deep enough. I took another look at the compass. North was directly left of me.

(This is as good of a spot as any...) I started cutting trees down to make a clearing. After a good half-hour, there was plenty of open space.

(Might've overdone it a little...) I scratched the back of my head, pocketing the two stacks of wood I gathered. I took my time setting up the tent and lighting the area around. This is just what I needed. Gathering resources is helping me take my mind off what happened. And today just feels so peaceful... Next was putting away my belongings. I only kept the essentials for hunting and mining.

(Okay. Now hunting!) I left the site with my bow in hand. I tried to keep an ear out while traveling as quietly as possible. Lucky I already ate; don't need another hunger incident... I paused, hearing something up ahead.

"Moo!" I grinned, hearing another.

(...Beef...) I ran up a tree to get a better view. One, two, three, four, five, six! It was another herd of Cows. They were well distanced from one another. If I'm careful enough, I can gather a week's worth of food! I hopped from one tree to another, creeping closer. I prepared an arrow and aimed.

(Today's different. I'm feelin' lucky...) I fired at a Cow, shooting it in where the heart should be. Just as it cried out I released another, hitting its throat. The Cow went limp and fell. It became a few pieces of raw beef. I moved on to the next target. One eating from the grass. I fired at its throat to keep it from crying out like the last. The same thing happened. I continued to be stealthy until I was down to one last Cow. It notices me, now running behind trees. It was trying to get away! I pulled even further back on the arrow. Just as the Cow was coming through a tree, I let go. It happened so fast. The Cow took it between the eyes, let out part of a cry, and quickly died. I actually flinched when it hit. My smile became even brighter.

"Things are startin' to go my way!" I shouted in triumph. I was collecting all the meat that was scattered around when I heard something hiss. To the right of me was a tiny pond embedded into the side of a hill. Fresh, clean water. Staring at me from dark corner were four red eyes. A Spider.

"Oh, hey there..." I sarcastically waved, inching closer. Normally I'd be on the offensive, but it's daytime. As long as the Spider doesn't bother me, I won't bother it.

"Don't mind me, just getting a drink." I set the bag down next to me and pulled out some glass bottles. Still keeping an eye on it, I filled them up. The Spider never made a move. The only thing visible were the red orbs staring at me. Seeing as it isn't agitated, I decided to push things a little further, dunking my head in water. Another pair of red eyes were now there.

"You really don't mind, huh?" I shrugged it off. The Spider just continued to stare and do nothing, so I just jumped in. I got to wash myself off and even cool down a little. I was there a whole ten minutes until I finally got out. I felt more relaxed.

"That felt nice. All that's left to take care of is mining. Now, where to find a cave?" That's when I noticed the Spider looking elsewhere. It's eyes were facing left. I looked and there was small 1-block wide hole beside the side of a hill. It was dark, so there had to be a cave down below.

"Umm...thank you?" I finished wringing out my shirt. Scooping up my backpack, I casually jumped down. My legs easily absorbed the shock from what had be 12 feet. I placed down a torch, in case mining takes longer than expected. I have to admit, I wasn't expecting that Spider to point me in the right direction. Maybe mobs aren't all bad... I continued to reflect on this as I explored deeper down. I left torches on the side to mark the way back. The whole time, I just kept mining things like stone, iron, and coal. There were no mobs at all. Strange, but I'm not complaining. I traveled further in, eventually stopping.

"Is that...?" My eyes lit up. Right in front of me was a flashy yellow metal protruding from the wall. Gold. "Holyfuckin'balls, I'm rich!" There was just so much of it. The child in me started to dance. On Earth, you'd have to go through hell just collect this stuff. Here, this at least twenty bars-worth!

"Heeheehee!" A giggle brings me from my joy. A shiver ran up my spine. I'm not alone anymore... I turn around, but there was no one there. More laughter echoed from above. I look up. Attached to this cave was a large ravine. Staring down at me were six red eyes. I dropped my pickaxe and pulled out a bow and arrow. I wasted no time shooting. It lept off the wall to avoid, latching to another. Every time I shot, it would descend from wall to wall. Those glowing red eyes were all over the place! I shot another and instead of it moving to the next wall, the Spider dove straight down. I slid my backpack off my shoulder, dropping the bow and about scoop back up my pickaxe. Just when I grab ahold of it, those red eyes were an inch away from my face. I was surprised at what I saw. What's supposed to be a Spider was actually a chick wearing a grey sweatshirt, black shorts, black & grey striped stockings, and black boots. She was taller than me by an inch. Her eyes were red, and her hair was long and purple. She had them in pigtails, tied together by these red beads. She was smiling... Even so, I kept my hands on the iron pickaxe.

"...What's so funny?"

"You, stupid."

"Oh, yeah? How so?"

"You realize gold is only good for crafting, right? Emeralds are were the real doughs at!" My eyes narrowed. I didn't care if she was telling the truth.

"...Oh. And I suppose you've come just to tell me that?" She continued to smile and look down on me, now only more casually.

"Just lookin' for a good time!"

"A good time, huh...?" My grip tightened. "...Then you've come to the wrong place!" I swung at her, only for her to step aside and easily rip the pickaxe away from my hands, throwing it behind her.

"Woah! Down, boy!" I sprung back, retrieving my bow and a fallen arrow. She was already behind me, grabbing my hand with the bow and crushing it. The bow snapped. I wanted to kneel in pain, but I settled for trying to stab her with the arrow. She caught me by the wrist and wrapped that arm around my neck, to keep me from trying anything. This girl was easily overpowering me without little effort.

"Wow. You're really weak..." She pressed her boot against my back and let go, shoving me to the floor. One foot was enough to keep me pinned. "...And here I was hoping to have some fun with you."

"Weak? I don't think so...!" I grew a tail and I used that to push her away. It only worked out of surprise. I rolled onto my back and to my feet. My hands became claws. Another tail made itself known. "I'm just holding back!" I lunged, rushing her with claws. The woman stepped around back of me.

"Has anyone ever told you you get angry too easily? That's not good for your complexion, you know." She flipped over my arm, holding me by the wrist, and using that momentum to flip me. My head hit stone. Hard.

"But by all means, keep trying! You look cute when you're grumpy." I was dazed, but that didn't stop me from smacking her with both tails. She only slid a few feet back. This isn't good: This chick's on a whole 'nother level. She makes Ray and I look like children!

"Heehee-tehahaha! I barely even felt that..."

"You...!" My entire body tensed. I took a deep breath to keep myself cool. The more angry I get, the more energy I waste. I'm already using half my power, and she's still toying with me. If I'm gonna stand a chance, I need to go all-out, RIGHT NOW.

"...Eight minutes." I mumbled with a shaky voice.

"Hm? You say something, cutie?"

"That's all the time I need..." The marks around me spread further consuming me from head to toe. My eyes became narrow slits and my boots tore away, giving me padded feet like that of beast. Even my toes had claws. My entire body became bulky. "Just eight minutes..." As soon as my hand touched the floor, I was off! She threw a punch, expecting to get me. I was right beneath her, grabbing her ankle and throwing her to the wall. She landed on her feet, creating a small crater.

"Eight minutes, huh?" I only glared at her. She excitedly cracked her knuckles, and then her neck. "I'm holding you to that!" She shot off, making that crater even deeper. I used my palm to drive her arm away, then I elbowed her to the floor. She kicked my legs out from under me. We both rolled back to distance ourselves. We then lunged. But just as it looked like we were gonna clash, her hands touched the ground. She sprung over me, using the wall to boost off. There wasn't enough time to react. I was punched hard in the back. My form hardly did a thing to cushion the blow. I held on to my back, riving in agony.

"You're nothing like Ray..." I slowly got back up, still holding on. "Even now, I can hardly keep up with you...!"

"Ray...?" It took her a moment to connect the dots. "~Ohh, so you're what all the kingdoms were fussing about! I thought you'd be a lot stronger than this."

"You know, this is really starting to piss me off...!"

"What is?"

"Every time I feel I've gotten stronger, every time, someone always has to back me into a corner...!"

"Jeez, you're too serious!" She scratched the back of her head. "...This is supposed to be fun, not your sob-story."

"Fun...? Is this really a game to you?" Her playful smile was good enough of an answer. "Heh. So, I'm just that weak..." A hand brushed up against my face. For just a moment, I let my guard down... I was thrown through the cavern wall. It crumbled down, and an even larger cavern was opened up.

"I thought time was running out?" Her voice echoed throughout the cavern. I got back up and wiped the blood from my forehead.

"Right..." I smiled wryly. We were off! Before we could clash, I stepped to the right of her. Next to me was a column of stone connected to the ceiling. I single strike launched it her. She shattered it, but behind the debri was me. My foot held down hers. I drove my palm into her shoulder, another into her stomach, and a final blow beneath the chin. After that, she managed to catch my arm. A ball of web shot out from the other. While I tried to rip it off my face, my tails formed a wall to protect me from being kicked. The web finally came off.

"You actually got me!" She praised, stepping aside. I tried to attack her again, but that failed. I resorted to swinging my tails in all directions. One whacked her across the face, but the others missed.

"Try this for size!" She shot another ball web at center of my tails, binding them together. I can't rip them off, their to far back to reach; I can't get free at all! That just upset me more. I tried to stab my hand into her face, but she stepped outta the way. My hand buried into the stone. She shot more web to keep my hand stuck. I tried to backhand her when she swept my leg out from under me. I dragged her to my level, slamming her head into mine.

"My turn...!" I failed to rip my other hand free, instead breaking the stone block from the wall and shattering it against her, then driving my knee into her stomach. She staggered back wiping the blood from her lip.

"Okay, I'll admit: That might've ticked me off juuuust a bit!"

"It's getting harder to control myself...!" My entire body was shaking, and my blood boiling. I finally ripped free from the web around my tails. We both charged straightforward. I thought I had her when she ducked under my fist and pulled herself closer to me. A sharp pinch jolted through my neck, followed by numbness. When she pushed me away, I just staggered back.

"Wh-What did you do to me...?" I suddenly fell on my ass. All the strength in my legs just left. I felt my power disappearing. My hands were the only thing keeping me up, and they were just as wobbly.

"Surprised? I AM a Spider, after all..."

"This is..." My vision was starting to get blurry. My arms gave out. "Venom...?"

"It's such a shame, too. I was hoping to play with you a little longer..." I couldn't move anymore, my body suddenly felt ten times as heavy. I grew tired.

"I should've just ran when I had the chance...!" I tried to flip over.

"What's stopping you now?" She teased.

"I hate running! I'm tired of it...!" I was trying my best to use my arms to get up. My eyes were watery, but even my rage wasn't enough to fight this. My head grew closer and closer to the ground, the entire time I was gritting my teeth. "Get up, dammit...!"

"It's already too late." Just as she says that, my arms give out again. She walked in front to look down on me. "Your heart was pumping blood at an alarming rate. That's why you've lost." I just watched as she smirked.

"Now be a good boy and go to sleep..." My eyelids shut. All I had left were the thoughts swimming in my own head.

(Every time I fight, every time, someone has to prove to me I'm weak...!)

(I'm weak, and my power is nothing to these guys!)

(I hate my life, and I hate this world even more! But even so, I...)

?'s P.O.V.

"...I don't...wanna die..." I looked at the boy as he mumbled to himself.

"Jeez... Idiot." I pull out a fat string-pouch of emeralds and tie it around his belt. Guy looks like he could use the cash. After that, I throw him over my shoulder.

"I just wanted to play around a little... Oh well." Guess I'll just take him back outside the cave. It's safer there than down here...

'Sup guys! Hope you enjoyed the chapter for this story! More content coming, just be patient. And don't forget to review!