Skill Hunter: A LitRPG Adventure, page 39
Something about the branches under his feet gave him pause. He stumbled, staggering two little steps on the same ground rather than stepping forward. His foot kicked one of the branches, and they all tumbled into darkness. Under them, a thin web collapsed. Ike stared into a deep hole that pierced into the loam.
Wisp giggled. She applauded him. “Good catch.”
“Were you just going to let me fall?” Ike asked.
“I was going to pull you out,” she said.
That’s a yes. Eyeing the hole, Ike walked around. He dragged his feet, kicking the branches ahead of him as he walked.
I don’t know what Wisp wants from me, but whatever. I’m used to people trying to take advantage of me. As long as I keep my eyes open, I should be okay.
Besides, if she’s as much stronger than me as she seems, I’m only alive by her good will anyway. There’s no harm in playing this out.
“You must be new here,” Wisp said suddenly.
Ike nodded. “Yeah.”
“Your eyes are still normal. And you didn’t run screaming.”
“What was that second one?” Ike asked.
Wisp shrugged. “The people from Abyssal are all cowards. They won’t even talk to me anymore. They just run, screaming. That’s why I especially appreciate you.”
“Oh… that’s good. Or… not good?” Ike asked. He eyed Wisp’s back. You are a giant spider monster, probably. If I saw your monster form, I would’ve attacked you, too. I can’t blame them for that one.
“It is what it is,” Wisp said.
They walked on in silence. Ike watched his feet for pits, while Loup easily navigated the ground, seemingly by instinct. At last, Wisp stopped. She slipped behind a tree and held her hand up.
Ike looked forward. He snuck up behind Wisp and peered over her shoulder.
A very large spider stood in a clearing. Each leg stretched ten feet long, holding a relatively thin, lithe body over the forest floor. Two enormous wolf-like fangs descended from either side of its mouth, and eight black eyes surveyed the forest. It was covered in short brown fur, not unlike a wolf.
“That thing fell down into the Abyss last week, and it’s been muscling into my territory ever since. Pissing me off. Today, you’re gonna help me kill it,” Wisp declared.
“You aren’t going to use me as bait and abandon me to my death, are you?” Ike asked.
“No. Who would do that? That sounds like people things,” Wisp said, wrinkling her nose.
“It is people things,” Ike agreed.
Wisp shook her head adamantly. She stuck out her tongue. “People.”
Ike nodded. I can get behind that. “So what’s the plan?”
Wisp gestured him in, standing on her tiptoes to whisper in his ear.
73
WOLF SPIDER
Ike charged toward the wolf spider. The huge spider jumped, startled but not overly concerned. It lifted a foot, aiming to squash him.
Ha. How the tables have turned.
A shadow fell over Ike. The foot hurtled toward his head.
Ike kicked off the ground. Lightning crackled after him. He dashed under the giant spider. The monster’s foot struck the ground. It lifted it and found nothing. Confused, the spider turned, looking for Ike.
Under the monster’s body, Ike crouched. Lightning covered his legs up to the hip. He leapt up. A shockwave cracked over the ground, rustling the grass and sending a cloud of dust into the air.
The spider jumped as well, leaping in surprise. Its stomach receded from Ike. The boy clicked his tongue. The Lightning skills are way too loud, with all the thunder they set off.
But that’s fine.
A tiny figure appeared high in the sky, even higher than the spider. Wisp dropped down on the spider, her leg lifted to drop an axe kick on it.
In midair, the spider spun. It extended one of its extra-long legs and kicked Wisp away. She flew off, vanishing over the trees.
“Wisp!” Ike shouted.
No reply. He landed on the ground under the spider, then immediately kicked off again. The spider dropped down toward him, no longer able to jump away.
Wisp had told him wolf spiders didn’t have webs the way other spiders did. It wouldn’t shoot web or maneuver using it the way she or any other spider monster might. It had a powerful jump, but they could use that against it.
The way we just did.
Orin’s book hadn’t been as complete as Wisp’s information, but it had backed up everything she’d told him. Since he knew she wasn’t lying, he’d decided to go ahead and trust her. If nothing else, the spider didn’t feel super dangerous to me. I can probably kill it myself if I need to.
As the spider dropped toward him, Ike activated his skills. Lightning crackled over his arms. The spider clawed at the air, startled. Its twitching did nothing to save it. He slashed upward, putting the full force of his jump into it.
The sword bit through the spider’s carapace. Green ichor spouted out. Ike’s eyes widened as the wave of green goo flew toward him. Oh, shit…
Splat. Ike and the spider landed on the ground. The green goo soaked him. He grimaced, disgusted. I just got these clothes from Ket. I really can’t keep an outfit clean.
The spider’s legs slipped. Its cut stomach dropped toward Ike. The whole underside of the spider bulged outward. Guts blooped out. Ike fled out from under it. As he passed, he slashed through one of the spider’s legs.
Roaring, the spider reared. With its remaining legs, it smashed toward Ike.
“Fuck off!” A bolt of white silk struck the monster’s face. Wisp’s small body reappeared, one foot forward. She smashed into the spider and caved its front end in. The spider’s whole face dented into its body. Cracks appeared over its back and stomach, and more ichor spurted out.
The spider reeled. It staggered, almost falling as it stepped onto its severed leg.
Ike darted up and sliced into the monster’s face where Wisp had cut. The slash bisected his first slash, and the monster’s remaining ichor gushed out. It shuddered, then dropped to the ground with a heavy thump.
“Everything but the fangs!” Wisp shouted, sprinting toward the monster’s body.
“Go ham,” Ike returned. Ignoring the squelching and cracking from the rear of the giant spider, he looked up at the fangs. He stepped back, tilting his head to get a better angle on the fangs. They dangled from the spider’s face, the frontal carapace crushed all around them. He wrinkled his nose. That’s going to be annoying to cut.
Loup walked up beside him. She looked at the fangs, then looked at Ike.
“Hey, could you jump up and grab onto the fang? Stretch out the flesh at the base?” Ike asked. It’ll be easier to cut if she puts tension on the fang.
Loup tilted her head. She paced over to the fang, then crouched and leaped up. Her jaws clamped around the fang, and the flesh at its base grew taut.
Ike leaped up and slashed, cutting through the base of the fang. Loup and the fang hit the ground. She dropped it, then hopped up and latched on to the second fang. Ike severed that one, too. Loup landed and paced away, standing at a near distance.
Retrieving the fangs, Ike backed out of the clearing. He nodded at Loup. “Let’s give her some space.”
Loup lowered her head and fell in behind him. Out of the clearing, Ike went just far enough that the sound of Wisp chowing down on the massive spider grew distant enough to bear, then sat. He drew a stone over and scratched at it with the tip of the fang. The fang cut through stone, leaving white dust and a shallow cut behind.
Excellent. He reached into his pack and drew out Rosamund’s head. Rosamund twitched but couldn’t shake strong enough to seriously struggle. Tipping it upside down, he ran the fang around the edge of her neck, just under one of the most jagged, sharp protuberances. Her struggles grew stronger. He clamped her hand down on her chin, pinning her in place. A line appeared behind the fang. Two, then three more scrapes, and the jagged edge fell away.
Ike grinned and slipped Rosamund’s head back into the pack. And that confirms it. It works.
The chewing sounds continued. Ike drew the ruined sword out of his pack and scraped the excess flesh away. Slowly, he cut off the bloody remains. When only the fangs remained, he drew out a scrap of cloth and started polishing them. He pressed his lips together, almost smiling. How long is it going to take Wisp to eat that thing? It’s huge, but still.
Just as he thought it, silence came from the large clearing. Footsteps drew up behind him. He turned and found Wisp there, her lips still stained with green. She grinned, displaying green-soaked teeth. “Delicious.”
Ike resisted the urge to retch. He managed a smile instead.
Wisp chuckled under her breath. She nodded at the fangs. “What do you need those for?”
“Why’d you recruit me to help hunt?” Ike countered.
Wisp snorted and shook her head.
“Where’d this super tough spider come from, anyway? I thought monsters outside of the Abyss were supposed to be weak,” Ike muttered.
“Not all of them are. Sometimes monsters wander into the area from far away,” Wisp informed him.
“But that one? It barely knew how to fight. It was just huge; that’s all it had going for it,” Ike pointed out.
“Huge and annoying,” Wisp muttered under her breath. She reached into her mouth and made a face, then tossed something at him.
Ike caught it reflexively. A wet loop of metal landed in his hand. It was far larger than Wisp’s mouth, at least big enough to fit around Wisp’s waist and as wide as his thumb.
Gross. Ike flinched but stopped himself from throwing it away. He peered at it. Clenching it between his forefinger and his thumb, he turned it around, looking at all its angles. Small crystals were set into the outside of the ring. Ornate, swirling lines connected the crystals, not unlike the lines that had swirled around the outside of the Skill Orb he’d gotten Lightning Dash from.
“What is this?” Ike asked, turning to Wisp.
“I don’t know. People stuff,” she said.
He delicately clenched it in both hands and tilted it back and forth, taking a second look at it. Is it one of those large tribute monsters that the other cities sent the city lord? That would explain why it didn’t know how to fight.
“Does it mean something to you?” Wisp asked, curious.
“Not really. But I know someone who might know,” Ike quickly added, when Wisp’s face drooped with disappointment. He held up the ring. “I’ll take it back to the city and ask Ket about it.”
“Okay. Good. I’m worried there’s human bullshit happening in my forest, and I don’t like it. Like that,” Wisp explained, gesturing over her shoulder.
“The big spider?” Ike asked, glancing at the wreckage.
She nodded. “You noticed too, right? It was low-rank, just big and bloated. It either mutated to grow really big for some reason all on its own and then just happened to fall into the Abyss… or humans did things to it.”
“Ah,” Ike said. I did notice that it was relatively weak for such a large monster. His grip tightened on the metal ring. And then it had this thing in it? Yeah. This whole thing is starting to look a little suspicious. With the puppets also in this forest, I can’t help but wonder if it’s all connected somehow. A plan of the city lord, maybe.
Her eyes lit up, and she grinned at Ike. “Bring me back information about that thing, and I’ll show you the whitefeather grass.”
“Works for me.” Ike stuck the loop over his shoulder and nodded at Wisp. “I’ll see you tomorrow, then.”
“Mhm. If you come to my forest, I’ll know.” Wisp hopped into a tree and waited for him to go.
Ike tossed her a wave and walked off. Before I head back to Abyssal, I want to go check on the puppets. I don’t yet know for sure that they have gunk in them. But now that I have the fang, I can find out!
74
TAPPING PUPPETS
Ike crossed the forest quickly, familiar with the route back to the puppets. The day drew down around him, the sun nearing the horizon by the time he came to the cliff. He glanced up at the sky, noting how long it was until dark, then nodded to himself. I’ll tap one puppet today. If it works, I’ll come back tomorrow to tap the rest.
The metal ring sat in his pack, next to Rosamund’s head. He’d been hesitant putting the two in such close proximity, but when he’d tried it, nothing had happened. So, with a shrug, he’d stuck them in his pack. I’m not leaving the ring in there forever, anyway. Just until I get back to Ket and Tana.
Ike tossed his pack down at the top of the cliff. Tucking the fang into his belt, he climbed down the vines. At the bottom, he walked over to the same puppet he’d tested earlier. He grabbed its shoulder and gave it a good shake. Still no response.
He stepped back, taking the puppet in as one whole. Where to tap it? There’s a few obvious places, but… given that they generally have human anatomy, I, uh… He eyed the low point of the puppets’ bodies, excluding their legs. I don’t know if I can steel myself to absorb something that comes out of that part of their body. Even if I know it isn’t waste, it’s still uncomfortable.
If the obvious point was out, then where did he pivot to? Using the fang, Ike nudged the puppet’s robes aside to reveal its legs. Just above the back of the knee, maybe? I won’t feel awkward about that, and it’s a low point in the body without being too thin for the goo to flow. Plus, it’s not immediately obvious. I can’t forget that I’m stealing this, in essence.
In the best case, the person I’m stealing from doesn’t notice at all. After all, it regenerates, and pretty quickly, too. You could even think of this as me doing him a service! Wouldn’t want his precious puppets to crack from the internal pressure. Right, right. I’m a serviceman, here to remove the excess goo from these delicate puppets.
But just in case he doesn’t see it that way, it’s better not to be obvious.
Ike nodded to himself. He crouched, fully pushing the puppet’s robes out of the way. Grabbing the knee in one hand to pin it, he lifted the fang in the other. Here it goes. The moment of truth.
He dug the fang into the hard porcelain surface. Dust drifted down. A shallow line carved into the back of the puppet’s leg. Ike grinned. Success. As long as the fang could cut the porcelain, then he was in business. If the porcelain proved harder than the fang, he’d be out here all day for nothing at all. It was simply the way things worked: harder cut softer, but never the other way around. He knew that well enough from his days breaking monster corpses. If the skin’s fur chipped his razor, he simply had to give up.
But not this time. He lifted the fang again, cutting in a circular pattern. He wanted to remove a plug from the puppet so he could slide it back into place for minimum disturbance—and to contain the goo when he wasn’t there to harvest it.
More dust drifted down. The cut deepened. Dust gathered on the floor beneath the puppet’s leg. Some of it accumulated on the rim of the puppet’s boot, or fell down into the ankle. Ike huffed out a breath, his arms aching. It was surprisingly hard work. It must be a higher rank, or something. It’s not easy to cut through.
But it’s not impossible to cut, either. That means it’s my victory.
Little by little, the fang carved through the puppet. At last, the plug popped out. Ike caught it, only for a wave of black goo to wash over his hand. He quickly slipped the pan under the hole to catch the fluid. The goo gushed into the pan. Quarter full, half full, three quarters, and it kept coming.
Ike licked his lips. He glanced around, searching for somewhere to put the goo. I only brought one pan down here. Should I climb back up?
No. No time. He looked around. Reaching out from his kneel, he scooped a bunch of the vine and stick detritus under the pan, then activated Lightning Grasp and shocked the sticks until they lit on fire. He added more and more leaves, sticks, and vine bits until the fire grew to a roar. Smoke rushed up, and Ike breathed in the mana.
The pot couldn’t boil fast enough to outburn the pour of black goo. The excess black goo just fell directly into the fire, where it boiled away anyway. Mana flowed smoothly into his body, though not as smoothly as it had with the whitefeather grass.
I really need that grass.
His core filled, then overflowed. Ike pursed his lips. Practice my existing skills, or work on another one?
My Lightning Clad skills almost cover my whole body. Why don’t I finish that work?
Using the excess mana, Ike created the form of the Lightning Clad skill that covered his thigh. The mana construct floated inside of him, not yet applied to his body, but fueled with very real mana. Even maintaining the construct took a significant amount of mana. Luckily, he had a significant amount of mana to spend. This is already the largest Lightning Clad skill I have, but now I need to cover my torso. I need to make it even larger.
He eyed the structure. Just looking at it, he could already tell it would need thicker lines and more supports. Scaling it up to his thigh required more mana lines and thicker supports, so it followed that sizing it to fit his torso would need even more.
Ike stretched it out, thickening the mana lines as he went. In his mind’s eye, the structure began to collapse. He added more supports, but it kept collapsing, falling inward and backward.
Ah. Now that it’s this large, I can’t just consider it in the two-dimensional plane. I need to add supports in the three-dimensional plane as well, so it doesn’t fold like a piece of paper.
Scrapping his original attempt, Ike held the skill in his mind again. He formed mana into the construct once more. This time, when he created the base shape, he doubled it, then added struts between the two. The two-dimensional mana construct took on a third dimension. It stood upright, holding up even over the entire height of his entire torso.
Ike flicked his finger. The mana swirled through the construct. At the corners, the mana backed up, struggling to pass the right angles. He zoomed in on the corners and carefully bent the mana flows there, turning the right angles into gentle curves. Without the sharp edges, his mana flowed more smoothly. He played with the angles, adjusting them in and out until his mana flowed as smoothly as possible. Ike paused there. He looked at the mana construct, then nodded. Good enough. Let’s give it a try.
