V2Ch19-Roadkill

James took a step forward, and Anansi raised one limb in the universal gesture for ‘wait just a second.’

“I have one more thing to pass along before you leave, James.” His long, raised limb reached out, and James saw a tiny spider resting on the tip.

“Oh, one of your children,” James said, a little uncertainly. “You did mention keeping in touch.”

“Yes,” Anansi agreed. “Hester is a descendant, and she carries many more of her children within her body. This should make it easy for us to remain in touch indefinitely.”

And they’ll live on my body that entire time, James thought. No, don’t be a wimp, it’s fine. Something about this spider being more spider-sized than those he’d encountered in the Orientation forest made this feel slightly ickier. But he knew that was completely irrational. He’d been covered in spider viscera just, what, a few days ago? He was a little hazy on how quickly or slowly time passed in Anansi’s realm, but it felt like the spider fight was very recent.

James extended his hand to touch the tip of Anansi’s limb, and the little spider crawled from Anansi to James without further prompting. She quickly maneuvered up James’s arm, then his shoulder, and then up his neck until she rested on the skin behind his ear.

“A pleasure to meet you,” a tinny voice said.

James half-expected it, which was the only reason the voice didn’t make him jump.

“The pleasure is all mine, Hester!” James said.

“Please take good care of me and my children, James,” Hester said.

How long do spiders live? James wondered. She made sure to mention her children. Will she die soon?

“Of course,” James said. He looked at Anansi as he spoke to his new passenger. “Anything special I should know about how to take care of you?”

“Not really,” Hester said. “We’ll catch any insects that fly near you for food. Just try to give me a little warning if you’re planning to suddenly surround yourself in flame or something. We’ll find some place to hide.”

Where?! James thought. If he was engulfed in flames, he’d raise the temperature of his whole body to a level that would kill any ordinary spider or insect—but maybe the spiders from Anansi’s realm were different. Or maybe they could hide inside his body?

“I’ll do whatever I can to keep you safe, Hester.”

“They don’t live long,” Anansi said, as if reading his thoughts from earlier. “Especially not on this sort of mission. But if the spiders who live on your body become integral to your legend, they will live on forever in the stories that are told of your exploits. Like the Spider Queen and her children.”

“It is our honor to live and die in your service,” Hester agreed.

James shuddered slightly. The different view of mortality was the most jarring thing about Anansi he’d noticed since they met. How concerned was he really about the risk of Mina and Yulia dying when he projected the possible risks of their Orientation? How big of a deal is death to Anansi really? What value does a mortal life, any mortal life, represent to a god?

But he realized these questions were getting him nowhere. He wasn’t going to change his decision now. He’d decided what to do based on the best possible information, and now it was action, not doubt, that was needed.

Be like the spiders, he thought. They scurry off on a mission that guarantees an accelerated death, based on what Anansi’s said, with the equivalent of a smile. Our outlook is hopefully better than theirs. Unless the tale Anansi expected him to weave had a sad ending.

“Thank you for your sacrifice,” James said somberly. To Anansi: “I’m going now, then.”

The Spider God silently pointed behind James, and he saw the same portal he’d entered Anansi’s realm through. He strode up to it, and with one final wave to Anansi, he hurled himself through. Into darkness. Into the void between worlds.

This time, he knew exactly how to get to where he was going. He navigated silently and swiftly, as close as he could get to where he felt the presence of his comrades.

When he reached out with his mind, he sensed them now, like flickering lights in the darkness. He didn’t know which power this was, or if it was just how accustomed he’d become to navigating in the void. But he pulled toward the dozens of points of light. Dozens of people who wished for his return. Who needed rescue.

I hope they’ve gotten stronger, he thought. If they haven’t, Cliff has a lot to answer for. He had one job. If they aren’t more powerful than they were, I’ll almost be fighting on my own.

At last, he burst through the blackness into dim sunlight. He was at the bottom of a deep chasm, but the feel of the sun's warmth on his skin was unmistakable.

He wasn’t sure if it was near sunrise, midday, or sunset, and it didn’t matter for now. The first priority as he got his bearings was to grab onto something solid. He found a cliffside, and he began to climb.

Once he’d pulled his body up completely out of the inky darkness, he took a moment to look around. He could immediately tell that, as planned, he had come out of the void in a very different spot from where he’d entered. Unlike before, when he had dove off of a cliff into what seemed an endless abyss, this was a relatively small chasm. He could see cliff sides both in front of and behind him. Not close enough to be claustrophobic, but close enough that it would’ve been easy enough to jump from one cliff side to the other.

Above, he noticed the sunlight was partially dimmed by a tree that was hanging out over the cliff directly above him.

As he climbed, he thought about what his next priorities would be.

While I travel toward the group, I’ll work on Skill Fusion. And I guess I’ll find some bits of myself that can be expended to create monsters, too. This last idea was one he adopted more reluctantly. Even with Pain Resistance that had leveled up over and over, chopping his arm off to gather enough flesh to make a golem had been a horrendous experience. And the regeneration was more painful than losing the arm. It almost made him feel bad for having forced such quick regeneration on Cliff after their first battle with the Corpse Eater.

But then, maybe I helped him get Pain Resistance, James thought. I don’t know what abilities anyone has except me. Important to remember all the things I don’t know about the people around me. His mind returned to the last dream he had invaded. I’ll see if I can return there, too. I shouldn’t have let myself get scared off so easily. I need to understand what that was about.

Finally, James was able to grab onto the root of the tree that was growing by the edge of the cliff and pull himself up onto a level surface.

“I never thought I’d be so glad to set foot on solid ground,” he said aloud.

“I’m also relieved,” Hester replied.

I’m going to have to get used to this.

“Do you have any idea which way I need to go to get back to my group?” James asked.

He looked around. The cliff side he’d come up looked to just be somewhere in the Orientation forest, but across the narrow chasm, he saw what looked to be a large desert. I didn’t even know the Orientation space had a desert. Probably could have gotten this information out of that Spider God with one of my questions, but then, maybe I still will.

“Um, it depends on where they go,” Hester said. “Lord Anansi says that if you want to get to the Dead Marsh, where they’re probably going to end up, you should cross the Wasting Desert. Otherwise, you’ll probably take longer and run into Moloch’s cultists before you reunite with your people.”

“Very helpful, thank you! Let’s go, then.” He hopped across the chasm. “Let me know if you come up with anything else about which way I should go, okay?”

Anansi is being much more helpful and straightforward than when I was in front of him, James thought approvingly.

“Or, for that matter, any tips!” James added.

“Will do!” Hester’s tinny voice said. From her tone, she seemed weirdly excited to be of service, but James decided not to question it. Anansi and Hester had given him an explanation of her motivations, difficult though it was for James to understand.

He began working on Skill Fusions as he walked through the desert in a straight line, using the sun to navigate.

When he got thirsty, he conjured water with Basic Elemental Magic: Water, which he had decided he would keep unaltered. He had decided the same for Basic Elemental Magic: Earth. Those elements seemed likely to be especially useful back on Earth, since he had Water Affinity and Earth Affinity naturally, and the Earth itself was made of water and earth.

When he had finished his improvements, his Status sheet read as follows:

[Status

Name: James Robard

Race: Evolver Human Lv. 14

Class: Predator in Human Skin Lv. 20

Job: Politician Lv. 8

Health: 5041/5041

Mana: 6776/6776

Stamina: 4225/4225

Wrath Meter: 0%

Stats

Strength: 82

Agility: 89

Stamina: 65

Fortitude: 71

Dexterity: 62

Perception: 77

Will: 77

Intelligence: 88

Charisma: 69

Stealth: 49

Free Points: 0

Skills

Air Strike Lv. 0

Basic Elemental Magic: Earth Lv. 2

Basic Elemental Magic: Gravity Lv. 2

Basic Elemental Magic: Water Lv. 3

Basic Non-Elemental Magic Lv. 1

Berserk Mode Lv. 0

Blame Avoidance Lv. 0

Compulsion Lv. 4

Dreamwalk Lv. 2

Empathic Projection Lv. 9

Enhanced Stem Cell Production Lv. 4

False Reality Lv. 0

Fate Resistance

Hand of Glory Lv. 1

Identify Lv. 6

Illusion Magic Lv. 0

Indeterminate Past Lv. 0

Laying on Hands Lv. 5

Lightning Strike Lv. 0

Loyal Following Lv. 3

Mass Pillage Lv. 1

Meteor Strike Lv. 0

Mind of the Predator Lv. 0

Monster Control Lv. 2

Monster Generation Lv. 4

Natural Camouflage Lv. 2

Omnivore Lv. 0

Organization Lv. 2

Pain Resistance Lv. 5

Perfect Choice of Words Lv. 0

Pillage Lv. 9

Predator’s Missile Lv. 0

Predator’s Sacred Armor Lv. 0

Predator’s Strike Lv. 3

Predator’s Venomous Armaments Lv. 0

Rapid Recovery Lv. 0

Self-Control Lv. 0

Silent Spellcasting

Silk Production Lv. 9

Skill Fusion

Skill Transfer

Spellbinding Words Lv. 0

System Interface

Threads of Fate Lv. 0

Universal Language Comprehension

Way of the Predator Lv. 0

Talents

Basic Spellcraft Lv. 4

Cannibalism Lv. 6

Cool-headed Lv. 8

Earth Affinity

Efficient Magic Lv. 4

Flame Affinity

Leadership Lv. 5

Manipulation Lv. 9

Mass Manipulation Lv. 3

Monster Patriarch Lv. 3

Pain Resistance Lv. 2

Selective Empathy Lv. 5

Water Affinity

Titles

A Stitch in Time

Chosen One of Anansi

Citizen of the Dead Marsh

Deceiver

Devout Beacon

Dreamweaver

Figure of Destiny

Friend of All Spiders

Living Legend

Spider-King

Storyteller

Swiss Army Mage

System Pioneer

Trickster]

That was without his preferred armor and equipment, since he hadn’t taken out his Royal Exoarmor or Ego Antler Spear for the walk through the desert, which had been uneventful for these first few hours.

I’m looking pretty damn dangerous, James thought. I don’t even know if I really need a weapon or armor anymore.

And then he felt a rumbling beneath him. The sand began to shake.

“I don’t suppose this is just an earthquake,” James said wryly.

“I don’t think so either,” Hester replied. “Should we run, or—”

Just ahead of James, three giant creatures that looked much like worms burst forth from the sand. It took James a second to recognize that the creatures actually had lots of limbs. The many legs were extremely scrawny and twig-like compared with the thick, long bodies.

“Oh no!” Hester cried quietly.

Identify. He used it on the closest one.

Monstrous Desert Centipede Lv. 11

Hm. Looks and sounds weak. Time to test one of his new Skills.

He swung his right arm through the air and visualized the attack. Air Strike!

A large, thick blade of air flew from his arm and moved invisibly away. For a moment, the only sign that he had done anything was the movement of sand.

Then the three centipedes broke into pieces, each hit and bisected by the attack.

Their torn exoskeletons tumbled to the desert sand.

Brown liquid spurted sporadically onto the soil from their shattered bodies. It smelled a little like battery acid.

[You killed Monstrous Desert Centipede Lv. 11! You gained 110 exp!]

[You killed Monstrous Desert Centipede Lv. 11! You gained 110 exp!]

[You killed Monstrous Desert Centipede Lv. 10! You gained 99 exp!]

“Blegh!” James wrinkled his nose. Gross! They smell worse than roadkill! I guess I won’t be getting any food in this desert. If the spiders weren’t edible before, I doubt these ugly things are. I still have some human meat, but hopefully I can wait to eat until I get back to the others.

He didn’t feel either tired or hungry after the exchange with the centipedes. Unlike Precision Strike, one of its originating Skills, Air Strike used a combination of Stamina and Mana, and it therefore drained James less than Precision Strike would have.

“Oh, um, those things weren’t friendly with Anansi, right?” he asked sheepishly. “Just realized I probably should have asked questions before I sliced and diced.”

“No, um, no. Don’t, ahaha, don’t worry about it,” Hester replied. She sounded a little flustered. “Centipedes actually eat spiders, James.”

“Oh, okay. Then there’s no problem if I exterminate any we come across. Good to know!”

There was another quiet pronunciation in his ear, but it was so quiet, James wasn’t sure if Hester had meant to say something to him.

It sounded like, “Oh dear.”