Xardhviladrothic, the Great

An AU following Xar's birth in the dungeon. The events are separate from Mark of Time, and are the result of me thinking "following Xar as the MC through a monster evo LitRPG will be pretty neat" and thus I've made a suitably more chunky LitRPG system for that purpose.   

I hope you enjoy!   

Note: I will write a new MoT chapter soon, I promise. Just trying to figure out some plot stuff that's breaking my brain.   

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Chapter 1 — A Cannibalistic Family

A warm comforting blanket surrounded me from all sides in the unending darkness. My thoughts were slow, sluggish, as if I was still unsure of what thinking was like. But thoughts had already manifested, and so I shifted and moved, following an instinct I didn’t know I had.

Something surrounded me, covering me from all sides. It was soft, but it resisted my movement. I pushed against the wall around me, but it didn’t move. So I waited, resting. Moving was tiring, exhausting, but my body desired to be free.

After I had rested enough, I pushed again, this time with more force. Something broke, letting in a cold seeping chill. I shivered, receding inside as things began to swim in front of it.

It was… light. I waited, observing the little colors dancing. Their movements amused me, and the chill now felt tolerable. When I felt the instinct call once more, I pushed for one last time, as the darkness broke, cracking and I took my first step into the world.

A myriad of sensations assailed me as I stepped out. Touch, sight, smell, sound. For a moment, it was all too much, and I wished to return to the darkness.

Then the not-voice whispered in my mind, telling me of who I was.

Name: None
Species: Digger Spiderling (Male) - level 1
Grade: F

Mana: 5/5
Health: 10/10

Racial Skills:

Dig - level 1
Natural Camouflage - level 1
Natural Instinct - level 1
Silk Creation - level 1

Traits:

Greater Mind

General Skills:

Inspect - level 1

Stats:

Vitality: 3
Strength: 2
Dexterity: 2
Agility: 2
Endurance: 1
Wisdom: 1
Mind: 1
Arcane: 0

Stat Points: 0

This was me. The summation of my entire being. The voice told me of who I was, showed it to me through these curving lines. I could not understand them, but somehow, I knew what they meant.

After spending some time listening to the not voice, I looked around. There were others, just like me, standing nearby. Some were still inside the warm-blanket that I had just come out from. They looked white from the outside, and I could see the others shifting inside, trying to break out. Siblings. We were siblings. This, I knew.

I could sense another whisper from the not-voice. It rose from inside of me, like a place I could touch with my mind. I looked at the white silky blanket, staring at them, when suddenly, more lines appeared in front of me.

[Digger Spider Egg]

I stared at the lines. An egg, it said. So that’s what these were.

I looked around, at a different egg, and then felt the voice rise once more.

[Differ Spider Egg]

I looked at another one, as the lines came once more.

[Digger Spider Egg]

I felt a strange dizziness sway me. I was tired. Why was I tired? I asked the not-voice and it showed me the reason.

Name: None

Mana: 2/5
Health: 9/10

I watched the lines, all six eyes set on it, but I could not understand. Yet, I knew that if I used the [Inspect] any more, it would be bad for me.

I looked at my siblings, trying to see what they were trying to do. One had just hatched from its egg, and I saw it eating the egg it had come from. I felt surprised, and was suddenly very aware of the sensation I had been feeling all this time. Hunger.

Now aware of the problem, I walked to my own egg. Raising my limbs up to the broken shell, I picked up pieces and began to chew on them. At first slowly, and eventually at a rapid pace, I began to devour the egg shell, feeding on it to grow.

When I had had enough, I stopped, feeling far better than before. I asked the not voice what it thought, and it gave me the lines once more.

Name: None

Mana: 5/5
Health: 10/10

I felt like it agreed with me.

Feeling much better, I began to explore my surroundings once more. I was careful not to let my thoughts reach for [Inspect] again. I did not want to be tired so soon.

My siblings walked around me, many still sleeping inside their eggs, while some were eating their eggshells as I walked past them. None seemed to be paying any attention to me as I went by, and I wondered if they were simply very hungry.

Walking further, I started to notice something strange. In the distance, there were no eggs anymore. Instead, I saw what looked like a sibling to me, but was much much larger. So large that I could barely see it even if I looked up.

Unable to hold my curiosity back, I ended up using [Inspect].

[Adult Digger Spider (Female) - level ??]

The not-voice told me who she was. A female. And not just any female.

She was my mother.

I watched my mother walk. She was huge, taller than anything I had seen. I would need many brothers to be as big as her. I wondered how she got that big. I hoped I would be like her one day.

Seeing me approach, mother moved. I moved my front two limbs in excitement. Perhaps she was happy to see me?

Mother’s limb moved towards me, and I waited for it in anticipation. Yet, something strange happened. An instinct told me to move. That it would be bad if I let mother touch me.

So I moved, rushing backwards. Mother’s limb hit the ground where I was, piercing it. Fear filled me. If I had been there, her limb would’ve cut right through me.

I looked up at my mother again, and saw her stare at me, as if surprised that I was still alive. She lifted her limbs again, her mouth moving around, as she moved her limb once more.

This time, I did not wait, turning around as I began to run. I did not want to die. I knew this. And so I ran with everything I had.

I did not look back to see if she was following. All I did was run, until I could not run anymore as my legs refused to move. But I knew I could not stay here. I wasn’t safe.

So, my feet touched the earth, and a new instinct arose in me. I reached out in my mind once again, but not to [Inspect] this time.

Letting my limbs touch the earth, I pushed them into the ground, and used [Dig].

Mana: 2/5
Health: 10/10

Energy flowed through my limb as the earth parted in front of me. But it wasn’t enough, and so I used it one more time.

Mana: 0/5
Health: 10/10

Dig has reached level 2! Experience points gained!

[Digger Spiderling (Male)] has reached level 2! One stat point awarded!

Words floated in front of my eyes. I ignored them, burrowing into the ground with haste. The world spun around me, as exhaustion filled my body. My limbs were screaming at me to stop and I wished to return to the warm darkness, once more. But something screamed at me. I could not. I did not want to. I wanted to live.

So I dug, and dug, and dug, until I could dig no more.

I did not realize it when I fell asleep and was returned to the comforting dark of nothingness.