Paradox Saga: Rising Sun

Huge Spiders Try To Eat Us

“Fury Wave!”

Fritz was now backing up Saiko as more Crawlers creeped out from their holes. Fritz sliced any spiders who came our way with her sharp ice-made axe. Saiko, on the other hand, was smashing up the arachnids’ heads or any part of them that she can hold on to. I think I know why she’s named Saiko. As I looked at her punching and crushing the spiders with a smile as if she’s just happily molding some clays, she really looked like a total psycho.

Minutes ago, the strategy was to kill the spiders in the most convenient way possible. Saiko’s skill, Fury Wave, is a Taunt-type skill, drawing out any monster in a specific radius around her to forcefully attack us. The plan was to let Fritz and Saiko be on the front and clear a path. Thyme and Nami would be behind them and assist in killing the spiders. Midorima and I would be the ones to kill the ones who get past them.

“Fury Wave!” shouted Saiko as a faint red aura radiated from her body. Immediately, more spiders came out of their holes.

The spiders were not that scary except for their huge sizes and predatory skills. I had to keep an eye on the spits of venom hurling towards us. Some of the Crawlers also had the ability to entangle us with webs that come out of their butts (as I guessed) which was kind of gross and deadly at the same time. Luckily, the webs can easily be burned with a fireball.

“Pyroshot!” I yelled.

A ball of fire sped its way in the spiders’ direction, hitting a spider or two. At times, a spider would be burned instantly to death but sometimes, my fireball only lit the spider’s body in fire – probably the stronger ones. I seem to get the hang of the situation. HP bars were now flashing above the spider’s heads. Most of them had the numbers 150/150 written inside the red-colored bars though some had 100/100.

“Good job, Shiro-kun,” Midorima praised as she summoned sharp icicles above her shoulders. They sped their way unto the pouncing spiders – skewering and impaling them back to the ground.

I summoned another fireball and shot a spider who started to crawl out on a hole in my left. It instantly became spider BBQ. “These Crawlers are really soft, ain’t they?

“Yes, they are but don’t get easy on them. They can crowd on you and make you their meal once you’re alone,” Midorima said as she pointed her staff in the spiders’ direction. Sky blue lightning appeared, toasting the arachnids.

Everything was going smoothly as planned. The spiders were numerous but they were too soft. Green blood came out of them as we killed them. Nami kept shooting them swiftly with sheer accuracy. I was amazed at how she shot the arrows. It didn’t even touch the hairs of Saiko and Fritz who was on the frontlines. The arrows seemed to fly on their own. Thyme, on the other hand, lashed the spiders with her elongated vine. It slashed the spider’s legs in half as if it was a sharp flexible sword.

We advanced with fewer difficulties and walked past what remained of the spiders. I let out a deep sigh thinking that we’ve killed all the monsters, or so I taught.

“Good warm-up,” Thyme said, her whip-like sword slowly transforming back into a long vine and slithered up her hand like a snake until it became a wristband. It looked like a usual wristband except that it was in braids with a scarlet flower bud on the top.

“Warm-up?” I asked. “Didn’t we already kill all of them?”

“Those were just newly-hatched Crawlers, Shiro” Nami replied, her bow and quiver nowhere to be seen.

I looked at them. My body was tingling nonstop and my heart was beating rapidly. They, on the other hand, hardly broke a sweat. Their weapons were now also nowhere to be found. Then, I realized what they said earlier before we fought the enormous arthropods. I tried not to think of it but, well, I did. If the hatchlings were the size of full-grown dogs, how much more of the next ones?

I sat down a great chunk of crystal. “You mean there are larger ones?”

“Yes,” they answered in unison. I shouldn’t have asked.

I tried not to shake in fear. “So, where are your weapons? I mean, I know you all are strong but weapons are useful, right? If we fight them, we should be prepared.”

Nami handed me a bottle of water. “Correction: you fight them.”

I tried hard not to cough the water out. “What? W-What do you mean? Do we go out now?”

“No, Shiro. You fight the remaining monsters,” Saiko said and stood up. “We’re letting you kill the bigger ones as they’ll give you more experience. You have to train, remember?”

“We’ll back you up, don’t worry,” Thyme said and touched my forehead. “Restore Mana”

I feel my body getting lighter. A message appeared in front of me, showing me my MP bar slowly regaining.

“Thanks,” I said.

Thyme smiled. “Your Elemental Shot has no definite mana cost so try to control it. Sometimes, monsters don’t need to be ‘overkilled’,” she said as she drew two quotation marks in the air with her fingers.

I raised a thumb up. “Got it!’

“Come on, let’s go,” she urged as we walked slowly.

Around us, dead spiders were now laying on their backs along with “item drops”. As we walked further, Saiko explained more of the Anaphora’s rules, especially on the item drops. Item Drops, also called loots, are resources that monsters leave as they die and dissolve, or as what Saiko explained, when the monsters’ essence drifts away, after a few minutes. Figures can use them in many ways such as creating, improving, or upgrading our equipment. With her guidance and the skill Analysis, the item drops became more understandable for me. There was Spider Mandibles, Crawler Venom – which was, luckily, already inside a small glass bottle, and Webstring Ball. I picked up as many items as I can and gave it to them. They just put it inside a blackhole-like vortex that sucked up the items. Saiko explained it as their “Inventory”. The Inventory is the space that Figures have for their equipment and other stuff. They can just summon it to their will, explaining how they can pull armors and things out of thin air. I can’t still figure out how to use it though they promised to teach me how to do it once we clear these monster-infested caverns. I didn’t need them to explain the Rank-F, Rank-S thing as I commonly found them on video games. Yes, I am not only a nerd but also a gamer. Saiko reassured me that they’ll explain more of the stuff that’s going on once we get out – assuming I’m still alive.

“Here, absorb this,” Fritz said as she gave me a green crystal.

I looked at her in confusion. “Do I have to eat this?”

“No, silly. That’s an Attribute Crystal,” she replied. “Try using Analysis.”

I followed what she said. After saying the words Analysis, the crystal’s information flashed up in front of me.

Item: Attribute Crystal [Agility]

Rank: E

Effect: Consume to increase agility by 50%

Effect Duration: 3 mins.

“Okay. Already did it. So, how do you absorb this thing?” I asked her, still holding the crystal.

“Just hold it and let your mana flow into it. That way, you’ll automatically absorb it,” she answered.

Perhaps Fritz saw my confused look because she showed me an example. She held a deep red crystal in her right hand and slowly, it started to produce some aura of the same color. The glowing crystal began to disintegrate. Small grains emanated from it and circled Fritz’s body. Fritz must be absorbing those dust since they slowly went inside Fritz’s body and disappeared.

“That’s it, simple as that,” Fritz said.

“Okay. I’ll try,” I told her, my thoughts convincing myself that it’ll happen.

I did what Fritz demonstrated. I held the crystal in my right hand and started to flow mana through it. The green crystal glowed first before slowly turning to dust. The dust then circled around my body and as I walked, the green clouds of dust slowly disappeared. My body suddenly felt light. A message suddenly popped up in front of me. “Notification: Your Agility is now increased by 50%.”

“It worked!” Fritz congratulated.

“Wait, you can see the message?”

“Yes, why not? Everyone can see the notifications and messages you see as long as you want them to,” she answered.

“So, how do I know that my agility has increased? Is there something like my data or personal info here?”

“Yes. Try saying Status,” Fritz answered.

“Status!”

My data suddenly flashed in my eyes. There was a lot to read so I stopped walking for a while and took time on reading my Status.

Shiro Alonio Mamoru

HP: 311/311

MP: 400/400

Strength: 12

Agility: 20 (+10)

Arcanery: 33

The Attribute Crystal did work. However, what caught my eye was my name. My full name was Shiro Alonio Mamoru, which was not mine. Still, I did not try to ask the others. I don’t want to disturb them or get an answer so harsh I bet I’ll cry again.

We continued walking until we arrived at a certain part of the cavern with green crystal walls. No stalactites were present, luckily, though the dark hue of green on the walls. I bet they were not Agility Attribute Crystals. Unlike the previous cavern, the ground was clear. The cavern’s walls, however, were full of enormous holes with strands of web sticking everywhere. If the girls want me to fight their human-sized monsters, I’d rather ride an Underground Crawler with my eyes closed.

“So, you want me to fight whatever’s living in these holes?” I said and pointed at the almost unremovable web. “I mean, those previous spiders I can handle but these? No way! How are you certain I’d survive these?!”

“You’ll handle them, don’t worry,” Nami assured and pushed me forward with a strong gust of wind just to show she’s right.

“Hey...S-Stop it!” I said, my hands blocking out front to defend my eyes.

She closed her palms and the wind stopped. “Now, would you or would you not?”

“Obviously, I would,” I answered. It’s not I have a choice, I wanted to add.

Nami pointed her palms on the nearest hole and shot another ball of wind but this time, the windball was much stronger than the previous one. I tried not to guess what was under the hole. A giant scorpion, a hundred-legged centipede, perhaps? Who cares? It’s still as deadly as the Underground Crawlers, maybe more deadly. Seconds later, I tried to suppress my knees from shaking. A giant black thing slowly crawled out the hole. It was like the previous crawler but this time, much furrier and bigger. It was like a spider straight from Eight-Legged Freaks. Its body was a darker shade of black compared to the previous hatchlings. It had a lot more hair though most stood up, probably because of Nami’s windball, so it looked like it had a hard time holding a hairdryer. I could see our reflection on its eight large eyes. It would probably make an arachnophobic wet his pants.

“Analysis!” I cried out and backed away a little.

The monster’s information instantly showed up.

Gigant Crawler

HP: 420/420

MP: 0

Armor: None

Speed: Below Average

Now I know why they want me to take on this big guy alone. Its speed was below average so I think I’m able to avoid its attacks.

“Try that one, Shiro. I think it’d be enough for you to know its weakness,” Saiko shouted.

“Don’t I have a headstart?” I suggested.

Saiko knew how to provoke monsters. She opened her palms to the master’s direction and gathered her mana. When she gathered enough, she shouted “Tantalize” before a crimson-colored ball shot the monstrous spider. It stood still and I hoped Saiko killed it. It was not. Its head slowly bobbed in our direction and I swear it looked at me.

“Be careful, Shiro. My skill Tantalize slows and maximizes its received damage but increases its maximum HP by 25%,” she continued.

“How is that a headstart?” I questioned.

I could feel my legs shaking as I walked to the spider’s direction. The girls assured me that they won’t let anything bad happen to me. The spider was now slowly crawling to my direction but in a slow-motion version, like its speed was in 0.75%. I raised my staff and prepared to shoot it. I summoned a Fireball with ease and threw it to the spider with force.

“KRSSSS!”

The spider hissed as my fireball hit his eyes. Its HP appeared above its head and I had a nick of time to see the numbers 512/562 inside the HP bar before I backed away for a bit.

“Use Analysis,” Thyme advised.

I obliged. “Analysis”

The usual Status appeared except that it now had larger Health Points. However, it seemed to be affected by Saiko’s Tantalize. There were new status effects under the HP bar now.

Gigant Crawler

HP: 512/562

MP: 0

Armor: None

Speed: Below Average

Affected by: Tantalize

The monster’s speed is now slowed and weakened but its Max HP is increased by 25%

I summoned another fireball and hit the spider again. This time, I luckily hit its mouth. Its venom must’ve been flammable as its mouth lit on fire. It shrieked in pain and tried to shake the flames off his (or her) mouth without success.

“Shoot it some more, Shiro,” Saiko recommended.

I managed to smile. “Yeah, sure”

I don’t know why but I was feeling great. Perhaps it was adrenaline rushing through my veins or the agility bonus I gained a while ago, but either way, I rushed nearer to the spider bravely. I shot another fireball on its head. It tried to step on me with its spike-edged leg but I was quicker. My body now felt agile and light. I swerved to the side and hit one of its legs. Its size became its weakness. Because it was bigger than me, it exposed a lot of vulnerable spots. I managed to crawl underneath it and hit it under its abdomen. It hissed in pain – probably cursing me over and over – and shook its head some more. Its HP kept decreasing some more as I dodged and hit it several times.

“420 and decreasing, you’re doing a good job,” Nami reminded as the spider continued to attack me. “Just continue dodging and attacking it.”

I did what she was saying. I kept avoiding its large legs and hit it some more. The spider kept swerving its body sideways like a boogie dancer and tried to bite me. I would’ve beaten it sooner when it suddenly started to move faster. As I kept dodging it, I could feel my body started to tire. Saiko’s spell now ended and the spider now began to move at its normal speed though still as deadly. It was now beginning to keep pace with my movements. I shot some more fireballs at it once in a while until a message suddenly popped in front of me; Mana Almost Empty, MP:20/400. The message was very annoying with the current situation I am in now. I shook the message off and continued backing off. Unfortunately, I was slowly stepping back to a wall.

“Any help, please?” I requested.

“After you beat that, Shiro,” Saiko answered calmly.

Great! They told me to trust them and now, I need to kill this spider to get the help I should receive right now. The spider was now starting to near its distance towards me. With my mana almost depleted, my mind raced into ideas. I remember something I read in a Science book. Spiders’ bodies were made of two main parts: a cephalothorax and an abdomen. I had an idea. It was risky and could kill me but I had to try. I gained enough courage and ran to the advancing spider. As I ran, I focused my mana into a single point and formed it into an elongated blade. As the spider started to pounce on me, I advanced a few steps and kneeled, my staff raised. Before I knew it, my staff went through the center of its body. The spider was sliced immediately in half, its slimy green blood raining over me. I really needed a lot of Kleenex wipes and have a nice warm bath when I get home. A long blade made of pure mana now blazed above the orb. My staff now looked like a welding tool. Another message popped in front of me.

New Skill Learned: Mana Blade

Rank: F

Skill Class: Any

Skill Type: Magical

Manacost: 1% of Max Mana

Creates a blade of pure energy to damage enemies.

“Nice kill, kid,” Saiko said and gave me a towel.

I wiped the slimy blood off my face. “Nice kill? You let me face that giant monster without the help I needed. I would’ve died if I didn’t create a Mana Blade!”

“Hey, easy, Shiro. Relax! You don’t think we would let that monster kill you, do you?” Nami asked

“Probably…”

“Look, I’m sorry, Shiro,” Saiko said and pointed at the spider. Its legs were now sliced in half. “We tried to kill it first but you summoned that Mana Blade and slice the spider first. We managed to slice its legs but you were the one who killed it. “

“Don’t worry, it won’t happen again,” Thyme promised. “You wouldn’t get hurt with your equipment. Linked Chainmail won’t let you be hurt by anything sharp, Reptile Boots increases flexibility and speed and your Royal Bracers would’ve shielded you from any hard object.”

“Let’s just kill the others now and leave this place. I wanna get this slimy stuff off me as soon as possible,” I said and held my staff again.

“Here, it’s a Mana Stone. Absorb it to regain some mana,” Midorima said and handed me a glowing blue stone the size of an apple.

“Thanks…and guys,” I looked at them. “I’m sorry.”

“It’s fine. We should be the one to apologize for lying,” Nami said with her sad eyes, breaking through my conscience.

“Just explain everything once we get out here, okay? That way, you’re compensating with whatever you did,” I told them.

“Okay. But for now…”

Midorima raised her staff and gathered mana above her head. The mana was so great that the hairs on my hands stood.

“Oh Tubig na nagbibigay ng buhay sa lahat ng nabubuhay na nilalang, sundin ang utos ko at palabasin ang lahat ng masamang element sa lugar na ito (Oh Water, thy one that gives life to all creatures from the beginning of days, follow my command and lure all the monsters that liveth on this place),” she chanted.

Suddenly, the earth shook violently. Water suddenly gushed out the holes along with the huge arachnids. How Midorima did it, I don’t know, but she managed to summon a strong gush of water and pushed all the spiders out.

“Well, what are you waiting for?” I said and absorbed the Mana Crystal. “Let’s kill some monsters!"