Chapter 27: This Just Keeps Getting Better

  This was not how I planned things to go.

  Kaelstrife and I were tumbling down a steep, jagged tunnel. The walls were unforgiving, scraping against my armor and bruising everything else. I grunted with each impact, bouncing off the terrain like a sack of potatoes.

  Meanwhile, Kaelstrife seemed very composed for someone in freefall. Of course he was - he was already dead! No fear, no pain, no dread.

  And, apparently, no patience.

  His glaive burned with that sickly green glow as he swung at me mid-fall.

  “You can’t be serious!” I shouted, raising Nightfall in a desperate block, enhancing it with Bladesurge.

  The impact reverberated through my arms, the force of the strike driving me harder into the rocky walls. My back slammed awkwardly against the jagged terrain.

  [Health: 86%]

  I hoped – prayed – that Kaelstrife would just quit after one swing, but no. He kept coming at me, mostly missing me, but mounting up the pressure. Realizing I couldn’t block him without taking damage, I opted for plan B.

  I quickly drove Nightfall into the uneven terrain. The blade screeched against the stone, slowing my descent just enough. It wasn’t perfect – I still felt like a tone skipping down a cliff – but it worked. My fall was under control.

  I peeked below, catching a faint glimpse of Kaelstrife disappearing into the darkness, his glowing glaive vanishing further down.

  For a brief moment, I dared to wish that fall damage might kill him. Then, Déjà vu screamed in my mind, following up with a chill down my spine.

  I rummaged through my second inventory and grabbed Lumindew, consuming it instantly.

  [Item Consumed: Lumindew x1]

  [Night Vision activated. Duration: 30 minutes. Visual range enhanced in low-light areas]

  I looked down again – and there he was!

  Kaelstrife had jammed his glaive into the rocky terrain, similar to what I was doing, the only difference being that he remained suspended. His helmet tilted upward, waiting for me to reach him.

  “Oh, no you don’t!” I shouted.

  I yanked Nightfall free and let it fall toward Kaelstrife. He raised his gauntlet to intercept my falling sword, but Nightfall was just a distraction.

  He caught the blade – only to receive both my feet smashing into his face. The force knocked him loose, and he plummeted downward, releasing his glaive.

  Meanwhile, I caught hold of the suspended glaive and balanced myself on top of it. I aimed downward, unleashing a barrage of Wind Arrows at his falling figure, speeding up his fall.

  He crashed against the ground underneath with a loud thud, and I realized we’d reached the end of the tunnel and our fall.

  He was still alive. Of course he was. And I couldn’t waste time. I needed to finish the job or find a way out down there.

  I yanked his glaive from the rock and activated Flight, descending downward slowly.

  It was my first time using Flight, and I never could’ve imagined that flying would be so…exhilarating!

  The air pushed gently against my body as I descended, every movement smooth and controlled. It was easier than I expected. My boots touched the ground softly just as the skill ended.

  I glanced at the glaive in my hand, its weight surprisingly comfortable. The balance was perfect, the long blade gleaming faintly with its eerie green energy. Polearms weren’t new to me – I’d trained with spears in the past, even used one before I got Nightfall – and as I adjusted my grip, an unexpected familiarity washed over me.

  “Might not be too bad…” I muttered, giving it a quick spin. With my new stats, this could be a good weapon to shift to. I wondered what the level requirement for it might be.

  My thoughts shifted as I looked around. The floor was littered with thick, sticky webs. My stomach turned when I realized I was likely in the Void Spiders’ den.

  Déjà vu tugged at my senses, and I followed the feeling, my gaze drifting upward. Dozens of small tunnels filled the ceiling. I could easily imagine those nasty spiders crawling right through them, descending on me.

  But my attention was drawn to one massive tunnel above the others. I didn’t need Déjà vu to tell me that whatever came from there would be the real threat.

  The sound of scraping metal pulled my attention back to the immediate danger – Undead General Kaelstrife. Less than a fifth of his HP remained. He pushed himself to his feet, his skull visor fixed on me.

  I tightened my grip on his glaive, but it was pointless. The weapon tore itself free from my grasp, glowing green as it shot through the air and returned to Kaelstrife’s outstretched hand. He caught it, spun it once, and slammed the blade against the ground with a deafening sound, cracking the stone beneath him.

  Where’s Nightfall?!

  I scanned the ground frantically, until I spotted it a few feet away. I wanted to get it, but Kaelstrife didn’t want me to. He lunged, his glaive aimed directly at me.

  I barely had time to react, activating Wind Rush just in time, before throwing myself to the side with Dash Step. But Kaelstrife didn’t stop. He swung again, forcing me to chain Dash Steps to stay ahead of his strikes.

  Slowly, I closed the distance to Nightfall, grabbing its hilt just as an eerie sound echoed through the pit – a chittering, clicking noise that made my skin crawl.

  This story has been stolen from Royal Road. If you read it on Amazon, please report it

  The Void Spiders were coming home.

  Kaelstrife seized on my distraction, swinging his glaive. I dodged at the last second, but the glaive hit the ground, resulting in a shockwave that sent me hurtling backward.

  Pain shot through my body as I hit the ground with incredible force.

  [Health: 44%]

  I scrambled to my feet, rummaging through my inventory to grab a health potion, but white projectiles streaked toward me from above. I thrusted my hand forward, summoning Wind Wall. A gust of wind solidified in front of me, intercepting the webs before they hit me.

  Kaelstrife wanted a piece as well. He charged forward, cutting through the wall of wind, his glaive leading the way. I barely dodged his attack with Dash Step, his blade missing me by inches as he flew past me.

  Meanwhile, the first wave of Void Spiders reached the ground. They swarmed around Kaelstrife but showed no hostility toward him. Instead, they seemed to prepare a joint attack against me.

  Of course. This just keeps getting better.

  They rushed me all at once, and I raised Nightfall, unleashing Horizon. The powerful wave of wind exploded outward, scattering the spiders, but Kaelstrife cut through it effortlessly with his glaive, continuing his approach.

  More spiders poured into the pit, their number multiplying by the second. From above, they continued launching their webs at me, forcing me into a state of constant dodging, draining more and more stamina.

  [+294 XP]

  [+294 XP]

  [+294 XP]

  I ducked, rolled, and dodged, killing spiders along the way, but they just kept coming. I needed a plan.

  I likely wouldn’t survive this, but if I could take Kaelstrife out before that, I could at least respawn at my anchor point with the XP, and some possible loot.

  Blur Strike.

  I gripped Nightfall tightly, a plan materializing in my mind. I dodged backward, getting as much distance from Kaelstrife as I could. Then, I adjusted my position to align with the Undead General and as many Void Spiders as possible in my field of vision.

  The wall spiders loomed above me, still shooting their sticky webs, threatening to cancel the skill’s charge if I attempted it now. I needed time.

  I activated Moon Barrier. The ever-trusty shield forming itself around me, absorbing the projectiles as I began to charge Blur Strike.

  Seeing how I unlocked this skill during the time loop and had no memory of using it in my previous runs, my heart raced like crazy when the world around me suddenly slowed, as I took aim on every enemy within range.

  Then, I moved, swinging Nightfall, striking each target multiple times as I combined the attack with Time Delay Swings.

  [+294 XP]

  [+294 XP]

  It felt like time around had frozen.

  [+294 XP]

  [+294 XP]

  [+294 XP]

  There was no sound except my breath.

  [+294 XP]

  [+294 XP]

  [+294 XP]

  [+294 XP]

  They were all just stuck in place.

  [+294 XP]

  [+294 XP]

  [+294 XP]

  [+294 XP]

  [+294 XP]

  Kaelstrife’s towering form remained glued to the floor, his glowing glaive motionless.

  The attack ended as abruptly as it began, and the world suddenly snapped back into motion.

  I turned to assess the damage. Most of the ground spiders were dead, but Kaelstrife? He was still standing!

  His HP bar was reduced to the thinnest sliver. His armor was shattered, his body hunched over, but he refused to fall.

  He raised his glaive weakly, but I didn’t give him the chance.

  “Die already!” I shouted, closing the distance with Blade Rush and driving Nightfall through the cracks in his armor, deep into his gut.

  His glowing eyes flickered, then dimmed, and his body dropped to its knees as I yanked the sword from his body.

  Then, something unexpected happened.

  Kaelstrife’s terrifying armor began to splinter and fall away, revealing a gleaming suit of knightly armor beneath. His skull visor dissipated into dust, exposing his face.

  And it wasn’t Undead.

  It was human.

  I stared, stunned, as the man beneath the armor slowly raised his head. His face was weathered but dignified, his eyes holding a quiet strength. He suddenly met my gaze, and, to my utter disbelief, he smiled weakly.

  “Thank you.” He whispered softly.

  Before I could react, his entire body began to glow with a golden light. The radiance grew until it became blinding, and then he was gone. No corpse, no nothing – just gone.

  [Undead General Kaelstrife - Defeated]

  [+494 XP]

  I stood frozen. Never in my life had I seen anything like that. A monster – could I even call him that – thanking me? And then vanishing like some spirit released from its torment? My mind raced with questions but there was no time to dwell on those.

  I summoned Wind Wall, blocking incoming projectiles from the Void Spiders as I made my way toward where Kaelstife had fallen – he’d dropped something.

  I rushed forward, knowing I only had seconds before the endless wave of spiders was upon me. I reached for the loot – three items that glowed faintly.

  First was the glaive. Great.

  Second was a crumpled note, glowing a faint purple, which I had no time to read at the moment.

  Third was a glowing blue orb. I didn’t know what it was, but I wasn’t leaving it behind of all things.

  As I stuffed the items into my second inventory, a bone-chilling scream tore through the pit. My heart stopped as I looked up.

  Descending from the large tunnel above was the mother of these not-so-little bastards: Arachnid Mother.

  I didn’t have time to react. She struck with terrifying speed, her massive legs slamming into the ground around me. I barely registered the impact before everything went black.

  [Health: 0% - You Have Died]

  [Checkpoint Level 2 activated: You will now reawaken at the anchor point]

  ***

  “What the - ?!” I shouted, realizing I was falling again.

  The trap door. The tumble. My brain kicked into overdrive as I instinctively threw out my hands. My fingers caught the rough edge of the hole, and I held on with every ounce of strength I had, but I was still slipping.

  Yet my mind reacted quickly.

  I activated Flight, levitating upward until I was outside of the hole completely. Then, I navigated to the floor, landing with a soft thud.

  I collapsed onto my back, mentally exhausted, still in shock at what had just happened.

  Kaelstrife wasn’t here.

  Normally, enemies I killed before a Checkpoint respawn would be alive again. But now, nothing.

  I let out a breathless laugh, my heart still racing.

  “What the hell just happened?” I muttered to myself, a grin spreading across my face.

  A new quest popped up.

  [New Quest Available: Charlotte's Nemesis #1]

  [Slay 100 Void Spiders]

  [Current Status: 17 / 100]

  [Reward: 7,500 XP]

  Who the hell is Charlotte?