Chapter 21 The Arsonist

You have entered Ucluelet! As the first participant, you shall receive 50% XP boost.

Elysia willed away the notification as she surveyed the surprisingly intact small town. Unlike Neah Bay, other than some overgrowth, it appeared like people could move back any day. Still, she kept her guard up, quietly humming her bike down the cracked but intact road, unsure of which direction to go. After a minute of indecision, she rolled down Bay Street onto Peninsula Road, which she assumed was the main street of the town. She followed the street southward as indicated by the bike display for several kilometers all the way to the end of Peninsula Road at the shore of the Peninsula.

After finding the southern border, she turned around and headed north, following the curve westward up to the Ucluelet campground entrance. Elysia returned to her starting point before stopping. Where should I start? There aren’t any obvious clues that monsters inhabiting here. Are they hiding inside buildings? Maybe something sensitive to sunlight? It would explain why at least the exterior of everything seems intact.

Elysia flipped her kickstand down in the parking lot of a large building housing an insurance and realty company with a restaurant built-in. The glass door opened with a creek displaying a pristine interior with hardwood floors designed to look rustic. As she turned to leave, a skittering sound drew her eyes upward, coming in contact with eight tennis ball sized eyes.

Her glowing purple veined hands shot toward the ceiling as she grasped a thick thread from her core glaring up at the massive spider hanging from the ceiling with shining amethyst eyes promising death.

The room lit up purple as the lightning strike struck home, frying the spider instantly dropping it to the floor with a heavy thud, cracking the floorboards.

-120 Charge.

25 Charge.

Killed Giant Black Widow level 20.

New skill learned! Lightning Strike. Would you like to slot the skill? Warning one slot remaining. Choose wisely.

Elysia swayed on her feet, lightheaded but smiling proudly at her successful smiting only for the scent of something burning to reach her nose. Her eyes traveled upward once again to find the extensive web network crisscrossing along the entire ceiling up in flames.

With wide eyes, she dashed out the door as the building lit up with the webs acting as accelerant. While standing in the parking lot, still shivering from the encounter, Elysia watched flames bellow out of the windows, charring the wood siding.

A blood thirsty grin formed as several notifications appeared.

Killed giant black widow level 21.

Killed giant black widow level 19.

Killed adolescent giant black widow level 15.

Killed adolescent giant black widow level 14.

Level up! Level 20 Channeler.

Her grin disappeared when her eyes scanned the surrounding buildings, shivering at the thought of what may lie within. Why did it have to be spiders!? She took a deep breath, calming her nerves. Whatever created these dungeons has a sick mind throwing a nightmare inducing creature in every dungeon.

Skittering sounds paused her thoughts. Elysia stiffened as she turned her head toward the nearest building, a two-story restaurant with painted white wood siding. In several upstairs windows, sets of eight eyes stared down at her.

A squeak escaped her lips as she dashed to her bike, flipping the kickstand up before shooting down Peninsula Road to the south, flooring the motor while pedaling as fast as she could. She glanced over her shoulder every second with terrified eyes, only meeting more sets of eight staring out of buildings she passed.

Elysia skidded to a halt at the end of Peninsula Road, sighing in relief when no eight-legged nightmares followed.

With trembling hands, she leaned her bike against a tree, grabbing a crab dagger in each hand before moving forward with slow but determined steps. I’ll face worse in the future. I can’t let some spiders scare me away, even if they are terrifyingly huge. Who would be sadistic enough to enlarge spiders to the size of a bear?

She stopped at the first building on the right, a bed-and-breakfast. With a frontal kick, she smashed the door inward, revealing a rustic interior with a fishing theme. A quick glance at the vaulted ceiling caused her to move on, leaving out the gaping front door. After crossing the street, she kicked in another building she assumed was a house, again finding it spider free.

Oh, come on! I worked up the nerve to slay spiders! Be good little, err, big spiders, come to your zapper.

The pattern continued for several more buildings until the road curved to the right at a resort. While stomping her feet in frustration, she approached the community building of the resort, ignoring the smaller cabins. Her kick bounced off the sturdy door, but after twisting the handle, she found it unlocked. The moment she entered, a skittering above announced the presence of her prey. Without hesitation, she pointed her right dagger at the ceiling, aimed at a smaller but still massive spider with the iconic red hourglass on its abdomen. A stream of purple lightning shot from her dagger, striking the spider in the abdomen. Its furry legs spasmed as the electricity coursed through its body. A second later, a sizzling sound filled the air as the spider lost grip on its web network.

-120 Charge.

It dangled, tangled in its webs, as a notification displayed in Elysia’s vision.

Killed Adolescent Giant Black Widow Level 16.

Without looking back, she strutted out the front door as the web network caught on fire. After glancing at her charge sitting at 46, an idea formed. Filled with confidence, she jogged back down the road to fetch her bike before cruising toward town, stopping at a line of cabins on the left side. A quick peek inside told her all she needed to know. With her right pointer finger, she sent a thin stream of violet electricity to the ceiling, lighting the webs on fire before slamming the door closed.

-10 Charge.

Skill learned! Static Zap.

Would you like to slot the skill?

Figuring she would need to use it a ton, she slotted the skill, displaying another message.

Static Zap slotted! +30% Efficiency.

No damage buff? Oh well, it’s not like I’m using it for damage, only a match. Still, I hope I can override it with a more useful skill later on.

Achievement! Maxed.

“Took you long enough.”

Reward: One attribute point.

Elysia ignored the usual jab instead staring at her list of skill slots in thought. Hopefully the evolution mentioned earlier will give me better bonuses for skill slots. So far the bonuses have been pretty underwhelming but any bit helps especially efficiency boosts. I wish I could find somewhere to recharge and test. Maybe the atlas has dam locations, though a big dam will fry me. At least I think it would. I would rather not find out.

Just to be sure she zapped the webs in two more cabins, lighting three of the six on fire before stepping back to watch the show.

-14 Charge.

22 Charge.

A minute later, several notifications appeared as the cabins burned, sparking the webs in neighboring cabins.

Killed Giant Black Widow Level 18.

Killed Giant Black Widow Level 17.

Killed Giant Black Widow Level 19.

Killed Adolescent Giant Black Widow Level 15.

Level up! Level 21 Channeler.

Now recharged, Elysia hopped back on her bike and continued down the road, lighting each spider infested building she found along the way, filling the air with ash. She parked her bike at the now fire gutted first building’s parking lot before continuing her march of destruction, torching every building in her wake.

After the fifteenth building and dozens of spider kills, she stopped and frowned. Why am I not leveling? Her frown deepened when she checked her charge, finding it to be 53. At the current rate, I won’t make it to the other side, and that’s only counting the buildings on Peninsula Road. I didn’t see any power sources nearby, as usual. They love to build them outside the dungeon barrier. Though there is no telling if it would be live anyway. I got really lucky with the zombies. In hindsight, it would’ve been a lot smarter to build a weapon at the hardware store first and pick off zombies a couple at a time, like I tried to do later. Why did I think it was a good idea to get myself surrounded? To be fair, it’s hard to think clearly with zombies chasing.

As she walked down the street, she glanced at a cars parallel parked along the street. With nothing to lose, she trotted toward the first vehicle on the right, a truck. After finding it locked, she took her crab dagger and smashed it into the driver’s side window. The window shattered, allowing her to unlock the door by standing on her tiptoes. She reached under the dash, popping the hood, then trotted to the engine bay, lifting the hood with the hiss of pneumatic cylinders. With her head barely reaching the top of the grill, she frowned, eyes gravitating to another vehicle, but her pride flared, banishing the idea of taking the easy way out. Instead of trying a shorter vehicle, she climbed the grill and squatted on the plastic engine cover, staring down at the battery on the front right side.

Elysia took a moment to psych herself up before grasping both the positive and negative studs at once, cringing at the coming shock, but none came. Dead? No way it’s dead. The truck looks new.

After trying again, earning the same result, she hopped down to the pavement with a huff, turning to the next vehicle in front of the truck, a compact sedan which was unlocked. Unfortunately, like the truck, the battery was dead, ruining her chances of an easy recharge.

Weird, my boat batteries were fine. Maybe whatever drained these batteries spared it because I owned it. Always more questions than answers.

To take her mind off her failed recharge, she surveyed the destruction, only for her thoughts to wander once again. These spiders don’t seem all that scary anymore. The zombies and crabs put up more of a fight. Maybe I have a hidden fire affinity.

Her eyes landed on the largest building yet. A warehouse with a sign stating it was for food and pharmacy delivery. No longer afraid of spiders, she strode through the unlocked steel double doors into a dark reception area. A quick glance at the ceiling told her the room was spider free, so she moved on through another double door entryway to the left of a counter.

As soon as the doors closed behind her, the large warehouse area plunged into darkness, forcing her to use her internal flashlight, giving off a violet glow. Her eyes traveled to the ceiling, dilating as they focused. Out of shock, she stumbled back several steps, body trembling, eyes glued to the ceiling.

Weaved through the entire ceiling of the football field sized warehouse was a seemingly endless maze of webs. With a shaking head, she backed toward the door only for a web to shoot toward her. At the last second, she dove out of the way and turned toward the door, only to stare in horror as the stream of webs coated the door. She used Static Zap on the webs, but the fresh webs refused to light as the current traveled through the metal door, grounding itself on the concrete floor.

-7 Charge.

Before she could try again, another shot of webs descended from the ceiling, catching her right foot when she tried to dodge. In a panic, she yanked her foot, but it refused to budge, now welded to the floor with sticky webs.

While keeping her eyes directed at the ceiling, she used the razor-sharp crab dagger in her right hand to cut free. The webs resisted, stretching like rubber before shearing away just as another shot of webs approached from the ceiling to the right.

Ready this time, she dodged the stream of webs with plenty of room to spare. With her eyes turned upward, she walked down an aisle filled with boxes of medical supplies. Her foot impacted a heavy box on the floor, sending her cartwheeling toward the floor. Pain shot through her right wrist, bearing her full weight to catch herself, but she pushed through it, springing to her feet as several streams of webs descended.

Elysia’s eyes landed on a door fifty meters in front of her before glancing at several boxes full of wrap. A wince graced her face, imagining her need for medical supplies, but her resolve hardened a moment later. She raised her hand, activating Static Zap.

-7 Charge.

A frown formed, staring at the scorch mark, jumping back as webs coated the shelf.

Fed up, her glowing amethyst eyes glared upward at dozens of sets of eyes watching her from the safety of their web network eight meters above. With a flick of her right wrist, she sent a crab dagger toward the ceiling before grasping at her core, feeding the soaring dagger with electricity.

Violet electricity arced off the dagger toward the metal ceiling, sparking webs in its path. The webs lit up instantly, spreading the fire several meters within a second.

Elysia took off in a sprint, scooping up the dagger when it clattered on the floor on her way to the door. Smoke filled the warehouse, obscuring the already poor visibility, but Elysia continued to run forward in the door’s direction.

Several seconds later, her hand contacted metal. While holding her breath, she ran her hand along the wall until she came in contact with a door handle. Her lungs burned as she twisted the door handle, but it refused to turn.

Killed Adolescent Black Widow level 15 x18.

Level up! Level 22 Channeler.

A wave of warmth spread through her body as her shoulder rammed into the sturdy door, bouncing off, followed by a kick with the same result. Elysia’s mind worked to process a solution as she slid her hands over the door handle. Her fingers felt a raised ridge, which she immediately turned. Over the crackling flames now spreading to the warehouse stock, she heard a click.

With a quick twist of the door handle, the door opened, bellowing thick smoke outside as she dove through. On her hands and knees just outside, she gasped for breath when a crashing sound above drew her attention.

Charred legs emerged from the hole near the peak of the roof, causing Elysia to jump to her feet, dashing across the parking lot before turning back to the emerging spider. The smoking car-sized spider crashed to the concrete, cracking the parking lot. Its eight grapefruit sized eyes turned toward Elysia, brimming with hatred. The spider aimed its charred abdomen toward Elysia as if to shoot webs, but none came out.

Elysia took the opportunity, tossing a crab dagger toward the vulnerable abdomen of the spider. The dagger sunk deeply into the massive round appendage, causing the spider to jerk back. With amethyst eyes rivaling the spider’s hatred, Elysia raised her right hand, electricity sparking between her fingers as she released her payload toward the dagger.

-120 Charge.

With deadly efficiency, the bolt of electricity shot toward the dagger before coursing through the spider. Like its brethren, it seized, crashing to the parking lot with a sizzling sound. A notification a second later assured Elysia of its death.

Killed Queen Black Widow level 25.

Achievement! Serial Arsonist

“Maybe you have the wrong affinity.”

Reward: One Attribute Point.

An exhausted sigh released from her sooty lips as grabbing the dagger embedded in the spider’s abdomen before she turning away, having no desire to scavenge anything, only to remember the crystals. Elysia perked up upon spotting the crystals laying to the right of the spider corpse proving her victory. After depositing a murky white crystal and eight blue ones in her backpack, joining the crystals from the crab dungeon, she turned to leave.

On her way back to her bike, she surveyed the remaining buildings, but knowing any of them could contain spiders, she decided against scavenging supplies.

Several minutes later, she neared the tree line at the eastern edge of the barrier. She crossed her fingers as she hopped off the bike and rolled it toward the tree line. To her relief, a familiar notification appeared as she passed through.

Congratulations! Ucluelet conquered! As the first to complete this dungeon, your name and date will be displayed to all who come after.

Reward: +10% damage to all spiders.

Ucluelet: First conquered by Elysia Arashi May 22 AS 1

Elysia willed away the notification as she dropped her bike on the raft before pushing it into the water and jumping on. After a few minutes, she arrived at her yacht. With a heave, she pulled the raft on the lower deck before sliding it into the compartment under the steps with the motor still attached and bike laying inside.

As she stumbled up the steps with sluggish, exhausted strides, the sky darkened. A curse formed on her lips, expecting another storm only to find the sky blocked out by a familiar massive turtle.

The turtle soared overhead, followed by a defining splash. Unable to see what happened. Elysia climbed to the upper deck for the first time, discovering solar panels as she stared to the South. Her eyes widened, spotting the turtle now floating a kilometer off the shore of Vancouver Island and Washington state blocking most of the entrance to the Salish Sea. Atop its massive shell was a city made of a rainbow of scaled billings.