The blazing white Essence Blade sprang into Tony’s waiting grip just in time for him to meet the maw of the first spider surging through the breach to devour him. The phantom blade sank into the arachnid's flesh past its mandibles, bypassing the kevlar-like chitin. A sickening squelch and brilliant-yellow ichor splashed onto the steel floor. Tony wretched at the smell.

An instant after the life fluid of the spider settled it blackened, hardening around Tony's feet. He wrenched his legs from the spot and stepped back.

Great, Xenomorph spiders, minus the acid, plus being stuck in place.

The shrill hiss of another horse-sized spider snapped Tony back to his senses. The hole in the hull was big enough for maybe three of the beasts to get through at a time if they squeezed together. The things seemed to not consider that approach as one spider at a time would approach the edge of the breach and lunge at him from there.

"When enemies approach you from the same direction in one after the other, you have two options; you rush to meet the advance and disrupt the flow or you leave. There is no in-between that results in victory," the words of his Historical Eastern Martial Arts instructor, Ser Seavey, echoed in his head.

Is the game reading my mind to give in-game reminders or did I remember that on my own? Tony thought.

Another massive spider felled, he looked over to Auren and D. They watched as if evaluating him instead of moving to join him.

“A little help?” Tony said.

D continued to stare at him from the slit of his helmet and Auren closed his eyes before shrugging at him and smiling. "Wouldn't want you to miss out on XP! You've got this."

Tony growled and held the Essence Blade in both hands; most games applied a bonus to Strength-based damage when a weapon was used two-handed. The spectral gladius fit perfectly in his grip despite the Roman short sword design, and though weightless, was perfectly balanced. He tensed his core and felt the ripple of his muscles activating as he readied to meet the wave of arachnids.

As soon as the many-eyed head of one was fully in view Tony dashed forward and leaped up through the breach, separating the head from the thorax. His feet hit the hull and the white of the Essence Blade flashed through the surprised arachnids waiting for their turn to jump through the hole. Tony's heart pounded in his ears as he looked out over the horde of them. The sea of spiders did not reach the horizon, but he couldn't see the back of them as they poured through the trees.

His moment of hesitation granted the spiders the time they needed to regroup. At the screech of one massive spider toward the middle of the swarm, they charged, a never-ending swarm of angry clicking mandibles and spear-like legs. Tony’s Health and Stamina bars fluctuated wildly as he fought to maintain space in the flood of arachnids. Sometimes he got lucky enough to carve off a leg or two before they reached him, others he would feel the white-hot scoring lines of freshly drawn blood across his back or his arms or legs before he had a chance to react.

This was not the “power-leveling” experience Tony had been expecting. He blocked out all of the XP gain notifications after he lost count of how many spiders he had slain just trying not to be forced back into the ship. The solidified ichor coating the bodies behind and to Tony's sides made a bottleneck for the swarm to approach from, but also prevented any sort of retreat. Striking down three spiders attacking him in unison with a well-timed sweeping counter slash as he had been at critical HP jumping him up a level had saved him. The HP gain equal to the difference of his total pool pulled him out of the red and allowed him to keep fighting.

I bet picking a couple of talents would make this a lot easier, Tony mused, hand pressed against the "flat" of his Essence Blade, pushing against the clicking mandibles of one of the "Rally Spiders." These larger spiders would screech to signal their cluster of the swarm to advance on him, and would fight him solo at the end of a "wave."

Tony took advantage of the momentary "lull" in dueling the Rally Spider to address his status screen. He had gained three levels, a passive ability called “Berserker’s Stance”, and two talent points to spend.

Berserker's Stance: Killing an enemy that yields XP will increase Stamina Regeneration by 2%

(to a maximum of 10% bonus Regeneration)

Cost: None Duration: Indefinite

Tony ducked his head to the left, narrowly avoiding one of the Rally's razor-sharp forelegs and wrenched the edges of his blade across the corners of its screeching maw. The Rally reared back, continuing to wail in agony, and Tony surged forward to bury half of his blade into its eyes. The larger spider seized once and collapsed.

Tony knew that the next wave was coming soon and he would have to make his choices quickly. He selected an upgrade to the inherited Essence Blade talent called “Life-Biting Essence.”

Summon Blade: Create an Essence Constructed Weapon

Cost: 50 Mana Duration: Until Released

Life-Biting Essence: Essence Weapon gains 20% Life Drain

The second talent that jumped out at Tony as most useful was "Pommel Strike." He had always avoided the "entry-level" control effects like what Pommel Strike offered in other games, but when he looked at the web of talents, it seemed that there would be upgrades down the line. Tony confirmed the selection and hoped that the upgrades would scale with the enemies he faced. Having a talent that would stun an enemy and deal minimal damage wouldn't do a whole lot if enemies became immune to stunning effects.

Pommel Strike: Deal minimal damage to an enemy by attacking with the pommel of your weapon to stun them for 2 seconds.

Cost: 10 Mana Cooldown: 5 seconds

Selections made and progress reviewed, Tony was delighted to see that he had nearly reached level five. He would be able to select a specialization soon and he was eager to get out of the "Squire" class and talents to see what else was in store for him.

Keeping his stance ready, Tony couldn't help but notice that the swarm had stopped advancing. He stood alone on top of the ruined starship as an eerie silence settled in.

You have been challenged by the Swarm Alpha

You have 2 (minutes) to proceed to the Dueling Grounds

Tony moved to hop down from the ship. He couldn't see where the Alpha was, but he noticed that the swarm had fanned out around the ship to form a large ring.

“Hold on a second,” Auren’s voice piped up from below. Tony climbed over the rigid carcasses of the fallen spiders between him and the breach and looked through at the God. Tony felt his jaw clench as he looked at both Auren and D. Neither of them had moved from the spot throughout the entire fight.

"Good job!" Auren said, a perfect smile brimming across his face. As he extended an enthusiastic thumbs up in Tony's direction, he noticed a buff icon appear under his status bars.

Burning Essence: +20 Fire Damage to Essence-Based Attacks

Duration: 20 Minutes Conditions: Does Not Persist Through Death

Ominous, Tony thought.

“Thanks, I guess,” he muttered before stepping off of the ship.

“He’s advancing quickly,” D said to Auren once the sounds of combat rang out.

“Yes, he is. Glad to see one of the initiates really getting after it,” Auren answered proudly.

D slugged him in the shoulder, his tone leaden. “If he keeps going at this rate Ignacious is going to notice. That's a Swarm Alpha out there."

“None of the other initiates beat their first boss until after they were level ten, did they?” Auren asked, the swelling pride in his chest deflated like a balloon stuck with a needle.

“Nope,” D answered.

“So-” Auren started before the bloodcurdling scream of a dying elite spider filled the cabin.

Tony landed on the blue-green grass of the rolling plain the ship came to rest in. The ring of spiders all shifted as one to look at him and Tony felt his eyebrows hit his hairline when those in the front raised their forelegs in an X in front of their bodies. The swarm parted in front of Tony and he swore that if his eyebrows went any higher they'd shoot off of his face.

Instead of pockmarking the earth with puncturing limbs and tremendous size, the Alpha seemed to glide over the earth, her lower four spider legs carrying the rest of her off the ground. Tony hated spiders, but she was attractive. She wore a kimono clearly woven from spider silk, and with the exception of a visible set of extra eyes, three-inch claws extending from her fingers, and the eight spider legs protruding from her lower back, she appeared very human. Her glowing green eyes settled on Tony after looking him up and down. In contrast to her cascades of black hair, they were striking. The splashes of "skin" that Tony could see were bright red and he could see the shapes of chitin plates among her very prominent curves through the kimono.

She spoke first in a series of hisses and rhythmic clicks of the arachnid appendages, to which Tony said, "What?"

She blinked rapidly at him after that and worked her jaw, seeming to chew on the word that she heard and then spoke again, slowly.

"Iss it youu who hass sslain myy kinn?" Her voice was a pleasant alto, and despite the odd tempo of her speech, Tony understood her well enough.

"It was," he admitted, relaxing his stance only slightly. Her jaws worked the words over again.

To his unending surprise, the spider-woman bowed to him, the set of eyes on her forehead locking with his. "Youu arrre a ssskilled warrriorrr," she said. It seemed that her skill with the English language was improving the more of it that she heard.

So, she's wearing a kimono, challenged me to single combat, is complimenting my skill as a warrior and none of the more base spiders are going to engage, Tony recounted.

He returned the bow, trying to maintain eye contact with both sets of eyes at once. "Your brood is a fearsome one. You do me a great honor," he answered. Tony maintained the bow and the woman gestured at him to stand.

Her jaw continued to work for another minute before Tony saw her swallow.

The voice that poured out of her caressed Tony's ears like silken sheets. "We have not encountered a one like you before. As ample as my curiosity is, the time for pleasantries has passed." A look of hard focus came across her unlined face as chitin spread across her visible skin. The woman's claws retracted as she removed the kimono and lowered to her two human legs; she was covered nearly head to toe in chitinous plating.

Tony admired this character's design, it would have been easy for Gambit to leave the stereotypical "cleavage window" in her armor and to have her speak the same language as a player right away. The devs could have had her try to seduce them only to murder them like a "black widow," but that wasn't who this woman was. She was a warrior.

"Wait a moment, please," Tony said, extending his left hand, palm up toward the woman.

She eyed him expectantly.

"It is customary where I trained to exchange names before a duel and to state terms, is this way agreeable to you?" he asked.

She smiled before she spoke, and behind the row of flattened human teeth, Tony could see at least two more rows of serrated, tearing fangs. "This way is pleasing to me. I am Jorogu of the Yokai cluster, second daughter of Queen Semiramis and Master of the Katakana." All but two of her spider legs retracted into her body. The two legs that remained interlocked and melded together before separating from her body entirely and landing in her waiting hands. The sharpened sides of the legs formed a lethal single-edged blade reinforced by interlocked segments of spider leg that tapered into a handle. Jorogu pressed the flat of the blade to her lips and swung the blade down, its edge millimeters from the ground.

Tony swallowed hard; he was in for a tough fight.

"I am Antonious King, Squire of the Ascendants, final son of my line, student of battle, walker of the path of self."

Man, my accolades suck, he thought.

"The terms," she spoke, "to the satisfaction, my physician will call for staying of blades should one of us be grievously wounded, as to preserve both our lines. Do you accept?"

Tony nodded. He had been hoping that the duel would be to first blood. Jorogu was a warrior through and through; duels to first blood had been looked at as cowardly early on in the history of the "sport," but was still the common term in most media. He had to give Gambit credit for historical accuracy at the least.

Another spider stepped out from the swarm, this one in a state of metamorphosis between the spiders Tony had been fighting already and Jorogu, maintaining a spider's body, but possessing the upper body of a woman. Tony was grateful that this new spider saw fit to wear clothes on her upper half.

"This is Ama. She will check your vitals and then my own so that she may monitor them." Ama started to move toward Tony before he protested.

Man, how do I say this without sounding like a dick?

"Jorogu, I take you as an honorable one. Do I have your word as a warrior that Ama will not interfere with our duel? That I would be protected from sabotage?"

The spider-woman smirked. "You are a cautious one. Mother always said that the cautious warrior was the sure one. I swear on my blade that she will not interfere with you or convey information that would give an unfair advantage." Tony lowered his blade and nodded at Ama, whose human half was fair-skinned, emerald-eyed, with blood-red hair pinned up in elaborate loops connected to a bun. She advanced toward him again and lowered her spider body to be eye level with Tony.

He felt his pulse quicken as she placed her hands on either side of his face. Her primary set of eyes, resting just above the bridge of a delicate nose locked with his as the second set on her forehead scanned over him in entirety. "I must sample to monitor. Is this okay?" she asked quietly, her voice an octave higher than Jorogu's, but with the same cascading tone.

"Uh, yeah. Okay," Tony answered, his cheeks warming under her touch. He braced, expecting to feel a prick or a cut on his cheek. Instead, he felt surprisingly soft lips press against his and a tongue flick out to gently caress and explore the inside of his mouth.

Tony sank into the embrace, all of the tension and fatigue of combat leaving him in a wave of comfort. Ama let out a surprised squeak and pulled back as Tony kissed back on instinct.

"Oh! Uh, I'm sorry. Bad habit," Tony explained in a hurry.

Ama nodded and swallowed before walking over to Jorogu and replicating the procedure. "I have harmonized your life essences with my own and will call for a stay of blades if one is too injured to continue," she announced.

"On your count then," Tony announced, taking in Jorogu's stance. The tip of her sword remained close to the ground, edge pointing in toward her center.

She's either incredibly fast, or she's going to parry with the back of the sword and riposte. There's probably critical damage on ripostes. Which way is she coming? he thought.

"Begin!" Jorogu shouted.

It turned out that the answer to Tony's internal question was "yes." Jorogu launched herself at Tony like a shot from a cannon. Tony put his sword up between them and just before the blades clashed she disappeared. Tony swung to the left on instinct and brought his sword down in a powerful overhead arc; Jorogu's parry lifted him three feet off the ground. Tony's eyes opened and he realized that they had closed at the tremendous crash of essence on chitin. Jorogu was gone again.

Tony looked up just in time to see her careening down at him, sword extended. With no solid ground to brace against or pivot on, Tony turned his essence blade flat and braced his left forearm against it. Jorogu's thrust slammed his hands into his chest and gut. Ten percent of his HP, gone, from a blocked attack.

The wind knocked out of him, Tony slammed into the ground. His lungs burned and his vision blurred, down thirty percent. Instincts blaring in alarm, Tony rolled to the right. Not even a second later, the sound of a sword crashing through the earth where he had just been rung out.

Come on! Get it together! He closed his eyes tight for a half-second and snapped them open, the world coming into sharp focus. He had lost his grip on the Essence Blade, but a ring of burning white essence around his right wrist told him that the talent hadn't deactivated.

Jorogu twisted her blade in the earth, edge pointed at Tony, and carved it out, sending shrapnel flying at him. He flexed his grip and sliced at the debris. The blade returned to form as he slashed, carving through the larger chunks and sending the lesser ones harmlessly aside. Jorogu was upon him again, her whole body parallel to the ground and just inches from it. She contorted and twisted, slashing up at him from an angle.

In the heartbeat between the meeting of blades Tony saw the pattern; he just needed to figure out how to turn it on the spider-woman. Unlike the fight with Tolik, he couldn't take hits and go through the pattern until he figured it out. Jorogu dealt too much damage, the duel would be called in her favor if he did.

It's a risk, but I have to do it now!

Tony released his grip on the Essence Blade, reverting it back to the ring of light and weaved backward, keeping his feet planted firmly in Jorogu's path. The tip of the arachnid weapon left a shallow cut squarely in the center of Tony's jawline, claiming one percent of his HP. He felt the woman's body impact his own for a fraction of a second; in the moment of contact, she went rigid. Tony could tell she would hop back from him, startled from the bizarre impact. He pushed out into a deep lunge and Tony's left knee caught the back of one of Jorogu's legs. Tony stepped through the lunge and leaped at the spider-woman. Toppling and off-balance, she swung her weapon to intercept his charge, Tony caught the back of it in his left hand and flexed the grip of his right in the same motion.

"I yield," Jorogu said. The abrupt halt of her weapon and Tony's forward momentum had driven her to the ground with the smoldering tip of his Essence Blade resting against the underside of her chin.

"Stay your blades!" Ama called.

Tony's stare bored into Jorogu's main set of eyes and she released the hilt of her weapon. Tony released his Essence Blade talent and gasped, letting out the breath that he had been holding. He took a step back and held out his hand, Jorogu took it and stood.

"I pity those that you call enemies," she said, maintaining her grip on his hand. "I would have you return to the cluster with my brood to meet Mother."

Tony gulped. "I would uh, definitely love to do that but I would need to check with my mentors before venturing off."

"Then I would grant you my brood's blessing that you may find us again at your leisure. Is this okay?" Tony admired her persistence.

You have received a Side Quest: Courted by the Princess of Blades Jorogu, Princess of the Arach Empire who you bested in a duel has invited you back to meet the Queen of the cluster. Among the Arach this is a common courting practice after finding a suitable mate. She has offered to bestow a blessing upon you so that you may return. Quest Objective: Be courted by the Princess or spurn her advances

Reward (Court): Blade Blessing+ | Equipment | Positive Social Link (Arach Empire)

Reward (Spurn): Bonus XP | Arachnid Advantage | Positive Social Link (Order of the Pristine)

Tony weighed his options for a moment. Jorogu's were a warrior people and even if being hit on by a spider-woman was a little weird, he preferred it to whatever this 'Order of the Pristine' was. "Yes, I would like to be able to see you again."

In slow but deliberate motion, Jorogu raised Tony's wrist to her mouth and sunk a pair of fangs into it. A warm sensation spread over the skin of his forearm, then through his entire body.

Blessing of Blades: Proficiency with Bladed weapons increased by 35%, Proficiency with Arach weaponry increased by 50%, Poison Resistance increased by 70%

Tony took his arm back and looked. The bite marks had healed into the blackened shape of a sword with four sharpened prongs to make up the guard.

"I want you to have this too," she said, holding her blade out to him. Before Tony could question why she cut him off, "Since I separated these legs from my body and lost the duel, I cannot re-assimilate them. It is only right that you should take it with you."

Tony nodded and took the blade in his hands. It was lighter than he expected and even though he had watched it be made, he was incredibly impressed with the quality. He focused on the item and its description and a flush rose in his cheeks.

Jorogu's Marital Blade Rarity: Unique (1 of 1) Durability: 100% Enchantments: Concealed (Social Link 5) Slashing Damage: Exceptional Thrusting Damage: Good Parry: Good Riposte Multiplier: 3.75x

"Thank you..." Tony said.

"Well then, I must return with my Brood. I do hope that you will return soon." Jorogu reached out and brushed lightly against the mark left on Tony's arm, then turned on her heel and left, the swarm in tow.

Tony slung the sword over his shoulder and jumped when a set of spider legs popped out, latched onto his shoulder, and held the blade tight to his back.

"Well, that's interesting," he said as he started back toward the downed craft. His feet wouldn't move. "What the?" Tony went to reach for his leg, but his arms wouldn't move either, his torso didn't bend either.

A red debuff pulsed under his status bars:

Gaze of the God-King: He Sees You

All Talents Silenced

All Buffs Dispelled (Permanent bonuses not affected)

Movement Reduced by 100%

Well, Fuck.