Trekking through the unfamiliar woods, Zane couldn’t stop his eyes from wandering around the area. The place was unsettling. From the way the trees were twisted, to the bushes that looked unnatural. Not to mention the scant amount of green in this forest as everything around him was mostly gray. And looking around there were too many blind spots for him to notice any incoming enemy from afar. As the tree trunks were huge almost thrice as big when compared to the trees in Legan Forest.

Zane had a few second thoughts going in. He wondered whether he should turn back and called it a day. But that would be wasting a day of grinding, and with his warp’s cooldown reset at least he had a way out if things went south. Then he stopped, realizing something important.

Ah, fuck. I forgot to set the warp point back at the town. A belated realization that he had to live with. Going back now would be too tedious, and the potential to get lost along the way was high considering his sense of direction was pretty bad in the outdoors.

Looking back, the exit of this forest wasn’t that far. He could go out for a while and made a new warp point near the tree line of this scary forest. At least if he warped here he had a clear direction back to town. Making his mind, Zane turned. Smiling in the process as if it was a relief getting out of this creepy woods even for a second.

He noticed it after a while, but the forest was awfully silent. Unlike Legan Forest where birds chirped and insects buzzed around in an interval, this whole place was as silent as the dead. And it was unnerving as throughout his short walk the hair on the back of his neck wouldn’t stop standing.

Zane bolted through the dirt ground, leaping over deadfalls and shrubs as he made his way to the entrance he came from. Yet he frowned. Noticing a sliver of a shadow moving around in front of him. But he didn’t stop. He kept on going, trying not to look up as he raced towards the entrance.

Then he felt a presence behind him. His eyes widen and goosebumps crawled over his back. “Wind Burst,” he uttered. He had prepared the spell the moment he felt something was odd. A concentration of wind burst under his soles as Zane went up in the air. Turning his whole body to the back while in mid-air, his lips were already mumbling for a spell, and by the time he saw what it was, something snatched him from the air and pull him closer to the thing that ambushed him.

“Fireball!” he finished his cast at the nick of time and a palm-size ball of flame went flying. The fireball hit the target right in between its many eyes as the tension that pulled him went loose. He fell and found his feet on the ground. Flexing his knees to the point of making a full squat. Rather than worrying about his knees, Zane watched the Cane Corso-sized spider being burned brightly by his flames. Its screeching noise echoed through the silent woods as Zane used Hi-Analysis.

[Anansi’s Spiderling][Lv.14]

[Arachnids that infested the forest of Anansi. Do not let its size fool you as the creepy-crawly is nimble and silent in its steps. Beware of its paralyzing venom and its long-range spider-web.]

Didn’t Maecy say their levels would be the same as mine? He questioned the validity of Maecy’s info. From the look of it, it was either he met a strong one or the bestiary needed some updating.

The spiderling rolled around on the dirt, trying to extinguish the flames from its chitin exoskeleton. Yet before it could take a breather from the flames, another fireball hit it right at the body and the blazing flames spread like wildfire. The screech grew louder as Zane watched in silence. He approached the burning arachnid and thrust his scimitar right through the weakened chitin. He twisted and turned. Making sure he made a mess out of the inside of the already suffering spiderling and seconds later, it went limp. Still burning even after its death.

To his surprise, the loots floated around the dead spiderling and not on top of it like he was used to. A bottle of fluid, a karambit dagger, and a fist-size ball of spider silk. He grabbed it all and stashed it immediately. Having no time to indulge in inspecting it as he needed to get out of here and set a warp point first.

But before he could leave. His accidental gaze at the faraway treetop made his body shiver in nervousness. A wave of black mass was heading towards him, skittering on the trees, leaping over branches. It seemed the screeching death of the spiderling drew some unwanted attention. Zane bolted immediately. Racing against time as the swarm was catching up faster than he thought.

Spider webs went flying. Chasing after the lone human, leaving a trail of missed webs. Zane weaved through the trees. Blocking those webs from making contact as he wasn’t going to get dragged for the second time. Yet shadows skittered above him. If wasn’t for the sun, he wouldn’t have noticed their speedy arrival as even his perception wasn’t enough to sense them.

One spiderling dropped right in from of him and he halted. Shoving his shoes on the dirt. Stopping himself from clashing against the arachnid. Yet a spider web shot him right at the torso. He reactively looked down and before he knew it his back arched, pulled by the spiderling. In that split second, Zane aimed his scimitar at the spiderling. The momentum gave a deadly edge to his blade and upon contact, the scimitar cracked through its chitin and pierced through its mucus-filled inside.

“Fuck!” yet it wasn’t enough. Even with a scimitar jutting from it, its greedy fangs tried to reach Zane. The man fought hard, putting himself an inch away from being pierced by those fangs. His arm trembled, extending to the fullest, trying his best not to potentially get spider-babies in his stomach. He watched too many Alien movies that his mind was now running a bit rampant.

Yet he twisted and turned his scimitar a few times, then the spiderling finally stopped. Its eight legs gave out and it plummeted on the ground.

Leaving his scimitar behind, Zane ran without looking back. His lips never stop moving. And after a long five seconds, Wind Burst pushed him forward. Sending him further away from the spiderling as they were starting to surround him at all sides. Another Wind Burst exploded under his feet and the man went flying. Throwing himself in the air, dodging branches as he escaped the forest of Anansi. Zane fell and rolled on the ground, and got back up immediately to turn towards the forest. He was readied for a fight with the vast clearing on his side. Yet it didn’t go like expected.

“They can’t come out?” he stared at the sight of the many spiders filling his view across the tree line. They were on the trees, on the branches, on the tree trunks, on the ground, and even hanging by their own threads. They were grouping up facing Zane as if waiting for the man to step inside the forest.

Looking at them like this made him realize how crazy he was of going up against such numbers. At a single glance alone, he could assume they were reaching a hundred.

His ass found the ground as he sat there staring at them. “Ah, I left my scimitar,” he said. Regretting leaving his precious sword behind. But who could have blamed him? For the sake of saving even a millisecond, he left and darted for safety.

Yet his heart was still racing. Not because of fear, but the adrenaline pumping through his veins. He would have been scared shitless if the warp was still on cooldown, but knowing he had a sure way out made him fearless. There were a few close calls, but he believed in himself that he could do it. In the end, here he was still in one piece.

Seeing they’re like this, perhaps I can try something out. A ball of flames floated above his hand, and he threw it out at the unmoving spiderling. It made contact, and the spiderling burned. Skittering around, bumping to other spiderlings and by chance, some of the flames spread to the others. Those who were affected fled like mad, some running around aimless while some of the instinctual ones started rolling on the ground. But the weirdest thing about this was the whole lot of them were not bothered by the flames. Staying still, while keeping their eight eyes right at Zane.

This is really weird, Zane thought. They should be running from the flames and not stand there staring at me like I’m going to leave for good. Well, I am going to leave, but shouldn’t they at least try to do something not to make me leave? They can shoot their webs since I’m this close, but why aren’t they doing anything?

It was a really odd situation for Zane. As nothing made sense. Like there was a barrier between the plains and the Anansi Forest which forbid any sort of action to be done beyond the tree line of the forest. The law of this world is really strange. But I guess it does make sense though, if these things can come out of here, then I don’t think the town could survive such an onslaught of them. Well, not unless the big guns step forward like the President of the Arcane Society, Zane thought.

Shrugging over the abnormality of the law of this world, Zane continued throwing fireballs at the free targets. He burned them, creating chaos over the still wave of black spiderlings. And just like Force Beat, he could alter slightly the trajectory of the fireball with the delicate motion of his hands. In time he emptied out his mana, killing some of them as most managed to survive.

[Fireball increased to level 2!]

Zane set a new warp point a bit further away from the forest, close to the main dirt road he traveled from. As soon as he did, he chugged down the only medium-size blue potion he had. Filling up his empty MP to the brim. He came back to the place where he did the easy throwing and continued his target practice. Flinging fireballs like he was playing ring toss at the carnival.

He lost count of how many he killed. And yet his effort was rewarded.

[You have leveled up to 12. Five stat points have been given.]

[Mage-class leveled up to 11. Stat points distributed; +2 Arcane Power.]

[Fireball increased to level 3!]

I shouldn’t be saying this, but this is rather disappointing. He was too used to close-quarter combat, feeling the tension of being close to his enemy, killing them with his own hands. But he wasn’t stupid enough to throw himself right there in the middle of the swarm. Knowing well he would die if he was surrounded at all sides.

Throwing a few more fireballs at what was left of them. Zane turned and decided to return back to town. The screeches of burning spiderling echoed loud behind him, but then he felt a slight push from his back.

“Eh?” before he knew it, his feet were off the ground pulled by a strong force unlike the spiderling could muster. Zane turned and saw what awaited him near the tree line.

[Anansi’s Last Child][Mini-Boss][Lv.61]

[Lakkid, the youngest of Anansi’s offspring. A ruthless giant spider that can even frighten the bravest orc chieftains. Its fangs are stronger than any steel. Its limbs can easily tear an Ironhide Rhino apart, and its eyes could see its prey even in the darkest of night. A creature to be feared. So beware of its presence and run like hell. Not unless you have a whole twenty-member clan to back you up.]

Ah, fuck. Instantly, he shouted his magic words.

“Warp Apartment 9116!”