Note: This chapter has not gone to my editors and events may change before final release. The below is also unedited and in a raw non-polished form.

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“On your left!” Toaby tossed an axe that landed in the center mass of a spider leaping at Sam.

Sam turned to see the spider soaring across the mine. “Thanks.” He chased after it and tossed his spear at it to finish it off.

Toaby turned back to face the spider he had been fighting before saving Sam. It lashed out at him, but he was able to dodge and counterattack. Slashing down with his weapon, he took several legs off the spider. As he went in for the finisher, it shocked him by launching itself into the air using its remaining legs. It sunk its fangs into his forearm. He could feel the venom coursing through his veins.

A Baby Tunnel Spider has bit you for 3 piercing damage.

You are paralyzed and will be unable to take any actions for 5 seconds.

His body warmed up as it fought off the effects of the paralysis. The spider fell from his arm but bit at his leg.

A Baby Tunnel Spider has bit you for 2 (3 - 1 armor) piercing damage.

You are paralyzed and will be unable to take any actions for 5 seconds.

He let out a mental sigh of relief when his paralyzed debuff reset to five seconds instead of going to ten. At least the debuff didn’t stack, it only reset the timer if he got bit again. The spider took another healthy bite out of his leg before Sam came and impaled it.

Congratulations! You have defeated Baby Tunnel Spider x2.

You have been rewarded 30 experience.

Congratulations! You have increased your Throwing Mastery skill to 3.

Congratulations! You have increased your Axe Mastery skill to 2.

Out of nowhere, the paralysis debuff vanished as Toaby was lifted a couple of feet into the air. Golden light exploded outward from him as all of his gages replenished themselves in an instant. He was filled with a feeling of euphoria as the mysterious force that lifted him gently returned him to the ground.

Congratulations! You have leveled up!

You have 3 unassigned characteristic points. Please assign these points within the next 24 hours or they will be assigned at random.

“What a rush!” Toaby flexed, a tingling sensation running through his body.

“It feels great, doesn’t it?” Sam handed Toaby the axe he threw to help him. “A lot of people in the settlement are eager to level up just to get that feeling. It’s better than any drugs from Earth. Trust me.”

There was a tingle in Sam’s eyes that made Toaby feel like Sam knew a bit about illegal substances. His truth seeker skill didn’t go off either. “I’ll take your word for it.”

“You two done over there?” Nate called out.

Sam and Toaby quickly looted the bodies and ran over to him. They spotted a large pile of rocks as they approached. Most of them having visible veins of metal running through them. It was clearly Nate’s hall for the day. The three had been there for most of the day, and Nate hadn’t been idle.

“That’s an impressive haul.” Toaby gestured at the pile.

“Thanks. What about you guys? How many spiders did you get?” Nate replied.

Toaby counted to himself. “Only five. I thought there would have been more.”

Same nodded. “Five is about right for a few hours. They stay pretty far back in tunnels. If another one of us had been mining or if we lit a torch, we probably would have seen double that. They really get out of control at night though.”

“We should probably get out of here then.” Toaby pointed outside to a setting sun.

“We still have a few hours, were close to the settlement if you want to keep going Nate.” Same advised.

Nate shook his head. “There would be no point. We won’t be able to carry any more back.”

“What do you mean? Can’t you just stuff it in your inventory?” Questioned Toaby.

“Simply put, No. Ore only stacks in piles of three and each individual rock here registers as a piece of ore.” He stretched out an arm, palm up. A large portion of the ore vanished in small flashes of light, the pile falling a bit before settling again. “My inventory’s full now.”

Sam did the same thing, followed by Toaby. Luckily, they could carry all but a few small chunks. Nate elected to carry those by hand. Since their inventories were stuffed, all three of them also had to carry their weapons at their sides. Sam offered to carry Nate’s pickaxe, and he didn’t put up a fight.

The three of them enjoyed an encounter free stroll back to the settlement. During their walk, Toaby asked about the system notice he received regarding his armor. Sam explained that armor reduced damage done but, from what they had gathered, there were a lot of factors that went into the calculation. For starters, armor only reduced damage if the armor itself was hit. You couldn’t wear armored boots and expect it to reduce the damage of an arrow to your chest, for example. It explained why all the attacks to Toaby’s forearms and neck did so much damage to him and why he had never seen an armor message before.

He also had to consider damage types. Piercing, for example, had a higher damage penetration rate but offered less damage on average. The opposite of that was blunt damage from something like a club. Blunt damage was generally reduced by the full armor amount but bashing weapons had higher damage stats. Toaby also learned that the armor rating on his character sheet was just a summation of his total armor. His head was spinning a bit by the end of it, but Sam stressed the importance of wearing some form of armor.

As they approached the settlement, they saw a big change. There wasn’t the start of a wall like they had expected, but there was a large ditch being dug. The people seemed to be piling all the dirt up on the inside to form a short packed dirt wall about knee high.

Tom met them at the edge of settlement, a few plates of food in each hand.

“You are my favorite person!” Sam sprinted over and snatched the offered food.

Toaby and Nate grabbed their share when they reached Tom at a normal walking pace.

Chuckling at Sam, Tom spoke. “How was the trip? Productive, or are we all going to die to raiders?” Everyone nearly choked on their dinner. “I was kidding. Lighten up.” Tom raised his hands defensively.

“Let’s go give Curtis an early birthday gift.” Nate headed for the small primitive forge and gestured for them to follow.

There was a table someone made from logs. Nate place a hand on it and the ore nosily piled up out of his inventory. Curtis noticed the commotion and smiled.

“Nicely done, Nate. This should be enough for a few swords and daggers.”

Nate pointed at Sam and Toaby. They approached, and with their free hands, emptied their inventory of ore as well. There was now a small mound full of ore ready to be smelted.

Curtis’s eyes went wide. “Hot damn, Nate. This is enough ore to make everyone in the settlement a pair of weapons! Or I could make some armor. It won’t be great given my blacksmithing skill, but it’ll be better than nothing.”

Tom shook his head. “No.” Everyone looked baffled. “We should prioritize getting everyone a solid weapon of their choice, that I agree on. But we shouldn’t waste the rest of the metal. We need to make nails and tools. I’m thinking we need at least a few hammers, a few saws, and some farming equipment like hoes. The variety of items should help you level up your blacksmithing more quickly as well.”

“That’s a great idea.” Toaby commented.

“Only if we can defend the village. Otherwise you’re just making more for them to take from us.” Nate added dryly.

“I think I can help with that. My settlement management skill says it can’t level up more until we have a town hall, but there's a list of options grayed out that the system says I’ll unlock once it’s built. I think we should focus on building that. There are some defense bonuses and other useful options in there.”

“That sounds great, Tom, but none of us know how to build a town hall.” Added Curtis.

“The system says we need someone with the construction skill to build with a blueprint. We can make blueprints with the architect skill, but I think I can build the town hall, with help, if I get the construction skill. I have a free slot in both strength and intelligence so no matter what its under, I have it covered.”

“I think that gives us the bare bones of a plan. What’s with the ditch outside town and the tiny wall?” Toaby asked.

“It’s not a ditch, it's the start of a rampart. We didn’t have the tools required to make a proper wall, another reason why we should make those over armor. But if we dig a trench, and pile up the dirt to make the side next to the settlement taller and harder to climb, it gives us some defenses.”

Toaby looked at the pile of wood and then back at the ditch. “Ya know. If Curtis prioritizes making some hatchets and saws, we could probably fashion some smaller tree trunks into spikes. Then we could line the bottom of the rampart with them. People would think twice before trying to jump over it or climb through it.”

“That sounds like a great idea.” Praised Tom.

“That’s all fine and dandy but we have one little problem.” All eyes were on Nate. “Time. All of this is going to take time. Time that we don’t have.”

“When was the last time they raided you?” Toaby questioned.

“A day before you got here, so three days ago.” Tom answered.

“And you said they come weekly? Is it always on the same day?”

“A raiding group comes every week, but the major group, the Void, only comes every couple of weeks. And before you ask, they weren’t the ones who just raided us so were overdue for a visit.”

“Hmm… Does Max always send the whole gang when he raids you?”

Tom shook his head slowly. “No. He usually only sends a party or two. Every now and then the entire gang will come, but he stopped sending them all after we became submissive.”

“So regardless of who comes, we can probably take them. That would buy us a couple extra days for them to respawn and for Max to mobilize his gang. I vote for prioritizing the rampart and town hall building. Curtis can make weapons after he makes the tools. If they aren’t ready for the first attack, we can use the spears you all have.”

“I agree. I think that give us the best chance of surviving.” Tom nodded and looked around. Nate and Curtis both nodded once, but Sam looked anxious. “What’s wrong, Sam?”

“I think I know where we could find some good loot. Possibly weapons, armor, or who knows.” Sam went on to describe the door he discovered and begging Tom for a group to explore it.

“I’m sorry, Sam. There’s only fourteen of us, I can’t spare a party to explore it.” Tom’s words crushed Sam.

“Tom.” Toby interjected. “I only now leveled up. I think we should try to explore the door. I’ve been thinking about how we’re going to defeat the Void and the best idea I’ve come up with is challenging him to a trial by combat, but I can’t win the way I am. It’s just not possible. I’m level two. I need to gain some quick levels and the spiders provided good experience. I think we should go back there and level up some fighters in the town. We can explore the door while were at it.” Tom’s face changed to one of concern. “If we run into anything we can’t handle, we’ll come back or focus just on the baby spiders. I don’t want to lose a single person before the raids.”

“You just voted on the plan. That would only leave us ten people to get all this work done.” Tom countered.

“Nine. I need to focus on smelting. It’s going to take me at least a two or three get all this ore smelted and crafted.” Added Curtis.

“See. I need the manpower here.”

“I know, but all the defenses in the world will not mean anything if we can’t fight back effectively.” Toaby locked eyes with Curtis. “How long would it take for you to make just a couple weapons?”

“Well.” Curtis scratched his stubble. “I could have a couple made by morning if I work through the night.”

Toaby faced Tom again. “Then give us one day. We can go out tomorrow and be back by nightfall. Hopefully, I can gain at least one more level.”

Tom stood in silence for a while before letting out what was becoming his signature annoyed sigh. “You can take Sam, Hiro and Laura.”

Sam looked happy, but then confused. “Wait. Hiro I get but why Laura?”

“She’s only level two, so her crafting skills have capped out at level six. She needs to gain another level and quickly if she's going to be able to craft the items I’ll need to complete the town hall. Plus, she has a dagger and armor already so it’s less work for Curtis.”

“I appreciate that. I’ll go ask Hiro what kind of weapon he wants.” Curtis made his departure.

“I’ll go with you to explain the mission.” Sam chased after.

“Well. I’m going to go try to get some rest. It sounds like we have a lot of work to do tomorrow. Thanks again for the protection today, Toaby.” Nate waved and left. Leaving only Toaby and Tom to discuss among themselves.

“You think we’ll stand a chance?” Toaby asked.

Tom shrugged. “I can only hope.”

Toaby nudged him. “Hey, maybe we’ll find something amazing behind that door.”

“Maybe.” Tom walked away.

Hopefully, we find something good. We’re going to need it. Toaby pulled up his character sheet. There was a notice that he still had three pending points to spend with a timer next to it. Knowing we needed more health and a lot more stamina, he followed the advice Sam gave him and put one point in constitution and two in agility. Sam gave him a general breakdown of each characteristic. He was unsure what spirit, intelligence and wisdom did for your character, other than offer you more skill slots, but the rest were pretty self explanatory.

Strength increased your body’s actual physical characteristics and made you hit harder with melee weapons. Sam also said if you increased it enough, the number of inventory slots you have would go up. Agility increased your stamina. Constitution increased your health. And charisma influenced how others perceived you and made your avatar more attractive. Toaby wasn’t sure on that one, but Sam hadn’t steered him wrong yet.

He took another look at his sheet before heading to his tent to rest for the night.

Name: Toaby

Race: Human, Male

Age: 21

Class: Arbiter

HP: 30/30

Stamina: 15/15

Armor: 6

Level: 2

Experience: 5/100

Body:

-Strength: 2

---Axe Mastery: 2

-Agility: 3

---Throwing Mastery: 3

-Constitution: 3

Mind:

-Intelligence: 1

-Wisdom: 1

Soul:

-Charisma: 2

---Party Leader: 1

-Spirit: 1

General Skills:

-N/A

Class Skills:

-Truth Seeker: 2

-Trial by Combat: 2

Traits:

-Authority

-Law Keeper

Pleased with his progress, he closed the screen and dozed off. The exhaustion coming from a day of fighting and constantly be on alert to take him.