New World Day 23

The only thought that ran through my mind as the spider charged down the tree was how screwed I was. I was surrounded by ghosts on the ground and a giant spider was descending from above me. My reckless actions had gotten me into a number of dangerous situations since the world changed, but they had also allowed me to achieve things such as the mana veins and mana lake skills that I never would have been able to achieve if I had played it safe. Since that recklessness had gotten me into this jam, then maybe it could get me out of it. I had no idea what the ghosts were capable of, but that didn’t really matter anymore did it? If I stayed still I died anyways so why not toss the dice and see what happened?

I shifted skills to mana enhancement, aimed for a gap between two of the ghosts, and made a mad dash for the gap in an attempt to bully my way through their encirclement. Without mana vision, the ghost’s forms faded to the point that they were flickering wisps of silver with a vague humanoid outline. The two ghosts that were on either side of the gap raised their arms and swiped at me as I approached them. That attacks were fast and difficult to see but not so difficult that I couldn’t see them coming. I knew that there was no way for me to avoid their blows and escape at the same time so I didn’t even try to dodge them. I twisted my body just enough that the swipes wouldn’t hit a critical area like my heart or head and charged through the gap. There was no physical impact or splatter of blood when the two strikes hit me. The ghosts’ arms passed right through my right shoulder and left side as if the space was empty. Just because there wasn’t any blood didn’t mean that they didn’t do any damage. The parts of my body that the claws passed through felt an intense cold and there was a sharp pain followed by a disruption of my mana. The mana veins showed their true strength at this moment. I was able to send a surge of mana through my mana veins to the disrupted regions before the mana disruption could break my enhancement. The extra mana allowed me to patch the holes caused by the attacks and sustain my mana enhancement.

The other four ghosts appeared right behind me and formed a new circle of entrapment that I would have been stuck in had I faltered as they had expected. I charged out of the encirclement with only the slightest hitch in my step and left the group of surprised ghosts behind me. The coldness from the attacks lingered for a bit before my mana washed it away, but there remained a painful throbbing where I had been struck. I didn’t have the time to verify it, but I was sure that the attacks had injured my spiritual world instead of my physical body. I wasn’t sure how much damage my spiritual world could take, but if I had to choose between facing the ghosts and facing that spider, I would choose the ghosts every time.

Trees flew by me as I dodged around broken spider webs and slid under low hanging branches. My route took me a bit too close to a jester tree for the first time. That resulted in the ball of vines at the end of the branches, the one that resembled the bell of a jester hat, spitting a torrent of acid just behind me. The acid splattered my calves and burned through my jeans. It seems I was right to stay away from those trees. I had thought it was odd that there were no spider webs attached to any of them. The thought of spider webs reminded me that I could hear a scuttling noise behind me coming ever closer, and the ghosts kept flickering into existence near me. One moment there would be nothing around me and the next there would be six ghosts just in front of me. Each time they appeared there was a gap that was larger than the others. One that was the obvious but not too obvious choice for an escape, but I never went for that gap. I felt like they were trying to herd me in a specific direction so each time I just rushed for the gap that would keep me going in the straightest line towards the exit of the Haunted Highway.

Each time I pushed through the gap I would receive receive at least two attacks from the ghosts. I contorted my body into all kinds of awkward positions in order to minimize the damage, and I poured mana into the areas damaged by each strike to keep my mana enhancement running. It was getting harder and harder to maintain the skill through the disruptions, but I didn’t slow in the slightest. The clicking and scuttling noise that kept getting louder and louder worried me more than the accumulating injuries. As I sidestepped around one pine tree, I reached for the metal water bottle nestled in the side pocket of my backpack, the one that was full of mana water, and gulped down half the bottle. I knew it was dangerous, but it was better than running out of mana in this situation. My entire spiritual world began to shake and shudder as mana flooded into my near empty mana lake like a series of tidal waves. A grin stretched across my face. That ought to keep me going until I either escaped or died.

I didn’t have to worry about mana anymore, but things couldn’t keep going on as they had been. The ghosts’s attacks were becoming stronger and they became clearer and more solid every time they landed a blow. They weren’t even the worst threat either. If it was just them, there was a chance that I could escape from the Haunted Highway. I had seen a clue about how to escape from them. They never appeared anywhere near one of the broken spider webs. I suspected that I could evade their pursuit by running through the holes in the broken spider webs. It was the spider that worried me. I hadn’t seen anything but its eyes yet, but I could hear it closing in on me. The clicking had stopped and now there were thuds and the sound of cracking wood reverberating through the air behind me. In my imagination I saw the spider leaping from tree to tree with incredible speed and dexterity until it pounced on my back. That was an all too realistic ending to this chase. Realistic enough that I knew I had to do something more than just run away. I didn’t think I could kill it, but maybe I could force it to back off.

Its carapace was going to be difficult to penetrate which meant that I would have to hit its soft spots like its eyes or the inside of its mouth. The tricky part would be creating a long enough opening to aim for those spots. A grim smile broke across my face as a plan came to mind. I shifted my shotgun to just my right hand as I wove around a jester tree and pulled my backpack sideways so that I could pull out the barrier tool I had prepared. I kept running as I rummaged through the backpack and ducked a little too late to avoid a low hanging branch. The glancing blow gave me a nasty cut on my forehead, but I was able to pull out what I needed. The barrier runes were carved on a dozen wooden pieces connected by pieces of wire that I had embedded in the wood with my mana fueled strength. The wires allowed the mana to travel between each of the twelve pieces to form a circular barrier instead of just a barrier wall.

I slid the backpack back to its proper position and looked for a good place to make my stand. I endured two more brushes with the ghosts before a proper place presented itself. I threw the barrier tool onto the ground in front of series of broken spider webs and skidded to halt inside of it. When I came to a halt inside the circle, I pivoted around to face the spider, raised the shotgun with both hands, and rested one foot on the edge of the largest wooden piece so that I could channel mana into the tool and activate the barrier as soon as I needed it. My turn to confront the spider allowed me to see the beast in all of its horror for the first time. The spider’s carapace was steel gray with long stiff white hairs all over its abdomen. Its eight legs were thick and multi-jointed, and it had two fangs as long as swords that dripped blue venom. My imaginary vision of the spider jumping from tree to tree was pretty close to reality. It was digging its legs into the trunks of the the trees, lowering its stomach to the point that it brushed against the bark, and then springing from that tree to the branches of a nearby tree where it would scuttle to the trunk of that tree and repeat the process.

The spider didn’t quite know what to make of me turning around to confront it. The beast paused and cocked its head in a manner that reminded me of a dog. The pause gave the ghosts the chance to flicker into existence around me again, but they gave a wider berth than normal and conspicuously avoided the spider web behind me. The spider crouched down into its jumping posture after just a moment’s hesitation. It had made up its mind. The ghosts started to glide towards me, but all my attention was on the spider. The moment I heard the crack of wood I poured the tidal waves of mana still roaring into my mana lake into the barrier tool and activated the barrier. The spider launched itself through the air in an attempt to pin me to the ground with its chest and inject its venom into me, but it bounced off of the barrier with a bang. I heard a sound like cracking ice and saw a myriad of cracks emanating out from the place the spider hit. The spider flipped in mid air to land on its feet not five feet from me.

I raised the shotgun and aimed for the beast’s eyes before breathing out and pulling the trigger. The first slug just missed the middle left eye and ricocheted off of the carapace. The impact of the slug didn’t even faze the spider. I pumped the shotgun and waited It lashed out with one of its front legs. The leg bounced off of the barrier, but more cracks spread throughout the barrier. The spider’s movements stopped just for a moment after its attack. I seized that chance and fired a second slug. The shot struck its middle right eye and reduced it to a pulp. A high pitched shriek erupted from the spider’s mouth and echoed through the forest. The injury didn’t send it fleeing as I hoped though. It just pissed it off. The spider spread its two front legs out wide, reared up on its back legs, and lunged forward fangs first. It hugged the barrier with its front legs and sank its two fangs into the barrier. The fangs punched through the barrier and blue venom dripped to the ground at my feet. I could hear cracking noises all around me, but the rest of the barrier held. The spider attempted to rear back and strike the barrier with its fangs again, but it was too late. I pumped the shotgun and fired the third shot right into the spider’s mouth. The spider staggered back and cried out even louder than before. Large drops of black blood dripped down from its mouth. It took one last look at me before it turned and disappeared into the depths of the forest.

The second that the spider ran was the second that the ghosts pounced. They flickered into existence in a semi-circle around the barrier and struck it all at once. The barrier shattered like a pane of glass under their assault, but that didn’t matter because I wasn’t in it anymore. I turned and ducked under the broken spider web behind me the moment that I saw the spider turn and run away. The ghosts floated forward in pursuit, but they took a wide turn around the trees to avoid the spider web. They feared the webs, and I was going to use that to stay one step ahead of them. I ducked, dodged, and slid under every ruined spider web I could find until I reached the outskirts of the Haunted Highway. There weren’t any more spider webs to hide behind at this point. It was all about speed now. I was going down hill and reached a speed where even the slightest misstep would send me careening down the hill in an uncontrollable roll.

The end of the Haunted Highway was in sight, but I wasn’t going to escape that easily. The ghosts saw their chance and appeared in front of me shoulder to shoulder in one solid line. I was going too fast to dodge around them so I did the only thing that came to mind. I dove forward face first and did a baseball slide right under their floating bodies and out of the Haunted Highway. Pain ripped through my body as my back slid through the feet and ankles of the ghosts. It felt like someone had dropped a slab of ice on my back, but I made it out of the Haunted Highway. My jacket and jeans were torn and bloody from the slide, and I scrambled to my feet with the help of a nearby tree. I turned to see if the ghosts were still pursuing me once I was back on my feet. They attempted to glide forward out of the Haunted Highway to finish the job, but their bodies began to grow dim and the extra definition that they had gained from attacking me started to fade away. They hissed in pain and shock and fled back into the shadows of the Haunted Highway before all their newfound strength could slip away from them.

Survivor (B) * leveled up!

Survivor (B) * has evolved into Survivor © *

Risk Taker (B) * leveled up!

Repeated Risk Taker © * leveled up!

Minor Spirit Regen (Passive) © * leveled up!

Flexible Mana Lake (Passive) (B) *** leveled up!

Flexible Mana Lake (Passive) (B) *** leveled up!

Flexible Mana Lake (Passive) (B) *** leveled up!

Fear Control (B) *** leveled up!

Basic Ranged Combat Footwork (Active) (B) * leveled up!

Basic Mana Enhancement (Active) (B) * leveled up!

Basic Mana Enhancement (Active) (B) * leveled up!

Basic Mana Vision (Active) (B) * leveled up!

Name: Jason Silver

Job Name: N/A

LVL: 8 50%

Job LVL: N/A 0%

Job Points:

N/A

N/A

N/A

Titles:

Survivor © LVL 1 12%

Fool © LVL 1 82%

Swarm Killer (B) LVL 9 31%

Beast Killer (B) LVL 9 49%

Risk Taker (B) LVL 9 37%

Repeated Risk Taker © LVL 8 41%

Compassionate Fool © LVL 5 26%

Curious Fool © LVL 5 92%

Stupid Fool © LVL 7 96%

Extremely Stubborn Fool © LVL 5 22%

Greater Mana Wielder ® LVL N/A

Title Points:

*

*

**

*

*

*

*

*

*

**

*****

9

Stats:

HP:

MP:

Mana Regen:

Endurance:

Strength:

Speed:

Agility:

Spirit:

Bonus Points:

63/160

108/66

14.5 per min (-2.75)

19

15

17

9

10

28

Status Effects:

Regen, Spirit Regen, Disease Resist, Parasite Resist, Poison Resist,

Spiritual Wound x14, Spiritual Pressure, Bleeding x2

Skills:

Basic Axe Mastery (B) LVL 9 94%

Basic Gun Mastery (B) LVL 5 61%

Lesser Regen (Passive) (UC) LVL 1 31%

Minor Spirit Regen (Passive) © LVL 6 50%

Basic Disease Resist (Passive) (B) LVL 9 89%

Basic Parasite Resist (Passive) (B) LVL 9 95%

Basic Poison Resist (Passive) (B) LVL 9 11%

Minor Mana Control © LVL 9 83%

Greater Mana Vein (Passive) ( R ) LVL 1 0%

Flexible Mana Lake (Passive) (B) LVL 4 64%

Pain Control (B) LVL 4 71%

Fear Control (B) LVL 4 89%

Basic Close Combat Footwork (Active) (B) LVL 8 91%

Basic Ranged Combat Footwork (Active) (B) LVL 9 74%

Minor Barrier Runes (Active)© LVL 1 81%

Basic Mana Enhancement (Active) (B) LVL 8 21%

Basic Mana Vision (Active) (B) LVL 6 92%

*

*

*

*

*

*

*

*

*****

***

***

***

*

*

*

*

*