Spiders have rather large central eyes that provide them with incredible low-light night vision. The smaller eyes that ringed most of the front part of the head were mostly used to sense movement around it, allowing it to evade or fight back against flanking opponents. While the actual resolution of these side eyes were quite horrible, that mattered very little to this ambush predator.
On the ground around where this giant would wait was a series of filaments that would criss-cross at random intervals and reach out about 15 metres from the central trap. In a normal world scenario, where spiders of this species were approximately the size of a quarter, these filaments were almost invisible to the naked eye. They would be cleverly hidden within the creases of surfaces and follow the general outline of an area. Made from an almost transparent material, these webs would act as a radar signal for the spider. They would indicate where its next dinner was currently walking.
This gigantic form of the common ambush arachnid had a very similar security system established around its base. However, these filaments were so large they resembled old twine. Even in the low-light, Oliver could easily spot the complex weave of all these interconnecting strings. It laid before him like an advanced laser security grid. A single touch would alert the feasting arthropod.
Some spiders also had special hairs on the end of their feet which could sense vibrations which were then used to triangulate targets. Oliver was very lucky as he had observed the exoskeleton of the creature before him was completely smooth and devoid of any hair. He quickly started stepping towards the monster in a methodical and rhythmic way, carefully avoiding any wires he came across.
The distance was closed quickly, Oliver's level up had given a visible boost to agility and stealth. He began to second guess his previous thoughts on the scavenger class; it seemed quite useful to him in this perilous biome.
He gripped the spear in an unfamiliar but natural way, the newly acquired spear mastery skill directing his actions as his hands gripped the solid, wooden shaft of the sharpened stick. It was almost lunacy to try and fight this monster with such a simple weapon. The large spider's body gushed green and yellow fluids out of some of its wounds. It was hurt and Oliver was going to take advantage of that.
The field of vision for most spiders was almost a 300 degree arc. This meant that any threat would have to come from directly behind the abdomen to avoid detection. However, the spider had two other blind spots that most people never thought about. Directly below it and directly above it were two directions the spider could not observe since its head was mostly locked in place.
The spider loomed in front of Oliver, grotesque crunching could be heard as it munched on a pile of nearby Zebra Jumper corpses. Oliver crouched down and began to sneak underneath the giant. There was a good 4 feet of clearance between the ground and the spider's abdomen. Oliver noted a rather large wound near the back where an entire leg had been ripped off. The arachnid's body was already healing as a translucent film covered most of the hole, it would likely regrow its missing legs in a few hours if given enough nutrition.
The sneaking became extremely slow and cautious. Numerous ground filaments could be found here, spaces were very narrow in between them and triggering one of them would most likely spell a very quick death for Oliver. He slid his foot forward between two strands, careful not to step on any twigs or to kick any rocks.
He was now directly below the abdomen, the slick carapace vaguely reflecting his image back at him in the low light of the nearby fluorescent sac. He felt something drip onto his shoulder, with raised eyebrows he turned his head and saw green digestive fluid burning through his polar top. It sizzled right through the merino wool and began to eat his skin away. Oliver clamped a hand over his mouth and gritted his teeth, anything he could do to avoid himself screaming out in pain.
The fluids burned deep into his skin, most of his shoulder had been uncovered by now. A feeling of having a burning log placed directly onto his flesh sent spikes of pain deep into the furthest reaches of his brain. The pain fought the fear of being discovered, the fear ultimately winning and the screams and cries he wanted to yell out were stifled mentally. While extremely painful and probably the worst experience Oliver had ever had the displeasure of feeling, he stayed focused and adrenaline allowed him to stay motionless. It did not stop him from having tears roll down his cheeks as the pain burned him down the length of his bicep.
He tilted his spear upwards, three inches away from the connective tissue that linked the abdomen to the cephalo-thorax of the spider, i.e: the head. He waited till the spider leaned its head down to rip off more food from the ground. He could clearly hear the munching of the knife like teeth as it devoured another of the poor creatures that had been led into its lair. The burning in his arm had subsided for now but was replaced with the sharp pain of a burn exposed to air. It was now just a matter of time.
The spider swallowed its mouthful, in turn this pushed out more digestive fluids from the wound that had spilled onto Oliver. Luckily, he had maneuvered away from it in case it happened again. The green goo burnt the moss on the ground and a thick, musky odour mixed with the already bacon-like smell that came from Oliver's shoulder. The spider tilted its head down, the connective tissue pulled taught as the head of the spider extended ever so slightly to reach the ground.
Using as much force as Oliver could muster, he pressed his feet firmly into the ground, extended his legs and forced his arms to push the spear deep into the head of the spider. The connective tissue of the joint gave little resistance as the stick went deep into the guts and mouth of the feasting arachnid. Out of pure shock, the spider launched itself away from the attack that came directly from beneath it. It landed approximately 6 metres away and veered itself towards Oliver.
Oliver had been yanked up from his squatting position and thrown around by the abrupt upward momentum of the spider. He had successfully held on to his spear and now regained his footing, tip directed towards the angry arthropod.
The spider let out a gurgling scream, seems like Oliver had pierced a part of its vocal chords. It leaned slightly back on its remaining hind legs and Oliver could see digestive liquid quickly dripping down its thorax where he had pierced it. It was attempting the acid spray ability he had seen previously!
Desperately, Oliver leaped out of the way and dove at a nearby tree, the thick trunk shielding him as noxious liquid was spluttered all around him. The spray was more of a hose as the spider's throat damage caused it to inefficiently spread the acid in thick globules. Feeling that the attack was over, Oliver peeked his head out and saw the spider clawing at its own face, the bottom half of its jaw was melted through and continued to sizzle. It was most likely suffering from burns deep within its innards and could not understand why.
Oliver used this opportunity to run out of cover, he had no need to avoid the filaments on the ground and simply crushed them with his strides. The terrain in front of the tree had become black and soupy due to the acidic spray, he felt the bottom of his soles slip on the melted flora. Luckily, the soles of his boots were made of rubber and resisted the enzymes. However, kicking up the dirt and acid did burn some small holes into his pants and the cloth material that made the side of his boots.
The spider was now greatly injured and its offensive capabilities impaired, but it was not defenseless. As Oliver neared to two meters from the spider's main body, the remaining front leg shot out and stabbed at him. He deftly side-stepped it to the right and used his spear like a quarter staff. Grabbing the sharpened end, he twirled and used the momentum of his strike to smash the spider's joint.
Large cracks formed in the exoskeleton of the spider where his strike landed, but the spider was equally as quick. It lifted the same leg and tried a horizontal strike to decapitate Oliver. There was no hope to block such an attack so Oliver ducked down and felt a few of his hairs grazed by the blade-like appendage. The arachnid quickly followed up with another vertical attack, attempting to eviscerate Oliver like one would gut a fish.
Expecting as such since the attacks one could do with a single forward facing leg were quite predictable, Oliver stepped left and raised himself to his full height. He brought down the spear in an arc and smashed the other side of the leg. This time the joint gave way and the bottom half of the leg stayed impaled in the ground.
The spider was sent reeling and backed up two steps, now missing both front legs, a back leg and most of its lower jaw. It was horribly off balance and ended up leaning backwards onto a tree as it could not support its full weight. Oliver used this lapse in balance to step way too close for comfort and could feel the hot air coming out of the spider's mouth.
He raised his spear and sent it upwards through the exposed mouth, shattering a tooth and sending it directly between the eyes. A loud scream began and then died soon after as the life gurgled out of its eyes. The spider's body twitched once and then crumpled under its own weight. It shuddered on the ground and leaked out its plethora of bodily juices.
[ Level 11 Juvenile Huntsman slain, 750 experience points obtained.]
[Scavenger Class has leveled up to Level 4.]
The floating text detailed the creature he had just slain which was a whooping level 11. No wonder this thing could take on over a hundred level one and two spiders. The experience he had reaped from simply killing the thing had shot him up an entire level when he had just leveled up mere minutes ago.
Oliver stared at the body and saw that most of the carapace was ruined due to the attacks the smaller creatures had dealt to the creature. He also had no way to cut off pieces of the exoskeleton since his hatchet had been melted through. Instead, he went and pulled out the leg he had smashed off the main body.
With some effort, he hoisted it out of the ground. A deep and thin hole remained where it had been. Even after heavy damage this swipe would have impaled Oliver head to toe. He could not even imagine how strong this creature was when at full health. The joint and spike, which measured a total of three feet, was quite heavy, most likely weighing a good 30 kilos or your average cement mix bag. He carried it on his shoulder which had nicely healed up from the level up and began the trek to finding his way home.