*-ck!*
Huh?
*Crac-!*
What the hell?
*Crack! Stomp! Thud!*
"What the fu- agh!" I exclaimed upon hearing huge footsteps that seemed to leave utter destruction in its path which woke me up from my stupor.
What the hell? Where the heck am I? Why am I lying down? Why am I staring at the sky? What in the actual hell happened to me- Wait... w-wait a minute...
Oh my God... Oh my God!
Shit! Holy fucking shit! Fuck, fuck, fuck, fuck! I fucking remember! That's right! I was dying!
Ugh...my whole body hurts... Shit, what in the actual hell is supposed to be happening?! Why am I still alive?! Not that I'm complaining but wasn't I supposed to be dead?
Multiple different questions raced through my mind as I was trying to figure out where the fuck I was and where my Lux was. Shit, is he dead? I will literally fucking cry and kill myself if he is.
Clearing my blurry vision, I could see the image of the night still covering the whole sky. The stars are moving. It's like they're being scrolled down- wait...? Am I moving?!
Turning my head to my right, I looked at the trees to confirm. Seeing the trees move like a crowd and disappearing from my peripheral vision, I knew I had to be in some moving thing.
Moving my body, or should I say, trying to move my body, I found myself stuck. It's like I'm tied up. Not in a fun kinky way but in a kidnapped by a group of organ harvesters way!
I'm being carried by something on its back and my whole worm body is tied up in what seems to be a strong tape that feels like strings.
Fuck, let's not be the usual fucking idiot because now is not the time! It doesn't take a fucking genius to figure this one out! It's literally pretty fucking obvious that I'm tightly gift-wrapped and ready to be torn apart by the same spider me and Lux were running off from not so long earlier!
Looking again at my right, I could see it more clearly. The four hairy legs of the same firefly-killing spider are ever so present in my field of vision.
This huge shitface is taking me somewhere! Probably in its fucking lair where it'll eat my ass up like how I ate my first slug!
Shit! Where the heck is Lux?! Where is he?! My baby-!
Oh my Gosh, right! Pause! Oh my God! Fuck, yes! I remember! There was a skill I got after reviving Lux's core! I didn't pay it any mind before but right now it's the most important thing if I want to find him.
"Companion Telepathy!" I mouthed.
But in contrast to what I was expecting, I received no "Master!" or even a "You stupid bitch!" as a reply when I used this skill. Wasn't it supposed to be something both Lux and I could use to communicate?
*Ding!*
[The user is correct! The skill: [Companion Telepathy Lv1] is made for proper communication with one's companion and vice versa. However, in the user's case, Lux is a creature that communicates with light fluctuations, so the skill is more or less one-sided.]
What?! So this means I'm the only one who can speak in this relationship? That doesn't sound very healthy now, is it?
Wait, what the fuck? Why am I prioritizing this shit? I at least need to make sure that Lux, if he hears my message, knows that I'm worried sick wondering if he's okay!
With my Companion Telepathy skill still active, I said,
"Lux, w—"
—here are you?!
....
What the hell? Why was I cut off? Let's try that again.
"Companion Telepathy!" I said once more because the skill was suddenly turned off.
"Lux, m—"
—y baby!!
What...? Seeing that I was cut off again and the skill automatically turned off, I tried once more. Only this time, I'm getting slightly nervous.
"My b-"
—oy....
Shit... "Companion Telepathy..."
"What t-"
—he fuck!?!
...!
WHAT IN THE ACTUAL FUCK?! WHY AM I BEING CUT OFF?! DOES THIS MEAN THAT MY BABY IS DEAD?!
*Ding!*
[Due to the skill: [Companion Telepathy] being at level 1, only one word can be spoken when the skill is active.]
Isn't that right?! If only I can strangle the system right now! ARGH!!!
*Ding!*
[The system begs the user to please refrain from thinking such thoughts. As compensation for the inconvenience, would the user like to spend 4 Skill Points on [Companion Telepathy: Lv1] to form full sentences?]
Oh... so the system can—
....I kinda feel bad now.
"Yes, please..."
Hearing the system say that the skill has finally leveled up, I immediately shouted in my head,
"COMPANION TELEPATHY!" Before following it with, "Lux, where are you?!"
I'm quite sure that only Lux heard my call for him, it's only in my head after all. And I'm hoping that he's still alive because the system never said about him dying. If he's dead, this skill wouldn't even be available in the first place.
Confirming my thoughts, Lux came flying into my field of vision. I don't know what he was doing but that's not important! My baby is safe!
"Oh my, God! Lux, we need to get out of here!" I said to Lux the moment he was in front of my face.
His whole body was blaring wildly. I can feel that he's panicking and scared. I am panicking too but being a coward won't help our situation right now.
Thinking of how we can save ourselves from this predicament, I used up all my brainpower.
Shit, what to do, what to do?! Why am I so useless?! Fuck how are we supposed to—
Realizing that I was staring at Lux pretty hard, I noticed something that sparked a memory from earlier. It was my baby's glow, and because of that specific glow, the solution finally hit me.
Light Magic. Specifically my light magic.
If I can make light shields, then... can I also make light swords? Spears? Blades?... Scythes!? Damn! How much power does light magic hold in this world?
Realizing my true potential, I started to test my theory out. I'm hoping for this to work, but if this fails, I gotta think of a solution fast.
Fuck, I hope this works because right now, my second life depends on it!
Concentrating on my thoughts and easing my still-growing nerves I closed my eyes intently and imagined a C-shaped glowing blade. Getting the image to perfection, with my eyes still closed, I quietly said, "Light Magic..."
Slowly opening my eyes, I saw the most beautiful thing I could think of. A blade, slightly bigger than Lux was floating in front of me.
The blade was glowing pretty brightly but not bright enough to hurt the eyes. It spun slowly like in the air an idle animation. Its clear sharp edges are ever so present on its sides.
The best way to describe it is that it looked like a tiny version of the crescent moon. Only much sharper.
Snapping me out of my thoughts was the realization hitting me.
I'm not as useless anymore!
"LUX! I DID IT! I'M NOT USELESS ANYMORE!!!" I screamed proudly at Lux who was staring at the blade I just conjured with his blue dot eyes widening. He then looked at me and rubbed himself on my face, proud of what I've just accomplished.
*Ding!*
[Congratulations! The user has learned a new Sub-skill from [Light Magic Lv11] along with [Light Shield]! Due to the user's hyperactive imagination, the Sub-skill [Light Blade] is born.]
I'm guessing "sub-skills" are skills that are made from another skill. If that is so, then I can make more things out of pure light! And since light magic costs no mana for me, then I can literally always have the upper hand in fights!
Although I kinda feel like the "hyperactive imagination" part was a backhanded compliment, I don't mind! I can kill this son of a bitch spider now!
"Alrighty, Lux! Let's kill this plus-sized arachnid and get outta here."
Directing the blade with my mind, I found it weirdly easy to do so. The blade moved the way I wanted it to. It flipped, twisted, and turned as per what I intended it to do. It's like I can feel that there's a phantom hand holding the light blade.
Wanting to test this bad boy out, I turned my head to the right. Seeing a random tree, I decided to focus. Directing the blade to one of its branches, I spun it like a fucking saw.
Without hesitation, I sent the blade flying to the tree branch before the spider could even take me farther.
Like a miracle sent by the Gods themselves, the branch was cut through cleanly like butter under a hot knife.
I, obviously, was not expecting this kind of result. I mean, I was just expecting it to at least cut through the brach a bit and get stuck there but holy shit that's sharp.
Retrieving the blade, I proceeded to create three more C-shaped light blades and make them as sharp as my mind (hehe). I then controlled them to fly to the spider's side to get this party started. Arriving on its sides, I inched them backward and readied to kill it.
The spider, as oblivious as ever, remained walking. This monster has no idea that I'm about to chainsaw massacre his fucking ass.
Closing my eyes to focus, I made the light blade spin like saws just like earlier and prepared to slice this big boy up.
Imagine the amount of exp I'll gain from this fucker.
Smiling from that thought, I finally did what I was due to do earlier if I wasn't yapping so much. The blades spun even faster and flew to the spider and sliced him up like a Thanksgiving turkey... or so I hoped.
Finding myself hesitating, I wondered why. Not because why I stopped midway but because I was curious about something. Why didn't this thing kill me the moment it captured me? And why the hell is it taking me somewhere?
Having my curiosity get the best of me, I turned my head to where the spider's legs were and mouthed, "Inspect..."
*Ding!*
[Giant Carrier Spider]: [Within the depths of the Dark Forest dwells this extraordinary arachnid species, resembling a typical spider but measuring as large as an average puppy. What sets the Giant Carrier Spider apart is its unconventional eating habits. Instead of relying on webs for prey, it actively hunts and transports its catch back to its den, where it's stored alongside its food collection.]
Shit. I almost killed it. I almost chainsaw massacred the thing which will direct me to more stomach-stuffing exp. The thing that'll ensure my next level-ups!
If what I read was right then this spider might have more food stored in its den for me to eat right after I kill it. This is like killing multiple birds with one giant ass spider!
Nodding my head, I soon concluded that killing this spider was my last priority right now. Not until it takes me to its home of course.
Deactivating my light blades, I thought of a quick solution for my safety now instead. Activating my Light Magic skill again, I closed my eyes and began to imagine another sub-skill to create once more.
In my head, I imagined a blanket of light covering my body. The light, as hard as metal, secured my safety in this spider-themed journey. Opening my eyes, I soon saw the fruit of my imagination.
A tight yet durable light armor wrapped itself above the web in which I was encased in. The white glow of light emanating from my armor only strengthened my sense of safety from this very fucking dangerous suicide mission.
Asking Lux to kindly float still, I soon encased him in the same armor. Like magic, because it is, the light armor suddenly morphed into Lux's shape. The armor also then became transparent but it was still slightly visible due to Lux glowing slightly brighter than before.
Woah...
*Ding!*
[The Sub-skill [Morphing Light Armor] is learned!]
Ehe, I'm so fucking brilliant. Now, all I gotta do is wait for this spider to get home—Hm? Well, what do we have here? It seemed like I didn't need to because right now, we just entered what looked like a small cave. Damn, it's fucking dark in here.
The whole thing is made out of cave stone, the walls, far bigger and wider than both I and the spider was towering over us. Makes me wonder how small I've really become.
A few echoing steps later, we soon took a turn and entered a part of the cave where its room was much smaller. It basically looks like a room because as it turns out, only an animal the same size as the spider can squeeze through it.
It appears that this is a room that this spider uses only for himself due to how much web is to be seen covering the corners of the small room.
In one of the corners of the small but not-so-cramped room, we arrived at where this spider must've kept his food. And it proved that I was right, because the moment we stopped, the spider spouted a web that was almost as wide as me and controlled it to snatch me away from its back.
The spider didn't even look at me and just tossed me away into its pile of food stash. It then walked away, not bothering to check if I was dead or not.
But before it could exit, it stared weirdly at Lux who was floating right in front of the entrance of the small room. The big spider stared down at Lux who stared even harder in return.
The spider then moved closer to my sweet angel and opened its mouth before inhaling Lux whole.
MY BABY!!!!!
Seeing this, my whole body shook. All my nonexistent hairs stood up in terror with what I just witnessed.
WHAT THE FUCK?! SHIT! MY POOR BABY LUX!!!! THIS IS ALL MY FAULT!!!!! FOR SOME STUPID LEVEL-UPS AND FRICKIN FOOD, I KILLED MY BABY?! WHY DIDN'T I JUST KILL THIS STUPID SPIDER?! OR EVEN BETTER! KILL MYSELF-
But dismissing all of my anger-fueled thoughts and grief was Lux passing through the spider's mouth like a ghost. He just floated out of the spider's closed mouth and looked at it like it was an idiot. Thank God he didn't know that the actual idiot is tied up in here.
Well, of course, I totally knew that he could do that. I mean, he did survive this long after all! Haha...
Looking at the spider, I could see its anger. I could only guess that he's done this a couple of times on Lux and failed every single try.
Huffing in anger like a large dog, the spider exits the room we just entered from. Seeing its fading figure in the dark, Lux then rushed to me.
Taking this as a cue, I then conjured a light blade after deactivating the morphing shield to cut through the thick web.
The blade then cuts through it with ease, making me savor the taste of freedom at last.
Pushing the thick packaging I was in earlier, I checked my whole body for any wounds, discoloration, or anything that could mean trouble.
Thankfully, I found nothing of the sort. I was, sadly, the same flappy worm as always. Well! This is a great thing considering the other option was being spider food.
Huffing in satisfaction, I turned my body and checked behind me. Everything was fucking dark so I couldn't see. Thankfully, Lux was shining beside me like a beacon of hope, making me sigh in relief that I wasn't the only one in this dark space.
Activating my light magic, I conjured a small bright orb to make myself able to see. The small orb appeared in an instant and a bright light enveloped the whole room immediately.
Now that's better. Hm, what have we here?
Finally obtaining the power of sight once again, I carefully examined the room, especially the spot where the spider dropped me.
And to tell the truth, what I saw made my jaw drop to the floor.
Countless web-covered mysterious shapes are to be seen lying on the same floor I was standing on. Some were the same size as me and some were as large as the spider, probably even larger.
Crawling to the nearest one which was about my size, I sliced its packaging up with a light blade and revealed the gift right underneath.
Tightly covered in the spider web was a small bug. The best way to describe its appearance was that it looked more or less like a June bug. It was green in color and had pincers that looked pretty sharp. The light from my glowing orb shined on its exoskeleton which in return, reflected a tint of red.
Wow, even though it's a bug, it looks fucking awesome. If a bug collector were to see this, they'd be hyped up.
*Slurp*
Hm? Oh! Wow, what a crazy appetite I've developed! After seeing this bug made me drool a bit. To think that a day would come.
This whole firefly larva instinct must be pretty strong. Well, not that I'm complaining. This actually makes it pretty easy to eat things like this if my larval instinct is intact. Pretty hard to survive in this damned forest if I was a picky eater.
But let's put this potential food aside, for now, I have to check the other things here too— hm?
Upon turning my head to inspect the spider's food stack, I noticed something in the far corner of the piles of food. It was movement. But... movement?
Crawling to where it was, I readied five blades on my side. Soon arriving at where the movement was coming from, I saw another tightly wrapped prey. It was much larger than myself, it's probably almost half the size of the spider.
Wait! Must be a survivor of the spider! Does that mean I have to kill it? Well, I won't lose anything and I might get tons of experience from killing it!
Well then let's not let it suffer anymore! Let's go, Poison Injection!
Activating my skill, I inched my jaws closer to the poor helpless thing.
I'm sorry honey, but we gotta survive here!
Readying myself, I prepared to strike. This is gonna be easy.
Swiftly moving my head to finally inject the poison in, I suddenly heard muffled screams from the exact prey I was about to kill.
"Mphh!! Mnphhhh!!!!"
Shit!
Diverting my head away from the mummy-like thingy, I soon hit the floor mouth first.
*Thud!*
Oompf! Owwww!
What the heck?!
Based on my experiences, the creatures in this whole place either shriek or don't make a sound at all! What's the deal with this one then?!
Healing my hurting jaw, I looked at the web-covered creature in front of me. It kept on squirming like a butterfly trying to get out of its cocoon or someone trying to get out of a sleeping bag when the zipper is broken.
Waiting no more seconds, I directed one of my blades to carefully yet swiftly slice the layer of web on the squirming creature.
As quickly as I directed my blades to retreat to my sides to protect myself, a small human-like hand spurted out from the huge gash in the tight web.
"Fuwah!" A cute voice echoed in the whole cave. Right as that small voice came out, a small figure of what seemed like a human escaped from the bounds of the web.
A petite child sat right up from the floor, gasping for air. Her short and disheveled shoulder length and white-colored hair dropped on her cute face. Her pure features were almost enough to send you in awe. Her glossy reddish lips and pink cheeks along with her wide golden eyes were presented to me. Her clothes, if I can even call it that, were what seemed to be a huge black flower.
All of this made her look like a dark yet sophisticated fairy in a children's color book. Her appearance was nothing but pure and delicate, her smooth white skin reflected the bright glow of the orb I conjured, illuminating the visible purple veins on her neck which was emitting a dark poisoned look.
She appears to have been poisoned by the spider too.
Twisting her head from side to side, she looked for something. She frantically looked around with her hand on her chest, looking nervous and afraid. Her worried look made me feel a solemn deep concern in return. Soon, she finally turned her head to me.
Hm? What is that shiny thing on her bac—
With a flinch, her pale complexion illustrated a shocked look.
Her deathly pale expression, which was then followed by a sigh of relief, soon calmed down. Lifting one of her arms, she extended a hand towards me and weakly said, "Help me, please..." before fainting.
Did she just speak English...!!
Rushing one of my blades towards her, I laid it flat to not slice her up. Like a feather, she landed on my blade which I slowly descended to the ground, making her lie on the same bed she was trying to escape from earlier.
Crawling my worm body to her, I took a closer look. Upon inspection, I soon found the shiny thing behind her back which caught my attention earlier.
There, delicately connected to her body were two transparent wings. One was in perfect condition whilst one had a huge tear.
Her heavy breaths echoed in the confined chambers of this poorly lit room. Along with the presence of her inhales and exhales were huge purple veins at the base of her neck.
I knew it was poison!
Shit, after being captured by a giant spider and taken to its lair, now a dying fairy is in front of me? When will the troll appear so I can get ready?
Dismissing my mean thoughts, I looked at the child again before turning my head to the side where Lux was floating.
"Wanna help her?" I asked him. The question was more or less directed at me though. I really don't wanna hassle myself with a child other than Lux right now but I can't really leave the poor thing to die either.
Looking at the fairy before turning back to me, Lux aggressively nods his cute body. Seems like a yes to me.
"I was thinking the same too," I said before chuckling.
Right then and there, Lux and I started to save a poor fairy's life for no apparent reason at all.