Frantically looking over his surroundings, Frank spotted his tools in the back of his truck. Digging through them, he finally found his sledgehammer. It may have been too heavy to move around easily, but that weight made it a good choice for defending.
[Item acquired: Simple Sledgehammer
Type: Weapon
Attack: 20
Durability: 90/100
Description: A worn, man-made tool with considerable striking power.]
"Ah, yes, very helpful," Frank chided, rolling his eyes before running away from his truck.
"COME GET ME, YOU EIGHT-EYED FREAK!" he shouted, hoping to draw the spider's attention.
The good news was, it worked! The bad news was, the monster definitely understood him.
'Whoops, looks like I pissed it off,' he groaned. He achieved his goal of luring its attention away from Ana, but now the thing was angry. At him specifically.
His plan was to draw it far enough away that, even if it killed him, it would go after somebody other than Ana afterwards. It was a heartless tactic, but it was the only way he could think of to hopefully keep Ana safe long enough for help to arrive.
Sadly, the spider was fast; way faster than Frank. It closed in within seconds, not allowing him to buy much time. It swung its front legs to strike, causing Frank to flinch and hold his sledgehammer out in front of him, blocking the blow.
The impact sent painful shockwaves through his arms, but he was alive.
[HP: 19/20
Weapon Durability: 62/100]
"Dammit!" He complained, "I blocked that hit and still took damage? How strong is this thing?"
He couldn't imagine what a direct hit would do to him. Even worse, his weapon definitely wouldn't last if it kept taking hits like that.
The spider was equally annoyed, its prey was supposed to be dead right now.
Enraged, it attacked again, its legs once again lashing out. But this time Frank had a bit more time to react. Swinging the hammer sideways, he felt an overwhelming strength overcome him, deflecting the blow and causing the spider to stagger sideways.
Unsure how he managed it, he decided not to complain before running towards a nearby alleyway.
'If I can keep it in front of me, I might have a chance!' He thought, seeing a small opportunity for victory.
It was a good plan, but he never made it that far.
The spider, seeing where he was headed, launched webs toward the nearby buildings, sealing off the alleyway with a giant web.
"Really? You're blocking me off?!" Frank screamed dumbfounded, just how smart was this thing?
Panicking, he searched for a different strategy, but this left him distracted, and wide open to the spider's next attack.
The creature's leg pierced directly into his back, causing his skin to tear. His shirt began to stain with blood while his health that had just regenerated took a massive hit.
[HP: 12/20]
The spider towered over him, its body lofted above his. To his shock, instead of finishing him off, it began to speak.
"You. Destroyer. Must. Die." It spoke slow and broken English, but its deep voice was still understandable. "You. Your kin. Like. Kill. My kin."
'You've got to be kidding me. This thing can talk, and it's holding a grudge?!' Disbelief filled his mind, but then a thought occurred, if it could speak, could it possibly be reasoned with?
"You invaded our home, uninvited. If you leave us be, we can go our separate ways, we don't need to fight," Frank spoke slowly, not wanting to startle the monster.
"No mercy. Like. No mercy. For us," the spider hissed, not even considering his offer.
"Fine! You're right! I killed your family! I'm guilty, do what you want! But my daughter is innocent! She never touched any of you. Let's keep this between us!"
He was desperate, if he couldn't save his own life, he needed to at least ensure Ana's.
"Gave. The order. Many times. She is. Guilty," the spider replied adamantly.
"She's a child! She was scared. She won't trouble you anymore!" Frank's voice cracked, he tried to maintain his composure, but his desperation leaked into his tone.
"Correct. She won't. Trouble us. Anymore. You. Killed my children. Made no difference. No difference to you. No difference to me." With that, the creature turned away, looking towards his truck.
"No!" Frank screamed. "I said your grudge is with me!"
Adrenaline coursed through him, and in a burst of fury, he swung the sledgehammer with all his Strength, shattering the spider's hind leg, earning a guttural shriek.
"So, your opponent will be me!" Frank slowly stood up, holding the sledgehammer with malicious intent.
He may not have been able to convince the spider, but he did buy time for "Regeneration" to do its thing.
[HP: 17/20]
"We could have worked this out, you idiot! But since you're planning to hurt her, I'll squash you like I did the rest of your kin!" He roared, preparing for another strike.
The spider countered, launching a web. Frank dodged to the left, faster than before. He swung the sledgehammer, catching another leg with his swing, earning a sickening crunch.
Two legs were down. If he could manage to take down six more, this fight would be his.
The quiet buff from "Oathkeeper" had been sustaining him, enhancing his reflexes, strength, and everything else, giving him a fighting chance. Pushing his momentum, he dashed to the spider's blind spot, planning to land a decisive blow.
That was, until he felt a sharp pain and was flung to the ground.
[You have received a critical hit!
HP: 2/20
Status effect: Bleeding. Lose 1 HP every 30 seconds. Negates the effect of Regeneration until the effect ends.]
'But how?' He hadn't just rushed in blindly after all, 'I made sure none of its eyes could see me and everything!'
Looking down at his body, he noticed his right leg was twisted at an unnatural angle, and a large gash was across his chest, leaving a deep wound that gushed blood at an alarming rate. The pain was unbearable, worse than anything he had experienced in his life.
'How did this happen?' he questioned, dumbfounded.
His body was broken, and the excruciating pain kept him from moving.
"Now. You watch. Afterwards. You die," it hissed before moving towards his truck, planning to make him suffer for his earlier provocation.
As the spider ripped the door off its hinges, Ana's terrified scream pierced the air. "Daddy, help!"
Frank's heart felt cold. "Stop! Leave her alone!" he forced his body to crawl towards her, ignoring the agony each movement brought with.
"P-please help! Daddy, you p-promised…" Her plea broke his heart, and caused tears to run down his cheeks, mixing with his blood. The spider was wrapping her with its web now, covering her mouth, not allowing her to scream anymore.
"I will not lose her too!" Frank slammed the ground with his fists drawing more blood.
[Bleeding effect
HP: 1/20]
He didn't even notice the notification. Rage was muting his pain, his mind only focused on making this spider pay.
Summoning every ounce of strength, he grasped his sledgehammer. With "Oathkeeper" coursing through him, he bellowed, his voice raw with fury and desperation, "You bastard, look at me! I said your opponent. IS. ME!"
Time was up and he only had one shot. With all his strength and focus, he hurled his sledgehammer at the abomination, praying its aim held true.
The hammer flew through the air, and time seemed to slow. The speed was no joke, as he threw it with all his strength, which was now effectively 21.
For context, before the "breach", certain impressive people had been able to lift cars and tow airplanes behind them. When the event happened, they were given an initial strength stat of 10. The strength Frank now had was twice that!
The sledgehammer flew through the air, spinning end over end at speeds equivalent to a racecar, directly on course to it's target.
In its last moments, the spider turned back as it seemed to sense the attack. Its head swiveled toward the threat, cold fury surging through its eyes.
Frank nearly cried as the hammer finally collided with the spider's head, an explosive crunch echoing through the night.
The enormous creature staggered, its exoskeleton shattered, the sickening sound of breaking chitin mixing with a wet splatter of blood and guts. After a moment, its body crumpled, collapsing in a heap as the hammer embedded into its soft flesh.
[You have scored a critical hit!
Evolved Spider Lvl 6 has been defeated!]
Before the system could continue, everything faded into darkness as Frank lost consciousness.