Chapter

Thirty-Four

Brin wondered why it had never occurred to him that Tawna might actually want to kill him. That she hated him was clear, but if she’d actually wanted him dead, she would’ve made her move before now, right? Or maybe she was waiting for the opportunity. This was the perfect one.

He thought about the sword of speed at his side, priming himself to grab it and then run away. As much as he loved the idea of cutting her through right here and now, he was under no illusions that he could win. He had no idea how high a level she was, but it had to be high. No, he couldn’t fight. He wouldn’t even try.

He stopped fifteen paces away from her. “You’ve never had a problem telling me what you think in town. Why follow me all the way out here? Unless you had something else in mind.”

“Tempting. But no. You are in no danger from me,” said Tawna.

Brin put his hand on his sword, where he could get to the trigger mechanism quickly. “You don’t seem worried about being in danger from me.” It was a bluff, and probably a stupid one, but if she did mean to kill him he’d rather she make her move now while he was ready.

“Fool boy,” she said quietly. Then she raised her voice. “I do not leave the village often, and when I do I am never unprepared.”

She raised a hand, and a breeze went through the forest. The grass stirred, the leaves on the trees shook, and the trees themselves bent slightly. The wind started a hundred yards behind her and passed down the road, past her, and then past him so he could really feel what was going on.

There was no wind. She was moving the world with her Skills. Maybe she could bend anything even vaguely thread-like, or maybe she’d covered the area in tiny little threads that she used to move everything else. Either way, the message was clear.

“Never fear, if I wanted to, I could twist your pretty little head clean off,” said Tawna.

“You think I’m pretty?” asked Brin.

“Ah, you seek to test my patience. I have practice with this; you test my patience with every breath you breathe.”

“You’ve hated me from before you ever met me. Why?” asked Brin.

“This is what we must speak of, is it not?”

“Then tell me. What did I ever do to you?” asked Brin.

“You exist. You live and grow and with every heartbeat bring death closer to my home. Before you came, disaster was on the horizon, but it was also clear that we’d find a way to avoid it. Now, everything is in chaos. Every path leads to our doom. If that were all, it could be managed. We could evacuate the town, or I could hide away with Myra. But every path also leads to our salvation, and the threads are ever in flux. If you die, we die. Or not. If you live, we die. Or maybe not. Every path is clouded. There is no way forward.”

He thought back to the pictures he’d seen on her tapestry. In one, the town had been destroyed, but in the other only the four highest-level people. “No way forward for the town, or just for you?”

“If I knew that, I could make plans. The patterns are unstable.”

“You can’t tell the future? How sad. I’m sorry you have to live like, oh, every single other person in the world. But why is this my fault?”

“Because it started with you!” Tawna barked. “It started the day you arrived in Hammon’s Bog.”

“But if changing my life doesn’t change the fate of the town, that suggests something rather obvious, doesn’t it?”

Tawna stared at him, visibly trying to put her face back into a mask of cool indifference. She didn’t answer his rhetorical question.

“It means I’m not the chosen one! I’m not the one with a Class and levels and the ability to change things. I’m also not the only one who came to town that day! You should be talking to Hogg about this,” said Brin.

Tawna snorted in derision. “Hogg. He will do what best suits you. Your choices drive our fate, like it or not.”

That made Brin feel surprisingly warm. Until recently, the old [Illusionist] had seemed very distant and distracted, but he really did care. But that didn’t make what Tawna was saying any less stupid.

Brin raised his hand to rub his eyes, but then stopped himself. Better not to block his own vision. He still didn’t trust her. “Have you ever heard of a self-fulfilling prophecy?”

“Please. Why does everyone think that I don’t watch the same movies from Gustaff and hear the same epics from Jeffrey that the rest of you do? We aren’t fools, child. The first thing a [Weaver] learns is how to tell when her actions are causing that which she wishes to avoid.”

“Is that so?” asked Brin. “If that’s the case, then why have you treated me like garbage since day one? If you’re so against me picking an evil Class, you’d think you’d be nicer to me, instead of going out of your way to sabotage my life at every turn.”

Tawna smiled, a real smile, something he’d never seen on her face. With her straight black hair framing her face, her perfect white teeth, and the slightly manic gleam in her eyes, he had to admit, she was actually kind of cute in a I-hope-she-dies kind of way.

“What makes you think…” Tawna breathed out heavily, as if stifling a laugh. “What makes you think I don’t want you to take an evil Class?”

“Oh,” said Brin.

His heart pounded. His stomach churned. The edges of his vision seemed to turn black, a dark tunnel with Tawna at the end.

Obviously. It was so obvious Tawna wanted him to turn evil. He should’ve seen this. All that time, when he let resentment build and he entertained dark fantasies, it had seemed like a rebellion, but it was playing right into her hands. She wanted him to fail. She wanted him to turn dark. Why? What could she possibly gain from that? There had to be something more here; he needed to think it through. He couldn’t, though. All he could think about was flipping the switch on the sword and seeing if her threads were faster than his magic sword.

“Don’t worry too much about that,” said Tawna. “Here’s a prediction that you can count on: if you don’t focus on your hunt today, you will certainly perish.”

His vision snapped back into focus. “You’re not going to stop me?”

“Why would I come all the way out here to stop you, when a single whisper in the right ear would do? No, I’m here for something else. I came to give you a choice.”

She glided towards him, floating above the ground like a ghost. He could faintly see threads, like a million tiny insect legs. She moved unnervingly fast and stopped inches away from him.

She put her hand on his chin. Her fingers were soft and surprisingly warm, and he wanted to slap her hand away. She pointed his face to the southwest.

“Go there, to the thick brush. Something small and weak awaits you. You will return home unscathed.”

Brin tried to pull back, but her grip was firm. “Did you just screw up my achievement by helping me?”

“Soon you’ll see that there is no definition of ‘help’ among gods or men that describes what I’m doing right now. I’m simply giving you a choice.” She pointed his face to the north. “Go this way instead. Something deadly has moved into the spinewolf den. I cannot tell you much, as I do not know much, only that if you choose this path, you will face extreme danger. You will also receive extreme benefits from the System, more than you expect. Most importantly, you will find an answer. Information, some flavor of knowledge that you desperately want, and that we desperately need. If you survive. Most likely, you will find your death. Choose wisely.”

Tawna patted him on the back with a knowing smile, and then her feet touched the ground. She walked away, down the road towards town. He watched her until she was out of sight.

She was right. That wasn’t helpful at all. If she hadn’t told him anything, he might’ve gone southwest first, planning on hitting every area on the [Hunter’s] map until he found a monster, which would’ve been the first place he tried. Then he would’ve gone home happy.

Or maybe he would’ve gone north first, and died the way he was going to die now, because he already knew what he was going to decide.

He wasn’t going to live a small and careful life. He’d tried that, and still ended up dead on the road. In this life, he was going to try for greatness.

There was no choice at all. Or maybe there was. After all, he had the whole day ahead of him. Why not choose both? Killing the weak monster would give him an achievement that would make him stronger for the next one. Now that he knew where they both were, it wouldn’t even take that much time.

He went south first, towards the easy monster. His newfound determination and the fact that he knew exactly where to go made him want to run, but he took it easy. It was important to conserve his energy.

The weather grew chillier, although it failed to penetrate his warm leathers. The sky darkened a bit as he walked. It rained, twice, but only for a few seconds each time.

Normally the forest would be alive with the sounds of birds and insects, but for now they were subdued in the chilly weather. It was quiet enough that he could hear everything: his own breathing, and the occasional drip of water onto a stone or tree trunk.

He tried to focus on the hunt as he walked, but he couldn’t get her words out of his mind. She wanted him to take an evil Class? That had to be reverse psychology. By saying that, she made him want to take the most good, perfect peaceful Class he could. [Child], if he didn’t get offered anything else.

Unless that was what she wanted him to think. It could be reverse reverse psychology. He could go round and round like this all day.

And that wasn’t even the most baffling part. If something that he’d done or would do was causing the town’s destruction, why would his death make the town’s destruction more likely? The fact that the town was in danger wasn’t hard to believe. There was an undead army out there somewhere. The fact that he might have a key to saving the town made sense, too. He wasn’t important, but he knew some important people. The rest of it? He didn’t know. He could guess all day, but he didn’t have enough information.

Information was exactly what the [Weaver] had promised him for risking his life. She sure knew how to bait a trap.

After an hour of walking, he found what must be the landmark from the map, so he chased all thoughts of [Weavers] and visions out of his head.

He’d wondered what “thick brush” would mean; after all, in this forest there were all sorts of places where bushes and saplings would grow so thick you couldn’t get through them, so he wasn’t sure if he’d recognize it until he saw it.

Four giant trees formed a square, and between them was the biggest mess of tall bushes, tangled vines, and intergrown tree branches that he’d ever seen in his life. It was like a solid block of greenery, surrounded by a wrap of rose-like vines that were as thick as his arm and had six-inch thorns.

Where was his monster?

He made a ring around the thick underbrush, and about jumped out of his skin when the back of it was covered in spiderwebs. Giant spiderwebs. The thread of the web was as thick as kite string, and it was all mushed together in a mass, like someone had been tidying up out here and put it in a pile for disposal.

Looking around, he didn’t see any sign of them. The web also looked old. Spiderweb had a certain kind of look when it was fresh versus abandoned, and somehow that was even more obvious when it was a giant spiderweb.

He checked it with his sword, and something moved inside.

He jumped back, ready for anything, but nothing happened.

Carefully, he crept forward again. He cut through the spiderweb, and this time nothing moved. Emboldened, he cut harder and harder, hacking his way through. He used the sword of speed, since it wouldn’t activate unless he flipped the switch.

Finally, he got a glimpse of something black and wriggling, and jumped back again. He felt stupid for being so cautious, but better cautious than dead.

He carefully peeled back the layers of spiderweb and saw a giant spider. It was black and as big as a basketball, so much smaller than any giant spider he’d ever seen. It was almost small enough to be a regular spider.

This was a nest, he realized. It had been born here, and then somehow gotten trapped in the web. It was hard to tell what exactly was keeping it trapped—it seemed like it should be able to crawl straight out. Maybe he’d already cut something away. It wriggled when he exposed it to the light, but lethargically. It was practically dead already, maybe starving. All he had to do was finish it off.

He looked over at Marksi, still riding on his shoulder. The snake could probably take it. Who knew, this might be exactly the opportunity that Marksi needed to fuel his growth. Would Brin still get the achievement if Marksi helped kill the monster, though? He hated that he was even thinking along those lines.

“You want to do the honors, Marksi?” asked Brin.

Marksi eyed the spider with suspicion, then snuggled in closer to Brin. He tapped his tail side to side. “No.”

Well, it might be small to him, but it was still big compared to Marksi. Brin stabbed the spider straight through.

Alert!

You have defeated:

Giant Spiderling [1]

Alert!

Your System is currently locked. Experience confiscated.

That second message still made his blood boil. That experience was his. They had no right to take it away. At least it was almost over. Soon he’d have his Class and everything would be better.

Marksi made a terrified squeak, and Brin turned around just in time to instinctively swat another spiderling out of the air with his sword.

There were dozens of them, swinging out of the forest on long, nearly invisible strands of spiderweb. They were bigger than the first little basketball-sized one; these were the size of Dobermans.

One on his left nearly landed on his arm. Marksi pounced and bore the spiderling to the ground.

Three more arrived at the same time, and Brin cut one in half. It felt surprisingly solid against his sword.

The other two landed on his arms and he jolted in a panic, waving wildly. They flew off, but more were coming.

Panicking, he looked for Marksi. The spider he’d taken down was dead on the ground, but Marksi was nowhere to be seen. Right, sneaky snake. He could take care of himself.

Brin covered his face with his arm and ran towards the side, trying to get some space between himself and the spiderling horde.

They landed on him, climbed up his legs—not too heavy when it was just one, but they swarmed all over him, weighing him down. He could feel them skittering around, biting into his armor, but they weren’t even close to piercing through it.

Then one bit into the exposed back of his neck, and it felt like a beesting if the bee was a foot long and on fire.

Panicking, he jumped, as high as he could, and landed on his back. He felt a crunch, saw a slew of notifications, which he dismissed, and then rolled. The spiderlings jumped off him when he rolled to avoid being crushed, but were on him again when he got to his feet.

Only a few, though. He sprinted, trying to outrun the rest while he tore away the few spiderlings on his back.

One was on his chest, then in his face. He saw its mandibles open to prepare a bite, but he bit first. It jumped away after he snapped an appendage off in his mouth. It felt like a hairy finger. He spit it out, and almost lost his breakfast as well.

Still running, he pulled the last spiderling off of him and slammed it against a tree, watching with pleasure as its middle popped like a water balloon full of custard.

He risked a glance behind him. The spiderlings weren’t in a swarm anymore—more like a line since they had to follow his path through the forest. He’d dropped his sword, but if he could face them one at a time he could win.

He turned and used the momentum to kick the first off to the side. He hit the next with a front kick and saw its middle crack even before it hit the one behind it.

He stomped on the next, using it as a springboard to jump and land on the next one with both feet. It squirted out its insides, reminding him of jumping into puddles as a child. Moving forward, he caught a spiderling jumping towards him. He used both hands to smash its body with his head, grateful for the leather helmet.

A solid haymaker cracked the next spiderling, and a quick jab knocked the next one out of the air. Once on the ground he punted it like a football.

Half of them were gone. This was actually kind of fun.

A spiderling landed on his back and wasted no time biting his hand. Son of a… that hurt!

He grabbed it off his back and tore its front legs off, then grabbed it by some of the remaining legs and used it as a flail to knock back the three spiderlings trying to swarm him.

He fought with it until it fell to pieces, then returned to punching and kicking his way through.

Then there was only one left. He stepped forward, smiling.

Marksi appeared from behind it. He jumped on its back and bit down, then burrowed his way inside, then out through the other side.

The spider died silently.

A slew of notifications greeted him. All of the spiderlings were under level five, and all of the experience was confiscated.

He checked Marksi for injuries, but the snake was unharmed. Just a little tired and a lot full of himself. Well, Brin figured he deserved it.

“Great job, Marksi! No one can say you don’t hunt now. You really saved me there!”

Another slew of notifications appeared, and this one was much more interesting than the last.

Congratulations!

You have gained an achievement.

Monster Hunter I (Common)

You have slain a monster.

+5% attribute growth rate for all attributes.

Skill granted: Monster Sense.

Congratulations!

You have gained an achievement.

Monster Hunter II (Common)

You have slain more than 10 monsters.

+10% attribute growth rate for all attributes.

Skill upgraded: Monster Sense.

System override: Monster Sense unlocked.

You have a moderate ability to sense monsters in the area. You can sense the difference between monsters and natural animals.

Congratulations!

You have upgraded an achievement.

Warbound (Epic)

You thirst for violence.

+10% Strength upgraded to +20% Strength

Congratulations!

You have upgraded an achievement.

Workhorse (Rare)

+1 Strength per level upgraded to +2 Strength per level.

Brin cheered, and Marksi squeaked along, probably thinking they were just happy about killing the spiders. Monster sense was interesting. It basically confirmed that there was something special about monsters that made them different from regular animals. He’d have to learn more about that; people were suspicious about children who wanted to learn all about monsters, and Hogg had only recently started answering all of his questions, but neither of those would be an issue anymore.

Interesting as that was, the real win here was obviously the upgrade to Strength. He’d broken through to the second threshold!

He checked his injuries. The bite on his neck and the one on his hand both hurt like he’d been stabbed, but he didn’t have any loss of motion, and after watching it for a minute, it didn’t seem to be getting any worse. Just pain. Well, he could deal with a little pain. He took the potion of cure poison just in case, but he wouldn’t let this end his day.

This was only the appetizer. The real fight would be in the spinewolf den.