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Chapter 10: The forest
🕑 Added 2025-01-04 03:41:40 +0000 UTCAn unfamiliar ceiling, an unfamiliar wall, and an unfamiliar bed. James opened his eyes only to find spider’s silk strewn on the ceiling, walls, and doors. He had a comfortable sleep. A dream that was so vivid minutes ago began to blur his memories. When he woke up, he felt alien. Like he was not in his body. Green hand, green skin, and a tusk. Slowly, memories trickled back to his consciousness.
“This is not a dream.” James felt relieved. When he clenched his hand, the muscle contracted, showing a bulge like a pro bodybuilder. His back let out a satisfying crack when he got out from his hammock. He stretched, and it let out another satisfying crack. While his body felt alien, it felt right.
After scraping the spider web entangling the door, he opened the crude door only to be met with an orange glow of sunrise. James felt bewildered. He just realized that he had been asleep for a full day and night. Taking water from his water pouch, he drank it all in one big gulp. His gaze soon snapped to other houses.
When he ransacked the other orc’s housing, two of them were empty. James sighed and expected to find the last shack to be empty as well. When he opened the door, two golden treasure chests lay side by side with a bag filled with meat.
His lips curved into a grin as he eagerly skipped over to the chest and flung it open, wondering what treasure might be waiting for him inside. Something clicked from the chest, the air suddenly whistled as an arrow embedded itself in his stomach. It took him moments before he registered what had happened. He clutched the arrow on his belly. Dread filled his face as he finally registered what had happened.
“FUCK! I am dead!”
Orcs are taller than humans. If it was a normal human, it would have hit either the chest or the head. Excitement was gone from James’s face as horror filled him. He jumped back and disrobed himself. He breathed a sigh of relief when he found out he was unharmed. It was all thanks to the leather armor he wore.
[Would you like to repair the armor for 10 coins?]
“Damn it! It was just repaired yesterday! Thank god it didn’t penetrate the armor. It took years of my life there.!” a mixture of frustration, relief, and fury was bubbling inside his heart. He wanted to kick himself, slap himself in the head, and punch himself in the face for being so careless.
He experienced it firsthand that chests could contain traps. His first treasure chest contained a snake! He had taken precautions when opening the treasure chest just for this exact moment! And yet, he had grown complacent. If not for the armor he wore, he would have wasted the health potion he just bought yesterday.
“Fix the armor!” James replied, his voice rising in irritation.
It could have been worse. James calmed down and thanked his lady luck. Instead of ten coins, he could have wasted the 100 coins health potion he just bought yesterday, or worse, the arrow could have been coated with poison, and he would die. James sighed as he reprimanded himself for the umpteenth time for the stupidity of his actions.
It was just a small hole, but James felt more secure if he had new and shiny armor. He paid the repair fee while complaining and reprimanding himself.
[Remaining coins: 25]
James grudgingly went back to the shack. This time, he used his longsword and double-checked; no, he quadruple-checked the chest. He poked it with his longsword, trying to spot if anything was amiss.
Inside the chest was a crossbow. The very thing that had almost killed him moments ago. Beside it, lay a quiver with two dozen bolts inside. James had been looking for a ranged weapon, and this was it. The sleek and simple design of the bow complemented his axe and sword. Smooth metal railings, polished wooden grip and limb, and a fine silvery string. All of it was complemented with the bolts itself. A simple wooden bolt with a metal tip and feather fletchings.
James held the bow in his hand. He felt conflicted about wielding a weapon that almost killed him minutes ago. But a weapon is a weapon. He sorely lacked ranged attacks, and this bow complemented his battle style nicely.
The System had intentionally limited the number of range monsters on this floor. It was a calculated choice in the hope that more survivors could survive this trial dungeon. Alas, it knew the number of survivors had fallen off the cliff by the minute due to sudden traps and different monster behavior. Only people who wanted to change or were in the lower strata of society without any hope accepted the agreements after all. Most of them were like James, skillless and mediocre.
[Ammo unlocked! You can now buy crossbow bolt ammo at the shop for 50 coins per dozen]
“Shit. That’s expensive.” James cursed under his breath. Then, a thought struck him. Curiosity got a better hold of him. He queried the System, “System, can I upgrade this crossbow?”
[Yes. Two upgrade paths are available for a crossbow. You can upgrade it to a longbow for 200 coins, or you can upgrade the crossbow with a scope and longer limb for 300 coins.]
“That’s cheaper than the axe, isn’t it?” James tilted his head
[Enchanted bows will be unlocked after the first upgrades. Further information classified.]
His curiosity satisfied, He gazed at another treasure chest beside the golden one. He was no longer as excited as before. He poked it with a sword. After securing an escape route, he put his spider web on top of the chest and opened it from afar.
It was as if the world was playing a prank on him, for nothing came out of this chest. This chest was not booby-trapped. A growl of irritation came out of his orc mouth as he inspected the chest.
[you have obtained an axe mastery skill scroll. Your axe mastery is now level 7]
James just got 200 coins worth of items. A smile didn’t resurface from his mouth, though. His earlier blunder with the booby-trapped chest was still fresh in his mind. He then summoned his stats.
[Name: James
Age: 35
Sex: male
Levels: 11
Coins: 25
Stats:
STR: 60
Dex: 53
Magic: 0
Mana: 0
Skills:
Beginner Axe mastery level 7 (up 1)
Beginner Sword mastery level 3
Unique Skill:
Chimera:
Goblin stomach (Iron guts) (stomach slot)
Lesser Mana core (Fire spell, Magic+10, Mana +50)(Extra slot 1)
Orc’s arm (STR+10%) (Arm slot)
Orc’s legs (Str +10%) (leg slot)
Orc’s torso (torso slot)
Orc’s head (Head slot)
Jumping Spiders spinneret (Thread creation)(Extra slot 2)
Equipment:
Leather armor
Leather helmet
Vambrace
Gauntlets
War axe
Longsword
Crossbow
Leather pouch
Waterspout dagger
Health potion
Hematonic potion
Leather bag]
After checking that nothing was amiss, he left the house. An expanse of wood painted his gaze.
“The System said this floor is 100 km square wide. If I assume it was square-shaped, that means we have 10 kilos to cover. If it was a circle, it would have about a 6-kilometer radius.” James calculated in his mind.
He didn’t want to wander aimlessly. James might not be the brightest tool in the shed, but he could learn. And even a broken clock was right twice a day. Wandering aimlessly would increase his chance of being ambushed at night. This crude house was shabby, but it was better than nothing. Even through his orc body, the caress of hairy legs that rubbed his cheeks and nape was still vivid. His helmet still had the dents from its fucking teeth.
“Thank god it wasn’t a cockroach at that time. Nah, even if a cockroach came, I would kill it. I could do it now.” James felt goosebumps just remembering it.
James departed toward the woods. A single thin line of thread lay on the ground, released by his spinneret. James hoped that by following this thread later, he would be able to return to this hut.
One thing to note, James hated camping. And it didn’t change even when he had become an orc. Even when he tried to walk in a straight line, somehow, he found HIS own thread lying on the dirt, proving that he was going in circles. The wolves didn’t bother him, but they were always present in the corner of his eye.
[You have leveled up to Level 12!]
[you have unlocked beginner bow mastery level 1]
After killing the fifth spider, he finally leveled up along with a new skill. The crossbow was cumbersome. Its tedious reloading made it unsuitable for combat except when James had the initiative. Cumbersome as it was, it delivered results. Three of the five spiders were killed by this crossbow.
[Do you wish to modify your body? y/n]
[Available body part:
Spider’s torso (STR - 80%) (Body slot)
Spider fang (weak paralysis) (mouth slot)
]
James wondered if the spider fang was worth it. However, the System refused to answer him, so James made a daring test. He let the first spider bite his unprotected leg. Before the poison settled in, he impaled the spider with his sword and hid behind the bushes. His heart was beating fast, and sweat poured out from his forehead. He wondered whether he had done something stupid, but he had to find out whether the spider fang was better than the orc’s tusk. He had to test how weak the poison was. Again, James was not the brightest tool in the shed.
What if the poison was permanent? Shit. I should have brought one of those orc’s corpses here. Can I return back after purging my leg? James thought to himself as he felt numbness in his leg. The poison was working, it spread on his legs.
“System, do you have an antidote potion?”
[current shop level does not provide status ailments potion. Please upgrade your advanced shop to level two for 1000 coins.]
“Ugh… this is a bad idea.” James groaned as the numbness spread to his thigh. He thought weak paralysis meant a simple numbness on the skin, but he couldn’t even move his leg now. Fear began to creep in as he seriously considered amputating his leg. “Weak paralysis, my ass…”
Then, it stopped at the thigh. James exhaled. The fear that crept in lessened as he now knew the limit of the poison.
“How long will my legs go numb? Is it permanent?” James asked. He expected the System to answer with the usual ‘this information classified’ BS, but the notification answered him. It even provided the exact time the paralysis will last.
[The current status ailment will last for 4 minutes and 40 seconds. Afterward, the poison will slowly recede until full recovery in 1 minute.]
“Damn you! You didn’t answer me before!” James clenched his teeth. He wouldn’t have to go through this dangerous test if the System had answered his query.
[System will not provide answers irrelevant to survivors current condition. Such information is classified until it becomes relevant to survivors’ situation]
“Are you telling me that you will withhold information until it happens to me? Until it was too late?” James spat. His frustration with The System boiled over.
[Such are the rules of the trial dungeons. You will receive even less information in the real dungeons.]
“Yeah! Got it! Thanks a lot, fuckers.” James sighed. Getting mad at it won’t help him a single bit. Now that he knows he will survive the spider’s fangs, he has calmed down a lot.
“Wait a minute. What if the poison was injected into my torso or my head?” James began to worry. A cardiac arrest might happen if he was bitten in the wrong spot. He would be dead in that case.
[In the case of paralysis poison injected into the torso, numbness will spread throughout your body, causing a loss of sensation. However, motor functions will remain unaffected. In the case of paralysis poison injected into the head, you will experience complete paralysis of your neck, eyes, and mouth. However, no fatal damage such as cardiac arrest will happen.]
“Thanks for the answer, System.” James thanked the System. He was still annoyed that the System hadn’t answered him before. But he must acknowledge that the System played fair.
“I decided that I will install the spider’s fang.” James declared.
[installing]
Motes of light swirled and consumed the spider’s corpse, transferring its power to fuel the chimera skill. The tusk that grew upward in James’ mouth disintegrated, replaced by two black chitinous fangs that curved downward. The new fang gleamed with an ominous sheen, its tip dripped with viscous yellow liquid. James felt an acidic taste in his mouth. The ‘weak’ paralysis poison is now his.
“I can use the poison on the arrow, right?” James grinned. The paralysis poison was weak. But it wasn’t that weak. It was potent enough to disable a limb. James had been scheming to use this poison to coat his arrows, axes, and swords. That should disable his enemies with just a scratch.
However, his smirk faded when The System dashed his expectations.
[yes. But the poison will decompose and lose its effect in two minutes]
James sighed. “Of course, why would it be that easy? Of course, there is a drawback. Stupid me.”
The world never let him have his fun before. Why would they relent now? Still, two minutes was enough. He just needed to do better.
He needed to improvise, adapt, and overcome like always.
[Name: James
Age: 35
Sex: male
Levels: 12
Coins: 25
Stats:
STR: 60
Dex: 58 (up 5)
Magic: 0
Mana: 0
Skills:
Beginner Axe mastery level 7
Beginner Sword mastery level 3
Unique Skill:
Chimera:
Goblin stomach (Iron guts) (stomach slot)
Lesser Mana core (Fire spell, Magic+10, Mana +50)(Extra slot 1)
Orc’s arm (STR+10%) (Arm slot)
Orc’s legs (Str +10%) (leg slot)
Orc’s torso (torso slot)
Orc’s head (Head slot)
Jumping Spider’s fang (Weak Paralysis)(mouth slot)(new)
Jumping Spiders spinneret (Thread creation)(Extra slot 2)
Equipment:
Leather armor
Leather helmet
Vambrace
Gauntlets
War axe
Longsword
Crossbow
Leather pouch
Waterspout dagger
Health potion
Hematonic potion
Leather bag]
