Sharp

I reassured Kai we would be back and that he should not move. I studied everything for a bit, trying to come up with a plan. I slowly backed away and returned to the others.

“It looks like Kai has been caught in the web of a Hunter Spider.” I whispered, “I saw a leg higher up in the web, so it is there. We can’t free him without alerting the spider. It looks like this will be our first fight.”

“The web is sticky but burns easily,” Jaha whispered. “The normal tactic is to burn the web as that means we don’t get caught in it, and it removes one of the biggest advantages of the spider while also damaging it.”

“We are not burning the web,” I whispered firmly. Jaha looked at me sharply and then went back to scanning the bush. “Our biggest weakness is attracting others into the fight or immediately after the fight. The web protects us from that, let alone the problem of announcing our presence with a huge bonfire.” I looked at Saskia, who had the fire essence, “No fire.”

Saskia nodded.

Jaha whispered fiercely, “I cannot fight the spider if I get caught in the webs.”

“Agreed,” I said. “Akemi, it will be your sole job to keep her free from the webs. Your Water Cloak will ensure you won’t get trapped, and your cutting water will be ideal for removing webs. If you hydrate us, the webs might not stick as much either.”

Akemi nodded. Jaha didn’t look keen but didn’t protest further. She had bronze-level power, so I think she could break free if needed, but the webs would upset her techniques.

“Melor, you will have two jobs. First, I want you to blind the spider with your needles, that is, all eight eyes. You can’t just poke your needles in either, as it has a bronze-rank recovery. You will need to really mess them up and probably keep messing them up during the fight. Once it is blind, its only sense of where we are will be through its sense of touch on the web. Your second job is to mess with that sense of touch using your telekinesis. By moving the web, make it think we are not where we are, or there are more of us. Can you do that?”

Melor nodded, looking excited.

“Nassor and I are on the damage. We need to take out the legs on one side, starting at the front. It will attack Jaha with its two front legs and its mandibles. I will use my Hunters Tether and Ardisia to fowl the legs on the right-hand side while we attack the left. Front first, and then we work our way back. When its mobility is minimal, we go for the kill.”

Nassor nodded eagerly.

“Saskia. Your job will be to keep the webs off Nassor and me. When the space around us is clear, then you can help deal damage, but I also want you to be aware of injuries and help if someone goes down.”

She nodded.

“No fire.” I reiterated, “Only light and water.”

She nodded.

Ardisia was going to be out and fighting, and she was susceptible to fire.

“Two minutes and we move out,” I whispered. I sorted my gear. Axe and shield, I think. Chopping legs seemed like an axe job. I centred myself. The web would protect us from other monsters coming, except for behind us. This would be the job of the other two Kais, to watch our backs.

Most of the others had also removed their ponchos to free up movement. Akemi hydrated us in water, so we were all dripping wet, and we moved forward quietly.

We spread out, Jaha by the trapped Kai, with Akemi behind her, Nassor and Saskia to the left, and me temporarily to the right. Jaha gave me the nod, and I told Kai to bite and claw his way free. Devouring Rats can get through anything given enough time. This caused vibrations up the web, and the spider came into view carefully.

It was high on the web and was coming down towards us. We don’t want it escaping back up. I guess that is one of the reasons they usually burn the web.

As it approached, I judged it at the right distance and cast my Hunters Tethers. The first tethers got tangled in the webs, causing a commotion and ripping the webs apart. The next caught the legs of the spider dragging it down. It was bronze rank and could resist the tethers, but the webs were not strong enough to resist, so it was dragged to the ground. It realised the cause of its trouble and crashed one of its legs into the tether rod, causing it to explode. This caused only surface damage to the spider as its carapace was bronze rank.

Jaha stepped forward and bashed the neared leg of the spider with her shield, cracking the carapace with her bronze-rank strength. This attracted the spider’s attention, and it spun to face her.

It was big. Up on its legs, it towered over Jaha, but its actual body was only about the size of a small human. The height was in the legs. They were thin but tough. The mandibles went for Jaha, but she fended them off with her shield. The mandible would bite through the bronze-rank carapaces of its prey, so they would go through our armour with no problem. I was glad Jaha was here with her bronze rank armour. She also had several damage-reduction skills.

I noticed Akemi had also manifested Dai to add her small heal-over-time skills to Jaha. The spider was trying to get Jaha into the web, and Akemi started cutting.

Now that the spider was distracted, I redeployed the Hunter's Tether and manifested Ardisia and threw her on the spider's right legs. She started grabbing them with her vines and disrupting the spider's movement. I stepped back to circle around behind Akemi to where Nassor had stared, hammering at the first leg with the hammer part of the Halberg.

Needles flew past, and Melor went into action. Some of the needles hit the first two eyes, but more missed and bounced harmlessly off the carapace. The needles hitting the eye caused the spider to draw back. Because the tether and Ardisia were restricting the legs on that side, it spun more than withdrew. The good thing about that was that more eyes came into Melor's view. I noticed he was leaving the needles embedded. That would slow the regeneration.

The bad news about the spider spinning was Jaha had to follow it into the webbing, and Akemi got busier. Nassor and Saskia also had to go further into the webs to keep them at the leg. That wasn’t ideal as I saw Nassor’s Halberd get caught on a web, and he missed a strike. The spider struck back with a foot at him, and I only just got there with my shield. Nassor got half out of the way with his swift dodge, but I managed to deflect the leg and slam my axe into the joint with my new Mighty Oak Strength. It was time to start hammering at the joint, and Nassor and I got a short rhythm going alternating hits.

Then I lost sight of a leg and was slammed in the shoulder past my shield. I spun backwards. Saskia sent cutting light toward one of its eyes, so I didn’t take a second hit. I was starting to accumulate the Blessings of the Reaper. I rolled up and felt my shoulder. It was going to be bruised, but the fur meant there was no penetration. However, I think the resin chainmail was only minimal in the protection.

I got up and started on the next leg. The original one was not functioning properly anymore, and Nassor could finish it off. I saw Jaha take a couple of hits but that didn’t phase her. I couldn’t see how many eyes were out.

I recast the tether and then cast it again in a slightly different spot, as I had the mana. They were just to disrupt the legs. I saw one leg strike out at nothing, so Malor must be in effect.

Suddenly, it was trying to get away and climb the webs. It couldn’t see properly, if at all, and was having trouble finding the webs. I pulled a javelin from my chest and combined Quick Swift, Mighty Oak and Pierce, using the javelin as a short spear. I pierced through the main carapace with Pierce's armour bonuses, and Jaha started going on the attack with her sword and shield, cracking the carapace and causing damage before it could get away.

It struck out with its feet, and one hit Saskia, and another grazed Melor as he ducked out of the way. He shouldn’t have been that close but maybe his telekineses are too short a range.

I grabbed another javelin and threw it, this time with Quick Sharp, Mighty Oak and some Blessings of the Reaper, and it went deep into the cracked carapace. Everybody was going for the kill before it could escape. Eventually, it lay still.

Everybody was exhausted, but it went as well as it could have.

“Well done, everybody,” I said. “We need a long break in a safe place, and these webs should last a couple of hours before they break down.

“I don’t like not having a second way out, “Jaha said.

“Good point., I said, “We are heading that way. Why don’t we make a tunnel and then relax and recover.”

Jaha looked at us exhausted Iron rankers and said, “Let me.”

I nodded and re-absorbed Ardisia, “Good girl.”

We moved away from the carcass and built a temporary camp. Then, the spider started to turn into rainbow smoke, and my Reaping Magic Skill kicked in. I had a few Blessings of the Reaper left, so I added that to power the skill and got several options: a Bronze Rank Carapace, some Bronze Rank Sticky web, Bronze-rank Spider meat, Iron Rank Monster core, and Iron Rank Spirit coins.

I was puzzled as to why the core and coins were iron-rank, but I figured it was because the skill was only iron-rank. I don’t know if the value was made up of the number of coins, or would the value drop? The bronze rank items were going to be the best value. I would need to check but converting bronze down to iron would seem to be inefficient.

I wanted the sticky web. I could already think of uses, and my claws would cut it with Kai’s enhancement, boosting them a level up. I poured the magic into that and then into coins. I didn’t even consider the meat.

Two Kais came up to me, and one swapped out with my claws and then went off to explore the webbed area. One Kai was watching the entrance. I looked to where the spider had gone up in smoke and saw an item sitting there. A bronze Rank Monster Core. Awesome. I collected it and added it to the pile.

I pulled out some berries and started munching, letting my Hunters Feast work on my bruised shoulder. The two ladies were meditating. I am pretty sure Nassor was asleep. I am not sure what Melor was doing.

“Are you OK?” I asked.

He nodded, “That was awesome and terrifying.” I just nodded. “It is the first time I have actually killed a monster,” he said.

“Are you injured?”

“Nah,” he replied. “I have a cushioning effect in my cloth armour.”

Now I am getting jealous.