Spearbound [LitRPG Apocalypse]

You have destroyed a Shadow Arachnid (Arcana Level 24)!

Kill 100 Monsters (80/100)—>(81/100)

Spear Thrust (Level 9)—>(Level 10)

Level-up!

“Finally,” Kade murmured when he felt a burning sensation in his arm. It was regenerating.

He had killed around twenty of these spiders over the last few hours. It had been getting tedious. However, he forgot all of that when he saw that [Spear Thrust] had leveled up.

Arcana Level 27—>Arcana Level 28

MP Recovery: 8.1% per minute—>8.4% per minute

Free Points: 4.5—>5.5

Constitution: 29—>30

Endurance: 15.5—>16

Strength: 29—>30

Your skill [Spear Thrust] has reached Level 10! You have unlocked an ability. You have 3 options to choose from.

Extended Reach (2 MP):

Increase the range of your Spear Thrust by 200% for 1 strike, enabling you to strike from a safer distance.

He could see this coming in handy in plenty of situations.

Armor Break (3 MP):

For 1 strike, ignore the enemy’s protection if they are no more than 5 [Arcana Levels] higher than you.

This is better.

Weak Point Targeting (10 MP):

Guarantee a hit to a weak point and deal increased damage.

Kade frowned as he read the last option. While it was an excellent skill in a vacuum, considering the [MP] cost made it rather terrible.

He chose the second option.

You now have the ability [Armor Break].

Kade dismissed the interface. His arm had fully regenerated. It was almost odd to flex his fingers and actually see them move. He had adapted to the phantom feelings far too fast for his comfort.

He looked away from his newly formed hand and considered his next move. He had kept to a certain depth of the forest as he targeted the spiders that lived in the glowfruit trees.

It caused Kade to move around in a specific zone, mostly going left and right instead of deeper into the forest.

He plucked a few luminescent glowfruits from the tree. He pocketed one and held the other in his left hand. It was too large to fit in his pocket, but he wasn’t here to look fashionable.

Kade patted his bulging pockets and ventured deeper into the forest. He didn’t rush; he had no reason to, and even if he did, he got the feeling that suggested making any quick movements would be followed by regret.

I’m not always right, but neither am I always wrong. I have to be careful.

He tightened both his hands on the [Soulrend]’s shaft as the forest slowly changed around him. Behind them were moss-covered ground and frequent sightings of glowfruit trees. Ahead, it was… strange.

The change was gradual. The further he ventured, the more crystalline the forest became. He was walking past half-organic and half-crystallized trees, with the ground in the form of sharp shards that acted like grass.

Kade felt conflicted about the change, his mind flipping between the importance of safety and a challenge.

His two strengths would lose their effectiveness if the monsters were the same as the fauna. The [Soulrend] and [Inferno Burst] would do little in the way of harming a high [Arcana Level] monster.

Several more minutes passed as he continued to venture deeper without resistance, which increased Kade’s anticipation exponentially. He gave up on wanting safety.

He hoped the monsters would be crystalline.

His previous fights were definitely challenging, but he had the formula down. Attack with the [Soulrend], take out the fringes if there were in a pack and corralled them together, then activate [Inferno Burst] where most would be affected.

That was easier said than done, but it was a proven strategy that had worked repeatedly.

Kade was eager to figure out how to deal with monsters that were highly resistant to his attacks.

Of course, he now had [Armor Break] available, but that was a very singular strike with associated costs. It wouldn’t help much in large groups.

The frown on his face grew more severe as the forest soon turned into pure crystal. It seemed more like an art piece instead of a forest.

Kade thought it was useless since the interface didn’t show any information about resources in this forest area. If it wasn’t for his need to find stronger monsters, he would have preferred to stay in the organic part of the forest.

At least there, he could munch on some fruits and play with the monsters that claimed the glowfruit trees as their home.

He came to a sudden stop. An enormous wall blocked off everything in front of them. Of course, it was made of crystals.

Kade looked around briefly before jumping up to stand on the wall. He immediately had to reclassify the ‘wall’ as a platform.

The surface was smooth and didn’t have any of the jagged nature that the crystal shards had on the ground. If he had to make a wild guess, this was some sort of stage. Though he did not know who the stage was for.

It had to be hundreds of feet wide at the minimum.

Kade wandered around aimlessly, wondering if this was all the forest had to offer. It would be a shame if that were the case.

The icehowlers knew something about this place that scared them, but he hadn’t seen the cause of that fear. The spiders he fought were formidable, but with the size of the icehowler pack, they wouldn’t be much of an issue.

Maybe it’s just the humidity in the forest that those icehowlers despise.

Kade chuckled at the thought of something so mundane to be the downfall of the icehowlers. He shook his head and looked around another time.

The smoothness of the platform’s surface annoyed him. It had no right to be so perfect when its presence mocked his expectations of finding a challenge.

This is a perfect time to test the new ability, anyway.

Kade smoothly twirled his [Soulrend] until it was pointing down. He activated [Armor Break] and thrust it down.

The crystal platform rumbled dangerously. The tip of his [Soulrend] was buried deep inside the platform, causing cracks to originate from that spot. It extended all the way to the edges in a split second.

He swiftly pulled up his [Soulrend] and backed away warily. The rumbling hadn’t stopped. It expanded to the entire forest.

Like glass, the crystalline trees shattered into pieces. The shards joined what already existed on the ground. It looked as if it had always been meant to be that way. Like it was a cycle that happened countless times.

Kade’s heart pumped faster. He had no regrets about whatever he started. As much as he enjoyed exploring this forest, he was no explorer. He wanted excitement, and he was going to get it.

He stabilized himself when the platform cracked even more. He jumped off and retreated to the organic part of the forest.

Kade noticed something odd when he returned to the area with the glowfruit trees. The monsters that were overly eager to defend the tree they claimed as their own refused to even look at him.

They clutched the luminescent fruits to them as they stared at the platform with an unwavering gaze.

… Did I bite off more than I could chew?

He took another look at the distracted monsters and retreated even further. He patted the lone glowfruit in his pocket as he returned to the pathway to the collapsed cave.

Kade didn’t enter when he reached. He turned and waited to see what was going to appear.

He didn’t have to wait long.

It sounded like a muffled implosion, followed by a massive shockwave that slammed him against the mountain interior. That wasn’t the worst of it. He learned why the monsters chose the glowfruit trees as their home.

Thousands, tens of thousands, maybe even hundreds of thousands of tiny shards of crystals peppered his body. There was no chance of him being able to dodge since it followed almost immediately after the shockwave, which basically removed his control.

Warning: Your health has fallen below 10%!

Warning: You are experiencing excessive bleeding!

Kade shuddered as he pulled a glowfruit out of his pocket with trembling hands. His body became covered in the blood that seeped out of him. The shards of crystals acted like tiny knives that cut him on every millimeter of his skin.

It was so fine that he couldn’t even see any damage to his pants, the only piece of clothing on his body. However, the blood that seeped from underneath made it unmistakable that it had taken plenty of microscopic damage.

Kade bit into the bitter glowfruit and didn’t mind the taste one bit. He gulped it down like it was a delicacy and felt his wounds slowly closing up. He still needed more. A lot more.

Kade trudged back to the glowfruit trees with the purpose. He could see the monsters that called a glowfruit tree home collapsed on the ground. Whatever just happened was not a common occurrence. If it was, there would be no monsters alive.

He didn’t particularly care. He just needed more glowfruits to stop the shedding of his health.