Tyler rubbed his chin. There was no bruising or marks, but it did ache after being hit there for what felt like the hundredth time. Seshka had called an end to their training session a few minutes ago and was packing up her tent. Tyler was relieved. He felt exhausted. He couldn’t remember a time when he’d done over an hour-long training session, never mind three.

  Seshka had completely dominated the training, knocking him to the ground hundreds of times. She had, however, given instruction on how to defend against the last attack she did. But every time he tried applying the training, Seshka always had another move that would land a strike on Tyler. At one point he thought she was just making stuff up on the fly. That was until near the end, when he’d blocked several attacks in a row.

  But that had given him a false sense of his abilities, and he’d tried to land a devastating blow on her back. She moved and brought the butt of her spear down on the back of his head, making him actually eat some dirt. However, Seshka had smiled at him, indicating he was at least making some progress.

  This was also to be the norm going forward, she insisted. Training every morning to improve his fighting skills. He was also to constantly improve his core so he could learn to cycle his mana, direct his chakra to where it was needed. Right now, he wasn’t sure he wanted to do any of it, but then when does anybody get to just do what they want? “He’d never won by being the best. He’d won by not stopping and he’d need to do that here”. Plus, what other options did he really have?

  “Shall we move out then, see what lies in store for us?” Seshka asked, walking back over as Tyler still sat on the floor rubbing his chin.

  “Yeah. If you are right and what you said last night about this event lasting anything from weeks to months to years, I think I’d like to get it done sooner rather than later. I have things I need to get back for.”

  “Things?”

  “Personal things!” Tyler said. He didn’t want to go into the details. She knew his world was new to the system, but she didn’t know he had people he cared for and had no idea what had happened to them. He just wanted to get through this event, then hopefully look for his mum, Matt and Ned.

  “That’s fine. We all have our own story. Let’s go see what the system has in store for us and what path we are intended to walk.”

  Tyler got up, feeling surprisingly refreshed, although it had only been fifteen minutes or so since he felt like he wanted to die, and followed Seshka as she made her way through the trees, a small dirt track weaving around large trunks.

  This path event Tyler was currently on sure was large. They had been walking in the dense forest now for several hours; they’d even stopped for some lunch, Tyler providing it from Malek’s stash, as it was simply better quality than what Seshka had brought. Plus, there was so much of the stuff it would take them months, even years, to get through it all.

  Seshka always seemed to stay ahead of them both. At first Tyler thought it was just her keeping point, making sure the way was clear, but now he was starting to think it was so they didn’t have to talk, as every time he tried to move up close to engage in conversation she picked the pace up a little to keep the distance between them.

  He picked up the pace again to close the gap, this time determined to sprint if needed to get alongside her. But as he moved closer, Seshka came to a stop, reaching up to a low-hanging branch and pulling away what looked like spider webs from between the uneven bark.

  “Looks like we have come across some spiders. This might be a good opportunity for you to showcase what you have learned this morning.”

  Tyler pulled a face, like he’d just taken a drink of milk well past its use-by date. “I have only had one — two, technically — sessions. Do you really think it’s time I showcase myself?”

  “Exactly the right time, and don’t worry too much. It’s not like you are ever going to see something too strong for you or me to deal with. Everything on the path is level nine or below. I think we could handle a level nine between us.”

  Tyler rubbed the back of his head. It wasn’t that he was afraid he couldn’t fight or hold his own. It was just spiders, again. A shiver went down his back, thinking back to the Domain Watcher he had fought with Keit and the others.

  “Fine, but let’s scout the area first. The last thing we want is a horde like those goblins, but with eight furry legs rushing us.”

  Seshka chuckled. “Spiders rarely gather in packs, especially on the Intertwining Path. The goblins, as you call them, are a little different. In fact, I don’t think I have ever seen one on its own before.”

  Tyler still wasn’t convinced. “Let’s do the scouting anyway. I’d feel a lot better.”

  The author's tale has been misappropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon.

  Seshka nodded and continued through the trees, spider webbing becoming more prominent as they walked. It didn’t take long until Seshka stopped walking and signalled Tyler to crouch down, as she also pointed through the trees.

  About one hundred metres away, a spider about one metre tall and wide hurried about between several trees as it made a web between them. It looked completely different to the spider from earlier. This spider was hairy, dark green all over, that bled into black at the bottom of its legs.

  Its movements were jerking as it moved about, its web spinning from its back as it walked along, following a crisscross of webbing already in place. It was building a pattern in the web, a geometric pattern that spiralled from the inside to the out. Tyler was impressed by the spider’s precision.

  “I think we might have just found a great test for you,” Seshka said as she smiled at Tyler. “There is a nice opening down there for a clear fight. I can keep cover here and if there is any trouble, it shouldn’t take me long to get to you.”

  Tyler took an involuntary gulp. He looked at Seshka just to check she was being serious — she was. Then he looked at the spider and used his Insight on the creature.

  Forest Weaver – Level 6

  Type: Beast (Juvenile)

  Affinity: Earth / Minor Poison

  Growth Stage: Early Development

  Carapace Density: Incomplete

  Venom Production: Immature – Paralytic (Mild)

  Mana Density: Stable

  Core Structure: Narrow Spiral – Defensive Growth Pattern

  Web Structure: Radial Geometric Spiral

  Precision Rating: High

  Behavioural Pattern: Territorial. Defensive while constructing.

  Predicted Engagement Pattern:

  ? Bind with web

  ? Rear leg strike

  ? Venom probe

  Weakness Identified:

  ? Rear leg hinge joints

  ? Soft tissue under abdomen

  Tyler was taken aback by the sheer amount of information he received through his Insight. It had certainly evolved since his first use on Keith. It even labelled some of the spider’s offensive abilities and, more importantly, some of its weaknesses. This gave Tyler a little confidence boost — he now knew a clear way to defeat it.

  “Fine, I suppose,” Tyler said. He might feel a little more confident, but still, it was a spider. Why couldn’t it have been a goblin or two? He gripped his pole, which still had a mana blast loaded into it. He’d never had the chance to use it, as he’d still never actually landed a proper blow on Seshka, apart from his little jab.

  He left Seshka and started circling around the outskirts of the clearing, keeping close to the trees. His idea was to sneak up on the spider and hopefully unleash his mana blast, crippling the creature before the fight even started. He should be able to do this now, as his chakra was not betraying him.

  Tyler stayed behind a tree about four metres from the spider. It obviously had not detected him, as it still went about building its web structure. With his back to the tree, he slowly made his way around to the front, his pole hitched high and ready for a strike.

  He felt the tree rub stiffly against his back, friction holding him steady — until he slipped. Not much, maybe a few centimetres, and he caught himself. He’d slid against the webbing on the tree, but that was not the issue. The issue was the slip had alerted the spider. It most likely felt the vibrations in the webbing. It turned in an instant and scurried out into the opening, looking directly at Tyler.

  Its face was all scrunched up, two large black eyes staring into Tyler’s. It had two fangs that protruded from a gaping mouth that again seemed to drip a green substance, the same as the spider from earlier. Tyler guessed this was likely the venom probe mentioned in the Insight results.

  Hoping the spider was still slightly distracted, he jumped forward and swung his pole at arm’s length, aiming for the back of the spider. If he could get this mana blast off straight away, it would make all the difference.

  The spider, however, scurried to the side, all the while keeping its head still and its eyes locked on Tyler. The pole sailed through empty air where the spider had once been, the tip crashing into the ground a second later. Tyler’s arm rang at the force of the impact. Then both he and the spider were flung back as the mana blast in his pole exploded in a white flash, sending dirt and rock flying into the air with them.

  The explosion had been quite a bit bigger than before, leaving a crater about a metre wide in the ground where his pole had struck. Tyler hadn’t taken much damage, and he wondered for a moment if the resulting blast was due to him distributing the stat points he’d forgotten about, or because he’d increased his mana around his core to a faster, denser flow.

  He didn’t ponder it long, however, as the spider didn’t seem to have taken much damage. Several strands of webbing started layering around his legs, pinning them to the floor. Tyler kicked his legs and pulled at the webbing with his hands, able to break free and roll away before being completely locked down.

  As he rolled away, however, the spider came scurrying past him at speed. It looked like it was running away — until its back leg darted out, a black razor-like point at the end of it coming straight for Tyler’s head. He leaned to the side, the sharp point piercing his arm and embedding so deep he could feel the tip come out just below his armpit.

  The spider withdrew its leg just as quickly and scurried off, this time climbing the half-finished web it had built, turning and looking at Tyler. Its body and head seemed to shrink into its legs as it leaned back on its hind quarters, a bit like a dog does when it is ready to strike.

  He looked over to where Sheska was hiding, she had now come out from cover but was patiently watching the fight. Obviously, she did not think he was in that much trouble. His arm ached like hell, and there was a little blood, a lot less than he would have assumed for such an injury, but he could still use it, still had full motion, more like he’d taken a scratch and not a gaping wound. Maybe Seshka was right?

  Tyler jumped to his feet, ignoring the pain from the spider’s strike, and planted his feet firmly into the ground, like Seshka had instructed him earlier.

  So much for the surprise attack, he thought. And how dare it strike him — stupid, ugly creature.

  He snarled, his heart racing. He was ready to squash this stupid spider now. He used Mana Blast again on his pole, this time trying to put just the smallest amount of mana into the weapon.

  “Come on then, you big freak. Let’s do this,” he roared as he advanced on the spider.