Chapter 4: The Cave
[Name: Kris Chandler]
[Species: Human]
[Level: 2 (0/200)]
[Strength:2 (+2)]
[Dexterity:2]
[Vitality:1 (+1)]
[Intelligence:5]
[Wisdom:4]
[Luck:0 (+5)]
[Unallocated Points: 3]
[Skills: Battle Sense (Level 1), Spear Mastery (Level 2)]
Leveling up gives me three points to allocate. Alright, I'll put one point in each of my physical stats. My new updated status looks like this:
[Name: Kris Chandler]
[Species: Human]
[Level: 2 (0/200)]
[Strength:3 (+2)]
[Dexterity:3]
[Vitality:2 (+1)]
[Intelligence:5]
[Wisdom:4]
[Luck:0 (+5)]
[Unallocated Points: 0]
[Skills: Battle Sense (Level 1), Spear Mastery (Level 2)]
The moment I accepted the allocation I was overcome by a euphoric sensation as my body strengthened. It lasted for a few minutes as my body adapted to the changes (Author's note, an average fit adult on earth would have attributes of two to three in physical stats.2). I picked up my spear and it felt noticeably lighter than before. Alright, I should have no problem fighting three or four of those spiders at a time now, though I'm going to wait for my leggings to finish crafting first. I suppose in the meantime I should try to get used to my new strength. I swung the spear around for around 30 minutes imagining the spiders to be on the receiving end before being interrupted by a notification.
[Spear Mastery Level Up! (2->3) ]
Alright! So I guess training can level up your skills, just far slower than combat. Oh, my leggings should have finished crafting by now, system can you bring them up for me?
[Sturdy Chitin Leggings - Uncommon]
[Defense: 25]
[+2 Vitality]
[Produced by an automated system function]
I quickly equipped them and immediately felt a rush from the two vitality boost. Alright, time to level up. I made my way back to the cave. I didn't see any other spiders around the mouth of the cave so I went inside. I was only ten or twenty feet in when I realized I had a problem, there was no light inside the cave. System, can you make a light for me?
[System can create a basic magic lantern to float in front and above of host for 5 SC/hour]
Alright, now that I have my light problem fixed I can continue on deeper into the cave. After a few minutes of walking, I came down to a large open cavern. I readied my spear and went in. Immediately I saw a few of the spiders sleeping around the cave and stopped my step halfway. I stepped in as quietly as I could. My logic to this was that as they lived in the darkness they were probably blind, thus their sense of sound was probably very sensitive. It would be ideal if I could use the element of surprise to my advantage. I slowly and carefully walked towards one of the spiders that were asleep. I stood over it and found its head. I put my spear a few feet above its head and swung down as hard as I could. The head came clean off and I barely managed to stop my spear before it hit the ground.
[Hunted Adult Cave Spider x1, awarded 30 SC, awarded 30 EXP]
I looked around but none of the other spiders had woken up. There were around ten other spiders in the cave so I went around to each of them and did the same thing. On the fifth one, I got a notification.
[Passive skill gained: Assassinate]
[Assassinate - Rare]
[Deal double damage if the opponent isn't aware of you]
Well, that seems useful, though its requirements for activation seem kind of vague. I continued on with the others before sitting down to check my notifications.
[Hunted Adult Cave Spider x11, awarded 330 SC, awarded 330 EXP]
[Level Up!]
Alright, time to invest my points.
[Name: Kris Chandler]
[Species: Human]
[Level: 3 (160/500)]
[Strength:3 (+2)]
[Dexterity:3]
[Vitality:2 (+3)]
[Intelligence:5]
[Wisdom:4]
[Luck:0 (+5)]
[Unallocated Points: 3]
[Skills: Battle Sense (Level 1), Spear Mastery (Level 3), Assassinate (Level 1)]
Alright, I'm not always going to be able to assassinate these spiders, and I'm not going to be able to pierce their carapaces unless I get lucky so I'm going to add all three points to strength.
[Name: Kris Chandler]
[Species: Human]
[Level: 3 (160/500)]
[Strength:6 (+2)]
[Dexterity:3]
[Vitality:2 (+3)]
[Intelligence:5]
[Wisdom:4]
[Luck:0 (+5)]
[Unallocated Points: 0]
[Skills: Battle Sense (Level 1), Spear Mastery (Level 3), Assassinate (Level 1)]
I realized my mistake when the pain hit me. My body broke down and rebuilt itself to double my strength. The process lasted an agonizing ten minutes. On the bright side, it compacts and streamlines the muscle so I don't look like I'm some steroid packed bodybuilder. I picked up my spear which now seemed light as a feather compared to before and carried on to the next chamber. That's where my second mistake was, as I stepped into the chamber I didn't control my strength properly and my foot slammed into the ground at regular force. It sounded out through the cavern, and I could see the spiders rousing themselves.
I threw myself forward and slashed through one of their heads, before grabbing it by the legs and throwing it as hard as I could towards a pair of spiders. I didn't look at them as I continued towards my other targets, but a loud crunching sound let me know that I'd succeeded in at least delaying them. The spiders were nearly fully awake now and one of them jumped at me, only to be met with a spear straight through its head and out of its bottom. It flicked the spear in the direction of the other spider which sent the body flying off of my spear.
I used the body as cover to slash at it, killing it and continuing my slaughter (with the plus two strength from his spear he has eight strength, three to four times that of a fit adult on earth). There was only one more spider I could see, it looked like a child standing next to a boulder. That's strange, why is the boulder moving? It gave me an answer in the form of a giant limb covered in a red haze, longer than my spear swinging at me. I jumped back, just out of range of the arm. This turned out to be a good move as it continued and cut through the carapace of one of the dead spiders like a hot knife through butter. Yeah, I don't know if my armor would hold up against that, but I'm not interested in finding out. My thought was interrupted by the system.
[Battle Sense Level Up! (1->2)]
[Spear Mastery Level Up! (3->4)]
Well, that would be exactly what I need. I felt my grip on the spear loosen and change. It felt much more natural than before. I ran towards the spider, sliding under an arm that swung at me. I nearly slid right into another one but managed to pop myself over it with the butt of my spear. It didn't seem to expect me to get past its front two limbs, as its other six were just dangling by the sides. They sprung into action, but it was too late.
I felt the haze touch me and time seemed to slow I felt something running inside me. It felt similar to the haze. I reached out for it, pulling it out through my arms. I thrust my spear towards its head, letting instinct control my movement as I used the entirety of my will to push the haze onto my spear. It rushed out like water from a broken dam. A torrent of the energy pushed onto my spear, covering it in blue energy as it pierced through the giant spiders head. As it went in I felt the energy push through my spear and into the giant spider, ravaging its insides. It flew backward and off of my spear. It flailed its limbs uselessly as the heat left its body.
I flopped down onto the ground. A number of messages going unread as I passed out.
CREATORS' THOUGHTS 
CasualWeeb
CasualWeeb I felt like writing so here's an extra chapter. Comment if you'd rather have around 1k word chapters every day or around 2k chapters 3 times a week
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