章 35: Chapter 35: The Difficulties of Being a Spider
[Continuing to absorb the new substance, merging has commenced! Incorporating the host body with the 'spider' genes]
To say he was shocked is an understatement; Noah wasn't expecting this outcome at all. Furthering his zombie genes already caused him many conflicts with himself; now he had to worry about what kind of 'side effects' he could possibly obtain from this new change.
'….Come on, Noah, this won't stop you. Maybe the skills are just as good as the other ones.' He tried to encourage himself, though he didn't have high hopes. The reason he was in this situation to begin with was because of one of the traits he didn't want, but at the same time, he knew that the trait helped him to overcome his moral inhibitions. With that thought in mind, he gathered his courage to play it through; it already happened so he will make the best of it.
[Merging process is completed! Host attributes and growth rate has been modified due to synergy of multiple genes detected. New traits and skills have been acquired.]
[Growth rate: +2 agility and +1 constitution per level added.]
[Active 'hunters sight' has been modified according to the traits of spiders into 'spiders alertness']
[Passive, Spiders Alertness- The nature of a spider is to always stay vigilant and be aware of their surroundings. Known for their bad eyesight, that weakness has been overcome and improved due to the skill 'hunters sight'. Improving your vision and dynamic vision and enabling you to notice minute details to track objects in motion. Always active]
[Active, 'Undead Webbing' obtained-Able to project out webs from your silk veins. Your webs have been mutated from your zombie trait and now contains your corrupted mana, making it stronger. Your Webs strength is determined by your constitution and mana supplied.]
[Passive, 'sensory spines' obtained-The microscopic fine hairs on your body provide extra grip and the ability to climb surfaces. The spines are also sensitive to air movement, giving you the ability to even sense threats in dark environments.]
"This is…" Noah's voice trailed off as he struggled to process the overwhelming amount of information he had just experienced. Obviously, he felt the changes happen to him in real-time, but to see so many benefits it brought him seemed surreal. He couldn't say any of these skills were superior to the others, but what he did know is that he needed to familiarize himself with them. He didn't want to have a repeat, limiting himself in a fight because he forgot an ability.
It felt as if a lot of time had passed because of everything that just transpired. Noah couldn't risk wasting any more time when he was on a tight schedule. The mysterious shop would close down before the end of the day, and more importantly, there was the looming threat of approaching zombies and who knew what else.
"Whoah! How the hell do you even get around with so many eyes?" Noah complained to Arachne as he struggled to find his balance. He tried using his hand on the ground to prop himself up, only to miss the placement and fall back down. Rather than embarrassing himself further in front of Arachne, who was now silently watching him, he decided to remain seated to let his body adjust to the changes.
'I just don't get it… I clearly see what I'm trying to do, but my body isn't reacting properly… is the hair thingys what's causing my body to want to move differently? Then should I follow my body or follow my eyes? Urgh! What's the point in having so many eyes then if these hairs work better than them?' Noah's frustrations only increased the more he struggled to understand.
Obviously, both were important, but in Noah's mind, it wasn't logical at all, and that's what was frustrating. In the end, he turned his attention to Arachne. It seemed that since he was no longer doing anything interesting, she felt the need to finish off the last zombie.
'It's not making sense…She obviously has eyes even behind her, but it doesn't affect her at all. Is she able to see behind her at all times or only when she focuses with those eyes? Wait… if I think about it that way then…' Returning his gaze back toward the ground, he only focused on the first image toward the center. What he was envisioning right now was comparable to having two monitors almost overlapping in front of him.
One of those screens represented what he could always see, and the other was similar to having a higher resolution and more zoomed in. He felt that if he thought about it this way, then he can tune one of them out to focus more on the other. Of course, the other form of vision is always there, but if he handles it this way, then he can buy himself time to naturally get used to it in the future.
Putting on a solemn expression, he tunneled all of his attention to one goal, and that was standing up without losing his balance. He refused to allow himself to be distracted with what the rest of his eyes could see. Determined, he planted his hands firmly on the ground before gradually rising to his feet.
'Well, that's one thing down, but what about the webs? Does it work the way I think it does?' He thought about the movie series of the young hero who was bitten by a spider and would press two fingers down into his palms to shoot.
Eager to test his newfound abilities, Noah's attention was suddenly drawn to something in the distance, a detail he wouldn't have noticed before acquiring the extra set of pupils.
"Isn't this a little bit too soon?" Off into the distance from the dorms, he spotted a small portion of zombies heading in their direction. Noah knew it was going to happen eventually, but this was quicker than he expected.
Assuming that the zombies were too slow, they should lose track of whatever they were chasing and head to whatever source of noise was nearby.
'Wait, noise?' Noah's thoughts raced back to the constant stream of groups fleeing in the direction of the zombies, their screams piercing the air. Despite the considerable distance from the dorms, he doubted that the zombies' hearing was developed enough to detect such sounds. However, he realized that he was still comparing the zombies' abilities to human standards.
Noah already witnessed the faster growing zombies displaying enhanced speeds and strength compared to the average human, so having heightened hearing shouldn't be impossible.
Straining his eyes as much as he could, Noah noted that even though the groups of zombies were enormous, they weren't organized in the least. They were only heading to where they last heard sounds, but they weren't following the same path to get there. Instead of having to face thousands, only a few hundred would probably head his way while the others would go into the direction of the parking lots where most of the commotion was occurring. Or they might pass them up altogether if they weren't distracted.
Noah didn't like the idea of being passive, but he wasn't sure how long it would take for him to get used to his upgraded vision, which could prove fatal.
"Screw it! Arachne, it's time to go hunting. I'll take care of the slow-moving ones, and you can handle the main threats."
'Maybe by fighting I can adjust a lot faster, and there should hardly be any risk of encountering the zombies that aren't able to run. The animals are what I really need to be concerned about, but for some reason, I haven't been seeing them as much.' When he thought about it, it didn't make sense why he's seen so few creatures, especially insects since they easily outnumber basically everything. His eyes wandered to his side to someone who might have an explanation.
"Arachne, what happened to the other spiders like you? Are there any others that grew bigger?" He asked as they both made their way back towards the zombies. He would rather fight them away from the gym, ensuring he would have a place to go back to so they could rest. When he asked the question, Arachne seemed to ponder about his question but then she also became confused.
'Many dropped dead while others found new hunting grounds.' Arachne seemed to convey, her tone devoid of emotion regarding the demise of her kind. To spiders, death was a common occurrence; from being stepped on, to freezing, being eaten, the list went on.
The information he obtained from Arachne was already enough for Noah to make his own conjectures. 'Maybe whatever turned people into zombies may have killed the animals that would turn into one instead…' it seemed kinda absurd but it was the only thing that made sense to him at the moment. All he needed to know was that he wouldn't have to worry about an army of spiders.
Buzzz*
While on his way to his destination, Noah detected a buzzing sound. He was gonna warn Arachne to stop, but he noticed that she too had become alert upon hearing it.
Regrettably, Noah's hearing hadn't been enhanced despite acquiring new traits. However, he could sense the direction from which the sound was approaching through the subtle movements of the small hairs on his body.
Swish!*
Before he could register what was happening, Noah instinctively felt the urge to duck, a decision he was grateful for moments later. Sensing something swiftly approaching the back of his neck, he swiftly lowered his head, narrowly avoiding the attack. As the danger passed, he became critically aware that something had just attempted to strike at his neck. Reacting on pure instinct, he reflexively rubbed his neck, a surge of fear coursing through him at the realization that he could have been killed without a chance to defend himself.
"Ok….spider powers are OP, but this seems too much for me to handle. What the heck was that?" Noah exclaimed in disbelief. "Arachne! Do you think you can handle it?" He didn't take the time to look to her for an answer; he needed to keep his focus sharp.
As Noah concentrated on pinpointing the source of the attack, he observed a brief pause in the buzzing sound as it flew past him. Noticing the sound was again heading in his direction, he braced himself for the attack.
He felt as if he could see the figure in the distance just barely, but it was too out of focus for him. Yet that wasn't cutting it; he wanted to know what was attacking him.
'Come on! These eyes should be a lot better than this.' In an attempt to use his new pupils, Noah widened his eyes as wide as he could in the figure's direction. Slowly, the figure began to come into focus; he thought he was seeing things initially. While he was able to make out the shape, he first thought he was being attacked by what appeared to be a human-sized leaf, but gradually the details finally began to come into his view.
Noah's eyes widened in astonishment as he caught sight of the creature before him. "Is that a mantis??" He exclaimed in shock, not because he feared it, but because that sounded more badass than having a spider. He tried not to let his disappointment show on his face. He couldn't distract Arachne, not in this situation, but now that he found such a creature, any thought of running away was gone.
'Right, I can use the webs! Hopefully, it wor-!' Noah's thoughts were interrupted by another buzzing sound from behind him. He could probably handle one, but he wasn't sure about the other if they decided to attack in succession. Their odds of losing were high if Arachne couldn't participate in the fight. In the midst of his thoughts, Noah was only able to perceive a burst of wind blowing past him, following the unexpecting cries of a creature abruptly after.
"Schrreeee!" Noah swiftly reacted, turning around to see what brought about the sudden noise. When he turned, he saw Arachne towering over one of the mantises, relentlessly piercing her frontal legs into her prey. This behavior was new to Noah, as Arachne rarely attacked with her legs after she caught hold of her prey with her fangs. That's when he noticed the blood oozing from the side of her head. The mantis was retaliating, digging its scythe-like arms into her, causing Arachne to become impatient to finish it off.
Buzzz*
Even if he wanted to help her, Noah found himself unable to intervene. 'Maybe the insects' bonds weren't strong even after mutating.' He speculated, noting that the other mantis was once again advancing towards him instead of helping its partner even when it was clearly in danger.
There was no chance for Noah to compete in speed against the creature so using his axe was out of the question. Attempting to block was denied as well; the thing has two blades that could probably attack in two different directions simultaneously.
'It's all or nothing!' Noah exclaimed, dropping his axe and raising both arms towards the mantis's direction. Because he has yet to practice the skill, he refused to risk using only one hand. Initially, Noah was worried that he wouldn't be able to get the skill to work, but when he was prepared to use it, he realized that the skill naturally came to him as if he always knew how to use it. The key was to flex the muscle that was located on the underside of his forearm, a movement easily achieved by squeezing his hand into his palm.
But that just felt like the lame way to do it, so Noah chose to use the two fingers like every geek would. As he began to flex his muscles to shoot out the web, he sensed a strange sensation emanating from his center, located around his heart. Unsure of its significance, Noah observed as whatever it was began to circulate through his body, eventually running through the veins meant for his webs.
'This….this is mana!'
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