Lore/Story For The Wynn (19)

Spoiler: Arakadicus Annihilation

‘Morning!’ The hooded hunter greeted Hearolie with a smile. ‘Ready to make your plan?’


‘If you’re talking about how I’m planning how to kick your ass,’ Hearolie let out a sarcastic laugh. ‘Then yes, I’ve been dreaming about it the whole night.’


‘Sure sure,’ the hunter brushed the bluff off. He had changed into a different set of garments underneath. This time, he wore a set of dark green clothes that allowed him to blend with the trees better and used a crossbow instead of the regular bow he had yesterday. He was certainly serious about winning the bet if he went out of his way to get that. ‘Follow me. Let’s get you a new bow and some new leather armour first.’


‘Leather armour? Don’t you have better gear?’ He found it hard to believe someone like him would only have such low-grade armour, which seems to contradict his story of travelling around the province and being a mercenary. He couldn’t be that poor, could he?


‘I do, but if we’re going to sneak up on him, leather armour makes the least noise. Plus, it’s the lightest armour set unless you’re scared…’ The hunter innocently smiled.


Hearolie felt his face turn red, not from embarrassment but anger. He barely managed to control his volume. ‘I’m not scared. Leather is fine if that’s what we’re going for.’


‘It’s our best chance to succeed, considering he would have filled the woods with traps… well, to trap people. Follow me.’ They left the hut they were in as they headed south, walking away from the village.



‘Where are we going?’ Hearolie asked. It felt good to be fully recovered. He felt great, his paralysis was gone thanks to the medication. His limbs didn’t feel sore or tingling to the point they drove him mad. Right now, he felt like he could take on the whole world.


A wild bug almost flew right into Hearolie before making a sharp turn to avoid him, catching his attention. His eyes unknowingly followed the insect as it flew higher and higher and onto a wooden treehouse above. The sound of chatter reached his ears.


‘They lived in treehouses throughout their whole lives, everything revolved around trees. They get around by utilizing a complex system of rope bridges on treetops.’ The hunter pointed to one of the bridges above them, the wood creaked from being stepped on as several little kids hopped from tree to tree for fun, their faces showed no hint of worry regarding the spiders that might be hidden from view. Ignorance perhaps, or maybe they just don’t care. The few adults present were just as laid back, preferring to sit down and chat on thick branches about their lives, occasionally swatting at bugs and insects that annoy them.


‘I thought all of them live on the ground.’ Hearolie pointed out. He wondered what it would be like if the place is a lot more crowded, would the wood even hold all of that weight?


‘It’s their choice, some do prefer to live on trees as tradition and normalcy. Besides, they've been fending off spiders since birth, the spiders don’t bother them as much as the normal resident in other places.’


He led him up a rope ladder towards one of the treehouses. The residents there greeted him warmly, shaking his hand and patting his back. The kids even gave him some fruit, to which the hunter thanked them and gave them a high five.


‘Everyone!’ He raised his voice so everyone could hear his announcement. Hadn’t he specified who he is prior, Hearolie believed he would have mistaken him as the village leader. He certainly has that commanding presence of a general. ‘This is Hearolie.’ He raised his hand to signal his location. He and I will be capturing that mushroom maniac Yahya so he won't be bothering us any longer!’


‘Oh, thank Salted.’ An elderly grandmother hugged her grandson tightly as tears of joy fell from her eyes. ‘Thank you, kind hunter. And you too… Hearolie was it?’ She embraced both of them tightly. Hearolie, unsure what to do, mechanically followed the hunter’s gesture of returning the hug, despite how awkward and embarrassing it is for him.


‘Get him!’ A child called out as he threw his fist into the air. The others next to him did the same as if he were some leader. But their act alone sent a surge of power and sparked embers of courage within the archer. He’s going to take that mushroom maniac down, once and for all.


‘Wear this.’ Hearolie turned around just in time to catch a strange helmet. He looked at the hooded hunter who had already placed the strange helmet on. It was a bit dusty and scratched pretty badly, and he thought it was mould growing within the layers of metal.


‘It’s a modified scuba helmet, that way we won’t inhale his potions nor get affected by the paralysing spores. You wear it like so…’ He fitted his head into the glass helmet with a loud plop, the glass immediately became opaque with each breath he let out. ‘Once we reach our starting point, we have to wear this. We are very likely to be so preoccupied with Yahya that we do not notice the mushroom spores that are still airborne, from those Mushroom Monstrosities or Yahya throwing the spores at us.’


‘You serious?’


‘Very,’ the hunter replied. ‘If any of us breathed in the paralysing spores, we'd be in grave trouble. I don’t know if he’s just always lucky or just faking his clumsiness. Whatever you do, do not underestimate him, don’t even bother reasoning with him in fact. Some soldiers have tried, and it didn’t end well for them. In the end, we made a temporary agreement that no one will bother him as long as he doesn’t harm us.’


The unpleasant memory of him being humiliated surfaced in Hearolie’s mind, but he forced it down before it could affect him, tossing the memory behind a mental door he hoped would never be opened again.


‘Now let’s show what we have planned.’ The hunter took out a scroll and spread it over on the table. ‘So you told me his hut is here. I plan that you act as bait to lure him out so I can immobile him from far away. We’ll have to clear the forest of mobs and his traps around the hut first, so we won’t get screwed over at the most critical moment.’


‘Sounds… surprisingly simple.’ Hearolie looked at him suspiciously, trying to figure out what else he might not have been telling.


‘Well yeah, I’ve simplified it for you.’ The hunter laughed but had his hand pulling against his hood so Hearolie couldn’t see his face. Hearolie sent a fierce kick at the hunter’s shin who easily dodged it.


‘Just kidding, I allow you to join in my plan because I know you aren’t that weak and will bring us the victory we needed.’ The hunter reassured his confidence in him. ‘You have first-hand experience of what he's capable of. Besides, simple doesn’t mean easy. But it seems like you have something more complicated in mind.’


‘Complicated? Nah,’ Hearolie pulled out his map and pointed at it. ‘We go to his hut, shoot everything that stops us. Set his house on fire and then subdue him with our spells.’


‘Umm, Hearolie?’ The hunter grimaced, nervously laughing at what he thought was a cruel joke. But Hearolie’s determined expression told him that he was serious about the plan. ‘This guy must have inhaled some shrooms last night.’ He thought to himself.


‘We’ll try your silent and sneaky approach first, since I know my plan will be needed to clean up your mess!’


‘Sure, sure.’ The hunter acted insulted and opened the door for Hearolie. He waved his hand forward to allow the archer to head out first. ‘Ladies first.’


Hearolie put on the modified scuba helmet and grumbled. His arms reached for the comedian as he forcefully pushed the hunter out of the door before slamming it shut. ‘Just shut up and go!’


Following a carefully planned path they had agreed on, they took out the mobs as silently as possible to avoid alerting Yahya of their presence.


While their trip was relatively smooth, the hunter felt uneasy. ‘The woods have never been this clean before…’ The hunter commented, Hearolie picked up his observation and looked around, and saw what he meant. The woods did seem to have far fewer webs and spiders. ‘It seemed unlikely that the spiders would have relocated their nest that quick.’


‘That is true… I thought we would face more spiders than zombies, but it turned out to be the opposite.’ He fired off another Arrow Storm at a nearby zombie and fungal parasite. The trees still had some cobwebs but seemed to have been abandoned. ‘I’ll investigate that later, after Yahya is contained.’


‘Quiet,’ The hunter slowed down and grabbed his arm before he could go any further. Sure enough, just hidden behind several trees, the familiar yet bizarre mushroom hut appeared in front of their line of sight. ‘We’re near. Careful of the traps. When we’re done, we’ll regroup at this tree.’


Hearolie nodded and carefully scanned their surrounding areas for any hidden ropes or strings, any indication of a trap.


‘He’ll most likely have them hidden on treetops or under leaves, in that case…’ He fired an arrow above him, he stood and waited as the arrow sailed upwards. He is ready this time, the faintest change of wind, the subtle shuffling of leaves. He felt his heart hammering against his chest, adrenaline rushing across his system.


Nothing happened. He doubted himself for a moment. The only thing he wasn’t expecting was nothing happening.


‘Huh… Alright then.’ He murmured before moving on to the next tree. He fired an arrow and used his bow to poke at the trunk. ‘No hidden pressure plates or buttons.’ He growled under his breath, frustrated at the unbearably slow pace he’s at. With such a large area to cover, checking them one at a time will take a very long time, time they may not have. But at the same time, if he’s not careful and triggered a trap, it will definitely alert Yahya and make things worse.


He really shouldn’t have underestimated the psychotic bastard. Despite knowing full well Yahya was no longer controlling him, he could feel he was being played with sick mind games. He cursed under his breath. He had no choice but to check every tree, and hope for the best that his sanity isn’t gone when he’s done.


It was afternoon before Hearolie finally went through the rigmarole of checking his area of hidden traps. He was ready to drop at any moment as he slowly headed towards the rendezvous point. To his surprise, the hunter was already waiting for him. He was enjoying some bread with Nivlan bee honey spread across its surface. The old helmet was placed right beside him.


‘The old folks gave me some before we left, want one?’ He handed Hearolie a slice of treat. He fished a piece of honeycomb out of pocket as well, ‘you can also chew on this, it’s like gum. You chew until all the honey in it is sucked out, then you can spit it.’


Hearolie took it from his hands and looked at it suspiciously as if it were some sort of poison. The hunter muffled his laugh with his hand before slapping his shoulder to ease his worries, ‘I know it’s not what the cities usually serve you, but it’s just as good if not better.’ As if to prove his point, he took one out and chewed it himself. ‘See?’ He chewed in between his words. ‘It’s good!’


Hearolie eyed him suspiciously one last time before tossing the honeycomb into his mouth. His eyes gleamed as he never thought honeycombs could be this amazing. It felt a bit weird at first, given the honeycomb’s waxy taste. But then he felt the sweet honey oozing from it, and he immediately knew why his companion had kept on insisting that a simple hexagon can be a delicacy.


‘Do you have any more back at your treehouses?’ Hearolie couldn’t wait to give some for his friends to try it out as well. The girls had been trying to make small treats for everyone, they’re attempts at making Ragni’s priced cakes was a fun experience, thanks to Krisstal’s reward for helping out one of the King’s personal chefs. He remembered their first time almost ended in a disaster inside the recruit dormitories during their stay in Ragni. No one took responsibility, but whoever it was left the fire lit and almost overheated the furnace. Had no one noticed, the furnace itself might have caught on fire. The idea of selling their own handmade treats as a business to earn emeralds was brought up but was as for now unachievable with all the travelling. ‘Maybe someday though.’ The archer thought to himself.


‘Sure, in fact, I think you can join us for a nice meal to celebrate Yahya’s capture when…’ He was cut off when an explosion occurred at Yahya’s hut. The explosion would have knocked the two soldiers out cold had it not been for their quick reaction of using their spells to get out of harm's way. From the brief time in the air, they could feel the heat discharged was so intense they could feel their skin dehydrated even from a distance. The trees surrounding the hut were either blown away or flattened just by the shockwave alone from the blast. The ground glowed red from the heat and flames as the whole roof and sides of the hut exploded violently outwards, burning and killing any mobs at close proximity. A tiny mushroom cloud shot up from the explosion.


The two humans landed on a few treetops that have only the main trunk and thicker branches remaining.


‘Guess he… killed himself.’ The hunter remarked, seeing what remained of the hut was nothing but a pile of wood and mushrooms.


‘There’s no way he survived that…’ Hearolie stopped when a burst of frenzied laughter echoed from the hut. The two hunters exchanged a look of doubt and confusion as Yahya emerged from the rubble. A weird blue aura of energy surrounded him and his ruined clothes were immediately mended. Though seemingly heavily injured, didn’t seem to mind the fact he was blown up just now and still very much alive.


‘I did it, I made a huge mushroom!’ The villager with an overdue psychiatric appointment, looked up excitedly at the mushroom cloud as it dissipated. ‘You see that, mushrooms? Meet our mighty Bisporus, servant of the Mooshroom Peppered!’ He jumped up and down and ran circles, the few remaining mushrooms that hadn’t been burned to dust fell off his new clothes.


The two soldiers couldn’t believe their eyes. ‘I think this is going to be harder than we thought.’ The hooded hunter gritted his teeth.


Hearolie saw wounds on the villager’s exposed skin, massive wounds that would normally kill any living thing. ‘He doesn’t seem to be invincible and does get injured.’


Yahya ingested a mushroom and a potion, and then pulled out a scroll from a handmade hidden chamber on the ground. Using all three items, his wounds and skin slowly began to regenerate. ‘He’s still affected by potions, scrolls and food effects then.’


‘We’re going to take him down?’ The question was left hanging in the air. Neither were sure what to do next after seeing an explosion that flattened a ring of trees and a hut wasn’t enough to kill a single villager.


‘Let’s make a bigger mushroom to summon Deathcap! The people in Maltic would surely love our Deathcap!’ Yahya cheered, making a strange dance around the ruined house.


‘Maltic?’ Hearolie asked, ‘where’s that?’


‘A small town, located outside the woods and near the shore… It’s the closest town from here, poor and agricultural…’ The hunter carried his helmet with one arm as he landed feet first onto the ground.


‘He said the Maltic residents would love his Deathcap…’ Hearolie wondered out loud, his thoughts trying to interpret any hidden meaning he could think of from a lunatic’s perspective. ‘You don’t think he’s going to…’


‘Blow the town up in the shape of a mushroom?’ The hunter placed his helmet back on, eliminating any chances for Hearolie to peer under his hood. ‘We have to catch up to him and defeat him. Now!’ No sooner had he finished, a mushroom the size of a pea threw next to him.


At first, Hearolie didn’t think of anything else. Surely it was just… The mushroom began to expand before exploding, catching Hearolie off guard and the small explosion knocked him off balance. He landed hard onto the ground, rolling across the gravel road before stopping when his leather armour got tangled by some vines. His new bow Skin Piercer landed just as roughly onto the ground next to him. ‘This is not how the mission was supposed to go…’ He brushed off a few leaves that had been stuck to his new set of leather armour.


‘Mushroom!’ Yahya screamed like a child. ‘I’ll get you two meanies next shot.’ He leapt onto another branch and pulled a rope, but the rope was already cut by the archers, disabling his traps.


Yahya didn’t seem surprised though, in fact, he wasn’t able to piece together what had happened. ‘Those Zombie Miners must be playing a prank on us again!’


‘Hey, you! Stop right there and come with us.’ The hunter drew his bow and aimed an arrow at the villager. Yet the mad villager’s focus was on his mushrooms.


‘Those Abnormal Miners.’ Yahya grunted, his teeth grinding against one another. ‘That Miner Chef must be the one behind all this!’


His gaze slowly turned to both the archers and Hearolie immediately drew his bow at him, anticipating an attack.


‘Huh! Skeleton Miners?’ Yahya finally noticed them, and immediately cursed under his breath. From another secret compartment on the ground, he tossed a handful of mushrooms at them. Hearolie and his companion knew there were no ordinary mushrooms, they quickly dodged to the side as the mushroom let out a smokescreen to block their view.


‘How did things go south so fast…’ This wasn’t part of the plan. He forced his eyes shut when the smoke began to seriously irritate his eyes as he mentally reminded himself to hold his breath.


Beside him the hooded hunter skid to a stop before firing an arrow at the villager. Through the smoke he was able to see better thanks to the helmet, ‘he’s handing northwest!’


Hearolie wore his helmet and the two simultaneously cast their spells to give themselves a speed boost. Within a blink of an eye, they chased after the nut.

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Krisstal struggled to stand as she coughed out blood. The sides of her visions began to flicker, slowly darkening with each passing moment. The Arakadicus had abilities just like the tarantula forms but far superior in both speed and strength, far more difficult to handle than an army of spiders combined.


‘I’ll save… you, Reygina…’ The warrior barely dodged a fearsome barrage of fangs. She could feel her blood set on fire. The more she moved, the faster the poison spread. And yet not moving in a situation like this is instantly fatal.


She took a deep breath and ran ahead, determined to land a blow. Instead, she simply stumbled forward and fell face first on the ground.


The Arakadicus laughed at the sad attempt. ‘You know? You genuinely made me feel bad. Poor creature, here, let me help you.’ The queen grabbed the warrior by her arms with her long, freakish legs, the fine hairs felt like spikes that threatened to pierce her skin if her movements were off by even a millimetre.


Humiliated. That’s what Krisstal felt at that moment. Nothing but entertainment to vermin. The giant spider lifted her into the air and lowered her back down in a shockingly gentle manner, like how a mother would when placing her newborn child in bed.


The spider’s eyes glared at her intensely. She laughed again as she balanced Krisstal just enough for her to be able to stand without aid. ‘I’m going to be right here in front of you and allow you to attack me once for free, not that you can aim properly.


Krisstal felt herself drifting in and out of consciousness, as much as she wanted to save Reygina, she knew she couldn’t do anything other than dodging, and that itself was already suppressing her limits.


‘If the spider she was stupid enough to do that for me, I’ll damage her as much as I can in an instant.’ She glared at the spider back through her failing eyesight. The spider’s eyes alone were as tall as her. She knew the spider’s armour-like exterior might be too much for her to deal any real damage, but if she timed it just right…


‘I’ll stab her eyes so she can't see.’ She thought to herself and smiled, imagining what the spider’s reaction would be. ‘She’s going to be pissed, and properly kill me on the spot. Oh well, at least I did die helping people… Sorry Reygina… I wished I was stronger… I wish I can have more adventures with you boys… But I guess this is it for me.’ Her brain fired a warning telling her not to waste any more time, if she is going to do it, she better do it now.


‘Aim and attack away!’ The gigantic spider taunted, and her whole body remained unmoving. Krisstal could feel her stinky, foul breath breathing at her impatiently.


‘If you insist.’ Krisstal took a deep breath, trying to oxygenate her muscles and nerves as much as she can into what she believed was the last spell she will ever cast. She’s determined to make her end memorable. ‘For The Wynn!’ With a mighty cry that startled even the queen of spiders, she raised her spear and did the hand signs for her chosen spell. ‘Bash.’ Her sudden burst of menacing aura shocked and surprised the queen, precisely what Krisstal needed.


Since the spider was so close to her vicinity, her bash spell was extremely effective in damaging her eyes. Krisstal was surprised when she saw a second shockwave appear after the first, and seemed to give a small knockback effect at the giant pest.


‘Ha!’ Motivated by the unexpected increased power of her spell, she gathered all her remaining energy and thrust her new spear - The Skin Tearer, into the spiders’ head as hard as she could, praying the weapon would live up to its name.


The Arakadicus roared in pain and agony, her massive legs jerked uncontrollably. ‘How… How dare you… strike me!’ She let out a scream that almost burst the warrior’s eardrums. One of the legs struck the warrior as her grip loosened, her spear still stuck in the spider’s skull. Krisstal felt the pain had finally caught up to her and she laid on the ground right under the Arkadiacus’s massive fangs. She could feel her body failing to make even the tiniest of contractions, any movement was now impossible no matter how hard she tried, her strength had finally left her. It’s over.


‘Heh.’ Krisstal smiled goofily. Had someone else been in her situation now, they would be screaming until their lungs collapsed or having embarrassing incontinence issues. Here she is, smiling and somewhat laughing. as if she were high and drunk. ‘You told me to take aim and attack, and I obeyed. Your majesty.’ She could see fluids oozing from the wound, the wound might be small but it certainly did some real damage seeing how the spider is having a seizure of some sort. Thinking it would be funny, she added. ‘Hope your crown is big enough to cover that. Ha.’


The spiders scurried from the arena outside and had their fangs pressed against Krisstal, waiting for the queen’s next orders. Some spiders used their webs to pull the spear out of their queen’s head while others sprayed webs at the wound to stop the bleeding, others wrapped a makeshift bandage and gauze around the head using their webs.


Humiliated. That’s what Arkadiacus felt at that moment. The queen of spiders, humiliated in front of her own servants, her followers, and in front of the Arachnid Idol no less. She has disgraced the entire spider population and her predecessors, and she intended to make things right this time.


As the bleeding got under control, so did the seizures and uncontrollable movements. ‘The humans have a phrase they say? The sharp thorn often produces delicate roses.’ The massive spiders looked at her intensely, her two largest eyes in the centre dripping with blood. Krisstal did what she wanted. Well, sort of, the giant spider still has three smaller eyes on each side of her head so the queen isn’t completely blind. ‘I was wrong before. You’re not deserving to be our meal; you will make a worthy sacrifice for the idol instead. My predecessors will be pleased to have such a powerful human.’ The spider’s calm manner was somewhat unnerving for Krisstal, had her insults not fazed her in the slightest? She was hoping to at least strike a nerve.


The Arakadicus lifted her legs up high before slamming them down onto Krisstal limps, pinning her to the ground as a jet of web started wrapping her feet. The queen then rubbed her fangs together and a spider bit her again, the burning sensation inside her tensed up ten times as she screamed out in agony, her painful cries echoed throughout the chamber. She wanted to dive into any source of water so badly to cool off, but it was pointless.


The Arakadicus then used two of her legs to force Krisstal’s head up straight. She turned her head a bit and made eye contact with three of her smaller eyes. ‘You know a fact about being a sacrifice? We don’t kill them, no. no. We paralyze you till you either die of thirst or starvation on the idol. Our poison would simply ruin the delicacy of your meat and organs.’ Krisstal could see her pupils dilate and her eyes glaring in a barely contained state of rage, like a storm ready to unleash its energy. ‘You’ll die a slow and painful death, with no hope of ever breaking free, or being rescued. You will feel pain but no way to relieve it, you will beg for death, but you can never kill yourself.’ The webs were up to her neck as she felt the spiders pinched her, she let out another scream, this time unable to contain the tears in her eyes. But before her next scream could even leave her mouth, a ball of web was shot and effectively silenced her, it almost knocked the wind out of her. Her mouth remained open but no sound could leave her throat. Meanwhile, the spiders made webbing securing her forehead as if she had a head injury. Everything but her eyes and nose were webbed, she could barely expand her lungs enough to breathe properly.


She felt her whole body dragged across the arena as the queen pulled her towards the idol, webbing her cocoon around the idol. Her slow and agonizing death was inevitable now and she was too tired and too weak to even struggle against fate.


‘Now, let’s see how your mage friend is doing…’ The Arakadicus was about to peek inside the idol when a Bloodcurling Arachne rushed into the chamber and approached the queen.


‘You dare disturb… What!’ The Bloodcurdling Arachne whispered something that Krisstal couldn’t hear, but it certainly stunned the queen enough to stop her mid-sentence.


‘Well? Send more spiders to intercept him then.’ The chamber shook a bit as a massive boom could be heard outside the chamber. The queen didn’t pay any attention to it and was more annoyed by the intrusion of her own subordinates than the actual problem.


The Bloodcurdling Arachne again whispered something that enraged the queen. ‘What do you mean the…’


A Sinister Arachne then landed from above and onto the arena, but Krisstal noticed something peculiar, something sliced its arms off. ‘He’s too fast, too strong.’ Its breathing laboured as if it were about to pass out at any second.


A Sticky Arachne used its strong webs to lower itself next to the Sinister Arachne and hissed something to it. Another boom rocked the chamber, this time even the queen seemed slightly worried. She could no longer ignore the loud and strange sounds near her chamber.


‘My Queen! We must get you to safety before he arrives.’ The Sinister Arachne urged, almost pleading the queen to not waste any more time despite knowing full well that directly ordering the queen would result in a gruesome death. A hole in the chamber burst open before they could say anything else. Different types of spiders have been knocked away from the hole, leaving nothing but a lone figure standing.


‘You dare attack the Arakadicus?’ The spider queen hissed in anger. The spiders that were blown away scattered all over her chamber. Most didn’t get back up.


‘I’m not here to attack you.’ Krisstal's eyes widened at the sight of the person who was standing there. ‘I’m here to annihilate you.’


Skywalker's eyes glowed in intensity as his fist tightened on a greatsword. The sword’s blade was unique, sporting a lightning-like blade that was purple from the tip till it slowly transcended into a blueish colour from the middle till the base. Lines in the form of swirls decorated the blade. The greyish hilt featured a crossguard. ‘You're about to be dethroned.’ Orbs of blue and purple light flashed from the entire blade.



‘Ah, human!’ The Arakadicus hissed in shock and fear that she hoped no one would notice, especially her subordinates. ‘How could you wield the Elven Greatsword?’ She didn’t know things were this bad.


Skywalker didn’t seem to have listened to the question. Even if he did, he chose to ignore it. ‘Let them go!’


The queen stomped her massive legs across the arena, narrowly missing Krisstal behind her. ‘Never! We will not fail our ancestors and tarnish the pride of the Arakadicus. Spiders, protect your queen.’ The spiders quickly gathered in front of the queen and the idol. They hissed in aggression and were itching for a fight.


The queen scooted towards the back of the arena while having one of her legs wrapped around Krisstal. With a slight tug, her cocoon was separated from the idol. The queen of spiders sprayed something all over the warrior who couldn’t do anything to avoid it, but surprisingly, she felt a bit better. In fact, the poisoning effect seemed to have subsided and some of her wounds were recovering slightly, at least she knew she wasn’t going to die due to blood loss.


‘I’ve revitalized you a bit with my antivenom just so you can see how we will tear your saviour apart.’ She screeched, confident the intruder would be nothing but food within minutes.


Krisstal looked at her friend with worry, not just the monumental task of saving them but also fighting an entire nest of spiders. There were surely at least a few hundred, maybe thousands of spiders approaching from the outside world, entering the arena from every corner, every crack. It was like a black wave slowly creeping towards the shore, only this time it was made of black creatures marching orderly as one.


Skywalker said nothing, even as he jumped towards a web to break his fall. He cut the webs at his feet and walked casually towards the spiders as if it were a normal routine. Krisstal knew something was off with him, he was unusually quiet, he was uncharacteristically brave, even if he wanted to save his friends, he wouldn’t be able to put a straight face when being presented with a small harmless spider, let alone the Arakadicus. Skywalker would normally be pissing his pants the moment any of her red eyes even glanced at the ninja. But here he isn’t. Is it even him?


His sword reflected the queen’s image on the blade when pointed at her. The Arakadicus hissed in anger and annoyance, this has dragged on long enough. ‘Attack!’


Before the spiders could shoot their fangs, before any poison or webs could be fired; before any arachnes could even react, Skywalker had blitz passed them.


‘Seismic Wave.’ He used the sword and cast a spell Krisstal found similar to her Bash spell. The moment Skywalker struck the blade forward into the ground, the ground ripples like a wave in the direction the sword struck. From afar, it looked as if the earth was going to swallow its targets.


The arachnes, thanks to the more human-like anatomy, can better balance themselves from the attack, and run forward with superhuman speeds to jab their claws into the ninja. Yet the ninja was undeterred. With his sword held high, he prepared himself and unleashed another devastating attack at the monsters using the same spell. ‘Seismic Wave.’


Krisstal felt her entire body shake, but it wasn’t due to her. She looked up just high enough to see that Arakadicus looked not so confident now. In just two moves, Skywalker had wiped out more than half of her army.


‘Hold it!’ The Arakadicus screeched, still grabbing hold of Krisstal. ‘I don’t know who you are, human. But one step closer and the girl will fall and be cooked quicker than the mage.’ Krisstal could catch a glimpse of a lava stream below her feet, she tried to think of something before she would be falling to her death. ‘No!’ Her pleads were muffled by the gag, but she tried to get the message across despite her words being nothing more than grunts and noises. ‘Save Reygina!’ The Arakadicus tightened her grip on Krisstal who couldn’t help but cry out in pain.


‘You wouldn’t.’ Skywalker stared at the massive spider.


‘There is nothing an Arakadicus wouldn’t dare…’ She was cut off when one of her eyes was stabbed by the sword. Screeching with agony, she let go of the helpless warrior.


Krisstal whimpered and screamed through the gag. Still wrapped up in her cocoon, she couldn’t do anything to break her fall. She was freefalling to her death.


Everything she saw seemed to happen in slow motion. She could see her friend and saviour diving downwards from the arena. Using another sword he had, he cast Whirlwind and cut her cocoon, setting her free at last. Still falling, his hand stretched out to grab hers. Inch by inch, their hands closed on one another, until finally, their hands clapped together. Their fingers clasped each other’s hands shut, making sure they would never let go.


Skywalker asked. ‘You trust me?’ His eyes were no longer glowing, Krisstal could feel it in her heart it really was him talking to her, she could hear it loud and clear. The voice of a kind and gentle boy.


‘Yes,’ she hugged him tightly as she braced for whatever Skywalker had in mind.


‘Then here goes.’ Taking his Ghost Blade, he used all the remaining strength to use as many of his clones as a platform. Krisstal watched as each clone seemed to approve of their original’s use, one gave them an approving smile, another gave them a thumbs up before disappearing just as instantly. Despite just being clones, they are connected to what Skywalker wanted.


Skywalker managed to grab onto a web near the wall as he mentally praised himself for doing a good job. ‘You’re safe now.’ He whispered to her ear. She quickly turned her head as their eyes met, they were so close they could see their reflection on their eyes.


‘Thank you.’ She hugged him tightly. She couldn’t believe what had happened, she had never been so grateful to be alive.


‘Anything for you.’ The ninja rested his head on her shoulder for a bit to catch his breath, ignoring any web fluids on her. ‘Now let’s hurry and save Reygina too, what’s her condition?’


‘In the idol. Cook her alive.’ She blurted out, not caring if the way she put it made sense or not. She then told everything that had happened after the ninja comforted her, and Skywalker could feel his heart torn knowing what they have gone through. ‘The Arakadicus will pay for what they’ve done to you. Since you’re so heavily injured already, you get Reygina.’


‘But… It’s the Arakadicus,’ Krisstal asked. Her tone sounded less concerned than she wanted to. ‘Can you do it on your own?’


‘I thought you trust me.’ He frowned, acting hurt. He cut a nearby web and used it as a rope to tie them together, fastening Krisstal firmly at his back.


She knew he was just teasing her, so she didn’t take it the wrong way. ‘Alright but be careful.’ The ninja replied with a smile as he slowly began climbing the nearby wall. The Arakadicus above was still trying to get the sword that was firmly glued inside her eye out, she struggled with all her might to swap it out but to no avail.


‘Arachnes, spiders! Assist your queen now!’ She screamed. The few remaining servants used their webs and strength to yank the peculiar weapons out. Some used their webs to make another massive bandage to stop the bleeding.


‘How could a human be wielding those, only Herobrine was rumoured to be able to use them. And he was but a legend.’ Confused and curious at the encounter, she was so distracted with her thoughts that she didn’t realize the two humans were still alive.


Once he had climbed behind the altar and hidden from all the arachnids’ view. The ninja quietly sliced the web binding them together with his sword as the spider continued her muttering. He whispered something into her ear. ‘I’ll buy as much time as I can, you and Reygina use these Detlas teleportation scrolls and get treated first.’


‘But what about…’


‘I have one for myself.’ He took out a third teleportation scroll from his pockets. He placed a strong grip on her shoulder before also whispering something else into her ear. ‘And I want you to know… You did good, better than anyone I have known for surviving this long. So yeah, you were awesome for coming this far… Wow, that didn’t feel as awkward inside my head.’ He gave her a health potion for her to drink.


Krisstal blushed at the compliment, any dark thoughts of her being a burden was silenced with just a simple statement. It was a moment she would never let go. ‘Thanks.’ She hugged him tightly that made Skywalker cheeks go as red as a tomato.


‘Now, go! Save her.’ The warrior nodded as she finished the health potion. She slipped through a crack within the idol as a result of the previous battle. Her heart pounding against her chest, unsure what to expect inside the idol. It was a good thing it was completely empty inside, the spider queen’s screech must have mobilised any remaining spiders to her. Not that she was complaining. Without a spear, she couldn’t unleash any of her wynnic spells, and she knew full well she wouldn’t be able to handle more than a few spiders on her own with her battered and broken body.


The inside of the idol was more spacious than she thought, despite being made especially for spiders, she assumed perhaps it needed to be built larger to accommodate the arachnes but there wasn’t time for such nonsense and pointless thoughts. She had to save her friend, just like Skywalker had saved them. He didn’t let her down, and vice versa, she didn’t plan on failing him now.


In the peculiar idol, there was a set of stone stairs that took her upwards, her nose was immediately attacked by a mixture of foul smells. Streams of murky liquid from above poured down and surrounded the stairs like a chocolate fountain. She carefully transverse the small stone steps that lead towards the stairs, holding her breath as long as possible. She could feel her insides flipping inside out just by looking at the strange solution. Krisstal guessed it must be the poison baths that the queen had mentioned, so it wouldn't be surprising that they would let their food be cooked in these poisons for better taste. The stench was too putrid to even touch and no doubt led to all sorts of unpleasant effects as her eyes began to tear up. She knew she had to pick up the pace before the poisons became too overwhelming and incapacitated her. She felt her legs gaining strength, forcing her to move up and ignore all the pain within her as she raced up the seemingly endless stairs. And then without realizing, there she was, face to face with a cocoon that had been adhered to a nearby pillar right next to a poison bath and a large furnace-like stone structure that could fit whole humans. She was pale white, almost as white as the silk. But thankfully still awake, albeit her mind doesn’t seem to be in sync and aware of her presence despite her eyes being open.


All of their lives are at stake. Her mind commanded her to act immediately, to get her out of there now. She must act quickly, she must hurry, she must…


‘Be quick but don't hurry.’ That was something Reygina said to her when she asked how she was so dang smart one night. They weren’t talking about anything in particular, so they tried to come up with all sorts of things to discuss to pass the time.


‘That sounds contradictory.’ Krisstal said out loud, randomly flipping one of the books near her. ‘How can you be fast and not be fast at the same time.’ The book was about some new wynnic spells and culture that Reygina had picked up from the town public library. Although, there were also rumours of a hidden and ancient library full of Bob’s history hidden somewhere in Wynn.


‘It might be on the surface.’ Reygina explained as she turned around and placed the book she had finished back into the shelf. ‘But if you look closely between the lines, being quick means don’t hesitate with your goals and focus on it; On the contrary, don’t rush means don’t be impatient while striving for those goals, or you’ll make unnecessary mistakes.’


‘Ok… I’ll keep that in mind.’ Krisstal nodded without really meaning it. It was a natural, autopilot response.


Yet it was funny how such a seemingly trivial conversation has such a big impact now. She clamped her hands tightly together to calm herself down. Now isn’t the time to make any mistakes, what she needs is to approach the situation carefully and formulate the best course of action. Krisstal knew full well the effects of the spider venom since she was subjected to it as well. Hallucination, searing pain, confusion, weakness, paralysis… All very nasty. Reygina might even think of her as an enemy and any movement she makes might cause the poison bath to spill over her, and she will surely be dead.


‘Reygina?’ Krisstal called out, hoping she could at least alert her to her presence.


There was no response, and for a moment Krisstal feared the worst. Was she too late?


‘Reygina!’ She called out again, this time much louder. The mage replied with a muffled cry, and a sense of relief rushed over the warrior. ‘I’m coming, don’t worry!’


She slowly inched forward, but Reygina seemed agitated much to her surprise. Was she not aware of her presence? Krisstal stopped before calling out her name again. She could see Reygina yanking on the floor to get back against the pillar with what little movement she could muster, her cries began to sound more distressed and her breathing was rapid and deep.


Was she hallucinating? But she did give a response to her just now. Unless… She quickly remembered how she hallucinated and believed she saw a human within the tunnels. Turns out that ‘human’ was actually a Sinister Arachne. It was after she climbed up the web rope, she found herself facing another webbed covered passage that was almost pitch black.


‘Wait for me!’ Krisstal heard the mage below loud and clear, she was about to give her some encouragement when a shadow caught her glance. She turned around and was surprised to see a soldier running ahead of her.


‘What the?’ Krisstal thought to herself. A living human inside the Arakadicus’s nest? She ran after the soldier, unsure why he’s running ahead and away from her.


She followed him and soon found herself in a nesting chamber. The same green, revolting eggs were everywhere. On the ground, on the walls, on the ceiling. For a moment, she considered turning back. Surely Reygina would have climbed up by now.


Yet the soldier was running across the passage, leaping over pits and webs agilely as if he were dancing on stones over a rushing river. Krisstal scanned around to decide her next action. The passage was very much pitch black, but there was enough light from nearby lava streams for her to see the outline of the layout. There were webs on the ground, but she discovered uncharacteristically large patches of webs placed periodically along the walls, a formation she had never seen before with the previous chambers and passages. She wondered what could be hidden behind the webs.


But the soldier had reached the end of the passage before waving at her.


‘Huh? Wait up!’ She whispered, trying her best not to alert the spiders to her location. She couldn’t see any with what little light there was, but they wouldn't be too far away.


But the soldier didn’t wait, he had already disappeared into the shadows, leaving the warrior alone.


Krisstal tried to catch up by running across the nesting chamber as quickly as possible. If the soldier knew an exit out of this hellish place, they could all leave safely. If he ever gets caught, they might lose their only opportunity for escape.



She was halfway through when suddenly the whole cave had red and orange lights illuminated everywhere. Krisstal came to a stop, awe and mystified at the situation. And then, horror and terror sank in. Those weren’t lights she’s seeing. Those were all eyes, eyes of the forest spiders. Apparently, their eyes glowed in complete darkness, and Krisstal wished she knew that fact before coming here. The large patches of white webs were used to hide and protect any Premature Creeplings, something she also realised a bit too late when she saw the abominations coming out from the webs.


Before she could even use her hands to cast a spell, a string of web bound her arms together. Then another roped her arms to her sides. More webs tied her feet together. Krisstal panicked, instantly regretting how she made the biggest mistake of her life. She was about to scream for help when a sanguine coloured human-spider hybrid monster jumped down from above, she couldn’t do anything but watch helplessly as its fangs sank into her skin, injecting poison into her. She couldn’t scream as a Newborn Creepling had landed on her face and began placing webs around her mouth and hair. Her screams deadened by the layers of webbing as the same red monster lifted her chin, and she saw the soldier in front of her. But something was wrong, or rather different. She blinked again, unsure if her eyes were deceiving her. The soldier was no longer human, but a nearly identical humanoid monster like the red one, only this one is black. It took off the armour as it let out a triumphant cry that caused ringing in her ears.


‘Looks like you have met a Sootspin Arachne, or Sinister Arachne. Whichever you like to call it.’ A voice that immediately intimated the captured warrior sent chills down her spine, despite the poison circulating in her felt like her blood was caught on fire. Her body had succumbed to the pain as her fingers betrayed her, her spear dropped to the ground which was towed away by the spiders.


‘I will eat you personally for mocking me!’ The voice of the Arakadicus, there was no doubt about it. It was the same voice she heard across the chambers. Fear and adrenaline kicked in, she had to try to warn Reygina but the webs were as strong as steel and as flexible as a sash at the same time. With her strength dwindling, cutting the webs on her own was not an option. ‘What poison bath shall you boil in?’


The Sootspin Arachne charged forward and sent a powerful punch to her nose, causing her to crash headfirst into the nearby wall. She then felt something warm dripping down on her, staining her vision red. Flashes of light spread across her eyes and her mind went spinning, then the same Sootspin Arachne grabbed her throat and hoisted her to the air without breaking a sweat.


Suspended in mid-air, Krisstal choked and struggled as the fields of her vision slowly darkened bit by bit, her brain starving of oxygen. The fight-or-flight response in her body kicked in instantly. She thought of kicking her assailant, but it was impossible with her whole body effectively bound like a mummy. She tried to speak through the gag, but all that could be heard were muffled noises of struggle. Her whole body began to numb, sensations faltering. Her thoughts were everywhere and a mess as the final layers of webbing covered her eyes completely, cocooning her from head to toe.


‘She is finished.’ The Arkadiacus’s voice boomed, despite being completely wrapped up, Krisstal could hear the bone-chilling screech loud and clear. ‘Get the other one.’


‘I’m sorry, I wasn’t good enough.’ Those were the words she last thought of before she blacked out. And now, by some miracle or some weird destiny, she was unexpectedly given a second chance to escape.


‘Be quick but don't hurry.’ She whispered the same words to Reygina. That seemed to calm her a bit, at the very least, she wasn’t as shaky as before.


‘Now what…’ Krisstal wondered, she had no idea how serious Reygina is. Worst case scenario, she might have thought she was a spider and the moment she freed her, everything would be chaotic, and she knew Reygina wouldn’t be able to handle herself for the time being. Failure is not an option. Impatience would be their downfall.


‘Reygina.’ She slowly approached her again, this time stopping at her tracks when Reygina squirmed. She kept on calling her name. ‘Reygina! It’s me, Krisstal!’


The restrained mage looked at her, her eyes tearing up. She muffled something through the gag, easily identifiable as a cry for help. ‘Reygina! I’m right here.’


‘Reygina, I’m going to help you. Will you let me?’ The warrior gently inched towards her. Like a feral kitten becoming docile when presented with food, it becomes easier to approach and if lucky, physical contact could be made. She knew any sudden move would startle the confused mage, so she opted to slowly approach her, one step at a time. ‘Just think of her as a cute cat.’


Reygina seemed much calmer this time, she didn’t resist her approach. She remained still and passive. ‘Reygina, I’m here, and I’ll get us out of here.’ She swore she saw her faintly nodded. Krisstal amused herself by thinking this was how Reygina would act if she were drunk. She let out a smile but controlled herself to not let herself laugh at this moment; she could tell her all about it after they reached Detlas.


She looked around for something to cut the webbing with. Skywalker was able to do it with a sword, so perhaps there’s something with a blade here she could use. Yet to her dismay, she found none. Apparently, spiders don’t like chopping or cutting their food into small and fine pieces.


‘Maybe there is something sharp enough I can use-’ She was cut off as she fell onto the floor, the Arachnid Idol suddenly shook as bits of the ceiling began to crumble. Krisstal used herself to shield Reygina from the small rocks falling on her. Reygina's eyes told her she was stunned and scared for her wellbeing, but Krisstal gave her a smile to reassure her she’s fine.


She looked around, and conveniently, the sharp stone shards that have littered the entire area will be of use. She quickly grabbed a sharp shard of stone and began cutting the webs, carefully making sure she didn’t cut any skin. It isn’t ideal, with the stone being much duller than a blade, but it will have to do. She could still hear spells cast outside as the fight continued, but she knew Skywalker couldn’t stall forever.


‘I’ll get you out of here, Reygina, I promised.’ She was half done now. Her fingers and joints ache, but she pushed on. The poison, her wounds and her mind begged her to stop, grinding against her willpower to persuade her to stop.


But she held on. She quickly cut the last piece of binds as Reygina was finally free from her prison. She was still weak, and her skin was cold to the touch. Krisstal quickly gave her a health potion so she could at least regain enough strength for her to say the scroll out loud. Reygina’s eyes met hers, and in a non-verbal way gave her her thanks. Krisstal received the message and simply smiled. ‘No problem.’ Ignoring the remaining threads of webbing, she gave the mage a gentle hug.


‘Do you think you can use the scroll?’ She has to, given that they definitely won’t be able to use their way in as an exit.


Reygina began drifting in and out of consciousness, and time is against them. Either she had to quickly help Skywalker and end the Arakadicus, or she had to risk using one teleportation scroll on both of them. She knew the latter option was risky, using a spell meant for one on two people will almost always lead to disaster, they might end up somewhere they don’t know, or worse, in places more dangerous than where they are now. The scroll wasn’t designed to do so, and she was deeply concerned about what effects she might have. For all she knows, they might not even survive the trip.


She took a deep breath and weighed her options, both were terrible but there was a lesser of two evils. ‘I’m going to carry you to the lowest level and then I’ll help Skywalker. Stay awake for us,’ She clamped the mage’s pale hand, ‘please.’


Reygina looked at her and gave her a silent blessing, still needing time to recover before being able to utter any words. ‘Come on, slowly now.’ She helped her up and allowed the mage to lean on her shoulder and head. Thankfully, she’s lighter than she looks. Hearolie could probably carry two of her on his back.


They slowly made their way to the lowest level, successfully avoiding the poison surrounding them. The warrior quickly settled the mage down and patted her shoulder. ‘Just hang in there, alright? We’re going to have a big meal afterwards.’


To her surprise, Reygina gave her a small smile, and Krisstal couldn’t help but let out a goofy smile of her own. It was surprisingly infectious but a welcome one, especially in these dark times.


She saw Skywalker fighting fiercely against the spider with his Ghost Blade, utilizing his clones to confuse and flank the spider’s blind spots. But it’s not enough. She saw the Elven Greatsword firmly stuck onto the Arachnid Idol’s topmost stones. Probably wedged there when the whole idol shook moments ago, no doubt the spiders feared that weapon. A weapon of great power.


She could see all the spiders except the Arakadicus were all but corpses laid across the arena. Krisstal saw Skywalker wasn’t going to last for much longer, he was bleeding in numerous places and his movements were slowing down, less accurate and off their mark. He was clearly poisoned as well, but still able to keep going for the time being.


Krisstal looked around and hoped to find some spear she could use to assist the ninja. Once again, no such luck. Any weapon the spiders have stolen and kept were everywhere but the arena, too far to reach, and too late even if she managed to climb her way towards one.


‘Krisstal?’ Skywalker looked surprised. What is she doing here? She should have already escaped by now with Reygina. Wait. Where is Reygina? Is she-


‘She's fine!’ Krisstal called out. She had read his mind and knew exactly what his concern was.


‘Then what about you?’ Skywalker skidded under the Arakadicus’ leg, barely dodging the attack that would have swatted him out of the arena. ‘You need to get out of here now!’


The Arakadicus seemed more focused on squashing the ninja more so than the warrior. He was the one who decimated the entire nest of spiders after all. ‘You will all… die!’ She spat out a wave of poison where the ninja got out of range, a few drops of the poison landed on his leather armour and corroded it.


‘Do you trust me?’ Krisstal asked and pointed at the mysterious sword. She hoped she knew what she was getting herself into.


Skywalker glanced at the sword and realized what she’s planning. For a moment, he wondered what his response should be. The fatigue and sheer power of the strange weapons always strained him physically and mentally, an indescribable pain shot through his body after using them each time, particularly his eyes. Currently, he knew if he used one more spell from the weapon; his body, mind and spirit would give up. He was planning on finishing the spider with his wynnic weapon, but it wasn’t effective at all. It already took everything in him to dodge the attacks, and the poison circulating in him was slowly draining his previous energy and strength to continue on. Perhaps it was just luck that he was still able to keep fighting. Besides, the poison had been circulating in his system for a while now, and he knew he wouldn’t last long without help.


But most importantly, he was worried about her, what if this didn’t work out? How could he live and tell others if anything happens to them, to her?


‘Do you trust me?’ Her voice echoed in his mind, but he knew better than to convince her otherwise. Maybe… Just maybe… Things will work out on his own.


‘Yes!’ He shouted louder than he hoped to, and he prayed he didn't sound desperate. All hope now lies on her.


‘Boost me!’ Krisstal began climbing up the idol, slowly making her way up through the stony surfaces.


That caught the spider queen’s attention. ‘How dare you contaminate your filthy human hands on our idol!’ The spider was about to fire a wave of webs at the warrior, but the ninja suddenly appeared beside her and used a Whirlwind spell point-blank range, effectively cutting her eye.


The Arakadius shrieked in pain and anger as the attack completely missed the warrior. Skywalker kept on distracting the Arakadicus, long enough for the warrior to climb halfway.


‘Ready!’ Skywalker acknowledged with a wave of his own before using a clone to jump over the Arakadicus and then using another clone to dodge the barrage of fangs shot from her back.


‘Two more clones.’ He mentally counted the number of clones he can create before running out of mana.


He used the third one to reach over to where Krisstal is as she jumped towards him. Their feet connected as Skywalker and Krisstal used all their might to yank each other away. Krisstal went higher and higher until her hand caught the hilt. Nothing happened.


Skywalker used the last clown to cushion his fall, but the Arakadicus had caught him with a web, catching the pest at last. She wanted to kill him instead of eating him, but she decided to play with her food first.


‘It’s up to you now.’ Skywalker cried out as his arms were now bound to his sides. It’s too late for him to use any spell now. ‘Herobrine, help us for once.’


The Arakadicus spun him around the arena like a yo-yo. ‘You! Y-you murdered my children. You tainted my scared chambers. You freed our food!’ Skywalker could feel the anger radiating from the web like fire. She pulled him in with such force he crashed into the ground, leaving an imprint on the arena.


Skywalker coughed out blood as he felt his entire body broken into pieces. But it wasn’t over yet, the spider pinned the ninja to the ground with her long, hairy arms as she raised her fangs high up into the air, ready to stab the ninja as hard as she could.


‘Die.’


Skywalker's eyes opened wide, that wasn’t coming from the Arakadicus, it was from Krisstal. She aimed the sword right at the massive vermin. ‘Water Bolt.’ An orb of water formed at the wand’s tip, both Skywalker and Arakadicus looked at it, mystified by its energy and appearance. It was nothing they have ever seen before.


‘Krisstal! Y-you okay?’ There was no reply except for her glowing white eyes looking back at his brown eyes. The orb of water shot out faster than a wand projectile, and before both targets could react, the Arakadicus’s jaws were knocked away, its fangs harmlessly avoided the ninja with meters to spare.


The water from the bolt spread out, and Skywalker braced for impact. Instead, the water drenched him, and instantly he began to feel something different was going on. He felt his whole body cooling off, with the mystical water coating his wounds like transparent bandages. It was beyond belief, but Skywalker saw his wounds begin healing as well. He began to feel good, no better. Miraculously, the effects of the poison have also slowly worn off, he can feel his own body no longer at war with the toxins. Reygina can be saved too!


‘W-what?’ The Arakadicus stammered, not expecting the turn of events. ‘Not everyone can wield these weapons…’


‘What do you know about these weapons?’ Skywalker demanded to know more. This is a once in a lifetime opportunity, apart from Herobrine, no one seemed to know of their existence. ‘Or else you’re going to be blasted by another one of those spells.’


The Arakadicus obeyed without question, it was frightening yet intriguing to see how one spell made a spider queen beg for mercy. ‘They were known as the Stellasidus Weapons. Weapons forged and created from dimensions beyond our understanding and reality, wielding unimaginable power of otherworldly magic. No one knows who made them and when they were created. But those who wield them always have glowing white eyes as a result.’


‘Are you…’


‘An Arakadicus once duelled with a human wielding such a weapon, after effortlessly defeating our prey. The prey blurted out everything he knew before we ate him. Engrossed with the power of such a weapon. For centuries and generations, we Arakadicus have tried to develop the ultimate arachne to wield such a weapon.’ She hissed.


Skywalker looked at Krisstal who formed a new orb of water at the tip of the blade, ready to fire again.


The Arakadicus retreated to the back of the room, legs shaking. ‘That’s all I know, I swear!’ She screeched, glancing at the girl on top of the idol with her remaining eyes.


‘Where’s the other Stellasidus Weapon you have in your possession then.’ The ninja asked.


‘The Nomegusta,’ The queen replied after some thought, hoping to use her collective knowledge of the weapons as a bargaining chip for her life. ‘At least, that’s what I think the name is.’


Skywalker demanded. ‘We want it.’ He felt an urge inside, persuading him to obtain it no matter what, whatever means necessary.


‘What?’ The spider wailed. ‘No, you can’t. It is one of our most prized possess-’ An orb of water blasted at her face, this time bringing her down to her knees. They were in charge of the hive now, her survival at the mercy of prey. ‘Alright, you can have it!’


With only a few dying servants remaining, she promptly climbed up the walls weakly to locate the strange weapon. She was hoping the humans wouldn’t monitor her too closely so she could use the opportunity as an escape, but no such luck.


The spider recalled how mighty she once was. Defeating her closest siblings for the throne, the announcement and crowning of her as the new Arakadicus. The moment of her battling the old queen for the throne and the moment her fangs pierced the aged royalty. She couldn’t believe how far she had fallen, from the ruler of a spider nest to nothing but a servant of her own prey. Anger rose from within her, but she knew if she didn’t obey, she would never be the Arakadicus any longer, yet there was no army to lead over. It’ll take more than at least a year for the spider’s population to flourish once again, but she’ll have her revenge on them. Skywalker, Krisstal, Reygina… She’ll remember these names well.


The two pairs of eyes tracked her every movement, waiting for a chance to strike the moment anything goes against their way. Begrudgingly, she found the unique looking double-bladed axe that was stored within the chamber for generations. Their plan of controlling the province’s most powerful arachne has been ruined. She used her poison to corrode the webs that held the weapon. It was a simple axe, but looks can be deceiving. It had a demonic-looking face that connected the two blades that shaped like a smile with the handle, which made it look like some sort of creation from the deepest regions of the nether, unholy and full of demonic evil. The blades changed from red to blue and then back to red periodically, which she admits is a fascinating thing to watch when bored.



The axe fell from above and embedded itself onto the arena floor. Skywalker freed it after a slight pull, his eyes instantly glowing the same white as Krisstal’s.


‘There, now get your friend and leave.’ The Arakadicus said, hoping this would be the end of the humiliation.


‘Krisstal, can you use your water bolt to heal Reygina?’ Skywalker asked gently, not letting the spider out of sight.


The warrior simply leapt down and went inside the idol. Despite her condition, the watery spell was able to do wonders compared to Reygina’s heal spell and was far superior to a healing potion. Reygina was able to regain her strength and fully awake after a few uses of Water Bolt. She would still require treatment, but at least she was no longer in danger of blood loss or spider venom.


‘Skywalker? Krisstal?’ The mage slowly got up after regaining consciousness. ‘What's going on…’ She saw two friends with glowy eyes that made her legs turn to jelly. Were they her friends, they look different, but they weren’t hostile towards her? What is happening? How is she even alive, the poison should have finished her? Why is she all wet and soaked with some mystical water? What are the weapons they are holding?


She had many questions that were left unanswered.


And then, Krisstal began to shake. Her whole body was trembling as the mage caught her with her arms, her eyes returned to their normal blue as she hyperventilated and sat on the floor, legs crossed and sweating profusely.


The Arakadicus silently marveled at the sight. She never told them that while an immense amount of mana is granted to the user once in possession of the weapons, they also drain their mana quicker if the user can’t control its power. The mana cost for casting any spell is always greater than the mana regenerated, thus the warrior girl has overexerted herself. She quickly glanced at the ninja boy who was surprised at the situation. ‘The ninja boy had some amount of experience with the weapons before, so surely it would take a little more to push him over the edge.’


Skywalker quickly ordered the girls to use their teleportation scroll as they disappeared in a green light.


The Arakadicus looked confused, why isn’t the ninja going with them. Did he intend to finish her off?


‘Where do you know where to find more.’ The ninja asked, but the spider could sense something was different about him, his voice wasn’t the same. It was someone’s, someone who had possessed him. He strapped both his sword and the axe at his back, holding the greatsword to face her.


‘I only know of this one.’ The Arakadicus replied, ‘I swear upon the Arachnid Idol.’ If she could bait the ninja into using his spells and overexert himself like the warrior, she might still have a chance of victory and escape.


‘Wrong answer.’ Skywalker dashed forward at breakneck speeds that the Arakadicus thought he had turned invisible. He appeared behind her and kicked the Arakadicus into Arachnid Idol, smashing the greatest artefact and construction of the Arakadicus’s name and honour.


‘Wait!’ The queen begged. Without even realizing it, the greatsword was pointing directly at the spider’s cephalothorax. ‘Mercy, there is one other I have heard from the spider scouts.’


‘Where!’ The ninja screamed with fury at the spider’s face. His spit spattered across the spider’s skin.


‘T-Ternavas, the southern town of horses!’ The queen shrieked as the sword jabbed deeper against her skin. ‘Scouts have reported of a merchant there selling such a weapon to the highest bidder.’


‘Who!’ It was a command more than a question.


‘Bulbo and Frudo! That’s all I know, I swear upon the name of Arakadicus.’


‘Better.’ The ninja released the blade from the spider. ‘Now goodbye!’ He used a Seismic Wave to launch both the spider queen and idol into a nearby supporting pillar. Without the pillar and due to the previous battles that have already weakened the whole place, the entire chamber started to collapse.


The spider queen knew she was done for. Her whole body was damaged beyond any poison could heal her, she couldn’t see to know where to fire her webs, fangs and poisons to hold the cave in place anymore. She was completely blind from the last attack.


‘Heh…’ The thought of revenge was sweet, someday there will be a new Arakadicus taking her place. Be it a year, or ten or even a hundred. She knew the true story of the warrior with the Stellasidus Weapon. In reality, the Arakadicus was nearly defeated, but just as the soldier was about to end her, corruption spikes began protruding throughout his body, killing him on the spot. His corpse lay motionless on the ground.


‘He’ll die even if we don't get our revenge either way.’ She hissed gleefully at the thought as more and more chunks of stone and dirt fell on top of her, breaking her legs and joints while smashing her body. She was fine and at peace with dying knowing what’s in stock for the escaped prey.

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‘Hahahahaha…’ Yahya laughed as he tossed potions after potions at his pursuers. Hearolie fired an arrow that broke one of the potions that were aiming for him.


‘The guy has ender chests for pockets…’ The hunter remarked as he called out a spell. ‘Creeper Dart!’ The arrow shot out from his crossbow which glowed green and red. Yahya nimbly dodged it, the attack continued to soar ahead until it hit a spider instead and made a small explosion where it once was.


‘Woah, that Creeper Dart was surprisingly strong.’ Hearolie observed as he leapt over a fallen oak tree.


‘Must be because of Contamination.’ The hunter said.


‘What?’ Hearolie asked.


‘My crossbow! One of its perks is that it has an Exploding stat.’


‘Oh, cool.’


They had been running for some time now, their whole body ached from fatigue. Yet Yahya seemed as good as new, Hearolie wondered if he’s even really a villager. ‘Maybe he was something disguised as a villager.’


‘We’re about to leave the woods, the flat terrain ahead will help us catch up to him easier.’ The hooded hunter shouted, firing a Bolt Blizzard at the villager, who counter-attacked by throwing some sort of potion onto himself and easily leapt over the barrage of arrows, much to the dismay of the hunter.


Every time their attacks missed, he would let out a laugh that made their blood boil. ‘Not only he had a seemingly endless supply of potions,’ Hearolie sensed the annoyance in the hunter’s voice. ‘He had a potion for everything we threw at him. Regeneration, speed, leaping, hallucination…’


‘Yeah,’ Hearolie agreed as he fired his Arrow Storm at Yahya, this time Yahya drank some speed potion to temporarily outrun the arrows’ trajectory. ‘Just chasing after him isn’t enough. We need to think of something quick.’


The hooded hunter nodded, somersaulting in the air to avoid a mushroom thrown at him. The mushroom landed on the ground and caused a small explosion on the ground behind them. Yahya’s tricks were more annoying than deadly now. ‘We need reinforcements urgently.’


‘No, we don’t.’


‘Bro, we can't take him one on two.’


‘Hey. Firstly, I’m not your bro. Secondly,’ he quickly fired an Arrow Storm again the moment he saw an opening. ‘We can take him. We just need to coordinate better.’


‘You have any ideas?’


‘One! Boost me with your Spider Jump spell!’ He did the hand signs for a spell that the hooded hunter knew well. ‘You'll know the time to do it.’


The archer attacked the maniac again. This time using Escape to launch himself into the air and the hunter knew exactly when to boost him. He used his Spider Jump and launched himself into the air. Once he saw the perfect angle, he used all his remaining mana to launch Hearolie ahead by adding his momentum into his, effectively pushing him further ahead than the villager.


Hearolie raised his leg out, hoping to kick him to the ground. His foot made contact with the villager’s head, forcing him down onto the rocky surface with all his might. He even used a few Escape spells by aiming at the sky to force them into the ground, rubbing off Yahya’s skin as much as possible. It wouldn’t kill him considering he wouldn’t die from a point-blank explosion, so he might as well go all out.


Yahya and Hearolie rolled across the ground hard, but unlike the human, Yahya was almost fine. In fact, he was ready to get up and get going despite being grounded against the rocks and soil for several meters.


But enough time was bought. ‘Desultory Reed!’ The hooded figure fired at least half a dozen arrows at Yahya that was the first to finally hit its target after a lengthy chase. He gave Hearolie a health potion who was covered in bruises and wounds from the hard fall.


‘You…’ The hooded figure stopped to catch his breath. This battle was nothing he had experienced and he wished he didn’t have to do it again. ‘You did it!’


‘No,’ Hearolie smiled, coughing out grass and dirt. ‘We did it!’


The hooded figure smiled and they fist bumped.


Yahya was paralysed and poisoned from the new spell Hearolie had never heard of before. He quickly shook him to ensure he was really knocked out by the spell’s effect. ‘We better tie him up and take him to the nearest town. Maltic was it?’


‘Yeah… If we can gather enough string, we should be able to secure him, hopefully.’


‘But where? We’re nowhere near the woods to kill spiders for their silk.’ The reply came in the form of a moo, a cow was next to them chewing some grass.


‘These cows are domesticated.’ Hearolie pointed out, spotting a tag stabled to its ear. ‘We must be on farmland!’


‘Then there must be a farmer nearby.’ The hunter replied. ‘You go, I’ll stay and guard Yahya. My Desultory Reed seemed to be the only thing keeping him down.’


‘Take care, bro.’ The archer left immediately, leaving behind a mysterious hunter with the lunatic. Why did he say bro just now? He couldn’t shake the feeling of familiarity with this guy, despite not knowing much about him. It was an odd sensation, he seemingly knew him from before and didn't know him at the same time. But perhaps… ‘I’m just overthinking things.’



Thankfully, the farmers were kind enough to comply with his request. Apparently, the farmers had been terrorized by Yahya before, at least for the past six months.


‘Let him rot in prison!’ One of the farmers raised his pitchfork in victory. The other farmers cheered on, both human and villager race. ‘Burn him!’


‘Thank you so much for capturing that mushroom maniac. I’m sure the citizens in Nivla Village will be pleased.’


‘How can we reward you?’


Hearolie thought for a moment before replying. ‘Just a friendly service from the best archer in Wynn!’ He beamed. To keep the mystery and hype about him, he purposely ignored the questions he was asked. ‘I must check on Yahya before he wakes up, farewell and take care!’ He used his Escape to quickly head back to where the hooded hunter was.


Luck was on his side, by the time he had reached their spot. The hunter had taken off his hood due to the harsh sunlight. He had raven black hair and was almost as tall as him. Hearolie landed behind him. ‘Now that I’m the one who landed the finishing kick, I guess I win?’


The hunter still had his back against him. ‘Guess so.’ He chuckled.


‘Name reveal!’ Hearolie looked at him. If his name was so mysterious, surely it must be someone important or of high status. ‘You promised.’


‘You really don’t recognise me?’ The hunter turned around and faced the archer.


Hearolie felt his heart skip a beat when he saw him. At first, he didn’t recognize him. Then, just as quickly, it turned to denial and shock.


‘I-it can’t be…’ Hearolie stammered. He took a step back, almost falling on his butt.


‘Hello there, brother.’ Rivalor smiled, the sunlight fully shining on his face. ‘It’s been some time.’

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And thank you for reaching to the end of the chapter, with the Arakadicus and Yahya now defeated. What will our heroes’ journey take them to? We now have more lore added regarding the strange weapons - now revealed to be known as the Stellasidus Weapons - Otherworldly, immensly powerful and super deadly. What has Herobrine planned now that Krisstal has also interacted with the Stellasidus Weapons? Find out in the next chapters.

Thank you to every officer, admin, builder and others who created and developed Wynncraft. Do share important information about Wynncraft, such as easter eggs and timelines or even 'wynn'consistencies. As the information will help me improve my story greatly. Thank you once again for reading until the end. I do not own anything except this story. If you are interested, I could add your player characters as characters in my story, just send me your name and a screenshot of your character (with or without gear) in wynncraft, preferably your front, side and back. It would be a bonus if you can list out the names of your gear and mount. Feel free to talk to me about things not related to Wynncraft as well, I would never mind changing topic anyways. Thank you all and may the force be with you. This is an unofficial story made only by myself and everything here is based on either what's currently in the game or my interpretation of what's currently in the game. Hypixel weapons belong to Hypixel. I only own the main characters and this story only.

Other sources:

Wattpad: https://www.wattpad.com/699806539-for-the-wynn-king's-recruit-part-1

Fanfiction.net: https://www.fanfiction.net/s/12951945/1/For-The-Wynn

Archives of our own: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14778395/chapters/42299039