An hour later the spider’s armor was covered in dents and cracks its moves sluggish as it slowly tired out Randidly was also tired mentally but his controlled movements kept his stamina high enough for him to continuously perform Dodge dodge approach thrust Dodge Dodge approach thrust And while each hit was negligible the damage continued to accumulate
This time when Randidly struck he punctured forward enough that a strange green fluid began dripping out of the hole in the spider’s carapace
Three hours later there was a large hole in the armor that Randidly began to target to inflict more damage
An hour after that the spider had began keeping the legs on that side close together protecting the wound
By the time another half hour had passed the reduced mobility on the spider’s part due to its leg strategy meant there were two fresh holes in its armor
Filled with fury the spider spat acid everywhere Randidly felt his health start to fall but he ignored the pain and coldly calculated the damage and came to a single conclusion He would survive Ignoring the vicious acid that would give most others pause he continued to chip away
Fully 9 hours later with a sigh the spider collapsed
Randidly instinctively leaped backwards his mind dull but his responses drilled into him But when the spider did not move he blinked and straightened
Good A little over 15 hours is embarrassing but it is better to have a worthless pupil than a dead one Rest we depart in 5 hours
Boneless Randidly fell to the ground But in his mind he felt a hint of glee
It is possible ’ he thought to himself To make up the difference in power with just skill ’
Chapter 17
When Shal kicked him awake Randidly was happy to see that he had some impressive gains during the fight Physical fitness rose 3 levels to 20 Heavy Blow rose 1 Dodge rose 2 to 24 Spear Mastery rose 1 to 34 and Phantom Thrust rose 3 to 30
Throwing all these points into his path earned him two stat points which he put into Intelligence to increase his maximum mana
Then he followed Shal through the forest and out onto the plains
This area was dominated by orcs who wielded stone axes and road a strange ram creature the size of a small car which Randidly abruptly realized must have been what had hit him to start this adventure
Shal ripped through these enemies with ease calmly speaking over his shoulder
Unlike that spider resistances cannot save you from these enemies You may shoot your magic if you wish but try not to catch their attention I will not save you
At first Randidly dutifully stood around and did nothing But then a strange itch began to take hold of him He wanted to fight
Finally he spotted an enemy that had been heavily wounded by Shal’s thrust but was staggering to his feet Randidly cast Entangling Roots which gratefully leveled up Then with a combination of Mana Bolts Heavy Blows and Phantom Thrusts Randidly killed the orc watching as the light in its eyes dimmed
Inwardly he felt nothing and that disturbed him somehow Unlike the howler monkeys or the spiders this creature was obviously intelligent and yet he took its life But then Randidly shook his head These were just spawns He couldn’t look any more deeply than that They would kill him otherwise
Pupil prepare it is time to show your usefulness And just like that Randidly looked up to see an enemy named Orc Shaman with a blue name throwing a skull made of smoke at Shal
Feeling dubious Randidly stepped forward and blocked it with his spear but it passed right through Immediately afterwards Randidly froze as strange thoughts flooded his brain
Kill ’
kill now’
Worthless’
kill self’
Dead worthless’
Kill now blood ’
Randidly stared at the blade of his own spear fascinated
Maybe
But then a slap on his back woke him from his stupor Good you did not succumb I was worried You have the same Willpower as me yet you are so puny and weak Let us continue
Feeling more than a little disturbed Randidly followed woodenly after Shal noticing that he had learned both the skills Mental Strength and Curse Resistance Mental strength had even increased to 2
As it happened this got him to 90 in Pathless X giving him another stat point which Randidly surreptitiously placed into Willpower
Better safe than sorry He muttered
Time passed strangely the sunlight until you drop climate throwing off Randidly’s perception He supposed that was part of the point to keep you pushing if you could go further To extend your boundaries and make you forget about your former limits
Feeling strangely observed Randidly glanced around then continued on after Shal
They continued to plow through groups of orcs at a rapid rate It didn’t seem like any of the wandering groups had shamans but after you killed three groups a group lead by a shaman would show up and Randidly would offer his body to their strange curse
Do to the exposure Mental Strength increased to 7 while Curse Resistance rose to 3 Mana Bolt increased a level and running did as well as Randidly struggled to keep up with Shal’s long strides leaving him only one point away from completing this path
In a good mood Randidly didn’t even really pay attention to the orcs that Shal was fighting and instead was doing some quick calculations in his head Based on the map if they continued to mow through the orcs at this rate
Oy worthless student
Randidly looked up finding Shal surrounded by three new arrivals named Elite Orc Guards their names green Beyond them two Orc Shamans chuckled evilly muttering to themselves and spreading a thick purple smoke on the ground around them
Get over here and stop them I can overcome these three but not if my legs melt off Shal complained jumping up onto a large stone slightly raised off the ground Immediately the three elite guards circled around him grinning evilly but they were taken completely by surprise when Randidly cast Grasping Roots holding one down for a few seconds and hit the middle one in the side of the face with a mana bolt The two hit with his spells turned to glare at him but Shal had already cut off the arm of the last remaining elite that paid attention to him and then turned to the two regarding Randidly
Unfortunately the purple mist reached the legs of the one just as it was ripping away the roots Randidly had conjured He was fast and strong but not fast enough The mist reached him and his flesh began to boil With a scream he fell face first into the knee high mist but quickly fell silent
Randidly felt some sweat drip down his back
Bah he has no poison resistance worthless apprentice You do Go stop those two stick bags and I will crush them
Randidly raised his hand and shot a mana bolt narrowly missing the Shamans who hissed at him One raised his staff and shot a grey skull at Randidly which took him in the chest It only took up a second but he quickly banished the strange violent voices earning him another point in mental strength Although he wanted to complete his Pathless it was rather foolish to do it now
Unfortunately it was clear that he wasn’t accurate enough at this range to simply snipe his opponents So with gritted teeth he stepped into the creeping purple mist
His pants soon disintegrated to nothing and then his shoes He had to grind his teeth to withstand the pain
Poison Resistance and Pain Resistance both rose a level but Randidly simply trudged forward throwing back a health potion to stay above the damage
As Randidly grew closer the thickness of the mist increased as did the height leading to increased pain By the time it reached mid thigh Randidly stopped sweating If it went any higher