The Black Tallinn is like most gray dwarf cities. Behind the city are the entrances to endless dense mines. However, today, the owners have long since changed, and they have not been taken care of for a long time. Over time, the entrances to these mines have become
It is covered with a thick layer of lichen and a curtain woven by vines, and you can also vaguely see the striking signs of collapse in the abandoned mine.
The drow caster is not good at dealing with the traces left by himself, or he has never thought about dealing with the traces. Woody easily analyzed the abnormal production of ferns on the ground and the direction of their bends.
The direction of the disappeared drow mage's advance.
It is the northernmost high cliff of the mine behind the Black Tallinn. Standing there, you can overlook the entire Black Tallinn. However, there is serious water accumulation and the ground is slippery. Several gray dwarves have fallen from it, and the back is abandoned.
No one has been up there for a long time, and the road to Gaoya is surrounded by clusters of leafy underground vines. The thorny vines are like a tightly guarded barbed wire, blocking Woody's path.
Woody looked up at the high cliff where the top could not be seen, and at the vines that reached up to his neck and had just grown leaves that had not been affected by long-term photosynthesis and turned gray, but were instead uncharacteristically green.
Maybe I've come to the right place.
This vine should be a roadblock set up by the drow spellcaster.
Of course, it could also be another maze intersection he was using to confuse himself. Woody did not choose to rush through it directly, but carefully chose to use the Sol Stone Ring, which had not been fully used up and had two spells left.
Melt into stone.
However, when his feet had not completely sunk into the soil, the ultra-high perception combined with the still state gave him a sensitive detection of the surrounding environment. He immediately noticed that something was slightly squirming in the ground, and there were more than one place in front of him.
There are places behind you, densely packed, no less than ten places.
As soon as he felt something strange, he immediately stopped using the stone ring spell.
The thoughts in his mind were whirling, and he instantly understood that there was movement underground, and he guessed the way he entered. It was obviously the shape-shifting spider who told the drow about his ability to blend into stone. Otherwise, normally, normally,
, who would have thought of setting up such a sinister trap underground.
If it were someone with a slightly lower perception, he would really be tricked.
After all, facing the interception method blocked by Kuvine, I am afraid that everyone will subconsciously think of using means to get around it, and he will naturally choose to melt into stone.
And if he goes a little deeper into the soil and encounters this thing, his ability to resist will be almost non-existent.
After all, his weapons are spread all over the soil, but they cannot be used at all, and facing the siege of numerous underground creatures is a dead end.
This was also the reason why Logan Rutoff was so panicked when he met Woody underground earlier. It was precisely because most of them except the spell casters were underground and could only fight with their bare hands.
And underground creatures with physical advantages often become the final winners of the battle.
Looks like we need to change the approach!
Since infiltration is not possible, it stands to reason that he has to force his way in, but if nothing else happens, if he wants to break into this bitter vine directly, there should be many dangers and traps waiting for him.
And there is no guarantee that the drow mage is waiting for his entry in the dark.
Theoretically speaking, it is the most correct choice for him to leave now. Even if he wants to get rid of the root, but facing a situation where the opponent has already made preparations and may even know his abilities clearly, then it is not brave, but stupid.
, but at this moment, out of the corner of his eye, he suddenly saw various corpses floating on the water in the city, and he chose to return without hesitation.
He suddenly remembered that if he remembered correctly, all drow priests would drop a very useless favor.
——"Arachn Affinity"
But it is extremely suitable to use at this moment.
Within five minutes, he was back here again. If anyone could check Woody's personal dashboard, they would find that the list of his natural blessings at this time has undergone earth-shaking changes.
Dream of the Sea, Dances with Sharks, and even telepathy disappeared, replaced by the replacement of the evil nemesis, and new blessings obtained from the corpse of the shape-shifting spider and a drow priest respectively.
——"Outstanding" Enze: Although you have been in the group since you were a child, you have also been far away from the group. Therefore, you are particularly good at fighting alone. You have long been accustomed to it. When fighting alone, in addition to your combat damage and reaction speed,
In addition to all improvements, your designated skills can receive a bonus of +1 extra level... "Damage +1, Reflection +1".
——"In southern folklore, some hydra lizards will bite off their other heads to become more deadly. In the underdark, there is a type of creature called a shape-changing spider that is also similar. For the most efficient
When hunting, they are always alone when they go out. They firmly believe that only the weak will form groups, and the truly strong will always walk alone - "Encyclopedia of the Material Plane - Underdark Region" (Translator's Note:
The former is definitely a rumor. It should just be that a hydra with only one head fell into a state of madness and attacked the village, thus appearing angry and deadly.)"
——"Arachn Affinity "Blessing": In the Underdark, the most popular pet among all drow families is spiders. Your love and respect for spiders even exceeds your own life, and some drows even
Nobles will hire servants to take care of their spider pets. This has been the case for you since you were a child, especially after you became a priest in Kosust. How to please your future master and understanding their habits has become a required course for every priest.
, you can even soothe spiders with some quirky noises, and you get a +3 bonus on Friendly checks to identify spiders and to approach spiders.
——"In the spider web, only by worshiping and fearing the spider queen can one escape. Adam, don't say I didn't remind you. ——A drow priest's admonishment to his companions."
…
Woody, who had regained his favor, once again faced the oppression from the black vines and thorns. His mentality was completely different from before. With his affinity for spiders, he now exuded the cold aura of a drow priest all over his body.
, with a faint fragrance of spiders, it smelled very pleasant, but having said that, he really never thought that the body of the deformed spider would actually receive the blessings that could only appear on the body of a giant dragon.
——"Outstanding"
In "Saint", there is a school called the "Lone Wolf" school, which aims to explore the multiverse alone as a lone ranger, and the core expertise they rely on is this talent called "Excellence".
It is a rare growth-type talent that can effectively obtain higher gain, output, and resistance when there are no other teammates. For example, it is insignificant to briefly increase a skill by +1 on the data panel.
Woody once saw an "outstanding" talent that even upgraded his feat to a metamagic feat.
This kind of skill is difficult to develop naturally. Generally speaking, it appears in the expertise granted by dragon blood rituals. For example, the latter one Woody once saw was said to be a ritual performed with the blood of an old golden dragon.
At that time, the lone wolf genre was popular among social horror players, and it has endured for a long time. However, the proportion of players has been unable to increase its share. It is firmly at the bottom of the niche genres. It is not because of anything else, but because lone wolves are in a wilderness full of dangers.
It is difficult for one person to survive, but if you want to become stronger, you can only continue to be alone, so it becomes an endless loop. Only a small number of players understand the secrets, complete the journey of destiny amidst thousands of twists and turns, and achieve legend.
.
However, that was only in the game. Woody had never thought of being a lone wolf in reality. It was okay to play the game, but in reality, it would be better to just commit suicide on the spot and save the struggle on the road.
As someone who has experienced it, he knows that the strength of lone wolf players, no matter in the early, middle or late stages, before the legendary or after the legendary, is far inferior to an adventure team that is both offensive and defensive and has guarantees in all aspects.
After all, the cheating level of the specialty of "Outstanding" only makes you slightly stronger than others of the same level in terms of individual strength, rather than directly leaving five people behind.
However, to a certain extent, demon hunters who can appear as BOSS templates in the later stage are actually the most suitable for the specialty of "outstanding".
He remembered that there was a long article on the forum that deeply analyzed demon hunters. It was the theoretically strongest demon hunter, and its core talent was also "outstanding". But then again, the strongest among all professions in the forum.
In the strong version, it is all about being outstanding. After all, no one will let go of the expertise that will greatly increase their own damage as long as they are alone.
Anyway, this is indeed a very good favor for the current Woody. It can even be said that he will accompany him for a long time in future adventures, and his talent will grow.
But now is not the time to be complacent here, nor is it the time to look around contentedly and have inner illusions. He stopped his jumping thoughts and put all his heart into the things in front of him.
With the grace given by the drow elves who believe in spiders, Woody did not hesitate to use the effect of Thor's stone ring this time. This time his whole body was immersed in the soil, although his perception was slightly reduced due to the lack of telepathy.
A little, but when I felt that the riot of spiders hidden everywhere and watching around me stopped, I still couldn't help but grin.
Successfully, this group of spider monsters, whose IQs are not very high and only know how to distinguish between enemies and companions, regarded him as their master and companion. The non-harm engraved in their blood allowed Woody to successfully pass through the lurking place of three underground spiders.
, and they remained motionless when Woody passed by.
Soon, relying on the tremor to sense Woody, he passed by the group of underground areas that were heavily defended by spiders. In the huge rock veins, he slowly advanced towards the high cliff. The top of the high cliff was far away from where Woody had been standing before.
The location blocked by the vines was about one kilometer away, so Woody moved forward in the ley line at a difficult speed of fifty meters per minute. Finally, ten minutes later, he heard the familiar yet unfamiliar underground language.
You're right! Sure enough, the abominable drow mage is hiding here, and his voice presents unique chants and arias.
It seems that not leaving is the right thing to do!
Although he did not master the underground language, he had some experience in the previous life and could still tell that these languages seemed to be used to perform some kind of ritual.
Woody didn't know how far the drow mage had gone, but he understood that this was his best chance. If he interrupted the ceremony in the middle, the battle would end immediately.
The power brought by the backlash is enough to cause a spell caster to die on the spot and lose the ability to cast spells, or to cause a spell caster to lose experience and level.
Naturally, Woody would not miss this opportunity. He carefully swam to the edge of the high cliff and revealed an inconspicuous face on a protruding rock wall on the side. This position just allowed him to see the top of the high cliff.
On the high cliff, in a space of less than twenty square meters, a drow male wearing a spider robe was holding a round-headed staff and chanting something loudly. Under his feet were placed
There are various miniature magic circles of unknown objects. Judging from the pattern of the ritual magic circle, it seems to be a summoning magic circle. A woman with a burnt body is leaning on a stone at the top of a high cliff, with a worried look on her face.
Looking at the drow, no one noticed the face appearing on a rock wall.
What does he want to summon?
Woody couldn't guess based on the sacrifices alone, but the sacrificial materials included a dragon heart and the eye stalk of the beholder. Although the size of the two was not large, Woody knew that this was
If a monster is summoned, he will definitely not be an opponent.
And seeing that the man with the scar on his face was working so hard, how could he not be willing to help him?
…
"Kureya, he seems to have left. Kutana's trap has not been triggered, and the earth spiders underground have not moved either. It is still too late to stop now."
"When the Soul-Eating Spider appears, it will definitely kill you. Even if you can get revenge, what's the point if you die."
Elise, who was lying on the rock, showed a rare sadness that could not appear on the women of the drow tribe. After all, the reputation of the Soul-eating Spider is famous even in the church of Kosust. If Kosust occupies
If the soul-eating spider carries the life of the drow, then the soul-eating spider will carry the death of the drow. In the underdark area of Ashenlant, all the drow who obeyed Kosust during their lifetime will enter his "boundless cave" after death.
"When you look up, you will not only see the scenery like the stars at night in the surface world, but you also don't have to worry about survival and death. You only need to pray for a moment every day, and you can do everything you want to do, whether it is recalling the past or looking forward to the future, you
You can do whatever you want, and as long as the Kingdom of God exists, you will live with Him forever.
The fate of the rebels after their death belongs to "Karakos", the king of the soul-eating spiders. It is said that after the death of all drow elves who do not believe in Kothust, they will either be embraced by the spider queen's descendants or be embraced by her.
The messenger sent was an illusory and terrifying spider monster. It was a spider monster twisted from the souls of thousands of underground life forms. Hence the name Soul Eater.
After hearing Elise's words, Kureia took advantage of the easing phase of the ceremony to turn her head, showing her slightly tired face, and forced a smile.
"How could it be meaningless, dear Elise."
"But the enemy has retreated! Kurea, come here first, I have something to tell you." Elise emphasized.
"Okay, but it can't take too long. The next stage of the ceremony is about to begin." Although Kureia looked helpless, he still leaned forward obediently and listened carefully to what his lover in front of him wanted to say.
However, as soon as he got closer, he felt that Elise reached out and hugged him as if she couldn't wait.
"Elise, don't use so much force, be careful if you touch the burnt skin, it will hurt you later."
Kurea comforted her patiently, saying that she had not hugged them for a long time. Around the time she became the priest of Kosust, her body had drawn a clear line between men and women to some extent, at least not in public.
But now on the high cliff, even though the bottom is full of water and there is no audience, being embraced by the one he loves is enough to make Kureia full of joy.
"Don't worry, just leave it to me. Once the Soul-Eating Spider appears, your revenge will be avenged! And I have other ways to prevent the Soul-Eating Spider from attacking me!"
His gentle and mellow tone was like a ripple in a dark stream. After he said these words, Elise's arms hugged him tighter.
"Why...why...you are so...to me..."
Elise's voice was choked with sobs.
"Because I like you and everything about you, including your future."
Still as gentle as before, neither slow nor slow, in his mind, these are what he should do.
"Okay, the time is almost up. I have to go on with the ceremony. Please ensure your safety for the next four weeks..."
Kurea's words were stuck in his throat, and a sharp pain from the left side of his chest caused his voice to stop abruptly——
A black spider dagger was inserted into his chest. The pain caused by the tightness of the internal muscles made Kurea's thinking sluggish. He slowly raised his head, and a woman's face full of tears was reflected in his pupils, carbonized.
The eyebrows and eyes that have lost all facial features, and the lips that split into four parts.
"Elise...you..." He couldn't believe it, and subconsciously held her hand holding the dagger, leaning forward and leaning on her shoulder.
"I'm sorry, I didn't want it either. It's all her fault. She's been confusing me in my mind, saying that as long as I kill you, I can regain my strength. Kureya, I didn't want it either..." Elise was trembling with fear.
, I wanted to push it away but had no strength, so I could only cry bitterly, but then I was shocked and happy, crying and laughing.
"Ah! I feel like I'm back. My magic...my power...is really back...Kureya...she didn't lie to me? Goddess Rose...she didn't lie to me..."
But no one answered her next words. Only the wind on the high cliff combined with the torrent rushing down in the distance, making it a little desolate.
In her arms, the man with the spider scar could only groan and let go of her hand with a look of reluctance, and the log staff in his right hand also rolled to the ground...
－－－－－－Digression－－－－－
If I can’t express the taste in writing, forget it.
