Rise of the Apex Predator: A LitRPG Adventure

2.2. Defiance


Jenny

Jenny took two unstable steps as she pushed away from Aenon, away from the safety of the shadows. She was terrified; her feet were refusing to coordinate with her mind. Her palms were sweaty, making it hard for her to grip her sword. Her vision was getting blurry from the tears. And she was having trouble breathing as her throat clasped shut.

She had always feared spiders. Ever since one had gotten into her ear when she was four. The terror of having something alive crawl within your ear canal was not something one could forget. That is why she hated the accursed things. And this new reality's version was infinitely worse. Who even thought that giant spiders were a thing that needed to be created.

The last few hours were torture for her, as she got dragged along past the pinnacle of her fears. Every spider they snuck past made her tremble.

So why then was she trudging along to her doom?

Because deep down she knew that Aenon was right. She couldn't move forward unless she overcame her fears. And the one she was up against had been haunting her nightmares for a while. It was the same one that had tormented her before. Jenny shook her head. She couldn't afford to focus on that.

A faint pressure brushed her shoulder—maybe a breeze, she thought, until she activated Mana Sight. It was a Skill she had attained thanks to her secondary Class—Arcane Scout. It allowed her to see the faint trails of mana.

And she was glad that she did. There was an almost imperceptible web strand she had touched. She looked around and found several of these all over the clearing.

She became more cautious in her approach. She had learned quite a bit about Umbral Spiders; her time at the guild finally coming in handy. They were the definition of glass cannons, all offense and no defense. If she managed to sneak up on it, maybe, just maybe she could win for once.

If only she could get her heart to stop trying to jump out of her throat.

She crept closer to her sworn enemy, avoiding dozens of such webs. But just as she was about to close the distance, the Umbral Spider Queen jumped out of its hiding spot and landed right before her, rising to its full height.

The familiar terror surfaced again, and she became rigid.

Despite all her bravado, she was frozen in place, utterly powerless. Her body locked up, refusing to move. Even her vocal cords betrayed her. Instead, the floodgates of memory burst open, dragging her back through it all, forcing her to relive every moment of her time spent trapped in the cocoon.

"Ah, welcome back my little food bag," the Umbral Spider Queen hissed eerily. "My babies missed you."

Raw fear washed through her veins, as no other thought or idea could take purchase in her mind.

"I was beginning to get frustrated wondering who had strayed into my territory and was avoiding my carefully laid out traps," the Queen spoke jubilantly. "Turns out it was my favorite prey. Once again you have been delivered to my lair by a companion of yours, I see. Aaaaah. The screams, the screams. How I miss those, as your flesh nourished my brood."

It stepped in circles around her, spinning webs in a 4.5-meter (15 feet) wide circle to cut off any escape routes. A trap that was wholly unnecessary as Jenny couldn't have run anyway.

She tried to recall what it was that had given her the courage to attempt this suicide mission. But her mind wasn't working.

"Ooooh what fresh entertainment will you provide me this time. You survived for three full days earlier. I laid my eggs in your arm then, but maybe this time I will make my children hatch in your ears. Yessss. That sounds delightful, don't you think," the Queen hissed happily. "You are prey after all, born to entertain predators like me."

When the spider mentioned laying eggs in her ears, her dread almost made her pass out. That is until it spoke the last sentence. Jenny didn't decipher the full statement in her state. Just a fragment.

"…born to entertain…"

In an instant, all her emotions collapsed. It was like time itself stopped around her. Fear, pain, happiness; these were mere words that her mind couldn't comprehend.

"What did you just say?" Jenny asked as she turned towards her tormentor.

"Ooooh. I love it when my prey struggles. It makes it so…,"

But the thing never got to complete her sentence. Jenny drew back her sword and activated… something. In her current state, she didn't think or plan. She just did what felt right.

"Aaaaaaaaargh," the Spider screamed in agony.

Jenny would have felt good watching the miserable wretch squirm in pain. But her emotions felt muted, like her heart had frozen over. Jenny's sword had frost forming on its edges. Two of the Umbral Spider Queen's legs fell to the ground, severed right at their base.

"YOU," the queen shrieked in anger. "You will pay for this. My brood will not touch you. I will feast on your flesh myself to keep you alive much longer."

Jenny felt exhausted, that last attack had taken a lot out of her. Yet she couldn't feel anything. Her gaze displayed a serene indifference.

The one thing that did not get suppressed was her survival instinct. She got into an amateur battle stance, which crumbled quickly under the Umbral Spider Queen's assault. It knocked away Jenny's shield before ramming her to the ground. This was followed by a vicious stab into Jenny's shoulder.

Yet, unexpectedly, she had no reaction whatsoever. Even her wound didn't bleed; freezing the moment the spider's leg was removed.

"What?" the spider exclaimed.

Jenny got back up with an emotionless face, grabbing her sword at a casual pace before getting into a fighting stance again. Slowly, Jenny started to sense something from within. An emotion she rarely felt, but that managed to get through whatever subdued her feelings: Rage.

Rage towards Erwin and every person who humiliated and looked down on her. Rage towards the cursed world for putting her in these situations. And Rage towards the entity that had caused her so much pain and torment.

But her rage wasn't some explosive feeling born from a momentary slight. No. It was something more…sinister. Colder.

Unlike a berserker's rage where one lost all reason, Jenny's cold fury heightened her senses. All stray thoughts—like fear and doubt—that were detrimental to the fight were filtered out. It was like she was seeing her opponent for the first time. All its strengths. And weaknesses.

The Umbral Spider Queen charged her at blistering speeds. But to Jenny, her enemy appeared to move in slow motion. Jenny didn't even flinch as she took just one step to the side and raised her sword at an awkward angle.

Her sword slashed across the creature's eyes as it grazed past. But Jenny too suffered a deep gash on her torso from her enemy's many legs. Yet no blood leaked from her open wound.

The spider on the other hand was momentarily blinded from the ichor flowing into its unsullied eyes. Sensing an opportunity, Jenny rushed in. She managed to sever two more legs but got equally devastating wounds in return.

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Even though Jenny couldn't feel pain or fear, she did feel weakness from the mounting injuries. Some clarity returned to her eyes as her body was too broken for another attack. Yet, she stood with her sword in hand. Glaring daggers at her enemy. She didn't even notice the faint icy mist enveloping her form and radiating outwards.

The spider, perhaps sensing victory, decided to finish the fight quickly. It backed Jenny into a corner and rose to its full height.

Jenny was too battered and bruised to defend herself. She knew she had lost. She was moments away from death.

This close to the end, she recalled a lot of things. Her entire life flashed before her eyes. Her glory days in school. Her brother's kind words and attempts to support her. Even her mother's manipulation. But despite it all, she only desired to recall one memory.

She knew it was something important. More important than her entire sorry excuse of a life. It was just one word, yet it had resonated with her.

"Prey shouldn't try to defy their lot in life. You are nothing…," the Spider's voice harped in the background, as Jenny struggled to recall.

Finally, she remembered. And as she did, the world paused. She vaguely felt something reaching out and touching her, but she couldn't focus on that. She felt… something within her shatter, followed by an influx of raw power. The mist she had ignored till this point was harder to overlook. It was billowing out in waves from her body, freezing everything it touched. Including her opponent's legs.

Jenny could move again, and her thoughts were clear as a placid lake. She opened her eyes to find that the Umbral Spider Queen was struggling to break free.

"You… What are you?" The spider's voice trembled.

Jenny didn't respond as she slowly walked towards her frozen opponent.

"You are weaker than me," the Umbral Spider Queen spat. But its quivering voice wasn't as impactful.

"So what?" Jenny declared as she continued her march, freezing the forest floor further with every step.

"You are about to die," her enemy tried desperately to free its frozen appendages.

"So what?"

"You are prey," it shrieked desperately.

"So what?"

"Even if you kill me, my children will rip you apart."

The Umbral Spider Queen fell hard as its frozen legs suddenly shattered from its struggle.

Jenny stood before the collapsed enemy. She looked at the downed opponent blankly as she raised her sword.

"My weakness. My defeat. And even my death," Jenny declared. "I defy it all—I am no one's plaything."

She plunged her sword into the Umbral Spider Queen's skull, burying it all the way to its hilt. Ice shards erupted from the sword and started to engulf the spider's body.

As she took a step back, a wave of exhaustion hit her. It went beyond physical; she felt drained from inside. The light fading from her sworn enemy's eyes was the last thing she etched into her memory as darkness claimed her.

* * *

Aenon

Aenon observed from the shadows as Jenny crept closer to the Umbral Spider Queen. Her soul was eliciting such a wide array of emotions that it was hard to pinpoint a particular one—fear, resolve, anger, hope, to name a few. But it was the changes to her soul itself that piqued his interest. The faint cold emanating from it was getting stronger.

He watched as she tapped into a mana-sensing ability through her eyes, deftly navigating the concealed webs and traps. With each step, her resolve deepened, growing fiercer by the moment. But just as she got within striking distance of the Umbral Spider Queen, it jumped and landed before Jenny. Unfortunately, the girl froze in fear. Aenon sighed, expecting this to happen. Childhood phobias and past traumas weren't easy to get over.

Thankfully the Umbral Spider Queen decided to monologue like a cheap movie villain rather than ending the fight. But Aenon still didn't lose hope.

"We might need to step…" Bane began to say. But stopped mid-sentence as the wolf too detected what Aenon had been sensing for a while now.

The chill was impossible to ignore now as it began to spread in the entire clearing.

"What did you just say?" Jenny spoke in an odd voice. Unlike her usual emotional self, she sounded…detached.

Aenon felt all her emotions get muted. Except one: Rage. He sensed a sudden outburst of raw mana coalesce in her hand, which she then channeled into her sword before unleashing a mid-range projectile that cleanly severed two of the spider's legs. It screamed as it stumbled back.

The attack was unexpected, as were its aftereffects. There was no shred of fear—or any emotion except anger—coming from her, and her sword was covered in ice. Jenny stood with an inexperienced fighting stance as her opponent charged in. She lost the exchange spectacularly, earning a deep puncture wound to her shoulder.

And yet, she neither screamed nor bled. Instead, it was the Spider Queen that retreated in shock.

"What is happening?" Bane commented in confusion.

Aenon smiled as he observed Junny's soul. He pulled up the description of his Soul Beacon Skill.

Soul Beacon (Unfettered) | Assist others who are on the verge of finding their Path. Be careful who you use this on, my little predator.

"This Skill of mine has been pulsing wildly for a while now," Aenon explained while not turning away from incredible scene. "Moreover, I noticed some kind of barrier around her soul ever since she decided to stay with us. But it is cracked, and the breach has been growing gradually. I don't know what a Path is but based on the little snippets that the dead crown prince and Blake told me, it must be something related to Awakenings. Do you know anything about them?"

"I don't, Alpha," Bane replied. But his gaze too was fixated on Jenny.

As the novice warrior stood to face her opponent, Aenon saw her calculating gaze. Jenny was analyzing her opponent, instead of wildly panicking like before. As the spider rushed past, she only took a small step to counterattack—landing a slash across the arachnid's eyes.

Even so, she too suffered damage. And unfortunately, her wound was much more serious. But her mind kept processing the battle analytically, completely ignoring her own condition. She even managed to sever two more legs.

But her lack of experience showed, as she suffered further debilitating wounds. Her body was severely weakened, as she stood glaring at her opponent. Some clarity was returning to her robotic eyes. But Aenon didn't sense desperation or hopelessness. Instead, she was looking for something, like she was trying to recall a distant memory.

"It's time," Aenon spoke cryptically.

"Prey shouldn't try to defy their lot in life. You are nothing…,"

An expression of realization flashed across Jenny's face.

THUMP.

Aenon heard a distant heartbeat from Jenny's direction before the world paused. A dense white tendril shot out from Aenon's chest and connected with her.

A notification prompt opened in Aenon's vision without his saying so.

Internalized Skill Used | Soul Beacon (Unfettered)

CRACK.

The unknown barrier around Jenny's soul shattered and gave way. Aenon felt raw mana gush forth as Jenny's exhaustion was gone. Along with all emotions. Not even anger clouded her anymore.

In its place, a bone chilling wind started to flow outwards, freezing everything in its path. Bane was surprised at the strange occurrence.

Despite her injuries, Jenny stood tall with an emotionless face. And for the first time during this entire fight, he sensed fear from the Umbral Spider Queen. And it was obvious why. Jenny was exuding a nascent Aura.

"She is…," Bane said in surprise.

"Yes," Aenon commented. "I believe this is what people have been referring to as an Awakening."

The term's full meaning eluded Aenon, but from what he was observing, Jenny had managed to unlock her outer soul space. And the chill was coming from there; along with the nascent Aura.

It wasn't as oppressive or developed as his own. Moreover, it felt… different. It wasn't the primal terror of the unknown that Aenon's Aura inflicted. Jenny's was more akin to a slow erosion of feeling. Like frostbite settling in. Not as intimidating as Aenon's, but horrifying, nonetheless. With each step Jenny took, Aenon felt the Spider Queen's soul unravel—panic first, then despair, creeping in like frost under a closed door.

"You are weaker than me."

"So what?"

"You are about to die."

"So what?"

"You are prey."

"So what?"

"Even if you kill me, my children will rip you apart."

Aenon saw as Jenny stood before the previously confident predator and looked down at it. There was no anger or hate in her eyes. Just a callous indifference.

"My weakness. My defeat. And even my death. I defy it all. I am no one's plaything."

He watched in fascination as Jenny plunged her sword deep into the spider's skull. The ice that spread outwards froze everything except Jenny's body. As the Umbral Spider Queen's life winked out, the exhaustion finally caught up to the red head as she started to fall backwards, unconscious.

Aenon dashed forward, barely managing to catch her in time before she hit the forest floor. He gently laid her down, his mind abuzz with questions and concerns. Bane walked up beside him.

"That…was unexpected," he said in a quizzical tone. "What did you do, Alpha?"

"Gave her an opportunity," Aenon replied cryptically before smiling. "One which seized with both hands."

Aenon was finally beginning to grasp the true nature of his Soul Beacon ability. At first, he'd assumed it was a reward for guiding the soul fragments of the seeds to rest. But now, a nagging intuition suggested that his encounter with Jenny might have been the real catalyst. He still didn't understand what a "Path" was, but that mystery could wait—his focus lay elsewhere.

The ice surrounding them was starting to dissipate. It was something that had all been conjured from within Jenny's outer soul. Aenon didn't know what it all meant. But one thing was certain: She had taken her first steps towards power.

She was undoubtedly fragile like a freshly sprouted sapling. But within that slender frame lay the promise of strength. All she needed was the right care, and time.

Aenon stood back up and looked at the unconscious girl for a moment. Her injuries were serious, but she was healing well. Which meant his current concern was…

Dark tendrils arose from his shadow and dragged her into it. Aenon made his mask appear as he turned to face the approaching horde.

"Let's go Bane," he declared calmly as he drew his twin daggers.

More shadows erupted as six Abyssal Wolves took position behind them.

A mass of eerie yellow eyes filled the surrounding area as the slain queen's brood glared at them.

"It's time for a turf war," Aenon said as he displayed a predatory smile on his featureless mask using Light Manipulation.

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