Kill the Mage Hunter first, Faust decided, pulling out bits of fabric from his old clothes and stuffing them in his ears.
This lessened the disorientation, allowing him to chase after the Mager Hunter and form his fire spell. He stumbled and groaned, each step, each strain of focus, was a pang of pain in his head.
The shadow of flames flickered over the burned monster. The Mage Hunter had been badly injured by the flames. Its shell cracked and something oozed from within it. Worse of all, within its body the Rock Spider was ripping at its organs.
"RIII!"
If Faust had been too slow the Velvet Spider would have gotten the kill, but he was here.
"Thanks. This was really fun."
Then he unleashed the swirling ball of flames in his hands.
BOOM!
The Mage Hunter, and the Rock Spiders within, erupted into a blast. Destroying Rock spiders didn't get him anything, but the Mage Hunter did.
[Congratulations, you have leveled up to Level 5!]
[You have gained 10 points in all attributes, and 10 free points to distribute.]
[You have defeated a higher level enemy! Possible loot and Exp will be increased!]
[You have killed "Mage Hunter" and gained 100 experience points.]
[Rewards have been placed in your Spatial Bag]
Faust pumped his fists in excitement, but returned to the circle of lames first to finish this.
The Velvet Arachne was still trapped. It had stopped screaming, but nervously skittered between the flames seeking a path out.
Then the sound of footsteps crunching against the burnt grass made it turn. The light brought to the dark forest by the unnatural fire revealed its unnatural maker.
Faust walked right through the flames, eyes closed, chuckling the whole way. When he entered their cosy circle, he opened his eyes and grinned at the queen.
"That was fun. Like walking through a really hot sauna."
Immediately, the Velvet Arachne began screaming again. The aching pain returned to his head, making Faust stagger, but he kept a twitching eye on the spider.
"ouch."
Fast shapes passed through the flames. Three Rock Spiders. The queen had been holding out on him. Using these last scouts to look for an escape.
"You're fun to the bloody end," Faust murmured, unable to fight back well.
The spider leapt onto him, almost bowling him over with their surprising weight. Then they started to bite. Their teeth ripped into his flesh like stubborn venison. Their eight sharp feet scratched him with each movement.
"Argh!" he groaned, barely controlling his voice.
One of them crawled up to his face and came for his eyes.
Faust's hand snapped up, grabbing Rock Spider and ripping it off his face. "You guys aren't as scary alone."
CRACK!
He crushed the spiders between his fingers with his ridiculous Strength. He ripped the other two off and crushed them in short order.
Soon all that was left was him and the Queen.
Finally the painful screech the Velvet Arachne used grew too hard to continue and it stopped. Both of them dropped briefly; Faust to his knees and the Velvet Aranche to its belly.
Breathing hard, Faust tried wiping the sweat from his face, but ended up only adding blood. His injuries had already started healing and his mind was clearing.
"You would have a better chance if you fought me with that giant body," Faust said casually. "But you're a bit of a coward, aren't you? You were programmed not to let anything close. To fight from the shadows."
It only came out because of how powerful the Mage Hunter was. It hadn't expected an another powerful enemy. And especially not one that could use them against each other.
He pulled the Iron Cutlass +2 from his hip and walked to the Velvet arachne calmly. He raised his sword.
"It was a fun fight. Thank you."
Then he brought it down. The cutlass cleaved into the queen's head like butter, digging deep. But on a body three times his size the attack was negligible.
Until he used Dark Maw.
The skill worked like a spell in a way, allowing him to fill it with more mana. A giant Jackal head made of ink-black energy surged from his blade.
CRUNCH!
The Velvet Arachne's Constitution broke under those black teeth. The head of the monster was crushed into a mess of green blood and torn flesh.
[You have defeated a higher level enemy! Possible loot and Exp will be increased!]
[You have killed "Velvet Arachne" and gained 80 experience points.]
[Rewards have been placed in your Spatial Bag]
Faust flicked off the blood from his cutlass and sheathed it. A satisfied sigh escaped him along with a nod. Staying back might not have been a bad idea.
[Time Remaining: 00:58:29]
Time to run.
He would review his rewards when he escaped the Mind's Forest.
◇◇◇
A few minutes later Faust crossed the edges of the dark forest and the world suddenly turned to day.
"AAH! MY FREAKING EYES!"
He hadn't realised how used to the darkness in the Mind's Forest he had been.
He stumbled a bit, blinking painfully, but kept running, albeit slower. Now that he was in the lower level area he felt more confident in checking his rewards.
[You have killed "Mage Hunter" and gained 100 experience points.]
[You have killed a "Velvet Arachne" and gained 80 experience points.]
[Origin coins: 250.]
[Mage hunter Core x5]
[Velvet Arachne Core x3]
[5x Mage Hunter Essence: Consuming will increase Spirit by 4.]
[3x Velvet Arachne Essence: Consuming will increase Spirit by 4.]
[3x Mage Hunter Horn: Material used in the creation of weapons.]
[8x Arachne Eyes: An essential ingredient in alchemy. Mostly used in hexes.]
[5x Arachne Thread: Useful for making special clothes.]
[Repulsion Shroud (Silver): A special cloak that increases your resistance against magical and physical attacks. +50 Spirit +70 Constitution. Requirements: External power source, Level 6, 250 Constitution, 200 Spirit.]
[Velvet Loom (Silver): Used to craft materials together. Increases durability and can imbue special properties. Requirements: Level 5, 100 Spirit]
[6x Skill Stones: can be used to upgrade skills.]
[4x Enhancement Stones: can be used to upgrade equipment.]
[You have gained skill book "Craft Golem (Silver)"]
[You have gained skill book "Bolster (Silver)"]