NOVEL WEB Chapter 7: Two attackers
Jae forced a deep breath in so he wouldn't panic.
He looked around the room quickly, searching for anything he could fight with. There were a few bones scattered across the cave, and he decided he'd use the closest one he could find. Anything was better than nothing.
The first spider lunged at him, and he ducked under it, rolling away and grunting as his body collided with the hard floor.
Just a few feet away lay a femur. It wasn't an ideal weapon, but it had pointy edges, it could impale, and at the very least, keep the spiders at arm's length.
Jae shrugged. "It'll do."
He rolled over and grabbed the femur just as the second spider lunged at him.
With a desperate cry, he pushed upward with all his strength, stabbing the femur into the spider. The creature screeched, and foul-smelling juice drained all over him.
"Eww. Second time today," he groaned.
Progress 5/6
Jae stood and pointed the femur at the final spider. "Come meet your demise," he said with mock confidence.
The spider charged at him. Jae sidestepped quickly and rammed the femur into its side, driving the beast to its knees.
Then, he proceeded to stab it multiple times until the monster collapsed lifeless at his feet.
<6/6 - Quest Complete.>
<New Skill Unlocked: Iron Skin
This skill increases the user's defense for 1 minute.>
Jae stared at the system in amazement, not because of the skill, but because he'd completely forgotten about Phantom Step, the skill he'd earned earlier. He'd been so focused on the mana blade, he hadn't even remembered he had other tools at his disposal.
He vowed right then: he would never ignore his full arsenal of attacks again.
Exhausted, Jae made his way out of the cave and walked home. He took a quick bath and collapsed into bed, falling into a dreamless sleep.
xxx
The next few days followed a steady rhythm.
Jae woke up, did his farm chores, and in the evenings, Clara would come over. The two of them would talk for hours. Sometimes, it was just simple conversation but most times they would kiss and make love to each other.
Clara never seemed to tire of him or of his dick. She would bounce on it repeatedly, her pigtails bouncing with her until they both orgasmed.
At night, Jae would be woken by the system and led to the cave, where he'd face monsters and be given a set number of them he had to kill.
After just a week of doing this, he had leveled up impressively.
<Strength: 65>
<Speed: 43>
<Stamina: 65>
<Perception: 41>
Skills:
mana balde
Phantom step
Gravity touch
Items:
Smoke seed
Anti-fire cloak
Jae sat on his bed, studying the system interface. "Maybe I should put a few more points into speed," he mused, rubbing his head. "It'll help me react better and kill some of these spiders faster."
Just then, his door was knocked. "Jae!" his mother's voice called from outside.
"Come in, Mom," he replied.
She opened the door but didn't enter. "Come with me," she said. "I need to get some supplies from the market."
Jae nodded, dressed up, and soon they were walking toward town together.
By the time they returned, it was already dark. Jae didn't like the idea of his mother being outside this late, but he was stronger now. If they were attacked, he was confident he could protect her.
But… what if the attacker was too strong? The thought made him uneasy, and he began scanning their surroundings restlessly.
His mother noticed and chuckled. "Don't be so paranoid, son. The town is safe. Nothing will happen to us."
She hadn't even finished her sentence when two men suddenly leapt out of the bushes, raising glinting knives at them.
"Do as we say, and you'll live," one of them growled.
Jae stepped in front of his mother, shielding her with his body.
"Oh, we have a hero here," the second man sneered. His lips curled into a wicked grin. "Are you knife-proof, boy? Are you?"
Jae didn't respond to the provocation. "Leave now," he said, voice tight with restraint. "And you won't get hurt."
As he spoke, memories of the last time he stood up to attacker and he was stabbed and he died helplessly rushed into his head. His heart pounded, rage building in his chest.
The two robbers looked at each other and refused to move.
"I warned you," Jae said coldly.
The first man grinned. "The way I see it, there's only one of you… and two of us."
He had barely finished his sentence before Jae's fist crashed into his face with a loud crunch.
"ARGHH!" the man screamed, stumbling backward and clutching his shattered nose.
The second man charged at Jae, but Jae was faster. He dodged one punch, then another, and retaliated with a brutal strike to the man's jaw.
The man staggered.
"Had enough?" Jae asked, smirking.
But the first attacker recovered, snarling. "Watch this."
He summoned a fireball to his hand and hurled it at Jae. Jae barely managed to dodge.
He looked at his mother defenseless, scared. If he didn't end this now, she might get caught in the crossfire
"I must end this quickly." He muttered to himself and activated Phantom Step.
In an instant, Jae vanished and appeared directly in front of the fire mage. Before the man could react, Jae launched a powerful uppercut that knocked him out cold.
The man slumped to the ground but Jae wasn't done. He turned to the second attacker, his eyes gleaming with fury.
He activated Phantom Step again but this time, the robber was ready and he threw a punch at Jae's ribs.
But Jae saw it coming. He activated Iron Skin and his body instantly hardened like steel. The punch hit him, and the attacker screamed.
"OWWW!" the man cried, pulling back his hand in pain.
Jae followed up with two quick punches to the gut, then slammed a final one to the head.
The man collapsed.
Jae turned to his mother. "Let's go, Mom," he said gently.
They walked in silence for a while until she finally asked. "Jae… where did you learn to fight like that?"
He smiled sheepishly. "I didn't know I could, honestly. Must've been the adrenaline."
His mother nodded, still visibly shaken.
Unknown to either of them, a man hidden in the shadows had been watching everything.
He stroked his long beard thoughtfully and then silently continued on his way.