Chapter 5

Plummeting through the darkness Kazuma felt something was wrong and twisted his body landing in a perfect roll, Vivi of course landing on his shoulders when he stood. That knocked him to the ground with a scream. He scrambled for the gun, and found it nearly immediately. 

He heard skittering and a second later as the world exploded in blue light he nearly screamed. So many spider! Raising the gun he fired, the bullet pierced through the eyes and brain of one, before ricocheting into another. He just screamed and kept firing before Vivi chanted, "10,000,000 Volt SANDSTORM!" Her arms turned into thousands of needle like darts of lightning. They fell atop the incoming Aranea army like a rainstorm.

Each raindrop seemed capable of stopping the Aranea short, and it only took seconds before they were fried. Or one dart to the brain, still there were dozens of them. Then just as quickly as they attacked they retreated screeching, and screaming a thousand incomprehensible words at them. 

Kazuma blinked down at his half loaded gun realizing it had jammed after the second shot. He just slapped it, and felt something click into place. 

Luck really was the best superpower. 

"Let's Go," Vivi commanded, stepping forward. This was going to take a while he could feel it. Taste is, it sparked over his tongue, rolled around his mouth like a golden coin. Then he spat it out, and stared in mute horror why some magical crystal just appeared in his mouth! Still he pocketed the thing and followed Vivi. 

She took a left, then right turn. She did not speak, simply exploding into a storm of lightning. Her entire body shifting and giving Kazuma a new understanding of why that Devil Fruit was called Invincible. She flowed like water, and struck like an electric tsunami of cannonballs. Shattering through the two Aranea dragging the struggling vaguely human shaped egg sack. 

The Aranea that had previously fled returned from their back, and in a single instant of terrible comprehension Kazuma understood what he had to do. He pushed his hand forward, and felt for the divinity chained in his heart. He drew it to the surface, and it danced across his body like a second golden skin. Then it flowed into his hand, and he pushed it into the single largest party trick he had ever accomplished. 

The magical stone fell out of his pocket, and right into the rainbow. That rainbow exploded forth, and for about three seconds every single Aranea was transfixed. Then the small river smashed into the small army of Aranea, that was of course the opening Vivi needed. She flowed over going through the water coursing through it, and flowing into the bodies of the giant telepathic spiders. 

They quickly sizzled and collapsed to the ground before Vivi reappeared, her arm already punching forth in a "ONE MILLION VOLT SPEAR." Extending forward like a legitimate bolt of lightning killing the last Aranea dragging Zorian's body. Kazuma rushed over reaching for something, but the only thing he had was a gun, so he aimed and prayed. Vivi stopped him quickly, hand gently but firmly turning him to the side. 

She knelt next to the webbed boy and reached into her boot pulling from it a knife that she swiped across the silk. It held, spider silk was one of the hardest materials in the world after all. So she said calmly, "Kazinsky, you need to get out of the cocoon. We have no way to free you, we'll hold off the Aranea, just. . . Hurry up."

Then she waited for the next wave of spiders.

—

Zorian struggled, he heard the voice of his saviors—god he would be repaying these people! For all they had done, hell he'd do nearly anything at this point. So he tried to set the silk on fire, but it just melted, sealing itself and killing the fire. 

The molton thread burned its way into his flesh, and he winced. The sounds of combat, a single cacophonous gunshot, and the screams of dozens of Aranea as some type of lightning magic was cast. Still Zorian fought, his thoughts raced but came up empty. What the fuck could he do, he tried firing a piercer through the cocoon, but that just ended up jerking him to the side. Nearly snapping his neck in the process. 

Then his hand closed arround something strange, a rectangle. He felt a button on one side and pressed it. It was just a strange magic item. . . what was the worst that could happen. A voice spoke in his mind. 

[Chat Group Initializing]

[Newbie Gift Box Opening]

[Nine Tomes of Nagash(Knowlage)]

Then he understood, instead of seeing with his eye he saw with his witchsight. Saw the souls burning in their bodies, his saviors so radically different from his own and the Aranea. One—the lightning mage he assumes—screamed her defiance to the world, screaming that whatever stood before her she would conquer, yet she was not a tyrant. Benevolence seemed to taint every part of her being just as much as the dominance, but still that was not all. 

Strange powers melded together, and he ripped his gaze to the other soul. This teenager's soul shone like freshly polished gold coins. That golden energy seemed to fluctuate, flowing out and shifting everything, a silent puppet master pushing Aranea into each other. Causing spells to miscast, and spiders to miss step. Everything seemed within its control, nearly omnipotent within its range. 

Zorian was afraid of how far that range was. Still he reached for more of that sweet necromantic knowledge. Felt the Dhar within the ambient mana flow through him hardened his flesh as if given Rigor Mortis. Of course without the pesky flexibility issues, Dhar covered his fingers in necrotic energy he used to scythe through the cloth. Rising to his feet he smiled, oh this was going to be fun. Even as his head pounded he lashed out with necromantic force. 

Raising the spiders against their own kin, each lashing out with mental magic spells and as kin fell to kin the spider's matriarch seemed to finally see fit to make her presence known. Zorian did not give her a chance to speak, casting Gaze of Nagash immediately the Darh flowed through his eyes and pierced into the Aranea Matriarch's mind. 

Then he grabbed her soul, and forced it into the corpse. As his new allies protected him he cast the foulest magic, "Awake O dead, for there can be no rest for ye beneath the earth." His mind parsed each individual necromantic construct, even the Aranea matriarch with a strange ease compared to what he had learned from the tomes. Still the matriarch fought, but the Darh magics ensnaring her soul were not so easy to shatter. 

Slowly the web was brought to heel, those unwilling to serve died. Those willing followed every order with the immediate knowledge that defiance ment death. 

"Zorian right? We're other members of the chat group you just got invited to," the golden soul smiled, "God, those spiders were fucking terrifying! You're going for a Necromancer build?"

Zorian almost shook his head, he wanted to be a generalist, "Maybe, and after I learn whatever this matriarch meant by Open."

"Oh! I know! Magus said that you were 'open' meaning you're a natural mind mage with great natural talent, the Aranea could probably teach you." Vivi shrugged, glancing around the cavern, "He also said that the Aranea should have a treasure room, as well as a spell research room."

Zorian took in the information and ordered, "Take these two to the treasury as well as that laboratory, give them everything they desire." He would simply get it on the next restart. With his newfound magical prowess and a few resets he felt he would be able to win reliably. Plus in the next loop he could start practicing with Kael. Another message flashed in front of his face.

[Mission Complete]

[Granting Rewards]

[Shop now Accessible]

[2,000 points added to balance]

As the Aranea led his new allies into the treasury he started to look through the shop. Searching through every category, trying to find anything about time loops, soul magic, or increasing magical power. He only really hit pay dirt with the ladder. Finding an item called the [Terraria Mana Crystal] that apparently, "Grants an additional 20 permanent points of mana to the user." They only cost about 50 points so he bought one. 

His new witchsight saw everything, this was a soul artifact. It bonded with the user's soul and acted like a permanent battery they could draw on. The crystals didn't regenerate themselves so he would be spending a lot longer meditating, but at an estimate he could fit 9 more. He didn't buy them and instead used the first, and started to go through every shaping exercise he knew. 

Unlike most other methods to improve your magnitude—this seemed right. Easier, it didn't hamper his control, and increased his magnitude. So he bought 9 more, and shoved them into his soul. He felt slightly bloated, but as the mana entered his soul ecstasy boiled just under his skin.

"Motherfucker!" he cursed, and struggled to try and fit the tenth crystal eventually just setting it off to the side with a caustic glare.

Sure, he was almost as magically powerful as Zach, he was an accomplished necromancer with an entire path to apotheosis laid out before him. . . maybe he shouldn't complain. Zorian could honestly say getting kidnapped by these spiders would have been the best opportunity of his life if not for the fact they killed Kiriele, Kael, and Kana. These spiders were abominations.

Every restart they were being slaughtered and enslaved for that, plus they were just spiders meaning guilt free test subjects!

"You, find me the greatest mind magic teacher in your web, and bring her here on pain of undeath." Zorian ordered, he needed to learn about his psychic powers. The stronger he was mentally and magically the more undead he could control and the more efficiently. For the first time in his life Zorian realized that he was going to be a legendary mage if he ever escaped this time loop. 

It was a great feeling.

Still with another 1,000 points to spend he kept searching, eventually finding another item.

[Soulbound Catalyst

Kills reduce equipment cooldown by 4s]

That was huge, with the newly gained enchanting mastery from Nagash and his pre-existing skills in the field he was confident in making something terrifying. Something that kills and of course has a 4 second cooldown meaning if he never misses he never has to stop firing his weapon. Just the idea of a super powerful artifact that casts the Gaze of Nagash at 500% power a single time before charging for 4 seconds. 

Zorian loved this shop.

—

Shane and by extension Zeke's house was strangely modest for a B-ranker. Considering that a C-ranker could destroy this planet just by existing on it too forcefully, and that was fucking terrifying. Sure a C-grade can scour an entire planet of life, and a B grade can destroy one—and he's talking the super sized planets from cultivation novels—Jake was really curious how the power systems matched up at the highest levels. 

What was one of the Ascendant Gods equal to, a Primordial, Yip of Yore, or one of the weaker gods like Artemis. What kind of loot would he get for killing one. 

If Kazuma got a reward for enslaving Aqua he should get something for killing a god, or maybe fighting against powerful characters from books and anime. He shook those thoughts from his face, and stepped up. Smiling, if his plan was right Zeke already knew, Jake just needed to not fuck this up. 

So he followed his gut, and knocked on the door. It was a second later the door swung open and a clearly drunk man that could kill him before he could react stood there. Some weight seemed to press onto the three of our shoulders, a test of resolve, or something more. This was Impact, or the gauge of how real you are. With one of it you were superhuman, one thousand and your divine. 

Still the pure REALITY of the man before him just brought a hunter's grin to Jake's face as his heart started to beat. Like a battledrum, his own personal metronome, then he nearly collapsed. It wasn't the pressure, but his Transcendence trying to understand this IMPACT he was being smashed in the face with. 

That process required Jake Juice—or his Essence of Primeval Origins. Still Jake stood, he refused to kneel before this man, even as Rias struggled to stay standing, her body shifting. Flickering between the beautiful red head he had come to know and a terrifyingly captivating marvel of magical scarlet ruin. Jake nearly collapsed again Transcendence trying to comprehend before he could beat it into the back of his mind with a stick. 

He kept forcing it down because while he loved magic he needed to survive to see more of it! He just needed to pace himself and not overdose on his favorite drug. You just need to build your tolerance Jake, then you can take as much as you want. 

Jake forced himself to smile, "Hey, your Shane's uncle right? Do you know where he is? We were going to hang out, maybe visit an arcade or something."

The drunk's face sharpened into a grin, bleary eye hardening into knifepoints, and even the scraggly beard he had seemed exude a roguish quality. It was like he wasn't a man, but pages on paper twisting reality into something greater, "Oh, he's on his way to 5832 Hendrix Avenue, should be in the basement, careful his friends are a little. . . Triggerhappy."

Benny, who had been sweating, forced a smile and said, "Of course Zeke, we'll bring Shane back by 9."

Zeke blinked, "What do you mean by 'we'll' you aren't going anywhere kid."

"W-why!" Benny nearly screamed rage making him ignore the VAST disparity in power between them.

"Not letting Shane's best friend kill himself." Zeke tutted, and grabbed Benny be the scruff of the next before sending Jake a single hard stare. 

Jake just nodded, turned and left. Rias followed a second later before her wings flared out, and they were flying. Her fingers were gripping even harder this time.

Rias sent a single glare at Jake before she said, "How do you expect to find the place of genius?"

Jake just blinked in confusion, but Zeke had so clearly pointed it out?