第32章 聚会32（1 / 2）

Thespidersdescendedonebyone，inquickorder

Likeeight-leggedrottweilersdroppingdownfromthetreeswithugly，beadyeyes.Atfirst，Jamescontemplatedgettingtohisfeetandcharginginafterahalfdozenhadappeared，butsomeinstinctstayedhi

Theinstinctwaswiserthanhisconsciousmind，itseemed，becausetheparadewasonlyhalfwaydone.Thehalfdozenincreasedtoafulldozenoverthenextfewminutes.Includedamongthisnumberwasanunusuallylargespecimenwithwhiteandgraybandsarounditslongblacklegs.Jamesinstinctivelypeggedthisastheclearleaderaroundwhichtheothersmaneuvered

HeusedIdentifyonit

[CommandWoodSpiderLv.9:AmutantspidercultivatedfortheOrientationbytheSystem.Partofaclusterofspiders，thisspecimenisoneofthesuperiormembers，secondinstatusonlytotheQueenMother.Controlslesserspiders.SuperiortotheaverageSystem-enhancedhumaninallattributesotherthanWillandFortitude.Strongerwhenunderthecommandofahigherlevellifeform.]

Almostthesamelevelasme.Ashereadthedescription，Jamesnoticedthatthespidersweredrawinggraduallyclosertothefire，themeat，andJames’shidingplace

Thesmallspacearoundthefirewherethecreatureshaddescendedfairlycrawledwiththegiantspidersnow，andJameswasbeginningtodoubtthewisdomofthiscourseofaction.Hefeltarealsenseoftheriskhehaddecidedtotakeinthenameofhuntingmoreofthemonstersatonce.Somewhereinhismind，apairofnumbersemerged，whichheimmediatelyassociatedwithtwoconcepts:87%chanceofsurvival，64%chanceofvictory

Arethosereal?Jameswondered，buthewasalreadyfairlycertainheknewtheanswer

Everythinghe’dseenintheSystemwasreal.Anynewsensesorknowledgethatheperceivedprovedimmediatelyuseful.Therewaslittlepointinquestioningit.Somethingabouthisnewpowers–abouthisnewclass，tobespecific–allowedhimtogaugehisoddsofvictoryinagivenfight.Itwasn’tanystrangerthanotherthingshe’dexperiencedthusfar.Hefeltreadytoleapintoaction，buthewantedtogatheralittlemoreinformationfirst，andhehadatleastafewsecondsbeforetheydiscoveredhim.Havingreviewedhisnewabilitieswhilehewaswaitingforthecreaturestocome，heactivatedthemostappropriateone

Predator’sInsight!

Instantly，hefelthisgazedrawntoparticularpartsonthebigspider’sbody.Weakpoints，itseemed，includedtheeyes，majorjointsonitsbody，andthejointsonthelimbs.Pointsofdangerwerethefangs—duh!—andapartoftherearundersideofthespider，whichhissensesindicatedasbothadangerareaandaweakpoint

Thatmustbewhereitgeneratessilkfrom，Jamesthought.Itwastheonlyreallyuniquethingaboutspiders，afterall

Helookedovertheotherspiders，andtheyappearedmuchthesameunderhispredatorygaze，thoughwithmoreweakspotsandlessthreateningfangsandspinnerets.Jamesdecidedthathewouldtackletheleaderfirst.HebeganSilentSpellcasting，quietlypullingmanaoutofhiscore–andthespidersjumpedintoaction.Thebigonereareduponitsbackpairoflegs，madeastrangepiercingscreech，andgesturedwithitstwofrontlegsatJames

LookslikeIbrokemystealth，Jamesthought.Thentwospidersleapeduponhi

Jameshadtoletgoofhiscrossbow，buthemanagedtokeepthespellcastinggoingwhilepushingofffromthegroundwithallfourlimbsandjumpingontoalow-hangingbranch.Thelimblastedonlyasecond，however，beforeitbrokeunderhisweight，sendinghimplummetingintothethickofthespiders.Threesurroundedtheareawherehewasabouttofall，whiletheotherscrouched，poisedtoleapontohimassoonashelanded

Shit.Themomentafterthebranchbroke，Jamesunleashedhisflamespellprematurely，aimingahalfdozenlittleburstsofflameintotheeyesofthespidersthatwaitedaroundwherehewasabouttofall，hopingtoatleastdistractthespidersabit，perhapsblindthem.Ashedescended，hechargedanotherattackinbotharms

HeavyStrike!Ashelanded，hesmashedthetwoclosestspidersintogreasysmearsonhisfists.Theinstantkillmovecosthimalotintermsofstamina，butitwaswellworthit.Thespidersthathadbeenpoisedtoleapathimhesitatednow，andJamesthoughthedetectedsomethingdifferentintheair.Anodor，faintlyreminiscentofammonia.HissenseswereallampedsincetheSystem，andespeciallysincetheClassEvolution.Hewonderedifthiswasthesmelloffear

Hehadlittletimetoconsiderthequestion.Thethirdspiderthatwasclosesttohimdidnotsharethemoredistantspiders’hesitation.Itrushedinwhilehishandswerestillembeddedinspiderguts，andittriedtosnapitsfangsshutononeofhislegs.Jamesliftedhishands，stuck-onspiderbitsandall，andclosedthemaroundthisspider’shead，holdingitinplaceonlyafewinchesawayfromhisshin.Thenheslowlybutsurelycrusheditsheadbetweenhispowerfulhands.NoSkillrequired，soverylittleStaminaexpenditure

Ashedidthis，Jamesraisedhiseyestolookattheotherspiders.Withonefirmlycontainedinhisgrip，theremainingnineweretherealthreat.Especiallythebigone.Andthenthebigspidermoved.Itreareduponitsbacklegsagain，raiseditshead，andscreechedoncemore