DIE TRYING [A Roguelite Extraction LitRPG]

"Leon! Jump!"

Wade might not be the one jumping, but he could delegate that downwards.

The russian got the plan instantly. Then changed his running gait into large leaps. It slowed him down just slightly, but it gave Wade all the chances he needed so long as he flung rocks right as Leon leaped up for a step.

Another rock flew into the arachnid's face, crushed down into the chiten, and then applied the debuff. That was the good news.

Bad news is that it clearly wouldn't be enough to kill the thing, and he'd probably need to reapply the debuff another few times. Maybe he could kill it if he had five solid minutes. But he had no idea if Leon could keep sprinting around for five minutes.

He drew out Illy's dagger. Nine more of these after he used one up, but he'd confirmed he could deal damage and apply the debuff. He started aiming the dagger.

"It catching up!" Leon called, "Doing plan B!"

The russian rounded a corner, raced down the alleyway and dove into an opened doorway. The metal doorway slid straight down right as the giant spider leaped out after them.

Not even a moment later, the two backed away from the entrance and two fangs ripped through the metal, stuck. Wade could see clear fluid starting to drip down the fangs as they tried to wiggle in and out, independent from one another.

A moment later they unlatched, slipping back out, leaving two large punctures in the metal.

"Illy and Selena escape safely, they know what to do." Leon said, "We prepare to run out when golem comes."

Wade nodded in mute silence. Trust the plan, trust his teammates. If anything, Selena and Illy were the ones with real military training, better that they were the ones outside with the options.

It didn't look like the spider had an easy way into the building, and the walls were sturdy enough to repel it like they'd assumed. He could feel the blackrot within his arm squirming around, as if aware of the larger cousin outside.

Then they realized the window here wasn't barricaded. It was made of glass. And so did the spider outside, seeing them through it. It raced right for the window, fangs smashing the glass before the rest of the body blocked it's way in. A moment later, a giant hairy foot was shoved through, tapping around blindly, trying to scoop them out of there.

Wade and Leon both took steps backwards, to the hallway section of the house. Behind them was the master bedroom, and to the sides were the smaller mini-bedrooms as usual for this layout. And zero ways out other than where the giant hand was groping around.

It felt like he was in a nature documentary, except they were the piece of food the predator was trying to pry out of a shell.

Some part of his head rebooted as he saw the giant groping appendage, blind. And exposed.

"We can kill it," Wade said, scanning the room quickly. His eyes locked onto a discarded pickaxe leaning against one of the metal shelving units. "Perfect."

He darted forward, careful to stay out of the spider's reach, and snatched up the mining tool. It had decent weight, much heavier than the rocks he'd been throwing. He tested its balance, calculating angles in his head.

His buff was all about initial damage. And initial damage was clearly scaling off his strength. Which meant force.

Force could be multiplied by a lever. Which the pickaxe had.

"Leon, can you use one of Illy's daggers? You hit it for the debuff, and I'll throw this at it right after."

The Russian nodded, pulling one of the reserved daggers from his own belt. Four more after this for him.

The appendage was still blindly searching, scraping against metal furniture and walls.

"One... two... three!"

Leon's throw was perfect. The dagger embedded itself into the hairy limb with a satisfying thunk. The spider jerked violently and pulled back out. Another leg took the place, fresh of any wounds. That didn't matter, the debuff wasn't on any single leg, it was on the entire critter itself. All Wade could see was a few outlines of red outside, as the debuff visual centered itself on the main body.

Wade didn't hesitate the moment that new leg started probing around inside. He took a half-limping leap, swinging the pickaxe in a tight arc before releasing it.

If it worked, the thing would swing down on the sharp edge. If he fucked it up, it would be the wooden handle that hit, probably doing no damage. Or worse, some very minor damage that would be enough to eat up Illy's debuff.

He prayed in that half moment that luck was on his side, because he'd never practiced throwing tools like this in his life.

The tool didn't have the room to spin even a single time over itself, but that was a good thing. Its sharp point drove deep into the limb.

The spider emitted a shriek that made Wade's ears ring. The pickaxe had penetrated much deeper than he'd expected, black ichor spraying from the wound. The creature's health bar, visible through Wade's Identify ability, dropped dramatically. At least 23% gone in a single hit.

"Holy shit," Wade breathed, watching as the spider yanked its injured leg back through the window and started screaming. "That actually worked."

The health bar chipped down outside, a good seven percent down. If that was a constant rate, the spider might actually die after all ten seconds passed down.

Leon clapped him on the shoulder. "Ah-hah! Good throw! Again?"

Then Wade saw something that horrified him. The health bar went back up a few ticks. Each time his viper debuff ate at it, the bar went back up half the damage. As if fighting off the debuff.

Ah. It's a fucking blackrot spider. That thing was regenerating. And it was doing it far better than the weasel had, probably from sheer bodymass.

The spider scuttled over on top, attacking the roof now, trying to find any place it could rip the little shelter up for the tasty human treats within.

Ten daggers on his belt. Leon had his hammer, his knockback ability and four more daggers to use. What else could he be doing?

Wade had another stupid idea. "If we can trap that leg inside the house, I can kill it." He said. "The blackrot can heal it, but the skyviper debuff basically nullifies the healing. So, we just need to trap it's foot inside here somewhere long enough for me to pickaxe it that many times."

"You really think so?" Leon called out, as the torso sized leg fumbled around.

"If I'm already doing that much damage just with what we got, all I have to do is fish for a critical hit."

The luck stat. Critical hits felt like an unreliable thing but Wade knew better: It was a statistics problem. And he knew the chances were likely higher than expected. He'd seen it trigger already, and he hadn't seen one recently. Which means the chances of the next ten hits also not giving any critical hits was stacked against the dealer.

All they had to do now was gamble.

And then things got more complicated. For one, his blackrotten arm started tweaking out again, as if fearing something coming from another angle than just on top.

And second, they heard the sound of fighting on the rooftop. Screeching mostly.

Identify

Level 52 Greater Blackrot Spider Broodmother

"Are you fucking kidding me?!" Wade hissed, but there was clearly something else on top of the roof now fighting the original spider. Something happened and the smaller spider tumbled back down on the ground, visible through the window. It reared up on it's back leg, four other legs lifted high up, as if trying to make itself seem larger.

It actually stayed completely still, attention focused on the spider probably above them.

Well, if he were honest his plan for a critical hit was reaching for straws. This gave him a lot more solid of an idea. He grabbed a rock and got to work.

His rock went flying through the window into the spider's centermass, dealing another four percent damage and reapplying the debuff currently fighting it's blackrotten healing factor.

It hissed, retreated just a foot backwards and that was all the signs of weakness the other spider needed to start charging out. It was a spider eat spider world out there and Wade had zero problems poking a stick at it. Better plan than trying to fish for a critical hit using the last few daggers Illy loaned them.

At least, until he saw the newcommer. The thing was clearly larger than the smaller spider, the trunk-like legs stomping in front of the window for a moment before both spiders continued their turf war outside.

"Think we can sneak out?" Leon said in the minor silence as the spiders had another standoff out of sight.

"Yeah, we can use health bars to navigate away from them, let's get the fuck out of here while we can." Wade said, limping over to the punctured doorway.

They were about to start the next plan when they heard a building break down. And then another.

"DANGEROUS WILDLIFE DETECTED. ELIMINATING."

Illy and Selena must have aggro'd the giant. And they got out of the way fast enough for the golem to only notice the spider here attacking instead of them.

He heard the magical gunfire again, along with screaming of the spiders. The one after them backed off fast, health bar vanishing from the distance, clearly deciding it had enough of this nonsense and didn't want anything more to do with anyone in this party.

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Challenge Gauntlet Complete!

He saw the giant broodmother's health bar scuttle backwards as well, crawl over their roof and then jump out of range behind them. The entire time, it depleted fast, from it's full status all the way down to forty percent by the time it vanished out of his view.

Chaos happened right after. Because the spider had climbed right over the roof to escape. Specifically their roof. And as far as Wade knew about the Nathir Security Golems, they did not appreciate anything escaping them. Which meant pursuit.

Realization caught Wade the moment the giant metal foot crushed through the building's side, causing the entire thing to collapse downwards. All through it, he heard the magical gunfire cycling.

Leon yanked Wade off his feet and sprinted out one of the crumbling walls, right before the roof fully broke down. Halfway out the rubble, Wade heard the golem rumble again, gunfire halting.

"WILDLIFE ELIMINATED."

The blue orb on top of its head spun around, searching for new threats. He could see the blue glow settled over the two of them.

"UNREGISTERED SLAVE DETECTED. ELIMINATING."

A massive golem arm slammed right in front of Leon's escape path, ground crushing as it swept to grab and probably squeeze them to death. But the giant russian still raced right for it. And then jumped.

If they ever got back home, Leon's new sport profession should be basketball. Because he outright flung himself right above the hand, half-landed on it, and leaped off of it again.

The golem rumbled, then swiped the hand out the other way after them. Leon saw it coming, calculated he wasn't going to make it, and threw Wade up and out of the way right as the metal backhand slammed into him.

His health bar dropped to the low twenty percent, and then down another ten percent as he was thrown far off into a wall from the impact. Wade hit the ground and rolled by accident, taking a few points of damage before he rightened himself up. He couldn't see the golem from here, only the giant metal hands already returning to the main body.

He realized Leon had tossed him into the corner section exactly for that reason. Maybe if they broke line of sight, they could run into the next building here and-

The russian's hand yanked his mithril collar up, and lifted him back onto the usual shoulder. Leon continued to run out the alleyway, into the main road. He'd not only rolled out of his crushing blow, but gotten back up on his feet and sprinted right for Wade, almost in a panic.

The golem popped across the alleyway again a moment later, blue orb fixated on the running duo, upset.

Wade took one of Illy's daggers out of his belt, and wound backwards to throw.

There was a flash of blue and something speared the golem's side, detonating harmlessly. It turned its attention to the source, blue orb scanning around, clearly not finding wherever Selena had gone to hide after her attack. "GREATER THREAT DETECTED. INVESTIGATING."

Leon took that chance to book it, still holding Wade in a deathgrip, breathing ragged.

"Leon, let me down!"

Wade could tell the russian's leg was broken, since the man was using his hammer as a crutch to run on, banking on the strength in his arm and working leg to carry them both. His health bar was steadily dropping, internal damage or his efforts here were tearing up something.

"Nyet." He said, spitting blood. "You not fast enough."

He didn't know if that was true or not, because in the time it took to speak those words, Leon had crossed over the road and ran into the first building to hide. He coughed, dropped a struggling Wade, and collapsed himself against the wall.

Outside, he heard gunfire again from the golem. More crushed buildings. Then another set of gunfire.

Illy and Selena were giving it a hell of a time. But Wade was focused on the Russian in front of him. His health bar was still dropping down, one percent at a time. Wade yanked the backpack off the russian, pouring out the contents in search of first aid.

"Did it see you?" Leon asked, his voice tight.

"What?" Wade grabbed the ancient bandages, and turned to Leon. The russian looked beat up, blood dripping down his mouth and nose.

"Wade, focus." He coughed. "Is... important. Did golem see you after I throw you?"

"Think there's fucking worse to worry about here," Wade said, looking at Leon's bad leg. Bone was sticking out and it was bleeding. "Oh shit, shit shit."

"Start from foot, wrap up. Give you something to do. Now, answer question. Did golem see you alone?"

Wade started wrapping the bandage, seeing it get soaked in blood almost immediately the moment he climbed up high enough.

"Uhh, it only saw me on your back I think."

The russian nodded, then sighed in relief, as if that was a good answer. He started to draw out Illy's four remaining daggers and placed them on the floor beside Wade.

"You got a plan with those?" Wade asked, hands rapidly wrapping the wounds closed.

"Hah, da. A good plan too. Their vision, not like ours." Leon's eyes followed the sound of distant crashes. "Liz, girl in original group with me. She was wounded. Later carried by another man, Brian. Golem spotted them together, gave chase." His words were clipped, practical. "Brian set her down somewhere out of sight, thinking it safe. Golem found her first. Killed her."

Wade could hear more buildings on the other side. Crumbling, breaking down. The golem was roaring about different threats now. Anywhere from wildlife to escaping slaves. It was probably breaking down all the different skeleton camps the group had scouted from what he was hearing. Absolute chaos.

"But interesting thing happen. After Liz was killed, golem moved on. Forgot Brian existed. That's how we win here."

He gave a fit of bloody coughs then, stopping whatever he was planning on saying next.

"Leon, just stop talking and hold on. Selena will be back any minute. She can heal this. And if not…" Wade's eyes darted to his blackrot arm under his sleeve. "I could... I mean, it's keeping me alive. We could infect you just enough to close these wounds. Make another collar. Got enough disks for it on my neck." Be a shitshow to infect Leon with blackrot, but it would work. "Don't worry buddy, think of it this way, you'll be stronger than anyone out there with it."

He laughed, then reached a hand and patted the back of his head. When he brought it back up, it was filled red. "Got hit in head. Skull fracture at best. Not healing this with rot."

"You're still talking and moving," Wade said. "It can't be that bad."

Leon just smiled softly back, teeth stained red.

There was silence on the other side of the city now. Wade heard it in the distance again, rumbling out.

It called something out, but the only thing Wade could make out at this distance was 'ELIMINATED.'

But one thing was morbidly certain: He heard it start turning back. Coming their way.

The thuds were getting closer. "Better plan, we're just going to find someplace to hide where it can't find us." Wade continued. "It'll give up after a while."

Leon chuckled, spat on the ground. "They not giving up. Never. Not until it kills its target." Then he pointed to the open entrance, where a trail of blood was leading right to him.

Fuck. Wade calculated, and came up with a new plan.

"I'll bandage you up, you'll stop bleeding and we'll sneak out the window." He'd just wrapped enough that it wasn't leaking all over the floor anymore. With one more knot, he decided it was done. Not perfect, but enough to cut off the blood flow. "There, let's get the fuck out of here now, we'll figure out how to fix the rest of you after we got more time. If we don't find Selena in time, I'm infecting you with the rot."

Selena had some healing ability, she'd used that for her calf. They'd regroup, and then continue finding their way.

They'll just have to take a chance on Leon's skull injury being something the elf could fix up, or that it won't kill Leon in the end. Maybe bandaging it up would be enough.

Leon's eyes fixed on the doorway, calculating. He shifted, testing his weight on his good leg. He pulled himself up against the wall, leaving a streak of blood. Wade went under his shoulder, and helped him up, but the giant pointed a finger away from the window. "Help me to doorway, have better plan."

Wade cursed but helped him limp toward the entrance.

They reached the doorway and Leon stopped. "This is good." He steadied himself against the frame, his breathing shallow but controlled. "Far enough."

"What's the plan?" Wade asked, glancing between Leon and the approaching thuds.

Leon's hand gently held on Wade's shoulder. "In boxing, timing is everything." He looked out toward where the golem would appear. "Right moment to throw a punch. The right moment to take a hit. Do you know how Brian lived?" He patted Wade's shoulder with a reassuring smile. "Is because when he carried her, the golem mistaking both as one target."

They don't give up, not until they kill their target. And it only saw one target - it only needs to kill one of them.

Wade realized Leon's plan a half second too late.

The russian's hand suddenly shoved him back into the room, forcing him to trip on the ground down. Before Wade could scramble to his feet, Leon had already stepped through the doorway and turned to look back. "Sometimes, winning is knowing when to take the fall." He closed the doorway between them just as the scanning light fell over him.

The russian turned and limped forward using his hammer as a crutch, slowly making his way directly at the golem. "Come on, big mudak. I'm right here."

The golem's footsteps came to a stop, but it kept a wary eye on him, one metal hand floating from the chassis upwards, palm out. Leon also came to a stop, and stared up at the giant looming over him. His hammer clattered on the floor with a shrill metal ping as he let it go.

Leon smiled... and slowly raised his hands up in a boxer's stance.

The golem's hand descended.