The Orc's Awakening c16

Chapter 16: Orc vs Black Widow Queen

There are moments in life when you know you done messed up ー messed up real bad.

You poked at a wasp’s nest only to find out that the actual nest filled the entire back wall of a room, and there were hundreds of thousands of wasps living inside it.

You jump into a lake for fun, only to find out that it was a snake pit, and suddenly, you’re surrounded by thousands of snakes.

You poke to clear an old chimney only to find that scorpions decided to make it their nest inside, and now a great cloud of them falls right on top of you.

Those were all stories I heard in the news.

I couldn’t imagine what that must have felt like, but I think I know now.

A black spider with a crimson red marking on its back came crawling out of a 3 meter wide hole ー a hole way too small for its size. The cavern must have been at least 30 meters in all directions, and it spread its legs out and covered most of the ceiling.

Back in my previous life, we called that spider a Black Widow. But it was at most, the size of your finger nail.

THAT THING WAS THE SIZE A SMALL BUILDING.

Orc: “(SNORT!) OH YOU’VE GOT TO BE KIDDING ME!!!!!”

All the other spiders had disappeared.

It’s just this one, GIANT, fat one left.

“A...Black Widow….Queen….”

My porky ears perk up as the girl in armor said something under her breath before she passed out on the ground.

…...a what?

I have very little knowledge about these Monsters around me. As far as I’m concerned, that’s just a nasty Boss Spider Queen that would cause gamers to torch the developer's house.

I inch and edge towards the fainted girl carefully without taking my eyes off the hideous monstrosity above me.

Look, I'm a Pig Monster, but that thing makes me look like a movie star piglet. You could put a bow on me next to it, and suddenly, I don't look so bad.

[There is always going to be someone better - someone bigger, smarter, stronger, and faster than you. It’s a big world. Don’t let it get to your head.]

My mother used to say that when she was drunk.

Now I know there's someone always uglier than me too.

[yOu…….]

Ugh, it’s voice is ugly too. It sounds like a shrieking, out-of-tune violin.

[wHaT aRe YoU….?]

Orc: “(snort) Just a passerby taking these girls…”

I casually test the waters to see if it will let me leave. If I can leave without a fight, then that’s fine with me.

[............sO UgLy…….]

Orc: “(SNORT!!) LIKE YOU’RE ONE TO TALK!!!!!”

I stomp my feet in protest.

[......LeAvE tHe giRLs aNd gO…….I aM nOt GoiNg tO EaT sOmEtHiNg sO rEpULsiVe...]

Veins pop out of my head, but I let the latter part of the words slide since there’s not much I can do about it. It’s the first part that I can’t let go.

Orc: “(snort) Sorry. Can’t. I made a promise to save them.”

[.....eVeN iF yOu diE….? wALk aWaY….sAy tHeY wERe dEaD…...wHo WoULd kNoW?]

Orc: “......................(snort) I would.”

Have you ever sat in your room in front of a computer for decades just thinking about all the mistakes you made in life? Even if no one else knows, YOU know. Mistakes like these would haunt you for the rest of your life.

…….I would know.

In a flash of memory, I see my friend’s hand coming out of the water one last time. It was a stormy, dark day by the river…..

Die? I already died. And now I’m an Pig. At this point, if reincarnation is a thing, I don’t mind re-rolling my character.

It wasn’t courage.

It was just anger. Anger at myself and this world...

Red starts to slowly throb and seep into my peripherals…

That thing better be careful.

My temper isn't what it used to be.

ーーIt's far worse now.

[......fOoL……]

A giant spider’s leg came down from the ceiling.

It was more of a pillar than a leg.

I dash to the side and dodge it and move quickly towards the girls, but two more legs cut off my route and smash into the ground in front of me.

The pillar’s had thick webs attached from all over as it heaved itself slowly out of the ground. I don't think it can move its legs on its own without those webs supporting it.

From the pillars a weird mist filled the air.

My pig instincts tell me it’s some kind of poison.

Orc: (Not good…..)

I hope it’s not deadly. In most cases, Spider’s prefer their prey alive. Their poisons typically cause paralysis, but this is also a Black Widow ー something notorious for their deadly toxin.

The girls inside the cocoon might still be alright but the girl protecting them would be dead now….

I grit my teeth hard at the thought.

My armor covers every inch of my body, and my gas mask is more than enough to keep the toxins out of my lungs.

I attack the legs with my hatchet and axe, but the impact feels weird.

It was like cutting a very sticky, thick dough with a kitchen knife. My blades get stuck mid-way…

And millions of tiny Spiders started crawling up my arm.

Orc: (!@#%@#%!@!!!! GROSS!!)

I panic and release my weapons and shake off the tenacious spiders.

Okay. That’s ******* gross. Its skin is made up of webs and millions…. billions….? Maybe even trillions of small spiders who hurriedly patch the wound, as the leg is raised back to the ceiling.

Crap…. my weapons….

My spear is with the medic girl.

This fugly spider just took my 2 main sub-weapons.

I’m out of throwing knives.

[..........fOoL………]

A sudden blast spreads across the room and everything around me goes white.