Chapter 14 - I Hate Spider Ninjas 

Like a celestial omen, a streak of light descended from the sky into an enigmatic realm beyond. An ethereal realm with an infinite number of bizarre lifeforms and strange landscapes sprawled endlessly. The stream of light tore through the air as it plunged into a domain of towering plant life and trees, where even the smallest tree loomed over fifty feet tall. Beyond the horizon, an enormous stone monolith surrounded by terrifying storms effortlessly dwarfed the gigantic trees.

Countless eyes emerged from the shadow and stalked the stream of light. 

'Ahh…' Raven moaned as his mind went through an uncomfortable experience. 

He felt as if his entire being had been flipped inside out akin to the feeling one would get from staying upside down for too long. He could hardly form a thought as he endured the horrible sensation.

His current location was one of many mysteries. It twisted his mind, clashing against his psyche. Raven got the feeling he did not belong here. He could already feel the hostile intents locked onto his body. 

'Where the hell am I now?' Raven hated how this had become a regular question for him in the past few hours.

'Wow, this might be another world. It feels different somehow.'

Thinking of the previous world he escaped from, Raven's face twitched. 'Fortunately, I am not in the previous world. Such an idiot. I should have thought more before doing something clearly stupid. If I wasn't so lucky back there, I really would have died.'

'But really, where the fuck am I?'

His mind pulsed and Raven instinctively stared at the northwest direction. To the north stood an imposing world stone monument beckoning to him, while to the northwest was a path of trees adorned with skulls and other foul items.

'Well, this is certainly not ominous.'

After a few minutes of wandering, Raven discovered that this world was really extraordinary. It had no sun. Instead, in its place was a hovering cerulean object, radiating with an intensity far greater than Earth's sun. 

Raven had almost dismissed it as a star until it unfurled its furry visage, revealing its colossal form as a titanous creature.

'How is this possible?' 

If the previous world was bloody and morbid, this world could only be described by one word— bizarre.

The surrounding trees had eyes filled with dreadful glints, gazing at him every time he moved. Despite his justified expectations, they didn't speak, but their bizarre gazes were enough to unsettle him.

As Raven walked further in the direction of the stone monument, he thought, 'The things here… I can interact with them. This surely means I must have entered this world physically.'

'This brings things to the next level. I could die here if I'm not careful.'

Thankfully, the law of gravity was quite weak here which allowed for easy movement. The only problem was he could effortlessly run into magnificent creatures posing as mundane objects, which if he had to say, was shameless.

'Maybe I shouldn't roam around recklessly. No, I need to find a way to leave this place. I'm sure there has to be something. How did I get here again?'

Out of nowhere, a tiny head appeared above Raven. 

"Biii!"

Raven narrowed his eyes and retreated instantly. Though the spider-like head was tiny and cute, Raven's ❰Seventh Sense❱ told him another story. The body of the spider was transparent and would be totally invisible if not for ❰Seventh Sense❱. 

"Biii!"

Raven's eyes widened in shock. He could see it… no, feel it, somehow. The size of the spider easily towered him, standing at seven feet. 

Suddenly, it emitted clicking sounds and emerged from its transparent state, like a moth in a cocoon. It quickly revealed a ray of tiny teeth that were stained with black blood. 

"Biii!"

'It's hostile! Why does everything here have to be so weird?!'

With lightning reflexes, Raven evaded its pincer legs and sprinted toward the direction of the beacon. He suspected he could find sanctuary there!

Yet another spider lunged at him from nowhere. Raven sensed the attack and managed to move away just in time. This kicked a wave of attacks as more spiders pounced on him. Tiny heads appeared in the air as the spiders chased him wherever he went! 

'Fucking spider ninjas!'

Many cuts appeared on his skin as he tumbled on the edge of a hill and fell into a lake. He heaved a sigh of relief and submerged himself in the water.

 Just when he thought he was safe, the spider swam into the lake unnaturally like a swarm of bees. They spotted him shortly!

'Shit, they can swim too!'

Raven jumped out of the lake and picked up pace, but the spiders were relentless in their pursuit. One spider emerged from the ground beneath Raven and snarled at him. 

Instinctively, Raven's body radiated with a grey glow. With a swift kick, he smashed the spiders into the others.

Raven looked at his body and smiled, 'This is… ether! I can manipulate ether here? Good! I'm not entirely defenceless now.'

Just now, he had executed ⟪Ether Channeling⟫ by instinct. With this technique, he could turn the tables around and go on the offensive.

'No. I can't think like that. I can feel that ether is not as effective here as it is on Earth. Moreover…'

He gazed at the spider that had lunged at him and frowned. The spider was barely affected by his kick. His frown deepened rapidly when he noticed multiple webs linking him to the spiders. He tried moving but the spider pulled him towards him.

'Oh shit! This was their aim all along.'

Cutting the webs only invited more to ensnare him. Soon, his waist was bound, enhancing the pulling force of the spiders.

'Is this it? Am I going to die here? It's too early!'

A mad glint flickered in his eyes. Raven channelled a great surge of ether and yanked a nearby spider, killing it with his full strength. Purple goo fell on his skin and the other spiders looked at him in fear, but that did not stop their attack.

 They knew their prey was exhausted by that attack. Now was the time to end this now and for all!

"Biii!"

"Biibiibii!"

While some spiders restricted Raven's movement with their webs, the other spider ninjas descended upon him from the sky. 

'Calm. Calm. It's now or never!' Raven could feel it. This was the deciding moment!

Raven smiled and began a killing spree. With each kill, he grew more experienced in dealing with this species. He quickly understood the best spots to attack and the finest way of channelling ether. 

Minutes passed by in a blur. Raven was fully drenched in purple goo. His face appeared monstrous and his eyes radiated a thick murderous intent. Even he didn't know a crazy smile etched on his face as he continued his killing spree. 

However, he was now on his last leg. When he tried channeling ether, his body betrayed him, refusing to take anymore because of its aching state— he had accidentally crossed the threshold of what his body could take. And then the fatal blow struck. 

It happened in the blink of an eye. Before he knew it, his waist was pierced by a spider's attack. Following that, his body bore the brunt of many other vengeful attacks. his vision blurred as more spiders closed in.

'Is this it?'

Raven's vision blurred as more spiders closed in. He closed his eyes and waited for death.

"You fool. Hurry up and touch the tree!" A snarky voice jolted him awake.

Raven looked around but found no one. However, he did notice a tall tree just a few meters away from him.

Just as a rather huge spider lunged for his head, Raven kicked off the air and reached for the tree. Instantly, the tree glowed with a green luminosity, projecting a barrier that impeded the swarm of spider ninjas. 

'Biii!'

The swarm retreated away from the barrier. They recognized the entity, a terrifying predator that often roamed this part of their hunting grounds. It would be foolish to antagonize it. 

'Bii! Biibibi!'

Communicating amongst themselves, their eyes only lingered on Raven for a brief moment before vanishing into the wind. It seemed they wouldn't get the strange one with the sweet scent today.

Meanwhile, Raven collapsed on the ground in relief after seeing his scary foes retreat. 

"Goodness, Idiot. It seems I just saved your life." The familiar voice echoed.

Looking around, Raven stumbled as he spotted an oddity. A strikingly beautiful cat pompously strutted atop the tree.

A cat spoke to him!

It had a weird appearance and seemed otherworldly, but really… a fucking cat spoke to him!

A talking cat. What other shenanigans were coming his way after this? Surely, this tops the cake.

"I understand your astonishment. You are in the presence of a magnificent being. An adequate reaction, indeed. Worship me, mortal."