Just as the sun went down, Michael quickly hurried to my side. I thought he would simply want to be near someone who could help protect him while he fired arrows, but then I realized that his weapon wasn't even with him.

"Do you think we have time?" Michael asked.

"I don't know. We have no idea how long it's going to take for the witch to attack us. Why?"

Michael looked at what I was holding in my hands, "I had an idea about your staff. I think I can make it better."

It could be nice to get a better weapon, but at the same time… I look around, trying to see if there was anything coming. But so far, there were no signs of any monster or witch.

"How long are you going to take?" I asked Michael.

"Half an hour tops. I already tested my idea with a few of the other weapons I was making. And there's a skill that's going to help me make this better."

I looked into the distance towards the shadowy treeline. Half an hour wasn't that long, but if she started beforehand, I could be in trouble.

"Hang on, let me find Rex to get a replacement." Michael nodded, and we dashed back to the houses in the village.

It didn't take long for us to find our Rodenti companion, and I quickly asked him.

"Rex, can you make a staff for me?"

"Staff? Is your broken?"

I shook my head. "No. But Michael is going to try to make it better. I need something just to be with me temporarily."

Rex nodded. "Sure. Do you want a small one?"

"Make a big one. I can change the size to make it better." Rex smiled and used one of his skills to make just a large stone pillar.

It wasn't anything special, and it wasn't going to have any abilities. Just by holding it, I was pretty sure this would be more unwieldy than the staff I was used to. After all, my crafted staff had a natural roundness to it that made it easier to use. Rex nodded, and when I compared the two staffs, even he had to agree that the one I made was much better. But then again, I made it with better materials. I didn't just use a skill to pull a piece of dirt from the ground.

Even then, for how quickly this weapon was created, it was fine. I used {Compression} to make the staff a bit smaller and more resilient. I gave my previous staff to Michael before walking back to the front of the village.

Astrid was already there together with a few other Rodenti and a few humans. But not everybody. There were a number of people from both sides spread around the village in case whatever was coming tried to go for one of our barricades or find another way to attack us.

Time continued to pass slowly. No one was saying anything. Everybody was just waiting for the witch's attack. The fact that no one knew when it would come made it worse. She had said she was going to come in the night, but if meant in the middle of the night, just after sundown, or before sunrise? That was a question that none of us had an answer to. It seemed the longer she waited, the more tense everyone became.

In hindsight, maybe that was exactly her intention. She was playing with us, making us waste time with this suspense so that by the time she launched the attack, our mental strength was already drained. But it wasn't as if we had another option.

We continued to wait, hoping that the witch wasn't going to show up. For a few moments, I felt more or less sure that Michael was going to be able to finish my staff before the fight started. After all, according to the System, it had already been over 20 minutes since he asked for my weapon.

Unfortunately, we were not so lucky. We started to hear a rumbling coming from outside. Slowly but surely, something started to approach. But the sound wasn't as loud as I was expecting. Instead, it was soft. Almost as if it were just a shuffling of feet.

I started to get a bad feeling in my gut, and the System confirmed that there wasn't anything wrong happening. At least not on the physical level. This was just a hunch. But something really bad was about to happen.

Almost as if to confirm my suspicion, we all watched as owners of the shuffling feet approached. They were people. Humans for the most part, but there were a few Rodenti in the group. I didn't recognize any of them myself, but by the reaction of those around me, these should be the missing villagers.

"Bob?" Camila spoke up.

She took a step forward, but I quickly reached out and grabbed her by the arm, shaking my head. She stared at me with a confused expression, but I wasn't fast enough to stop Jacob and one other Rodenti, both of whom quickly rushed towards two people who were at the front of this pack of shuffling beings. Jacob was calling for Maria, who I was assuming was his wife or sister by his reaction, while the Rodenti, who wasn't one of the ones that came to negotiate with the rest of the village, cried for his mother.

"You need to get out of there!" I shouted, trying to get those two people to come back.

Suddenly, the Rodenti woman who was walking slowly creaked. There was no better word for it. It was as if someone were stepping on a rotted wooden board. Her head tilted backwards, and from the neck a rose-colored appendage appeared. Together with spider-like pincers, she grabbed the Rodenti. Her son watched in what must have looked like a bear trap as she started to bite, ripping the man's head clean off before anyone could do anything.

Jacob, on the other hand, only had time to stare at the monstrous Rodenti before Maria, whoever she was, snapped her arms back and from the sides of her body giant spider legs sprouted out, leaving her chest hollow as if the bones that were holding her together just vanished. Jacob tried pulling away, but it was too late. The spider legs pierced his body and, from the top of Maria's head, her hair parted, revealing a spider head that started munching on Jacob's own skull.

However, the really strange part was that everyone, both the spiders and the people, had their eyes closed. I didn't even know that spiders had eyelids.

People started to scream, and most of the defense line broke down. The humans rushed towards their houses, and I even saw some Rodenti trying to flee as well, but there were still a handful of us holding our ground. Everybody was aware that if we were to give up, we would end up getting killed by those creatures, if not turned into one of them.

I cursed silently at Michael. I felt the stone staff in my hands. His heart was in the right place, and he was just trying to help. But his timing absolutely sucked. Right now I needed the best weapon I had, and this thing that Rex created wasn't it.

Looking to the side, Astrid was already charging at the humans, the ones that were coming from outside. It seemed like she also decided that, no matter who they were, it wasn't worth it to leave them alive. Honestly, I couldn't blame her. If this witch was able to create this strange version of spiders mixed with people, I shuddered to think what else she was going to be able to make.

"They're no longer your family. Just run!" I shouted as I dashed towards Maria.

Before anyone could stop me, I hit her head with my staff. Astrid was already on the Rodenti that killed the one that tried to approach, bringing down her axe directly on the side of its body. The strike bisected the creature, but even from this distance in the low light, I was able to see the tiny wriggling pieces of flesh trying to connect together as if the creature was trying to heal.

It was hard to believe that this witch was able to give these creatures such a strong recovery ability. But that very much seemed to be the case. At least Astrid's attack was strong enough to stop that one from being able to recover. Unfortunately, my strike at Maria wasn't as successful.

The human-spider hybrid tried to attack me with the legs coming from the side of its body. I quickly jumped away, doing everything I could not to be hit by it, but my speed wasn't fast enough. Part of the leg managed to brush against me, tossing me to the side. If it weren't for the belt that Astrid made me, I probably would have been pierced with the impact. Even so, I could feel the pincers trying to get to me, and I was positive that if I were still level one, that blow would be enough to break my ribs. But thanks to {As I Flow So Does The Current}, I was able to increase my attributes just enough to stop that.

Jumping to my feet, I prepared to receive another attack, but the monsters were just staring at us. All of them, even the ones yet to be transformed.

A voice echoed all around us, but this time it wasn't as if it was being whispered by our side. Instead, for me, it was a voice reaching me from elsewhere but coming from all at once.

"Little plan of yours is steady, Still so little.

I'll show you how walls can be brittle.

Feel free to try,

feel free to cry,

but such is the result

I will kill every adult."

As the voice continued to echo, I felt myself getting dizzy. There was something in the air, maybe some spell that the witch was using that was trying to pull the strings of my body. Trying to make me feel sleepy even though the situation was anything but relaxing.

Upon hearing that, one of the humans shouted, "What about the children?"

"Children, children children.

They shall not be stricken.

So sweet and supple.

I'll feed them to my army while you lie under the rubble."

The witch's words seemed to resonate in my head, pushing just the right buttons to make me want to yawn. But I refused to give in. I continuously focused on the monsters in front of me and reminded myself that I was in the middle of a fight.

All of a sudden, I heard a voice coming from behind me, echoing across the forest.

"Who says that is the witch that hides from others to see.

She is so ugly that it fills me with glee."

The words did something to my mind, clearing it away. Almost like I dumped a bucket of water on top of me. I blinked a couple of times and looked around to see Riley staring down into the forest with a serious expression.

"What was that?" I asked, but they just glanced at me and pointed towards the forest.

Coming from behind a couple of trees, floating a few meters [ft] above the ground lit by the torches that were placed around the village, was a humanoid figure. Two arms and two legs, although the hands were tipped with very sharp talons instead of the appendages you would expect from a human. There was another pair of smaller arms in the middle of her torso, and she wore a dress made out of something that I couldn't figure out what it was, covering most of her body. From her back, a pair of wings spread flat, forming the image of a pair of giant eyes with a mix of gold and purple irises.

The witch. My reaction was to ask the System to tell me the witch's information just so we could know what exactly we were facing.

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Nithera - The Witch of the Night Trance - Tier 1 - Saturated.

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"You dare to break my spell?" the witch snarled, "I'll gut you like the vermin you are!"

Riley just scoffed," Please, this is child's play. It's been less than a month since I started learning magic. Your spell was just that weak"

"You putrid, worthless, SAC OF MEAT!!!"

Together with Nithera's yell came the howl of the people who were being controlled. Their roars mixing in inhuman voices. I was about to step out to attack them again when I heard another voice from behind.

"Heads up!"

Looking back, I saw my staff flying through the air in my direction. I quickly grabbed it and spun around, ready to attack. At the edges of the blue wood were large chunks of metal wrapped around it, almost like covers on both ends of the weapon. The System was quick enough to quickly give me all the information I needed to know.

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Frosted Staff of the Resonant Metal - Rank 2 (Aspirant)

Hardened by Frost:

Passive

The wood used to create this weapon was frozen through the course of several decades. Its presence near such a deep freeze enhanced the material, making it harder than normal.

Resonant Metal Passive - Uncharged

Charge required: 1 Energy

Duration: 1 hour.

The metal of this weapon can resonate with elemental forces. When using abilities that bring forth elemental effects, the staff can receive some of its power.

Created by Michael Kahele and Cassandra Ydorf

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I could tell that there was a longer description, but that was the only part that mattered right now. With this new weapon in hand, I turned around, ready to face this witch and save the people of this village.