Rise of the Living Forge - Chapters 112-114 (Patreon)

Am I spam posting to get us up to the new content? Yes. Yes I am. I miss seeing comments. NEXT CHAPTER IS NEW STUFF LESGOOO

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Everyone was awake and in the common room of the tavern when Arwin got back. Lillia had made breakfast while he was gone and they were already well into eating. She wordlessly handed him a plate piled high with eggs and fried mystery meat.

“Thank you.” Arwin took the plate with a smile and walked over to the edge of the counter to set it down and start eating.

“Did you go to the market?” Reya asked through a mouthful of food.

“Yeah. Sold some more stuff pretty easily. I think word is getting out about my name,” he replied with a pleased grin. “Not to say I’m releasing you from your job. You’re a great saleswoman.”

Reya grinned. “I am, aren’t I?”

“Don’t get too stuck up,” Anna said, flicking her in the back of the head with a laugh. “Now why don’t you tell us what you found out already? You’ve been making me wait until Arwin got back, which I assume means that we’re not in any immediate risk, but my patience is at its limit.”

“It’s like you guessed,” Rodrick said. “We’ve got some time to work with, but I’ve also confirmed that it’s really likely that there are two Wyrms in that forest. We found some adventurers in some other taverns – sorry Lillia – that have been to the forest recently. People were arguing over the markings on its scales. Nobody got up close to it, of course, but the retellings were close enough that I think it’s pretty obvious there are two different Wyrms and not just a bunch of forgetful adventurers. It also sounded like the number of people going missing went up slightly, but not significantly.”

“Were any sigthtings recent?” Lillia asked.

“The most recent one was like a week and a half ago,” Rodrick said.

“When we checked out the forest, we didn’t see too much out of the ordinary either. Nothing like a bunch of little Wyrms running around in the trees, at least,” Reya added. She dabbed at her mouth with a napkin and restrained herself from eating more until she could finish speaking. “We didn’t actually go into the forest, but from what we could find, it looks like not much has changed yet. That probably means the Wyrm hasn’t given birth yet.”

“If it’s been a week, there’s a chance the mother is already preparing to give birth. I don’t know the timeframe in any specific detail from here, but I think we should have at least a week before the optimal time to strike,” Lillia said. “Wrymlings are born able to fight, but their mother will be weakened shortly afterward. If we can strike any time roughly a week after the mother births them, they’ll all be at their weakest state.”

“A week… I think that should work,” Arwin said after a few moments of thought. “It gives us time to hit the dungeon at least once. I should also be able to finish the armor for Rodrick. I’d imagine we can all hit the next level in our Tier by then as well so long as the dungeon run goes well.”

“You’re making me armor?” Rodrick asked, his eyes lighting up.

“Considering what happened to your last set, I feel partially responsible. We can’t have you running out to fight your enemies ass naked, even if that’s likely how you’ll end the fight.”

“He’s got a point. You really do have a penchant for losing your pants in fights,” Anna said, rubbing her chin. “Is there something you aren’t telling me?”

“Oh, bugger off,” Rodrick grumbled. He shoveled eggs into his mouth as they all laughed.

Knowing that they still had at least a week to work with took a lot of weight off all their chests. A week really wasn’t all that much, but at least it meant the horde wasn’t going to show up at the city the next day.

They all finished breakfast in relative silence, then brought their plates to the kitchen. As they were returning to the common room, there was a knock on the door.

“You think that’s the mason?” Reya asked. “I saw him working on the smithy this morning.”

“I just spoke with him,” Arwin said with a shake of his head as he headed over to the door. “Maybe it’s a new customer? I’ve been trying to send people here.”

Or it could be someone considerably less welcome.

It wasn’t likely that anyone from the Iron Hounds would try anything here and Arwin didn’t have any other enemies that would have been able to find him here. That didn’t stop him from preparing to fight.

Arwin was still wearing his greaves, as he couldn’t rebind to them until he reached the next level in his Tier, but the rest of his armor was only a thought a way. He reached for the handle and pulled the door open.

It wasn’t a member of the Iron Hounds or Ridley that stood on the other side of the door. It was Olive. Her armor had several scratches running along it and she had small bags under her eyes from lack of sleep. The sword that Arwin had made her rested at her side and she held a leather pouch in her hand.

“You made it back faster than I expected,” Arwin said as he took a step back so she could pass by him. “Did the dungeon go well?”

“Yes. Your work is great, especially for its price. I’ve got the money I owe you here.” Olive stepped into the tavern and held the pouch out.

Arwin took it from her. It felt like it weighed a good bit more than it should have. He used the light from the lantern to peer inside it, but the only thing present was gold.

“Did you count this correctly? It feels heavier than it should.”

“I included an extra 80 gold,” Olive said. She pushed her hair back to reveal a thin scar running along her forehead. It looked fresh. “I was reminded of the importance of a good helmet – and a competent healer.”

Judging by the wince Anna made at the sight of the cut, she agreed with the second half of that statement.

“You got scammed,” Anna said. “If you made it out of the dungeon with a wound, it shouldn’t have been so bad as to justify a scar.”

“I know,” Olive said with a sigh. “But I was in the process of bleeding out. In his defense, I had some other wounds as well. He definitely cut corners, though. That’ll teach me to go for the cheapest option. But that’s in the past – I’m more concerned with surviving my next cut. So… is 80 enough?”

Considering I just sold a helm for 60, I’d certainly say so.

“It is, thank you,” Arwin said. “I’m glad you liked my work. Any difficulties with it?”

Olive shook her head. “No. It performed exactly how I wanted it to. That’s more than I can say for most pieces I’ve bought. The sword was especially nice. It swings better than I thought it would.”

Great. I tried to make it lighter so it would be easier to swing with her worsened balance. Glad to hear that worked out.

“That’s good. I can definitely get a helm made for you, but it might take a little bit. I’m a bit low on materials right now, so my team and I were planning on heading into a dungeon as soon as possible,” Arwin said. “Was the one you were going to restricted?”

“No, the guild that owns it lets anyone enter for a fee. It costs ten gold a person,” Olive said. A thoughtful expression passed over her features and she tilted her head to the side. “I didn’t realize you had adventurers here. How many of you can fight?”

“All of us,” Arwin replied.

Olive blinked in surprise. Arwin was impressed that she resisted the urge to say, even you?

“Why do you ask?” Anna asked.

“There’s only so far a solo adventurer can make it in a dungeon,” Olive said. She paused for a second before correcting herself. “Well, most solo adventurers. Unfortunately, I’m not one of the ones that gets to claim anything special. Even having a few more bodies at my side would let me get a lot deeper.”

“How deep have you gone?” Rodrick asked.

“Three rooms are usually my limit. The dungeon isn’t an easy one. It’s Journeyman Tier, and I’m only Apprentice 6.”

Arwin resisted the urge to cough into his fist. Olive was a higher level than any of them – but there was no need to point that out. Rodrick sent him a questioning look, likely trying to figure out if they actually wanted to do the dungeon together with Olive.

More bodies can never hurt as long as we can still fit into the room and avoid pissing the dungeon off. I don’t see why not.

He gave the warrior a slight nod.

“We’ve gone through a Journeyman Tier dungeon in its entirety,” Rodrick said. “And as you said, more people definitely can’t hurt. We can do an even split of anything we earn and figure out how to distribute anything unique when the time comes.”

Olive thought for a moment before nodding. “That would work. I’m more interested in gold than anything else right now, and I highly doubt we’ll stumble into something that works perfectly for me. If we do, I might be more concerned with getting it.”

“If we find something that suits you and none of us, I don’t think we’ll have any objections,” Arwin said, ignoring the narrowed eyed look that Reya was sending at Olive. “How soon are you able to head into the dungeon?”

“If you were planning on going today, I’m sure I could handle it. The only reason the last run took so long is because it took me a fair amount of time to actually find a slot to get into the dungeon. The guild running it prioritizes larger parties, so waiting around to get a spot wasted a lot of time.”

“Couldn’t you have joined another party?” Reya asked.

“Most parties don’t want to let someone they don’t know in together with them.” Olive’s lips pressed thin. “And fewer want to rely on someone that they don’t think can handle themselves. People think I can’t fight because I’m missing an arm. Idiots. As if missing one makes me unable to use the other.”

Arwin bit back a laugh. Anything that Olive might have supposedly lacked in fighting ability, she definitely made up for in spirit. “I don’t think any of us will have much trouble with that. You’ll be entering the dungeon with a smith that doesn’t even have a combat class, so I’d say having one arm is still a step up from that.”

“If you can handle yourself, I don’t care. Classes are only as useful as the person using them. If you can swing a big hammer at a piece of metal, then you can swing a big hammer at a monster’s head. At least, I hope you can. It would be a shame if I found a good smith only for him to get killed doing a dungeon.”

“I reckon I’ll be alright,” Arwin said with a chuckle. “I’ve done one or two dungeons in my lifetime. I have to quickly make one last piece of armor before we can head out. If nobody has any objections, why don’t we get going in about 5 or so hours?”

“That works for me,” Olive said with a shrug. “I’ll be ready.”

“Perfect,” Arwin said. He sent a glance at the others to make sure they all felt the same, then nodded. “Then I’ll get to work and get return as soon as possible. We’ve got a dungeon to clear.”

“Clear? You might be being a bit optimistic,” Olive said.

“We’ll see,” Arwin said noncommittally. “I’ll be back soon. I’m eager to get this started.”

Chapter 113

Arwin finished Rodrick’s temporary greaves in just under four hours. They weren’t anything special, but that also meant he’d have less gear he’d have to try to hide from Olive. Just because they were traveling with her didn’t mean they wanted to reveal just how powerful their equipment was.

After Rodrick donned his new greaves, the group set off. Lillia threw a cloak on as they left, pulling it low to cover her features. Together with that and the darkness that followed her, she was basically a walking shadow at the side of their party. If Olive had any questions as to what was up with her, she didn’t voice them.

The trip to the dungeon only took a few hours. It was in the exact opposite direction of the other one they’d been going to, and the road over to it was considerably more populated. A portion of that may have been due to the fact that there was actually a road, but Arwin digressed.

Most of the people traveling alongside – or in the opposite direction – to them were clearly adventurers. They wore battle-worn armor and carried a variety of weapons. Arwin couldn’t help but notice that he didn’t spot a single magical piece of gear.

That wasn’t really all that telling. He suspected that most people strong enough to have a piece of magical equipment were also strong enough to conceal its attributes. Nobody was going to be walking around and advertising their equipment unless they were either unbelievably powerful or an idiot.

And, judging by how we’re out in the middle of nowhere at the edges of the kingdom, I’m leaning toward the latter.

They arrived at the entrance to the dungeon without any difficulties. It was completely unlike the dungeon that they’d been clearing over the past days. An enormous pile of stone rose up to form a cave with a path that led deep beneath the ground. It was wide enough for ten or fifteen people to enter it at once without feeling too constrained and equally as tall.

A small line had built up at the start, where several men in matching green armor stood by the entrance, collecting money from the people entering and guiding their passage.

Arwin’s group entered the line and settled in to wait. The line wasn’t exactly moving quickly, but there was a steady flow of adventurers heading in and out of the dungeon. It didn’t look like they’d have to wait long.

“Is there anything else we have to do once we get up there?” Reya asked and nodded toward the front of the line.

“Just pay them the ten gold per person. Our group is big enough that they should just let us through when it’s our turn,” Olive said. She hesitated for a second but didn’t add anything else.

The line continued to move forward and it wasn’t long until the six of them were at the front. Beckoning them over, the lead guard held out his hand. He was locked in a conversation with another one of the guards and barely even seemed aware of their presence.

“Sixty gold,” he said absent-mindedly. “If you can’t pay, you can’t enter. No, I don’t care how long you waited. It doesn’t matter what guild you’re a part of either. Pay or leave.”

It sounded like he’d made that particular speech more than once before. Arwin took the coins out from his bag and handed them over. Between his sales and the money Olive had just brought him, he was more than good for it. The guard turned his attention to them as he realized that they were actually customers.

“Haven’t seen you round here before,” the guard said, looking Arwin up and down. “Do you know much about the dungeon?”

“No,” Arwin replied. “Care to enlighten me?”

“If it means you come back a second time, I’d be happy to,” the guard said with a chuckle. “This dungeon is pretty deep. It’s Journeyman level, but I’d assume you already know that. I wouldn’t recommend trying to pass beyond the tenth room. Our guild has only vetted the first ten rooms to be appropriate for normal adventurers. After that, it’s on you. There’s probably some form of spider matriarch deeper in the dungeon, because we’ve had a whole lot of spiders as of late. Sorry if you aren’t a fan, but no refunds.”

“I think we’ll live,” Arwin said dryly. “Anything else?”

“Yeah. Don’t bother the other teams if you run into one. We do our best to put you on different paths, but it occasionally happens. Whoever starts the fight finishes it. No stealing kills or loot. Just backtrack and choose a different path.”

The rules seemed respectable as far as Arwin could tell. He’d never been in a dungeon where other adventurers were liable to try and take anything he was fighting. If it was a rule, it meant it had happened at some point before.

I wonder if that’s a common occurrence.

“Noted. Thank you,” Arwin said.

“One last thing. Are you with a guild?” the guard asked. “It doesn’t change anything. It’s just for logistics in case you go missing. We don’t really care who you are, but guilds sometimes come knocking if their people die down there and it’s nice to be able to say if they actually entered or not.”

“No,” Arwin replied. “We are not.”

Not officially, at least. Maybe next time.

“Sounds good. Feel free to head on in. You’ll be in the rightmost passageway. Don’t enter the other ones. Teams are already heading down those and you’re not going to find anything left to do.”

Arwin nodded his thanks and started into the dungeons. The others followed behind him, but they didn’t make it more than a few steps before the guard spoke again.

“Oi, hold on,” he barked. “Where are you going?”

Arwin turned, his brow furrowing in confusion, but the guard was looking at Olive rather than him.

“She’s with us,” Arwin said.

“She – seriously?” the guard let out a snort of derision. “Finally found a set of people to convince to drag you along, did you? Well, carry on. I thought you were trying to sneak in again.”

A few of the other people in line chuckled, but nobody said anything else as they set back off. Olive had clearly tried a few other ways to get into the dungeon before settling for waiting around for a one-person slot.

Arwin didn’t mention anything about it. Her past was her own, and he didn’t particularly care if she’d tried to break into a dungeon before. It wasn’t like the guild actually owned anything inside it. They’d just set up in front and were strong enough to keep anyone from taking it from them.

The path widened as they continued. Braziers outlined paths that split into twenty different passages leading deeper into the dungeon. They followed along the rightmost one and headed into a room at its end.

It was plain, aside from a shimmering square in the stone wall. If anything was a plain invitation to enter, it was that. After one last glance to make sure the others were with him, Arwin pressed his hand to the stone.

A wave of energy passed over him. The ground lurched beneath his feet and his vision flickered for an instant. When everything returned to normal, Arwin found himself standing in a large, torchlit room. A passage ran out before him and the same shimmering portal flickered on the wall behind him.

The rest of the group popped out one by one behind him until they were all standing around each other. They all took a second to get their bearings.

“Big place,” Rodrick observed. “Any tips on what we’ve got waiting for us, Olive?”

“I didn’t go down this passage last time, so I’m not sure. There were definitely spiders, though. Lots of them. Don’t get caught up in webs and try to avoid getting poisoned. If you get bit, you’ll have to head out of the dungeon and get healing. I swear the Sparrows are making more money from their healers than they are from the people entering the dungeon.”

“The Sparrows are the guild outside?” Arwin guessed.

“Yeah. They charge a fortune for healing. Getting rid of poison is pricy.”

Arwin shot a glance at Anna and she gave him a slight nod. It didn’t look like they were going to need the services of any outside healers so long as they made sure that she wasn’t the one that went down.

“I think we’ll be fine,” he said. “Let’s get on with this, then. The guard said that things don’t get good until the tenth floor, so I’ve got no desire to screw around on the lower ones.”

“I don’t think that’s what he said,” Olive muttered, but she didn’t bother trying to correct him further. She drew her sword and held it at her side in a casual stance. “What’s our formation?”

“Depends. Anna, did you want to try to get some experience in the first few rooms?” Arwin asked. “It’ll probably be the only area we’ll be able to take things easily enough to risk sparing anything for you.”

“I wouldn’t ask you to go out of your way for me,” Anna said, rubbing the back of her head in embarrassment before flashing him a grin. “But if you’re going to offer, then yes. I’ll gladly take you up on it.”

“Then Rodrick and I will take up the lead. Olive, feel free to hang back for the first fight just so you can get a feel for how we fight. I take it you haven’t worked in groups much before?”

Olive grimaced and shook her head. “I have not. That’s probably a good idea, so long as you’re fine with me not pulling my weight for a fight.”

“I figure it’ll be fine,” Arwin replied with a laugh. “If you’ve cleared these rooms solo, then I think the lot of us can handle one room without your help. Just make sure nothing can get the drop on our backline, would you?”

“Yeah, I can do that.”

Rodrick walked up alongside Arwin and drew his sword. Olive looked slightly doubtful that Arwin was taking up the lead, but she didn’t say anything else as the group set off through the tunnel.

It only took them a minute of walking before they arrived at the first room. Cobwebs lined the walls and ceiling, blocking off an entrance that Arwin could just barely make out beyond them on the right wall.

The room was thin enough that Arwin could see the majority of it from their spot in the hallway. Several large black orbs hung from the webs, roughly the size of large dogs.

Found the spiders.

He counted four of them, but he suspected there might have been one or two more hiding in areas he couldn’t see. In addition to the monsters suspended on the webs, there was a spider sitting in the center of the room, sucking on a cocoon suspended from the ceiling. It was easily three times their size and stood as tall as Arwin did. The smaller ones didn’t register with the Mesh – they must have had an ability that hid them from scrutinizing eyes while they were balled up, but the larger monster had no such luck.

[Spider Broodguard – Apprentice 9]

“Shit,” Olive breathed. “This is a horrible room.”

“Why? Five spiders, six of us,” Arwin replied. “If anything, I’d say there aren’t enough spiders. Considering they’ve got venom, I’ll call it even. Anna, I think we’ll aim to leave one for you and handle the others, just to keep things on the safe side. Sound good?”

“More than.”

“Hold on,” Olive whispered. “You realize that big one isn’t just a normal spider, right? It’s probably going to be pretty strong. You aren’t even wearing armor. Don’t you think you should be a little more careful?”

“It’s only Apprentice 9.” He grinned. “I reckon we’ll be fine. Rodrick, cover my back while we go in? And Reya – well, you do you.”

“On it,” Reya said.

Arwin activated [Arsenal]. His armor slammed to place around him and Olive’s eyes widened in surprise as Verdant Blaze formed in his grip. He strode into the room and the Broodguard spun toward him, its jaws twitching as it let out a chattering hiss.

“Do you think spiders are edible?” Lillia asked from behind him.

“I figure we’re about to find out,” Arwin replied.

A ripple of motion passed through the webs as the spiders all woke up. They let out a chorus of hisses that joined in with the Broodguard, then charged Arwin as one.

Verdant Blaze’s head crackled with [Soul Flame] and he stepped forward to meet their charge.

Chapter 114

The Broodguard reached Arwin first. It lashed out for him, fangs extending to bite down on his neck. Verdant Blaze whistled down and collided with its head in a burst of [Soul Flame] and a loud crack.

The spider’s head slammed into the ground, its legs flying up all around it from the force of the strike. Fire poured up from the strike as Arwin dismissed the hammer and jumped back to avoid several of the smaller spiders as they lunged at him.

Glowing words tried to take form in the air as the Mesh attempted to identify the small monsters but Arwin dismissed it. He didn’t care what the little buggers’ names were. He was more concerned with making sure they didn’t catch him.

His hand shot out and grabbed onto the back legs of one of the small creatures as it passed him. It hissed in surprise as he swung it through the air and pelted it into the ground. It splattered, sending green ichor all across his greaves and feet. His helmet erupted with energy, its eyes lighting like burning coals.

Nasty. I really need to make myself some boots.

The Broodguard staggered upright with a screech and snapped out at him. At the same time, two of the smaller spiders jumped at him as well. Rodrick’s sword flicked through the air and speared one of the creatures mid-flight.

Arwin ducked the other one, then twisted his body to avoid the Broodguard’s attack. In the same motion, he summoned Verdant Blaze back to his hands and brought it whipping around into the Broodguard’s face for the second time.

A burst of [Soul Flame] roared out of the hammer’s head and the Broodguard staggered back with a pained hiss. Its feet scrabbled on the ground and fire licked across its body. Green ichor leaked from its skull and cracked carapace as it turned in circles, severely disoriented.

Tiny legs clattered against the stone. Arwin dismissed Verdant Blaze again and leaned back. A small spider hurtled past his head and landed on the ground, only to be squished as he summoned the hammer back and brought it down on the monster’s abdomen. His helm burned even brighter and power churned around his body like smoldering embers rising off his skin.

Rodrick finished the other creature off before it could try to attack again, and Arwin nodded to the stunned Broodguard. “Anna, you want to try and handle that one? It’s a big bugger – literally – but I don’t think it’s going to be able to put up all that much of a fight at this point.”

She swallowed and gave him a nod. Rodrick handed her his sword as she approached alongside Arwin. Despite his words of assurance, Arwin kept Verdant Blaze in his hands, ready to kill the creature if it made so much as a move toward the healer.

She brought the blade down toward its already cracked skull. It pierced through and eye and dug deep into the Broodguard’s head. The monster crumped to the ground, its legs curling in on its body, and fell still. Anna ripped Rodrick’s sword free with a sharp tug. Green liquid dripped down its edge and fell to the floor.

“Thanks,” Anna said, shaking the sword off before handing it back to Rodrick. Arwin dismissed his helm, removing the oppressive aura. Anna let out a relieved breath and gave him an appreciative nod.

“I didn’t even get a chance to do anything,” Reya grumbled. “Can you kill them slower next time? I was holding off to make sure I didn’t use the spell and then have nothing I could do at an important moment.”

“Sorry,” Arwin said with a chuckle. He caught Olive staring at them with open-mouthed disbelief and raised an eyebrow. “Is everything okay? You’re going to catch a fly if you stand around like that.”

Olive closed her mouth and shook her head. “I don’t think there are any flies left in this dungeon, considering the monsters we’re up against. What kind of smith are you meant to be? Actually wait – I see it. You can put fire into your strikes to heat the metal while you work it. I guess that works pretty well for hitting enemies as well, doesn’t it? That’s convenient.”

Hey, I didn’t even have to lie. She came to a conclusion entirely on her own. It’s a pretty logical one too. She’s technically not even wrong. It’s just that the ability isn’t mine. It belongs to Verdant Blaze – but who in Milten would assume anyone’s walking around with a magical weapon?

“It is indeed,” Arwin agreed. “And, as I said, this was hardly even a threat. Sorry, Lillia. I didn’t leave much of the small ones behind.”

“I did,” Rodrick said. “But, with all due respect, I’m not eating these things.”

Lillia walked up to one of the spiders that Rodrick had run through and picked it up by a leg, squinting at it. She sniffed at its body, then touched it to her tongue. Olive watched in horror as she stuck her tongue out again and licked the spider.

“I think it would be good with some lemon butter,” Lillia proclaimed. “This one might be a bit small, though. Too much effort to eat. The bigger one could be better.”

“You want to eat the spider?” Olive asked, her voice weak. “What was in the food you gave me? Was it…”

“Just normal food,” Lillia replied. “What’s wrong with eating spiders? It’s not like their meat is poison. Just don’t eat their venom glands.”

Olive’s mouth worked for a second as she tried to find an answer for that. She gave up and shook her head. “Never mind.”

“So, did you get a decent grasp on how we fight?” Arwin asked. “That wasn’t really a very long one, so I’m not sure how much you’d be able to get out of it. It’s probably best to start working together now before we make it to a monster where we don’t have a choice.”

“I – yeah,” Olive said, trying and failing to keep the befuddlement from her features. “I think I’ve picked up on it. I’ll just do what Rodrick did and hold your flank.”

“Perfect,” Arwin said. He paused as Lillia started ripped off the abdomen of the large spider and started stuffing its meat into the bag she had with her. Olive glanced over at her, then jerked her eyes back to Arwin and very pointedly did not turn around again.

“Done,” Lillia said a few seconds later. She straightened up and slung the bag over her shoulder. “Ready when you all are.”

“No time like the present,” Arwin said, nodding to the exit in the corner of the room that was partially covered by webbing. “Let’s get moving.”

He strode over to it, summoning [Soul Flame] to his palm and tossing it forward to burn through the webs. The magic fire made short work of them and he called it back to his hand, repeating it a few times until the pathway before them was clear. Arwin nodded to the others.

“Shall we?”

They all headed into the tunnel, Arwin at the lead. The path to the next room of the dungeon was similar to the one that had led into the first. A few scattered cobwebs were strewn across the corners of the floor and hung from the ceiling.

As with the previous room, there was no door that led into the next room. It was just an archway covered with a few strands of cobweb. Beyond was a circular chamber with several passageways running out of it. Webs covered the walls and stretched up to where they presumably continued on the ceiling. Arwin couldn’t spot any spiders sitting around on the floor.

And, if there weren’t any on the floors and he couldn’t see the ceiling – well, it didn’t take a genius to figure out where the monster was lying in wait.

“I get the feeling our next opponent is somewhere above us,” Arwin said in a low tone. He didn’t think spiders were particularly well known for being very apt listeners, but that didn’t mean he wanted to take a chance at it. “No clue what it is. Olive, Rodrick, come in with me. Everyone else, stick back in the hall and come out when it’s clear it’s safe.”

The others nodded and Arwin turned back to the exit, using a small amount of [Soul Flame] to burn away the webbing before them before stepping out into the room and immediately directing his gaze upward.

His prediction had been right. The biggest spider he’d ever seen hung suspended from an enormous web around fifty feet in the air above him. It must have been around fifteen feet long and felt like it was nearly double his height. The monster stared straight down at him, jaws working silently as they took each other in.

[Spider Devourer: Journeyman 5]

Arwin didn’t even have time to completely finish reading the monster’s name before it dropped. He threw himself to the side, hitting the ground in a roll as the creature slammed down where he’d been standing and spun to follow his path with a loud hiss.

Its jaws parted and it spit out a spray of murky green liquid. Arwin lunged to the side and it splattered to the ground, melting into it with a hiss. He didn’t want to think about what would happen if it had hit him, but it probably wouldn’t have been fun.

He summoned Verdant Blaze to his hands and sprinted at the Devourer. It spat another wad of green liquid him and he dodged out of the way, buying time for Rodrick and Olive to both make their moves.

They ran out from the passageway. Rodrick made it to the monster a second before Olive did. A wave of blue passed over it, but its tier was a little too high for Reya to do more than momentarily annoy it.

Rodrick’s sword, on the other hand, was far harder to ignore. Glowing light lit the cave as he lashed out three times in rapid succession, leaving several deep wounds on the beast’s carapace. It twitched in pain, only for Olive’s sword to carve out and sever one of its legs in its middle.

The spider hissed and spun toward them, rearing back to spit. That gave Arwin all the time he needed to close the distance between them. Sure, the monster was large – but it was also unwieldy – and presenting a huge backside was a great way to offer up a nice target.

He reared back and drew on [Scourge] before swinging his hammer with all his might. It streaked through the air and crashed into the spider with a sharp crack. The monster’s exoskeleton shattered and the hammer carried through into the meat hidden beneath it. [Soul Flame] poured out from the wound and the monster screamed in pain.

Arwin ripped Verdant Blaze free as the spider spun toward him, the others forgotten, only for it to catch another strike straight to the side of its head. One of its jaws shattered under the spiked head of the hammer and skittered across the ground as the spider reeled from the blow.

Rodrick and Olive both attacked once more, costing the creature two more of its legs. It jerked back and forth, trying to find a way to free itself from their joint attack, but it was too late. The monster may have been big, but it was nowhere near smart or strong enough to handle all three of them at once.

Arwin drove one more blow into it with Verdant Blaze, then stepped back to let the other two finish it off. He had no need to steal the experience for killing it from the others – and the Mesh wasn’t going to give him any form of significant reward for killing something like this.

“Is this how every dungeon goes for you guys?” Olive asked, lowering her sword and averting her gaze as Lillia hurried over to taste the dead monster.

“No, I’d say this one is going pretty well, but we’ve still got eight more rooms until we get to the good part.”

Olive shook her head. Arwin suspected her neck was going to start hurting if she kept doing that. “I think I could get used to working in a group.”

“Yeah?” Arwin asked with a chuckle. “We’ll see how the rest of the dungeon goes.”

“I can hold my own,” Olive said firmly, her jaw setting.

“Oh, that’s not what I meant. I can tell you know how to fight,” Arwin said. “I was more referring to if you could tolerate us for much longer. Eating spider meat is far from the weirdest thing we do.”

Olive’s expression flickered. “What do you mean?”

“Stick around for long enough and you’ll find out,” Arwin replied. “For now, I have a hammer and nothing to hit it with. That means we’ve got to move on. I’m sincerely hoping this dungeon has something a lot more interesting than just a bunch of spiders. Preferably something I can work with.”

“Only one way to find out,” Lillia said. “This thing isn’t going to be too edible, by the way. Too big.”

“Noted,” Arwin said. “At this rate, it won’t be long before you all start getting some levels. That’ll accomplish the first half of our goals here. With any luck, the second half will be waiting for us soon. I’m eager to get some new materials to work with – even if we have to take them out of the bodies of the spiders. Once they get a bit tougher, maybe they’ll have exoskeletons that are really difficult to break. That would be fantastic.”

“Are you excited about our enemies being harder to kill?” Olive squinted at Arwin.

“Absolutely. Stronger enemies means stronger rewards,” Arwin said without missing a beat. A grin pulled across his lips. “And stronger rewards means better materials. Onward. We have some creatures to crush.”