Chapter 354 – The Spider’s Cave

Chapter 354 – The Spider’s Cave

Kai leaped back as four spindly legs tried to seek him. A thin film of water coated his boots, keeping him from sticking to the webs that veiled the tunnel. The narrow dodge ruffled his hair as the monstrous spider’s bloated abdomen filled the passage with its bulk. Its bristling black body scraped the cavern walls in pursuit, pedipalps twitching around the clicking fangs, restless and hungry.

Hey, it’s not like we brutally murdered your whole family. Or wait… we kind of did. In our defense, they did try to eat us first. I’m not going to point fingers, but can you honestly say the fault is all with us? If you’d taught them better manners, they might—

Air whistled as the beast lunged at him again.

Hmm… I can see where they learnt their poor manners.

Kai channeled mana through his extended arm. Water Cannon formed between his fingers, reflecting the flickering torch he’d summoned for light. The skill whipped toward the spider’s wetly red eyes.

Like the previous dozen casts, segmented legs bent at unnatural angles to pull a web from the walls and catch the projectile. The spell lost its momentum, stretching the silk. Droplets ricocheted off the beast’s glistening chin.

Why did I think flushing out this thing was a good idea?

It was the strongest monstrosity in the colony, nested deep within the cave—a D-rank variant at high Yellow. The easy time against its smaller brethren had made him underestimate the threat. Not that he would choose differently. The only thing worse than venturing into a spider’s lair was leaving it alive to weave an ambush at their back.

This would be a whole lot easier if I had a sword. Or a spear. Spirits, I’d even take a dagger! Damned student fairness.

Kai ducked to evade Shadowy threads spearing the air above him. The rock hissed where they struck. Icy shards shot toward the plate-sized spiders that had crawled from a crack to leap at his back. The giant spider’s piercing screech made his skin crawl as he pinned the red beasts to the cavern wall.

Whoops! Were they your babies?

Silky threads rippled toward him from the walls, only visible thanks to their shared Shadow affinity.

Trusting the whispers, he jumped and twisted, brushing the rocky ceiling. A stream of water sliced the thread he couldn’t avoid. His feet nearly slid on the landing before he controlled the spell on his soles and pushed himself into a retreat. Mana Observer spread ahead, tracing the bend that would return him to the cavern’s wider span.

Yellow beasts were annoyingly resilient. He had spells that might kill the spider, but he couldn’t drain his reserves without certainty. For once, he was grateful for his Water affinity. Few other elements could effectively drown the chittering hordes or shield him from threats above and below.

Too bad the furious beast didn’t appreciate his artistry.

Reaching the mouth of the passage, Hallowed Intuition whispered of doom as he got a glimpse of glistening filaments. A freshly spun web blocked the passage to the main cave—camouflaged to his senses. He had no idea when or how the little bastards had managed it. Nor did it matter. Moments from becoming a trapped fly, he cast a mist over the silk and froze it solid.

His body careened through the rigid strands. The web shattered like glass, letting him land in a frozen and mangled battlefield. The stale stench of decay meshed with the corpses of monstrous spiders littering the floor, crooked legs curled in death.

Frozen spiderlings crunched under his heel as he regained his footing.

How long since you’ve cleaned this space?

A bloodcurdling screech echoed from the dark passage.

Okay, fine. We’d have probably massacred your family anyway. Insects really shouldn’t scream. And yes, I know you’re technically an arachnid. Guess what? No one cares about your special tag. You shouldn’t—

The enraged creature answered his eloquence by leaping from the tunnel—another thing that no respectable spider would do. Empower flowed into his muscles. Kai jumped into a roll, casting another Water Cannon to cover his retreat.

Free to stretch its eight legs in the open cavern, the monstrosity stood taller than a horse, unblinking eyes flickering with cold fury.

Kai grinned at the beast.

You shouldn’t have done that.

The cold air whistled, torn by a flare of mana. Metal glinted with deadly speed. The shard cracked the spider’s chitin, embedding deep into its cephalothorax and provoked more pointless screeches—a small wound compared to its bulk, but that was only half the spell.

Kai could distinctly tell when the poison on the flying daggers began eating into the spider. Bristly legs with too many joints flailed. The pedipalps spasmed, evoking raspy shrieks.

He stepped away from the thrashing spider as more metal blades streaked from the darkness. Two pierced the striped abdomen. Another volley disemboweled the creature. More followed. And more…

Sweet mercy.

The screeches echoed off the cavern like nails on a chalkboard, fused with the wails of tortured infants. A Water curtain shielded him from the raining entrails hissing on the frozen spiderlings.

The shrieks soon cut off, but more projectiles pulped the target. It took nine more shots before light steps echoed in the gloomy cavern.

“Is it dead?” Alden asked, a hint of hesitation tinged his measured voice.

Kai glanced at the splattered remains of what had once been a spider, craning his neck up to take in every bit. “Yeah, man. I think you got it.”

“I have more.”

“No! I mean, it’s already dead. The first three strikes alone would have probably killed it.”

You’re starting to make me feel bad for the spider.

The pale boy stepped behind him, leaving a trail of corroded footprints on the webs veiling the cave. Three gleaming shards crowned his furrowed face. Nibbles slithered out from the collar of his shirt, pink tongue flicked and nudged his cheek to receive a scratch under his chin. “The first would have been enough. I was worried it would strike you before the venom finished it off.”

What of the dozen strikes after that?

Kai gave a tiny shake—some things were better left unasked. “I appreciate your… thoughtfulness, but I’d rather you conserve your mana. You never know when you’ll need it. Especially down here.”

“I have reservoirs to refill my pool for the next trial.” Alden fished out two marbles from his coat: one a steel grey sheen, the other a sickly pale green, both thrumming with unbelievably dense mana.

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Seeing the mana stream up his roommate’s arm, they must work as some kind of magic power bank. They reminded Kai of the shiny bauble Hobbes had made him buy for his collar, though he couldn’t sense these affinities.

“Do you always carry those around?”

Alden gave him a puzzled look as if he couldn’t understand the question—or found it too obvious. “They don’t weigh much in a spatially expanded pocket.”

“I see…”

Of course he has spatially expanded clothes. Seriously, fuck fairness. How is that different from my ring? Those things can’t be cheap. Just a bit smaller and less convenient. Mhmm… maybe I’ll get one of those after the Trials.

Kai suppressed his irritation. Honestly, he should have known better than to expect any differently by now. “Is that Metal essence?” He asked. The grey motes reminded him of the solidity of Earth, though stiffer and sharper. The pale green one was harder to place. “And that’s…”

“It’s Poison mana,” Alden finished for him, covering the marbles with his fist. “It’s rarer to find around. I’d rather you not mention it around.”

“I… yes, of course”

How does Poison Magic even work?