“The Gloom Spider's defense isn't strong, but it's extremely fast. Coupled with its excellent stealth, everyone needs to stay sharp.”
Reid said cautiously to the women beside him.
Although he was usually quite arrogant, he still possessed the basic caution of a B-rank adventurer when it came to exploring.
However, despite his words, the other three in the party, except for Sheena, looked as if they were just taking a leisurely stroll.
Anyone who didn't know better would have thought they were out on a picnic.
Suddenly, a light, rapid pattering sound echoed from ahead, sounding like some creature moving at high speed.
The group immediately prepared for battle, facing the direction of the sound.
As the party's Shield Guardian, Sheena stood at the very front with her shield raised, while Reid drew the sword at his waist and stood about half a step behind her.
Shanna and Kathleen stood at the very back.
Patter, patter, patter—!
The sound drew closer, growing increasingly rapid, like a high-speed machine.
Accompanied by a sharp, beastly screech, Reid and the others finally caught sight of the creature behind the noise.
It radiated the aura of a Tier Four, Rank Three. Roughly three meters in size, its body was dark purple, and its crimson eyes were filled with pure savagery. Eight long, slender legs were attached to the sides of its body like those of a doll.
Its mouth was packed with dense, sharp fangs about half a meter long, dripping with mucus.
Yet, looking at such a terrifying monster, Reid and the others felt no fear.
Instead, excitement washed over their faces, and Reid said smugly,
“Looks like our luck is great today. We've barely entered, and our target has already delivered itself to us!”
Kathleen and Shanna chimed in, “Yeah, our luck is pretty good. We can go back early.”
The Gloom Spider stopped before them, its crimson gaze locked onto them as drool dripped from its mouth. Only one thought echoed in its mind.
Food. Store. Evolve!
Before Reid and his party could celebrate further, the Gloom Spider let out a sharp screech and spat a white web at them.
“Get out of the way!”
Sheena shouted urgently, leaping to the side to avoid the web. Behind her, Reid and Kathleen dodged the moment they heard her warning.
Only Shanna reacted a fraction too slow and was caught by the web.
The web was covered in the spider's sticky mucus, which soaked Shanna's body, making her already skimpy clothing cling tightly to her.
The fabric clung to her, highlighting her voluptuous curves and revealing hints of her skin beneath.
“Ah! This is disgusting!!!”
Shanna shrieked, thrashing around like a fish caught in a net. However, the more she struggled, the tighter the web wrapped around her, and the slipperier the mucus became.
Damn it!
Reid grit his teeth at the sight, his expression turning sour.
This was not only because Shanna was his woman, but also because Gloom Spiders were weak to fire, and fire magic was Shanna's specialty.
Yet, she was the first one to be trapped!
Reid yelled to Kathleen, “Kathleen! Sheena and I will distract the Gloom Spider. Take this chance to cut the web and free Shanna!”
“Understood!”
Kathleen replied loudly, drawing a dagger from her waist and rushing toward Shanna.
With another sharp screech, the Gloom Spider raised its eight long, needle-like legs and scuttled rapidly toward Shanna.
“Don't even think about it! Flare Multi-Slash!”
Reid roared, gripping his longsword with both hands. The blade erupted in a dazzling white light as he slashed toward the fast-moving Gloom Spider.
However, the Gloom Spider simply bent its legs and leaped over them, sticking to the ceiling of the labyrinth.
Reid's strike missed, slamming into the ground. It left a small crater and kicked up a thick cloud of dust.
Within the dust cloud, Reid's pupils contracted slightly as he stared at his longsword in disbelief and confusion.
Without giving them time to react, the spider scurried along the ceiling.
Locking onto Shanna, it lunged down from above. Its massive maw opened wide, revealing rows of needle-like teeth dripping with foul-smelling mucus.
“No—!”
The spider's hideous figure reflected in Shanna's eyes. As the pungent, nauseating stench filled her nostrils, she let out a terrified shriek.
“In your dreams!”
Just as the spider was about to bite Shanna, Sheena flashed in front of her, shield raised.
Ugh!
The impact of the Gloom Spider's pounce slammed into the shield. Sheena let out an involuntary grunt, her body trembling slightly.
Still, she successfully blocked the spider's horrific maw. Seeing its attack thwarted, the Gloom Spider clashed briefly with Sheena, and realizing it couldn't break through, it leaped back onto the ceiling.
Feeling the pressure on her arms lift, Sheena took a breath, her expression growing grave.
She felt like her strength had decreased. Under normal circumstances, she could have easily blocked an attack of this level.
But now, she was actually struggling slightly!
Was it because the Gloom Spider was too strong?
No!
She could feel that even though they were both at Tier Four, Rank Three, and despite the labyrinth's environmental buff, this Gloom Spider was definitely not as strong as the crack-rock bear they had hunted outside.
Then why?
For some reason, Charles's plain face flashed in Sheena's mind.
Meanwhile, Kathleen had freed Shanna. Feeling the slimy residue on her skin, Shanna glared at the spider on the ceiling in absolute fury.
“Even during our wildest bedroom games, I've never been left this sticky!
Go to hell! Fiery Explosion!”
Shanna raised her staff and yelled in anger. Light erupted from the tip, and a scorching fireball shot toward the spider on the ceiling.
The Gloom Spider easily dodged the attack with its nimble movements, and the fireball exploded violently against the ceiling.
Seeing her attack miss, Shanna unleashed a continuous barrage of spells.
“Fiery Explosion! Fireball! Fire Snake! Flame Spear! ...”
“I'll kill you!”
Over a dozen searing fire spells rained down on the spider, but it dodged every single one simply by flexing its eight legs.
The missed spells repeatedly struck the surrounding stone walls, causing loose rocks to rain down. Kathleen shot arrows to distract the spider while dodging the debris.
In the chaos, she was struck by a falling rock, injuring her arm. With her accuracy taking a hit, she cursed,
“You cow! Watch where you're aiming your magic!”
“Huh?! You flat-chested sparrow! What did you say? No matter how bad my aim is, it's still better than your pathetic arrows!”
Insulted, Shanna shot back without hesitation.
“What do you mean, you smelly cow? You want to go? You dress like a whore from the red-light district every day. Did that spider mucus feel good on you?!”
Kathleen already had a fiery temper. Now that she was being insulted, she exploded like a barrel of gunpowder.
Shanna was absolutely livid upon hearing this. She stopped attacking the spider entirely and pointed her staff directly at Kathleen.
“What, you want to attack your teammate now? Figures. For a slut who does nothing but show off her body, anything is possible.”
Kathleen added fuel to the fire.
Finally, unable to tolerate Kathleen's repeated insults any longer, Shanna prepared to cast a Fireball to teach her a lesson.
However, the moment she tried to channel her mana, her expression changed drastically. In her blind rage, she hadn't noticed that her mana was completely depleted.
Seeing her freeze, Kathleen assumed she was about to spit more venom and prepared to shout back first.
But before she could speak, Shanna said with a grim face,
“You stupid sparrow, check how much mana you have left.”
Kathleen was confused, but hearing Shanna insult her again, she snapped back defensively,
“What nonsense are you talking about, cow? Of course my mana is still—”
She cut herself off, her face turning pale. “How is this possible? My mana is half gone! Usually, attacks of that level wouldn't even consume ten percent of my mana!”
Shanna felt the same way. Under normal circumstances, that barrage of magic would have only consumed about half of her mana, but now, it had drained her completely.
Moreover, once she calmed down, she was shocked to realize that her mana recovery rate had slowed to a crawl, and the power of her spells had decreased as well.
Ignoring the drama behind her, Sheena furrowed her brows, staring solemnly at the Gloom Spider, which was still in peak condition.
Without a doubt, they were in a crisis.
Rate on N.U.
