"Shit, why do I always have to be the one to be attacked first?"

"It's because you have the most punchable face!"

"Punchable face? What does that supposed to mean?"

"Figure it out yourself, idiot."

"Guys, now's not the time for bickering. We need to focus on the task at hand."

A voice interjected, its tone tinged with frustration.

"Thoran's right. We're here to work together, not tear each other apart."

Another voice chimed in, its cadence calm yet firm.

"Agreed. Let's save the banter for later and deal with these enemies first."

A third voice added, its words laced with determination.

The group fell silent, their attention returning to the looming threat before them. They all paled at the sight of the creature.

"But seriously, did it have to be a man-faced spider? Wasn't this thing supposed to be extinct?"

"Who cares if it's extinct or not? We've got one staring us down right now!"

"Right, let's focus on taking it down before it decides to make a snack out of us."

"I'll try to draw its attention. Saria, get ready to cover me from a distance."

"On it. Just give me the signal."

"Nobile, stay close and be ready to provide support. We might need some healing after this."

"Got it. I'll keep an eye on everyone's condition."

"Sgesbir, Kothog, you two flank it from the sides. Try to keep it distracted while Thoran and I deal with its attacks."

"Sounds like a plan. Let's show this oversized arachnid what we're made of!"

The group sprang into action, each member falling into their designated roles with practiced ease.

"Watch out for its acid spray! It can melt through armor like it's nothing! From what I've read, this thing was a major hazard."

"Seriously, we just entered the dungeon, and this is the first thing we encounter?"

"It is an ancient dungeon, after all, one made for each generation's heroes."

"Rasiel, isn't it about time you summoned Gungnir and Aegis?"

"I was already on it!"

Rasiel commented, two beams of light flashing beside him. A long spear decorated with countless intricate patterns appeared in his right hand, and a golden shield with the face of a beautiful lady appeared in his left hand.

"Watch out for those spiderlings! They're swarming from the sides!"

"Got it, I'll keep them at bay with my arrows."

"Thoran, we need some crowd control here! Can you conjure up a barrier or something?"

"On it! Just give me a moment to channel the spell..."

"Keep it together, everyone! We've faced worse odds before!"

"Speak for yourself, Sgesbir! This thing is giving me the creeps!"

"Just focus on the task at hand, Kothog. We need your strength to hold the line."

"Damn it, its venom is eating through my armor!"

"Nobile, can you cleanse Kothog of the poison? We can't afford to lose him now."

"I'm on it! Hold still, Kothog, this might sting a bit."

As the battle against the man-faced spider raged on, the group found themselves locked in a fierce struggle for survival.

"We need to take out those spider-lings before they overwhelm us!"

"Agreed. Saria, focus your shots on the smaller ones. We can't afford any distractions."

"On it. Just keep them off my back while I take aim."

"Thoran, how's that barrier coming along?"

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"It's almost ready. Just a few more seconds..."

"Hurry up, we don't have all day!"

"Got it! Barrier up!"

Thoran conjured a shimmering shield that surrounded the group, providing them with a temporary reprieve from the onslaught of the spiderlings. At the same time, he began chanting his next spell while using his [Soul Sucker] aspect to absorb the life energy from the dead spider-lings, replenishing his mana reserves.

"Nice work, Thoran! Now, let's focus our attacks on the main threat!"

"Rasiel, can you hit it with everything you've got? We need to end this quickly!"

"Already ahead of you! Gungnir, Heavenly Strike!"

The spear of light flew through the air, piercing the spider's hide with unerring accuracy. The monster let out a screeching sound as the attack had dealt it a great deal of damage.

"Keep the pressure on! We've almost got it!"

"Kothog, use your strength to push it back! We can't let it get any closer!"

"Leave it to me!"

With a mighty roar, Kothog charged forward, his [Transmute] Aspect activated at its maximum capacity. Layers upon layers of metal plates covered his body while at the same time pushing back the creature. He also created a barricade around the beast, but it collapsed as soon as it appeared.

Kothog's wounds began bleeding in the process since he was still injured from the previous attack.

"Sgesbir, watch your flank! There's another wave of spiderlings incoming!"

"I see them! No worries, I'll take care of them!"

Sgesbir exhaled steam from his nose as his skin began turning red. The area around him began rising in temperature, and the floor under him began turning into lava. This was one of the effects of his aspect, [Boil]. With his Aura also encompassing his body, he quickly took care of the upcoming horde.

"Nobile, how's everyone holding up?"

"We're all still in one piece, but Kothog's injuries are opening as he's fighting. We need to finish this quickly."

"Understood. Rasiel, focus your attacks on the spider's head. I'll use all of my excess life force in this attack."

Rasiel nodded in agreement, his eyes flashing with determination. A bright blue Aura covered his entire body, with white lightning streaks surrounding it. His eyes similarly turned blue as he also activated his aspect, [Demon Slayer].

"Consider it done! Aegis, protect us! Gungnir, heavenly lightning!"

The shield shimmered, creating a small transcendent shield that would protect them from Gungnir's attack as the spear of light flew once more, its aim unerring as it struck the spider's head with a resounding impact. The sound of lightning covered the entire dungeon floor as the creature screamed in agony before falling silent once and for all.

Its massive body fell flat on the ground, causing a small crater to appear under it. Its green blood oozed out, melting the stone-paved dungeon floor. The spider-lings also stopped appearing after a few seconds, giving the group a few moments to catch their breath.

"Is it... Is it dead?"

"It looks like it. But let's not lower our guard just yet. Check for any signs of movement."

The group cautiously approached the fallen creature, their weapons at the ready in case of any surprises.

Thoran was able to discern that it was dead by its missing life energy using his aspect.

"Looks like it's finally over."

"Yeah, but I have a feeling this won't be the last time we encounter something like this."

"Is everyone alright?"

"Yeah, just a few scratches here and there. Nothing I can't handle."

"Kothog, how are your injuries?"

"They're fine for now. Nobile's healing spells did wonders."

"Let me take a look at those wounds, Kothog. We need to make sure they're properly treated."

"I'm fine, Nobile. Just focus on conserving your mana for the next fight."

"You stubborn dragon, you'll be no good to us if you collapse from your injuries."

"Don't talk to me like I'm some tool, you foolish woman!"

Kothog blushed at her words but still let her heal him while his cheeks turned slightly rosy.

"We should probably take a moment to rest and regroup. We've been pushing ourselves pretty hard lately."

"That's not a bad idea. We could all use a break after that fight."

"Agreed. Let's find a safe spot to set up camp and catch our breath."

"Hey, Rasiel, do you think we'll encounter more creatures like that spider in the future?"

"It's definitely possible. This dungeon seems to be filled with all sorts of dangerous creatures."

"Great. Just what we needed, more monsters to fight."

Everyone laughed at the comment, feeling a bit of stress lifting from their shoulders. While everyone was setting up camp, Thoran spent some time looking for the monster's core using his mana while also consuming a large amount of life force the monster had dropped.

"Do you think this thing is worth a lot?"

Thoran heard Rasiel's voice from behind him and responded without looking back.

"It should be worth quite a sum. It's an extinct species after all, though it doesn't really matter to us, does it?"

"Well, that's true… I was just curious."

Rasiel felt awkward, scratching his head at Thoran's sarcasm.

"It's fine; the core, at least, is useful. It can be turned into a magical staff; the mana inside it is quite dense and pure, even having a special poison effect."

----------------------------------------

The group soon set up camp, and one of them sat guard while the others recuperated.

"Man, I just don't understand why we have to defeat this dungeon in particular. Isn't it supposed to have been cleared by every previous generation before us?"

"They called it the coming of age ritual for heroes, defeating this dungeon, I mean."

"Just what makes this place so special? I mean, the man-faced spider is extinct outside, but it wasn't as powerful as other monsters, so why?"

"It's just tradition. We clear it and then go to the next one. It's just a cycle that must be completed every 100 years, nothing more, nothing less."

"And that's Rasiel's opinion on the matter; how about the rest?"

Thoran commented with irony, a smirk playing on his lips.

"Well, I don't know about you all, but I think there's more to it than just tradition,"

Saria spoke up, her voice thoughtful as she sharpened her arrows.

"I mean, why would each generation of heroes have to face the same challenges over and over again? There has to be a reason behind it."

"I agree with Saria."

Nobile chimed in, her expression serious as she tended to Kothog's wounds.

"Maybe there's something deeper at play here, something that we haven't quite figured out yet."

Sgesbir grunted in agreement, his eyes scanning the surroundings for any signs of danger.

"Could be. I heard a lot of tales from the original heroes from my old man, after all. He always told me that the main reason the heroes exist is to protect the world and re-seal the demons. Essentially, we are tools used to seal the demons away."

"That's because we are tools. The original heroes were fools who failed to completely eliminate the demons, left only with one option, seal them, along with all of the remaining survivors inside the Lost Continent, or should I say Demonic Domain now…"

Thoran interjected, his tone firm as he finished examining the spider's core. Mana rushed out from his body, prompting the core to float in mid-air while a green mist slowly released from it.

"At least the haul this time was worth it."

Muttered Thoran, ignoring the perplexed looks the others gave him.