James’ fist glowed brightly in the dimly lit chamber, illuminating the monstrous creature completely for the first time. Its eyes, two of which were positioned high enough to glare at him hatefully, reflected an understanding. It knew it was about to die.
A massive wave of power left James, a hundred points of mana concentrated into his fist and released down into the spider.
He heard a loud crack over the roar of adrenaline, as the hard carapace broke under his ministrations. Light flashed through the fractures as mana wreaked havoc on its insides, and an ear-splitting shriek resounded through the dungeon, making the trees shudder.
The spider thrashed wildly in agony, attempting to throw James off its back. It spun and convulsed, but he held on, driving his fist again and again into the gaping wound he had created.
He felt the fluids of the creature’s entrails splashing against his skin, hot and viscous. Despite its desperate flailing, the monstrous arachnid's movements gradually slowed, and the light in its many eyes dimmed.
With a final, decisive blow, James thrust his fist deep into the spider's body, the hot rush of its ichor gushing all over him. The creature gave a last, shuddering twitch before its legs buckled beneath it, collapsing to the ground with a tremendous thud that shook the chamber.
The others, battered but not broken, gathered around as James disentangled himself from the fallen beast, his breathing heavy, shaking his arm to clear it of the creature’s innards.
“That thing was not H-rank.” He said, jumping off it.
“Early G-rank, you think? We probably would not have made it if we hadn’t found all the eggs before. Without those stat points, I don’t think I would have managed to avoid it.” Lauren commented, her knife flashing and burying itself into the Boss’ closest eye.
It had become a habit of hers, to make sure the monsters they killed were truly dead, even after they received the System notification. The Rogue claimed it was only a good habit to have since some very high-rank creatures with illusion skills could fake their death.
James didn’t think they had anything to worry about, considering the earliest such a thing was recorded was in B-rank, but it wasn’t like she was doing anything bad. The badger Boss had given them a right scare, after all.
“Uhm, guys.” Ezekiel called their attention, his voice strangely high-pitched. “Why does the notification say [Mutated Spider Matriarch - Newborn]?”
Swiftly bringing his own prompt up, James saw that his friend was telling the truth. “What the fuck? How could that thing possibly be a newborn? What kind of monster would even give birth to it?” He said, stunned.
At that moment, a loud thud resounded in the chamber, making them all jump in fright and turn to the entrance.
James felt his heart beat madly in his chest, as he hadn’t noticed anyone approaching with his passive sense. Activating Awareness, he cursed himself for being so loose with his duty as scout, immediately detecting an absolutely massive presence coming towards them.
First, though, his eyes fell on the thing that made the noise.
Laying sprawled at the entrance of the incubation room, a strange creature was revealed by the light of their torches.
It had the bulbous body of a large spider, three times the size of the smaller ones they had fought in the dungeon but quite a bit smaller than the one they had just defeated. But instead of the fanged maw one could reasonably expect, it had the torso of a woman attached to it.
White hair and a generous, uncovered bust gave her a fair appearance, marred only by her lower half and the eight eyes that crowned her brow.
“An Arachne.” James whispered. A beast known and feared among Awakeners for being as intelligent - if not more - as humans and capable of hatching plots to capture territory. Its individual strength was that of a B-rank, but since its power lay in the strategic usage of its monstrous progeny, it was considered an A-rank threat for its ability to take over large swaths of lands in a short amount of time.
It was a being they had absolutely no hope of facing. Something so strong that even just its presence should have sent them to their knees.
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“Is it dead?” Maria asked, her eyes glued to the still form of the Arachne.
“I think so.” James answered, not feeling anything from where he was standing. His eyes, however, were trained on the chamber entrances. A very alive and massively powerful being was approaching, and he had no idea what to expect.
“It is.” A deep voice answered from where the presence should be.
Stepping into the light, a man was revealed. He stood at seven feet tall, with well-developed muscles made visible by his lack of upper clothes, save for a sleeveless fur coat, which was left open.
He had long, wavy dark hair and a wild air, enhanced by a fanged earring that glinted in the light.
“Did you kill it?” Daniel asked, keeping a wary eye on the man.
The new arrival, however, didn’t answer, not giving any hint he might have heard the question. Instead, he kept walking towards them, making them all tense up in preparation for a fight they couldn’t win.
With a rumbling sound, he passed by them, not sparing a glance at the massive corpse of the creature they believed to be the dungeon’s Boss.
It took James a moment to realize that the man had been laughing at them. “Who are you?” He questioned, his muscles still tensed as his mind ran through scenarios and escape plans. They were drained, wounded, and facing an unknown entity that radiated immense power.
Again, he was ignored. With long strides, the massive man finally reached the end of the chamber, where the last few clusters of eggs were stashed.
He waved a hand, a massive wave of bronze mana following it and annihilating the webbed wall, eggs and all.
James heard a strangled sound from beside him, which he knew had to be Lauren. Those eggs might not have been worth much to someone capable of killing an Arachne, but for them, they represented several levels without the need to be in danger to gain them.
However, not one member of Team 0 said anything, watching as the man stepped into the cavity he had created in the webbed walls. The difference in power between them and someone capable of killing an Arachne without a wound to show for it was simply too great.
A minute later, he emerged, a red stone of some kind clutched in his fist. He was looking at it pensively, apparently unsure what to make of his find.
Finally, he reached them again, and this time, he stopped.
James had just a moment to realize something was about to happen as he felt a flex in the stranger’s will - the kind which he recognized from Miss Walker’s aura resistance training - that they were being crushed against the dirt, an immense weight appearing on their minds.
The sensation was unbearable, like being smothered in a shroud of bronze energy, each thread woven with domination and power. Their bodies were pressed to the cold dirt and they could only gasp for breath, their limbs unresponsive under the oppressive force. The chamber seemed to dim further, the light from their still glowing torches now a mere flicker in the man’s crushing presence.
James clenched his fists, dirt digging into his fingernails as he tried desperately to fight off the monstrous aura. His muscles twitched with the effort, and he could barely gather a coherent thought. Still, with a single-mindedness that was becoming familiar, he slowly started being able to move. The last remaining mana he had flooded his body, lessening the aura’s effects, though he still could not stand up, barely being able to pull himself into a kneeling position.
“Speak not unless spoken to.” The command was not loud, but it echoed in their minds, a blade of authority that cut through the suffocating silence. The man's eyes, an uncanny shade of molten gold, scanned over them dispassionately.
Releasing the pressure with a negligent flick of his wrist, he observed as they scrambled to their feet, gasping and clutching at their throats, their eyes wide with terror and confusion.
“What do you know of the owners of this dungeon?” He asked, voice low and rumbling.
None of them tried to lie, knowing they could do nothing to stop the man from getting what he wanted.
“It was the Golden Sun Guild’s.” James answered. When a wave of the man’s hand prompted him to continue, he added “There was a big raid, and most of their properties were confiscated by the AA. Since their papers and the mana radars said this was a H-rank dungeon, it was given to us to clear.”
“The Golden Sun has been raided… Has the slumbering giant finally woken up?”The man murmured more to himself than them, a slight frown marring his rugged features.
“The... giant?” James ventured, his voice shaky. His body was still wracked by the occasional tremor after being subjected to the man’s aura, but he did his best not to make it show.
“The Awakener’s Association.” The man’s gold eyes fixed on James, making him feel like an ant under a magnifying glass, small and insignificant. “Has it moved against the Golden Sun?”
“We are not privy to the details.” Maria stammered from where she stood beside James. “We are just a H-rank team.”
A grunt of understanding came from the man. He seemed to ponder over their words for a moment, his eyes never leaving them, making the silence stretch painfully. “You were lucky I was in the area and felt something was amiss.” He finally said.
“Was… Was the Arachne hiding in the dungeon?” Lauren asked, gathering her courage.
“It was. However, for all its cleverness, a creature of that power would not appear naturally. Not here, where the AA’s eyes can still see.” The man answered, tossing the ruby-red stone in the air.
Without conscious thought, James focused on it with his senses for a moment and immediately recoiled away from it.
Despite being a rock, the thing held an immense amount of power, and hidden within it, noticeable only because of his Talent, there was an ugly, twisted mind.
“Oh? You noticed?” The man asked casually, coming to stand before James.
“What… That thing is evil.” He answered, shocked at how an inanimate object could have such a clear will.
“Mmm. You are still too weak to know the truth.” The stranger said, his golden eyes piercing James to the depths of his soul. “But you might become useful someday. If you ever get to B-rank, I’ll come find you, kid. You’ll learn the truth of this world then. For now, you’d all do yourself a favor if you forgot what you saw here. Take pride in defeating a level 57 creature as H-ranks and leave it at that.”
Without letting anyone get a word in, the man stepped past them, moving much more quickly than before. He grabbed the Arachne’s corpse, hoisted it over his shoulder as if it weighed nothing, and walked into the darkness, disappearing even from James’ senses.
They all remained silent for a few minutes following his departure, until their madly beating hearts had calmed down.
“What the absolute fuck.” Lauren murmured.
For once, no one had anything to say to that.