What are the “inherent properties” of crystalline spider silk? Some fire resistance is always good. It seems like a very common method of attack for monsters in games, and I bet it will be pretty common in the Ysari System, as well.

He had a dark thought as he picked up the shimmering coat. I bet fireball will be the single most common human spell. Having some counters for that could be somewhat… Necessary. I have no doubts that humans will become just as much of a problem as monsters are, if they haven't already.

The coat was smooth to the touch, and felt more supple and flexible on his skin than any cloth he had ever held, let alone worn. He was surprised that it still felt strong. He didn’t think he needed to worry about accidentally ripping it on a sharp corner. Although the self-repair ability takes care of that problem, anyway. When it wasn’t in a pile on the floor, it looked less shimmery and translucent, appearing a sparkly gray. He rubbed it on his cheek experimentally.

Robin refused to acknowledge how rubbing a silken garment on his face appeared. It was the only exposed skin on his body while Lesser Armor of the Beetle was active. Opal probably wasn't going to judge him, anyway. He slipped it on over the armor. It was a little loose around the waist, but otherwise fit snugly. He buttoned it up ponderingly.

I wonder if my Reshape Web ability will work on this? It does say any web, regardless of form...

He focused on the ability and willed the coat to grow slightly tighter around the waist, where it felt a bit baggy. It shrank, forming perfectly against him. Oh, wow. This feels even better, and I only have maybe four inches of total exposed skin. I might have to have all my clothes made of web

Robin checked the room for any of his supplies that he had missed and glanced up at Opal. She was staring at him, wobbling her torso side to side, arms clasped tightly. She felt focused. Robin nodded at her and walked to the black door. His familiar hopped to the ground behind him, scuttling into the hall as soon as the door was open.

“Wait, let me check it first!”

The pink mantis scuttled onto the wall and onto the ceiling, staring at him impatiently.

Not seeing any imminent threats, Robin moved out into the hallway and over to the elevator. As he pressed the button, he wrapped his hand around the hilt of the Delta Revenant. Focusing, he poured his MANA into the object, feeling the flow of energy a bit more distinctly. When five mana had flowed into the handgun, he felt it suddenly increase slightly in weight. He smiled and immediately began pumping more MANA into it.

He had another bullet before the elevator fully disengaged the door locks, yanking them open. He ignored the remaining spider parts entirely, a little proud of himself. Opal skittered in after him, clinging to the ceiling. He pressed the “down” button and waited, pulling up his menu.

This tale has been unlawfully obtained from Royal Road. If you discover it on Amazon, kindly report it.

He watched his mana tick back up slowly. It seemed like it recovered at a rate of about ten per minute. When it hit ten he began condensing another bullet from MANA, rushing to form another immediately after he felt the weight increase. When the elevator had finished, he had fully condensed enough rounds to fill the entire chamber.

The door clicked into place and the locks engaged.

Robin didn’t open the door. His mind was racing through all of his options, his class abilities, his sword arts…

He withdrew the Machete of the Dark from the Aliquam Pack, staring at the blackened metal.

Robin had a thought and pressed the “up” button, returning to the floor where he had encountered the Mad Scientist. When the elevator had finally chugged up painfully there, he opened the door and carefully brought the plant inside, recovering the broom it seemed to have dropped. He set the plant in the corner and commanded the elevator to return to the second-to-lowest floor. When it arrived he immediately opened the door. Can’t lose your nerve that way!

Opal skittered out into the empty hallway. Robin didn't watch her directly. She's going to the ceiling.

Robin followed her lead cautiously, holding the machete out in front of him.

The hallway was empty, devoid even of grapeflies. It wasn’t hard to see where the slime had been, though. The doors were completely devoured, leaving behind tiny wooden remnants. Robin thought it looked like wet sawdust.

All of the door frames he could see were empty.

Robin walked down the hallway slowly. As he passed the first one, he paused and reconsidered the machete, then slipped it into the Pack. The Relta-Rev might be a better choice here, at least as an opening attack… I have to try and damage it as much as possible from as far away as I can before I even consider getting closer.

Robin continued down the hallway, trying with every point of his recently enhanced INT to remember exactly how soldiers he had seen in movies and news footage had gone through buildings. They aimed inwards, angling their bodies to point inwards as they moved over the opening...

Every room was the same - completely emptied out, devoid of furniture, wall fixtures, or equipment. The only thing left in most of the rooms were the dangling fluorescent lights, although the slime seemed to have gotten a few. Robin passed the fifth empty room and looked up at Opal. He started when he didn’t see her, and turned around suddenly, his eyes whipping over the hallway.

It took him several long, tense moments before he saw her at the end of the hallway they had entered from, dancing wildly on the ceiling. Robin frowned. She was particularly hard to see, almost like she was fading away, Marty McFly-style. Robin focused; she felt…

Terrified. Robin moved down the hallway slowly, his heart beating. She was in front of one of the rooms without lights.

He arrived at the door and moved around it slowly, aiming the revolver as the room came into view. The room was empty. Opal wouldn’t behave like that for no reason, though. There has to be something.

He slowly approached the door, squinting upwards.

“I don’t see anything, Opal…”

As he spoke, a thin pseudopod half-dripped and half-fell from the ceiling into the center of the room. It was the same gray of a long-used paint-rinsing cup, and had the consistency of cold silly putty. More slowly followed behind it, rapidly swelling to the size of a smart car before it abruptly began dripping faster. Robin tensed, expecting it to flow at him, but then he saw why it had sped up.

It was dropping the core from the ceiling to the mass below. It looked exactly like it had before, a ball of dimpled dark metal that vaguely resembled a massive golf ball, but… It was much bigger, now almost half a meter in diameter.

Robin leveled the ΔU-Revenant at the descending core of the slime.

Cock the hammer first, breathe in... breathe out... now!

Robin squeezed the trigger.