Inside a cavern, deep down under the ground, a spider was constructing its abode. Or weaving a web—another way to look at it. Its brood was scuttling about around it, making their own expansions here and there, gradually constructing a fortress.

Against the corrupted ones.

They were tough to fight, requiring many sacrifices to bring down one, and their fortress would be ruined afterward—but it had to be done. She could produce new soldiers faster than they.

This spider was a larger, older one. In its way, maybe even a wiser one. It had fought off the corrupted ones many times, and they had less sense than it. They were a greedy sort, but this spider knew how to hunt stronger prey. Lie in wait, let the expendables perish, then move in for the kill.

Its legs gently tugged at the threads of web all around, and it could sense everything on them. Its eyes were weak, but it didn’t really need them at all. The web reached out everywhere. Until they suddenly…

Didn’t.

Alarmed, the spider focused its senses on the direction, and could feel the connections burning up—no, melting down? It felt different. Still, it was an attack.

The spider signaled the brood, and they fell into wait, lying down in crevices and cracks, waiting for the signal to jump down and bite into whatever came. A larger one? One newly formed? The… mother?

But as it waited, no glow of searing fire emerged. Just the dim light of a lantern. And... footsteps. The spider grew excited. It knew that sound.

Prey.

Sometimes, these things wandered down, and the spider got to feast. Their flesh had something special to it and eating it had once filled the spider with vigor and a new kind of insight. But. This sort was prey—prey didn’t charge forward, it ran. One had to be fast and decisive.

The spider signaled its brood into motion, and they clumped together, closer to the entrance. Even the spider itself slowly approached, crouching down. Its shell was so aged and worn that it was indistinguishable from the rock around it. It slowly advanced, keeping its legs low, creeping nearer to the entrance.

The web of connections was still fading. The prey was wiping them out somehow, but that didn’t matter much. The spider felt it near and saw a glimpse of a small figure, a bit taller than it, but it held no great weapons. Just a stick in one, and in the other…? The spider couldn’t recognize it—it had never seen birds or the sky, so it did not know of feather dusters.

The spider gave the attack order, but the creature moved first. It held out one hand, then opened it, spice inside. The creature blew it out softly, then swept the smaller stick across in front of it, and small bits of something swirled inside the room.

Then there was pain.

Mainly along the feelers on its legs, and its ruined eyes. It trashed about for a moment, wiping whatever the thing was off, and managed to recover in a few seconds. It reached out for the web, seeking those connections.

Gone.

Its leg did not hit the web, but something that sizzled and bit.

It flinched back, blinded in sense and sight, and began scuttling away, trying to reach back to its web behind it. A trap! This was not prey, but predator!

Then something jumped on her back, and that sizzling hit it.

The spider screeched. Its shell! Its shell was melting! And as it melted, something started to pour inside! Hot and searing! The spider swung up with half of its legs, trying to impale the figure, but it managed to dodge, taking advantage of the opening. It landed down, then reached for the spider’s face with the long stick, pushing.

Pain—then everything—faded—

—

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“Sheesh, that was a big one,” Fayette said, looking over the hulking figure. She wasn’t bothering to keep count on her silent crusade, she was just moving forward, looking for any path that might lead upwards. No luck on that front yet, but she had made a few acquisitions for her shiny rock collection, so it was not all a waste. And she had killed lots of spiders.

The [Maid] sighed, starting to look over her dwindling supplies when she suddenly heard it.

[32 minor pests, and 5 major pests removed, keep up the autumn cleaning!]

[Progress towards next level: 80%]

Wait, what? But this isn’t—

Fayette paused. She looked at the room around her. If she really tried to look past the webs and collapsed pieces of ceiling, and only took in the shape of it… It was a box. A very regular box.

Growing excited, she got to work. She swished this way and that, brushing off age-old layers of dust, grime, and ichor with her mop, letting the [All Purpose Cleaner] truly do its magic. She cleared out a small section, then let the cleaner sizzle into smoke as it slowly did over time, careful not to breathe it in. The [Maid] bent down, finished with her cleaning and looked over her work. At what was revealed.

Brick.

Very old and crumbly brick, sure, but brick nonetheless. Ruins? Did I stumble into some ancient fortress or whatnot? Fayette took a long moment thinking the situation over, then finally grinned. This was perfect.

Wandering around down here, the [Maid] had come to a realization. This place was vast. If she just kept moving on, she might just get too far away, and get well and truly lost. She had done well in her fights so far, though there had been some scares. If she went on… she would not always win. Especially alone.

Her best chance might just be to sit down somewhere where the others could find her and wait. But for that… she needed a base of operations down here, somewhere she could rest up and stick to, someplace recognizable and interesting enough the others would be sure to find it. And…

Maybe a place where she could earn lots and lots of experience?

She inhaled deeply, tasting the air of her temporary home, then frowned. What was that taste? Brimstone? Something reminiscent of her spice—hot. Then Fayette looked to the other side of the room, to the other entrance. Her lantern was rather dim, but that entrance was bright. In fact—brighter than the spaces right next to her, and getting brighter.

She backed away a tad and watched as slithering ropes of fire snaked out from behind a corner, followed soon by a small form. A web of fire. The spider itself was black and red, like an onyx stone with a fire core. It moved slowly, letting the web of fire do the exploring for it, like a countless mass of feelers.

A monster.

Fayette backed away. She did not want to get stuck in that. The [Maid] moved back slow and silent, creeping back towards the original entrance. Is it blind? Does it not see me? Altering her trajectory, she began shifting to the right, and the creature made no move to follow.

Slowly and quietly, Fayette reached into her apron, going for her knives. She got a set out, aimed, then began pelting the spider with knives using [Cutlery Control].

The web of fire instantly moved, searching around for the source, but it couldn’t pinpoint her. It expanded outward, writhing like a fabric bursting out of its seams, but Fayette kept up the barrage, careful and silent.

The knives bit into the spider, between the cracks in the black outer shell, getting at the core inside, and after only three, the spider exploded into a spray of black blood. Fayette blinked. She had forgotten how satisfying that felt. She sighed, then slowly walked over to the remains, and picked up a monster core that felt hot.

She really was making good progress on her pretty rock collection down here. Nodding, Fayette put it into her apron, then examined the entrance through which it had come.

She froze, then walked through to the other side, and froze again. She laughed.

It was a small room, just five paces across, but that wasn’t the thing that had filled the [Maid] with relief. Two iron doors. Both stood ajar, letting monsters move as they liked through here, and they were covered in a thick mix of web and grime, but they looked mostly intact. And they had little hooks in them, useful for barring them in from the inside with a plank or something.

Fayette settled down, then looked over her temporary home for the next while. She hated to admit it, but she was honestly enjoying all this a little. She really was pretty fine, not running low on supplies for at least a bit more. She took out her broom, mop, feather duster, and bucket, then got to work. If she was going to live down here for a while—she would damn well enjoy it.

She wondered how the others were doing, and how long it would take them to find her. I hope they’re having fun too.

—

[A good start to housecleaning!]

[Progress towards next level: 85%]

—

[A fine abode, free of pests!]

[Progress towards next level: 95%]

—

[Level up: You have reached Maid level 18! Congratulations!]

[2 Skill points gained!]

[You have gained a new skill: Dustsense!]

[Progress towards next level: 10%]

—

[A good expansion of the household!]

[Progress towards next level: 25%]

—

[Great job with the major pest removal!]

[Progress towards next level: 55%]

—

It was... taking a while.