As Jennifer made her way out of the colony, and entourage of spiders guided her out. A brief conversation with Xar had her understand that these spiders would be guiding the two of them to where they could find the sky-fang serpent. She tried to recall the details about the serpent from their last encounter with it, and the little she’d looked into the creature after she’d found Xar.
Probably should’ve studied them a little more. No points in regrets now.
The spiders guiding her chittered as the two of them were led around the caverns, before being stopped in front of one particular turn.
“Poison-Death is inside. A bit further in. The colony will not go any further.”
Jennifer nodded at Xar’s words, before dipping her head to the spiders. She wasn’t sure if they understood the gesture or not, but she did it anyway.
“Okay, so, what’s the plan?” Jennifer asked. “Given the size of the snake, it’s ability to smell, sense mana, and likely feel heat, it’d be impossible to hide me. So anything stealthy already seems out of the question.”
Xar hummed in thought, thinking over her question. “What makes poison-death dangerous?”
“It’s a giant snake. I don’t think it needs anything more to be dangerous. And terrifying.”
“Xar knows. But what specifically? What threat does poison-death present to us?”
Jennifer understood the line of Xar’s inquiry, and gave the question some thought. “The first thing was its tail. It used its tail as a whip, the almost triangular end seems to be created for that purpose, and also likely to help orient the snake when it becomes capable of flight. But it’s tail is the first big danger. After that, its poison. It’s almost like acid, but even the fumes can be lethal, and just contact alone will cause a lot of pain. I have my glass shields, so I can protect myself, but the constant barrage of attacks make it very hard to attack back, and its tail can shatter my glass shields, so I have to keep making new ones, or running around to dodge. Lastly, the most dangerous thing came from the elemental clone and wings. Flying snakes with whip like tales and elemental clones that can shoot lethal poison from a distance are far more harder than a snake on the ground.”
Jennifer felt an acknowledgement from Xar, as the spider thought over her words.
“So we must restrict Poison-Death. Not allow it space to use its tail, and then trap it in a space where it cannot escape from, so even if it can rise again, we will simply kill it once more. Xar has an idea for something like that.”
Jennifer raised her eyebrows, curious as Xar directed her through the caverns. She could see a few little spiders on her way as well, watching the two of them from a distance, but they did not come close enough to interact, and for the most part remained hidden, so Jennifer ignored them as well.
Making her way through the dungeon as she followed Xar’s direction, Jennifer found herself in a narrow section of the cavern that led to a dead-end.
“What’s so special about this place, Xar?” Jennifer asked, looking around.
“That.” Xar said, lifting a leg as he pointed at one corner of the cavern.
Jennifer raised her sight, to see the are Xar was referring to. A large crack ran through the walls of the cavern, rising up to the top of the dungeon walls. She could feel the flow of mana coming from the walls, almost like the dungeon was bleeding from an open wound.
“If Jennifer could collapse this area on the Poison-Death. She would be able to trap it underneath heavy rock. If that doesn’t kill it, then she can end it with her spells.”
Jennifer hummed in thought, walking to the crack in the wall. She placed her hand upon the crack, feeling the mana running inside it. The walls were subtly shifting, trying to close the crack inside over time. Jennifer frowned, trying to picture how she would do this.
Inserting her hand inside the crack, Jennifer let glass mana flood her pathways. Magic flowed around her, her eyes turning reflective, as she let her [Glass Mana Pool] fill her body to the brim. Little flakes of glass glimmered, slipping in and out of reality, as her mana manifested around her body from her pathways.
Carefully, Jennifer began to channel the mana, letting it flow through the threads of a spell matrix she weaved into the wall itself. The strings of mana tied themselves to the crack, the spell matrix itself taking on a three dimensional shape as it began to extend from her finger tips.
Then, with a final pull of her mana shaping, she let the spell form, and whispered under her breath to cast. “Glass spikes.”
Spikes of glass jut forth from the crack, piercing the wall. A dizzying array of glass spikes cut through the rock, sharpened on both ends, as they began to fill up the cracks inside. A flood of mana flowed out of Jennifer as she continued to pour it into her spell. She guided the spikes to break into the carving, and become a part of the structure. Little hairline cracks spread into the walls as her glass continued to protrude through the rock, expanding and flowing outward like roots, and burrowing deep into the rock.
When she had felt like she’d done enough, Jennifer pulled her hand out of the glass. The crack now glimmered, like a bright scar full of glittering gemstones with that had been patched with threads of glass.
“I think that should be good,” Jennifer said, glancing at Xar. She felt a little strained, almost half her mana spent on just the single spell. “I can dissipate the glass spikes, and if need be, shoot a glass blade storm into the crack to collapse the entire section. That should be enough to break the wall.”
Xar sent an affirmative, agreeing with her assessment.
“Time to catch a snake,” Jennifer said, setting off.
***
It took some searching to find the sky-fang serpent within the cavernous dungeons. It had moved since her trip to setup the trap. The spiders had helped direct her, but they’d once again refused to get close enough, and the last stretch she had to cover by herself.
After roughly half an hour of aimless walking, she’d finally found the creature she’d been looking for. The sky-fang serpent slept curled up in a burrow it had carved into the rocks. Though given the size, the location looked more like a cave than a burrow.
She’d spent some time hiding in the distance, as she waited for the snake to show itself. Her patience had not gone unrewarded, when, a little while later, the serpent poked its head out, its giant tongue flicking outwards in the air with an echoing hiss.
“Poison-Death is hungry,” Xar said, watching the serpent from her shoulder.
“Let’s hope it’s hungry enough to give chase too then,” Jennifer said. After a moment of waiting, she stepped out of the corner she was hiding in, and walked towards the serpent.
It took a moment for the snake to notice, upon which the creature froze, simply staring at her. Jennifer stared back at the snake, its giant slits regarding her calmly, as it flicked its tongue out and pulled itself up. Fangs flared as the serpent’s mouth opened, and it let out a warning hiss to intimidate her.
This story originates from Royal Road. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there.
Trying to trigger the creature’s predatory instinct, Jennifer bent down, picking up a rock. She watched the serpent’s eyes fixated on her with a silent intensity, as she took the rock in her hand, and tossed it at the creature’s face.
The rock flew, before crashing at the snake’s face with a light thud, and bouncing off against its scales. The snake looked down at the pebble in confusion, before raising its head towards Jennifer. Then, with a loud hiss, it cracked its tail like a whip, striking at her.
Jennifer leapt, using Agile Wind on instinct as the winds launched her sideways. The ground exploded where the snake struck. “Sera take me, that was close! Come here you dumb snake!” she shouted, and the snake hissed back, as if it could understand her insult, before it began to give chase.
Magic burned in Jennifer’s pathways, as winds howled in her ear. Poison sizzled and hissed, the snake continuing to shoot giant streams of the green liquid at her. Jennifer manifested a hexagonal glass shield behind her, coating it with Reflect, as the poison slid right off, with a part of it bouncing back at the serpent itself.
Jennifer’s mana pathways burned as she pushed her magic to the limit, drawing on her [Glass Mana Pool] and [Fusion Casting] to the best of her abilities. Streams of glass bolts shot behind Jennifer, shattering against the snake’s scales to slow it down. The giant snake rushed after her undeterred by her barrage, crawling through the caverns at rapid speeds.
Panting, Jennifer saw the path ahead of her turn towards the area where she’d setup the trap. But as she tried to turn, the momentum from the wind carried her too far, and she slipped.
The world seemed to slow down as Jennifer’s body crashed onto the ground, and she looked up to see the snake rushing at rapid speeds.
“[Lunestone: Guard]!” she shouted, the skill activating as the guard spell covered her.
“Stop!” Xar projected, the barrage stunning the snake momentarily as it slammed through her guard, breaking it.
Jennifer screamed, dodging the giant snake, and saving herself from being crushed by it. Standing on her feet, she felt the pain in her knee, blood dripping down her wounds, but she ignored it. Her heart pounded as she ran as fast as she could through the chambers, heading towards the crack in the wall.
Stumbling, and out of breath, with next to no mana left in her, Jennifer walked to where she’d set her trap, and found herself with no way ahead. She turned, looking back as the snake slithered into the area, looking at her with predatory eyes, as it saw her back pressed against the wall.
Jennifer felt her heart pounding, as the snake moved in closer slowly, baring its fangs and ready to leap. Jennifer held her breath tight, trying to appear fear. It didn’t take much to act that way, given that she was shaking both from exertion and nervousness.
Not yet. Not just yet.
The snake moved even closer, hissing loudly, as if pleased to have caught its prey, and coiled its tail, ready to strike.
Hold on. Just a second longer.
The serpent moved back the slightest of margins, and she felt its body tense with energy, just before it struck.
“Now!” she screamed, letting the glass dissipate. The bright path of glass vanished instantly into mana, as she felt Xar pour a wave of mind magic outwards, knocking the snake back, and freezing it in place.
The cavern walls cracked, groaning. Jennifer flooded her mana pathways, using the last of her magic to form a storm of glass blades. [Fusion Casting] burned in her mind, as the combined spell tore itself out with a howl. The storm of glass blades crashed into the wall, as the rocks exploded all around her.
A loud crack resounded as a chunk of the dungeon broke free, collapsing on top of the serpent. Mana poured from the open section, like a leaking wound flowing blood, as it poured down onto Jennifer.
Jennifer stood, watching little particles of glass covering the area in glitter like dust, as the serpent hissed, crushed under the weight of the rocks. She watched the snake strike, trying to pry itself free or move, but its resistance was futile, as blood flowed from its wounds, and the weight of the rocks continued to crush it even further.
“We did it!” Xar cheered in Jennifer’s mind.
“Not yet,” she said, as [Blood Dagger] manifested in her hand. Walking closer, she stood atop the serpent once more, and saw it look up at her with its narrow slit pupils.
“I’m sorry. And thank you,” she whispered, before plunging the blade into its skull.
With a shuddering twitch, the creature was taken by death, and she felt her [Blood Dagger] drink in its blood freely. The poison coat of the blade did not grow, but it felt more complete to her now. Like it had finally become part with the rest of her blade.
Jennifer stood atop the snake’s corpse, waiting to see if it would rise again. After fifteen minutes of silence, she decided it was safe and told Xar to call the rest of the spiders.
The colony came in rapidly, hundreds of tiny spiders accompanied by a few of the larger females coming to the area, as they began to remove the rocks one by one. The degree of cooperation and coordination in these monsters really made her re-visiting the popularised perspective people had of these creatures, and their intelligence. Just what else had they been wrong about? How much did they truly know?
Putting the thoughts about the monsters, and the nature of her world for a later point, Jennifer followed the spider after they had cleared all the rocks, and began to carry the dead serpent back.
A while later, some of the larger spiders came up to Jennifer, and raised their hands in the same greeting Xar had done to her when she’d first met them.
After they’d caught their attention, the spiders turned, and began to guide the two of them further inside. Following in, Jennnifer walked, before being taked to the matriarch once more. The giant spider sat, looking at Jennifer with her many eyes, but the intensity of the gaze felt less now. Jennifer felt the mental link snap in place as she heard the matriarch’s voice.
“You’ve slain the serpent, as we had asked. So quickly too,” the matriarch said, before turning subtly to show she was talking to Xar. “Tell us child. Do you truly not wish to stay? We know you are a male. And we know this is not the way of the Colony. But we have understood now, that you are special. And no less than any of our females. We are willing to make a compromise, and fix our error, you only need to say yes, and together, we could grow and evolve.”
Jennifer looked at Xar, not commenting on whatever the spider decided.
“Xar cannot stay. Xar has things to do, and sights to see. The outside worlds has so many things Xar had never even imagined while inside the Dungeon-home. Not to mention, he has promised Jennifer that he’d help her.”
“Very well. We had expected as much. But know that from now on, you will be welcome to visit this colony,” the matriarch said, before raising her eyes. “And you as well. As long as you bring the child with you.”
Jennifer nodded. She doubted she’d be visiting the colony again, but it still felt nice to have them as allies rather than enemies.
With their talks concluded for the most part, Jennifer turned around, and found a large female spider waiting for them. She knew the female part because the given spider was the largest she’d seen besides the matriarch, coming all the way up to her knees.
“Will show. Way, to below,” the spider spoke, raising a leg. The sight was oddly adorable despite the rather ferocious looking monster in front of her. Jennifer looked at Xar, before nodding.
Following behind the creature, she led them lead the way. The paths turned more and more silk covered as she moved towards the colony, yet this time, there was far from enough space for Jennifer to stand, and slowly but surely, she was forced to go down on her knees and crawl ahead.
“It’s even more narrow up ahead,” Xar informed her and Jennifer groaned, her scraping knees and elbows now starting to hurt a lot more.
“This really isn’t meant for human use is it?” she said, feeling glad she was not claustrophobic. Given how dark and cramped this place was, even she felt suffocated, and she had always been fine with cramped spaced for most her life.
Pulling herself by her arms now, as she lay flat on the ground, Jennifer slowly made her way ahead, following behind the spiders. A moment later, the creatures stopped, before stepping back as they crawled around Jennifer.
“They will not go ahead from this point.” Xar told her, and Jennifer craned her neck back to send a nod of gratitude to the spiders, as she continued ahead.
Time flowed by in a painfully slow agony, as she crawled through the darkness, stopping frequently to catch her breath and not suffocate.
Her struggle came to an abrupt end, when the narrow tunnel curved downwards, turning smooth, and Jennifer found herself sliding forward.
Crashing into a brittle wall, she fell through, and found herself falling from a place far far higher in the air than any human was supposed to be, without magic taking them there.
“Agile Wind!” Jennifer screamed, the winds howling in her hair with what little mana she had, breaking her fall as she splashed into the mucky murky water underneath.
Gasping for air, and coughing out the dirt and muck, as vines covered her body, Jennifer pulled herself to the ground, and began to dry heave. There were things in her throat, things she could feel moving around. And as she vomited everything inside her rather empty stomach, she noticed tiny little creatures that came out of her mouth, wiggling around on the ground. The sight of made her gag even more, as Jennifer recoiled.
Then the system chimed, greeting her.
You’ve entered The Great Dungeon of Lienmont.
Location: The Second Layer
Elphion damn you too.