Dotty felt proud when the others agreed to check the storage room. She had studied the maps carefully over the past three days. The spiders kept appearing faster than they could kill them, but this time, she had a real plan.

Monica gave her a small nod of approval. It made Dotty stand straighter. For once, she wasn't just the kid they had to protect. She was helping the team track down these monsters.

Sir Tristan took point as they approached the building. Dotty stayed in the middle of the group with Ted while Heidi and Monica covered the rear. This was their usual formation now. They had practiced it while hunting spiders.

The storage building was larger than the houses around it. Its stone walls rose three stories high. Dotty could see where ore carts used to enter through the wide front entrance. Now, the doorway was just a black hole in the wall.

Her new Dangersense Skill activated as they got closer. Something felt wrong. The warning wasn't specific, but her skin prickled with unease. She was about to say something when Monica spoke up.

"Wait," Monica said to Sir Tristan. "Step back."

Dotty watched Monica use her Mana Sense. The redhead's eyes glowed with a slight golden hue as she peered into the darkness. Her expression changed from focused to worried.

"Get ready. It's coming," Monica warned.

A leg emerged from the doorway. Dotty's hand went to Twilight's Edge. This wasn't like the other spider legs they'd seen. Sharp barbs covered its surface. The metal looked different, too - not dull gray but bright like polished silver.

The rest of the creature followed. Dotty's stomach turned at the sight. This spider was wrong in every way it could’ve been.

Before anyone could move, the spider's abdomen twisted. A thin metal wire shot out toward them. Dotty's Dangersense screamed.

Sir Tristan moved his shield up and managed to intercept the slashing thread. The monster’s legs scraped against the stone like knives on metal, a sound that made Dotty’s teeth hurt.

None of her training prepared her for this.

Fear froze her in place. She couldn't even grip Twilight's Edge properly. Her hands shook too much.

Then she saw Ted. He had already started playing Song of the Phoenix, completely focused on his mandolin. He didn't see the second wire shooting from the spider's body.

Dotty moved without thinking. Her body reacted before her mind could catch up. She slammed into Ted's side, tackling him to the ground. They hit the stone floor hard. Something whistled overhead. The wire cut through the air where Ted's neck had been. It sliced into the stone wall behind them, leaving a deep groove in the rock.

Ted's mandolin clattered beside them. Dotty felt his chest rising and falling under her. He was alive. If she'd hesitated for even a second, that wire would have taken his head off.

Dotty helped Ted up, her hands still shaking. The spider's wire had cut deep into the stone wall - a clean slice that would have gone right through Ted's neck.

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"Thanks," Ted said, grabbing his mandolin. He immediately started playing Song of the Phoenix again, but his fingers trembled slightly on the strings.

Dotty wanted to help fight, but what she saw made her freeze. Monica and Heidi were delivering a terrifying display of power. Heidi opened with Emberstorm Convergence, trying to trap the evolved spider in her signature black flame vortex. But unlike the normal spiders, this one barely moved. Its silver-enhanced body was too heavy to be pulled in. Even the burning ground the spell left behind didn't seem to bother it.

Monica shot forward, Phoenix Step carrying her in a blur of gold. She aimed for the spider's left side, where its legs looked thinner. But before she could strike, three wires whipped out from its body. She twisted mid-air, barely avoiding the first two, but the third forced her to drop and roll. She came up, ready to dash again, but more wires were already flying. The spider didn't even need to move its legs to attack - the wires shot out from its body like arrows, filling the space around it with deadly silver threads.

Monica tried getting close, using Phoenix Step to dart around the spider's attacks. But every time she found an opening, the monster would shoot out more wires, without even needing to retaliate physically, creating a deadly web she couldn't pass through. Even Monica, who could come back from death, had to back off.

Monica wasn’t just immortal; she was also the best fighter at her level. Even with her fighting experience, with her instincts, the

"Dark Phoenix Furnace!" Heidi shouted. Black sparks erupted around her as she unleashed Fire Lance after Fire Lance. Each burning spear left trails of fire across the battlefield, trying to pin it down. But its enhanced armor deflected most of the damage.

Monica's eyes glowed as she used Mana Sense, looking for weak points while trading blows with the monster. But every clash with those silver-reinforced legs made her entire body shake.

"Hit it with all you’ve got!" Monica shouted to Heidi. They tried to coordinate like they had done with the Corrupted Spider Constructs before.

This time, Heidi pulled all the stops. Dotty saw black flames around her arms as she recognized the signs of Infernal Overload.

If Dotty was guessing right, Heidi was trying to use Obsidina Nova while Monica distracted the creature. But the Corrupted Tarantula wasn’t bothered in the least by Monica’s attacks and simply shot a wire in Heidi’s direction, forcing the blonde to throw herself away and interrupt the casting.

Dotty gripped Twilight's Edge tighter, wanting to help. But what could she do? Her sword felt so small now. She remembered how she'd gotten Monica killed by jumping in too soon last time. The voice in her head kept saying: You'll just get in the way.

Sir Tristan stepped forward, his shield catching another wire attack. He'd been watching, studying the monster's movements. Now, he planted his feet firmly.

"Moonpiercing," he said quietly.

Dotty had never seen anything like it. Sir Tristan's sword began to glow with a pale light. The spider shot multiple wires at him, but they seemed to bend around his blade like water. Then he thrust forward - one simple, perfect motion.

The sword pierced straight through the spider's enhanced armor like it was paper. The monster didn't even have time to react. Its legs collapsed, and the light faded from its eyes.

Dotty stared at Sir Tristan in awe. That one strike had done what Monica and Heidi's strongest attacks couldn't. She'd thought she was getting stronger, learning to fight.

But she clearly still had a long way to go.

"Girl," Sir Tristan called, making her jump. "You saved your friend's life today. That's worth more than any killing blow."

Dotty nodded, but her eyes were drawn to the fallen spider.

She walked over and crouched beside it, activating Track Mana.

"The mana feels different," she said. "It's... concentrated.”

“I can take care of one,” Sir Tristan said, looking at the others. “But if a group of these comes our way, I can’t guarantee anyone’s safety if I also need to attack.”

“Wait,” Dotty suddenly said, looking at Mana's trails around the storage building. “There are a bunch of trails coming in and out. But… There’s a clear pattern. Most of them come from one place. I think they might lead us to their nest.”