Before stepping up to the Queen’s corpse, I turned to Kael. “Hey, You wouldn’t happen to have a knife, would you? I’m gonna need something to, well… cut her open and get that crystalized heart.”

Kael quickly nodded. “Yeah, I’ve got one.” He dug into his pack, fingers sifting through the neatly organized contents, before pulling out a small carving knife.

It wasn’t anything special, just a simple tool, but the blade looked sharp enough to do the job. “Here. This should work.”

I took the knife from him, nodding. “Appreciate it.”

Then I turned to Grizmar. "I’m gonna need the boots back."

Grizmar didn’t even blink. Without a word, he dropped onto a nearby rock and started unlacing them. Once done, he held them out to me. “Here,” he said, his voice gruff but with a evident tone of gratitude. “And... thanks. If it weren’t for these, I’d probably still be stuck back there. Or worse.”

I nodded, taking the boots and slipping them on.

I felt a lot safer once I had my boots back on. I’d never really given much thought before, but they were one of those items you don’t fully appreciate until you’re without them.

It wasn’t until now, when I’d gone without them, that I realized just how much I relied on them.

I turned back to the Queen’s body. She was huge, easily the size of a small house, her blackened legs curled inward, looking like snapped and scorched tree limbs.

The closer I got, the stronger the smell became. I gagged a little but kept moving, forcing myself to stay focused. Comfort wasn’t the goal here, getting this done quickly was.

Up close, the damage was impossible to miss. Her shell was cracked and blistered, the fire having burned off all her fur. Oily fluids leaked from the cracks, pooling into a nasty, stinking mess on the ground, with little wisps of smoke still rising into the air.

As I got closer to the corpse her abdomen looming high above, it quickly hit me just how tough the climb would be.

I glanced at the others. They were watching from a safe distance. Fennel raised an eyebrow. “What are you waiting for? Climb already!”

Easier said than done, I thought. She was way too big, and there didn’t seem to be any decent footholds—at least none that didn’t look absolutely gross to touch.

"Alright, guys," I muttered, glancing down at my slimes clinging to me. "You're up."

Two slimes slid off my shoulders, landing on the ground, while two more oozed their way down my back, moving toward my arms. Wobbling like eager little helpers.

"Stick to my hands and feet," I instructed, pointing up at the massive corpse. "We’re climbing this thing."

Without hesitation, the slimes sprang into action, latching onto my palms and boots.

I pressed my hand against her abdomen, the slime on my palm gripping tightly to the charred surface. With a grunt, I hauled myself up, my boot finding a foothold as the slime on my sole latched on.

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"This is so gross," I muttered, grimacing as each step was met with a wet squelch.

Her scorched exoskeleton cracked and crumbled under my weight, brittle chunks falling away with every move. But the slimes held firm, their adhesive grip not slipping, making the climb manageable, even if it didn’t make it any less revolting.

Finally, I reached her chest area, where the crystallized heart was supposed to be.

"Here goes nothing," I muttered, crouching carefully as I positioned myself over her chest.

I reached for the carving knife Kael had given me.

The moment the blade touched the burnt shell, it sank in with almost no resistance. The fire had left the body as brittle as dried-out wood, flaking off with each cut, exposing the flesh underneath.

"Ugh," I groaned, wrinkling my nose as the foul stench hit me.

“There it is,”

After a few moments of digging through the flesh, I finally found what I was looking for. A faint pulsating blue glow emanated from within, standing out against the oozing flesh that caressed it.

It was bigger than I expected, about the size of a small melon.

But instead of excitement, a wave of disappointment hit me.

This one was just… ordinary. Bigger than usual, sure, and probably worth a solid chunk of credits, but it didn’t have the intricate patterns or unique look of an awakened crystallized heart.

"You can’t win them all, " I thought, shaking my head and letting out a soft sigh as I wiped some flesh off my hands.

I’d let myself hope, maybe even expecting another awakened crystallized heart, especially with that achievement supposedly boosting my odds. But rare items were never a sure thing, and whoever was running the RNG algorithm today clearly wasn’t in a generous mood.

Guess I got a little too greedy.

That’s just how RPGs worked—the eternal gamble. Randomness always had the final say. It’s what made the game thrilling… and infuriating at the same time.

I hefted the crystal, its unexpected weight pulling my attention back. Sure, it wasn’t the jackpot, but it was still a solid prize. Bigger and far more valuable than the usual hearts, this one was probably worth at least a hundred regular crystallized hearts.

And as far as I was concerned, surviving this ordeal was reward enough for now.

“Hey!” Fennel’s voice broke through my thoughts, jolting me back to the present. “What’s the hold-up? Did you find something good or what?”

I turned and held up the heart for them to see. “Just your standard boss’s crystallized heart,” I called out.

“That’ll fetch you good price,” Kael said. “But we need to move before something else shows up.”

Grizmar, standing a few paces back, grunted in agreement. “Grab it and let’s go.”

I gave the heart one last look before carefully tucking it into the pouch. "Careful, Lila," I said, making sure to place the crystallized heart in the corner where it wouldn’t squish her flat.

Lila quickly scurried up onto the heart, clearly not willing to risk being trapped underneath it.

Even with the crystallized heart in my hands, I couldn’t shake the feeling that something was missing. Yeah, it was valuable, but this was a dungeon boss—there had to be more to her than just this.

I looked over her charred, ruined body. Her eyes, limbs, and most of her shell were burnt to a crisp, nothing but useless blackened stumps. There wasn’t anything left to salvage for crafting or gear. And her flesh? I wasn’t about to find out if dungeon spider was edible.

Then it hit me.

Her outside was toast, sure, but what about the inside? The deeper I’d dug earlier, the less damage the fire had done. If the flames hadn’t reached her inner parts, there might still be something intact. Something unique that defined a spider.

“I’m gonna check for one more thing,” I said, heading back to the Queen’s corpse

Grizmar groaned. “Seriously? You’ve got the heart! What else could you possibly want from her?”

Kael tilted his head, his wolf-like ears twitching. “What are you looking for?”

“If her internal structures were shielded from the flames, there might be something useful.” I said.

Pulling the knife I began cutting into the softer parts of her lower abdomen.

The deeper I cut, the less charred her flesh became. And then, I found it.

A cluster of thick, glossy strands, tightly coiled and protected deep within her body. Each one as wide as my thumb. They were almost completely untouched by the fire, their surface smooth and strong.

I reached out, running a hand over one of the strands. It was cool to the touch and very sturdy.

“This is it,” I muttered, a grin spreading across my face. “Her web thread. It’s what she used to hold herself up. Strong enough to support her massive weight.”