"Marvel," Serenity called out, her mental pulses devoid of emotion. "Aren't you supposed to be on cleaning duty right now?"

And aren't you supposed to mind your own business? Of course, Marvel didn't voice that retort aloud. She nervously chattered her mandibles together, unsure if her excuse would suffice.

"I... I just wanted to talk with Solace," her empathic pulses wrung, lacking confidence. Seeing the disapproving gaze and tone of Serenity, she contemplated disappearing from the scene altogether. "I'll go clean now."

Marvel hadn't even taken a step as Serenity's voice rang in her mind. "Stay right there. I won't let you out of my sight for a while."

"Now, now, Serenity, dear," Solace interjected. "Don't be too hard on her. I remember another child just like her, always causing mischief and playing pranks on her siblings relentlessly. It was always Midnight or Silence who would send her to me for discipline. Does that ring a bell, Serenity?"

By Solace's tone, it was evident who she was referencing. Still, Marvel's eight eyes widened at Serenity, who seemed to have lost all her confidence and dignity just with the sentence.

"Alright," Serenity conceded, "we won't dwell on that. First, Solace, there is a more pressing matter we need to address."

"Is it about the intruders?" Solace asked, her pulses remaining steady and unchanged.

"Yes," Serenity confirmed. "But how do you know? You know what, never mind that. It has been a long day, and I forgot who developed our security scripts. There are three individuals—Iron rankers--who are likely looking to trespass into the Gate. Midnight is seeking your assistance."

"Three humans?" Solace repeated, her expression growing serious.

Serenity sent a higher-order affirmation mind signal, which was almost too hard for Marvel to understand. "We know their whereabouts. Oh, I forgot to mention, Mother communicated with me today. She instructed us to evacuate into the gate when it opens."

Marvel's interest was piqued, but she remained silent, fearing that Serenity might dismiss her from the conversation once again. The fact that the Great Mother commanded them to evacuate into the gate indicated something very wrong with their home.

Solace's eight eyes fixated on Serenity. "Tell me everything Mother conveyed to you," Solace commanded, her pulses stern and deliberate. "Word for word."

Serenity paused, a hint of alarm in her demeanour, but she complied nonetheless. Marvel shared the same of what Serenity felt, though it was more awe-inspiring in her case. She had likely never witnessed Solace in such a focused state. Solace had always appeared as an elderly spider nanny, possessing wisdom surpassing everyone else's.

With the wealth of experience she accumulated over the centuries, there was almost nothing that could shake her. Yet the mere mention of All-Mother transformed her.

Serenity explained the situation, the Great Mother's orders and the actions they were taking in response, along with the state of their dwellings.

Marvel's eyes widened as she absorbed the information. Did they truly have to abandon their home? Marvel was barely two years old and lacked extensive knowledge and experience regarding beast surges or other threats that their clan had faced in the past. Still, evacuating the entire clan due to a few iron rankers seemed overly cautious.

Perhaps it was only a temporary measure, and they could return once the threat had passed. The idea of venturing inside the gate had not even crossed Marvel's mind yet, as leaving her home consumed her thoughts entirely.

Uncertain of what to make of the situation due to her limited experience, Marvel could only gaze at Solace. Solace had retired from her role as the protector of the dwellings centuries ago in the title, but in practice, it was a different story. Nobody knew how many days, weeks, months, or even years she had spent labouring behind the scenes, ensuring others could sleep peacefully. Even now, when it seemed like they could handle the situation, Serenity sought Solace's advice and guidance.

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"What is Midnight's view on this?" Solace asked as they started to move into her dwelling.

"Communicate first, and if it fails, resort to assault," Serenity responded. Her tone implied she didn't have much hope for peaceful negotiation, considering their history with intruders throughout the ages. Problems with humans were rarely resolved without violence. "She has asked you to oversee the evacuation. Luminous Night is in about a week. You must ensure that none of the children wanders off on their own before then."

"A full-scale evacuation into the gate," she mused. "That will be more troublesome than you can imagine, dear. I'm not sure if you are aware, Serenity, but the core area is not what it used to be. It wouldn't be incorrect to say that the inside is just as perilous as the outside. There is a reason we are prohibited from residing there."

Serenity appeared oblivious to the implications behind Solace's words. "What are you talking about?"

"Never mind, since Mother has requested it, it shall be done. We exist for her, after all."

There was a peculiar gleam in Serenity's eyes upon hearing Solace's last statement, but she did not pursue that line of conversation further. "Also, can you provide some of your script constructions?" she asked. "They would be useful for the assault."

"Of course, you can take anything you need from my lab," Solace replied, considering other stuff. After a moment's thought, she added, "Just remember to leave a log of the items you have taken."

"Thank you, Solace," Serenity responded brightly. Then she considered bringing up another matter, but her gaze shifted towards little Marvel, who was observing them keenly. Serenity inwardly sighed. "There is something else I would like to seek your advice on, but before that, let's take care of Marvel."

As she finished, Serenity proceeded to capture Marvel once again with her webs.

"Solace, save me!" Marvel transmitted secretly to the elderly spider. "I don't want to clean a place that we're going to abandon soon."

Solace let out a deep breath from her orifice. "It's alright, Serenity. Leave her to me. I will take care of her punishment. The evacuation will require time and effort. I could use her help there."

"Are you sure about that?"

"Serenity, dear," Solace said, her empathic pulses infused with genuine affection for both younglings. "You were an absolute menace at Marvel's age. Marvel can't even imagine what you got up to back then. Yet, you turned out just fine after taking on some responsibilities. I'm sure Marvel will do just fine."

"I'll do even better," Marvel chimed in, her pulses filled with confidence.

Serenity didn’t hold on to Marvel’s punishment after that, believing Solace would take care of it. And it was for the best. "Well then, I'll go collect the scripts now. See you later, Solace. Thank you again. Marvel, try not to trouble Solace too much."

Serenity leapt away, her web shooting towards the stone ceilings. Utilising the web, she swiftly made her way out, swinging along the way. Marvel felt a sense of relief as she watched Serenity depart. She had successfully manipulated the situation to avoid her punishment.

"Now, Marvel," Solace began, shifting the focus back to their previous conversation. "You were saying something about a snake?"

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Shai toiled tirelessly for hours, moving from one hole to another, meticulously referencing scripts of all the pits to understand them better. There wasn't much fixing to be done with Shai being handicapped by her form, expertise, and time. And even if she could fix a few of the basic scripts, she didn't bother with them.

Simply because there was no need for it. Shai wasn't looking forward to farm levels from the pits for a long period. She was only there to gain the mark. The script formations and constructs available there would suffice if she put an extra bit of effort into it.

At first, Shai feared she wouldn't level up with the trap doing most of the work, which seemed to be true in some cases—but thankfully, these traps that were intact weren't that ruthless, designed to only capture the creatures, not kill them outright.

Shai needed to finish them off to gain the lion's share to level up. This was created to game the system.

Hey, Grandpa, please don't be mad at me, Shai preyed, even though she never had been much pious. I'll only cheat a little.